Jul

13

The Official 101 Dead Armadillos Endorsements For 2010

Category: Opinions, Politics | Leave a Comment | 917 words | Print

Many people seem to be under the impression that I am a Republican. I have no idea why people make this assumption. I make no secret about being a conservative, but I have not registered with any particular party for a very long time.

With the election just around the corner, one week away, I thought I would list my official endorsements and my reason for endorsing, or not endorsing, each candidate.

For U.S. Senate, I am supporting the Libertarian candidate, Chuck Donovan. I’m sure a few “by the book” Republicans just made a loud gasping noise, but I do not think Johnny Isakson has done a very good job for the people of Georgia and it’s time to give someone else a chance who will.

While it’s not difficult, right now, for Republicans to stand as a solid alternative to the current Democrat induced spending craze in Washington, some of us can actually remember what this country was like before Nanny State Nancy and Scary Harry took over Congress. A quick check of their voting records show that many Republicans, Isakson included, weren’t doing a very good job back then, so why should we think they will start doing so now?

The Governor’s race is really heating up. With one Libertarian, 7 Republicans, and 7 Democrats vying for the position, it’s the craziest statewide race. If you are a regular around here, you know which one of the 15 that I will definitely NOT be voting for. Second only to Roy Barnes, John Oxendine is the worst candidate the people of Georgia could pick to run our state.

I usually have issues voting for “career” politicians, but in this race, I support Eric Johnson. I’ve heard him speak a couple times, I’ve reviewed his record, and I think he’s the best candidate in this large field of choices.

Polling has been spotty, to put it mildly, but it’s clear that no one candidate is going to walk away with 50%+1 of the vote on Tuesday, but I am really hoping and praying we are not stuck with the choice between John Oxendine and Karen Handel. If so, I’m afraid Roy Barnes may be our next Governor, again.

I am not happy with any of the choices for Lt. Governor. I may just leave that choice blank. I really wish more people would step up and run against incumbents at the primary level. If there’s one way to remind a politician that they are an employee of the people, it’s to make them stand up, defend their record, and remind people why they are the best person for the job.

For Secretary of State I am tossing my support to Doug MacGinnitie. Doug is not a career politician, and he has common sense, conservative ideas.

The logical choice for Attorney General is Max Wood. There is no better qualified candidate in the race. Max has experience as a prosecutor, which many of the other candidates do not. He also has also stepped up and got the job done, time and time again.

To be honest, I could really care less about the Commissioner of Agriculture race, but my sources tell me that Gary Black is the man for the job. I know, this seems to completely contradict what I wrote about a week or so ago, but I do think he is the best man for the job.

And now, my favorite candidate of this election cycle. Gerry Purcell. Gerry Purcell is a good man and he’s a great candidate. I’ve been following his campaign for Insurance Commissioner since day one, and I have no doubt that he is the best qualified candidate for the job. He has great ideas for fixing the insurance industry with free market solutions. I’ve heard him speak at several events, and unlike all of the other candidates I am endorsing today, I have met him in person. I’ve had a chance to speak to him and see who he really is. Gerry Purcell is a good man, and in politics, you don’t see that very often.

My choice for the next State School Superintendent is Kira Willis.

Melvin Everson has my vote for Commissioner of Labor.

After my articles about the entire Maria Sheffield/John Oxendine e-mail scandal, you would think I’d have a problem with my next endorsement, but I don’t. Tim Echols, the former campaign manager for John Oxendine, is running for Public Service Commissioner, and I think he’ll do a fine job if he is elected to that position.

Phil Gingrey is running unopposed for the Georgia 11th Congressional seat. I mentioned before that I would prefer it if candidates were forced to run against someone, and while that is true, I would vote for Phil Gingrey no matter who he was running against. Why? Look at his record. His record is consistent, and he has never let me down. As the person who represents me in Congress, he has never let me down.

I’m supporting Bill Hamrick for State Senator, and Tim Bearden for State Representative.

So there you have it, my official endorsements for 2010. I may (or may not) be revising my endorsements after the primary on Tuesday, July 20th. If I do make any revisions, I will do so in a new post, which will reflect the outcome of the primary races.

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Feb

11

Twas The Night Before South-Snowpocalypse

Category: Life | 3 Comments | 557 words | Print

Apparently, the Southern Snowpocalypse is going to hit Georgia sometime tomorrow so I better just get some thoughts out there so I can start preparing for the pending doom and gloom. This afternoon there were empty shelves where the milk and bread should be as well as long lines with all the people who suddenly felt the need to go out and buy a pantry full of food all because the weather people used the word SNOW.

Do you know how aggravating it is to stand in line for an hour an a half waiting to purchase a can of coffee and two boxes of cereal? They should have a separate line at the store for people who aren’t panicking about the storm and just want to make their purchase and chuckle as they walk out the door. Sadly no, that is not the case. Instead, we are forced to stand in line and listen to people talk about the time they got stuck in the snow in Peoria, or the time they ran out of bread and had to wait 12 hours to get to the store. THE HORROR!!!

I moved here in 1997 with my new bride and every year we have had snowfall of some kind. In all but two years the snow never amounted to more than a dusting, but twice in those 13 years we have had at least an inch of snow and never more than 3. Each time the weather people utter the word, every loaf of bread and every gallon of milk within a 50 mile radius of Atlanta suddenly disappear. Now that’s MAGIC!

For about an hour and a half you can find those items in the arms of desperate shoppers who are then stuck in line trying to get their “emergency supplies” before the storm (which could speed up and suddenly dump tons of snow on them) arrives at their location.

I have always wondered what happens to the 17 loaves of bread and the 12 gallons of milk I see people buying for a family of four. Do they eat bread and milk for a week to use it all up when they realize they are not snowed in, the roads do not need to be plowed, and they just made fools of themselves the night before at Wal-Mart debating if 17 loaves were going to be enough to sustain their small but obviously hungry family of four?

I suppose I will never find out the answer to that question, that would be more difficult than winning the lottery. The weather people are actually predicting “accumulating snow” this time which probably brought more than one person to their knees. Of course, when they do they could be praying, but my bet will be on them being in shock.

Yes, they are actually predicting snow this time. If we get some, I’ll take a photo, then I’ll make a PB & J with a glass of milk to celebrate. And don’t you worry, I’ll be toasting that family of four too, for making the right decision this time. One in 26 is a record to be proud of.

Now I am off to bed, complete with medicine for this headache, which also inspired this post.

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Dec

26

Well, That Went Well…

Category: Life | Comments Off | 822 words | Print

Our heads finally hit the pillows around 3:30 yesterday morning. While my preparations for dinner were right on time, we had a few delays getting some things wrapped, and planning the reveal of ‘The Kitty’.

We set our alarm for 7:00 am so we could get her into her spacious kennel and get her ready to meet her boy. We rolled out of bed at 7:15, and I took the dogs out and the cat was placed under the tree. Within minutes of taking the dogs out, Josh woke up.

After a 5 minute delay while he made his bed (I can’t believe he actually made his bed before he checked out his presents under the tree), he stumbled into the living room. As he entered the room, she called out. In his sleepy mind he thought he heard a bird. Then he heard her again. He was bewildered about the noise he was hearing, and I told him to walk over to the back door to see if he could see what he was hearing.

He walked right by the kennel, then she called out again. He looked down, saw the giant tag on the kennel, and almost started crying. He couldn’t believe that ‘Santa’ brought him a cat for Christmas.

After spending five minutes with her, he gave her a name.

Meet Amelia.

 

Welcoming her to the family couldn’t have gone any better, in fact, it was the perfect Christmas morning, at least it was until moments after this photo was taken.

In my infinite wisdom, things were going well so I decided it was time for Amelia to meet Chuck and Stitches. Needless to say, that was a very bad idea.

Amelia was laying next to Josh as the dogs rounded the couch coming to greet the boys. I realized that Amelia was not going to handle things very well, so I moved between her and Josh. As I moved one way, Stitches (the Cairn Terrier) moved the other way, and Amelia freaked. She freaked all over me. She bit my finger, then sliced it wide open with her claws. As I tried to move away from the boys and I raised my hands to get away from her, she latched on to my left hand in the palm with her front claws and my right palm with her back claws. She tore down my right leg, claws still extended, and the dogs followed her into the kitchen.

All of this took place in 2.4 seconds. After which I was leaving a blood trail to the kitchen sink, and she was sitting more than 6 feet off the floor (and 30 feet away) on a shelf of knicknacks just 4 inches wide. It’s a miracle that she didn’t break a thing.

I stopped the bleeding almost immediately, although by that time I was already going to pass out. I barely made my way to our bed while keeping pressure on my finger. After several minutes I was able to sit up, bandage the finger, and continue on with my day. (Don’t worry, she is current on her shots so there is no worry that I may start foaming at the mouth. Well, no more than normal anyway).

The first item on the agenda was putting the dogs outside for the day while we planned a little space management. We put a pet gate up in the boys hallway giving Amelia access to the two oldest boys’ bedrooms, the hallway, and their bathroom.

Once we got her settled, we spent the day cooking delicious food, enjoying the company of my mother and our friend Bill, and watching the boys play sports games on their new Nintendo Wii. We missed having my sister here, and we all decided tonight that we cannot allow that to happen again in the future. From now on, if she can’t come here, we’re all going there.

By 7:00 pm I was ready (and my finger was healed enough) to re-introduce the cat to the dogs with a nice sturdy divider between them. This evenings introduction went much smoother than our attempt this morning, as the dogs were exhausted from running all day and Amelia was quite content in her castle (also known as Josh’s room).

As I sit here finishing this post tonight, my finger is still slightly numb where she sliced it, and the scratches on my palms are burning like crazy. I am keeping everything nice and clean with an antiseptic and Neosporin is my new best friend.

I realized as I was typing tonight, that the last time we saw George he bit me on the same finger Amelia ripped into this morning. Is that fate or what?

I hope you enjoyed the day with your family and friends, and I hope you had a very Merry Christmas.

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Dec

17

Goose Meets Gander

Category: Life | Comments Off | 590 words | Print

Yesterday, there was an article in the Times-Georgian newspaper (our county newspaper) which announced a new web site to help local consumers and farmers. The article did a nice job informing the local community about the new website which is designed to help consumers find local farms so they can buy local and support the local economy.

I have to say, I am all for that. There is nothing better that heading over to the farmer’s market, picking up farm fresh eggs, meat and vegetables and bringing them home. The meals we make with locally farmed products taste so much better, and they don’t have all those preservatives you would find in items at the store. One thing I support is buying locally, if the product or service is available.

Unfortunately, not everyone in the county feels that way. Local businesses are hurting more than ever. More than a couple of our favorite local stores have really suffered in this economy and some of them have been forced to close, they just couldn’t make it through this tough time.

If we’re looking for a book we consider visiting a locally owned bookstore on the square in Carrollton to see if they have it before we even think about visiting the big nationwide bookstore. When we want ice cream we have a local place here in Temple that fits the bill. One of our favorite little shops for gift ideas is on the main street in Villa Rica. The ladies at that shop are always cheerful and witty, giving their shop just the right atmosphere for local shoppers. My family makes an honest attempt to shop local because, as local business owners, my wife and I both understand the importance of community support.

It seems, however, that not everyone agrees on the definition of “buy local” or what it actually entails. Companies and individuals that want websites developed have a few really good local choices, yet there are far too many local websites in Carroll County that have been developed everywhere except Carroll County. I’ve noticed quite a few local business websites that were created by companies in metro Atlanta, neighboring states, and even as far away the west coast, yet very few that were designed and developed right here in our own county.

I had one potential customer (who was local) ask me what kind of discount I was going to give him because he was a local customer. I thought he was joking and chuckled. Does he get a discount at the local Mexican restaurant because he lives around the corner? Sadly to say he chose to have his website developed by a company in Tennessee. As much as I support the “buy local” movement, I have to admit if my business depended solely on local companies and residents, my business would have folded long ago.

My wife manufactures sewn products, so she sees a lot more local interest than I do in web design and development, yet our local farmer’s market still sells re-usable “environmentally friendly” bags that are made in China.

It’s easy for people to claim they buy local, and it’s easy for them to preach the value of doing so, but when push comes to shove they tend to forget about the service businesses and that buying local means much more than supporting your local retail stores and farmers.

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, right?

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Aug

4

I Have A Voice!

Category: Life | Comments Off | 339 words | Print

I am so happy I didn’t have to wake up before the sun came up today. Chuck did really good throughout the night and he did quite well all day too. The stitches are aggravating him, as expected, but he’s not licking the incision too much, and it’s healing nicely.

I got a call from my dad first thing this morning, he was calling because he couldn’t get in touch with my sister who lives in Louisville. It was flooding there today. He called back before I could find out what was going on because she returned his call.

Once the excitement about “my sister missing in the flood” wore off, I got a lot done today. I am about to begin another large project and things will probably get hectic around here again in the next few weeks.

Something exciting happened tonight too. I got an invite for Google Voice. All I can say is it’s about time. Oh, and it’s not nice to give someone who is extremely OCD about numbers and such the opportunity to pick from a pool of phone numbers ANYWHERE in the country. It took me about three hours to pick a phone number, but I finally picked the one I wanted. Now I can give out one number to everyone, and whether I am sitting here at my desk or out and about on the iPhone, I will get the call. How cool is that?

Of course, with all the controversy about the Google Voice iPhone App, and the fact it’s been pulled, I just now get a Google Voice account. Go figure. Who knows, maybe they will work things out and I’ll get to play with yet another app on the iPhone.

Okay, so that’s it for tonight. I am watching some rain come down from Tennessee. It looks like it won’t be here until morning, so hopefully we’ll get some nice early morning storms come through.

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Aug

3

Taking Care Of Ol’ One-Eye

Category: Life | Comments Off | 631 words | Print

chuck-post.jpgExhaustion. A simple word that usually takes a lot of activity to produce, but not necessarily.

I woke up at 6:45 this morning to take Chuck, the One-Eyed Wonder Dog, to the West Georgia Spay Neuter Clinic. As I got ready to leave, he was following me around the house, until he saw me grab the leash. He knows when I grab the leash it means we are going out the front door and most likely into the truck.

Chuck hates riding in the truck.

He still moans the entire time he is in the truck, and it’s clear he does not enjoy it at all. He fought me, but I finally got him out the front door so I could close it. As we walked toward the driveway, he seemed excited, like maybe he thought we were going for a walk. Until I turned toward the truck anyway. That’s when you could hear his nails scraping the cement in the driveway trying to get away from the truck. I unlocked the door, and had to lift him into the truck. Just for the record, he is no longer a small dog.

It was a foggy morning, so it took me a bit longer to get there than I thought it would, but I eventually dropped him off, and then came home. When I walked in the door I realized that everyone else was still asleep so I climbed back into bed and tried to do the same thing. After reading all my email and listening to a couple podcasts, I finally fell back asleep.

I never should have done that.

Even though I got less than four hours sleep before taking Chuck to his appointment, the 2 hours I got after the fact just ruined me for the day. Mentally, I was out to lunch. Stop laughing, that is not normal.

I had to run some errands today. I had to stop by the bank and the grocery store. Due to a slight mix up at the bank, my funds were not available the same day (like they claim they should be on all their signs and literature) so I could not pay the bills I wanted to pay today. On the way home from the bank I got a call from the clinic. Chuck was ready to come home.

Normally, the dogs don’t come home until the morning following surgery. The nice gal on the phone told me he was doing good, and that if we wanted too, we could pick him up. Knowing how he stresses about some of the littlest things, we decided to head over and pick him up.

I sure am glad we picked him up.

When we got there, he was pacing, and would not settle down. The girls said he seemed quite stressed and they thought he might like to come home instead of staying overnight. Ya think? Don’t most of the dogs and cats want to get the hell out of there after something like that? We loaded him up in the truck (yes, I lifted him again), and he calmed down almost immediately.

Since we walked in the door he has been laying on his bed sleeping more than not. He is resting quite well, and whimpers a bit now and then. I am exhausted, my legs are still sore from all the walking yesterday, and it’s been a bear just keeping up with the day.

I’m not complaining though. Things could be a lot worse. It could be me laying there in that bed, whimpering every now and then. I’m sure I don’t feel nearly as bad as Ol’ One-Eye over there.

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Jul

1

Up To My Ears In… Pizza!

Category: Life | Comments Off | 280 words | Print

Today was another great day.

My sister, Kathy, decided to take a vacation and drive down from Kentucky for the fourth of July weekend. We haven’t seen her since the holidays so the kids were excited all day that she was coming.

To occupy their time, we took them to pick up some custom made furniture that we got at a real good bargain, then they spent the afternoon racing their cars. We left Chuck outside this time while they played so he wouldn’t attack the cars. Since we took the video of him chasing the cars, he has learned he can “stomp” on them to stop them, which is even more hilarious than the original video.

When Kathy arrived, she and my mom came over to visit and we ordered pizza, chicken fingers, breadsticks and soda. Not the healthiest of dinners, but we were all content, very content.

I worked on a project all morning, and most of the afternoon, so I didn’t really pay attention to anything else that happened today but I was shocked to learn that Karl Malden died. June was a horrible month for celebrity deaths, and it appears July is off to a bad start as well.

I’m off now to replace the hutch next to my desk with another desk that we got with the furniture today. It has lots of space, drawers and shelves, so I will be able to organize all the business related items quite well with it.

There are two kinds of people, those that do the work and those that take the credit. Try to be in the first group, there is less competition there.

Indira Gandhi

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May

9

Sleeping In

Category: Life | Comments Off | 345 words | Print

I slept in today. I really slept in. I didn’t wake up until 12:30. Chuck woke me up at 8:15 to go out and everyone else was asleep, so I climbed back into bed. I don’t remember hearing anything from 8:15 til I woke up at 12:30. I never do that.

We spent part of the afternoon looking for small wire fence posts and chicken wire, to string between the rows of peas and beans, so they have something to climb, since they will be climbing in a week or so. After pricing things, we decided we will use branches and string and make do with the resources we have here around the house.

We have an awesome day planned for Gidget tomorrow, which involves a really cool dessert item I saw on one of my favorite blogs. I can’t post about it here, or link to it yet, because I know Gidget actually reads my blog from time to time and I don’t want to ruin the surprise.

I spent part of the evening looking for printers who actually do real business card printing. I am very disappointed in the “inkjet” look of the cards I got from Staples, and to be honest, if I knew how bad they looked inside the box I never would have paid for them. So now I am on the search for a printing company that does the old style embossed print business cards, you know, the professional looking ones. It can’t be too difficult to find someone to do them the way I want them.

The first week of the new business went very well, as I made some really good contacts which will most likely turn into some really good work here soon. Now I am off to watch the end of the NASCAR race and then catch up with a few shows on the DVR. The biggest problem with sleeping in this morning is the fact that I won’t be sleepy anytime soon this evening.

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Apr

9

The Fruits Of My Labor

Category: Life | Comments Off | 430 words | Print

White Breasted NuthatchMy day started about an hour and a half earlier than I intended, as Chuck decided he needed to wake up at the crack of dawn and go outside. Once I let him and Stitches out the back door I realized I was already awake and there was no point in trying to go back to sleep.

The first “task” of the day was checking The Hit List, a nifty application I got with the MacHeist Bundle, to make sure I was on the same page as my schedule. I know it sounds odd, but I have to check my schedule several times each day to make sure I haven’t missed anything. I am constantly adding things to my schedule so it would be quite easy to let something fall between the cracks and get lost forever.

After checking the hit list and making coffee I prepared for my phone interview that was scheduled for 10 o’clock. I think the interview went well, and I should hear something by Monday afternoon about the next step in the process. I really like everything I have found out about this company, and the founder of the company himself was the one interviewing me for the job. Maybe this is “the one”?

I spent a couple hours brushing up on my Javascript skills and reading part of the latest Javascript and AJAX book I got at Barnes and Noble last week. Along with searching for a new job, I feel it’s important to keep up with my current skills as well as learning new ones, while I have this bit of downtime.

Later in the afternoon I received a phone call from one of the recruiters that I met a few weeks ago. He works in the same office as another recruiter working for me, and he had a new opportunity he thought I might be interested in. It turns out, I am scheduled for a face-to-face interview at 11 o’clock tomorrow morning. How awesome is that? Could this be “the one”?

Whether or not either of these two new job possibilities end up being “the one”, it sure is nice to see things picking up a bit in the job market. I am off now to map out the route to the interview in the morning. What would normally be a quick and easy commute could be complicated by spring break traffic around Six Flags, so I have to make sure I have an alternate route planned, just in case.

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Mar

17

Reflections

Category: Life | Comments Off | 371 words | Print

wondermutt.jpgIt’s been two months since I was laid off from the day job and today I received a phone call with the most promising of leads thus far. I have an interview Friday morning that could lead to a nice new job. Keep your fingers crossed.

I was real happy when I woke up today and saw the sun was shining. I have waited for three days for sunshine so we could get outside and take some photos. The rain is nice because we need it so badly, but it’s also nice to have time to dry out every now and then too.

We had quite a few chores to do today before we could play, which was okay because we needed the temperature outside to get a little warmer so it would be more comfortable for the little guys. I spent the early part of the day replacing a motor on Gidget’s industrial Singer sewing machine, replacing some of the lights in her workshop area, moving the couch into the backroom of the basement, and vacuuming the stairs.

The worst job was the vacuuming. I could sit and replace 35 pound motors all day rather than vacuum another stair in my life. Our stairs have dark blue carpeting which show every dog hair that falls off Stitches and the Chuck the wonder mutt. It takes the better part of an hour to vacuum 13 stairs and make them “presentable” again.

After doing our chores and cleaning things up around here, we went to get a new belt for the sewing machine. The nice thing about industrial sewing machines is the fact you can use automotive belts to make them run. So we shot down to AutoZone for a 39 inch belt that fit just perfect. Her machine is running like butter now that we replaced the motor.

Then, when all the work was done, we finally got to go outside and shoot some pictures. We spent about an hour outside in the front yard and out on the back deck. I’ll be posting the photos over on my new photo blog, OptiBytes, over the course of the next few days.

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