New TV

Before the Superbowl I ordered a Digital Video Recorder, or "DVR" from my cable company, Comcast. I was hoping it would be installed before the big game so I could pause the game if I had to go to the bathroom, or instant replay any wardrobe malfunctions that occurred when they panned across the Seahawk's cheerleaders. I was excited, and I couldn't wait. My income tax refund came in the Friday before the game, so I decided to splurge on myself and by that new TV set I have been wanting to get for the last 2 or 3 years. I had it all picked out I just needed a good deal. Circuit City near the Beaver Valley Mall was running a sale on TVs and the 30" Widescreen Sony HDTV that I wanted was reduced. I ordered it online, and picked it up that evening! As you have read (or at least I hope you have), I promised to help my girlfriend with her bathroom refinishing, so I decided I would set the TV up Sunday morning before the cable guy came to hook up my DVR.... However, my girlfriend came over to visit Friday evening, and seeing the big box in my living room, she suggested we postpone the bathroom and check out the set. So we built the stand, and struggled to get the set on the stand, and after about an hour, I powered it on for the first time... Wow... what a thing of beauty. I couldn't get the HD channels until the cable guy came, but just the change in the size of the screen and the clarity of the picture from what I had before was just awesome. Here's what I had:

Here's what I have now:

I am now addicted to the TV set, and my DVR is already almost full of saved TV programs. I imagine that a year from now, I will have gained about 30 lbs, from the lack of activity other than pressing the buttons on the remote control!

Keys

Here's a story.... But before I start, you must understand a few things.... I really enjoyed the Disney movie about that smart guy that couldn't remember anything..... I have tried really hard to be just like him throughout my life. This past weekend I planned to go over to to my girlfriends house to help her remodel her small bathroom. She had to work in the morning, and I was supposed to go to her house while she was working, and get things started. I started Saturday by sleeping in, and I got to her house in the early afternoon, instead of the early morning. After getting to her place I realized that in order to take the sink and fixtures out of the room, I would some tools that she didn't have at her place. Fortunately, she lives only a short distance from my place, so I drove back home to get what I needed. I went in the back door, turned on the lights in the garage, where I keep the tools. I set down the stuff in my hands (read keys) and started to dig out the appropriate tools . After rooting around a few minutes I decided just to take the entire tool box, and figure it out there. I also grabbed set of special "locking pliers" that I got for a present a few years back. So with my hands full of tools I exited the garage, and closed the door behind me. I have a bad habit (or good depending on your point of view, from my point of view at this point it's bad), of locking doors as I walk through them. So, when I entered the garage, I locked the door, but kept it open slightly so I could get back out. When I left the garage, I pulled the door shut with my foot, as my hands were full. Soooo... When I get to the car to put the tools in the back I fumble around looking for the car keys that should be in my pocket to unlock the trunk of the car. Now the truly bad habit I have is that I don't always put the keys into my pocket when I am not using them, and yet I still expect them to be there when I need them. In this particular case they were definitely not in my pocket. They were lying on the shelf near where the tool box just recently sat, behind a locked door I just pulled shut with my foot. I tried the "credit card" trick on both doors to my apartment. The front door was has a dead-bolt lock, which I had locked earlier, and the backdoor shuts very tight, and there is no room to get the card between the door and the frame. Needless to say, my place is pretty safe against the average criminal with plastic card. Since I am not a professional criminal, I resorted to the next best thing... No, I didn't break a window, but that would have been less humiliating... I called my oldest daughter and beg her to come open the door to her Dad's apartment because he is getting too old to remember to take the keys with him when he leaves the building. She groans, and reluctantly agrees to help. While I am waiting for her to arrive, I find that the car isn't locked. I can sit in the car, and get out of the cold weather and listen to the radio while she takes her time to get to my place. Boredom sets in very, very quickly, and looking around the car I see the keys to my girlfriends place that she loaned me to get into her place while she is gone. Unfortunately, none of those keys open my apartment, but they give me something to focus on for a few minutes. I start wondering what all of these keys are for. A few look like door keys, one looks like a car key, and a few others I couldn't really identify. While I am looking at the keys an unusual thought crosses my mind... I wonder if any of these keys would fit in my ignition and start my car... Yep, you are right, that idea is as dumb as it sounds, but it didn't stop me from trying. You see where as I have mastered the absent-mindedness of that Disney movie I mentioned earlier, I have not mastered the smart "professor" part. So anyways, back to the story... I found a key that actually slid into the ignition, but of course didn't turn. I was surprised, because the key doesn't look anything like my car key and I was amazed at how it went in to the ignition like it was the right type of key. So I decided to see if any other keys went into the ignition like that. Well, the only other one that would go in was the actual key to my girlfriend's place, which was marked with a "pink" ring around the key. That key however only went halfway into the ignition, and.... It wouldn't come back out! No matter want I did: twist, turn, wiggle, jiggle, push, pull, scream, or cry, the key refused to exit the steering column of the car. My daughter was going to arrive any minute which meant I could get my keys, but what good would it do? I would not be able to use the keys to drive back to my girlfriends house to work on the bathroom! More fidgeting, fiddling, or fumbling did not extricate the key. I thought I was humiliated by asking my daughter to help me get into my apartment there was no way I could bear to tell her what I did or anyone else for that matter. So when she got to the house and let me in I found the phone book and called a locksmith that has emergency services. A little over an hour later and $75.00 less the locksmith had removed the key, and the ignition and key suffered no damage. Since the locksmith never asked how the key got stuck, I never told him. I am hoping he doesn't think it was me! :-) So I learned that even though that professor on that Disney movie both forgetful and smart, in the real life being forgetful is a sign of costly stupidity.

Supreme Court Justice appointment

A young lad that I know (no names to protect the innocent), took a social studies test last week, and one of the questions on his test was:

"What qualifications should a President look for when appointing a new justice to the Supreme Court".

His response was very interesting, especially when I found out that he didn't realize that the President had recently appointed two new justices. The teacher didn't accept his answer, but based on what you hear on the news you would think this was the major qualification:

"If the President is Republican, he should pick a Republican. If he is a Democrat, then he should pick a Democrat."

Of course that' s not what the teacher was teaching him, but that's what he thought. I can only assume he "learned" that from listening to news / political commentary.?

Bathroom Upgrade - Progress Report

I have been told by my son that my posts are too long, so I will make this brief. I put the second coat of paint on the "powder room" last night. While it was drying we found a few blemishes in the paint, specifically in the wall underneath the paint... So I am going to attempt to spackle those spots again, and repaint them. I hope I can smooth the blemishes out. The next step is to install the new flooring. We got those 1' x 1' vinyl floor tiles. The existing flooring is just one large piece of vinyl. I have to figure out how to cut the tiles around the toilet without it looking like a "hack job". Any advice?

Politics

If you read through my posts you would see that I have attempted to avoid taking a side or even talking about politics. This topic creates quite a bit of hard feelings, and people get really wound up talking about it. My girlfriend, and her family have a different political view than I do, so when we gather together for a holiday or other special event I am definitely in the minority when politics are discussed, so I am pretty good at avoiding political discussions, however I do have political opinions. I base my opinions of the political events on what the President and other leaders say, and more importantly watch they do. I try to base my opinions on facts, rather than what someone else tells me I should think. When I listen/watch, I take in what is happening at face value, and I try not to add some hidden agenda. I listen to commentators of both sides of the political spectrum, because to be honest, that's the only way to get the "whole picture" of what's going on. I try to not dismiss people just because I don't agree with their point of view. However, from my point of view, people on the other side dismiss me and people like me as "dumb", "stupid", or "not worth listening to" because we disagree with their point of view. So... Often, I just keep my opinion to myself. Anyway, to the meat of the topic... Limpy99 suggested that President Bush was stupid because he stutters, and misspeaks. I commented on his blog and said that people who misspeak aren't necessarily stupid, and there are many eloquent people that are stupid. I said we should judge Bush and leaders based on their words, and actions. I also suggested if you can't stand to "listen" to Bush speak, to read his speeches. I know it pains me to listen to him because of his speech patterns, and the pauses for applause and whatnot. I also don't see how someone can become President of the United States by being stupid as I believe it requires quite a bit of intelligence or at least the smarts enough to surround oneself with people who are! Anyway, Limpy responded to me on my blog, saying that he "didn't trust him [Bush] as far as he could throw him". He said that Bush is "power hungry" and that he is "too confident". He also mentioned the "domestic spying" in his comments. When I hear/read things like this I wonder I live in a different world than everyone else, or if I am just blind. Maybe those on the other side of the political spectrum have are right and I am stupid. Maybe I just need someone to explain to me how Bush is gaining power, other than what he has by being President. President Bush has retaliated against terrorists who attacked our country, and countries that support them. He then helped the people of those countries build their own goverment. He could have taken them over and made them "Bushland", made them part of our country, or instituted a government run by him or by our standards. The facts are he didn't. He pushed two big pieces of ledgislation: "Patriot Act" and "Tax Cuts", however they are both temporary! The tax cuts may have given him slight popularity and given the economy a boost, but no additional power to him. I believe more taxes means more control, or more power, so what does "less taxes" mean? The Patriot Act does grant additional executive branch power but it's temporary and has congressional oversight. It is designed to help us against a real threat of terrorism from both international and national sources. From what I understand from the news recently the Patriot Act isn't (currently) being renewed by the Senate. If he was power hungry, why didn't he make it permanent in the first place? I could name about a dozen more things where Bush could have done things to "gain power", but hasn't. To be honest and frank with you, I think he has lost power, by not speaking more frequently about his policies and ideas. His lack of public speaking has distanced himself from the people that would give him strength and power, and his performance polls reflect this. I don't believe he is "rallying" people to his side, which is power, which is something President Clinton did very well. The comments about the "domestic spying" are exaggerated. Bush did authorize spying, as he should, but against known terrorists, and it was done with full disclosure to those government agencies that oversee that stuff. ''It's amazing that people say to me, 'Well, he's just breaking the law.' If I wanted to break the law, why was I briefing Congress?'' said Bush during an appearance at Kansas State University. It was "secret" so the people we were spying on wouldn't know we were spying on them, and we could continue to get inside information. This is now harder to do since this issue has become public! Who do you think that helps? Us or Them? And what's even more distrubing about people upset about this issue, is that our current President hasn't done anything that any other President before him hasn't done, and some MORE than he did... These previous presidents weren't categorized as "the bad guys" when they did it, and we weren't at war then! The only last comment I will make is, I would rather follow someone that is sure of himself because he will keep going until he gets there, even if he makes mistakes along the way. He doesn't have to apologize for the mistakes because he succeeds... Does Thomas Edison owe us 4,000 apologizes for failing 4,000 times attempting to create a lightbulb? Or do we thank him for having enough confidence for knowing he could do it, and never giving up until he did! I would not want to follow someone that is tentative, and unsure of where to go, because they will never succeed. Edison would have given up and said it's impossible if he didn't have the confidence that he could do it. If we allow our country, and our President give up now, we will lose, and we will have terrorists attacking our country, and many, many more innocent people will die. I choose to follow the confidence that we will prevail!

SuperBowl XL Champions

I have mentioned before that I am not the biggest sports fan of the world. But it’s hard to get away fromt the game here in the “outskirts” of Pittsburgh. Everyone at work was wearing their Championship shirts and hats, and discussing their opinions of the events of the game.

Today when I stopped at the deli to get a little lunch meat, the guy slicing the meat asked me if I watched the game. Of course, being here in Steeler’s country, I had to watch the game. I wouldn’t want to appear in the newspaper the next day like this guy:

The great news is that Pittsburgh Steelers did the unimaginable; they have come from behind, and beat the Seattle Seahawks 21 to 10 to win SuperBowl XL in a game that wasn’t decided until midway through the 4th quarter. This makes the discussion of the game much more enjoyable!

My Soul?

I followed a link I found on SoozieQ's Blog Memes O'Mine where she found she was a "Peacemaker Soul". Well the link (which is at the bottom of this posting) takes you to a site where you answer questions about yourself. I answered the questions and this what 'kind of soul' it determined I have:

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You Are a Dreaming Soul

Your vivid emotions and imagination takes you away from this world So much so that you tend to live in your head most of the time You have great dreams and ambitions that could be the envy of all... But for you, following through with your dreams is a bit difficult You are charming, endearing, and people tend to love you. Forgiving and tolerant, you see the world through rose colored glasses. Underneath it all, you have a ton of passion that you hide from others. Always hopeful, you tend to expect positive outcomes in your life. Souls you are most compatible with: Newborn Soul, Prophet Soul, and Traveler Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

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So here's the question... If you know me, does this sound right?

Bathroom Upgrade

My girlfriend has decided to remodel a small "powder room" in the master bedroom of her town home. It had flowering wallpaper, an old sink that was clogged, and a 60's looking medicine cabinet. She had recently had a new toilet installed because the old one was leaking. Well last weekend we stopped into Home Depot, and after about 3 hours of shopping, we picked out a new paint, a new flooring, a new sink, new medicine cabinet, new lighting, and new towel racks. We picked out everything necessary to remodel the powder room, except the toilet. The only decision left was whether or not to spend the money. Home Depot made this decision easier because they had a 6-month same as cash deal for purchases over $250.00. So this weekend before the "big game" we removed the sink, the medicine cabinet, and pulled off all of the wallpaper. We scraped and picked until all of the wallpaper was off. We then sanded off the remaining little pieces and hardened glue that we could not scrape. The walls had been painted a few times, and wall papered a few times, and so there were a few layers to remove to get back down to the bare walls. After cleaning up the walls, we spackled in the holes, ridges and gouges left from our scraping, and earlier "remodeling" projects. We had to wait until the next day for the spackling, so we decided to stop for the night. The next day, SuperBowl day, we sanded down the spackling, cleaned the walls, and put on the first coat of paint. The look of the room improved 100% just from the first coat. The project is not done yet, we still need to put the second coat of paint, and install the flooring. When that is done, we can put the sink, medicine cabinent, lighting, and towel racks in. We didn't get a picture of the bathroom before we started, but I took a few pictures of the room at the end of the first two days of work. I will upload them here later, if she doesn't mind. :-)