Phelp’s a Bad Guy? No, Just Sowing His Oats… February 6, 2009

First, I’m not a sports fan per se, let alone, a drone who sits at home, wading through hours of Olympic events. I did watch Phelps swim his way into history and he was the highlight of the Olympic games.

I was reading today about his fall from grace. He’s banned from swimming for three month’s and Kellogg’s is dropping him from its cereal boxes. Now, I think Kellogg’s is a lame ass company to begin with and I won’t buy their cereal for a number of reasons, one being price.

OK, out comes my can of Whoop Ass on Kellogg’s. Who gives a damn of Phelps is on a cereal box? Does Kellogg’s think were all stupid enough to believe that if we eat their cereal we’ll be able to propel ourselves through a pool at 90 miles per hour? Who cares? In fact, are American consumers so dumb as to be influenced by an image on a box Kellogg’s cereal? I hope not. I don’t buy food based upon who’s face, ass, legs or thighs are branded to the box or can. I buy fod based on price and Kellogg’s charges way too much for their sugar coated crap in a box.

Phelps is a young guy (a kid) and he’s sowing his oats (so to speak) and he has every right in the world to experiment with drugs, tobacco and alcohol. If Phelps can swim as fast as he does - and still get high – then all the power to him. I know guys who get high and who can’t even remember their names or, even walk more than a few steps to get food – when the munchies kick in:-)

Phelps did NOTHING wrong and whomever posted that picture of him should be drawn and quartered in the press (by the press) not the other way around. What about Phelp’s privacy?

Is Phelp’s entitled to some privacy here? What he does in the privacy of his own dorm and with other friends is his business. No doubt, someone who was sitting there (with Phelps) was passing round the pipe and he or she is just as guilty as Phelps, however, we don’t see the photo taker getting whacked by the press.

Does Phelps have sex before or after an event? Does he masturbate before or after an event? Does he eat Kellogg’s cereals while watching porno? Does he wipe his butt with his left or right hand?

See the point? Who’s business is it what ANYONE does when it comes to their own bodies? I think that people have gone far enough in rooting out celebrity vices. We all have vices and we all do strange things on a daily basis. No one is perfect.

The press have no place casting stones or, even reporting on this nonsense, as it’s nothing but nonsense. Kellogg’s should be out there handing out free boxes of cereal to the homeless and to under nourished kids, as opposed to worrying about what the public thinks about Phelps sucking on a pipe. In fact, how do we know the image is real? How do we know that there was pot in the pipe? In fact, if there was pot in the pipe, how do we know he even inhaled? Then again, who cares, move on America…

Ha, Ha, Ha, A Bush Library for $300M? January 5, 2009

Do we really need another Presidential Library? Do we need another structure for George Bush when daddy already has a library? Why not double up? Like father, like son, the apple don’t fall from the tree and waste not, want not, does not seem to fit the bill for this first-first family, which has come in last!

Bush, Sr. has a library and museum in College Station, Texas. Now, I ask anyone, do we really need two libraries for the first-first family? It’s absolutely comical to think that Bush will also add that extra special touch by including a Policy Institute within his new world. Just what the hell is a Policy Institute?

The price tag for this venture is 300 million dollars and will be raised through donations. Is this some type of joke? If Bush is going to go out and raise 300M to build another Comedy Central then I certainly hope that Americans will NOT give their money to such a wasteful cause. If Bush was any kind of man, he’d double-up with dad at College Station and raise the 300M for the homeless or, better yet, GO RAISE 300M TO HELP RE-BUILD NEW ORLEANS!

Yeah, Mr. President, you remember New Orleans don’t ya? It’s that place you visited with your FEMA Director – the one you commended on doing such a great job. How about redeeming yourself Mr. President? How about doing GOOD work in your retirement years by going to New Orleans and helping the re-build effort? Oh, I forgot, out of sight – out of mind. All those homeless folks will just have to find a way to get by.

If you do build a library, maybe you should include some books about crisis management? Better yet, how about putting some of those weapons of mass destruction (found in Iraq), on display in your museum? Then again, there don’t appear to be any WMDA’s laying about the place to put on display – just thousands of dead American soldiers.

If it sounds like I’m a bit peeved at this nonsense, I am. What’s more disturbing about this Library idea is that if the Bush Library is actually built (and he manages to convince people to donate 300M) then the taxpayers of America can (once again) foot the bill by ponying up the money to operate this venture for many, many, many, many years to come.

When I met President Bush and shook his hand, I must say that his weak handshake did not instill any confidence in me nor my belief in his abilities. When I left the room, people asked me what it was like to speak with the President of the Free World and shake his hand. I said “we’re in a lot of trouble” and he didn’t prove me wrong in eight years. The Bush family should do the “right thing” and take some lessons from Jimmy Carter, go build something that actually does something for the human race – NOT for yourself - and your own vanity.

Just a head’s up - the world does not need another library – we have this thing called the Internet.

I’m Blue over Bluetooth (at times)… June 14, 2008

My cell phone minutes climbed to over 6,000 last month (a record for me), as Verizon now offers an unlimited calling plan. As I no longer have to watch the minutes I use on a monthly basis, I can talk to anyone for as long I wish. In fact, I’m talking so much on my cell each day that I often think I just might run out of things to say. But, there’s always something more to say and of course, there are follow-up calls to just about every initial call, as when a call falls into the call waiting queue, I will always end up telling the current caller to “let me know what happens” as my way of letting them know - our time is up. I then start fumbling with the buttons in the hope that I can click the “send” button quick enough in order to take the next call before it sends it into voicemail.

I recently watched a segment on CNN, which speculates that excessive cell phone use may lead to brain tumors. The CNN piece got me thinking and paranoia clicked in. I noticed that my cell phone is always hot to the touch and I started imagining radio wave coursing through my brain with each and every call.

Can radio waves cause headaches? I seem to remember that my bout with headaches has increased over the past few months. In order to confirm my suspicions, I immediately checked my medicine cabinet and lo and behold found one small and one extra-large bottle of Advil. I figured that this was the confirmation I needed to go out and buy a Bluetooth.

Just how many minutes on the cell does it take to fry your brain? No idea, but, I wasn’t taking any chances and went the Bluetooth route.

Now, the Bluetooth is pretty slick in design, however, I have one problem with it and that’s the stares I get from people in the supermarket and at the mall. At times, I feel like a complete idiot wearing it in public. I can now hear people’s thoughts and when I get a curious stare I can hear people thinking – beam that one up to the mother-ship:-) No doubt, this is my imagination working overtime and if I feel a wee bit uncomfortable (in public) with this “thingy” sticking out of my ear. Sometimes, I can be standing in a check-out line at Target and find myself whispering into my Bluetooth, however, people will turn to me and say “excuse me?” as if I’m talking too loud or worse, to myself. In fact, I find myself raising my voice on the Bluetooth, as I think the volume of my voice has to be raised to keep that connection loud and clear between my Bluetooth and the cell tucked away in my pocket.

When I get too uncomfortable with my public display of Star Trek (lookalike) technology, I retire it into my pocket until I get back into the car or, better yet, into the non-judgemental confines of my home.  However, when my cell phone rings in between my race from the check-out line (the point of Bluetooth disconnect) and the dash to the car, I’ll still answer my cell but, hold it far away from my ear, which makes me look like I have some type of “can you hear me now” reception problem. 

At home, I walk around with the “thingy” in my ear for most of the day and feel a sense of independence from those dangerous radio waves. It’s been a few weeks since Bluetooth came into my life and my headaches have decreased dramatically. I feel more comfortable in public, as I see others in places like Borders and Barnes & Noble walking around with a “thingy” in their ear. I can hear them whispering into their Bluetooth in between ordering a Latte or browsing the aisles. I have now added Barnes & Noble and Borders to my Bluetooth “safe points”. In fact, on my last visit to Borders I found even more Bluetooth aficionado’s in full whisper-mode and this just confirmed what I thought all along, spare yourself the tumor and get a Bluetooth!