Thursday Thirteen -- 05/03/07

Hello everyone - welcome to another edition of the TT13....I was debating on whether or not to do one this week. It has been a rough couple weeks for me...and to be perfectly honest I really wasnt inspired to write this week...but sitting here tonight trying to decide if I should write or not (first decision) then WHAT to write about (second dilema)...so I thought I would do another trip around the world, except this time I would see where Google sent me...so here we go -- 13 Random Locations, courtesy of Google®:

1. Random.ORG -- Yes, this is a legitimate website! Actually pretty cool!
2. Aloha.Com -- This was an "I'm Feeling Lucky" to sandy beaches
3. Sunrises -- This was an "I'm Feeling Lucky" to Sunrises
4. Electronic Piracy -- I was listening to Epic from Faith No More so that was my I'm lucky this time -- Epic
5. Kickball -- My buddy Bill was playing Kickball tonight so I thought what the heck!
6. For All my Dawg’s!! -- Kinda funny actually!
7. Crabs! -- This is my "I'm Feeling Lucky" for Crabs
8. Science -- My lucky button led me here!
9. Tall Buildings - The things you can find on the internet sometimes!
10. Youth revisited -- Hey, why not! :)
11. 11 Things You Dont Learn in School -- Yeah, not from Bill Gates, but dang funny!
12. Great American Gas-Out -- As much as I wish it worked......
13. A Real Sense of Humor -- Click on get directions ... get directions from New York NY to Paris, France...hit Get Directions, and read #24 and tell me SOMEONE at Google isnt laughing every time someone asks for these directions!

I hope you all had fun :) Enjoy your week!

J-Dawg

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Thursday 13 -- 04/26/07

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the Thursday Thirteen :) First, I would like to answer a question from Amy from last week's TT13. Personally, I would go with DirectTV for satellite and internet combined. I know for me when I had Dish Network and went from regular to Local and Regular dish, my signal became even more finnicky. It would be Sunny and not a cloud in the sky and I would lose signal. My dad had DirecTV for years and never had an issue and he was in the mountains surrounded by trees...and I know they use very similar dishes and signals. I say go with DirecTV if you want internet through a satellite provider! Now, on to today's TT13 -- This week, I am giving you 13 of my favorite mixed drinks or shots while you are out on the town:

1. Jack & Dry -- this would be a mixed drink of Jack Daniels and Canada Dry Ginger Ale -- make it TALL -- make it COLD -- make it good! :)
2. Malibu & Dr. Pepper -- if you have never tried this, this is sometimes referred to as Texas Tea -- buy a 1-litre Dr. Pepper. Take a chug. Fill it back up with Malibu. (gently turn your bottle upside down and right-side up to mix -- GENTLY!!) Mmmmmm delish!
3. Black Knights -- NOW, first of all, I am not much of a Jaegermeister drinker, but this shot is the best! Pour VERY VERY slowly, Rumplemints, then Jaegermeister, then Aftershock in a high-hat shot glass...and if poured slowly and correctly, it will separate into 3 separate layers...slammed tastes like peppermint candy! After 3, you have the best breath in all the county!
4. UV Blue and 7-up...mmmmmm smoothe!A shot of blue UV in a tall glass of 7-up!
5. Rum & Coke -- a traditional fair with a couple mushrooms on a schtick :) Best with regular rum, not coconut rum (and no diet! what's the sense in drinking if you are going to do it with a diet soda?! ICK!)
6. Malibu Bay Breezes -- My brother-in-law likes these....actually not bad if I do say so myself!
7. Gin and Granbery Juice -- My sister's favorite (one of many)...it also depends on the mood she is in apparently :) She also likes
8. Mai Thais
9. Jose Cuervo Marguaritas and
10. Pina Coladas
11. Jaegie Bombs -- this is pretty popular up here in Wisconsin -- Red Bull and a shot glass of Jaegermeister...people seem to like them - they are on sale EVERYWHERE!
12. 7 & 7's -- Seagrams 7 and 7-up ... mmmmmm tasty!
13. Patrone Silver -- apparently its the "it" thing -- I never heard of it til last week when I went out with people I work with in our Atlanta and Houston offices.

In the famous words of my good friend Zonk "I have but one liver to give to my alcoholism." and if you go out, drink responsibly. Have fun :) And try something new! Have a great week :)

J-Dawg

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of this is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things.

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11 years ago

At 620am 11 years ago, a very big piece of my life went to be with the Lord after a 13 year battle with cancer. Pop (my grandfather) was a great person. I remember fishing with him and my father on the banks of the Shenandoah River. I remember learning how to cut grass with the riding lawnmower. I remember when Pop and Ma (my grandmother -- gee, can ya tell we's SOUTHERN?) would come to my little league baseball games. I remember when Pop would let me change the gears in his Rabbit while he drove on the back country roads. I remember going to get YooHoo's at the country store.
I remember that day like it was yesterday. I used to drive truck for the same company I work for still to this day (Schneider National Carriers)...and I made it a habit to call home to both my Dad and my grandparents on Tuesdays and Saturdays just to let them know I was OK....that particular Tuesday (23rd) I had blown a tire and had to get it fixed. By the time I was done that night, and parked at the truck stop, it was 11pm. I just thought I would call first thing in the morning. I didnt want to wake them up. I was in Rock Springs, Wyoming that night. Whenever I was on the road, my dad would always send messages to my truck's computer to call home, and he always made sure to ask that "non-emergency" be put on the message. When I woke up on the morning of the 24th, to the beeping of the computer. I read the message that said "Call Home"...and I knew something was wrong. So I walk into the restaurant, and asked the waitress to be seated in the farthest most part of the restaurant, and she did. I was away from everyone. I made that call home from my table, and found out that Pop had passed away. I spent the next 90 mins trying to compose myself, take a shower, and try to make arrangements. The waitress was so kind. She kept asking if there was anything she could do. At the end of the meal, I went to pay, and she said that the manager will be picking up my tab and to drive safely home to my family.
As I walked back out to my truck, I happened to see another Schneider truck pulling out of the truck stop. I didnt think twice about that truck until a short time later. I received a message from my manager that I was going to be swapping loads with another driver so that I could get home to Dallas to fly home and to meet him at the Flying J truck stop in Laramie, WY. A short while later I met the other driver at the truck stop and swapped loads. I offered him a coffee for his trouble. As we walked back out from the store, he told me that this was the 2nd time in three days he had swapped loads with another Schneider driver to get them home for a family emergency. I appreciated his gesture, shook his hand, and he just asked that if anyone ever needed something that I would hopefully return the gesture someday. I never had a problem swapping loads with someone to get them home.
So I took off from Laramie, bound for Dallas TX. From that point, I was still about 1000 miles from home. I pretty much drove straight through to get home, only stopping for 4 hours in Amarillo for a quick nap, food, shower, and then proceeded to lock my keys in my truck...When I got to Dallas, I parked my truck, drove over to the airport in my personal vehicle, and got my tickets home.
I remember the sermon from Brother Keith...it was 1 Thessalonias 5:4-11. If you have a chance, read these words. Brother Keith's words I can still here being spoken today. I can hear his powerful voice as he sang that morning. I can remember the fellowship afterwards. A rememberance of a beautiful life.
Today is about remembering :) I miss you Pop. I wish you could see me now!

Love
#1 Grandson

Thursday 13 -- 4/19/07

Good morning everyone and welcome to another edition of the Thursday 13 -- Last week, sorry I missed that one but it could not be avoided...my Cable provider and I were at odds over a charge that appeared on my bill...so I questioned it...told them I wasnt going to pay it, so they turned off my internet (let me keep the cable but cancelled my internet!!) ANYWAY, after 3½ days it was finally resolved, but by then it was Friday afternoon....and I just figured to wait until this week to discuss the 13 things I REALLY hate about Time-Warner Cable:

1. Customer Service -- it is ATROCIOUS!!! They have so little in the way of customer service I still cannot believe they are an multi-million dollar company
2. THEY ARE A MONOPOLY!! Look up monopoly in the dictionary - it says SEE TIME-WARNER CABLE. Regardless of what they say, if my choices for cable are THEM and that is it, they are a monopoly!
3. Rates -- 2nd highest in the nation for basic service. Another reason I cannot stand this god-forsaken state (4th highest fuel cost ranks right up there with this one).
4. HBO -- In order to get HBO you have to upgrade to Digital Cable and get a box- two things I DO NOT want to do. WHY? Well, since I use one cable outlet for my TV and one cable outlet for my computer, I will get charged for two digital service connections --- even though I have no plans of moving my home theater, couches, and everything else, into the nittle nook in my dining room area where my computer is...its about $2 a month, but its still a crock! and I WILL NOT have a box - I HATE cable boxes!!
5. Incidental charges -- they cant explain why I was charged for them, but they INSIST I am responsible for paying them. I explain if you cant tell me what they are for, I am not paying them....hence the circle of life.
6. Lack of listening skills -- Last week, I had a CSR on the phone and when I wasnt getting the satifaction (or attention) I thought I deserved in reference to #5, I requested to speak to his supervisor. After about 4 minutes of really cheezy musak (wasnt even the good stuff!) he comes back on the line and states "My supervisor states that the incidental charges are your responsibility so they need to be paid in order to get your internet restored"....maybe I wasnt clear enough when I asked that I speak to his supervisor, NOT that he speak to his supervisor FOR me...now my blood pressure is about 400 over 350 and climbing by the syllable out of this guy's mouth! Now I should have prefaced this by saying that I work in the customer service arena...and no, it is not my practice to ask for a supervisor right away...HOWEVER, if I feel that I have not been given the attention or service I think I deserve, then you betcha! I will ask for one :)
7. Conglomerates -- I hate uber-super-conglomerate companies -- you are just a number -- nuff said there. See #1
8. Competition -- the only way to get high-speed internet without going through cable is to go through AT&T (which used to be SBC, which used to be Ameritech after it broke off from AT&T after de-regulation in 1986)....interesting -- the same company they made break up is back together again -- and OH, you cant get internet without getting a phone service. I have a cellphone - I dont need another phone...but since you are forcing me to get a phone to get internet, how much is it you ask?? Least expensive plan NOT including internet is $38.79 + tax and tip every month...no frills - just a dialtone. Add to that the internet makes it over $90 a month...what a rip! and it is still only 1/3 as fast as my cable.
9. A-la-carte -- it doesnt exist unless you get a cable box -- and then, if you have over a certain number of channels, they charge you more to just get the channels you want than if you just got the package with all the crap you will NEVER watch. I am sorry, but I dont need 6 shopping channels on just my basic service. NHL is on the Vs Network this year (not part of it) andNascar has a couple races on SPEED Channel (again, not part of my package)...
10. Oh! Network -- Now let's see - I get Lifetime, Lifetime Movies, Lifetime Women's Network, and the Oh! Channel....Oh! golly why wont you just give me the channels ***I*** want to see! Sorry but I dont need to see the same crap I try to avoid on regular TV that is rerun on Oh!
11. When I had Dish Network, I had my local channels, but for an additional $5 a month I could add a national market to my dish...I liked having Milwaukee or Dallas or a National CBS/NBC/ABC etc --- I got good national news that way....cant do that with cable.
12. Why is it if I am on ESPN and I am watching a show, and a commercial comes on, the commercial is 10x louder than the show? And if I change the channel, the next channel is either softer or louder than the prev channel? The sound sometimes, to me, has some serious issues.
13. I just dont like how smug they are -- like losing me is no big deal - well 1 person tells 10 people about this little episode, if on 20& of those people tell 10 more of their friends, in just a little while, my one experience just got passed to over 200 poeple. I bet they would notice a mass exodus of 200 people.

I hope all of you are doing well. I hope to have a comment's blog up sometime soon :) Until then, be safe and enjoy!

J-Dawg

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of this is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things.

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Happy Easter

First of all, I would like to wish everyone who is a regular reader here, a Happy Easter and a blessed weekend. If not for Him, we would not have redemption or salvation. Each day, thank Him for what we have :)

Tonight while in the midst of trying to clear the thoughts inside my head (anyone seen my helmet? LOL) there was a song that all of the sudden popped into my head. The song is Tonight I Wanna Cry by Keith Urban. The lyrics kinda stuck with me....and I dont know if it were by chance, but then I went to read a blog I read very regularly and there was the song again...almost like fate. I was on the phone talking and then I heard the song playing! So I had to sit down and just freewrite.

In just a couple weeks, April 24th to be exact, it will be 11 years since my grandfather died. I remember the day I found out like it was yesterday. His days of pain and suffering were no more. I am reminded of his funeral and the verses that were read (click here to view the verses) by Pastor Keith. I am reminded of that day, as the sun shined down on us, and the dinner we had afterwards. I am also reminded of one of my favorite verses of the bible Isaiah 53:5 which reads "...But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed." This was the "battle-cry" if you will, for one of my all time favorie bands, Stryper.

Tonight, my sister called me up and told me she was making our grandmother's famous crabcakes...I can see her making them now...and even though it has been over 6 years since she died (Jan 12th), I can still see her making them in her kitchen, with her cast-iron skillet, and that sweet savory smell of Old-Bay Seasoning. Thank you for bringing a smile to my face today :)

This past week's TT13 was kind of like a prelude to my writing tonight, although when I wrote it, I had no idea I would be writing this tonight. Today is a day to be thankful of those around us. I am thankful for each person in my life. Whether we have met before in person or not, in some way shape or form there is a bond there...of similarity, life experiences, triumphs, and sadness. We share these experiences in the hopes that there are people out there who understand what it is that we deal with on a daily basis. For me, my writings are a release of what I am thinking at that moment, or what is building up inside of me. At first, I thought I could write to be funny or whimsical. But then I found that I could write, to just be me. Then I found out other people would read what I wrote, and let me know what they thought of my writings. It inspired me to continue to do this. So in me, is inspiration from you. And this medium, a way to relate and release.

With that, I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday weekend!

J-Dawg

Thursday 13 -- 04/05/07

Hey everyone! Hopefully everyone is doing well. So this week, I thought I would focus on 13 Things that make me happy. And just so you know, these are in no-way any particular order :)

1. My kids – They are the light of my life – every day I get to spend with them makes me happy. This weekend is Easter. I cant wait to see how they react to their Easter baskets.
2. My family -- my family is my centerpoint. They keep me grounded. They bring me up when I am down. They celebrate with me the happy times. I dont know where I would be without mine. I love my sister and my dad and my mom.
3. Baseball season – IT IS FINALLY Here – I am happy! I am happier when I am actually at a stadium, watching live baseball, but I will be just as happy just to watch it at home.
4. NASCAR – I love racing – it is WAY more than just driving in circles, and is WAY more than just a redneck sport…although if they start naming the cup or any race after feminine hygiene products, I might have to put my foot down…but to quote the great Larry the Cable Guy "…and here comes the#7 Jack Daniels car being followed very closely by the #50 Coca Cola chaser car" :)
5. Working on computers - I get a charge out of fixing other people's computer problems :) HEY, why do you think I have my own computer business.
6. Spring (well, if it will come here and STAY!) I like the nicer weather - I can get out and do things. Although last week we hit the upper 70's and 81 one day. Today it was 34 for a high, and 35, 34, 37, and 35 for the next 4 days highs. OY!
7. Did I mention my kids? Well, since I have two, I can mention them twice :)
8. Shows about preparing seafood. Dont know what it is but every time I watch one, I think of my grandma making her crabcakes in the cast iron skillet...I can taste them now
9. Finding new music. I recently heard of a band names LoNero and they are so awesome! Pure rock, no ego trips - just music. Check them out here.
10. My Blogger friends....I enjoy taking the time to read what people write (as much as I can with my schedule sometimes)....although I am still not where I want to be in getting to comment on everyone's page...I really am trying though!
11. My friend Luis was in town on Sunday - we got to go to dinner and just relax for a couple of hours and shoot the breeze. He wanted to buy me dinner for helping him out all the time like I do with whatever it is he needs help with. I tried to tell him its what friends are for. Its nice that after 11+ years, and living over 1000 miles apart that we can get together from time to time and just hang out.
12. Alone time - I like the fact that if I need to just "be" that I can just "be" without having to justify my actions. If I wanna just be, I can just be....no questions asked :)
13. Me time - Again, no need to justify time for me -- if I want time to go to dinner with a friends, watch the NCAA tourney at a bar with a friend, whatever .. I can just do it and just have some Me time.

I hope you have enjoyed this little diddy. Have a wonderful week everyone!

J-Dawg

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of this is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things.

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

MLB Opening Day and NCAA Final Game

Well, today was Opening Day for the 2007 Major League Baseball season. I have high hopes for the Baltimore Orioles this year. I am hoping for at least 86-76 this year (if not better -- better is always good!) Today, they lost 7-4 in Minneapolis to the Twins...so we are starting 0-1. But...the O's are traditionally a 2nd half team...so I dont worry too much in the early weeks - just as long as we dont start 0-21 :)

Tonight, the final game of the NCAA Tournament happened. To collect on my Super Bowl bet win, I got treated to beer and wings....so...just before the game, we made ANOTHER bet...he had OSU, and I had Florida...I bet Florida would win 82-76, and he bet OSU would win 75-68....well Florida won tonight 85-74 (DAMN I was close!)I was 46-17 in the brackets this year, beating out Rick (AKA The Commish)...HOWEVER, to Rick's defense, I was on the phone with him during the last 42 seconds...Rick had "9" as the number on his board, meaning if the final digits for each team (IE 85-74 --- 5+4 = 9)then he would win -- well - HE WON!!! And proceeded to scream at the top of his lungs that he won! I kept telling him OSU 3 plus Florida 2 free-throws and he would win -- and sure enough!! :) It was a great night. Had a great time out with my friend Mark from work...

It was a good night -- I needed a night like tonight - no worries :) Just release....

J