Horse Manure Park

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...