Happy Memorial Day

As you are celebrating today just take a minute to remember why today is a holiday and who we are memorializing. I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all who have paid the ultimate price for my freedom.

-Doc

50 Things I think Everyone Should Know

Last Week my buddy Jay posted his thoughts about Nanny State Rules and this resulted in a small discussion about a certain Symbol that some people didn't know about. "The Shocker" is just one of those things that I think that people should know about. This got me to thinking that there must be other things like this that I think people should know. So without further adieu I present my list of 50 things that I think people should know:

-What The Shocker is
-Where Mom's Attic is found
-Who Mr. Green Jeans is
-What the Gaffney Peach is
-What A1A is
-What Tinker to Evers to Chance means
-Who Wyatt, Doc, Virgil, and Morgan are
-Where Tobacco Road is located
-What Hashtags are and used for
-How to tell the difference between sarcasm and irony
-What a Fifth is
-What the Waffle House Doo Wop is
-What Goody's Powders are
-How to pop a clutch
-Why a bilge pump is valuable
-What HTML coding is used for
-What the Hook and Ladder is
-What a Crawdad is
-The opening chords to You Shook Me all Night Long
-Who "The Intimidator" was
-What a Sleestack is
-What Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosie is used for
-What a Parrothead is
-The difference between a baitcasting and a spincasting reel
-What "And I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for you meddling kids" means
-What The Lady in Black is
-Who "He who must not be named" is
-Who "The Lizard King" was
-Be able to recite the words to "Uneasy Rider"
-How to use a Twitter stream
-What Cover 2 is
-What 'Laissez les bon temps rouler' means

-Who Kaiser Soze is
-What Cheerwine is
-What the G.W. and the L.I.E are
-Know what happened "The Day the Music Died"
-Know What Nation still remains "Unconquered"
-Know the difference between Eastern NC BBQ and Western NC BBQ
-Know that it's actually soda and NOT Pop
-Knows what a Landshark is
-What "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses" comes from
-Knows how one would find "The Room of Requirement"
-Knows the ending to "The Sting"
-What Sussudio actually is
-Know that you should always double down on 11
-Know how to make good chili
-Know what ROTFLMAO means
-Know the words to Piano Man by heart
-Know what "Moons over My Hammy" is
-Know what the SECOND video ever played on MTV was.

So there you have it, my list of things I think everyone should know. Enjoy, comment as you see fit, and I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day Weekend. One of my favorite weekends of the whole year!

-Doc

"Poopie is NOT Paint!"

Our son is going to be three in a week or so and we are dealing with what I am afraid is the terrible 3's. How come that it wasn't until after he was already two that people told us that terrible twos was a myth and that 3 was much worse?
Let me just give you an example. As previously posted my wife and I went to the NASCAR race on Saturday night and we got home kind of late. The Prince here had spent the night at his Grandparent's house but we all had to be at Sunday service early because he had to sing in the children's choir. Needless to say after this was over we were all really tired and also had an even to go to Sunday afternoon so Mommy and Daddy decided that everyone at our house had to have nap time.
I had no problem sleeping and neither did Mommy but apparently in the little man's room it was art time. I was awoken by Mommy saying, "What ARE you doing?" This little angel had gone poop and removed his diaper and there was poop everywhere. On the child, the sheets, the blankets, the pillowcases, the crib, and the walls. My wife asked him what did he ever think he was doing and his response? "I was painting Mama. See all the paint"
What?
This was when I responded with the latest in the long line of phrases I never thought I would ever have to say to another human being, "Poopie is not Paint!"
I promise you that it took us half an hour just to clean him and the poop off the crib. It almost made us late for what we were going to. Who does that? Who uses their poop as finger paint? Just the thought gives me the creeps.
I wonder what our little Prince has in store for us next. Did your kids ever do anything like this? Please tell me that eventually it gets better.

-Doc

Make your own caption Monday....

Happy Monday everyone... I don't know about you all but I had a great weekend. Especially at the NASCAR Allstar race on Saturday. I had this picture taken of me next to the trooper's car and figured that I would offer the chance for you all to caption it and tell the story of what was really happening here:


Or you can just tell how your weekend was. LOL

-Doc

Motivational Poster of the Week 5/22/10

Enjoy your Weekend!

-Doc

Love Your Community

Living in Topeka (Kansas) we see HATE on a daily basis thanks to Westboro "Baptist" Church led by Fred Phelps. This group has made national attention with their anti-gay and now ani-American messages picketing at the funeral of soliders. This fall a case will come before the Supreme Court dealing with funeral picketing. For awhile I saw bumper stickers that said "PHUCK PHRED" which I thought were pretty clever. Needless to say I reguarly see people standing on corners with signs - unfortunately that messege is one that is very negative.

A group of young professionals created a group called "Think Big Topeka" about the time that Google announced they were taking nominations for a commuinty to be the experiment for the Fiber Optic Internet. I am on the outskirts of this gorup. Right now their major focus is going to be Google until there is an announcement (crossing fingers) saying that Topeka is the test site! I've never seen so much positivity in Topkea.

One of the guys involved created this website, and started "positive picketing" on April 28, 2010. Several more, including myself, joined in on May 4, and next week hopefully even more will join.

I am an extrovert, but usually not the center of attention. Standing on a corner holding a colorful sign, waiving at people, and hoping they will acknowledge you with a wave or a honk in return is exciting. Everyone should experience this at least once in your life. The biggest vehicle we got to honk was either a city bus or a fire truck. We were amazed to get a honk out of an ambulance with lights and sirens going - we got a wave from the guy in the passenger seat so we know it was meant for us.

People are always dogging Topeka, but I have lived in worse places. I'm to the point in my life that I'm realizing we have the power to change what we are unhappy with in our lives. Even sometimes if you fake that happiness it will become real. I used to constantly live for the next stage in my life: high school, then college, then getting a real job that paid, then marriage. I was just existing, and realized I was wishing my life away. What happens next children, then getting the kids out of the house, then retirement, then what - death? Why not live in the moment and enjoy where you are with what you've got? That's what I'm trying to do know.

-Disaster Chick

Thursday Random Thoughts 5/20/10

Stuff I have been thinking about:

-First off I wanted to congratulate Miss Michigan Rima Fakih for winning Miss USA the other week... and wanted a good excuse to put her picture on my blog.

-I have no R's in any of my three names but Each name ends in the letter E.

-I was given a blogging award by one of my newest and most fun Twitter/Blogger friends Monkeyheads_Mom. For some unknown reason she likes what she reads here and says we make her laugh. Even though we have her waaaay fooled I would still suggest you check out her blog Through the Eyes of Lauren which is written from the perspective of her six month old daughter. Very cute!

-People who don't wash their hands after they use the bathroom skeeze me out something way badly. Sorry I don't have any other way of putting it. Might be my worst pet peeve ever. And on a related note I NEVER ever directly touch a bathroom door handle/knob.

-Does anyone else like those Staples "WOW, Now that's a Low Price" commercials? My son sure does. ANY time we need to change his mood and get him laughing just pull up Youtube and he is captivated. He belly laughs so hard that it makes me laugh. Only one problem, if you are going to do this be prepared to watch the commercial over and over numerous times. Trust me, I know it by heart.

-Ke$ha is very VERY annoying.

-I learned last week that it's very difficult to moderate an online debate when all the combatants aren't on Twitter. And that's all I have to say about that.

-Over Mother's Day weekend Mt. Cat got bitten by a dog and I have been trying to get him to blog about it but I guess the rabies have taken over and he hasn't had time. ROTFL!

-Oh and one last thing. I have had to suspend my countdown until the day I can get a blackberry because my wife now seems to want an I-Phone. I guess we will have to see when the time comes.

Until Next time...

-Doc

The Funniest Lost Dog Reward Poster EVER!

I saw this and just had to post it... They lowered the reward AND made fun of the poor dog's face...

Oh and don't forget about that Drum he has for sale... HAHAHAHAHAAA!

-Doc

BTW - Does anyone else think that dog looks like the one from Men In Black ?

Darrelle Revis wants $20 million a year and so do I

I happened to be reading online yesterday and this article about NY Jets Cornerback Darrelle Revis caught my eye. Mr. Revis thinks that he deserves to be paid 20 Million a year for his skills which breaks down to 1.25 million dollars per game. Whaaaaa? Now considering he plays defense and not QB or some position where he handles the ball every play this figure is actually 1.25 million for playing HALF the game.
Now I know that Revis is good, don't get me wrong he is one of the best. I mean anyone who can shut down and shut up Chad Ochocinco deserves serious credit but 20 million???
I have come to the conclusion that I'm going to demand my employer pay me like this as well. OK lets figure this out. The highest paid person at Revis' position in the NFL made less than 10 million last season. While this is still being severely overpaid I will use this as a baseline marker for my demands. OK if the highest paid person at my position with the company makes $100,000 per year for example I think that I'm going to contact our general manager (through the media of course not in person) and demand that I must make $200,000 a year. How about that? I mean I do offer a service that people really need when they have wrecked their car. It's more important than shuting down Diva wide receivers right? You know what on second thought why don't I just shoot for the moon? Forget $200K I WANT 20 MILLION TOO! How do you think this will be received? Yeesh. Oh and don't forget that I'm only going to work half the time too.
I love sports as much as anyone but this has gotten out of control.

-Doc

Do the shoes make the man?

I read this story and was amazed. Here is a young man that made a bet that he could have easily swept under the rug and no one would remember a thing about it. It really seems like the world has changed. No longer is “my word” and a handshake acceptable we must have a contract for our attorneys to go over – and don’t forget to read the small print!

We’ve also become so much more judging. He said that people thought he was poor because of his shoes. I wonder what his social life was like at school – which group did he belong to? If you don’t wear the right clothes you won’t fit in. We all desperately wanted to fit in when we were in school.

One of the things I just read was don’t worry about getting the approval of other people because people are self focused and are wanting to get your approval of them. Is this what life is about – trying to get approval from others?

In college there was a guy that had dreds and walked barefoot even in snow. One day the University Daily Kansan did an article on him. He said as a youth his family went to Alaska. There he walked on the tundra barefoot and enjoyed the feeling so much that he wanted to experience the world though his feet. This goes to show there is always more to the story. Maybe the hippie guy has it right – maybe we should experience life how we want to and not give a damn what others think. Oh, yeah, he did carry a cheap pair of flip flops in his back pack when he went into places that required shoes.

The more I think about it shoes really doesn’t make the man, because both of these men are very interesting, but their shoes weren’t. Why am I in a competition with Imelda Marcos for shoes?

-Disaster Chick

Today starts 2 great weeks

Starting today the area I live in becomes the center of the NASCAR world until Memorial Day. I live in Concord/Kannapolis North Carolina and work in Charlotte where for the next two weeks the entire focus will be auto racing. Now this area is already the center of the NASCAR world (Not Daytona contrary to what you might think) because all the drivers and team members live here and all the cars are built here. These two weeks when the races are here though it's just crazy. With seating capacity of almost 200,000 people and infield area room for plenty more our little town becomes the 3rd largest in NC for a couple of weeks. The campers/RVs alone that move in for 2 weeks are something to see. They make their own little city.
This Saturday night is the Nextel Allstar Race and we will be going to it. We have pit passes and infield hospitality passes to give us access to watch Creed in concert as well as watch the race. We even have a designated driver! Should be lots fun. (Thanks to my buddy Rick!) Next week is the Coca-Cola 600. The grandaddy of them all. What I refer to as the longest day of the year. We aren't going this year but will be set up to celebrate in our backyard. I look forward to when my son gets older and we can take him.
Well as I said this is the biggest time of the year where I live. I wondered what the biggest thing that happens where you live is?

-Doc

Motivational poster of the Week 5//15/10

Enjoy your weekend!

-Doc

Not sure how I feel about this situation...

As I start writing this post I have no idea how it will end. I just have a situation that I need to "get off my chest." Some of you may know this most probably won't. This story is really long but I will try to shorten it. When I was a senior in High School a former close friend of mine committed murder and killed a woman trying to steal her vehicle in our neighborhood. Through a very odd series of circumstances I became a suspect and my best friend (and blog buddy) The Mt. Cat's car was seen near the scene of the crime and was reported by the local newspaper as being wanted for information by the police. (skipping a lot of the story. I promised Vinny that someday I would blog it but never have. It's a tough story to tell.)

As the situation turned out I had a lot of information about what had happened and ended up giving statements to the police that cemented their case against my former friend. There was no trial because he plead guilty so it was not like I testified against him. He was given a life sentence in prison and even though I have never forgotten for obvious reasons I did move on in my life.

Last night I got a Facebook message from him giving me his phone number and asking me to contact him.

It's true he is out after serving 20 years of a life sentence and I actually saw a picture of him on FB at a fundraiser for our 20th HS reunion. It's almost impossible to believe where time went that someone could have serve their time on a life sentence for 2nd degree murder and is already out. Impossible, but it has happened.

All those feelings came flooding back to me this morning when I read that message. All the stuff that went down. All the guilt that my inaction caused the death of another human being because I wasn't big enough to tell someone that he had a gun and had threatened me with it.

I think that I need to call him.

I am going to talk to my father first. My father is a pastor and possibly the most wise person that I know. I know they shared letters over the years and my friend has accepted the Lord into his life and become a Christian. I think that I have to contact him. With all the baggage I carry I don't think that I can just let it go without talking to him.

I have no idea what I will say.

Thank you for reading and listening to me. Told you I wasn't sure where this post was going when I started it. At least I have a couple of hours worth of car ride to think about it. Is it ironic that I am actually going before a judge in court today?

-Doc

If you are reading this you aren't real

Do you know what... you aren't real. You are a tall tale, a story, a legend like Sasquatch, Chupacabra, or the Loch Ness Monster. You don't exist. You are fake. You simply aren't real.

Or at least so says my wife. (and backed up by my sister, parents, and others on Mother's Day) You see for a long time my wife has held the belief that the people I have "met" and become friendly with on the internet via blogging and more recently Twitter aren't real people. She claims that all those text message tweets that I receive don't "count" because I am not getting them from "real people" like those who text her or Facebook people who are actually real.

Now I will admit that other than friends that I had prior to blogging/tweeting I have yet to actually meet any of you in person but that simply doesn't make you any less real. Each of you is real and has feelings, opinions, and emotions and over time I have come to know you by reading your postings and comments. I think that I have come to know some of you so well that I can even predict how you will react to a blog posting or a tweet and what your leaning will be on a news stories. That's not to say that I wouldn't like to meet you all. As a matter of fact I wish that I could host a big party and all of my blogging/tweeting friends could come. I think we would have a great time. Of course no one would actually show up because you all aren't real.

I would love to hear what you all think of this. What is your opinion? How do you like being portrayed as not real? Does anyone else either feel the same or have a family member who thinks their "internet friends" aren't real? Heck am I the only one who sometimes prefers the company of my twitter friends to real people? I really want to read your comments on this one. Of course since you aren't real are the comments really there? (And if Nessie the Loch Ness Monster comments then my wife will really think its a conspiracy)

-Doc

Lizard Lovin' ...

As my son and I sit in the waiting room where he goes for some tutoring, his teacher comes out and says come look at these huge lizards (the ones we saw were bigger then the two below). These two lizards were on the step of the office in a similar position as pictured below. The teacher looks and says to me I think they are fighting. Um…I don’t think so! I looked to her and said I believe they are mating. I take a closer look because I was very curious and it seem they did not mind my presence at all. As I am watching I see a red penis and the obvious male seeming to be humping the female. My son is looking as close as I am and starts laughing…..he is 7. Luckily he didn't have time to ask to many questions because it was time to start his sesson. He did however check before he left to see if they were still there and they weren't. I would have to say I got my monies worth that day. With getting a science lesson up close and personal and the hour of tutoring. I had no idea that lizards even had a penis! Did you? Oh, under the picture is just a little information about how they mate, but I was pretty sure the female had a hold of the males neck. She clearly was in charge with that mating ritual!
Male lizards will approach the female from the side, with many biting the neck of the female, and try to get their cloaca in a position as close as possible to the female. At this point, the closest hemipenis is erected.

-Southern Belle

Reason # 26749 that I'm glad I am not a Burro

How embarrasing to have to walk around all day with a sticker on your head?

-Doc

Weekly Poll: Speeding Tickets

On my way back from New York last month I was pulled over for speeding (in a construction zone) and given a speeding ticket. Now I'm 38 years old and have been driving since I was 16 and this is the first speeding ticket I have ever gotten. I'm not a huge speeder, I usually just follow the flow of traffic (or 5-7 mph over) depending on the traffic but I guess I have been lucky not to have been stopped before.
This Friday I am going to court to try and plead this ticket down to keep from having our insurance go sky high. I was talking about this with someone last week who was very surprised that this was my first speeding ticket. She says that she not only has multiple tickets but has been stopped many more times and just given warnings. (Due to flirting with the officer and batting her eyes no doubt)
This got me to thinking. Is it rare that I have been driving for over 20 years and never been given a ticket prior to this? I figured I would make a poll and ask for your comments. Have you been pulled over and given a ticket? Multiple tickets? Have you gotten off with just a warning? Tell us the stories. Let us know....

-Doc

Motivational Poster of the Week 5/8/10

Enjoy your Weekend!

-Doc

The Gift of Grippo's!!

About a week ago during a conversation on Twitter somehow the subject of potato chips came up. I'm not really even sure how it did but a couple of my friends from the midwest Matt-Man and Mrs. D suggested that I need to trip Grippo's hot BBQ chips. Being a local midwest thing I had no access to them so Matt-Man (and Schmoop) sent me a delivery which I received yesterday. Let me tell you something, these these chips are good... damn good. Maybe GREAT even however they are not for the pansy weak of tastebud though. These things have some kick to them:

The package has landed

Oooh a Twin Pack!

Gratuitous Cute Kid Picture

Yum these things are good
What are these Daddy? Those are heavenly goodness from the Matt-Man!

One handful is not enough

My son likes them but thinks they are "Too Spicy"

He is still stuffing his face though....

Yum... Grippo's!!

Daddy gives them a BBQ-ey Two thumbs up!

I highly suggest if you haven't tried Grippo's you need to !

Thanks again Matt-Man!

-Doc

Day Dreamin'

I noticed that Doc hasn't posted, so I thought I would jump in and guest blog today. Last week there was a garage sale in my neighborhood. As a way to meet the neighbors down the street and get a look at their junk I found some CDs that I didn't own for $2 each and in almost new condition:

Nirvana - Nevermind
Jesus Jones - Doubt
The Traveling Wilburys - Vol.1
U2 - War
U2- Joshua Tree
U2 - Achtung Baby
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Let's Face It
The Best of Bob Marley and the Wailers - Legend

I listen to a variety of music and usually can appreciate most of it. However, when Nevermind came out I had moved to a town that the only radio you could get was country and there was not MTV or VH-1 because that might cause pregnancy. Uh, that town had a lot of knocked-up teens. I began liking Elton John then. People would inform me he was gay. My thought was how does that effect me - the guys brillant with the piano?

Late yesterday and this morning I've been listening to the Bob Marley CD and I'm really enjoying it. This gets me to wonder what out is out there that I should listen to that I really hadn't taken the time to? What have you discovered recently that you wish you could have been a fan of all along?

Anyway I'm sitting at the desk in the other office and I'm listening to the island rhythms wishing I just got back from a SCUBA dive and time to just chill on the beach. Why is my home landlocked?

Oddly Specific Sign of the Week 5/5/10

Better not sneeze or fart at the health department... (what would you need to go there for then?)

-Doc

Weekly Poll - How Safe do you Feel?

After reading about the failed bombing attempt in Times Square, New York City this past Saturday night I got to thinking about how safe we are. Even though the memories are fresh a lot of time has past since both the Oklahoma City bombing and the attacks on September 11, 2001. It's obvious that there are still threats out there to our safety.
How safe do you feel? Not just when you are visiting a place like New York but where you live now? I know that New York is a target and people think "It couldn't happen where I live" but sadly I think that terrorists could do more damage in a small community where people feel "safe."
I'm guilty of feeling the same way. No way, something like that happens in New York or Los Angeles not in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Please take a moment to vote in the poll and feel free to comment as you wish. How safe do you feel?

-Doc

Motivational poster of the Week 5/1/10

Enjoy your weekend!

-Doc