JUST A WEE TASTE

This time of year always brings out the Whiskey. My mother and her mother would put whiskey in their coffee to "chase away the chill". As a kid, maybe 10 or 11 years old, I would sit with my mom and watch the snow fall out the window. She would give me, "a wee sip' of her whiskey to help fight off cold and flu.

So what is this whiskey? It is the Celtic water of life. The aqua vitae as the Romans called it, when they first came to the Celtic islands. In Gaelic it is called, "uisce beatha" and the English took the term uisce and made it whisky. Foklore says that it was invented / discovered by the Celts in Wales around 356 AD. The first written record was made in Ireland in 1405.

There are different kinds of Whisky. Scotch being the best known. There are Canadian whiskys and American whiskys. There is even a Japanese whisky that is a good copy of Scotch. Regardless, the one true Whiskey is Irish. Irish Whiskey is distilled three time in a column still and aged in wooden cask that once held sherry. The best of these are the "pure pot still whiskey." They are made of 100% barley and distilled in a copper stills.

When the original term Whisky was formed, to give an English name to the product then known as Usice or Uisge, all Whisky was called by the same name. Around 1870 the Scots were making a poor quality product and flooding the market with cheap watered down whisky. Irish distillers switched to calling their product Whiskey by adding the "E". Soon Americans did the same.

Today there are three major Irish Distillers, Midleton, Cooley, and Bushmills. But only Cooley is Irish owned. Bushmills, as me mum would say, is in the NORTH....and it's Protestant Whiskey. No REAL Irishman would drink it. Jameson, the Whiskey I grew up with, is produced by Midleton and owned by Pernod-Ricard.

Now I'll be havn a wee taste. And, a merry christmas to you all.

Home for the Holidays, St Louis style

Meredith and Colleen won't be with me this Christmas. Pam, Jack and I are going to Scottsdale to stay at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa. [See Blog below] Pam has her Spa appointment set for Friday afternoon. Meredith and Colleen went with their mother, Julie, back to visit relatives in St Louis.

The Girls planned to leave on Sunday morning. Yesterday. They were to fly from Orange County to Phoenix and then on to St Louis. They were flying Southwest and that usually means things will go well. The flight from John Wayne was late and they got to Phoenix late. I got several text messages from them about the stress of nearly missing the transfer flight. Mere worked her "magic" and befriended a Southwest employee who got them on the plane as they closed the door.

They arrived in St Louis late Sunday night. The Temperature was 9 degrees. Colleen agreed to take Pam's "serious" winter coat. Good idea for this trip. The Monday temp is supposed to be a high of 18 degrees. Tuesday and Wednesday will be slightly warmer with snow and freezing rain. That's a real St Louis Christmas memory. 28 degrees and raining ice. Ah.....good times.

But the real Star of the trip, at least in my view, is that Julie booked them a suite at the Ameristar Casino in St Charles. Now that says Happy Holidays. The Ameristar Casino is a floating barge on the Missouri River at the I-70 bridge to St Charles, Missouri. It's about 15 years old...but "recently remodeled". It is also about 12 miles away from the main reason they went to St Louis, Lloyd & Ann Terry.

Lloyd & Ann are my ex-in laws and two of the nicest people on earth. They are Meredith and Colleen's Grandparents. I can say that Lloyd & Ann are the BEST grandparents any kid could ever want. The girls spent many Saturday afternoons at "Grandmas" going to Walgreens and eating lunch on TV trays. They love their grandparents and I'm sure Lloyd and Ann feel the same way. I only wish they were staying with them and NOT at the Ameristar, 12 miles away.

I'm writing this to capture the essence of a St Louis Christmas Holiday for years to come. Meredith and Colleen can add comments to this Blog and keep us all up todate on the "good times". Give Lloyd and Ann a hug for me! Merry Christmas.

Kalifornia Dreamn of a White Christmas

Yesterday was really cool. Like about 42 degrees at our house in Irvine. The 50 year storm I told you was coming, came to Los Angeles. Pouring rain is always enough to scare half of Southern California off the roads. With it came snow in the mountains around LA. If you drive into LA you know the only way to get here is to drive over a pass through the mountains into the LA basin. The I-5 was closed. So was the I-15 from Las Vegas. Trucks were stranded on the roads.

The Port of LA is big on importing products from Asia. 95% of the stuff that arrives by ship is loaded on to a truck to be sent out to Amerika. Likewise much of the food and other stuff consumed in Los Angeles is brought into LA on trucks. All those trucks came to a halt yesterday when the Snow closed the Freeways.

Me...I loved the old fashioned pre Christmas winter show storm I grew up with in Minnesota and St Louis. Happy Holidays.....are you dreamn of a white Christmas?

KIERLAND RESORT

It is almost time. Next week we are driving to Scottsdale to spend four days at the Westin Kierland Resort. Here is a link: http://www.kierlandresort.com/golf_spa/index.php

We have been going to the Westin Kierland for the past four years. It is the perfect winter "getaway" Resort. The hotel is on the Kierland Golf Course and it is stunning. Next door is Kierland Commons with all the shopping and Dining you would ever want.

You can start your day with a good Breakfast and then head to the pool. Spend a few hours reading or go to the Spa. Then take a Nap and get ready for Dinner. The next day....do it again.

It seems like only YESTERDAY

It is that time of year. My Birthday is next Monday. I will be 61 years old. I still feel like I did when I was 15. I think your body ages but your self image reaches a high water mark and then you stay there inside your head for the rest of your life.

I've learned a lot over the last 60 plus years. All kinds of things have changed. There was no Internet or even computers when I was a kid. No cell phones. All this stuff has grown up with me through the 1950s, 60s, 70s and on.

People haven't really changed much. OK, maybe the people have changed but human nature has stayed about the same. As a teenager I was always disappointed on my Birthday. My expectations were always higher then the reality. Last year was about the worst. I was turning 60 and wanted my daughters to come visit. They passed. It still upsets me. Maybe this year will be different?

When you get to be this old you have to look ahead. How many more Birthdays do I have? My parents lived to be 80. They were not very good at staying healthy. I'm thinking I can live to be 85. That would be 2032. Jack would be 27 years old then. That sounds like a good goal. To live to be 85. I'll update this every year to see how close I come.

WINTER

Winter is coming to Los Angeles. The day time high for Saturday and Sunday is supposed to be in the 50s. Nights may get down to the high 30s. Local weather people are saying this is a "50 year storm" coming to Southern California. Brrr, this is not the Southern California we know and love. Advisories are out to bring in pets and sensitive plants. We may have....FROST.

WINTER SOLSTICE

It's the most wonderful time of the year. I copied this photo of Santa vrs Jesus from Cody's Blog. I had to laugh. Nice work Cody. I'm proud of you.

You can call it by many names. The Chinese call it, Dongzhi and it was originally an end-of-harvest festival. Today, it is observed as a family reunion over the long night, when pink and white tangyuan are eaten in sweet broth to symbolise family unity and prosperity. We call it Christmas after the christian holiday that was substituted to replace the pagan Solstice Festival. Our Celtic ancestors drug dead trees into the cave to set on fire to bring back the light of the fading sun. What ever you call it you need to know the truth....it is WINTER SOLSTICE.

This Holiday began 10,000 years ago when people understood that the sun was getting weaker each day. Fear of the cold winter and starvation made them perform rituals designed to bring back the sun and make the plants grow. It was not uncommon for people to starve through the winter waiting for Spring to return.

As time has progressed and we have become smarter. We understand the seasons and don't fear Winter Solstice the way they did so long ago. Still, we celebrate. Some in that Wal-Mart fake kind of way and others in a more traditional way. All of us understand it will be ok....Spring is coming out of the dark winter. Happy Solstice to all.

The WERNER AA10

Our new Home is a Condo. It's perfect but we don't have a basement. Growing up we ALWAYS had a basement. It was the place to store important junk that we used only once in a great while. Camping stuff, Christmas ornaments, my Dad's sawed off shot gun. That kind of stuff.

Our Condo has an attic. We were told when we bought the place, "Do not store things in the attic". The furnace/air conditioner are up there and there is supposedly ...NO SPACE.

Turns out there is quite a lot of space. Over 100 sq feet on a platform of 3/4 inch plywood. It's room for a service man to work around the furnace if needed. We took 20 sq feet and used it for storage. The only problem, how do you get into the attic.

Wandering around Lowes I found the Werner AA10. Wow it was too good to be true. A real telescoping ladder that will fit an opening 22" X 22". We bought it and set it up over two evenings. I did much of the work. Pam and Jack helped by asking questions and staying out of the way of falling tools. It works really well.

You get a pole to reach up and pull down the ladder sections. Sweet. Easy to work and strong, like Bull.

MORE....."Better late then never..."

OJ gets 15 years in Nevada prison. What? Does this seem fair to you?

Ya, I know he killed his wife and got away with it.....old news. The legal system was wrong then too. But 15 years for what? Telling another guy to hold a gun on another cheeseball scum bag.

What happens in Vegas...Stays in Nevada State prison. Guess the Goldman's are happy.

PROP 8 THE MUSICAL

If you haven't seen this you must go look.
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c0cf508ff8


Hollywood has joined the fight....late. The vote is over and NOW, they make fun of Prop 8. Where were you lazy fucks during the debate?

A week before the vote, we called the "NO on 8" Office to get a No on 8 sign for our home. They were out, but we were told....we are getting more printed. Pam and I went to Staples and made our own signs.

I am convinced this No on 8 campaign was lost because so many people just did not vote. The thinking was....Obama will win Kalifornia...so I don't really need to go vote. What happened is: every Black person in Kalifornia vote for Obama and 73 % of them voted YES on 8. They were told by the Black Ministers that..."Queers getting married is against God's law." No place does it say that...check the 10 Commandments, Bible, etc. And, Black people being discriminated against is soooo... wrong but it is OK with Blacks to discriminate against Gays. Brother, I'm so pissed off about this....fuck!

Now....a month after the VOTE was lost, the Hollywood actors, [25% of which are Gay] decide to make fun of Prop 8 and create this Musical........better Late then never I guess.

AUTO BAIL OUT...one more time.

No, NO, no no no. Do not give GM or Chrysler any money......NO! How can BMW and Toyota grow profitably while GM loses money? Mercedes Benz attempted to make Chrysler profitable and failed. The Germans failed to make it work.............DUH. It is a loser. Do not give them more money.

Regardless of what is said, I will not buy a GM or Chrysler automobile in the future. I think the companies are poorly managed and the Auto Workers are lazy poorly educated idiots who do not care about quality.

I thought about this today on my way to work. I did not see a single GM car on the road. I thought what would it take for me to buy a GM automobile? It would mean that BMW stopped making cars. That Volkswagen had gone out of business. That Honda and Ford had folded. Then and only then, would I consider a GM car.

In 2007 BMW made 1,541,503 vehicles. GM produced 9,349,818. Yet, BMW made money and GM is looking for a Government bail out. Don't do it. GM can not manage the money they make now.

Support vehicle brands that produce quality cars and trucks. Let the losers close.

MY OFFICE

The Office I work in sucks. I'm not talking about my job. My job is OK and the Company is OK too. I'm talking about the Building and Office in which I work. It is just plain awful.

My current office is at 16700 Valley View Ave in La Mirada, California. We moved here 18 months ago and it has been terrible. Our Company had a wonderful office located about three miles from my home. Everyone in our Office complained about the location because it was too far to drive....except for me. We looked for a new office to rent that was cheaper and centrally located. We got both. Now the office is 25 miles from my home. It is cheaper but that isn't a good thing.

Our Old Office was in a brand new Office Building up in the hills over looking Orange County. We had a fitness center, and kitchen, and cable TV. Parking was never a problem and there was a Deli in the next building. Sweet ! Our new office is in a 25 year old building in a warehouse district. We have a room we call the kitchen. It has a sink with no hot water. On cool days it is cold in the office. We complained yesterday after a week of working in our coats and they checked. It was 55 degrees in the office. The Men's Rest Room is frequently closed for repair. A month ago, it flooded water down the hall. There is no food or vending equipment in the building.

In short the Office and the Building sucks. This morning I came to work and the doors would not open....even though I have a pass key. The ground floor of our Office Building has a "Medical Office". This is really a drug testing center. The people who wander around the building are....what you might expect at a drug testing center.

The issue here is NOT the Building. The problem is the Office Management Company. They are OPTIMA Asset Management. You can go to their web site to read the Blah blah blah. http://www.optimaasset.com/ The short version is they do as little as possible and only respond to a problem after you complain twice in writing. They want all complaints sent to them by email. The person who answers the email quit and now we don't get answers.

12/7/1941.."a date which will live in infamy "

December 7, 1941, was my parent's generation, 9/11. As a kid I remember them retelling stories of where they were when they heard the news that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. News traveled more slowly in 1941 and most of the urgent news was on the radio. They would say, "We interrupt our regular programing with this urgent News report...The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii." WOW, the impact was as powerful as the morning I sat and watched the second plane crash into the World Trade Center.

We should all know why the Japanese attacked. The Japanese had grown into an industrial country. In the process, they need more and more resources to maintain their production economy. A faction in the Japanese government believed the only way to secure these resources was through invasion. The Japanese began by invading Manchuria and then China. Later they invaded French Indo-China [Vietnam]. The English and French interest in Asia were not being watched as War developed in Europe. The United States cut off oil sales to Japan in an effort to stop the military expansion in Asia. This led to the plan to bomb Pearl Harbor and destroy the US Fleet.

As a result of the bombing, the US declared War on Japan and later Germany. The Bombing of Pearl Harbor brought America into World War II. It is important that we remember this event, why it happened, and how America responded. There is a lesson in this pain. More importantly, we need to remember each year for those who fought to defend our country.

The PRESS

It looks like the traditional Newspaper is near death. Nobody seems to care. I grew up reading the newspaper. The Stars & Stripes, the Post Dispatch, the Rocky Mountain News, USA Today, and the LA Times.

Nearly every day one of these PRINT MEDIA [ the new word for newspapers] is cutting staff and closing offices. Small town newspapers are nearly gone. Big city papers are close behind.

The people we call the news people, The PRESS, got their name from the Printing of newspaper. Soon they will have to change the name to the BLOG or the WEB. The PRESS will be long gone.

If you are not buying a newspaper, you won't miss a thing. It has been over 400 years since the invention of movable type that newspapers have been printed. Are they doomed? Will the Internet kill the newspaper?

A HARD RAIN

"Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley,
And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall."
Dylan 1963

There sure is a lot of Doom on TV, the Internet, and in the paper. Yes, I am one of the last 12 people on Earth who reads a Newspaper. Soon, they will be gone too. But enough of my crusade about the newspapers. Back to Doom, things don't look good.

I Blogged earlier about the EOTWAWKI, the end of the world as we know it. As I read more each day I'm convinced of two possible situations:

A] Things are bad and the world will be forced into a global depression.

B] The Financial Sector of the Western economy is a mess, but things will be the same.

Over the recent Thanksgiving Holiday we did a little shopping and went out to dinner. Things looked busy to me. I did not see any negative economic impact. There seems to be a disconnect between the NEWS and the Life I am leading. Maybe things are not as bad as the News people say?

Yesterday I read that we have been in a recession for almost a year. They say the recession started in December of 2007. Again, I know the news has been bad, but things have NOT been bad for a year. We bought a new home in October of 2007 and that was about the end of the new home boom. Not many new homes being built. I do see apartments being built, so there seems to be some construction work around us. Still, things just don't look so bad.

Read Peggy Noonan's article about this at: http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html

So, the economy may just be OK, or it is slowly sliding into a deep depression that we may struggle with for a decade or more. The best advice is to be careful what you spend and if you have a job, quietly look for a second one. The old Boy Scout motto is still the best. BE PREPARED.

THANKSGIVING 2008

I just want to say, thanks. I am the luckiest guy on earth. I have had a wonderful life and my future looks even better.

I was lucky to have Bill and Mary Helen for my parents. I never appreciated them enough when they were alive. As I have gotten older I understand the sacrifices they made and how much they cared about me. I knows it's late, but thanks Mom and Dad. You were great and you made me what I am today.

I have also been lucky to have Greg Manning for my friend. Greg and I sat next to each other in Physics at Austin High School. We became friends and room mates in College. Greg was best man at three of my weddings. After 40 years, Greg is the person I have known the longest and he has always been there when I needed him. Thanks Greg, I am really sorry I missed the plane back in 1970.

I have been lucky to have great children. None of them went "wrong" and got into serious trouble. They were all smart, if a little hard headed. They have made me proud to be their father. Jennifer, Kate, Meredith, Colleen, and Jack are all wonderful in their own way and I am thankful for knowing them.

I am lucky to have met Pam Olroyd. We met by accident at the Onion in Urbana, Illinois. She had a broken toe and I was sitting in on her job interview. Bob "Splanet" never understood us. We knew within the first five minutes that we hit it off. From Gin Blossoms to the TPS report, Pam understands me and appreciates me like no other person I have known. I'm proud she is my wife and I love her more each day. Thanks Pam for being....perfect.

My life has been wonderful and I do not take it for granted. I am really thankful. Thankful for the tree house my Dad helped me build in Omaha. Thankful that my Mom made me punch Pat Bowler when he chased me home after school. Thankful that Dad taught me to drive on the Autobahn and Mom taught me to drink Irish Whiskey. Thankful that Pam hasn't complained about the price of Gold. It's all been great and I am really thankful.

LA AUTO SHOW UPDATE

So we went to the Auto Show. we got there just after the doors opened on Saturday. It was CASH ONLY....brother.

We walked it and it was cool. The lay out was much bigger with less cars and more walking around area. I took some photos:

HEAD LIGHTS

STEERING WHEELS

HOODS

SEATS

TIRES and WHEELS

And the Lady who could not read the sign in English....Keep off of Display. We saw Ahrnold, Der Govenator in the Porsche Display. Er sprach mit dem Porsche represenatives, auf Deutsch.

The LOS ANGELES Auto Show

It's that time again. Time to go downtown and walk around to look at new cars. Dad used to take me to the Auto Dealers back when I was a kid. They would have grand openings to show the new cars. This happened in October each year and they served coffee and cookies. Dad and I would go look at the new cars and stand around with the guys.

Later, as Dad and I got older, we would go to the Bel-Clair fairgrounds back in Belleville to see the new cars. It wasn't much of an auto show...kind of small. Regardless, Dad liked to walk around and look at the cars and it always reminded me of those early years when we went to the dealers.

Dad is gone. He never got to see the LA Auto Show. I'm taking Jack and Pam this year. I want to start a new tradition with Jack going to see the new cars and standing around with the guys. The LA Auto Show runs 11/21 thru 11/30 at the LA Convention Center. Kids under 12 are free, but they will have years of memories.

PRIDE

There are moments in a father's life that really make it all worth while. Nobody understands this but the parents, who have worked so hard to help make their children's lives a success. I never understood my Mom when she talked about these moments in my life with her. Sorry, Mom...now I get it.

As I write this, tears roll down my face thinking of the day Colleen passed her drivers test. She tried and failed but came back and did it. I was so proud of her. I was proud of Meredith the night she ran on the stage to help Colleen sing her song in the Christmas Play. I was proud of Jennifer when she graduated college, in spite of a family history of problems. Last night I nearly burst into tears when Jack went "potty" on his own. He has worked really hard to be a "big boy" and to stop wearing diapers. He was soooo proud of himself and I am so proud of him. If my Mom was alive, she would agree. It is these little things that make being a parent wonderful.

In the name of GOoD

Caution...I am writing about atheism. If you believe Bill Maher you can continue to read. If you believe in the invisible man in the sky.....do your self a favor and skip this post.

Billboards have been popping up all over the country. They say, "don't believe in god....you are not alone." Talk radio and the Internet are buzzing about the New Atheist attack on Amerikan values. Many secular humanist, free thinkers, and hard line atheist are smiling. Finally, EQUAL TIME. Yes....

For all of my life I have had to sit through prayers and other forms of worship at public gatherings. I have seen enough nativity scenes and crosses to make me puke. Now a new billboard campaign is creating a panic. The Christian Right want these billboards taken down. Apparently, they worry that their followers might read these signs and jump ship. The truth is, the signs are there to just say, "it's OK to not believe".

Non-Religious persons are not trying to convert anyone. All we are saying is it is OK to believe and it is also OK to NOT believe. A recent USA Today/Gallup Poll found that 53% of Amerikans say an atheist is "disqualified" from being elected President. The same poll said 43% believed a gay person would be disqualified. It is currently acceptable to discriminate against a person because they are NOT believers. Further polling data shows that roughly 15% of Amerikans consider themselves to be atheist or freethinkers.

It is time to talk openly about non-belief. Like gays coming out of the closet, those who consider themselves to be atheist, freethinkers, humanist, or at whatever need to speak out in the name of GOoD.....with the extra O. Proposition 8 passed becuase the religious voted together.