Pee Wee's influence

Pee Wee's influence
Originally uploaded by bat-a-ray.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank my Dad for 'exposing' my son to Pee Wee's Playhouse.

Now, I can be in the kitchen, tending leftovers when from the other room I hear my son exclaim "I HEAR FOIL!!".

Again, thanks for that.
I wasn't THAT bad of a kid was I???

How do YOU play?

Tonight, I went over to my buddy, Lizard's, to play Scrabble with him and our friend Jen. Liz and I occasionally play, and have recently included her.

Now, when it's just the two of us, we follow normal rules. But when Jen plays, it's her rules.
The thing that messes me up is the fact that she plays that you can reuse bonus squares after they have been used once.
Of course, it increases the point possibilies, but to me it just seems weird.

Has anyone else played this way?

Getcher geek on.........getcher geek on............

Ok, so, that'd be more impressive if Nelly Furtado was actually singing it. But you get the point.

I thought I'd go away from my normal posts and do something fun:blog about my weekly D&D session.

There are five of us, six if you include our,(Dungeon Master, or God for lack of a better term) DM's 12 year old son that sits in with us now and then. And we have two different bands.
Our main group, which we affectionately refer to as "The Good Group" has a Dwarf Druid (funny, he doesn't LOOK Druish) (my character), a human cleric, Greg (praise Ilmater), an Elvin Ranger, and a Human Rogue. Then there's the sometimes Barbarian Fighter.

Then, there's our other group, or "The Evil Group" which we play when our Cleric friend cannot join us.
This group allows our DM to play a character, a Monk, and our "Good Group" Ranger to fill in as DM.

Otherwise, we have a Half-Orc fighter (me) and our Wizard. We usually get our asses kicked by some form of lower level beastie as we don't have a cleric in our midst to help with the healing process (praise Ilmater).

Tonight, was our "Evil Group" and we were joined our 12 year olds character, a Halfling Thief. Basically, a throwing aid to my Half-Orc, "Hey Monk! GO LONG".

Anyway, tonight was basically a chance for the three of us, sans Halfling, to heal from our last battle,divvy treasure, more healing, upgrade armourment, and oh yea:did I mention heal?

We did, however, have the opportunity to begin a new leg of our adventure where the first creature we encountered, was a shambling mound.

Of course, being the courageous fighter that my character is, Karn decided to rush this foul creature and rend it dead "D-E-D, DEAD!". Well, it went well for a few hits of his double headed axe.
But then it was the mounds turn. And guess what, in what would have been an epic battle between Hero and monster, this bushkilled my character.
Imagine my embarrassment by having been bested by a shrubbery! The horror!
And to add insult to injury, our wizard fired a magic missile into the mound setting it ablaze. NOW I was not only bested by a bush, but now being hovered over by a FLAMING BUSH. (I'll wait for the adolescent audience to stop giggling over the suggestive nature of my last sentence).

Suffice to say, the green fiend was beaten by the others in our group, and Karn was revived to fight another day.

Next week I wouldn't be surprised if I get attacked by a stick.

btw:praise Ilmater

Anything to save a buck

I've noticed that automotive makers have taken another step in cutting down the cost of their vehicles in order to increase sales. What is this 'money saving' thing?
Selling cars with optional turn-signals.

Back in the day, muscle cars were everywhere, until raising gas prices forced auto makers to create more fuel efficient cars and trucks.

Then they wanted to make a safer vehicle, so steel was substituted with plastic skins over a steel substructure.

Now, in an effort to make things even MORE inexpensive, it seems that now we have a choice whether or not our cars and trucks come with working turn signals!

I know you've seen em! They're easy to pick out:they surprise you at the last minute before making either a lane change or turn around the corner.

These cars and trucks must be geared towards the elderly, knowing that our senior citizens are on a mostly fixed income. Although I've never seen such an ad, they must be being played at a time when I am not watching television. Either that, or they've tuned into the frequency of America's hearing aid populous.

So, the next time you slam on the breaks so you don't hit that 'blue-hair' because they've come to a complete stop, and then turned, applaud our automotive manufacturers for their continuing endeavor to supply us with cheaper transportation.

C'mon, don't be shy!

I've been blogging for just over a year now, and while I've had a lot of visits to my site, I've received only a smattering of comments.

Now, either my entries are really uninteresting, or people just don't know what to say!

I've noticed a few 'reciprocating visits' which I appreciate very much!
But, for you other 'hit-and-runners', don't be shy! Say something! Let me know you care! ;)

Always use your brain for good, not evil

Sometimes, you just can't make this stuff up.

During my groups D&D sessions, we can come up with some very entertaining dialogs and situations that make our DM cringe.

One example was when we encountered an Otyugh protecting a horde of treasure in a shallow pool of water. How were we to coax it out to lay claim to this bounty?
After some debate on who would be the bait to draw this beast out, our Rogue remembered he had a grappling hook and length of silken rope,(strong stuff).

In a nutshell, we ended up "fishing for Otyugh" as we hooked the creature, and teamed up to pull it from it's vantage point. Hooray! Gold for everyone!

Probably one of the better instances, created the epitome of all that ends in one holding their head in anguish.

(As read by the DM) "Upon searching the now abandoned castle, you come upon a room that appears to be used for worship. At the other end of this room, you spy a Dais.".

Rogue- "A what?"
DM- "A Dais".
Ranger- "What's a 'Dais'?"
DM- "It's like a raised part leading to an alter. Like small steps"
Cleric- "So why not just tell us it's 'small steps'?"
DM- "That's what it says in the module."
Dwarf- "Wouldn't it just be easier to refer to it in terms we know?"
DM- "Can I continue or what?!"
Group- "Fine."
DM- "You can see something sitting on the Dais."
Rogue- "I check for traps and move closer to see what it is."
DM- "You see that it's a stone with an elaborately carved pattern on it's surface"
Cleric- "So, it's a rock."
DM- "No, it's a stone."
Ranger- "On the Dais?"
DM- "Yes. Upon the Dais."
Dwarf- "A rock, upon the Dais?"
DM- "YES! A ROCK UPON THE DAIS!!"
Group, singing- "On the Dais on the DAIS........On the Dais on the DAIS........"

Sing it with me now!



I have the feeling it'll be a few weeks before our DM has regained any sense of sanity in order to continue our adventure.

*on a personal note, I much prefer the version "Eat me I'm a Danish".

Insomnia sux

Ok, so, I have to be up for work in less than six hours............
Somebody puh-LEEZE pass the NyQuil

"Animal" in training

Last year, my eldest son got into band.
His first choice was to play the drums, of course,(which also entails playing the xylophone/bells). And why not?
It's cool! It's loud! It gets all the chicks! Oh wait, that part doesn't come for another (gawd I hope) several years.
But, children are required to have three years prior piano training to be able to play the drum(s). So he went with the trumpet.
He did pretty well, even though he didn't put much effort into it.

This year, however, he got his wish.
Seems that at the end of the school year, two students chose to play a wind instrument instead of percussion. This created two, count em TWO openings, which my boy quickly jumped at the chance.

Being as how two spots were created, the aforementioned requirement was waived and he got right in.

So now, he's happy.
He gets to drive his mother (and step-dad) and me crazy while banging the day away on his little drum.

However, myself growing up a musician and self-proclaimed 'metal head', I think it's great!
I've known some drummers in my time, and am happy to be able to share what little knowledge I have about drumming.

"Ok, so, take the drumsticks between your index and middle knuckle."

"Yea? Now what?"

"Slightly move your fingers back and forth in a rhythmic style."

"Say what?"

"See? Isn't this cool?! This is how to twirl your drumsticks!"

"You're a dork, Dad."

"No!No! This will get you all the chicks! You just twirl one stick while playing the beat with the other one! It rocks!"

"Would you mind leaving my room now? I have to practice."

"Ok, but try it with both hands at the same time. You can do that while you are in between sections."

"Don't you have somewhere to be, Dad?"

It never fails. You try to teach your children important life lessons, and all they do is shut you out.

He is doing really well at both the drumming and xylophone though.
And it seems as though since he got the instrument he really wanted, he may go very far with it.

I hope so. If he does REALLY well and keeps with it, I may go as far as to get him his very own set of drums. But don't tell him that!

sing along! you know the words!

For years, I went by my nickname,Bill (short for William), and it's become somewhat of a running gag with Dave to bring back fond memories of that old Schoolhouse Rocks classic, "I'm Just a Bill".
So without further ado, in honor of my good friends sense of humour (and the fact that I need something to blog about), I submit the following:sing it brother!

I'm just a bill.
Yes, I'm only a bill.
And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill.
Well, it's a long, long journey
To the capital city.
It's a long, long wait
While I'm sitting in committee,
But I know I'll be a law some day
At least I hope and pray that I will
But today I am still just a bill.

not sure about the legalities, but I offer props to the Schoolhouse Rock site

..........know when to fold em

Ok, so, I've posted rants about online dating in the past, and at the risk of beating a dead horse, I offer up the following that I hope will be the last time I have to say anything on the topic.

Online dating is a farce.
Situations are created by a lack of being able to detect one's motive or actions solely based on what you read in those little chat box. Case in point:

I'd decided I'd send a 'flirt' to a gal on a site primarily based on her proximity to me.
Yea, she was easy on the eyes, which didn't make it a hard decision, but the fact that she was only an hour away made me throw caution to the wind and extend the hand of friendship.
Upon chatting, we seemed to hit it off pretty well.
She has a wonderful sense of humour, and got my personality quite nicely.

We found out that we were both looking for the same thing:meeting someone nice, that didn't live too far from us in the hopes of finding "everlasting love". (ok...I think I threw up in my mouth just a little bit)

Because of her living arrangements, she could only get one weekend a month to herself, which I figured "ok...............", and was willing to roll with it.

*note:it would be about a month before we could even think of meeting in person

Within the first week or so of chatting, she told me she was taking her profile off of the site we'd met on, and made a rather large mention of it.
I thought it was kinda sweet and decided I'd follow suit. I'd was in the process of deleting my profiles off the various sites I'd had, but hadn't gotten around to this one yet.

So another week or so goes by, and things were getting kinda hectic for me, which would make getting online to chat with her tricky, so I'd sent her a message (as she wasn't online at the time) telling her I'd be offline for a few days.

That weekend, out of boredom or something, I decided to go back to the site and do just a basic search. Call it sadistic curiosity.
Upon getting the results, I noticed that she had put up a new profile 'in search of dating'. hmmmmm

I thought about it a bit, and decided "ok, this gal is playing with me, and I don't do mind games".

I then decided to call her on it by sending what would end up being an offline message (as again she wasn't online) basically stating that I was confused by why she would resubmit a profile and I wasn't about to compete for her "one weekend dating window". So I wished her well and signed off.

A few days passed, and while online, she messaged me.
She said I was trippin' and the only reason she put a profile back up was due to the fact that she hadn't heard from me for a few days and decided I'd either met someone or just wasn't interested in her any longer. hmmmmmmmmmm.

*note:hadn't I sent her a message stating I wouldn't be online for a few days?

Whatever. Maybe she hadn't gotten that message as sometimes messenger services lose messages. Ok. I can buy that one. So, once again, she took her profile off the dating site, without my even asking mind you.

So we chatted for the next week, and once again, I wasn't going to be online for a few days, which I let her know, (this time during a chat).

Well, turned out, I ended up being online (not in a sneaky way or anything. It just ended up that I wasn't doing what I thought I would be doing to prevent me from being online for the weekend).

So, once again, due to morbid curiosity, I did a basic search on that site and guess what? Yep, her profile was right back where it was before.

Ya know that old adage "fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me."?

This time, I sent her a basic "thanks for playin' the home game" salute all the time wondering "why is it I ALWAYS pick the whack jobs??".
Because it seems that mostly people that are lonely, pathetic, jobless, carless, and basically social misfits spend their time in online dating sites.

And yes, I realize I fit into that category somewhere, so please don't accuse me of being a hypocrit. That subject is for another entry.

So this time I get a message from her saying that I'm the one that's trippin' and how she doesn't need someone like me playin' games. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

So I ask you:do I trip over nothing, or am I better than reading a woman's actions better than I'd ever given myself credit for?

All I know is that while some people think that online dating is the 'way of the future', I have found through trial and error, (resulting mostly in error), that unless both people have an understanding of each other, it ain't gonna work.

People have to be able to read one another and trying to do that in a little box through typed conversation can not and will not work.

Just go back to dating the way it was meant to be done:find a woman you like, bonk her on the head and drag her back to your cave.

Some days are good.......some bad

This Memorial Day weekend, some friends from High School had invited me for their annual camping/boating weekend.
They chose a local some distance from where we live and have a self-contained "men's camping trip", and this year I'd planned on going.

They'd approached me last year, but as I had my children, combined with the fact that I'm an inexperienced camper, I declined.

As the weekend excursion neared, plans were being formulated and it was sounding like a good time.

Greg and Dave had taken their home built canoes and engineered them into a catamaran setup that proved to be entertaining, at least, to watch them sail.

Sonny and Darin would join them with canoe/kayak in tow and I would bring my kayak.

Camping would be on an "island" set up in North West Wisconsin.

I'd finalized my preporations and had my car packed and ready to go after a quick nap after work. But my decision to go would be influenced.

I found out that a local friend of mine shot and killed himself that morning.

In itself, that news was troubling. But the rumour that accompanied it was even moreso.

I shouldn't go into it, as being just a rumour, it's best not to fuel such a beast.

Needless to say, the circumstances surrounding his past few months closely mirrored my own during the breakdown of my marriage. And news of his end brought back memories of the choices I'd made some six years ago.

There surely will be future trips to go on, and I hope that my friends will understand my choice not to join them.

Rest in peace G.
Rest in peace.

TWO! TWO! TWO posts in ONE!

Today, a couple things happened that prompted me to make a combined post, as alone, neither one would fill up too much space.

FIRST:
It's official; I am an asshole! (pause for uproarious applause).
Since my taking a coordinating position, some of my co-workers have been less than pleased. But today was my first "direct experience".

I'd walked into the breakroom before first bell to get my daily caffeine boost.
Later, even before first break, a gal that still talks to me told this to me:
"(name withheld) said you were being an asshole."
"Say huh?"
"When you walked in this morning, I commented 'Raymond doesn't look too happy today."
"And?"
"(name withheld) said 'Oh, he's been an asshole lately.'"
"I have?"
"That's what she said. I wanted to ask her if there was a side of you that I had missed this week!".

So, basically, this woman's view of me has been tainted by the fact that I've accepted a position that may or may not even work out. But whatever.
Unfortunately, the position will NOT allow me to write disciplinary warnings. rats.


As for my second subject, my ex-wife's grandfather passed away last night.
She called this morning to let me know (as she'd been keeping me apprised of his health), and to let me know about visitation and the funeral.

The visitation happens to land on a day that I have our boys.
She asked if I would forfeit the time so they could go to the visitation with the rest of the family. Of course, I said yes.
She then offered tonight as time with them. Again, of course, I said yes.

About an hour before my scheduled return time, she called, asking if I'd mind dropping them off at her grandmother's house, as that's where they'd be.
By the end of our short conversation, I got the feeling she was wanting them earlier than I was to bring them back. I 'called her' on it, to find that I was right.
I offered 1/2 hour earlier, as we were just finishing supper, and thus allowing the boys to have some "down time" before heading back.

Now, since our divorce, I've been overly accommodating to her requests, sacrificing my time with the children.
I didn't feel this an arbitrary request, so we left early to take them back to their mother.

Hers is a large family, and it seemed they were all there.
Mind you, I was a part of this family for nearly nine years.

We pulled up, and she popped out, walking the boys over to her car so they could put their personal belongings away.

As I pulled away, I asked her when the visitation was again.
"Thursday" she said, hesitantly.
"What time?" I asked politely.
"Well........." she began,"It's from five until eight. But it'd be appreciated if you didn't show up."
As she said this in front of our children, I simply said "ok" and "see ya tomorrow" to the boys.

What pisses me off is that first off, who the hell requested I not even go to the visitation??
I was part of this family for over eight years, got along famously with the now passed on grandfather, had gone to her cousins wake a few years ago,(in which her aunt and cousins sister BOTH hugged me at once), bent over backwards to make her life easier, and am now being asked not to pay my respects??
wft??

I understand that there remains friction between myself and my ex-wife (mostly caused by her inability to not only grow the hell up, but move on from the past) and her parents, who happen to be a drunk and a control fiend, (oh yes......it's all on now kids), but the rest of her family is more than cordial when we happen upon one another. Some of her family STILL doesn't understand why the hell she left me for some ancient,decrepit ex-cop (oh wait.............retired cop pension) who played with popular band back in the early 70's.
WAKE UP PEOPLE! He played with the group for a month................that's probably 2-3 gigs at most!!

But I digress.............

The fact is that a member of my previous extended family has passed away, and will be missed.
May he rest in peace, and his widow carry on with strength in family.

Gloom, despair, and agony on.........................

Not me!

After going on ten years, the company I work for is rearranging the internal infrastructure (the CEO's wording, not mine), and I've been asked to take on a product coordination position. It will mean even more responsibility and a higher pay rate.

Hooray.

My posting is not for congratulatory comments from my fan (lol), but to speak on the narrow mindedness I have to deal with in my co-workers.

About two weeks ago, the CEO approached me on the shop floor with his thinking I would be an asset in the newly created position. He told me a bit of what it would entail, and asked me to think about it for the next week or so, and then we could meet again and talk further. (cue leering looks from co-workers as if to say "I wonder what's going on with Raymond")

The following week, the CEO asked to meet with me in the office, where we spent about fifteen minutes talking more about the new direction he was wanting to take management. (cue more judging eyes)

I'd said I'd thought about it and it seemed a viable idea and may be willing to undertake such a daunting and daring task. (He's kinda laid back, and I can speak with him in this manner)

This was on a Thursday. By the next morning, rumours began to circulate that I was the new Supervisor. The thing that pisses me off is not that people jumped to their own conclusions about my meeting with the bigwig himself, but that now, the people I'd worked along side of for many years, joked with, been out to drinks with and other small gatherings, were now not speaking to me. On top of that, there was a certain silent belligerence whenever I was in the area. wtf.
Only a couple of people actually had the tenacity to approach me with the rumour, asking if it was true or not (not that I'd tell them as ours was a confidential meeting), and the two people that I am closest with still, were privy to comments like "well, HE doesn't know everything" and "no matter WHO had that position, we aren't going to work with them".
I'm not a hard guy to get along with, really. T

The fact that a large percentage of the workforce happens to be older females fuels the setup for having a lot of gossip occurring on the shop floor. It's a wonder we get anything done at all!
I mean, if they aren't surmising how much someone makes compared to them, they're attacking the work ethics of another.
I say, you'd better look in the mirror before you point your finger at someone else.

Over the weekend, I thought about what had transpired by the resulting treatment and comments/sudden silence and decided that the new position wouldn't be worth the effort. Besides, management has commented that I'm probably the most efficient person they've had in the position I hold right now.

Monday came, and still the scorn continued. But I held my chin up as always and just did what I was supposed to do.
People were even more silent than before, if that's at all possible. And Tuesday wasn't much better.

That night, after collecting my thoughts, I wrote a very professional letter to the CEO respectfully declining his offer and gave key generalities as to my decision.

Today, the CEO was scheduled to come to the plant and was planning on announcing the revamped personnel. He also was given my letter of intent.

Of course, he wanted to meet with me. (cue the gossip lines!).
He said, "I read your letter, which by the way, was one of the more professional letters I've read," (cue self patting of back), "but, at this time, your request is denied".
Say which?
He continued,"After reading your letter, I realized that I've got the right guy for the job".
Really?

Over the next hour,which I'm sure was just driving the masses CRAZY with speculations, he and I chatted about my concerns that there has been no discipline for those who just arbitrarily leave work, using vacation time, when they run out of work in their own department and don't want to go to another, and other management concerns.

In the end, I think we came to a mutual understanding and respect that should allow for going forward in his new vision.

Afterwards, he had a plant meeting in which he announced productivity in the company, his new idea for improving communication, quality, and hopefully promoting growth of the company.
Then came the announcement followed by what I found to be an inspirational speech on how he was NOT going to put up with gossip, innuendos, and the general lackadaisical attitude that had been going on.
He reminded them (I avoid saying "us" because I'm the victim here!) how they are adults and not junior high kids and should conduct themselves accordingly.

That was brilliant, in my view.

So it will be a few more weeks before implementing the big change, and while I'm still nervous as to the "in's and out's" of what my new enhanced job will be, I embrace the challenge it invokes.

Without change, we eventually curl up and die.

Needless to say, I've requested, and probably will be getting a cattle prod.

you like me! you REEEEEELLY like me!

Ok, so, I've ranted about online dating before.
I've also ranted about how there are entities that get hold of your email addy, mostly Yahoo addy, and solicit you in the form of a Russian woman that woos you until the day she asks for money for a visa to come visit you and spend the rest of your lives happily ever after.

Well, this is another along the lines of the latter, due to the fact that I've been "entertained" by another lovely lass.

As always, it starts out innocently enough:you receive an email from a Russian woman, seemingly in their mid twenties.
They will speak of how poor of a lifestyle they have (even though the young woman is dressed in 'today's finest'), they've lost one or both of their parents,they work for mere peanuts a day, but somehow have come acrossed your profile and just HAD to write.

Within a few emails (even if you DON'T respond, they still write as if a dialog has been opened!), they start to fall in love. By this time, they've enclosed a picture here and there of themselves. Nothing pornographic (yet), but just a lovely picture of said woman amongst some trees, flowers, on the beach, or holding their beloved pet.

Now, I've gotten such emails. Several over the past few years,but the latest created a sense in me that makes me feel somewhat unsafe online (see above picture).
This time, the woman in question not only sends me two pics of her naked, which by they way the pictured girl has BOOMIN' body, but sends me this picture of proof that she is real.

While I have no doubt that this girl is a real girl, somewhere, one can clearly see somethings not quite right with the paper. wtf.

Why do people feel the need to prey on us single, lonely, and usually horny men for a few hundred dollars?
Why do they feel the need to use the fact that Russian (and Asian) women are among the most beautiful women in the world for minimal monetary gain?

Yes, I find both Russian and Asian women very beautiful.
That doesn't mean I want some anonymous pictures and sweet words from someone I will never meet!
I'm not that pathetic.

some mornings it DOES pay to chew through the straps.........

Ok, so, unfortunately, this is going to be a posting on my ex.
But, for me at least, it's just so priceless that I gotta share.

This coming week, I am watching my children,(basic day to day parent stuff) so my ex and her husband can go to Chicago for a vacation.
They were going to go to Las Vegas, but their flight was cancelled.

ANYway, I'd left work the other day with the daycare provider I use (and sometimes she did) what the upcoming schedule would be. I had to leave word with a worker, as the "boss" wasn't available. Today after work, I had a message to call them for verification.

Turns out that the "boss" wanted to know who was going to be responsible for billing of that week. I told her that I was being as how I was going to have the kids 'for' my ex.
She said "Oh, ok then."
After chatting a bit more (as I'm on good standing with the daycare peeps), I found out that my ex hasn't paid a rather large daycare bill in over a year. Furthermore, she was told, to her face apparently, she was not allowed to bring the boys to that daycare anymore.

I know I should be more than over my ex, and I pretty much am.
It's just when I hear shit like this it makes me laugh.

Open up and say "aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh................."

Don't ya just love it when someone unsuspectingly sets them up for a fall and you just happen to be paying attention?
Here's the scene:
I went to a co-workers house last evening for 'Taco Tuesday', and several others showed up. I won't mention names, but Dick just happens to be one of the names..................

At the end of the evening, after Dick and his gf left, a guy that started at the factory only a few months ago, and just happened to be sought after by a recent 25 year old separated woman (that happened to be there also), opened himself up to the muther of embarrassing moments.

In front of us all, especially the girl that was hot to trot for his bod, said, "I like Dick".
That's right people, he said it. And before he could follow up his statement with something like "He's an ok guy", I stepped in with the following comeback:"Bet ya didn't know THAT", as I looked at the gal.
She turned BEET red, as did he, but he was laughing so hard he almost shot his drink out of his nose.

I love it when people do shit like that.

Cats.......WTF

Today's posting is inspired by Kato,
but taken in a different direction.

As he had recently had an experience with suspiscous animals, I too recently had an encounter that was both curious and frightening.

The other night, as I made my was from my garage to my house, I noticed a cat sitting on the next door neighbors back steps.
This caught my attention as my next door neighbor doesn't have a cat.

Even odder was the fact that as I moved acrossed my pathway, the cat's head turned as it watched me walk, giving me a foreboding feeling that I could be it's next meal.

If I may take the time to interject an observation here, I wonder:ya ever notice how cat food commercials talk about "flavours cats crave" such as tuna and beef?
Beef..........yeah......cat's crave beef.....I can't TELL ya how many times I've been cruising through the country side, past an open plain and have observed a bunch of cats tearing acrossed the field taking out an Angus.............

Now, as this was merely a house cat, and usually not to be given a second thought, the way this feline kept it's gaze fixated on me was kinda creepy. I even went as far as to stop, lock gaze with it, take a few steps back, a few steps forward, a few steps back.....you get the picture.
All the while I was doing this, this cat watched my every move as though it was priming itself for a pounce.

Having some Druidic tendancies, and communing with nature, I even went as far as to drop to one knee, as to invite said kitty to come over for a pet. But this cat would have nothing to do with pleasantries. OH NO! He was content to add to my already growing daily paranoia, mocking me as I offered kindness to it.

This brings me to my point that cats are simply evil incarnate.
They do what they want, when they want, and with/to whom they want.
EVERYTHING is of their mindset.

So remember this the next time you are at the pound looking for a pet.
Do you want to spend time with an animal that considers YOU the pet?
Or would you be happy with a slobbering drooling poop machine?

For me, it's a no-brainer:go with a turtle.......they already come with their own casket!

A star is born

Last night was my youngest boy's (third grade) Spring musical program.
It was titled "Who Pushed Humpty" and was a light hearted murder mystery.
In the end, the audience decides who of the four suspects is guilty, which turned out to be a surprise to the actors and teacher!

I love going to watch my children's performances. The plays/musicals are always entertaining and all of the children are a delight to behold.

Now, MY little boy is a tad on the entertainingside as he gets rather animated while singing, or while others are singing.
Nothing embarrassing or out of line mind you, but it's still fun to watch him really get into the music while not too many around him do the same.

After missing the first few years of their school life (which I've mentioned the reasons here before, so I won't rehash them), it's a joy to be able to experience this part of my kids' lives.

Austin the Scientist

Austin the Scientist
Originally uploaded by bat-a-ray.

This year was Austin's first Science Fair.
He chose to show how plants (in this case flowers)get water.

We got some carnations, cups, water (of course) and food colouring.
It was especially exciting for me as his Dad to actually be able to be involved as he kept the experiment at my house.

In essence, we started four flowers over four days to see the effects of how long it would take the coloured water to make it's way up the stem to the petals.

In addition to having a display, he and his fellow students gave presentations at class.

He received an "A" which makes me additionally impressed as it's nice to see your children succeed.

I can't wait for his future endeavors.

Exes can be SO much fun......

As previously posted, I'm divorced. And I'm sure there are a bunch of you that can relate to the joys of dealing with an ex-spouse especially if one or more of the following are present: there are children involved thus giving actual reason for dealing with said ex, and my personal fave;if the divorce was a messy one.

During what turned out to be the latter part of our relation, it became increasingly impossible to carry on a conversation with the ex due to the fact that what ever came out of my mouth, was wrong in her eyes. Even if I was using logic (which appearantly was against the rules), or making a valid point, I was wrong.
As a result, I developed a "delete" button in the middle of my forehead, (which is easily accessible by slapping oneself with an open palm), which, to this day, I use when I have something that I need to discuss with her.

But the other day, something arouse so disgusting and revolting, that I had to physically prevent my hand from raising about my shoulder.
What could be so dispicible you ask? According to my older son, his mother, my ex, was using what could only be defined by the words "pack your bags, we're GOIN on a guilt trip!".

It seems that her husbands children are coming for a week long visit. They have Spring Break while our two still have school.
On Tuesday, our older son has his weekly scheduled, after school, school sanctioned, reader promoting, activity session, which lasts for an hour. This week is the last one for not only the year, but next year he won't even be eligible (middle school does not offer such a program).

The conflict comes in that while while the other kids are here, Aus (our boy) will miss out on ONE FREAKING HOUR of time with his step-siblings.
Aus really wants to go, as he should. He works hard on his reading and the elementary school set this session up for those excelling in reading. But all his mother sees is that he'll miss out on sixty minutes of what would end up being "video game" time.

But that's not the worst part. What I say next will most likely send a shiver down the spine of any normal, sensible parent, nay, human being.
According to Aus, when he told his mother that he really wanted to go, she said, and I'm quoting an 11 year old here:"If you do go, (her husband) will be upset and think that you don't like his kids". I'll pause for the weak.

Can you believe it?? A grown woman, ok, grown in age only, using emotional blackmail on not only an eleven year old child, but HER eleven year old child!

Now as I've said in the past, she is a very hard woman to talk with.
But how can I NOT talk to her about it? Even though going in I know what the result will be, I still have to confront her on behalf of MY son.
And for those "devils advocates" out there, no, he wouldn't make up a story like that.