Can this truly be?????

“No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens,” Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said it was his personal belief that “allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do.”

Oh what do my wondering ears tell me they heard???

Ok gotta keep this on the positive tip, gotta not get on the cynical soap box. Don't see it that there is a severe shortage of straight people enlisting and we've got two wars going on and they need BODIES!!!! No keep it on the positive tip and see that maybe, just maybe they've noticed that there have been Gays and Lesbians serving their country since the begining of the Armed Services.

Just know that the chairman of the Joint Cheifs of Staff, the Highest uniformed position in the United States, as said in front of God and Country that it is his belief that the ban on Gays and Lesbians serving in the Armed Services should be lifted. This wasn't an 'off the record' conversation at a cocktail party. This isn't some rumor that's circulating. This is REAL. I can watch it on youtube until the electrons float away. (Remember how you could wear out the VHS tapes if you watched them too many times?)

I thought for sure the Military would be a battle for down the road. Yet here it is starting at the TOP. I know I won't wake tomorrow and things will be changed, but this is a start. Honestly I am stunned.....and I'm at work so I'll leave this here and possibly pick up the thread when I get home tonight.

{*************************} HUGZ to you all. Keep that positive flowing. Amazing things DO happen.

Paranormal Activity

Ok so all I knew about this movie going in was that it was 'based on actual events'. I know that many people who did see it in theatres were pretty well shocked by it. It certainly did a number on my head after watching it last night. I bought it on Blue Ray dvd and wow. Seriously it's a fantastic movie. The research was really good, and trust me there is some factual stuff in there. I lived in a house with ghosts and other things for many years. I had several occurances of the clock radio turning on, lights, things banging around, etc. I once had an alarm clock that would go off at 12:15 am EVERY day. (that's 15 mins past midnight) Even when the alarm wasn't turned on. Even when the alarm was set for like 8 am.

I've had a few experiences with something not nice. I'd get times when my sheets would pull tight around me, and it felt like a wind blowing through them. The thing that did the number on me from the movie is the sound that came up on the tape when the demon was doing his thing... yeah that's the sound I heard when things happened to me. I'm talking DEAD ON for the sound. (bad choice of words???) Anyway the last time it happened was an interesting experience. I felt it coming on and it really seemed like it was going to be the worst one yet... I felt the fear rise up... and then that part of me that travels when I sleep raised up above the scene and I saw this point in the distance where all this energy was coming from. I could see it streaming out and enveloping me in my bed. It was so funny and I started to laugh, because there laying in my bed it seemed HUGE and overwhelming, but once I could see it from outside of that context it was pathetic. So I laughed, and laughed and that thing looked up directly at me. At that moment I realized that it had no power over me, and never would. Suddenly it all calmed down.

I always remember that, and it keeps me feeling good. NOTHING has power over me unless I let it have power over me. I can stand there and laugh at the unknown because it can't hurt me.

This is why I keep the positive going. I have no time or energy to invest in the negative. It gets you nowhere, and it lets the weak have power over you.

So am I saying that 'demons' and 'shadow people' and whatever else you want to call them do not exist? No they are there. They can only affect you if you let them. I have no time for their stupid games. I have no energy to waste on things like that. Interpret this how you wish. It sure sounds a lot like the good and evil from the Bible. I see it differently, and know that I am blessed. We are all blessed when we keep to the positive and do not dwell on the little stuff. The world is what you make it, so what kind of world do you live in?? Stop for a moment and ask yourself that question. Sit and think about it.

HUGZ to you all. {**************************************} my positive energy going out to you all.

El Nino!!! The terrible!!!

Yea the title there is just a little something for me. If you live in California you know all about it. If you live anywhere else you've prolly heard about all the rain, etc we've been having out here on the Left Coast. Been a pretty dreary week and I'm happy to say there is currently a break in the clouds and I can see blue sky. Sometimes you forget it's there above the clouds. I bring you news of the weird...

The 1023 overdose event

Click the link there and see for yourself. I guess the skeptics will be ok but what if one of the people there actually does believe in the stuff and they are taking an overdose... could their mind make it true??? (Matrix stuff there)

I also read about passwords and a study done on 32 million cracked accounts online. The top four passwords used in these 32 million.......
1. 123456
2. 12345
3. 123456789
4. Password
Seriously I didn't think anyone actually used password as a password. Here's the link to the article Password Study I thought my passwords were too simple and I find that actually they are decent. I do the alpha-numeric thing, although I do end up falling into easy patterns.

Just killing a little time at work by posting this. It was only a four day work week but dang did it go on forever. I did find some flooding in my new house. Half inch of water got into the garage. I'll have to go through it this weekend and see what's been wrecked and what can be saved. Guess I've put organizing the garage on the back burner for too long. Oh well anything ruined I didn't need, or it can be replaced. Not really gonna freak out over it. I got sand bags earlier in the week to barricade the doors that were leaking. The back yard turns into a lake. It does recede but when so much water comes down so quickly it does hang out for awhile. Some water got into the shed as well, and I'll have to see what got ruined out there. I know one box of wrapping paper got soaked, but we've had that paper for years and years and years and years and wrapping paper is not that expensive to buy. I've been wanting some new stuff anyway.

HUGZ to you all!!!!! {*********************} Have a fantastic weekend where ever you are, and remember put that positive energy out into the world. It will come back to you a million times over.

New Year

Happy New Year to all!!!

So I did no bowling over my two week break, but it didn't seem to affect me too much. Last Thursday was our fun night. Sheets up over the lanes just past the arrows so you couldn't see the pins. It was a good thing cause it made you focus on your approach, follow through, and hitting your mark. All the things I've been working on since I set my goal.

It's fun night so the first game was 8 pin no tap (8 or more pins on the first ball scores as a strike), second game was 9 pin no tap, and the last game was regular bowling. I shot 268, 230, 236. As you see I shot 6 pins higher in regular bowling than in the no tap. Looks like things were working well in me putting the ball on the lane. The scores don't count toward average, or wins/losses it was our mini sweeper. Men vs Men, and Women vs Women. I shot a 764 with my handicap. My nephew shot a 300 his first game (five real strikes the rest were no taps) and had an 811 series with his handicap. He only had like 52 pins handicap. So he's got his game improving also. I've gotta stay on top of my stuff to beat him. It's a friendly rivalry, but I do have the lead in games won for the season. There's $100 riding on that one, and I'm gonna do my best to make sure I win. :-)

I'm pretty sure I'm just going to focus on using the Black Widow Venom, and my Ebonite Playmaker through the rest of the season. I've got my White Dot spare ball, so I don't see myself buying any new balls this year. I've got some damn good equipment, why buy more and get confused?

It felt real good bowling. You could drop down after your threw your ball and see it roll down the lane. Many of the shots I threw rolled so nice down that lane. It was good to see the ball do what it's supposed to. I even picked up a couple of 10 pins in that last game. It goes to prove that you don't need to see any more than 20 feet or so of the lane. What happens in that last 40 feet is a direct result of how the ball is sent down the lane. Good approach, bend your knee, stay behind the ball, follow through, reach out, hit your mark. You do all that and it's hard to beat. It's the mechanics of it all. There is no one 'right' way to do it. You find a style that is comfortable for you, and you do it every time. I use a five step approach, because that works for me. My nephew uses only a three step approach. When our balls hit the pocket, the result is the same. He can have those pins dancing around just as much as I.

So it's fun having someone push me as much as my nephew does. He's really impressed me before the break, and again last Thursday. Weeks when he shot a bad game and would give up. Not so anymore. He's figuring out what he's doing wrong, and correcting it.

Ok I've got some things to do, and heading out. You all have a great one!!!

{****************} HUGZ to you all.

Bowling Update

Week two on my quest for more consistancy in my approach and release. The lanes were flooded with oil. Had to slow the ball speed down dramatically. I also moved three boards to the right of where I normally stand, just to get the ball up into the pocket. I put into practice the tips I read about linking my right arm with my right foot to start the swing. I keep on with bending the knee at the foul line. No I'm not perfect, still had a few shots where I was off, but practice makes perfect or so they tell me so I'll keep on. The slowing down was a little difficult, but focusing on starting the approach and bending my knee kept me on track. The release felt good so I'm building upon the work done last week.

My scores? First game 198, came back in the second game with a 213, and finished the night with a 213. 624 series. My nephew had it a little rougher than I with all that oil out there. We would start the games fairly closely, one game I remember only being up 5 pins in the 5th frame. I think he rolled a 162, then a 178, and finished the night with 195. So he improved every game and ended up gettting his average for the night.

My 624 series helped in raising my average. It went up another 2 pins. I'll start with a 188 after the Holiday break. Our first week back is like a mini sweepers, it's the men vs the men and the women vs the women. It's a three week break before we start the second half of the league and before I can continue raising my average. I'm going to practice during the Holiday break so I can keep these things going in the right direction. I want to end this year with a 200+ average. I can see it happening, but seeing is not doing the work. Time to make practicing a priority. I don't do New Year's resolutions. I set this goal after last week bowling....it is a goal I'm going to reach.

Not sure if I'll get another post in before the Holidays, so I'll take this moment to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! I hope you are surrounded by friends and family and take the time to enjoy the 'Spirit of the Season'.

{{{{{************************}}}}} HUGZ to you all!!!!!

A different Christmas poem

I don't know where it started but I read this a few years ago.. and every year I try to post it and try to keep it going. To those I served with, and to those who serve currently......

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear..
Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

“What are you doing?” I asked without fear,
“Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!”
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light
Then he sighed and he said “Its really all right,
I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night.”
“It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ‘ Pearl on a day in December,”
Then he sighed, “That’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers.”
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘ Nam ‘,
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue… an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall..”

“ So go back inside,” he said, “harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”
“But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,
“Give you money,” I asked, “or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,
For being away from your wife and your son.”

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
“Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”

Ahhh

Bowling... so last Thursday I guess I decided it was time to actually do all those things you're supposed to do when you bowl. I realized a few weeks ago I wasn't bending my knee when I released the ball. So I've been working on that since. Thursday it felt pretty good. Then I wanted to know what my Venom would do on the lanes. I started with my Playmaker, and it was doing well, I was clean through the first 6 frames. Just felt like I was fighting it a little too much. So I grabbed my Venom from my locker. I didn't put tape in the thumb and the first shot in the 7th fell right off my hand. Luckily it went down the lane and struck. So I put tape in and kept with the Venom the rest of the night. Finished the first game with a 211. Second game was pretty good..a couple of bad shots, but I instantly knew what I had done wrong, and corrected it. I'm pretty sure it's because I knew the release was good. I never felt lost. Ended that game with a 220.

So it's feeling good. I'm loving how my ball is rolling down the lane. Definitely the the right ball for the conditions. I start the third game... strike, strike, strike.. the ball is just pounding the pocket. I know when I let it go it's a good shot. I see where it hits the lane and starts to roll.. I just KNOW it's going to strike. Let me tell you that's a good feeling. Three more strikes and we're half way through the game. I've strung 6. Got up in the 7th frame and yeah...the pressure was there. Thinking too much about it. Pulled it something terribly. Anyway pulled a 231 out of that game. Been awhile since I've had three good games like that so the mental aspect isn't there. It still takes a game of 250 or above to make me really happy. Just been awhile since I've bowled this consistantly. Would love to put my average up in the 200's again. We're basically at the mid point of the season. It can be done.

Was reading some tips online today and I found one concerning timing and your approach. The points raised really connected in my head. I was trying it out in the office today. Couldn't slide on the carpet, nor did I have a ball in my hand, but I liked the way it felt. So I'll be putting that into practice and let's see how things go. My average going into last Thursday was a 183, the 662 series jumps that up to a 186. One more week to go before the holiday break...would be nice to add a few more pins to my average.

15 weeks left after the holidays... only need to raise my average one pin a week. Let's see what happens.

{{{{*********************}}}} HUGZ to you all!