How to tell you are not Mom's favorite

Halloween Costumes

The kids and I went shopping for Halloween costumes last night. And while the kids did not buy these chicken things, they were more than happy to try them on.



I apologize for the quality of the picture, but I used my cellphone since I didn't have a camera on me. Anyway, it reminded me of this old website, where you can give the chicken commands and he will obey whatever you tell him. Click on the image to give it a shot. Once it opens you can tell him to hide, or dance, or roll over, or whatever. He'll provide you with hours minutes of entertainment!

Blog Action Day

Today is Blog Action Day, a day dedicated to bloggers around the world uniting to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every participating blogger will make a post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic.

My personal cause has always been Global Warming. And honestly, the fact that there is still a debate over whether or not it exists is mind-boggling.

I promise I won't make a long drawn out post over why I think those who live in denial are more dangerous to the overall health of the human race than those who still support the war in Iraq. This is because I don't believe that this issue should be political at all. Al Gore, like him or not, has done an amazing job with his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. If you haven't seen the video yet, kick yourself in the ass, then get your kicked ass in gear and over to Blockbuster.

(And if you are one of those types who refuse to admit anything created by a "liberal" can be accurate, before you go quoting the Hurricane specialist William Gray or the likes in my comment section, check these links too: #1 #2 #3.)

Back to my point: I don't believe that Global Warming is a political issue and refuse to treat it as such. Whether you agree or not, I do believe the majority of our scientists are right in that we are doing tremendous damage to our planet which when combined with the natural cycle of things has created a serious threat to the human population as a whole.

And as such, I think it's a far better idea to embrace change and do something about it than to bash Al Gore, his Nobel Peace Prize, or anyone who supports the notion of Global Warming. If we're right and we can save our planet, great! If we're wrong and Global Warming wasn't the threat we thought it was, at least all our efforts will have fast tracked our move towards energy independence. Neither are bad options.

America used to be a leader in just about every major industrial advance the world has taken. Cars, Planes, Computers, the Space Race, whatever. Renewable energy should be no different. And if we do it right, there shouldn't be any undue burden on society. These will be growth industries and new jobs will be created to offset any lost ones as old ones are phased out.

Still, there will be always be someone somewhere who will be fighting these changes as hard as they can. Whether it is an oil company, a polluting manufacturer, a deep-pocketed special interest group, or a paid-for politician, it doesn't matter. It will be a hard fight with lots of money, TV ads, and propaganda spent bashing the idea that we are threatened by Global Warming. But that doesn't change the fact that 100 years ago there was someone somewhere just as angry and fighting just as hard to protect his livelihood when the last horse drawn buggy business finally succumbed to the automobile. But life goes on and we improve as a society instead of remaining stagnant.

We need to stop politicizing this issue and treat it as nothing more than it really is: Modernization for the betterment of all.

The Return of the Caveman.

On Saturday, I ate one of these,



While visiting the North Carolina State Fair:



(Just thought I'd share...)

Practice makes Progress?

What the heck? I had to drop DQ's viola over at her mom's this morning so she could take it with her to school. When I get there, the TV is on the Disney Channel in the background and that is what the kids on the show were singing about. "Practice makes Progress."

You have got to be kidding me! What is this PC "Happy Happy Joy Joy" horse crap? Practice makes PERFECT! Kids should strive for perfection and not settle for mediocrity. If their school age hearts break because they don't achieve perfection, well too bad, so sad. Welcome to the real world. Try harder next time.

All we ever hear these days are excuses. My back hurts. My legs ache. I'm only nine. Kids these days are spoiled lazy and parents are to blame.

A perfect example of this are in the hockey leagues GB plays in. After one team gets a 6 goal lead, they stop putting goals up on the scoreboard. They don't want the kids to get their feelings hurt by receiving an old fashioned ass kicking. Instead they shut off the scoreboard and require the coach to play the kids at the end of the bench who refuse to practice and can't hold a stick. And we wonder why kids cant cope with anything these days. These kids feel entitled to play just because they are on the team. We should let kids fail when they deserve to fail so they can learn from it and eventually succeed. We should keep these kids on the bench and let them watch. Then maybe next time they will pay attention in practice. Or work on their skills at home. You know... make an EFFORT. Then maybe they would have earned some playing time.

Do you remember back to when you were a kid? When all the sports weren't pre-organized by the parents and kids were just assigned to a team? You know, when the kids picked the sides and those kids who weren't any good always got picked last? Or when you went to play ball at the park and if you couldn't catch then the kids would put you in the outfield, or simply not throw you the ball? Those were important life lessons. Ones we're not teaching kids anymore. We don't do that and it's extremely detrimental to these kids overall growth. Parents try and shield their kids from failure at all costs. But what these parents fail to consider is what is going to happen when these kids step out into the real world for the first time. How are these kids going to handle getting fired because they have never learned how to work hard for anything? No company is going to say "Aww, it's OK that our computers aren't fixed and we can't access our financial software. But we'll let you continue to work here because you did a good job showing up to work all week."

Political Correctness and the idea that children need to be coddled to the point that they are sheltered from life itself is a very real problem. But the good news is it is one we can do something about. We need to let our children experience failure. We need to teach them that their parents aren't always going to be around to solve all their problems. And more importantly, we need to teach them that mediocrity isn't a goal.

Practice makes progress, my ass.

A small clarification

Due to an angry reader overwhelming demand, I am going to clarify that while I did laugh at the below video, I do empathize at the same time. Yes, the cat seemed rather stressed. And no, I would not put my own cats in there (unless they were really dirty or peed on my pillow or something). To alleviate my guilt at being so crass and shallow for finding the video amusing, I did some research on the subject Googled their website and discovered that this is supposedly a legitimate product used at many pet stores. As you can see, they claim it is kid safe.



Furthermore they have a full FAQ section and here is the very first item on the list:

Does the pet Stress out when inside the Cabin?

Using our unique technology we are able to lower the stress on pets compared to traditional bathing due to the fact that we do not use a restraining system and there is no stranger restraining or holding the pet. Also our unique patented nozzle system will provide a hydro-massage shower that will relax the pet and increase circulation which is very beneficial.

So, what does all this mean? I dunno, probably not much since not only did I lose where I was going with all this, I don't think anyone is buying the items in their FAQ anyway. Nevermind...

Clean Kitty

Is it wrong that I laughed so hard my eyes were watering?