We borrowed this sweater from my sister-in-law because Mr. Brady was shivering so much, but I’m a little concerned about my Man Dog wearing pink.
Archive for January, 2010
Brady’s First Snow
Sunday, January 31st, 2010No Wonder Some Houses Aren’t Selling
Saturday, January 30th, 2010
After running into one realtor after another who seemed to all belong to the same “Sales Prevention Department”, my beautiful bride and I put the house hunting on hold for a while. The straw that finally broke the camel’s back was when we drove all the way across town for an open house, and the owner/agent didn’t even show up. We still get emails when new houses that meet our criteria come on the market, and look at the photos online. But apparently a lot of homeowners didn’t get the memo that they’re supposed to clean up their house before they take pictures, and don’t have HGTV. No matter how nice the house is, we’re not too motivated to spend our valuable time going to see it when it looks this junky online.
Your Kids are Your Own Fault
Friday, January 29th, 2010
My colleague Larry Winget, best known for his book “Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life”, has just released a new one that’s bound to be another best seller. In his trademark no-nonsense form, Larry says kids today are “overmedicated, overindulged, overweight, overentertained, undereducated, underachieving, underdisciplined, disrespectful, illiterate brats with a sense of entitlement that is crippling society.” Wish I had said that.
If You Thought Political Correctness Was Out of Control Here…
Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Nicole Mamo
Nicole Mamo, director of Devonwood Recruitment in the UK, was told she could not use the phrase “reliable and hard working” in her help wanted ad, because it could be offensive to unreliable people.
“Imagine the Most Racist-Minded Klansman Proposing to Destroy African-Americans by Getting Them to…”
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010If you haven’t read the feedback on yesterday’s (1-26-10) post, you should. Some of it will send shivers down your spine. The most compelling came from Bill Hayes, a retired U.S. Marine, who wrote:
Glenn:
I’m a retired U. S. Marine who happens to be labeled an “African-American” by those who do the government’s labeling and I have always hated the stupid, “baggy pants” trend. I’ve long been tired of hearing about things such as the high rate of unemployment in the “Black” community while noting the high rate of “young bloods” wearing not only those idiotic baggy pants, but untied shoes, oversized T-shirts, trashy flashy jewelry, backwards caps, and more. The insane apparel is only matched by the incoherent speech used by many of those who dress like idiots – all of which makes them pretty much unemployable – and all of which is a matter of CHOICE on the part of the knuckleheads involved.
Imagine the most racist-minded Klansman proposing to destroy African-Americans by getting them to: fail in school (achieving good grades is “acting White”); dress like criminals; sell drugs to one another; bring about high rates of teenaged pregnancies; make them transmit high rates of sexual disease; force them to call each other the very names they rant about when such words are used by “non-Blacks”; disrespect their own culture through profane records (rap music), etc. Any such Klansman who came up with such ideas would be banned from future meetings as being too much of a lunatic to be around his fellow racists. In fact, he might be hung just to ensure he didn’t breed. Yet all of the things mentioned above occur every day in the African-American community – by CHOICE!
I appreciate your courage in writing it as it should be written.
Sincerely,
Bill Hayes
Feedback on 1-26-10 issue of Glenn Shepard’s “Work Is Not for Sissies!”
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010Click on “Comments” below to view feedback in this issue.
My New Addiction
Monday, January 25th, 2010Never shall it be said that I’m not man enough to admit when I’m wrong. As much as I hate video games, I have now changed my tune – at least a little. The Wii Fit Plus I bought my beautiful bride for Christmas has become quite addictive. While I still find the yoga boooooooooriiiiiing, the golf and baseball are pretty darn cool, at least on ugly winter days when it’s too cold to do anything outside. By far, the most addictive is the game where you flap your arms and fly, which happens to be a recurring dream I’ve had for over 40 years (and is why I began flying helicopters 10 years ago).
For Allergy Sufferers Only
Sunday, January 24th, 2010Hats off to the COIT. Yesterday we had them clean the ducts, hoping it would help me breathe better. Not only did it work, but they also discovered a “little” detail in the upstairs HVAC unit that no one else ever caught. The end cap on one of the ducts in the attic was never installed, leaving the unit to suck sir from the attic straight into the system, with lots of dust and fiberglass in it. So if you suffer from allergies, here’s a tip: In addition to having your ducts cleaned, have someone inspect all the ductwork in your house for leaks.
President Obama’s Worst Week Ever
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010Regardless of what your political convictions are, there are consequences to all legislation. While it would be wonderful for everyone to have free healthcare, the money has to come from somewhere, and those who bear the lion’s share of the costs are not going to just sit there and do nothing. The stock market surged after the election of Scott Brown put a halt on the massively expensive healthcare reform Congress was so intent on railroading through so quickly. But then when President Obama came after banks this week, announcing he wanted to limit their size and punish even those who took no bailout money, the market took its biggest tumble in over a year. According to a new Bloomberg survey, 77% of U.S. respondents believe President Obama is too “anti-business”. While it’s a good thing to have a powerful person looking after the little guy, the word on Capitol Hill is that President Obama is getting an earful from his own supporters, reminding him of how much he hurts the little guy when he scares the stock market like that. As President John F. Kennedy used to say, “A rising tide lifts all boats”. And as President Abraham Lincoln used to say, “You don’t make midgets any taller by cutting off the legs of giants”.
Is That Blood Spatter Inside My Car?
Friday, January 22nd, 2010Guess I’ve been watching too much CSI. Yesterday I got in my van for the first time in several weeks, and there was a syrupy brownish liquid spattered all over. All I could possibly imagine was blood, but no one has been murdered in there, at least not that I know of. Then it hit me. I left half of a six pack of Diet Cokes in there, and the unseasonably cold temperatures we had last week caused them to explode. I’m guessing you folks up around Wisconsin and Minnesota know better, but this native Floridian and lifelong Southerner just learned a sticky lesson about winter. 