May 27th

Well…it was a long day yesterday with all of the races and I just couldn’t get motivated to do another one so today looks like I’ll have to do four today….there are a few things going on to comment about so it shouldn’t be that hard…slept okay last night but three cocktail nights in a row takes a lot out of me…I did make some money yesterday so that was cool and I can get groceries again this week…I do need to get going so I’ll be back later for more….

Okay….so I’m back…it has been an okay morning…did finally get the air filter changed on the car and did the rest of the checks…still can’t believe that I have over 4,000 miles on the oil change and it has still not used any oil..that from a car that has 156,000 miles on it…pretty cool…and I did get a bike ride in…and after using about half a can of WD-40 on it, it didn’t squeak…so that made the ride much better and my back is even getting better…still have to go out to watch the Wings later since they are still on a channel I don’t get….oh, well….

May 26th

Well…it was an okay day yesterday but the Wings lost so I am a little disappointed…but, had a nice cookout with G so that helps…and today is the biggest race day of the year with F1, Indy cars, and then stock cars later in the day…and I do have to wedge in a bike ride in there somewhere…probably before Indy at 11:00…and then cookout with chicken thighs and shrimp wrapped in bacon…yummy….slept for crap last night since I stayed up to watch a movie until one and then back up at 6….so, there will be a nap involved at some point today….and maybe back for another one since we are coming to the end of the month….

Just some stuff…

Well…not much going on in politics other than the fake scandals so I thought I’d just update on some stuff that has happened…first, hurt my back being an idiot on the bike today…over a big jump and on landing, I could feel the pain run down both legs and it continues now after 4 hours or so….hope it will go away a little…not sure if there is major damage and the ibuprofen is helping so probably not…I have to remember that I’m going to be 60 here in a couple of months and I just can’t do the stuff that I used to…don’t like it one bit but maybe will have to accept it…the Wings can end the series in Chicago tonight but I don’t think they will…the Hawks have been too good all year to lose 4 in a row but we only have to win one of the next three so I have hope they can do it…it would be nice to get it over tonight, though….have been prepping food this aft for dinner at G’s before the game…bacon wrapped shrimp skewers that smell pretty good and that will be grilled along with the steaks and asparagus….yummy…wish it was a little warmer, though, would be nice to hang out outside….okay, that’s it for now….have to watch the rest of the champions league final….

May 25th

Well…it was a busy day yesterday and I am feeling it today so this one is going to be short…lost at pool but it was a good series so that was fun…it’s tough to go straight from lunch with T to pool and more beer but I survived it…slept okay last night and had the weirdest dream…this one was about buying a large container of milk…something like two gallons and finding half a human skull in it….yeah…have no idea where the heck that one came from but it was quite strange…not much to do today…going to cook out at G’s later and then watch the Wings but that is about it….and I do have to come back here for one more since I was lazy yesterday…more later….

May 24th

Well….running late again today and it was really by choice…wanted to get the papers read and some coffee first and that is done so now I’m here…it was a long day yesterday with going out to celebrate G’s new job and that meant there were some shots involved…needless to say, I am feeling it today and need to get out on the bike to get the cobwebs out…and today looks like another busy one with lunch with T and then out to shoot pool and maybe drinks with K after….I did get the new tires on yesterday and they are so much better than I expected…they just seem to smooth out many of the bumps that crashed before and are so quiet compared to the Blizzaks…I am pretty happy so far but will withhold judgment until I get them out on the e-way….okay…I do need to get out on the bike so I’ll end here…more later…

Republicans are the biggest damn hypocrites…

Well…I can’t say I was surprised the other day when I read about two of the repub thugs who are driving the cuts to food stamps for the poor are also farmers who have received millions in crop subsidies and other benefits from the government. Stephen Fincher from Tennessee and Doug LaMalfa from California are the idiots who see their corporate welfare as being a good thing since it “saved their farms” but they can’t see that cutting food stamps is not such a good thing for all of the working poor and veterans that depend on them to keep from going hungry. In Fincher’s case, his family has received over 3 million dollars in subsidies over the past 15 years while LaMalfa’s family has received over 5 million dollars in that same time frame…what happened to the “free market” that the repubs worship? If these farms can’t survive without subsidies, then they shouldn’t be in business according to every repub in the country and then we can use the millions and millions to ensure that people in this country don’t starve….what a bunch of hypocrites…geez…

May 23rd

Well…running really, really late today and, this time, I have a good reason…made some cash yesterday so I went out and had new tires put on the summer wheels but that is not the only reason…I have just been taking it easy today..still haven’t even gotten through the papers yet but I have just worked out…slept okay last night but not as good as I should have with it being a cocktail night…I guess even the little stress from the tire appointment had an effect…not much to do today…I am going out to have a couple with G later and watch part of the Wings game but that is about it..oh, and cleaning, as always….more later…

Teachers are human, too…

Well…have been reading a bunch of the accounts of the bravery of the teachers in Oklahoma who were trying to save their kids and if there is one thing we take away from these horrible events it should be that teachers are humans, too. They are not the socialist, lazy, union thugs that the right and much of the MSM has portrayed them to be. They are friends, and neighbors…they are Americans who, in this crisis, went above and beyond to protect those in their care…using their bodies as shields over the children, organizing getting the kids to safe areas as the buildings were being blown down around them, and then helping to rescue those who were trapped. So, the next time the right tries to villify teachers as being a detriment to society, just point to Oklahoma and ask: who did you save today? Geez….

May 22nd

Well…it was an easy day yesterday and I didn’t do much…I did go out and get the parts to put front brakes on the car…the pedal is just too hard with the old ones and it was only 20 bucks…I may even get them done today if it stops raining….slept okay last night but had to take a sleeping pill to do it and that means I’ll feel pretty crappy most of the morning…but I was good last night so it’s not as bad as it could be….and I did need to sleep so I guess it’s a good trade off…not much to do today…I am going to make the grocery run this morning since I do want to have cocktails tonight to kick off the holiday weekend….more later..there may even be two more today…had a couple of ideas that I put off that I want to get to…

RIP Ray Manzarek…

Well….I was saddened yesterday when, amid the carnage in Oklahoma, the news came out that Ray Manzerek of the Doors had died….I remember the times when I was a kid in the 60′s listening to AM radio to see whether the version of “Light My Fire” was going to be the three minute short or the 6 minute long version where Ray’s work on the organ would shine and getting goosebumps when the bridge led us to that long version…I just loved the way he played the organ and injected a playful carnival atmosphere into “Whiskey Bar” all the while playing rhythm and bass at the same time on his Vox….but, the thing that still gets me to this day is his piano work on “Riders on the Storm” all at once a great jazz riff but also a fusion of the rock expansion of the time into those different genres and making them seem natural and right. For a band whose lifetime was a scant 5 years, I still see the Doors as pioneers and still have them in many, many of my playlists that I use daily….I’m a sucker for a good organ player from Lee Michaels to Gregg Allman….and Ray was better than good….so, Rest In Peace, Ray…and thanks….