Farewell

Well - it seems Facebook has won. I spend more time wasting time on FB and Twitter than I do here, so this will be my last musing on blogspot.

Thanks to my loyal readers (is anyone left?) and see you on Facebook...

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Happy Anniversary...

Well, I've been awake since 2:30am, and since I have nothing better to do, I figured I would write something here.

After what can best be described as the worst year of my life, I thought I would be able to close the book on lying awake in the early morning, wondering where everything went so wrong. I have come to the conclusion that despite it all, I am grateful for my marriage - for without it, I would not have quite so many people in my life that mean so much to me.

The people that became part of my family 14 years ago have blessed me in ways they can never understand. The 3 boys that are a direct result of my marriage mean everything to me. My daughter, who stuck with me through thick and thin - and sometimes got the worst of it from me - is still there with me and I love her more than ever.

As I wallowed in self-pity, I realized that I've really got everything, despite thinking that I'd lost everything. For that, I thank every one of you, and I love you all. You know who you are...

And in the end, what exactly DID I lose? Not much - certainly nothing worth lying awake over.

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What do you think?

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists, et al:

We have stuck together since the late 1950's, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has run its course.. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.

Here is a proposal for a separation agreement:
Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.

We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell (You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them).

We'll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have your beloved celebrities, drugged-out rock stars, hippies and illegal aliens. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, Ted Nugent fans and rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and God and give you NBC and Hollywood.

We'll keep the Gulf Refineries, Texas, and Alaska, since you think fossil fuels are the scourge of the earth; and we'll drill in deep water as much as we please. You enjoy powering your cities with windmills.

You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security. YOU are on your own.

We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism, Bhuddism, Atheism, Paganism, and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N. but we will no longer be paying the bill.

We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Prius and Smart Car you can find.

You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We'll continue to believe healthcare is earned and not a stipend to be handed down or dictated. We'll keep Dixie,The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute Imagine, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya or We Are the World. If you like country music, then you're welcome to keep the Dixie Chicks.

We'll practice trickle down economics and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot. Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.

As far as custody goes, we'll welcome anyone in your half that shares our beliefs and believes in rights to join us. Be warned, though, that we reserve the right to close our borders without apologies.

Would you agree to this?

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Facebook will be the death of us all

Wow - since I started using Facebook on every device imaginable, I have seriously neglected this blog. I can't imagine that Google is happy about that, but microblogging is more fun than maintaining this, twitter, facebook, linkedin, and whatever other crap I have forgotten about.

I suppose it's time to start to "pick one" and go with it. But - here's the rationale for all of this:

Facebook: Just fun. I have run into people I hadn't seen in decades on FB. I don't farm, mafia or balloonwars or whatever else. No one but my friends can see my crap. It's my KIT tool... Also runs on my Blackberry and iPhone.

LinkedIn: My professional connections - but really not so much any more. Facebook has sort of supplanted this - IDK if that's good or bad...

Twitter: This keeps my rants and raves during races and Longhorns football games off of Facebook. You don't want to know how many times I run out of API calls during these events. By the way - I am "bevo_fan" on Twitter, and am at present open to all...

Blogger: Well, this blog was created here, and is stored here - but is ALSO on Facebook.

The question begs: Do I need Blogger or LinkedIn? I could argue that without my constant updates and new data, Google my revoke my gmail, latitude and voice accounts, but I'm pretty sure they won't. I'm just not that interesting.

How much of your life is online? Which of these idiotic time wasters do you use?

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So you wanna drive a race car....

Danica Patrick. Wow. Hot. Sweet.

I am not sure about the whole "I wanna drive a race car" thing though. I have a lot of respect for her. She is a talented driver. In an Indy car. Here's the thing...

She drives a 1500 pound car that generates 5,000 pounds of downforce. It's built to stick to anything it goes fast on. Itty bitty (dare I say cute?) steering wheel, unreal handling. Not that anyone can drive it - it definitely takes skill I don't have, BUT-

Now, put her in a rolling brick. No discipline, not designed (per se) to stick to anything. Think of it like this: Walk down a flight of stairs in summer with that sandpaper stuff on it wearing brand new running shoes. Now - walk down the same flight of stairs in 20 degrees with 2" of solid ice on them, no handrail - wearing 6" pumps. I've never worn 6" pumps - and I wouldn't try.

Some of the best in the business say that you should pick one series or the other. Juan Pablo Montoya is a rock star in both cars - but not at the same time.

I am not hating... I hope she turns into a rock star for NASCAR. The sport could use some more drive, raw determination, and some one who HATES second place. It wouldn't be terrible to see her in Victory Lane. Imagine what the interviews would be like... Sorry Alan Bestwick, but Danica needs to be interviewed by Jamie Little - every time. I think I love THAT scenario...

Best of luck Danica. I hope you make it down those stairs. That 5 car slot will be waiting for you - after Mark's championship...
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Stuff, Jimmie Johnson and more stuff

People think I have fallen off the face of the planet. It hasn't been that long has it? It's been a busy month.

1. Travel: Lots of it this month. I went to VA for work - caught up with a former colleague - good to see you ! Not much else to report on that trip... Seeing CM was the highlight.

2. NASCAR: I took the boys to Charlotte the week before the race, and we met Jimmie Johnson. I am not normally star struck, nor am I normally one to do such a thing (fan events and such), but this time it was for the boys. The twins are big time HMS fans. Not so much Dale Jr (as most are), but Jimmie and Jeff.

The first day, we went to the HMS Museum and store. (Pics are on Facebook. If you're my friend, you can see them.) The boys were completely blown away by the "real race cars" they got to see up close. My oldest son has been a 24 fan forever, and was amazed by seeing the "Rainbow Warrior" era cars from Jeff's championships.

Day two, and I think the boys were so fired up that I was afraid they would wake up all of Concord. It didn't help that it had rained the entire day before, but suffice it to say, any fears I had that they may not enjoy this were allayed. We went to HMS, the boys had an awesome time, and it really went by way too quickly. The highlight was during Q&A when Alex (6 y/o) mustered up the courage to ask Jimmie (on microphone):

"Hi Jimmie. I am um.... (pause because he heard his voice on the speakers and I think it freaked him out a little) ...Alex from Georgia. I want to know if you and Jeff Gordon are still best friends."

The room exploded with laughter and cheers / applause. Jimmie said that was the best question of the day - and by the way said "yes they are". We also heard some very insider stuff t that I won't repeat here.

That day was a TON of fun, and the boys are still talking about the day they met Jimmie Johnson. It really is people like this, and fan focus like this that makes NASCAR what it is. Before the redneck comments come piling in - keep in mind, it is arguably the biggest sport in America (based on attendance and TV). So, if it's a redneck sport, and the biggest sport, does that make us all rednecks?

3. Milestones: My mom and step-father reach their 25th in November. Quite an accomplishment I must say. I have little confidence that I will reach it, based on my most recent experiences, but to them, I lift a glass. Congratulations Mom and John.

Another milestone: I am 43 years old today. Big freaking deal... :) The milestone part is that I have lost 50 pounds since February, and although I have reached a plateau of sorts, now weigh less than I did 20 years ago. I feel great, my life is coming back together after a rather disastrous year, and I can again see the light at the end of the tunnel. Let's just hope it's not the proverbial train...

finis.

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Racing and such

Wow... what a season.

Now that we're in the Chase, it always amazes me how things play out. Who would have thought:

1. Petty would be fielding a FORD (has to be the biggest news)

2. A driver with 4 wins doesn't make the Chase (some would call that karma)

3. It's ALREADY time for the Chase

My prediction is that it'll be a NSC Championship Dark Horse. Maybe Vickers - maybe Montoya. My HOPE - in order- is that it's (1) Jimmie Johnson - obviously; (2) Martin - he definitely deserves it; (3) Gordon - have to keep my love for HMS intact; (4) Tony - would love to see this one as a brand new team if it can't be one of my top 3.

Time will tell. It should be a VERY exciting Chase.

finis.

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