What a Difference a Few Years Make

Remember Spanky from "The Little Rascals"? Well maybe not...that was a long time ago. However, if you are my age you will remember watching "The Little Rascals" and enjoying the antics of one of my favorite characters, Spanky.

If you are too young to remember Spanky, how about Baretta? This show aired in the 70s, starring Robert Blake as a street-wise detective with a pet cockatoo. Notice a resemblance between the two actors? Very few people realize that they are one in the same. That's right, cute little Spanky grew up to be Baretta! The trouble that Spanky got into on "The Little Rascals" is nothing compared to the real life troubles that Robert Blake has now!

He was accused of murdering his wife, Bonnie Blakely who was shot to death in 2001. Blake was aquitted of the murder charges but now he has lost a wrongful death suit filed by Blakely's children and was ordered to pay $30 million. Robert Blake filed for bankruptcy just before the wrongful death suit and is now fighting the verdict.

What a difference a few years make.

Happy Birthday to my Wonderful Wife

March 11th is a very SPECIAL DAY! It is my wife's birthday...HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTINE! Of course, I can't mention her age, but I always say, "Age is a matter of mind...if you don't mind -- it doesn't matter!"

In Christine's case it doesn't matter anyway, because she is as beautiful today ,as she was the day I met her 13-years ago!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTINE

Paul McCartney and The Seals

Paul McCartney and his wife Heather show their opposition to the Canadian seal hunt as they visited a harp seal nursery off the coast of Canada.
(Photo from Sea Sheperd)

This years hunt is scheduled for the end of March and during the last three years the Canadian government has allowed more than 900,000 seals to be killed. About 97 percent of them were under three months old and many less than one month old!

To learn more about this savage hunt where baby seals are clubbed and dragged across the ice with boathooks to be skinned alive, visit www.harpseals.org . You can also download a petition here to sign and send to the Canadian government.

I understand that this hunt is a source of income in an area where jobs are scarce; however, there is no excuse for the cruel way that the baby seals are being slaughtered. Please help stop this practice now!

Age is a Matter of Mind

I only have a view minutes to come up with a post before the finale of "Dancing with the Stars" comes on. Because I am under a lot of pressure and have a case of writer's block I will re-post something from the archives. This is a true story...

It was Thursday and we had just three days left to enjoy our vacation on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. One of my favorite things to do at the beach is ride the waves on a boogie board. On this particular day, the waves were very high and the surf was rough because of an approaching storm.
The bigger the waves the better the ride, so I was having a great time getting being tossed around and fighting the sea. Before I go any further, I should explain that I am fifty five years old but in my mind I still think I am in my twenties. I always say, “Age is a matter of mind…if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter!”

After an hour or so in the water I was beginning to get really tired but I didn’t want to quit because these were the best waves we have had all week and the next couple of days were predicted to be rainy. The waves were getting higher and the sea more violent, but I loved every minute of it! I smiled at my wife as she watched from a lawn chair on the beach and I caught an especially big wave. I just knew this was going to be a fantastic ride!

The wave carried me into shallow water and slammed me into the sand beneath with unbelievable force. As I was being crushed by the power of the sea I heard a terrible cracking sound and felt a horrific pain in my side! I knew immediately that I had broken my ribs. It was all I could do to haul myself up out of the water and drag myself onto the beach without being drowned. The waves kept smashing against me and knocking me back down again. Every step was very painful and took all of my strength. My wife was laughing and yelling to me telling me to pull my bathing suit up; the force of the wave had pulled my suit down around my knees and I didn’t even realize it. I really didn’t care because that was the least of my worries at the moment as all my efforts were concentrated on hauling myself to shore and collapsing on the beach.

My sister went to get the car and after much struggling I was able to fall into the back seat as I grimaced in pain. It must have taken at least ten-minutes just to get into the car because no matter how I moved it pulled at my ribs and sent shockwaves of pain throughout my body. Of course I could see everyone trying to hold back their laughter as I struggled to get in the car.

We made it to the hospital and x-rays later confirmed I had broken one rib and cracked another. We were in the emergency room for several hours, which seemed like days to me because every little movement caused me terrible pain. When the nurse came in to wheel me in a wheelchair from the waiting room into the examine room she accidentally crashed into the doorway and I let out a loud scream. Of course everyone else thought this was hysterically funny!

I spent the rest of the week trying to find a comfortable position to sit in and taking pain pills. The next six months I had to sleep in a recliner because I was unable to lie down. Looking back on the events of that day I can see the humor, but believe me when I tell you I was not laughing at the time! I have not been to the beach since then but even though I now have a better respect for the awesome power of the ocean I still refuse to grow old and will probably jump right back on that boogie board again!

Please leave your comments.

Don Knotts Dies at 81

"The Andy Griffith Show" is a big deal here in the Raleigh, North Carolina area. In fact, Raleigh was often mentioned on the show. Old Andy, and Barney are sort of folk-heroes in this neck of the woods.

Today I was saddened to learn that Don Knotts passed away at the age of 81. Knotts died Friday night of pulmonary and respiratory complications at a Los Angeles hospital. He was best know for his roll as the bumbling deputy, Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show".

I also loved him on "Three's Company" where he played the swinging landlord, Ralph Furley. Knotts had more than 25 movies to his credit and 7 TV series. He was one of my all time favorite funny guys! He will be greatly missed, but not forgotten!

The comedian also picked up 5 Emmy Awards as he entertained us for over a half-century. Andy Griffith said, "Don was special, there's nobody like him. We had a long and wonderful life together."

Lost Repeats

Somebody please explain to me why they keep showing repeats of "Lost"? It really drives me crazy! The season only just started a little while ago...didn't they write enough episodes to fill a whole season! You don't see any repeats of "24"!

However, I must say that I never do get tired of looking at Kate!

If anyone can tell me why there are so many repeats...I sure would appreciate your comments.

The Chronicles of Narnia on DVD

I actually posted the article below a while back, but it is worthy of a re-post. The BIG NEWS is this awesome movie is going to be released on DVD April,4, 2006! If you didn't get a chance to see it at the movies, make sure you see the DVD...we will be buying it to add to our collection. Click Here to pre-order your DVD NOW! Many other Narnia items available here also such as the complete 7-volume set of books by C.S. Lewis.

Disney was taking a chance with a cast of unknowns, but they pulled it off. Having read all seven books several times, I had visions of what Narnia would look like in my head. Today when I saw the movie I was amazed to find that Narnia looked exactly like what I expected it to.

My vote for the best performances go to Georgie Henley, who did a wonderful job as sweet Lucy; and Tilda Swinton who potrayed the cold-hearted White Witch. The cinematography and visual effects were great as well. Filmed in New Zealand the countryside makes a spectacular backdrop for the movie. Director, Andrew Adamson (of Shrek and Shrek 2) did a fantastic job. Liam Neeson was the voice of Ashlan and may very well be the only name you recognize in the credits.

Speaking of the credits -- don't be in a hurry to get up and rush out of the theater as soon as the credits appear on the screen, because there is still a little more to come. One final scene kept the audience standing in the aisle and stopped the mass exodus from the full house. I can't wait for the sequels, you know it's not going to end there. If you never read the books the movie was complete in itself, but for those of you who are in the know...there is still much more to come!

I highly recommend this movie as a must see. I only hope that the Christian symbolism is not lost in all the excitement. The movie is rated PG but some of the battle scenes may be a little scary for real young children. Narnia is a combination family film and action-adventure thriller. I totally loved the move!

Watch trailer here: http://www.blogger.com/AFF&p=

If you've seen the movie, or read the books please leave a comment here. If you haven't done either -- what are you waiting for. C.S. Lewis has always been one of my favorite authors and when you combine that with the magic of Disney you've got a GREAT movie!

Zathura

This weekend the weathermen told us to expect snow and sleet, so we rented a bunch of videos and bought some popcorn to settle in for the weekend. One of the videos we selected was "Zathura". If you watched, Donald Trump's "Apprentice", you would remember that one of the tasks the contestants had was to promote this movie when it first came out. One team kept getting the name wrong during their presentation and failed miserably! I had no interest in seeing this movie since it appeared to be a rip-off of "Jumanji". However, the video store in our small town was pretty much wiped out of good movies so we ended up with "Zathura".

Unlike "Jumanji", which starred Robin Williams and Kirsten Dunst, the cast of "Zathura" was made up of unkown actors. Both movies are about kids playing an old board game that when played thrusts them into dangerous adventures. They must finish the game to stop the magical onslaught that happens with every move they make.

Although the movies were similar I found "Zathura" to be very entertaining and there was a moral to the story that made it a good family movie. The two young brothers, Walter and Danny, barely get along with each other at the beginning of the movie and their teenage sister totally ignores them. However, as they are thrust into their intergalactic adventure they learn to work as a team and grow closer together. This movie is rated PG which was refreshing, considering most of the movies today are full of sex, blood & guts and horror!

It turned out to be a good movie and I would recommend it. Yes it is a clone of "Jumanji", and even has a scene that will remind you of the "Wizard of Oz" with the house spinning through space, but "Zathura" was worth watching and kept us on the edge of our seats throughout the entire show. If I were asked to pick the best of the two, I would have to say "Jumanji" since I am a huge Robin Williams fan; but make sure you do see "Zathura", it's a good movie. Please leave your comments here.

P.S. It's Sunday morning and we haven't seen any snow or sleet yet...the weathermen got it wrong again -- but that's another story!

Something for Nothing

Who says you can't get Something for Nothing? I finally figured out how to do it and I will share a few examples here with you now. The first one, I'm sure you have all heard of already.

Everywhere you look you will see Google Ads, they are on many blogs and thousands of web sites. Somebody is making money off of those ads...why not you? I decided to try out Google Ads for myself and signed up last July 15th. I put the ads on several of my web sites and my blogs and waited patiently to see some results. I finally got a check in the mail in January and will be getting a second check this month! It cost me absolutely nothing to sign up for Google Ad Sense and each month the check is getting bigger and bigger.

Here's another example. How would you like to pick up 250 FREE BUSINESS CARDS? Just click on the link below and you will be taken to Vista Print. They offer many great products that you can design on line from their templates. Things like Business Cards, Brochures, Letter Head and much more. I use Vista Print all the time. You will have to pay a small S&H charge but the 250 Business Cards are FREE and everything you get from Vista Print is high quality. You can sign up to be an affiliate also and earn some money by offering their links on your web sites and blogs.

if you spend a little time doing some research, you will be able to find many affiliate offers that cost you nothing to join but offer a source of income for you. Leave a comment if you know of some other good ways to earn some money on the Internet.

Incredible Hulk Becomes a Deputy Sheriff

Everyone knows who the "Incredible Hulk" is; however, some of you may be too young to remember the original TV series starring Lou Ferrigno way back in the 70's. We've had an actor become President of the United States (Ronald Reagan),"The Terminator" is California's Governor (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and now "The Incredible Hulk" (Lou Ferrigno) has been sworn in as a deputy sheriff!

Ferrigno will be a reserve deputy sherrif in the Los Angeles Police Department and will help to recruit new deputies and work with the sheriff's Youth Activities League and the Special Victims Bureau.

What's next, Oprah for President?

Cheney Shoots His Hunting Buddy

OOPS, my bad! Cheney accidentally shot his hunting buddy, Harry Whittington, while quail hunting over the weekend in Texas. The 78-year-old lawyer is said to be in stable condition after being sprayed with bird-shot from the Vice President's 28-gauge shotgun. He was hit in the face, neck and chest with pellets.

Whittington had left formation and went to fetch a bird he had shot. Then he came up behind the hunting party just as Cheney turned to take a shot.

Police officials said no charges are being filed. However, there have been questions raised as to why it took nearly 24-hours before the Vice President's office reported the incident.

A spokesperson from Mr. Cheney's office said they did not release the information right away because they felt that decision was up to the ranch's owner.

OOPS, I Did It Again!

Britney Spears may have won many awards; however, I don't think she will be getting nominated for "Mother of the year"!

"I made a mistake and so it is what it is, I guess," Britney Spears said to "Access Hollywood", when asked about driving with her baby in her lap.

Here's another case of celebrities getting away with a slap on the wrist. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said it won't pursue any charges. I think it's a shame that no action will taken against Ms. Spears. She clearly endangered the life of her4-month-old son. The law says that infants must be in the back seat secured by a child-safety seat.

Spears is blaming the whole thing on the paparazzi. I say she should be reported to child welfare services and also given a ticket for motor-vehicle violations. What do you think?

Please leave a comment.

15 Cent Hamburgers

I made a post on my other blog, Mike's World about McDonald's new packaging with nutritional information. It got me to thinking about the good old days when you could get a hamburger, fry and a drink and change back from your dollar! That's right, in fact that was McDonald's slogan back then.

I worked at McDonald's when I was 16. Here are some of my memories. You wouldn't recognize it as the same restaurant. The buildings were red and white and very small. The menu was very limited, all we served were hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries, drinks and shakes.

Hamburgers cost 15 cents, fries were only 07 cents. The hamburgers weren't the frozen type you get now-a-day, it was fresh ground beef. The fries were real too. We got in 100 pound sacks of potatoes, put them in a machine to peel them, then washed them and sliced them into fries. The milk shakes were great also. The kind you had to put on a spindle to stir up.

There were no drive-thru windows and not even a dining room. All we had were two sliding glass windows for walk-up traffic. There were a couple of picnic tables outside to sit at, but mostly people would eat in their car or carry the food home. The golden arches were much bigger then too.

I earned a whopping 75 cents per hour when I first started working at McDonald's. Another interesting fact is there were no women working there, only males. We wore silly looking paper hats.

The buns were put in a big toaster and tasted great! Ahhhh, the good old days. I actually ended up staying at McDonald's and becoming a manager. I worked for ten years at McDonald's as a manager and another ten at Burger King and Wendy's. I guess I've eaten my share of fast food.

Don't forget to leave a comment.

E-Stamp

Here's the latest idea to prevent spam e-mail. Yahoo and AOL are going to begin charging from one-quarter of a cent to one cent for every e-mail you send. They will still accept e-mail from non-paying customers but the ones who pay will be giving special treatment. This program should be ready to launch in a few months.

I'd like to know what everyone thinks about this idea.

• Will it help to prevent spam?
• Is it going to destroy the free-spirit of the Internet?
• Is it just a scheme for AOL & Yahoo to make millions of dollars?

Please leave a comment.

Super Bowl-Super Bucks

I don't usually watch sports on TV, I would much rather watch a good movie or a funny sit-com. However; I do watch the Super Bowl every year. Not because I pulling for my favorite team, most of the time I couldn't even tell you who is playing! The reason I watch the Super Bowl is because I love the commercials!

When the Super Bowl first premiered back in 1967, $40,000.00 would buy you a 30-second commercial. The cost today is $83,000.00 per second -- that's around $2.5 million for a 30-second spot! All that money will buy you an expected 90 million viewers during the game.

This year you can go to ifilm and watch the commercials online. You can even download them. I believe the commercials will also be available on ipods this year.

One of my favorite ads was the Bud Light commercial where the pilot jumped out of the plane to get the Bud Light. I'll post tomorrow about my favorite commercial from this year.

I like the commercials so much I even went to SpotBowl and downloaded a score sheet to rate the ads.You can vote on line for your favorite ad at the SpotBowl website.

Leave a comment here about your favorites.

Granpa Munster Dies

Many of you may not remember the TV show, "The Munsters" which was popular in the sixties; and even fewer of you will recall "Car 54, Where Are You"; so you may not recognize the name Al Lewis. He is best know for his roles as Grandpa Munster and Officer Leo Schnauser.

Lewis died after a long illness. His age has been reported as 82, 83 and even 95, so I'm not really sure how old he was. He is survived by his wife, Karen and three sons as well as four grandchildren.

The sixties was a GREAT time for TV and Al Lewis was one of the GREATS! He will be missed. (Photo from the Associated Press.)

Google Adsense

OKAY...I can testify that Google Adsense is for real! I received my first check from Google today, and I am really excited.

I was skeptical at first when I signed up for the program because I had tried may other affiliate programs and never saw any money! I started with Google on July 15th last year. I design websites and figured I could place the Google ads on all of my own personel websites and blogs and at least some of my client's sites as well.

Google forbids you from talking about how much money you earn, but everyone knows you have to make at least $100.00 before they will send you a check. My goal was to break that magic one-hundred dollar barrier within six-months, which would be by Jan. 15, 2006. I reached my goal ahead of time by the end of December 2005, so I am very happy!

My next goal is to make at least $100.00 per month from the Adsense program. Currently, I have Adsense on 4 of my blogs and 12 websites. None of the websites were specifically designed to be a Google Adsense moneymaker but one site has emerged as the leader of the pack! I am going to use that site as a guide when designing other sites.

Keep in mind this hasn't cost me any money, the Adsense program is FREE. I have not tried the Adword program yet, but I have heard that is a good way to increase your income from Adsense. When I start making $100.00 a month from Adsense, then I will consider buying some keywords.

Bottom line...if you want to try a program that actually works and start earning a little extra cash from the Internet, then sign up for Google Adsense. If you have experience with adsense and would like to share your tips on how to make more money, please leave a comment or email me at cmmdtp@gmail.com

PS. Next time you are surfing the net, go ahead and click on a couple of Google Ads, somebody will make a couple of cents and be grateful to you; and who knows, you just may find something that you were really looking for!

Cindy Sheehan at it Again

If you were watching TV Tuesday night you probably saw The President's State of the Union Speech. What you didn't see was Mr. Bush's nemesis, Cindy Sheenan, being arrested again!

It seems that she had received a ticket to the event from Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Santa Rosa. Cindy says she was reluctant to attend because she knew that George Bush would say things that would hurt and anger her. She still blames Mr. Bush for the death of her son Casey in Iraq.

When Sheehan removed her jacket in the House gallery a police officer noticed her expressive t-shirt with "2,245 dead, how many more?" He escorted her out and she was charged with a misdemeanor.

All of this happened before Mr. Bush entered the House chamber. Later, while Mr. Bush was speaking, officers spotted Beverly Young, wife of Florida Republican Rep. Bill Young, who was sitting six seats away from first lady Laura Bush and wearing a "Support our Troops" shirt. They ushered her out as well. Young was told by officers that since Sheenan had been removed for wearing an expressive t-shirt, it was only fair that they remove her also. However, Mrs. Young was not charged.

I am interested to hear your opinion about this incident.

• Do you think that Cindy Sheehan was just up to her old tricks, trying to get in the spotlight and draw attention to her cause
• Do you feel that she was arrested unfairly and should have been allowed to stay
• Do you agree that the police acted correctly in removing her from the House gallery because she may have caused a disturbance

Please leave a comment.

Microsoft IE 7 Beta Released

Microsoft hasn't released a new version of Internet Explorer since 2001, allowing competitor Firefox to gain ground. Firefox now has about 10% of the market share compared to IE's 85% so they have a long way to go to catch up; however, I have been using Firefox now for the past year and really prefer it to IE.

Microsoft's new IE7 will feature enhanced security enhanced guards against malware and phishing. It also promises to be easier to navigate with a sleeker interface. Another new feature will be an icon that users can click on to automatically add RSS feeds to your favorites folder on the browser. Microsoft plans are to ship IE7 along with Vista, the upgrade to Windows XP, in the second half of this year.

I am downloading IE7 as I write this post and will try it out, but I have been very pleased with Firefox and do not plan on returning to IE. After I have tried the new IE for a while I will write a review here, so check back soon. I am interested to hear your opinion on IE vs. Firefox. Please leave a comment. If you would like to download IE7 Beta version, Click Here.

FDA Approves Inhaled Insulin

YES...this is really good news for diabetics. The FDA has approved Exubera, the first inhaled insulin treatment for diabetes. I for one, am very glad to hear about this. I am a diabetic and have been taking insulin shots for fifteen years. I take five injections per day and it has not been fun! I hate needles, and I will be happy to switch to Exubera.

How does Exubera work? It delivers insulin in dry form through an areosol spray to the lungs and from there it enters the blood stream.

Pfizer Inc. is the first manufacturer to put the new insulin on the market. Before too long, I'm sure you will see other brands competing with Exubera. This is the first new method of insulin delivery since 1920...now if we could just come up with a cure!

Richard Hatch may have to learn how to survive in prison

You may remember Richard Hatch as the "fat, naked guy" from the first "Survivor" series. He was always running around the island without any clothes on. Now Hatch is going to have to sharpen up his survival skills all over again. However, this time he may find it more difficult than anything he faced on the island in the original TV show "Survivor".

Hatch was convicted of tax evasion and other charges and faces up to 13-years in prison!Richard says that he believed the TV show was going to pay his taxes on the million dollars that he won. It seems that Hatch found out about some cheating that was going on during the show and he claims that the producers offered to pay his taxes if he would keep it quiet. He is also accused of using money for himself that was supposed to go to a charity he had set up.

I'm thinking that there just might be a guy named "Bubba" sitting in prison somewhere with a big old smile on his face anxiously awaiting the arrival of Richard!

Man's Best Friend

Here's a great story I read in the paper the other day and forgot all about it until I just saw it on The Ellen Show again today.

Steve Hoffman, a sheriff's deputy in Indiana, had just finished a traffic stop one night when he noticed a strange light coming from a cornfield. He walked towards the flickering light and saw two dogs. One was holding a flashlight in its mouth and the other was lying on top of an unconcious man to keep him warm!

Deputy Hoffman performed CPR on Bill Burns who was diabetic and had passed out in the cornfield while walking his dogs. The two dogs, Butch and Dusty are credited with saving their owner's life. Mr. Burns said that his dogs were not trained and had never picked up a flashlight before that night.

They were just being man's best friend!

Ending the Week with a Big Bang!

Okay, I'm happy it's Friday and the work week is over; however, it really ended with a BIG BANG! After the long, hour commute home from work I am one block away from home and I hear a BIG BANG! Then my tire starts making weird noises...thump, thump, thump! It's a flat tire, but since I'm only one block from home I continue on my way, knowing that's probably not too good for my rim, but I am so close!

I get home and check out the situation and sure enough, one of my tires is flatter than a pancake. The sad news is there is still a lot of good tread on the tire so I must have run something over.

Now you think it would be a simple thing to change a tire, but it's not shaping up that way for me. I pull out my spare and notice that although it looks brand new, it is very low on air...I hope it's okay.

After tearing the pickup truck apart looking for a jack, I discover that there is no jack in the truck! That can't be a good thing! I open up my wife's car to borrow her jack and notice that there is about 200 pounds of boxes, clothes, shoes, papers and assorted other "important stuff" in her trunk blocking my path to where the jack would be (that is if she even has a jack).

It's beginning to get dark outside and since I am not really feeling like moving all that junk out of the way to look for a jack, I decide to give it up till tomorrow morning. I don't have anyplace to go tonight anyway.

The next morning I borrow my wife's car and go to the auto parts store hoping to purchase a jack...the guy tells me they don't sell jacks, nobody uses them anymore. I ask him how do you change a tire then. He replies, most people don't get flat tires now adays. I go to another store and find a jack for $14.95 and buy it. I also run by the gas station and put some air in my spare.

When I get home with my new jack I discover that it doesn't lift the truck up high enough to change the tire! Now I am really getting mad! I swallow my pride and go to my neighbors house and ask if he has a jack I can borrow and my problem is solved. He had a nice heavy duty jack and we made short work of changing the tire. (Thank God for good neighboors!)

Now I've got a spare on the truck that has been plugged before so I figure I had better go buy a new tire and keep the plugged one for a spare. So I'm off to the tire shop to purchase a new tire. Then I'm going to come back home, relax, and enjoy my weekend.

Thanks for listening.

24 - The Best Show On TV Is Back

WOW...what a premiere for the 5th season of 24. Two nights and four-hours of 24! 17-million viewers tuned in on Sunday night to make this the most-watched two episodes ever for 24.

If you have never seen this show, you are missing out on the best action-packed show of all time! It really doesn't even matter if you saw the first four seasons or not, you can jump right in and follow along with no problem. (By the way the first four seasons are available on DVD. You can purchase just one season or all four at Amazon.com)

I don't want to spoil the show if you happened to have recorded it and not watched it yet, so I won't go into any details here. If you want to see a recap of the show check out Fox TV's Website . (That's where the above photo is from.)

In my opinion, there are several things that makes this show such a success; the first being the unique, real-time storytelling method. Secondly, the non-stop action is full of plot twists and surprises which keep viewers on the edge of their seats! I don't know where Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) gets his energy from; he barely solves one crises and another is upon him!

Please leave a comment and if you know of any great 24 websites let me know. You know where you can find me on Monday nights.

Mystickal Incense & More

If you are not a member of Blog Explosion, you need to sign up now. The "rent my blog" feature which allows members to rent space on their blog in return for credits or buy space on another member's blog is just one of the many GREAT FEATURES at Blog Explosion.

Speaking of GREAT, you must visit my tenant of the week, Stephanie Davies. Her blog, Mystickal Incense & More, is very nicely done. (To visit her blog, click on the screen shot in the right hand margin of this page.)

It is both a personal and business blog, but it's not an in-your-face, pushy sales blog. Mostly it's a personal diary with an occasional mention of the products which Stephanie hand-makes; things like incense, candles, and bath & body products. She has a link to take you to her sales website Mystickal Incense & More.

When you visit Stepanie's blog, be sure to leave a comment and tell her that Mike sent you from Ramblings and Rhetoric.

When is a Motorcycle not a Motorcycle?

Riddle me this -- When is a motorcycle not a motorcycle? Would you believe when Arnold Schwarzenegger is driving it?

California's Governor crashed his motorcycle into a car that was backing out of a driveway and had to get 15 stitches above his lip. His son was riding in the sidecar but was not injured.

It turns out that Arnold did not have a motorcycle license. Did the Governor get a ticket? NOT! The Los Angeles Police Department did not issue a citation because they didn't see the accident happen. The DMV and California Highway Patrol said that since his Harley had a sidecar attached to it, a motorcycle license was not required.

Is this another case of celebrities getting away with breaking the law? Even if you buy the sidecar making the motorcycle not a motorcycle story what about all the other times Arnold was driving his Harley-Davidson without the sidecar? He has been driving illegally for years! Governors and Movie Stars should have to obey the law just like us commonfolk do!

Arnold broke six ribs and spent four days in the hospital in 2001 from another motorcyle crash. Hey Arnie, maybe your "Terminator" days are over!

Your comments are welcome.

NASA Needs You

If you ever had dreams of working for NASA, here's your big chance. NASA is looking for Internet volunteers to study stardust. OK...the pay really sucks, it's a volunteer job; but you could get to name the particals of stardust that you discover!

Here is a link that explains the Stardust Project. Basically, NASA has captured some stardust particles from a comet and will be returning them to earth for study - that's were you come in. If this were twenty years ago NASA would have hired an army of people to peer through microscopes and study the particles, but now that we have the Internet they plan on using a web-based microscope and volunteers. You will have to pass a test in order to qualify for this opportunity for your fifteen minutes of fame! You will be searching for carrot-shaped trails that have been left in the submicroscobic dust particles. Sound like fun?

(Photo from NASA website)

NBC's The Book of Daniel

NBC has a new TV show that started Friday, Jan. 6th, called "The Book of Daniel". It is a pretty controversial series about a pill-popping, unconventional priest with a very messed up, dysfunctional family! Daniel is not only able to see Jesus but he also talks with Him and asks him for advise about all kinds of situations.

There are more sub-plots and story lines going on then you can keep up with. The series strikes a nerve of Christians because of the way it mockingly portrays Jesus as a wimpy character. Christ is shown to give flippant answers to Daniel's questions about serious moral issues.

The show has everything from drug abuse, homosexuality, and premarital sex, to stealing money from the church. A snapshot of the world we live in today? Perhaps.

I don't doubt that there are priests who have problems nor do I pretend to be unaware of the plethora of moral issues we have going on all around us. However, I do take offense to the way that Christ is depicted in this show. What would Jesus do if he were here now? I'm sure He wouldn't say things like, "He's a kid, let him be a kid", when asked about a teenager's sexual escapades!

I would like to hear what you think about the show. Please leave a comment and share your thoughts. My opinion is...NBC should cancel this show, although I'm sure they are getting tons of publicity from the controversy and therfore will let it air for a while. However, they did introduce this as a "limited series"!

A Handy Tool to Help with Your Diet

NO...it's not the bathroom scale. Look at the top of the page.

Many of us have made New Year's resolutions to eat healthier and lose weight. Here's a handy little tool at the top of the page to help you with this. Just select a category and type in the food you want to find the nutritional value for.

Here's an example. If you select bannana you will find everything you ever wanted to know about a banana. In a raw banana there is 200 calories, 1 gram of fat and 28 grams of sugar. The website will tell you what's good about a banana and what is bad for you. You can look up raw bananas, banana pudding, banana baby food, dehydrated bananas and just about any other kind of banana you are looking for! It is an amazing website and a useful tool for helping you select the right foods to keep your New Year's Resolution. I am going to keep the tool bar at the top of this page, so come back anytime and check out your favorite foods.

Good luck with your diet.

Tag - You're It

I have been blogging since Sept. 2005, and this is the first time that I have ever been tagged. I don't know if I should be honored or mad (because I really don't have time for this). But I will play along. Thanks a lot to Eric, Blogging Boss for tagging me!

I was tagged on my Bed & Breakfast Experiences blog; however, I really want to keep all the posts on that blog on subject, so I will post the tag here on this blog.

Four jobs you've had in your life:

Restaurant Manager
Bartender
Warehouse Supervisor
Taxi Driver

Four movies you would watch over and over

Somewhere in Time
Bravehart
Pirates of the Carribean
The Godfather (all four movies)

Four places you have lived

North Caolina
California
Connecticut
At Sea (on board an Aircraft Carrier - The Bon Homme Richard)

Four TV shows you love to watch

24
Lost
Desperate Houswives
ER

Four places you have been on vacation

Blowing Rock, NC
Myrtle Beach, SC
Disney World in FL
Ashville, NC

Four websites you visit daily

Google
BlogExplosion
USA Today
Reuters

Four of your favorite foods

Ice Cream
Scallops
Lobster
Steak

Four places you would rather be right now

On Vacation
Hawaii
Greece
In bed sleeping (it's 3:00 am)

Four bloggers you are tagging

LUKA - http://www.incogblogo.net/
ANO - http://all-night.org/
NAMELESS - http://blogs.forumer.com/anonymous/
MOMMC - http://dr1.com/blogs/?u=MommC

First Tenant of the New Year

First Tenant of the New Year

Over at Blog Explosion, we can rent space to other bloggers in return for credits. This is a good way to gain exposure to your blog and pick up some new readers. If you haven't yet checked out Blog Explosion, you need to go there right now; it's a GREAT community for bloggers.

Speaking of GREAT -- you need to visit my current tenant, Peter Porcupine. Just click on the screenshot of his blog in the right hand margin and check it out for yourself. Peter says of himself,"I STAND FIRM FOR TRUE CONSERVATIVE PHILOSOPHY, AND AGAINST RAPSCALLIONS OF ALL POLITICAL STRIPES."

Peter Porcupine is an awesome blog, it's one of the blogs that I read all the time. While you are there leave him a comment and tell him that you were sent there from Ramblings and Rhetoric.

Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life...

Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life...

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!! Here we are going into another New Year; a time of reflection on the year gone by and setting goals for the upcoming year. Speaking of goals...here are a few tips for setting goals.

1. Set realistic goals - it is important to set goals that you can achieve
   
2. Don't set the bar too low - on the other hand, don't set your goals too low; they should be just out of your reach but not too far that you will never be able to accomplish them
3. Write your goals down - out of sight = out of mind; make sure you write your goals down and keep them in plain sight so you can focus on them daily
4. Set deadlines - your goals should have deadlines attached to them, this adds a sense of urgency
   
5. Two types of goals - I always try to have at least one short term goal and one long term goal that I am working toward at any given time

Remember this: "If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail!" Start the year off right and make a plan, set some goals and enjoy life. Whatever your goals are for 2006, I wish you much success and a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

New Year's Resolution

New Year's Resolution

I have only one thing to say about New Year's Resolutions. I am not making any this year! That's it... period! Every year it's the same old thing, everybody makes a big list of impossible resolutions. Most of the things on the list never get accomplished...so what's the use?

Instead of a usless list of impossible resolutions I will just promise myself one thing this year. I will try my best to be a better person each and every day. This means I will smile more, take time to stop and smell the roses, be more loving to my wife and family and strive to be a better Christian in my daily life.

Sounds easy enough, doesn't it? Not really, old habits are hard to break and you know the devil will be throwing road blocks in my path. However, I realize that God will give me the strength to overcome these obstacles and will show me the way around the roadblocks.

Pslams 54:7 "For he has delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes."

OK, so maybe that is a New Year's Resolution after all? At least it's not a long list of promises I know I can't keep. Do yourself a favor this year, make your resolutions reasonable. Set goals that you can accomplish, you will feel much better about yourself.

I wish you a Happy and Blessed New Year.

Kudos To My Wife

Kudos To My Wife

My wife, Christine, really loves Christmas. It is her favorite time of the year and she goes all out with her decorations and dinners and gift-giving. I don't know where she gets the energy to keep the pace this time of year. She works during the day then does all the Christmas shopping and wrapping. The only thing I had to shop for was her presents. She also decorates our tree and home for the Holidays and cooks up a great Christmas Eve dinner and cookies, etc. Watch out Martha Stewart!

In addition to all of this extra stuff for Christmas, she never misses a beat with her usually busy schedule of babysitting the grandkids and niece and nephew and running to football games or marching band practice to support the young ones in their school activities. Christine really is an amazing woman, I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank her for all that she does.

This year was exceptionally beautiful. The house looked like a page out of a magazine and we had 15 people over for dinner on Christmas Eve. the meal was delicious and everyone loved their gifts. Then Christmas day we had 4 more people over for another wonderful meal and gift exchange.

You would think today the day after Christmas would be a day of rest...but no way. Christine is off and running again, she is out with her sister and niece at the mall. I don't know how she does it all.

Thanks Honey...I love you very much!

2006 Is Almost Here

2006 Is Almost Here

Thanksgiving and Christmas have come and gone and another New Year is almost upon us! Time for goal setting and resolutions. I will have a New Year Resolution post soon.

I have a new blog for the new year: Bed & Breakfast Experiences. Check it out when you get a chance, it's all about the experience of staying at a Bed & Breakfast instead of a Hotel or Motel when you are traveling. It's an experience you will never forget.

New for this week: Be sure to visit my current renter "Gamer For A Laugh".

Click on the screenshot of his blog in the left margin. This is a wonderful blog for all you gamers; hosted by a Shout Box regular, FuzzBuck Fuzz. You'll find some interesting posts here as well as FREE games and great links.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and I wish you a Happy and Blessed New Year.

The Inn at Ragged Gardens

The Inn at Ragged Gardens

Here is another great Bed & Breakfast to stay at in the mountains of North Carolina. The Inn at Ragged Gardens is a warm, antique-filled, beautiful place to visit. The Hyatt family has restored this turn-of-the-century home in downtown Blowing Rock and your stay there will be memorable.

Every time we have tried to stay there it has been completely booked. So make your reservations well in advance. Some good friends of ours have stayed there and told us that they really loved it. We have taken a tour of the rooms and hopefully will get to stay there on our next trip to Blowing Rock. You can get a nice look at this lovely Bed & Breakfast on their website: The Inn at Ragged Gardens .

This charming Inn sits on an acre of enchanting gardens and their gourmet breakfast includes the use of herbs and flowers organically grown in their own gardens.

To find more information about Blowing Rock visit their website: Information on Blowing Rock, NC . If you know of a great Bed & Breakfast please share it and leave a comment.

Another Great Bed & Breakfast

Another Great Bed & Breakfast

Here is another great Bed & Breakfast located right on the waterfront in Manteo, North Carolina. The Tranquil House Inn is our favorite place to stay when we go to the Outer Banks. It's not far from Nagshead, and it is home of the 1587 Restaurant, with world-class chefs! What a wonderful dining experience, the food there is outstanding!

We have stayed there a couple of different times and really enjoyed it. My favorite thing about The Tranquil House Inn is the wine and cheese they serve in the afternoon on the back porch overlooking the water. It is so peaceful and refreshing to sit there and chat with the other guests as you nibble on cheese and drink some good wine.

Here is the link to their website: The Tranquil House Inn.

Manteo is a quaint little town and a great place for a walking tour and it's just a short ride to Nagshead, Kitty Hawk and other tourist attractions.

While you are there be sure to check out The Lost Colony, a musical theater under the stars, about the first English Colony here in NC that vanished without a trace! Here is website for The Lost Colony.

If you have a favorite Bed & Breakfast please leave a comment.

Winky-Dink

Winky-Dink

If you are not a baby boomer you may not remember Wink-Dink. This was one of my all time favorite TV shows. It ran in the 1950s on Saturday mornings. The name of the show was "Winky-Dink and You".

This was actually the first version of today's interactive video games. You could buy a kit with a piece of plastic that stuck to the black& white TV and the deal was you could then draw on the screen and help Winky-Dink out of jams he would get into. If he needed a ladder to climb you simply had to draw it on the screen. There would also be letters at the bottom of the screen that you had to trace to form a secret message.

The kits cost only about 50 cents if you order them from TV or you could buy a kit for around 3 dollars at the local toy store. The picture above is from: TV Party website. You can find all kinds of neat information there about your favorite old television shows.

Saturday mornings used to be filled with great TV shows like "Winky-Dink and You", "Sky King", and "Ramar of the Jungle", just to name a few. If any of you are old enough to remember these classic shows, leave a comment and share your memories.

More About Bed & Breakfasts

More About Bed & Breakfasts

Here is some more information about Bed & Breakfasts. This will be a continuing series of posts about the Bed & Breakfast Experience. Here are a few useful links:

Click Here to Locate a Bed & Breakfast - Directory for U.S. and Canada

10 Tips for First Time for First Time Bed & Breakfast Guests - Tips

Directory of World Wide Bed & Breakfasts - World Wide Directory

What every good Bed & Breakfast host should offer:

• Friendly service and a great breakfast
• Tips on where to go in the area to sightsee or to get a good meal
• Historical information about the Inn or the surrounding area
• Some hosts offer recipes they use in the Inn
• A list of area churches and service times
  
• Good conversation

We stayed at a The Inn On Main Street several years ago in Weaverville, North Carolina and without fail every year we get a friendly email from the owner thanking us for staying there and inviting us to come and visit again. That's a real nice touch.

Our stay there was wonderful. The Inn Keepers, Nancy and Dan, came out to great us as we arrived and were very warm and friendly. They showed us around their Bed & Breakfast and were very good hosts. We asked them where a good place to eat dinner was and they gave us several choices.

The Inn On Main Street was just a 15 minute drive away from The Biltmore House where we planned to visit the following day. Nancy and Dan told us the best way to go and also had some brochures available for us. After a day of walking around The Biltmore Estate and the streets of Asheville, it was great to come back to the quaint town of Weaverville and relax on the porch with the other guests at The Inn On Main Street.

The next morning we had a wonderful home cooked breakfast of frittatas, made-from-scratch muffins and fruit. We really didn't want to leave this wonderful place, but our weekend was over and we had to return to reality. We look forward to returning there again for another relaxing weekend sometime soon.

The Bed & Breakfast Experience

The Bed & Breakfast Experience

The next time you are traveling, instead of the same old boring hotel or motel room, treat yourself to The Bed & Breakfast Experience. You will love it! My wife and I always stay at a Bed & Breakfast rather than a Hotel or Motel; it is a world of difference and a refreshing experience.

Pictured here is "The Inn On Main Street " in Weaverville, NC. We stayed there when we went to visit The Biltmore House, just a short drive from this wonderful Bed & Breakfast. (Coming soon a review of our stay there.)

What is a Bed & Breakfast?

Typically, a Bed & Breakfast is a privately owned home, which offers a place to stay for the night and a home-cooked breakfast in the morning. Thus the term, Bed & Breakfast. Usually the homes are older, historic homes and may only have 3 or 4 rooms available. Sometimes family members or other guests share the bathroom; however, many of the newer ones have private bathrooms now.

Bed & Breakfasts are usually very quiet and many will not accommodate children under 12, so if you have young children this may not be for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for a nice romantic getaway...leave the kids at home and enjoy!

If it's a romantic inn that you are looking for go to: I Love Inns for a list of the top ten romantic Bed & Breakfasts in 2005.

Bed & Breakfasts have been around just about forever. Monasteries used to serve as Bed & Breakfasts and some still do. People in Europe and England have been staying at Bed & Breakfasts for centuries. Here in the United States, we can trace the Bed & Breakdfasts back to the days of Pioneers. Then during the Great Depression many families opened up their homes as "Boarding Houses" to earn extra money.

After Hotel and Motel chains starting popping up everywhere, the Bed & Breakfast kind of faded away. If you know where to look, you can still find a great Bed & Breakfast just about anywhere you plan to go, here or abroad! Once you have experienced the home-cooked breakfast and genuine hsopitality of the inn-keepers in a quaint little Bed & Breakfast, you will never want to stat at a Hotel or Motel Again!

Coming soon: Our favorite North Carolina Bed & Breakfasts

If you know of a great Bed & Breakfast, please leave a comment and share it with us.

Old Guy's Treehouse

Old Guy's Treehouse

My renter this week is a friend from the Shout Box at Blog Explosion. He has a great blog, I read it all the time. He recently gave his blog a new design which is awesome. (I couldn't beat him in battle of the blogs before...now I'm afraid to even try!)

Old Guy says, "You won't find anything controversial here, no politics, no swearing, no pictures of people running around naked, however I think that if you pour yourself a coffee and have a seat, maybe spend a little time, you might find something you like."

So do yourself a favor, and stop by Old Guy's Treehouse...tell him that cmmdtp sent you from Ramblings and Rhetoric. I'm sure you will enjoy his blog. You can click on the image on my side bar in the Rent My Blog section to go to Old Guy's Treehouse.

Digital Phone

Digital Phone

We live in North Carolina and the majority of our family live in Connecticut and Florida. Every month our long distance phone bills have been outrageous. Finally I decided to give Digital Phone Service a try. FREE long distance, how can you beat that?
Time Warner Cable Digital Phone Service since I was already using their Road Runner high-speed Internet service anyway and love it. I was told there were so many people requesting digital phone service that there was a one-month waiting list before it could be installed. WOW -- that's unbelievable. Oh well, I guess I could wait one more month.

The long anticipated installation day finally arrived and I took the day off from work to be here when they came to install my new system. The TWC guy was here right on time and made short work of the installation.

It cost me $95.00 a month for Road Runner high-speed Internet service and Digital Phone Service. That may sound expensive, but it is not. I was already paying $44.95 for Road Runner anyway, and if you add in the phone bill and the long distance phone charges on top of that it came out to a whole lot more than $95.00.

We have had Digital Phone Service now for several months and we are very happy with it. There are many different Digital Phone Services available, see what you have in your area, sign up for it and dump your long distance carrier. You save money and be much happier!

The Chronicles of Narnia

The Chronicles of Narnia

I just got home from seeing the Chronicles of Narnia and have to write about it. What an awesome movie! Disney was taking a chance with a cast of unknowns, but they pulled it off. Having read all seven books several times, I had visions of what Narnia would look like in my head. Today when I saw the movie I was amazed to find that Narnia looked exactly like what I expected it to.

My vote for the best performances go to Georgie Henley, who did a wonderful job as sweet Lucy; and Tilda Swinton who potrayed the cold-hearted White Witch. The cinematography and visual effects were great as well. Filmed in New Zealand the countryside makes a spectacular backdrop for the movie. Director, Andrew Adamson (of Shrek and Shrek 2) did a fantastic job. Liam Neeson was the voice of Ashlan and may very well be the only name you recognize in the credits.

Speaking of the credits -- don't be in a hurry to get up and rush out of the theater as soon as the credits appear on the screen, because there is still a little more to come. One final scene kept the audience standing in the aisle and stopped the mass exodus from the full house. I can't wait for the sequels, you know it's not going to end there. If you never read the books the movie was complete in itself, but for those of you who are in the know...there is still much more to come!

I highly recommend this movie as a must see. I only hope that the Christian symbolism is not lost in all the excitement. The movie is rated PG but some of the battle scenes may be a little scary for real young children. Narnia is a combination family film and action-adventure thriller. I totally loved the move!

Watch trailer here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/thechroniclesofnarnia/

This is Not a Holiday Tree

I received this via e-mail and do not know who it originated from...but I love it.

This is a Christmas tree. It is not a Hanukkah bush, it is not an Allah plant, it is not a Holiday hedge. It is a Christmas tree. Say it... CHRISTmas , CHRISTmas , CHRISTmas Yes. CHRISTmas - celebrating the Birth of Jesus Christ!!! If this offends you...too bad. Get over it.

Take a stand and pass this on !!

Surfing and Lurking While Working

Surfing and Lurking While Working

I have come to the conclusion that bloggers are great at multi-tasking! Just stop by Blog Explosion any time of the day or night and you will find several regulars hanging out in the Shout Box chatting away. Many of the people there are at work and are lurking while working! They drop in from time to time to chat with their Shout Box Buddies or keep an eye on the exciting FRENZY game that pops up every few minutes.

If you don't know what a FRENZY is then you need to stop by Blog Explosion and find out. It's a great game and really easy to play, all you have to do is select A or B when it pops up and you can win credits, it's a 50/50 chance of winning with nothing to lose!

I am at work right now as I write this post. Here are just a few of the things I am doing simultaniously.

• Working - my job is webmaster for our radio station's five websites, I am also Assistant to General Manager, and Assistant to National Sales Manager
• Posting entries to several different blogs
• Checking my email at work and home
• Chatting in the Blog Explosion Shout Box
• Surfing websites at Blog Explosion to earn credits and cash in Christmas contest
• Keeping an eye on Shout Box Frenzy so I can earn credits when game pops up
• Playing Battle of the Blogs at Blog Explosion to earn credits
  
• Listing my blog on Blog Rocket at Blog Explosion to attract visitors
• Visiting other blogs at Blog Rocket to earn mystery credits and read other blogs

The list goes on and on, but I really must get back to work. You get the idea. If you want to learn how to become a great muti-tasker -- start blogging! If you want to have fun blogging and meet other wonderful bloggers -- Join Blog Explosion, it's FREE and lots of FUN!

If you are surfing and lurking while working, leave me a comment, I'll visit your blog in return and leave a comment.

There Ain't No Santa Claus

(This is a poem my mother wrote many years ago, in honor of my mom's memory I am posting it here today since this is the Christmas Season. We miss you mom, Christmas just isn't the same since you have been gone.)

There Ain't No Santa Claus

By: Clarice Clark

When I was ten, my Mama said,

"You're old enough, my child, to know

There ain't no Santa Claus,

Your Pa and me are very poor,

We can't afford no toys.

There'll by no baby doll for you,

And no cars for the boys."

I left for school that day

Feeling very bad.

My teacher saw my tears,

And asked,

"Why are you so sad?"

I told her what my Ma had said

She didn't seem surprised.

She sat me down, and dried my tears,

Then looked me in the eyes.

"Your Ma is right," she told me,

"Santa is not real.

He's a spirit, don't you see?

A loving, giving spirit,

That lives in you and me.

And Christmas isn't just a day

For getting lots of toys

It's for celebrating Jesus' birth

And peace for all upon the earth."

Well, Christmas morning came around,

A knock came at our door.

There stood teacher, loaded down,

With packages galore.

She said,"I live upon the hill

With neither kith nor kin,

I thought I'd spend the day with you,

If you'll just ask me in."

She had a gift for Ma and Pa,

And race cars for the boys,

But best of all a baby doll,

And several other toys.

I hugged my doll, and went to Ma,

And whispered in her ear.

Then I spoke out loud and clear

For everyone to hear.

"Now tell me Ma,

You still believe

There ain't no Santa Claus"?

Self-Destruct Text Messaging

Self-Destruct Text Messaging

Here's a cool invention, just like Mission Impossible. Staellium, a British company, has come up with a way to have text messages sent from cell phones to self-destruct 40 seconds after they are read! What will they think of next?

Read the full article here.

Kate Moss: Style Icon of 2005?

Kate Moss : Style Icon of 2005 ?

Model, actress, drunk, cocaine addict, nymphomaniac; these are just a few of the things you might find on Kate's resume. Now she can add "Style Icon of 2005" to her list of accomplishments.

I just don't get it, what's the attraction? To me she looks like an anorexic, burnt out model; yet Grazia Magazine has voted her the Style Icon of 2005.

I'd like to hear from you. Do you think she is a trendsetter in the fashion industry and worthy of the title Style Icon of 2005?

Please leave a comment.