Twitter

Twitter is more and more addicting...

Follow me on there

http://twitter.com/CootieB

Fair? No... Not really

I am a big Twitter fan. With the news as it hits I am able to keep up with the current times, and know what is going on. Far more than in Yahoo, FaceBook and so on. Not that I talk to a lot of people on Twitter or anything, but I do watch what others post, and what other people say. And I get caught up on current events. Like I actually knew MJ was in the hospital before it was news... People on Twittter have connections! LOL

Just recently Ashton Kutcher (http://twitter.com/aplusk) posted: "happy to be alive. lets celebrate. party tonight at Turtle Bay Bar in #NYC. Say "Spread" at the door for 1/2 off drinks! on me!" This in celebration that his private jet had to land, due to a fire in the engine, and had to land.

Now this is a little upsetting... All the stuff he does for hunger relief, and as popular as he is. He is now blowing away money that I am sure he feels is hard earned. And he is in my opinion wasting the money he has. When it could go to a better cause. As I am sure where ever this bar is in NYC, it is an expensive one, and a drink is likey $15.00 or so... If he pays 1/2 on all drinks... Someone has say 4 drinks that is $28.00 for that one person.. The hundreds of people that hear about it... lets say that 300 people show up and do that,... That is $8400.00 he will be spending on drinks for people. WOW!

here I am needing a car, so that my wife can have the one for the kids, and school, and so I have have one to go to work and so on... and he is just blowing this much money, not counting the plane there.

If he wants to help people and get a pat on the back for it,... Help me or someone else that needs financial help, and get a family back together, that can last a long time, over paying for people to get a little buzz one night, and not really care about the reason or cause.

Now I am sure lots of famous people get the same kind of crap, but he is Ashton Kutcher for crying out loud. He is probably the most well known actor of his time, and if he wants to set an example, help someone here in the US that is needing a little help and make a huge impression on them and everyone that hears about it (as it would spread fast).

So is it fair that these actors and actress's get paid these thousands of millions of dollars to be more of an icon for people to watch and love and want to be like. And the normal working class, living from paycheck to paycheck pays rent on a 4th class home. And then they blow the money on Booze or something that, that can only get a pleasure one time.

A waste...

How is Kinda to be used?

The other day my daughter was explaining how her brother had hit his head. Rather than being simple with the explanation it was a long drawn out story. Something like this:

Well,... Joshie was playing with Superman, and I was the princess, and we were trying to get on the boat so the Tigers would not get us. He "pushded" me and I told him not to, and then I punched him, but when he was jumping on the bed Buzz Lightyear got under his foot, and he fell off the bed... and he kinda hit his head... ...

Ok... all I asked her was how he hit his head, and where, and it turned into an entire story like the Star Wars Saga. But then it occured to me,... She said he "kinda" hit his head. How do you Kinda hit your head?

So I started thinking about the word Kinda. Compliments of the "Urban Dictionary" the word Kinda is short for Kind of or Sort of. So I came back to my original thought, how do you use the word Kinda in a sentence. I know you cannot kinda hit your head. Either you hit it or you don't. you cannot kinda: die, snore, eat, throw, fart, etc... There are several things that the word kinda in front of it makes not sense at all. If you are a gamer you may be kinda away, meaning you are close by, but may not reply asap. Or you can be kinda bored, not real bored, but enough that you want to find something to do.

At any rate, my daughter using the word for her brother hitting his head on the bed, was just not the best use for the word kinda, but it was rather comical that it was used cause it got me to thinking of the many times that word is used and does not really make sense in the sentence or statement it is being used in.


Kinda

Finally changed services

After having my current cable, internet and phone provider for 2 1/2 years now I have had enough and decided to change.

Being with Charter Communications through a lot of stuff, I had enough on my last billing. To fill you in on what had happened, it would take forever, but I will just explain my recent issues.

I called about a month ago I contacted them to advise them that my current services are costing me too much and I am going to need to make some changes in the services in order to keep paying for it. So, I called to have some items removed to reduce my charges. Dropping off movie channels I did not use or watch, dropping the line service for the house as they had never been int o do anything, and some digital package off the cable. Reducing it by about 25 to 30 dollars total. Being as how my original billing was to be around 130.00 a month, and I had been being billed about 170.00 to 180.00 a month. I thought that I was being fair.

The next month after having all theses charges removed and changes made to my account, I got my bill and to my surprise the price was a little more than the previous month, and that was after these other fees and charges were to be removed. I then review the bill online to see what had happened and saw several things that I did not understand.

So I contact Charter Communications. I ask them about my services and that I think that since i had called last month to have some reductions done, that my bill should be less than what it is now. And after about 10 min of waiting (using internet to discuss it, cause I did not feel like talking to someone that could barely speak english), I received an answer that the account was reviewed and all the services and all the charges were correct. WHAT? Was my answer. That was not what I was asking...

So I decided to break it down, and got each charge and asked about it. Phone was 39.99 and I was being charged 46.95. After 5 min I got a reply that it was due to ret call (*69) being used and it was 1.75 each.

Ok... I was cool with that, next was the internet. Being charged 59.99 and it was 45.00 the previous month. After about 8 min I was advised that the promotion that I was on, and it was expired and I am now being charged full price. It would have been nice a month ago had the person that I was talking to was to have told me that, since they knew I was attempting to lower my bill, and they did not even mention it to me. But...

Ok.. I can understand that. But then I get to the cable. and I had removed movie channels (10.00) and some kind of digital package (17.99) and my cable charges were exactly the same. in 10 min I get the answer that the services were reviewed and it all is correct. ...

>_<

Again, not answering my question. And it really made me mad that I was calling a month prior to have a reduction in my billing, and then I get a bill the next month for more than I had before. What the Crap! I gave up trying to talk to them about it.

Now this has happened all the time with Charter Communications. Having a question or issue with my bill, and I needed to have an answer and after going through 5 people that barley speak english I would get someone that could explain what has happened to me. Even though I did not like it, I would grin and bare it. Even when they closed their local office location where I was making me drive several miles away to a near by city to do any office things, I was upset. Then this happens.

So,... I call them last night to tell them to cancel. I already had a local company to me hook my cable up, internet with fiber optic service, and then phone ported over. And the charter person had the gaul to offer me the same services I had including DVR and something else that I would not use for like 109.00 a month. WHAT?!!?!? Why did they not offer it to me earlier, when I had the problem? As I had to explain to the person several times... I like my local company, and I am getting the same services that Charter had me under for about 1/2 the price. About 20 min later I think the operator got the hint that I was not happy, and I did not want my services anymore with charter. Offer after offer to keep me. Why was I not offered all this crap before I had enough of the issues and wanted out?

At any rate I have switched my Service provider. After a couple years of paying bills, I am no longer a Charter Communications customer, and I am glad, as now I am saving about 100.00 a month and getting the same services I had, with no lapse in service.

Darn Tooth Fairey!

As we all know, the tooth fairey is a childhood favorite. Loose a tooth and then place then under your pillow (or where ever you put them growing up) and then in the morning this fairey that has a thing for teeth, breaks into your house and steals the tooth leaving money in the place of it. It is kinda like a drug deal. Leave the goods in a pre-definded location and then the switch is made, you get rid of something you do not need anymore and get something better in return! HOW GREAT IS THAT!

Well... here is how todays story begins.

My daughter went to her Papaw's house this weekend, and well lost a tooth. So she came home all excited about it wanting to put it under her pillow and get some money. After a few hours it was bed time, and we had to get the tooth ready for the exchange.

Going to bed we placed the tooth in a little case (a plastic box the dentist gave us) and under the pillow it went. And the kids both went fast to sleep.

If you still believe in the tooth fairey, please stop reading now, your story has ended.

Reading, watching TV and playing games caused Kim and I to forget that we had a tooth that we needed to claim under our daughters pillow. We went to bed at like 11:00 or so, and was sound asleep when 3:00sm mny daughter comes into my room all out sobbing and crying. "The Tooth Fairey did not come" she exclaimed. With tears rolling down her face. She had checked under her pillow and noticed that the case that held the tooth was still there, and knew that she had been forgotten.

being quick thinking, and for 3:30am that is pretty good, we did come up with a story that the tooth fairey may be off on Sundays or that she was busy and had not made it to our house yet. After about 30 min of her crying and just sure that the tooth fairey did not like her anymore, we were able to convince her to go back to sleep at about 4:00. As soon as she was back in the bed we were scrambling to get a note ready for cale, and some money to leave under her pillow.

At 4:30 in the morning I sliped into her room, and made the excange, and back to bed I went. 15 min later my daughter comes back in my room.. Very excited she said "The Tooth Fairey Came!", waking me up again, from the sleep I had just gotten back to. had to read the note to her. I then had to run her back to her room to go back to sleep.

Never forget to be the tooth fairey!!!! It will come back to bite you!

Courage

This excerpt from a book called "Walk The Talk". I like this a lot, and it seems fitting this morning to be thinking about this.

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QUESTION: What does “courage” have to do with being a person of good character...with someone who stays true to their principles and their values?

ANSWER: EVERYTHING!

You see, being values-driven means two things:

1 - Doing what’s right – following our conscience; refusing to compromise our principles, despite pressures and temptations to the contrary, and

2 - Taking a stand against what’s wrong – speaking out, whenever we see others do things that are incorrect or inappropriate.
Unquestionably, both of those require guts and fortitude...they require courage.

Courage is...

- Following your conscience instead of “following the crowd”.
- Refusing to take part in hurtful or disrespectful behaviors.
- Sacrificing personal gain for the benefit of others.
- Speaking your mind even though others don’t agree.
- Taking complete responsibility for your actions...and your mistakes.
- Following the rules – and insisting that others do the same.
- Challenging the status quo in search of better ways.
- Doing what you know is right- regardless of the risks and potential consequences.

I’d like to share the “Cadet Prayer” that is repeated during chapel services at the U.S. Military
Academy:

Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole truth can be won. Endow us with the courage that is born of loyalty to all that is noble and worthy, that scorns to compromise with vice and injustice and knows no fear when truth and right are in jeopardy.

That is truly the essence of courage.

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That really means a lot to me.

... and now my yard is destroyed.

The title of my rant for today is one of the statements we all got to complete in school at one point in time. I can recall all the stuff I would put in mine to make it as dumb as possible, however this one is actually legit.

This story goes back a few days. I noticed my front yard a little wet in places. And that place happened to be in front of the water meter at my house. No big deal really. It had been raining a lot, and I did not think nothing of it. A couple days later I noticed that the wet area was still there, and their was no rain, so there was obviously a problem.

Pulling off the lid to the water meter, there it was. The whole thing was full of water, and slowly leaking out and causing a swamp area in my front yard, flowing down the hill, puddling up in places.

So first thing I did was call the land lord to advise him, I then also called the water company, leaving messages for both of them.

After some conversation with the water company and looking at the meter to realise it was not running, so the leak was not on my end, and was part of the pipe from the water company. They came up... looked around a little, and commented on how big of a pain it will be, and the next morning they will be there to get started to fix the leak.

The next day the electric company and water came up to the house and marked all over the yard with some bright spray paint. Making a pretty design all across the yard. After that the water company decided to start digging. Digging a hole out in the front of the yard around the meter, to see what they could see I guess, and then a matching hole in the back... not sure why for that one. I think they were wanting to move the line, and decided not to put the meter there, and eventually filled up the hole again.

Leaving filled holes in the yard they left.

The next morning, they came again, except this time with a bobcat, and a ditch witch. O_O

So they decided to put the meter from the side, and move it to the other end of the house, and cut off the pipe that was causing the leak. Again not really doing anything with the hole they dug in the back yard. Using the ditch witch they dug a ditch about 40 yards long and buried the pipe across my yard from where it was originally, to the end of the house. Luckily it was under the deck, so it is not as bad.

So to get the big picture, they filled in the holes they made, however they did not pack it at all. So it looks like I have a fresh grave in my back yard next to the back door, and another one in the front under my bedroom window. And a long ditch that some of the dirt has sunk into, last night making it look like I am living on a fault line. However none of the other holes were packed at all, they just set the dirt on top of the holes, I guess hoping that the dirt would all go back to where it was before, and would never be able to tell...

... and now my yard is destroyed.

Stupid FB and MySpace....

Ok... Not only am I a game addict, but now I am becoming a Facebook and MySpace addict also.

Facebook as all the little addicting games on it I can access from work and the little polls and crap to see what your chinese name would be, and how good a kisser you are. And of course some of them get your attention and you just have to click on it.

Then you have MySpace with all the different things you can format and rearrange on your page. Add songs, colors, text, etc... There is so much functionality with it, people cannot keep from going there.

Unfortunatly I am on both of them. Mainly the people from work are on my Facebook page, and then a couple of my good friends are on MySpace. So I am stuck in the middle. I like FB cause of the simplicity of it, but I like MySpace for the apps and freedom to rearrange stuff.

I prefer FB just cause it is easier to do, and far less flashy. However, it always locks up on me, and is very annoying.

So now I catch myself checking my messages on there all the time during the day. I quit smoking and so I surf and socialize with people. jumping back and fourth between them and a little twitter on the side, all while checking my gmail throughout the day, and checking my work email and talking to customers on the phone. UGH!

THANKS A LOT FOR MAKING MY DAY MORE PACKED FACEBOOK AND MYSPACE!

Just makes me sick.

Driving down the road the other day and I get behind a convertible Porsche. Oh and do not get me wrong it was a very nice car, and I liked it personally cause it was black. But as I look at the driver of the car, he looked like he was 18 or something.

WHOA!!!!

How in the heck did this 18 year old get to drive a Porsche?!?!

After a couple seconds of being confused the feeling of anger swept over me. I realized that I was driving through an upper class neighborhood and it was not surprising to see the nice cars and spoiled kids.

So, here is my problem. It is obvious some people have more money than they know what to do with to give a new driver a very pricey sports car. The reasons being:

1 - These cars are very expensive and from what I gather you need to special order them. Meaning that they require a lot of money up front, and a heavy shipping fee to get it delivered.

2 - Most all new drivers 15-21 do some stupid stuff. Showing off, hot roding, and other stupid things. So an accident is going to happen, and that expensive car will be ripped to pieces.

3 - Everyone knows about these cars are expensive, and driving it around lets everyone know you have money. Just like a status symbol.

So, what makes me really sick is the fact that this 18 year old kid has this very nice car, and cruising around in it. I am certain he did not buy it and has no great respect for it. He also probably does not pay the insurance on the car, cause being a sports car and a convertible it is bound to be costly. He is likely having everything they want given to him, and not earning or respecting it. And here I am along with several other of the US citizens with barely enough to make ends meet and driving a car that needs more work done to it that it is worth, and still making payments on it.

My problem with this whole situation is that these people that are making the big bucks, yeah I am sure they have some big bills to pay too, and that is a problem. Should they live like everyone else, and buy all this extra crap (Status Symbols) they could be using all this extra money in their areas improving the economy. Take the money it cost for that freaking Porsche and by a 24,000 car and take the rest and buy gas, food and drinks from the local gas stations. They can go buy a pallet of food from Wal Mart and donate it to a food bank, or give some money directly to the food banks, to where they can help feed people that need it. Or heck... go by about 15 cars for the price of that Porsche and donate the cars to charities for helping them get funds to pay for their services (Shriners).

It just makes me sick to see these people that have all this money, and them wasting it on material things and yet their neighbor is having a hard time keeping their electricity on in their house and sharing 1 car for the family.

Disliking spring

I do not like spring. It has to be one of the worst seasons for me,... ever.

When spring hits of course it means it will start getting hot outside. That is not too bad, even though I do not like the sun, and I do not like hot weather. It makes me more of an inside person.

One of the things I hate the most is the bugs. Spring there is the "renewal of life" crap and all the animals and bugs and crap come out. And me being very allergic to bees I do not like it at all. And I am to the point of having a phobia of bees and will not go outside at all when they are even close by. And having a lot of wasps, honey bees and yellow jackets flying around my front deck does not help the fact. I get paranoid when I am outside and I see a bee, if I cannot see it the whole time, I get freaked out.

When aside from the bees I am very allergic to some kind of pollin this time of year. The yellow dust that clings all over the cars and ads a yellow highlight to the cars. So... as soon as the pollin starts getting thick, I start suffering. It all starts with the sneezing. Then it will move on to the eyes itching, and burning. And then hard to breathe, or difficult to take in a full deep breath. Yeah, I am miserable at this time of year.

The bad part is I was not always this bad. It really did not hit me until I was in my teens sometime, and I was moving yards with my dad for money in the summer, and one day it just hit me. And it hit me hard. I thought I had something in my eye and was freaking out, but then the symptoms and problems got worse as the years went on.

I actually use to help my neighbor put up hay in the spring and summer. It was good money, but it was horrible. First of all me being a chunky person, and walking out in a field in the hot sun, was not a barrel of fun. I wore a tank top and shorts, and I was to wear a long sl;eeve shirt and pants cause of the hay, but I would roast. Then on top of that I had bad allergies, and was even allergic to the hay. So, each night when I got home from putting up the hay, I was covered in whelps and a red rash. Itching and burning all over my arms, knees and legs. But it was good money. ^_^

So, spring is my least favorite time of the year, cause of the pollin and allergies that hit me hard. And today is pretty bad.

The last word.

Why is it that people that are mad always call and talk to people that have nothing to do with the situation or the reason they are mad in the first place. And once they are on the phone blame the person that they are speaking with about their issues.

It seems like a regular occurance here in my job. Someone is mad about their ads, that we charged a late fee, or even that we are billing them at all, and they cannot afford it. Nevermind that they were the ones that signed up for and approved what they got.

So..., An average call that comes in when a customer is concerned it always starts out them wanting to know the balance or something normal on the account. Then once they are advised of the balance is when the whole can has been opened and the flood of "You people did.." begins. Blaming the person on the phone cause of the mistake in what they are paying for. And a majority of the time it is exactly what they had agreed to or signed up for. And the conversation always goes the path that we are all wrong, we have done nothing right, and they are the correct one, and we should give them 100% credit toward their billing....

Why is it that people forget the contracts they sign, or they think the business they are dealing with loose the documentation for the agreement that was made. It would be like someone calling the business they have their car loan on, and because the car does not get better gas mileage than they were told it would, to take off on the charges.

And do people not realize that the person they get on the phones or speak with in person are not directly related to the issue most of the time. So, what good does it do to scream and yell and make an idoit of yourself to someone that had nothing to do with the whole reason why you are mad in the first place. For the most part the person you are speaking with can likely solve the problem or resolve the issue, and is less likely to want to assist a screaming person.

The old saying applies here. You can be more attractive with Honey than with Vinegar. And most people are more willing to do more for a person that is pleasant on the other end than a hateful person.

Red Herring?

last night watching NCIS, and Dr Mallard (Ducky) was talking about something being a Red herring and his assistance (cannot remember his name) was saying that he did not understand where that expression came from and did not understand it.

Ducky then proceeded to explain the meaning behind the expression.

Believe it or not, "Red Herring" has as much to do with hunting dogs as with brightly colored fish. Here's how: A herring is a soft-finned bony fish. People who like to eat herring have long preserved them by salting and slow smoking them. That process makes a herring turn red or dark brown -- and gives them a very strong smell. Dogs love to sniff such smelly treats, a fact that makes the fish a perfect diversion for anyone trying to distract hunting dogs from the trail of their quarry. The practice of using preserved fish to confuse hunting dogs led to the use of the term 'red herring' for anything that diverts attention from the issue at hand.

So... When the Fox Hunters had their hunt there was times where they would take a Herring and drag it on the ground in an attempt to lure the dogs away from the scent of the fox, as a diversion from the real scent. So the term Red herring was invented as being a distraction. And the good hunting dogs were not distracted by the scent of the fish.

So, I thought it was very interresting that this expression has been used for a long time now, and I have even used it I am sure, but never really knew the meaning of it.

Now I am also wandering if there was any Red herrings that I have fallen for in the past. I am sure there are. I am sure I thought something else was appealing and pulled my attention away from the real reward.

Is this a test?

Well... I heard the greatest analogy yesterday. It was "When you are taking a test, the teacher is quiet". As I heard this and the context of which it was used... It really meant a lot to me.

When you are in school, that was always the case, when there was a test, did not matter what kind of test it was, the entire room was quiet. Not only because it was a test and if you talked the teacher always assumed that you were cheating, and take your test away from you, and not even listen to to the reason you were talking in the first place, but because people were focusing on getting the test done and complete. During this time the teacher was also quiet. They were not at their desk jamming to music, playing with GI Joes or Barbies, heating celery and granola bars, or anything. Usually they were at their desk grading papers, looking around, watching the clock, and generally being very quiet too.

Why would that matter? Why would a teacher also need to be quiet. Well, of course the obvious is that they want the students to do the best they can, and provide the best possible atmosphere for the students to concentrate on the test and their answers.

Why were there tests given you may ask. It was to see what you learned from the class to a certain point. And to make sure you understand what was covered in the class. If you did not understand or scored a low grade, it was most likely the case the teacher would cover the material again in class to make sure everyone was on the same page.

So... back to the content of when this was said. I was at church and the pastor was discussing that life is not all going to be pleasant, and that we will have our tests and trials too. We need to give up control to God, and let him control our lives. To basically surrender to god. In either case it will not be hard but God will be with us. Then came the analogy; When you are taking a test, the teacher is quiet. When god is testing you, he is being quiet, he is still there, and still with you watching you, and there if you have a question, but he is being quiet to help you make the right choice or for you to think about the answer to the question on the test.

So when lives lessons are hard and there are tests in life just remember, the teacher is still there with you, watching you, and there if you have a question.

WOW. I am feeling good today!

Back into Twitter....

Well... This morning I got on to Twitter, was about to close my account and wish everyone well. Not that I have a ton of followers or anything, but just for fun to say my goodbyes.


When I got on I saw a couple posts from the Smashing Pumpkins fan site/forums, and that Billy C had joined up on Twitter. And for those that know me, I am a huge SP fan. I have been reading up on them, and just recently found out that they were working on a new CD. So I have been listening to all their music lately getting ready for the album to release. And when it does release, just like all the gaming goobers, I plan on being at the store when they open to be one of the first to purchase the new CD. And scream like a little girl if needed.



So, anyway... I logged on saw that Billy was not on Twitter, and about messed myself. LOL! So I immediatly responded with a "YEEEEEAAAAAAAH" and then added Billy to my following list.











Let me now talk about me and SP. I have never been to a concert or anything, however I think I would prolly punch the president in the face to get tickets. Well... I would prolly punch him in the face anyway, but I would risk a lot to go see them live. And it would have to be Front row tickets so I can see them up close. Backstage passes I would prolly have a heart attack. So, anyway... when I was in Middle school/high school, was when "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" came out, and the video was on MTV like every hour or so, and I hated it. I could not stand it cause it was always playing. So, after a few huindred times of hearing the song, I began to like it, and eventually loved the song.

Long story made a little shorter, I Eventuallty got all the CD's that were out, and as soon as Adore came out I got it, that being my favorite of all the CD's. I still go back to Zero, Bullet with butterfly wings, and Rocket and so on, but the Adore CD is the greatest in my opinion. And I have been waiting for them to put out another one. They had too many songs and CDs come out to not have another or be like the Eagles and not get back together for a jam session or something.



If you cannot tell I am a huge SP fan, and I like all their songs, and have all their CD's. And got over excited when I heard they were working on a new album, and then now Billy, the voice of SP is on twitter.



For those that are not Familiar with Smashing Pumpkins. Some suggestions for songs to listen to: Thirty-Three, Ava Adore, 1979, Tonight, Today, Bullet with butterfly wings, Rocket, and Zero. That is a good medly of music from them, some hard and some soft Check them out on Imeem http://www.imeem.com/tag/Smashing%20pumpkins/. Be sure to check out Billy on Twitter! http://twitter.com/Billy

Getting over Twitter now

Well... When I first heard about Twitter, I thought it was the greatest thing. And I even had a reply from Jim Breuer. So I was all about it there for a while. I have since lost my drive to even go to the site.

Now, granted it was nice to be nosey and read what the famous people of th world are doing at the present moment. But then the more I see, you can tell a lot of them, are not the actual person at all, but more like an assistant doing all the Tweets for them. And yes, you can actually tell. One that sticks out in my mind was Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The tweets from him was always "The Rock" this and "The Rock" that and so on. if I recall there was something on the news or something about a year or so ago saying that Dwayne Johnson no longer wants to be called "The Rock" and this was a big deal. If that is the case, why is he referring to himself as "The Rock" all the time.

Then there are some that are all about replying, but only to other famous people. Or to the cute people... Blah Blah Blah...

ANYWAY. I have totally lost interrest in it. You cannot tell if it is the actual person doing it, and it is way too cluttered.

I think I will officially drop my account from there.

Yellow Dots?

My daughter is in Kindergarden this year, and things have changed a lot since I was in school. And honestly that was not that long ago. Or at least to me it was not.

Now after the Christmas break they do not have nap time anymore. That was the biggest thing. I was about floored. How can you take away Nap time from school. The children are already tired from getting up early, and by the time my daughter gets home from school she is beat and is going to bed at 6:30 or 7:00 every night. And the worst part, she wakes up at 6:00 or so every morning. NO MATTER what time she goes to bed. I have kept her up until 10:00 at night and she still is up by 6:30. OMG! I need my beauty rest, and for those that know me, I need all I can get, and I have been deprived for a while now.

The next thing... They do not have snack time anymore. WHAT!?!? Yeah you heard me right, there is no snack time in the school. At this time I bet you are thinking she goes to a private school, and no, she is in public school. So they no longer have snack time. That would not be so bad, but I think that it was helpful to keep the chilkdrens attention. Cause at home they eat all day long prety much so Kindergarden should have a snack or something near the afternoon sometime. Right now mu daughter has lunch at like 11:30 or something, then she goes until 3:00 and gets home at 3:10 or something. The joys of being a block away from school. As soon as she walks in the door from school, she is starving to death. She has to have a snack before we eat supper, a couple hours later. If there was a snack time at school sometime it may not be as bad. Not to mention school lunch is not near long enough to eat, talk with your friends, plan out who is playing what at recess, what you did the night before, who your new best friend is, and so on. There is a lot of important conversations that happen at lunch in school that you can only plan there. And then try to eat too.

Then the weirdest thing this year is that all the kids in the class have "Trucks" on the wall. Each day they all start on the green line. If one of the students does something they should not, they have to move their truck to the yellow area. Meaning that they got in trouble. I like the idea, but the rules for Kindergardeners have gotten a little crazy. Running in the hall, which we all know that happens... and often. If they do... instant Yellow. talking to a friend when they have been told to work, does not matter the conversation, instant yellow. Say you need a tissue, and the teacher inspects it afterward and there was nothing in the tissue... yellow.

So... my daughter has been getting yellow dots on a daily report that comes home. That indicates that she did something in class that she should not have, and she had to move her truck. Most of the time it is Talking, or not following directions.

I am sorry... but a 5/6 year old child has a short attention span. Most can be considered having ADD. And for kindergarden to be the same as my 2nd grade class's that is a bit much. I admire the schools for wanting to give the children a better education at an early age. That is great, however if they overload the kids at an early age, it seems to me that the kids could feel too much pressure and want to quit school or stop caring. For Kindergarden students to come homew with homework each day, and over the weekends to read books, practice spelling, and telling time... That is a little much in my opinion.

So, at times we do not punish our daughter for the yellow dots, cause some times they are understandable, or rediculous.

What happend to the Kindergarden I use to know?

Making stuff with paper plates, cotton balls, and elmers glue
Eating the glue
Watching Reading Rainbow (With Lavar Burton)
learning the letters
Counting
Learning to color INSIDE the lines
Eating the crayons when you are done coloring inside the lines
Play time
Nap time
Recess
Snack time

We did not get no "Yellow Dots" or "Red Dots". we got a piece of paper from the teacher saying to attend detention and to have the parents sign it. Or a call home to your parents from the teacher or owrse the principal saying what had happened that day. And there was no way to know when the call would come, so it was nearly impossible to intercept it. Or if it was bad enough the parents would get a call at work, saying to come get their kids. I never had that happen, and that was mostly in highschool, but I can never remember any goofy yellow dots or something along those lines. That would be like tiem out for me.... Yeah... Whatever! LOL!!! My daughter or son on the otherhand, timeout is worse than spanking them at times.

It seems to me more like a prison now than the fun place it use to be. I always enjoyed going to school, with the exception of running the mile in Gym. And I hardly ever missed any school, other than the days that we were running the mile in gym. And I would look for the drop out rates to increase in school over the next few years if the school ciriculum stays the same as it is now through all the schools, and all grades.

Luckily my daughter does enjoy school for the most part and never wants to miss school. I hope that sticks with her through the duration of her school years. My son will be starting Pre0K next year... God help the teachers...

No Smoking for me.

I just stopped smoking about 3 and 1/2 weeks ago. I had caught pnuemonia and it is really hard to smoke when you can barely breathe at all. Not to mention the doc told me that I really should quit, and I would be much healthier and better shape now and in the long run.

So, after not being able to smoke at all for a week, cause I could barely breathe, I just gave up. That week, and the followin week was the worst times ever cause of the addiction need I had. It was like I was going through withdraws, and needed something to get my fix. It was bad, and I was hateful, to like everyone.

So yesterday I found out how much it has helped me already. I was at my in-laws house to celebrate by Father-in-law's B-Day, 50 years old, and I was outside playing Basketball with my kids for a long time. I would bet close to 2 hours. And then went to my wife's aunt's house to get her lawnmower started. It liked to have killed me. Then when we got home I edged the walkway, and am putting gravel down instead of these little pad looking concrete things. I was active all day long, and was not short of breath, or completely beat. I was still pretty active on through the night. And was even playing on the PC before I went to bed.

I can tell a major difference in my activness once I stopped smoking.

Now, a lot of people have a crutch, helping them quit. A lot of people use the patch, or some pills, or the gum. Others are not as bad, and just use chewing gum or other items to quit. I am only using Gobstoppers and Jolly Ranchers to quit. Mainly Jolly Ranchers cause I can get a 5lbs bag at Sams for $6.00 or something. And actually my mom is the one getting them for me. So, now when I have a craving, I just pop in a candy and I am good to go.

I think that is one of the best things I have done this year so far. I am mor happy, and willing to play more with the kids, and not get winded walking around the house. I feel a lot better about my health, and I think I will just get better and better as the year goes.

NO SMOKING FOR ME!

Jim Breuer... Nuff Said

Being on twitter, I get to keep up with some of the actors and actress's on there, as to "What are you doing", and with comedians, musicians, and regular Joe's like me.

So, anyway I now have a new favorite person of all time. Jim Breuer is now my most favorite person ever.

I have been on there a lot now, and replying to posts, and saying hi, commenting to the stars, and so on. Never a reply yet. then last night on a random thought I sent a message to Jim, and it simply said "HOKEY POKEY". Well to my surprise I logged on Twitter this morning and see I have a reply, and it is from Jim! the reply was short and sweet, but it was "fire!".

For those that know Jim and are familiar with some of his sketch's he done one that was simply hilarious, he was making fun of AC/DC and singing just like them. Had the band playing the music to TNT, and was singing the Hokey Pokey. It was priceless! he then said that there was a special guest, and brought the impression of the Metallica lead singer, and alternated between AC/DC and Metallica singing. It was the gretest thing ever..... Now I cannot listen to any AC/DC or Metallica without hearing Jim do his sketch.

So to get a reply this morning to what I was thinkin, and from a famous person was amazing. It was the very first message I had sent to Jim, sending several other messages to Al Yankovick, Dane Cook, Rob Pattinson, MC Hammer and several others. And then I send a message to Jim, and BOOM! A reply. That just makes me feel good. A famous comedian, and one of my favorite actors from a favorite movie of mine (HalfBaked), replied to something I said. WOW! I know it does not take much to excite me, but this was huge to me.

Maybe soon I will get an invite from Jim to go hang out and play games one weekend. Or get an invite to go have dinner with him after a show, and discuss how funny he is. Maybe Jim and I will become great friends, people will see me with him, and his famousness will rub off on me, and I will become famous, and people will be like "There's that guy, you know... Jim's Friend!". I don't care if they do not know my name. As long as I am known. LOL. maybe then some of these famous people will reply to me... They will be like "Ooo I got a message from Jim's Friend" or " That guy that hangs out with Jim sent me a message!" All because today... I got a message back from Jim on Twitter. I CANT WAIT!!! WOOHOO!!!

If you do not know who Jim is, please see his site. http://www.jimbreuer.com/. He is a funny guy. be warned that some of his jokes and impressions are not always "clean"

Dane Cook is so Funny!

I have been looking at Twitter, and have several famous people saved to my "Follow" list, and see what they are doing or thinking at times.

Dane Cook happens to be on my Watching list, and yesterday Dane posted on Twitter that he was approached by the producers of the Twilight Saga, and was offered a big role in the movie. At that time, being a Twilight fan myself I was excited. I like Dane as an actor and a comedian, and I like Twilight, and with Dane in the movie, that is AWESOME. It was even reported by Extra News that he was offered a spot in the movie, and the news spread like wildfire from Twitter to all the entertainment news sites.

This morning, Dane confessed that it was all an April Fools Joke, and made a post about it all, indicating this is how rumors get all over. I am saddened to hear that he is not going to be in the next movie, or the current one. However I think it is very funny that he pulled that off. He made a simple post on Twitter that he was offered a role, and then boom the entire country was all over it and news blogs and storys everywhere had posted that Dane was going to be in the new movie, and quoted him from Twitter.

I think other than the guy that pulled the one about Nascar and the automakers being banned cause of their debt, this one is awesome. Dane let it go like ALL DAY LONG. and even posted on twitter later on with a link to a couple web sites with the stories poste don them. And then today announced that it was all a joke.

Bravo Dane!

April Fools

When I was little I always liked April Fools. It was always a lot of fun in school to play pranks on teachers and friends.

One time my science teacher in 7th grade was teaching us about inertia and when something is not moving, it will not move unless acted upon by an outside force. So when April 1st came along, my friend and I tied a piece of fishing line to his eraser on the otherside of the room, and when he came in we slowly moved it across the bottom tray of the chalkboard until it fell off then we jerked it out the door. The teacher was a little puzzled when it first started moving, but soon after realized it was being moved by someone that was snickering out in the hall.

And I can remember one time in Highschool that I gave a good friend some Exlax. It came in a chocolate bar, and was wrapped in foil, so it looked a little like a Hershey bar, well 1/2 a Hershey chocolate bar. And he looked at me kind of odd when I gave it to him, and then not really thinking anything downed it. I did not get to get the full effect of the joke until the next day when I asked how his night was and he advised me that he had to go to the bathroom all night long. PRICELESS! And of course the highschool jokes and pranks were a lot more fun and complex than the ones from elementary school.

This morning I pulled one on my daughter, she walked out of the bathroom from getting dressed, and was still barefooted walking through the house. Even though she is only in Kindergarden she is very smart when she wants to be, and nothing gets by her. If we move something in the house or rearrange 1 thing, that is one of the first thing she notices. So, anyway, she was walking by me as we were getting ready to eat breakfast, and I said ":Oh! Your shoes are untied" and of course she looked and noticed she did not have any shoes on, and no socks, and looked up at me as if I was a complete idiot. I then announced "April Fools!!!" and began to laugh. She then laughed and was trying to pull one on me until I took her to school.

Now it seems like it is just another day. I know that some adults pull very complex pranks on co-workers and family members, but I just do not see the fun in it anymore. And I do like to pull pranks on people and have fun with people, but it just seems like April 1st is a normal day, just like any other. It is not anywhere near as fun or as exciting as it was back in school.

That is another thing I miss from being in school. On top of not having to pay for food, cars, house, phone, gas, electric, cable, internet, etc... I miss the carefree life where April 1st was almost to the point of being a holiday in school, cause there was so many pranks being done to people.

Happy April Fool's Day everyone!

Why I hate Skunks.

First of all, I live near some woods and out in the country area. Their are Horses, Cows, and the usual things you would see in a farming type area. Where my house is located I have a pasture field on one side, and some wooded areas on the other. So it is not unusual to see some animals and rodents from time to time.

Around my house there is several birds of course, several stray and wild cats, I have seen a couple mice, and an opossum. And well there are also skunks, and I hate them the most. Let me tell you why.

Of all the animals, the skunk or skunk family that live near my house, they are the only ones that annoy me the most. The cats hung out around the house get in fights and crap I can hear them under the house and outside. That does not bother me. The Horses you would not know they were there. And the cows are far enough away that you cannot hear them. And the possum that wanders around has only been seen a couple times so I am ok with that. And I have not seen any little rodents, but I am sure being near a field that there is some. The skunks I know are there, and I know are around the house at times.

It only happens a few times a year, but this morning at about 3:00am it happened again. The skunk(s) decide to take a tour of the neighborhood and as they pass my house, I am not sure if they are leaking their stink, or if they decided to wipe their butts on my house when they go by, but whatever they do, I know. The stink is so strong it wakes me up from sleeping, and with the heat on at night and early mornings it makes it that much worse. A warm potent skunk stink comes in through every vent and invades all the clean air in the house, and is so thick it will nearly choke you. And not to mention when you get woke up by the rotten aroma, it is so thick you can almost taste it. It is also so potent that it nearly burns your nose.

Once this happens you might as well forget about falling asleep. The stench is so bad that you cannot get back to sleep once it happens. Then if you do happen to fall back asleep you wake up and all you can spell is skunk butt, and almost to the point of tasting it.

Then the worst part of it all, once the skunk wipes is butt on the house, the smell hangs around for several days. No amount of Pinesol, Lysol and Bleach can get the smell to go away. You can scrub down the whole house, light candles, spray air freshener, and so on and it does not help. The house still smells like a skunk had wiped their butt on it. And every time you walk in the door, you get hit in the face with the odor of skunk butt, and cleaning supplies.

At times I wish I had a gun. I would hunt down the darn skunks near my house and shoot them. Or maybe tranquilize them and shove some potpourri up their rears or something. Or maybe I can install an electric fence around the lower part of my house so the next time they come up and try to get near it, they get a nice jolt of electricity that pulses through their little furry body, and they can go wipe their butts on someone other house for a change. I know neither option is do-able, but it would make me feel better if I could do it.

Darn Skunks!

Bail Me Out...

With all the "Bail Out's" happening, and being in the advertising business, I hear a lot from the small and meduim business's and I have to say, this is just silly.

These big business's like banks are being hurt cause of money problems. Yeah... Who isn't. The hot dog sales person on the corner of the street is also hurting. With the economy the way it is, people are just not spending what they did before.

So... Bailing out these big business's cause of dept is doing what exactly? The banks are getting money for the loans they have out, that the people cannot afford to pay cause they were laid off or fired from their job, or have decided that food and family is more important than a summer home. So, the bank in essence is getting the money from the government to help pay off their debts, that is from their clients, and yet the banks are still going to charge their clients.That is just one example of it. The Auto Makers are similar.

So, what part of this makes sence... You need to start at the root of the problem, and not the top. Just like the chain of command you need to start at the bottom and work your way up. Staring at the top will not do anything for the people at the bottom of the chain, and that being the general public. How is bailing out the banks helping me? It is not. I still have a loan through them, and luckily I am still paying on it. If my bank was to get a bail out cause of the stress on their debts.... You think my loan would decrease or drop in price? NO... I would still pay for it, and the bank will have just gotten some free money.The small business's where we get most everything we use in everyday activities are the ones hurting. Being with one of the largest phone book publishing /advertizing companies, I speak a lot with the small and medium business owners. It is nothing rare to get a call from someone to cancel all of their ads they have cause the business is closing or they have no money. And that is sad. The business's that I would say most US people purchase 90% of their goods from are closing shop cause they are not getting any business, or enough to maintain. So, they cancel their advertising. That is not very good either, cause should the economy have a turn around, they will be out of the competition and could hurt them even more. I can understad reducing ads, but not canceling all advertising.

What is happening to these business owners or business's? Nothing no money no assistance. We are too busy bailing out the large companies that can reduce headcount and survive, or cut bonus's (yea AIG made me mad).I say start at the bottom and pay off the debt that people cannot pay back to the banks. The consumer gets their debt removed, the banks get their payments, etc... It will all work out that way.

I feel really bad for all the small and medium business owners and employee's. They are getting hit the hardest, and of course makes it harder on everyone else. And I really hope things improve soon, or we may start seeing business's that we know, and have been around forever, close. I

want to know why it is just the huge business's that are getting the financial assistance from the government. I cannot get approved for any kind of assistance, cause my credit sucks, and there are things I need and do without, and yet all these huge a multi employee companies are getting assistance. And I do not think they are in as bad a shape as a lot of other people are.

Something New!

My comany just lauched a mobile version of a local search. Able to be accesed my any mobile device that connects to the net. And a special java program installer for iPhones and Blackberry's.

Check it out on your cell!

Go to your browser on your cell and type:

m.dexknows.com

It is the baby version of www.dexknows.com

Friday!

I have not prepared anything to really talk about or rant about today.

I am just very glad it is Friday, and I am looking forward to a nive relaxing weekend.

I will more than likley not post anything else until monday, so I have time to collect my thoughts and think of something to type out. And I am sure something funny will happen that I can write about and share with everyone. LOL

Checking out Twitter today, and I think it can be very addicting. It is a very simple database that you can type a short sentence on "How you are doing" or "What you are doing". Very similar to the Facebook and Myspace current mood. HOWEVER... here is the neat part. You can use twitter online with other people all over the US, just look up their name or their email address, and this includes the famouse actors, musicians, painters, etc... Anyone that has signed up for the service to use (It can either be via cell or on the PC). And you can see their current thoughts and even reply back to them. Seems very neat. Testing it out now, and looking up people on there. I have noticed there are some pages that it is obvious it is the person, and others you can tell it is maybe their assistant, or someone posing as the person. Still yet it is neat and interresting to see what your idol, favorite actor/actress, favorite songwriter, etc is doing/thinking. I would suggest it to anyone that likes talking about themselves and likes being in the know to check it out.

www.twitter.com

Hope everyone has a relaxing weekend!

Why did it change?

I use to be a huge wrestling fan. To the point where I drug my parents to an event to watch it live a few years ago. When I was a huge fan, was when Raw and Smackdown all had the same wrestlers and the story line followed each week. When Kane still wore his mask, and when the Undertaker had just made the switch from the evil dark guy to the Harley riding biker dude. DX was running wild, and Road Dogg and Billy Gunn were the tag team champs. Just when the Dudley Boys came into the WWE (former WWF). And The Rock was the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. I was such a huge fan I bought all the theme song CD's for the wrestlers, and got to where I could mimic The Rock and even sound like him. It was a blast at parties.

Once they split the wrestlers between Raw and Smackdown I started only watching it on Mondays and catching RAW. All the wrestlers I liked was on RAW and not Smackdown. Then the drama started....

More new people came in, trying to give the famous wrestlers more of the limelight and more opportunity to build a fan base, and then the story lines became really lame. I mean it was horrible to where it was almost like watching a soap opera. Like a Passions for men, or Guiding Light. I mean it was bad when they added into the plot where one of the wrestlers was gay and crap. And adding in personal stuff like wife's and personal homes and what not. It is really getting out of control. I think that the writers must be running out of material or something, however I never saw anything wrong with the old stuff. What is wrong with seeing huge guys beat the crap out of themselves with amazing moves.

They do some great things with the armed forces, having shows overseas for the soldiers, and I think that is awesome. And of course when ever there is a death in the wrestling community, they always have a special for them and all the wrestlers have a little moment to share their sorrow and grief. So, it is not that they are all in the crapper now.

So what has happened to the old school WWE (WWF)? It just seems like now it is more drama than actual wrestling. I can understand having a story line. But in an hour of TV time when 30+ min of it is the drama and storyline/plot and there is only 4 actual wrestling matches lasting a couple min each, it gets very boring at times. So boring in fact that I have not even watched but a few min of it from time to time, cause I would rather watch a documentary on the History Channel or something. And that is very sad, when I was a die hard fan. Now I watch some channels that show my former fav show, and see the previews of the upcoming show, and I have no desire to watch them at all. It is way too much drama.

Luckily The Rock is a famous actor now, and starring in many movies and shows. He has been on Disney several times now for different series there, and shows. Not to mention the newest movie coming out "Escape from Witch Mountain" or something like that. I plan to see it. So, at least the one wrestler that I still like is still doing stuff, and is being far more entertaining that he would be now in the WWE.

I do miss watching it, and getting the PPV and such. It was a lot of fun and excitement back in the day, but now it seems that they have lost touch with the fans and worried more about the plots and story line than they are the actual entertainment in the ring. I know they still have thousands of loyal fans, but I know when the original split happened and the drama became very thick that they lost several fans. Myself and my whole family being some.

R.I.P. Old School WWF

I just don't get it.

Here is what I do not understand, and since I am in Bristol it is only fitting that I talk about car racing (Nascar).

What is the point in car racing? yeah I am sure it is a fun rush for people to drive really fast in a car, you an do that on the interstate though. Why do you have to be on a track with too many more cars all trying to run you over.

There is several things I see being wrong with Car racing.

The first thing, they all drive around in circles not really getting anywhere, and they drive forever. Why in the world do they need to do 250 or 500 miles?? That is a lot of driving. It is only 700 some odd miles from here to Orlando Florida. And they are driving that many miles in a few hours, and yet still in the same city and state.

The second thing, with the way the gas prices are and the economy, I have never seen the drivers pay for their gas. I have yet to see Jeff Gordon pass a $50.00 out his window to the guy filling up the tank for him.

The third thing, How in the world can them pit crews change all 4 tires, clean the windows, clean the grill, fill up the gas and give the driver a nice cool drink. All of this happens in a matter of seconds. Yeah, and how long do we spend at a gas station filling up gas? On average I would bet it takes 10+ min to put gas in. Unless you are like a lot of people and putting 3.75 in gas, all in quarters.

The fourth thing, how long does it take to get your tires changed? Not mins, more like hours! You can spend time looking at tire catalogues from 5 years ago, in a waiting room hearing air tools go off for every bit 2 hours to get tires put on. Then you have to get the balancing and and check all the other crap under the car.

The fifth thing, is how can the people in the big cities make a living cleaning windshields when people see it being done for nothing on the race cars? There are some people in the bigger cities that are wanting to make money by cleaning your windshield at red lights, and they are being put out of a job cause people see it happening for free on TV. That is just not right.

The sixth and last thing I think is totally wrong is that none of the race cars have mufflers on them. Why do they not have to have them? It was be a lot easier to hear people and not go deaf at a race track if they did have mufflers. All the other cars on have to have them. I know cause if you do not have them in some states (Virginia) you get pulled over and given a ticket for improper equipment.

So, I do not understand the point in car racing. Most of the time people come to the race to watch a car wreck. Not that we do not see them enough on the news, and on the side of the road. And when you see those kinds, it always sends a sense of concern over you for the drivers of the cars, and you are generally worried. But when a wreck happens in Nascar, everyone is happy. It must be the most exciting part of the race. I can understand that too, since most of the race the cars are just driving around in circles and passing each other. Where is the fun in that???

And what also gets me is the environmental people not complaining about car racing polluting the air. Cause that is a lot of gas to burn in one area. And it is a good thing that the race tracks are not in a dome. That is a lot of exhaust fumes! And then the noise would echo off all the walls.

At any rate, I do not get the race's. There is no point to me about driving around in circles, using gas, and getting paid HUGE amounts of money to drive a car. Taxi car drivers do the same thing, and yeah some overcharge I am sure, but they make nowhere near the amount of a race car driver. And yet they have pretty much the same job, and the taxi car drivers drive about the same speed at times. And I think that would be more exciting, dodging other cars, people jaywalking, and weaving in and out of traffic.

Then to top it all off, people pay big bucks to go to a race and sit next to thousands of total strangers, that I am sure some may not take a bath. And to only see a portion of the track. When you can see the whole track and hear the announcer commentary and see all the wrecks as they happen on the TV. Get a surround sound speaker system, large screen TV, some heat lamps, and some beer and get all the same effects you would at a track. And you can go to the bathroom easier, get refreshments without having to pay more. Getting the same effect, and cost you less money, and be more comfortable sitting on a couch or recliner and not on a steel or concrete stadium seats, and not able to see everything that happens.

Disclaimer: This is my own personal views that are expressed, and in no way bashing race fans or attempting to belittle them, I am just expressing my opinion and thoughts about the "sport". If I have offended anyone it was not intentional.

How about that...

Last night Kim and I watched the movie Twilight. Kim was waiting for that all day long. Not wanting to watch the movie with the kids up, just incase there was some bad parts that could cause some nightmares or something.

So as soon as the kids were in bed, we started the movie.

Throughout the movie Kim was pointing out what did not follow the book exactly, or what was not in the book, or what the movie left out. It seems that the movie, like many others before it, was not like the book. It would take me forever to read that much of a book, so I will allow Kim to take that part and just fill me in about it.

It was a good movie, and after the movie I had to look up someone I saw in the movie to see where I had seen him before. And it is sad but there was several people in the movie that were in Disney movies and I recognized them from that. Sharkboy was one of them from the movie "Sharkboy and Lavagirl", and then the brother from "Wendy Wu - Homecoming warrior". And I saw that they are already filming the second movie in the series, and from what I saw should be released this year sometime. I would imagine in the fall.

Since there are 3 books in the series I would also assume several things.

1. Kim will own all 3 books
2. We will watch all the movies when they come out
3. We will own all 3 movies
4. Each time we get a new book, Kim will lock her self in a room for hours at a time. :P

I would certainly suggest this movie to any love story movie likers (Chick Flicks), and I would suggest it to all the vampire movie fans and action movies. As it has a little bit of both in it, and it is well worth watching. I cannot wait for the next movie to be released.

So, I watched the movie last night with Kim, and then I was ready to play my PC games and listen to music. Kim on the other hand was wanting to watch the movie again. So, after the 2nd time she watched the movie, she came into the bedroom to announced she will be watching it again. I can honestly say that we got the money's worth last night from the movie.

What's in a name???

Everyone wants to know why I go by Cootie.

Well... It is actually a long story, so I will attempt to shorten it a little for amusement purposes.

When I was little my dad (being from Saltville) decided to give me a nick name. It is the thing to do in Saltville I guess, since all my relatives all have nicknames. There is: Fireball, Pickle Legs, Dave-ott, Pepsi, Dee-Nee, Doodle, and the list goes on.

When I was little I was a little bit of a pest. Everything I liked.. I would say "Oooo I like it, can I have it?". This was a regular saying of mine. "Oooo I like it, can I have it", "Oooo I like it, can I have it" and I am sure there was a 3rd 4th and 5th time I would say it too. And the cool part was with certain people, I would usually... get it. Namely if it was a small annoying toy, that was likely to break within a couple hours of rough play (and yes that is usually what happened). So, then when I was about 6 or so my dad gave me the nick name of Cootie, after the game, and I guess cause I was a little annoying pest. LOL

So.... Several years passed and I was working at Sprint. We were doing some FedEx training, and there was a little exercise we did that we had to write a "secret" down on a piece of paper, something that no one else would know, and let people guess it. So after some long debating, I decided to put mine in that my nickname is "Cootie". No big deal, did not thing much about it. Well... a few days later my secret came out, and it was an explosion of laughter. From that day forward, everyone there called me Cootie. And it just kinda stuck. I did not mind too much, since it was my nickname and all. But then... it got worse...

So then I decided to get personalized tags, and had my tags on my car say COOTIE. It was awesome! Everyone knew it was me!

And then... I was a big WWE (Old WWF) fan. Watching The Rock, The Undertaker, and Kane were my favorites. The of course the Road Dogg and Billy Gunn (THE NEW AGE OUTLAWS). Road Dogg would always open up with "Ladies and gentlemen boys and girls... children of all ages. D-generationX proudly brings to you..... The Road D O Double G..... ... ...". So, at that time I decided that I needed a last name so I added Bugg. So I would announce my entrance at work as the C Double O, T I E B U Double G. Yeah, I know what you are thinking, and no I never did drugs. LOL

So, that name stuck with me for several years. In everything I done I was known as Cootie. Several people I worked with and talked to, and met did not even know my real name. And that was a real trip.

Eventually I was promoted to a supervisor at the company I was working for, so I decided at that time that I should be more professional and drop the nick name. Since I would be dealing with a lot of people, and needed to have some respect. So at that time I stopped using that as my name. And I was married and had some kids, and it was changed from Cootie to Daddy instead.

I still go by Cootie when I play games, and set up accounts and so on. Since it is my nick name and easy to remember. And several people still call me Cootie (not as many as before). And I still reply to that name, I just do not go by it all the time as I use to before. One day soon I have a feeling that people at my current employer will find out and it will catch on, and I will again be called Cootie. I hope not though, I had a bad reputation when I went by Cootie. LOL

So now you are in the know!

Darn Books

Well... I am not that big of a reader, at least not too much of one. I do like reading some things, and I really have nothing against reading, however...


My wife, Kim, recently got a book. The book name was "Twilight". Yes the same as the movie that is now out on DVD. The movie was made after the book. There are 2 more books in the series too. But to get back on topic, my wife wanted to get her a book, she is a big fan of reading, and good thing too, cause she helps the kids a lot. So... She went and got this new book, and began reading. Well.. It soon turned into an obsession with her to read this book. Sneaking off to the bathroom, where she could have some privacy and read. Sneaking around and disappearing for a while at a time to read chapters. This is a 500+ page book! So you can image the chapters are rather long.


So, anyway... After about 2 days, she completed the book. And she was sooooo excited. She pretty much ignored me to read this book. And me being sick and needy, just makes me whine that much more. Course I cannot complain too much, cause I am the same way with computer games. Being an avid WoW player, I get wrapped up in something and tune out everything else. It is just not like her to do that. I guess it was a good book.

Now Kim is kind of depressed. Not that she ignored me, and not that she has completed the book. She wants the next one and cannot get the next book in the series until Thursday. I am so glad she likes reading that much. I do not think I could stand to do that. In highschool I liked to read some books. I really liked the Christopher Pike Last Vampire series. It was a good set of books, and I bought them all. I am no sure where they all went to now. :-/

So... Tonight Kim has found the movie on our On Demand cable and is planning to bake a cake, and have some chips and stuff ready. So once the kids go to bed we can both sit down and munch and watch the movie together. So, I am a little excited, cause we usually only watch Disney Movies and late night series together like NCIS and House. I will not let her know I am excited though. LOL