Horse Manure Park

The new year will be here in about three hours or so, and I keep thinking about sitting down and writing a little something. I suppose I better do it now and make this my last entry for the year, looking forward to a new and better one in '08. I have to work tonight, beginning my seven night "tour of duty" so there will be no partying or revelling for me tonight. I will ring in the new year sober, but that's fine with me. Besides, I get paid double time for doing it and I won't be hung over in the morning (just really tired). I can live with that. I haven't blogged for a while. Busy with the holidays, family stuff, you know... the usual Christmas things that everyone gets preoccupied with. I hope everyone had a good Christmas and stays safe tonight. Of course, everyone is asking about New Years Resolutions and I always give the answer my dad once gave when he was about 79 years old: "This year I'll give up riding motorcycles." My dad co...

Why do they call it "PMS"? Because "Mad Cow Disease" had already been taken. I love that joke.

I saw the other day that Ike Turner died. He was one of rock and roll's first true pioneers, credited with making one of the first, if not the first, rock and roll record: "Rocket 88". You can download the tune anywhere and it is a pretty cool little number. It is found under the artist Jackie Brenston, but Ike Turner is behind it. Of course, Ike went on to create the image of Tina Turner. Tina had the legs and voice, but Ike had the brains. I love songs like "Knock on Wood" (the Ike and Tina Turner version, not the '70's disco version). The song is ballsy and brassy, and Ike arranged it. He was one of those guys who never got the credit he ever fully deserved, mostly because his name was smeared by accusations of spousal abuse. He's spent more time in jail than the Rolling Stones collectively, and snorted more cocaine in a week than Rick James had in a lifetime. In all, he reportedly wasn't a very nice guy. However, they say the last 15 years of...

I just don't understand what our country is coming to. First the Virginia Tech massacre in April, then four mall shootings over the year, the most recent this week in Nebraska, and today a church shooting in Colorado. I've heard the saying "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." That's a load of bullshit. People with guns kill people . More precisely, crazy bastards with guns kill people . But what can be done about it? The right to own firearms is a constitutional right. Our society seems to accept -- or at the very least tolerate -- random acts of violence, and we've grown callous to the headlines. Mass shootings are simply becoming a part of the American lifestyle. Until we stop tolerating this crap, and until the media, such as CNN, Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS stop making superstars out of these people that commit these horrible acts, they will continue. In fact, the piece of shit that killed all those people in Omaha earlier this week said in...

I hope no one stuck their tongue on the pump handle this morning. When I got off work and walked outside this morning, the ol' nostrils stuck together: a sure sign of bitter cold. It was -18 degrees, which even a Minnesotan would call a little chilly. Thankfully, the trusty ol' Camry started on the first try. That car has always run like a top (courtesy Dan's of Big Lake). In fact, the last Toyota I had (a '91 Tercel) started every single time, every single winter for 10 years. Our Honda Pilot (also courtesy Dan's of Big Lake) has run equally well. Say what you want about foreign models, but they work . Not much else happening. I am entering night number 6 of 7, so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's been busy, but the week seems to have gone pretty quickly. Really not much to say, just thought I would jot a couple lines. I've been watching ESPN's coverage of the division 1-AA and division 2 football playoffs. Wow, college football playoff...

I haven't written for a few days; you'll have to forgive me. I've been busy clearing out my driveway over and over (and over) again. There's no doubt we got more snow last Saturday than we got between November '06 and February '07 combined. In fact, last winter I didn't even fire up my snowblower until March. I've already used it twice this week and we got another inch or two of snow today. The seasonal businesses here in my neck o' the woods have been waiting for a winter like this for the past, I don't know, six or seven years. I saw on the news that we haven't had this much snow this early in the winter season in 11 years. It is still nothing like 1991, though. That Halloween blizzard was the most snow I've ever seen fall at one time. I wonder if I'll ever see anything like it again? Guess I'll have to wait and see. Not much happening here on the home front. I am in the middle of my week of work. Beth has been off ...

‘Tis the season when it drives me crazy to watch ESPN and hear about which team deserves to be in the national championship and which one doesn’t, and how it all depends on how the computer looks at it. This year is even crazier than most because of all of the upsets in NCAA football. In fact, last night both the #1 and #2 teams were upset and now everything is up in the air. This is the perfect opportunity for Division 1-A football to stop being the laughing stock of NCAA sports, design at the very least an eight team playoff system, and let the teams decide the national championship on the field. Anything less is a joke, really. Div. 1-A football is the only collegiate sport (actually, the only sport, period) that does not have a playoff system to determine a true champion. Yesterday, two talking heads were debating whether the University of Hawaii, who has a perfect record, should be eligible for a major bowl game. Imagine that, having a perfect record, but still not being ranked hi...

Ava was up a lot last night. She's running a fever and just doesn't feel good. I got up with her at 3 a.m and again around 5 a.m. and fell asleep in the chair with her until almost 7 a.m. A pretty rough night. She threw up a couple times today, we gave her a couple cool baths, pushed the fluids and gave her a few doses of Tylenol and Motrin. Hopefully tomorrow -- er, today -- will be a better day. Now I can't sleep tonight. I lay in bed and just wait for her to cry, because I'm sure she will at some point. It is frustrating. Instead of staring at the ceiling, I decided to get up and see what is on television. I often watch Turner Classic Movies, which I think I've mentioned before. They are showing Madame Bovary right now. I tried to read the book once and it bored me to tears. I blamed it on the 19th century prose, but the movie (made in 1949) isn't doing much for me either. So I thought I'd write a little something in my blog to kill a little...

I went to the Fox News web site today, just to get some uplifting news, because they are always the first to report positive, uplifting news (he said, sarcastically). Plastered on the front of their web site, as their lead story, was the following headline: Countdown to Destruction: 22-million ton asteriod could slam earth in 2036 . Obviously, it was a slow news day. As dramatic as they try to make it sound, I think a 22-million ton asteroid will do a bit more than "slam" earth. But that's just me.

Not much happening around here, but I guess I will jot a line anyway. I am working seven in a row, Beth is working six of the next seven, so it has been "leave me a note" week. We won't really see each other until November 29th. I hope Beth has nothing planned next weekend because I just want to STAY HOME. It was a cold drive home this morning, the outside thermometer in the car read 11 degrees at about 7:20 a.m., when I got out of work. It is Black Friday today... not sure why they call it that... but it is a uniquely American custom of going out shopping as early as possible on the day after Thanksgiving. No, I don't understand it: let's-all-go-shopping-at-the-same-place-at-the-same-time-and-get-pissed-off-at-each-other-because-you-are-trying-to-buy-the-same-thing-I-am-and-it-is-only-on-sale-until-10 a.m-even-though-Christmas-is-over-a-month-away. When I drove past Walgreen's at about 7:25 a.m., there was actually a line of people outside the store wa...

It is a couple days early, but I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Beth and I are working the entire week, but we do plan on having an "abbreviated" Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. Stove Top stuffing, fake potatoes, gravy out of a jar... but we'll be together and that's all that really matters. Many families would be willing to eat popcorn and Skittles, as long as they could spend Thanksgiving together. It is Tuesday night and Beth is upset because Boston Legal was preempted by The Bachelor. Yes, good quality family entertainment. We get something like 150 channels and nothing is worth watching tonight. Oh well, I have some good books to read... and I've got to get ready for work. It will be a long week. Everyone is quitting drinking for the holidays and going through alcohol withdrawal. Yippee! And some people say nurses get paid too much? They haven't got a clue.

It's been a good day. I hit Ticketmaster at noon with presale password in hand and with a little determination, got choice Bon Jovi tickets. We are right next to the stage, maybe the best seats I've ever gotten for any show. Now the waiting begins. The show isn't until March 18, 2008. Seems crazy getting tickets to a show that's more than four months away, but as the days get shorter and colder, at least we've got something to look forward to once the snow starts melting. Now if we can avoid a massive blizzard on March 18th, we'll be doing great! But there are certain things you can't worry about, right? Beth went to St. Cloud today with her mom and Christmas shopped for the day. Ava and I stayed home and played. Not much else to talk about right now. I've been watching YouTube lately, checking out the ghost sightings people have filmed. I don't know why I find it interesting -- I think almost all of it is baloney, although I've seen a ...

Every now and then something catches my eye which I find really interesting. This video clip supposedly shows a "ghost" caught on camera at a convenience store in Ohio. Personally, I think it is a hoax; a few simple editing tools on any PC makes it pretty easy for something to look convincing. With gas prices what they are, convenience store owners will do anything to lure people to the pumps, even if it means fabricating a ghost siting. Heck, it got on CNN didn't it? That must be good for a bit of business. Click on the link and judge for yourself. This posting is new to YouTube, but I bet it will become one of the biggest links over the coming months. You can be one of the first to see it! Lucky you. Ghost or Hoax?

It has been a while since I've jotted anything down. I finished my seven night "tour of duty" yesterday morning. It was a long week, but I've had worse. I was charge in the telemetry unit all week last week, which usually tends to be a little less stressful than charge in ICU. It is nice to have a change of scenery now and then. I slept for a few hours yesterday, got up in the early afternoon. It was nice, about 52 degrees, and it was the perfect opportunity to open up the camper and take everything out. I don't want to leave anything in there when I take it in to get repaired. Why open up another can of worms if you don't have to? I wanted to pop up the camper in reasonably warm weather so I didn't have to worry about anything else cracking or breaking in the cold. The timing was perfect and Beth and I got the job done in about 20 minutes. After we closed it back down, we tarped it over again for good measure. Now I just have to wait for the State Farm ch...

The school referendum failed yesterday by a 2-1 margin. At work, we have a running joke when we encounter someone of below-average intelligence. We say "Just think, this person votes." Well, those folks were out in force Tuesday. We clearly have a double standard in this society. I think everyone agrees that our kids' education should be a priority. Politicians preach it and everyone goes, "Rah-rah" in agreement... until it is time to put one's money where one's mouth is. Education is not free. So this means there will be cuts galore in our school district. Music and fine art teachers might as well start preparing their resumes, but I doubt administration will volunteer a cut in pay for the benefit of retaining a teacher or two. And I am willing to bet the football coach's job is secure. Brainerd has made it to the state playoffs, and everyone loves a winner, right? This also means even more kids will never learn how to spell or put together a compr...

It wasn't measurable, but we got our first few flakes of snow today. The best part is Ava ran to the window, chanting "Snow! Snow!". We have a few books which we read to her that have snow in them, but I didn't realize she knew what real snow was. Her mind soaks in so much information everyday, it makes me dizzy. I spoke to our claims person, Julie, on Saturday. She's based in Illinois and she said she was going to make arrangements for an adjuster to come out to our place Tuesday morning to look at our camper. I was home all day today (Monday, the start my seven night stretch tonight) and State Farm never called. I would like to think that an adjuster would call to make sure we were going to be home before just showing up. I suppose I could be wrong about that, but it seems the courteous thing to do. Then again, we're talking about insurance companies. They are God. They do what they please. So I am not sure if I should stay up tomorrow (Tuesday) m...

If you're not interested in football, you won't be interested in my post tonight. I love football and love talking about football, so my blog would not be complete without a healthy dose of my football chatter. How about the Vikings? I had the day off, so I was able to watch the whole game and it was well worth watching. Beth made Buffalo chicken dip for the game (a recipe from my sister-in-law Mel, who is the world’s greatest cook) and I had the pleasure of sitting in front of my big screen t.v., munching on chips and dip and watching Vikings RB Adrian Peterson set the NFL single game rushing record today… against the Chargers defense of all teams. Korey went to the game today, so it was cool he got to see history being made. Yeah, Peterson’s pretty good. I’m not ready to declare him the best running back in the league yet, but I definitely smell a changing of the guard in the air. However, in front of every great running back there is a great offensive line (unless your name...

I introduced Ava to one of her Grandma Branstner’s breakfast favorites today: poached eggs. They were a huge hit. I’m not sure where poached eggs came from (other than a chicken’s butt), probably an English dish, seems like something gross the English would do: crack open an egg and boil it in water. But in this case, it tastes great. So for breakfast we had poached eggs, wonderfully greasy bacon and English muffin toasting bread, slathered in real butter. In other words, it was fantastic. To top it off, there was an “I Love Lucy” marathon on television this morning; the first and still one of the best sitcoms ever produced. Funny script, great visuals gags and -- guess what modern-day Hollywood? -- not a solitary joke about penises or homosexuals, which seems to be the only way Hollywood writers think they can get a laugh these days (which is precisely the reason why I do not watch sitcom garbage anymore). I just heard that Hollywood writers are going on strike. I think what happened ...

Well, I got more done today than I was expecting. I went to Lewie's in the afternoon and was pleased to find out that a new manager is now in charge of the service department. The guy that was there before was a total idiot (maybe that's why he isn't there anymore. Perhaps I wasn't the only one unhappy with the service I got?). I kind of got the run around at first, the typical lines "well, this is up to you and your insurance company" and "we do charge a $250 estimate fee," and the like. Then I mentioned that I was a returning customer, having bought the camper there some 20 months ago, and suddenly the demeanor changed. The manager was suddenly interested in my story and said, "Oh! You just made my job much easier; what did you say your name was?" he asked as he sat down at his computer. Within 10 minutes I got an estimate right there, got the estimate fee waived and will get 10% off parts when the job is done. That's the good news. T...

You may have noticed that I numbered this story…. Story 1. That’s because whenever I go to Wal-Mart, something stupid always happens to me, so I am sure I will have another stupid Wal-Mart story in the near future. I hate going to Wal-Mart, but they have low prices and a nice variety and Phyllis didn’t raise no fool. Sometimes you just do what you gotta do. This story happened a couple weeks ago. Beth went to work at 6: 30 a.m. and I got up when Ava started to fuss. I was up late, couldn’t sleep, which was nothing new for me. It was hard to get out of bed; a gentle rain was falling outside my window and an occasional roll of thunder yawned its way across the grey morning sky. I stayed under the covers as long as I could, until Ava was good and mad. Finally I staggered to her room, still half asleep, where she greeted me with a happy, “Hi!“ Bleary eyed, I changed her diaper, then trudged up the stairs. Coffee , I thought to myself. My only salvation is coffee right now . I poured Ava a ...

Man, a frustrating day so far. I've called Lewie's RV twice (I am very reluctant to use them to repair my camper because of the crappy experience I had last time, but I don't have a lot of choices without driving a considerable distance). The first time I left a voicemail for the service department, after staying on hold for a while. I know it was useless. I hardly think they will call back for someone who would like an estimate. But I left a message anyway. I waited a couple hours and called again. This time when I asked for the service department I was told, "They are busy with customers, can I direct you to their voicemail?" Useless. That part that pisses me off is I am a customer. I bought my frickin' camper there (unfortunately). The feeling is "Thanks for your business, now piss off." So, the next step is to just go there in person and see if I can get an appointment made. That way, they can't ignore me. At least, I would strongly encoura...

It was nice and sunny and warm yesterday. Today it is cold and really windy. The wind started last night and you could hear it howling through the trees... very Halloweenish. We plan on doing a little trick-or-treating tonight, but only to homes we know. John and Becky's, Jon and Char's, Korey and Shelli's. That's about it. Halloween isn't what it used to be; I guess I've already talked about that before. Turner Movie Classics (one of my favorite channels) is playing old horror films all day. Right now Cry of the Werewolf (1944) is playing. Cheesy, but still kind of cool in its own way. Beth called State Farm today and the insurance adjustor is on vacation this week (of course he is), so everything has been pushed back a week. I suppose deer hunting or pheasant hunting is going on and everything comes to a standstill when that happens. Hunting is something I've never gotten into. I understand the necessity of it and for many people, deer hunting is...

Up early this morning. The dogs woke me up around 6:20 a.m. with their rooting and snorting in bed, their canine way of telling me "Okay, we gotta pee now." Chilly outside, 23 degrees, clear skies. It won't be long and 23 degrees will feel pretty good. So I got up, let the dogs out into the backyard and now I'm brewing a pot of Startbuck's House Blend coffee. Smells good. The house is quiet, it is still dark outside, the wife and kid are sound asleep. I like this "me" time, even though it doesn't last long. As my coffee brewed, I grabbed a bowl out of the cupboard and poured myself a bowl of one of my favorite childhood cereals, Sugar Smacks. But to my horror, when I read the front of the box, it was no longer called Sugar Smacks! What the hell is going on here? "Dig 'em," who has long been the cutesy frog mascot of Sugar Smacks, was still prominently displayed on the cereal box. The cereal looked and tasted exactly the same (oh, the ...

Sitting here watching Monday Night Football. Green Bay Packers vs. Denver Broncos... but ESPN seems not to have noticed that any other players are on the field except for Brett Favre. They were celebrating his career on the preshow, then at one point during a Packers drive, the camera never came off Favre while his wife (I think her name is Mrs. Favre) was being interviewed in the booth by the three stooges that host Monday Night Football. Then they went to a commercial break and guess what? Yep, Favre was on a Wrangler jeans commercial. Heck, even when Denver has the ball and Favre is on the sidelines, they keep showing close-ups of him picking his nose, popping a Vicodin or two, or itching his crotch. Good God, enough of frickin' Brett Favre already. About every 10 minutes or so, the camera cuts to Favre's wife in the stands, where she sits prim and proper cheering on her hubby. I can honestly say that I have had to fight off waves of nausea. It's no secret that I hate B...

Sunday night at the Branstners. Beth is at work so Ava and I are hanging out. She's piling her stuffed animals up in a giant dog pile, saying something like "Zebras!" although she doesn't have a zebra in her stuffed animal collection. She could be saying something else; I am still trying to decipher real words (and she says many, even two or three word sentences) from babble. I would have to say she's pretty darn smart. Catches on quick, she does. We'll go trick or treating on Wednesday. Beth got the night off, so we can make knock on a couple of doors. Trick or treating just isn't like what it used to be. When I was a kid, the parents would drop the kids off at one end of town and say, "Okay, have fun. When your done, come up to the bar, that's where we'll be." Of course, that's growing up a Hewitt, Minnesota. I sometimes get teased for growing up in a such a small town, but I experienced something that not many kids can...

I mentioned that our camper has a hole in it on my last blog. Yes, a branch seems to have hit the top of our camper and did a swell job of impaling the top. I had the camper set up to winterize it, then it rained for a week (last week we got over three inches of rain). The branch must have hit it last week or the week before, because it was fine when I set it up. I finally got out to the camper last Tuesday and discovered a spot in the ceiling where water had leaked in. I couldn't find a source for the leak, so I took the top down and BINGO, I found the culprit. A small piece of wood was imbedded in the top of the camper, obviously the remnants of a branch, about the size of a quarter. I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but we reported it to the insurance company immediately and tarped the camper to prevent anymore damage in case it decides to rain again. State Farm is sending out an adjuster on Monday or Tuesday, then I have to get an estimate at a repair place. ...

I'm not sure what to expect here. I cancelled the subcription to my Geocities website today, after trying to keep the web site afloat for a couple years. I had problems with site functions working correctly and I just haven't had enough time to keep things updated. I am a firm believer in that if you like to do something, you make time for it; but as it turns out, each time I tried to update things on the old web site, something wouldn't work right and I found myself thinking more and more... "why am I paying for this?" Plus, the thing I used the most was my blog... because I like writing... but I had a tendency to not post many blogs because I felt guilty everytime I logged onto my web site because I had been neglecting it -- blah, blah, blah. Maybe I am making excuses for closing down my web site, but it was $60 a year and I basically used one function over the past four months: the blog. This site is free . Not a tough decision, to tell the truth. So I will wr...