The Perils of Living in Oklahoma

Last night was the the first time that a tornado has come within five miles of my house. It was a really intense couple of hours as tornadoes were just popping up everywhere and landing with unpredictability. One passed by the OU campus blowing out windows and causing a lot of damage and it passed over a really busy street during rush hour and luckily no one was seriously hurt. Here is a video of it crossing that street. This is the one that was just miles from the house and we could see it in the horizon from the front porch. What was so strange is that this particular tornado formed in a matter of minutes, barely giving storm spotters any warning to activate the sirens.

It is a really eerie feeling when tornadoes happen. We were eating dinner with the news on in the background when I started hearing hail and rain hit the house and then almost immediately the winds picked up. The intense rain, winds, and pea sized hail lasted just a few minutes then all of sudden it stopped and the sky was a weird greenish haze. But it was like the brakes were hit. My hair was standing on my arms and you just get this sense that something bad is going to happen. My oldest boy Parker who was standing at the door with me said, "Are the storms gone, daddy? I told them to go away." I told him that I didn't know and when I turned around my wife was shaking and crying hollering at the boys to get in the middle closet and hide. Then the sirens went off. You see, my wife lived in the Midwest City/Del City part of Oklahoma when the big one hit on May 3rd, 1999. That tornado was the strongest ever recorded with speeds of 301 miles per hour and caused massive destruction. She knew what was about to happen. But this tornado warning had a different sense of panic. In 1999, she only had to protect her cat, not two children. Then it happened. The news in the background said that there was a tornado on the ground in Norman Oklahoma around Hwy 9, heading towards the OU campus. As I looked in that direction, the winds suddenly picked up, but in reverse. The trees were bending to the South instead of the North and you could hear a light rumble....then there it was off in the distance just moving across the horizon to the Southeast from my house. I told my wife that we were OK as it went South of us and she just stood there hugging the boys, watching it disappear in the tree line.

We were lucky but quite a few others were not. One of the hardest hit places was a truck stop to the Northeast on I-40 and Choctaw. There are additional images of it on the video above. They confirmed one fatality there as a child was not able to get to shelter and was killed by flying debris. This was from a tornado touched down about five miles North of our house and went through the city of Moore and headed in that direction about 15 minutes prior to our scare. The nickname for this area in tornado alley and I can see why, just driving to work this morning and seeing where it crossed on I-35, it looks like a bowling ball rolled through the fences and trees, knocking them all down. According to the weather forecast for tonight and tomorrow, more storms with the possibility of tornadoes so it may be another interesting night.

Here is a great video of what it was like.

Medicine Recalls

In the news lately there have been a number or stories of product recalls concerning children's items. You hear about carseats, baby formula, baby food, strollers, and carriers, but the one that should really catch your attention is when it involves children's medicines. We routinely switch between Children's Tylenol and Motrin as recommended by our child's pediatrician. The Pediatrician is the one person that we trust when it concerns your child. So where do you turn? Who do you trust?

The latest medicine recall involved children's Tylenol and Motrin in the liquid form. It covers a wide range of liquids from regular Tylenol to allergy medicine such as children's Zyrtec and Benadryl. Evidentially, these medicines may contain tiny particles, increased concentration amount of medicine or "inactive ingredients that may not meet internal testing requirements". What you may ask are the inactive ingredients that may not meet testing, they are BACTERIA. That's right, bacteria was found. There have not been any reported deaths or hospitalizations resulting from children taking the contaminated medicines, but the FDA feels that it is best that they discontinue it and pull it off the shelves. It is also recommended to use generic branded medicines for the time being.

Now just because we are adults, it doesn't mean that we are in the clear. There have been numerous over the counter medicines recalled from Tylenol in the last few years and a complete list of them can be found here. Please be sure to check your medicines cabinet tonight and flush it if you happen to have some of the contaminated medicine that I had. One bright side is that if you do have some of the medicines on the list, go to this website and enter in your information to receive coupons or a refund. It only takes a few minutes to do so, and at least they are offering some form of compensation and accepting responsibility for their actions. It is the least they can do for being a leader in making children's medicines.

So now comes the most important question, "Who can we trust when it comes to recommending products for our children"? There is always a risk with being a doctor or nurse as the rate of malpractice lawsuits seems to climb more and more each and every year. I personally wouldn't do it because they were only their job. You asked what to give them and they told you. They didn't knowingly get a memo saying that this medicine is bad and then start pushing it out to every patient that visits, but I bet that there are a few walk-in type clinics where the gifts that the doctor got for pushing XYZ medicine makes him feel compelled to give you a certain brand of medicine isn't necessarily the best medicine for the ailment that you went in for. It happens, and it is a lucrative business. But I doubt that it happened here with a $4.00 bottle of children's Tylenol.

I urge you to check and make sure that your medicine is safe and when giving medicine to your small children to watch them and immediately take them to the hospital if the symptoms get worse.....It even says it on the bottle. Be Safe!

Friday Rant

I have officially run out of things to write about. Life is on autopilot this time of the year as all the faculty and staff will be leaving the building soon and we will get 3 months of solitude. It is rather annoying that on most days, kids will be carrying on about their dating life or how horrible their roommate is. I think that it is annoying because I am 12 to14 years older than them, but it is college. Grow Up. I think that really what bothers me the most is that these people are in school to become nurses and most do their clinical rotations at the Medical Center, which is the place to go if you are an employee because the "in-network" rate with our insurance is super great. Hopefully as the years go on, they will mature.

One thing I find really annoying is the tailgating students who try to wait for you to leave using your employee parking pass and then high speed it under the gate with you. It's a dollar to park people...Your tuition cost $15000 a semester and you cant pay the buck to get out? There is one other guy here who finds it annoying as well so now, we swipe our card, drive forward a few feet and then STOP. We wait for the gate to come down then we proceed. It is really funny to do it especially if the student drives a stick because most times they will hit the gate arm.. HILARIOUS!!! The buzzer goes off and then everyone looks. Hopefully they learn a lesson.

I hope everyone that reads this blahg has had a great semester and looking forward to the summer break. I am actually going to take 9 hours during summer school to try to save $1500 on tuition since the double price for out of state students doesn't apply until Fall. I want to be so done with school, to get the degree and prove to myself that I can achieve anything that I set my mind to. I will be the first one in my immediate family, but since both me and wife will have graduated from MSSU, I hope that my two boys will go there as well. Hopefully they will play sports and get scholarships, as in 2024 the price of out of state tuition will probably be $750 an hour at the current rate of increase. But one thing is for sure, most of the faculty that I have taken classes with are very great at what they do, and I hope they forgive my boys for who their dad is as I can be very outspoken. Bets of luck to all my English 102 classmates and if our paths should cross again, feel free to shoot me an email.

Take Care and Good Luck on your finals!!!

What is up with Security in China's Schools?

Almost everyday this week, I am seeing articles or news stories about children in China either getting stabbed or hit with a hammer. Each time I come across something like this, I am left bewildered at how can someone do something so heinous? What types of preventive measures are being put in place to keep this from happening again? This is something that should be very alarming as it is preschool and elementary school aged kids getting seriously hurt and it needs to stop. There have been five such attacks in a months' span and Chinese authorities are at least stepping up security at schools but the number of schools versus police or security force can't be everywhere as they lack the manpower.

According to this video, the increase in attacks is primarily due to the enormous pressure put on people to succeed in China. Seriously? These attackers feel that the best way to stop it is to attack where the pressure all starts, in preschool or kindergarten. I really doubt that they are thinking, " I will help these children so they will not have to feel the pressure put on us later on life", and then go kill them. There is no excuse to attack defenseless little kids who have done nothing wrong. They are innocent children who worry about losing their favorite bouncy ball or where their stuffed animal is when they go to bed at night. To me, this is absolutely ludicrous.

One of the people who had killed eight elementary students on March 23rd, Zheng Minsheng, has already been convicted and killed by a firing squad on April 28th. I do greatly appreciate the swift trial, but they really need to do more to protect the children, rather than speeding up the trial and shooting them. He told the media that he wanted revenge on the "rich" and "powerful". Killing children is no way to make a point.

Another important factor based on the information in the video about and the article is that some authorities believe that the increase in these incidents is due to the "copycat" effect when something like this happens and it is relayed by mass media. We had the same thing happen here in the US similar to when we had the Columbine incident a few years ago, and I believe that people do try to copy other events. We saw a surge in school shootings after the news media continued to play it over and over again such as Virginia Tech and numerous other high schools. Unfortunately for us, it took a lot of innocent lives to beef up security in schools across the nation and it has been some time between incidents.

Hopefully China will be able to come up with effective ways to combat these types of instances happening. In China, they have one of the toughest gun laws in the world, forbidding ownership outside of the police or military. As unfortunate it is for the kids to be stabbed and be in pain, they will at least recover slowly, but being shot would have been worse and the amount of deaths would have been higher. Too bad the US won't be as strict as China. A lot of lives could have been saved.

Summer School.. BOOOO!!

I usually look forward to the three months of no homework, no writing and more sleep during the summer. I came to realize on Monday that the increase in tuition for out-of-state distance students at MSSU doesn't apply to summer school as it goes into effect during the Fall 2010 semester. So now, in an effort to save $1600, I have enrolled in 9 hours, all to be compressed into 2 months. Luckily, one of my fellow English 102 classmates is taking one of the same classes with me, and not to mention that she is fun to exchange emails with, so hopefully, accounting 202 won't be so boring.

Really the only other positive of this summer is that the students here at work will dwindle down, providing me with unlimited choices on where to park in the mornings and the line for lunch will be quick. It is really annoying to be standing in line at the union only to overhear, "So and so is going to so and so's party but I am not going because so and so will be there and she is a b#$%^". If only they knew that so and so probably doesn't give a rats a$$ about whether or not they are there and once they graduate, you will never see them again. I mean seriously, do people still care what others think? Wait until you are married, have kids and responsibility in your life. You won't care. Trust me.

And one last rant, the OKC Thunder NBA team cannot hang with the Los Angeles Lakers. It is simply for ratings that the Lakers have lost a few games here, and probably David Stern's idea to try and drum up interest in the NBA since the ratings has declined over the years. I really do wish that the Thunder could beat the Lakers and go to the second round but lets face it, there's a better chance of me eating JUST a salad for dinner than the Thunder winning tonight and beating the Lakers in LA on Sunday. It will not happen. I am so sick and tired of people driving around with thunder flags on their cars or dressed in Thunder gear at the mall. It is so stupid. I know that you are a bandwagon fan and once the NBA season is over, here comes the OU or OSU gear depending on who is doing better. I will admit that OKC has quickly become a hotspot for sports with OU's Blake Griffin going first in the NBA draft last year, Sam Bradford going first in the NFL draft this year, and the Paris sisters going to the WNBA. We have the Texas Rangers minor league baseball team, we have a one level down from the main NHL ranking hockey team and then we also have the Yard Dawgs, an arena league football team. There are plenty of choices if you are a sports fan as we have everything covered. But me personally, I don't give a rats a$$. I am too busy with work and school.

"Say Hello to my Little Friend"

We all remember that line from the best mob movie ever made, Scarface. The barrage of bullets that followed as Tony Montana unleashed his M16 assault rifle on the henchmen sent to kill him. Turns out in Utah, you can request a firing squad as your choice of death if you are death row instead of lethal injection. At first, when I saw the article I thought that there was no way that death by a firing squad still exists in the US. Although Utah no longer allows it if convicted of a crime and sentenced to death, those that were sentenced prior to 2004 can take option B, the firing squad. I personally think that it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment and will probably be stopped by some court order. I have read about the quickness and efficiency of lethal injection in the prison system and I believe that it is the most humane way to die if sentenced to death.

The story is about Ronnie Lee Garner who shot and killed a lawyer back in 1985 during an escape from jail gone wrong. When the judge asked him on April 21,2010, "lethal injection or firing squad?", he chose the latter. Critics contend that it needs to be abolished as it a relic from the Wild West days back in Utah. According to wikipedia, there have been an estimated 142 deaths from firing squads in the US, but most date back to the times of the Civil War. Surprisingly, Utah is not the only state that allows for death by firing squad. The only other state is Oklahoma, but here it is only allowed as a backup. If Mr. Garner is granted his wish, he will be the third person since the US Supreme Court in 1976 allowed the continuance of the death penalty. Mr. Garner's lawyer has stated that he will probably appeal his clients death, now scheduled for June 2010. I don't think that with all the media coverage and human rights activists that this death will be carried out especially the way a firing squad works with five men pointing a gun, 20 feet away while Mr. Garner is blindfolded. I agree that this seems like it is out of the old west, and not going to fly in this day and age.

Mr. Garner happens to be just the beginning as there are three others sitting on death row in Utah that also want to be shot. I think they are going to be very disappointed when the Supreme Court strikes it down and they end up having to spend the rest of their days in an 8x8 room. There is however one benefit from this type of death as the only organ that is harmed is typically the heart, allowing for the other organs to be donated. But this also assumes that the shooters have decent aim and don't miss.

I am firmly against this type of death and I guess that I will have to wait and see if this is going to be allowed as it is not humane. I don't think that it will be allowed and I know that there are others who feel the same way.

I Am Victorious!!!!

Some of us in this class are familiar with "Wophunzira's*" nickname for one of the professors at MSSU. His class is very hard, takes a lot of time to read the materials for the bi-weekly exams and he relies on your judgement to choose the very best answer on an exam although there may be more than one answer. Because of this and other factors, his nickname has been hereby affixed as "Dr. Evil". Well, Dr. Evil allows you to appeal an exam question if you believe you are right. People who know me by now, know that I will fight to the death..no wait..be persuasive enough to prove a point. After submitting three questions to appeal, I was victorious on one. Yep, one. But the thing to remember is that I was right on one. I proved him wrong. That was the real victory, as this professor can be really intimidating and the failure rate in his class is high.

To celebrate my victory, tonight I will crack open a beer and light up a Rocky Patel cigar and just sit on my porch watching the day give way to the dark of night. This victory is like remembering your locker combination in that stupid reoccurring dream where you forgot it. We all have those, right? This victory exposes a flaw and now, I might appeal every wrong test answer in this class, just to make him read them. I doubt he will give in, because you can tell that he takes his role as a professor really serious. My 1-2 record may soon become 1-10, but again, knowing that I was right just once, will allow me to hang my head high. Not to mention word of my victory came on the same night as Sam Bradford, OU's former star quarterback was chosen as the number one pick in the NFL by the St. Louis Rams and the Oklahoma City Thunder actually won a playoff game against the defending NBA champs, the Los Angeles Lakers. What a great night. Now I can go back and root for the Ram's like I did back in high school when the Ram's were known as the "Greatest Show on Turf".

For those of you who think I'm gloating, I doubt that you have taken either of the two required classes from Dr. Evil. They are insanely hard and will bring down the best student's GPA like the Wall Street crash. Most "A" students will end up with a "B" and that will feel like a victory to them. I wish that sometimes there was a way to find out the grade distribution in classes as I am curious. I would like to know so that I can better educate new friends who may not be as far along as I am on what professors are great and which ones are not. Unfortunately MSSU isn't one of the schools listed on www.ratemyprofessors.com like OU is. It would be a big help for students.

* Name changed to protect the innocent. Once you find out the meaning of the word as well as the origin, the person's identity could become clear to you.

5 Is the Magic Number

In sports, near the end of the season, there is always a magic number that signifies what the team needs to do in order to clinch a playoff berth or win their division. In English 102, that number is 5. 5 more blogs to post and the season per say is over. It's been fun taking back to back English courses this academic year but it definitely isn't for the faint of heart. But hopefully, Professor Chism can see some improvement in my writing since August 2009. Another magic number of mine is 3. Just 3 more writing intensive classes before I am done and I will complete the requirements for my major. After this semester I only have 3 left and I will probably stay at MSSU. I have checked around some of the in-state universities here in Oklahoma and if I transfer now, I am looking at two full years. 60 hours, and if I stay only 52. That is manageable considering I am going to take 6 hours this summer, have 15 already scheduled for Fall 2010. That only leaves 31 more hours and I am out the door. Finished. Gone where no Brenner has gone before. I will prevail.

I think the thought of being the only Brenner in my family to have a college degree is what motivates me the most. I am already the only one to make it past high school. I am one of 7 children ranking right in the middle at 4th. 3 brothers below me and 2 sisters and a brother above me. My parents got divorced when I was 7 and we bounced from house to house, school to school, growing up poor. All I ever had was the desire to rise above and be somebody. I didn't like being poor and receiving handouts all the time, so as soon as I turned 16, I got a job at a local restaurant as a dishwasher and then filed for emancipation. I lived with some older married friends I knew and tried to work full time plus stay in school. It was hard and I managed for a year or so, but I was burned out (surprising huh?) and I did the next best thing according to my high school counselor. I dropped out of high school my senior year in November, filed to take the GED test in December and after I passed, I enrolled in college just starting out with one class that following January. But then it happened. I landed a job making over $30,000 a year at 18 years old. College seemed unnecessary and my priority became helping my mom with my brothers. Helping them out, making sure they had food on the table and clothes to wear became more important. I focused on work, achieving a few promotions along the way before I eventually switched professions ending up being in hotel management for over 7 years. But then things changed, as I started a family and moved to Oklahoma working for OU. Now my family is my priority, and a college degree ensures to them that I will be able to be there for them. Life for me has been rough growing up and to me, adding that degree will be like finding the holy grail. I can't give up now. College life for a 32 year old is rough when you take 12-15 hours a semester, work full time and try not to cut family time out. There are times where I am up until way past midnight studying, only to realize that 5:30 am is right around the corner. I will remain strong.

Sorry for the long story, but I hope that it inspires at least one person to continue on that is thinking about taking time off. I took over 10 years off and at this point in my life, I wished that I wouldn't have. There is a light at the end of tunnel and it's not a train, unless MSSU doubles your tuition. Blame the Fat Cat Bankers that screwed us all because of their greed..not MSSU because they really didn't have a choice. I did some research and it seems that since MSSU promised the state not to raise in-state tuition in return for no cuts to them, it had to be so. There were no other options, but I hope the decrease in enrollment doesn't affect Professor Chism. She actually listens to the students and gives a damn.

Mans Wins Lawsuit for Flipping Off the Cops

One of the things in the US that can never be taken away is the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights give us all, as US citizens certain protections against the government. Well, Scott Schaper of Olathe Kansas believed that his first amendment right was infringed upon when he received a disorderly conduct ticket for telling a cop to "F&^% You" and giving him the middle finger after receiving a ticket for failure to yield at a stop sign. Mr. Shaper contacted the ACLU, and with their help, got the ticket dropped and Mr. Shaper was paid $4,000.00 for his troubles. I completely agree with Mr. Shaper here in that his right to freedom of speech was infringed upon and the city should be lucky to settle out of court for such a small fee because I think the jury would have awarded a lot more.

The First Amendment offers us the freedom of speech. Many courts in the US have concluded that saying "F&^% You" and using ones finger to express frustration or discontent is covered under the first amendment, such as in Cornelius v. Brubaker or Gulliford v. Pierce County. The City of Olathe has also agreed to perform additional training in an effort to educate their officers better regarding first amendment rights. This is not the first time in the US that someone has sued their city over flipping off a cop as a man in Pittsburgh sued and won $50,000.00 back in November. There are many, many others out there but they have the same thing in common. The tickets were dropped and they won their lawsuit for infringement of their first amendment right. I was always to scared to do something like that when I was growing up and I truly respect the law at my old age. But this brings up another important topic, police overstepping their boundaries. The instance that comes to mind lately is the brutal beating of a Maryland student. The police filed a false report as they didn't know that the attack was caught on camera. I am sure that the student will end up receiving millions and a few of the officers involved will lose their jobs. But are the violations of rights because officers are working longer hours and being stretched thin due to workforce reductions and the economy?

As I stated above, I agree that the Olathe police officer violated his rights. The city was lucky to walk out of it for that small amount and the victory just adds another one to the ACLU chalkboard. With the economy tanking and people losing their homes and jobs, this proves that they at least get to keep the freedoms awarded from the Bill of Rights. These types of lawsuits could be avoided by cities doing a better job of training their officers on what types of gestures or sayings are unlawful and warrant tickets and/or prosecution. But moving forward, this action is not something I plan on trying out anytime soon.

Separate Bathrooms for Boys and Girls = Discrimination

I read this story on foxnews that in Maine, a human rights commission says that forcing a boy or a girl into separate rooms such as bathrooms or locker rooms amounts to discrimination in schools. Evidentially, a trans-gendered boy was denied access to the girls bathroom and after complaining to the Maine Human Rights Commission, they concluded that it violated the Maine Human Rights Act. I personally think that this is a crock of horse manure and there needs to be separate facilities for the different sexes. In my area where my office is located, we have a unisex bathroom and I can honestly tell you that nothing is more embarrassing to have a nursing student walk in after my lunch from Chilino's, a local Mexican restaurant that serves up some of the best fish tacos, and it moves thru the stomach and out for processing. Separate bathrooms are indeed needed and all it took was one incident the other way, and now I just walk down the hall to the boys only restroom in order to save face.

I think that this could lead to some issues with pedophiles and others that are sick. As the article says, if the authors’ daughter walks into a bathroom and there is a man in there, they instinctively feel like something is wrong. Not only that, it could potentially lead to more sexual assaults, more instances of sexual inappropriateness, and increases in rapes in schools. I don't think the ramifications were thought out before the commission came to this conclusion. There needs to be a very defined line between what privacies are afforded to use the facilities. How creepy would it be if you are done playing girls volleyball and you go to the locker room only to find male basketball players gawking? Seriously, what are they thinking?

The other issue that I can see is if this is considered discrimination, what happens when the school needs to know your sexual orientation? Schools are prohibited from asking you, so how would they know if you are transgendered without asking? Is there a specific stereotype or profile that they fit? As Karen Kemble, the Director of Equal Opportunity from the University of Maine says, “The inability to ask proof of sexual orientation leaves the institution any way to determine the bona fide nature of the gender identity or nature.” Nature??? Aren’t we all born either boys or girls determined by nature? I know, it’s not the same thing, but I figured a wise crack would be funny.

So that leads me to my last point, all this is happening in Maine. The coldest, wettest, and northernmost state of the continental US. Have you ever met anyone from Maine? I have and I think they are a little off. I personally think that they spend too much time in their homes during the winter because of all the snow they get. The lack of sunshine can’t be good either. Good luck to them.

Goodbye MSSU

All good things must come to an end, as the old saying goes. After this semester, I will probably be transferring to the University of Oklahoma, where I work to finish my college education. My hastily departure is blamed on the MSSU Board of Regents who, by their actions, set in motion a change of events that will more than double the cost per credit hour if you are not a Missouri resident beginning next semester. It is rather sad and unfortunate that out-of-state 100% online students are being targeted, as the cost is the same for online classes whether or not you live in state of out of state. That is why I choose to stay at MSSU instead of OU when I moved. The cost was the same wherever you choose to live. But now, instead of $143 a credit hour plus $35 distance learning fee, it is now $286 an hour with a $50 distance fee. Ouch!

This decision, will also extend my college career to at least another year. OU doesn't offer a wide variety of online classes, so I will be forced to attend class in the evenings, taking valuable time away from my family. Since I also work full time, I will probably only be able to take 6 hours a semester and this is where my time in college will be extended. But hey, at least the cost is significantly cheaper..for example 15 hours at MSSU will now cost me $5040.00 not including books. 15 hours at OU will only cost me $2892.00. That is a savings of $2418.00 per semester assuming 15 hour enrollment. OU is only $241.00 a credit hour, but since I am an employee I get 6 hours half price, and now, it makes sense to go to OU. Even without the employee discount that is only $3615.00, still a savings of $1425.00..

MSSU will be missed. I was a Lionbacker for years when I lived in Joplin, met my wife at MSSU where she is now part of the Alumni, graduating in 2008. It is rather sad an unfortunate that us, the 100% distance students, are being unfairly sought after to fill the economic holes due to declining state revenues. I think that MSSU should of evaluated the cost as a whole and passed the increase to all students instead of a select group..How can they justify a 43% percent increase in the distance learning fee, $35 to $50 and a 100% increase per credit hour when the cost of taking an course is the same no matter where you choose to connect?

Friday Deadline Post

Another Friday, another deadline. I still have Paper 3 to write this weekend, as well as a test for Dr. Evil, as our fellow classmate Irina titled him. You never know what to expect when taking his tests. Sometimes you can score really good because the questions make sense, but then there are times when the questions are so open that, based on your interpretation, your selected answer is wrong, but technically right. I am very, shall we say, vocal about issues, that I could probably make a great lawyer. My quiz question appeals have went unanswered for almost a month now, that I am beginning to suspect, research must of had to be done to find counter-claims against my findings. Which brings me to a story about my past...

Way back in the glory days of summer, I was dating my next door neighbor. I lived in Springfield at the time and this girl was a college student living away from her parents for the first time. I had lived at the apartment complex with my roommate for a few months when one day we had a knock on the door and it was her parents, introducing us to her and her roommate, I guess just to basically see who lived next door to them. We offered to watch over them and if they ever needed anything to just knock and we would be happy to help. It wasn't long before I started dating one neighbor and my roommate started dating the other. So after a few months, I find out the girl I was seeing actually had a boyfriend back in her hometown. I started dating someone else, which I guess made her jealous....but in the essence of being a nice guy, we remained cordial and nice. One night, me and my roommate had a party, and my cars keys were missing. Well, it turned out that she heard me talking on the phone to the new girl I was seeing that I would be by to pick her up after work, that she went to her apartment and took the keys. Well, we shared a balcony, so I climbed over, opened the sliding glass door and in the cover of darkness, located my keys and left the same way I came in. What I didn't know was that her boyfriend was in town, he watched me scamper out, and he called the police to report that I had stolen his girlfriends car. So guess what happened when I returned after picking this girl up???

I ended up spending a night in jail and a court date for auto theft. I had to spend the night in jail because the officer did not want to listen to me explain that it was my car, instead he wanted to mace someone and throw them to the ground. The next morning, I had to appear in front of a judge, bail myself out and then later on, show up to court. I acted as my own attorney, researched the laws on what constituted auto theft and when I got to ask the officer questions, I simply asked him, "How can someone be charged with stealing a car they own?". He said they couldn't, so I presented a copy of the title to the officer, pointed out that in his report it has the same vehicle identified, and then I asked for the charge to be dismissed and expunged, which was granted and I went on my merry way. Brenner 1, City of Spfld 0. This was one of quite a few instances where I was victorious with the law. My wife gets rather embarrassed when I get pulled over on occasion because she knows that I will argue the point with the officer and most of the time, they give up and issue a warning. Out of the last 5 times I got pulled over, I was successful 4 out of 5. Not too bad...

There is also good news about the neighbor girls...Shortly thereafter, me and my roommate moved out, and he continued to see the unattached one, and to this day they have been together for over 10 years.

What happened to the choice to choose?? For w/e 4/2/10

There has been a lot of talk in the news the past month or so about President Obama wanting to pass a national healthcare plan. From the start, I was opposed to it because I firmly believe that it is not the federal government's right to force people to do something let alone make us buy a specific product, in this case, healthcare. As I have done more research on the matter in the past few weeks, I didn't think that this would ever be passed because the constitution of the United States doesn't allow for Congress to impose anything other than taxes and from what I have heard on the news or read in the paper, this is not a tax. Unfortunately, it has passed and President Obama signed it into law today, amid states declaring that they will fight for the constitutionally of it.

Part of this healthcare bill also dictates the IRS to be the one who makes sure people pay and enforce the penalty if you choose not to participate. The IRS, I thought, is only responsible to collect taxes, not healthcare payments. I am not the only one who feels this way as the IRS Joint Committee on Taxation states that "The use of liens and seizures otherwise authorized for the collection of taxes does not apply to the collect of this penalty", which basically means we have no authority to enforce anything, however they will intercept your income tax refund to collect the penalty. Sounds like you don't really have a choice, do you? Whatever happened to our freedoms?

I hope that the US Supreme Court, if the battle from the states reaches their doorstep, makes a ruling declaring it unconstitutional. They can not do anything until it is challenge in court and hopefully that is sooner than later. There is a similar government case ( off limits in this class) that took place in 1973, that ruled that people under the Ninth Amendment of the US constitution that the reservation of rights is asserted to the people. In this case of the national healthcare bill, it seems that this takes away the choice, which essentially takes away our rights. I have heard some people say that this is no different than mandatory car insurance, but the facts are that 1) States have the right-This is how Massachusetts has a mandatory state healthcare program and 2) Driving is a choice. If you choose to drive, then you need to insure your vehicle to drive it on the roads. If you don't like it, fine, don't drive and take public transportation.

So as you can see, this will be a highly contested and debated topic for months to come. Our liberties are being infringed upon, and hopefully the courts will make sure that we are not violated.

Winter Weather/ Dirt Track Riding

Well here I am, waiting until the last minute for write a second blog this week. But for a change, I did it on purpose. I was going to come up to Joplin this weekend to visit family and friends, but ever since Monday, the weathermen have been mumbling something about a blizzard here in OKC and Tulsa this weekend. Right now, as I write this, it is raining, lightning flashing in the distance and the occasional rumble of thunder inciting the repetitive, "What was that noise?" from my three year old. It was 72 degrees this afternoon and now tomorrow, 6 to 14 inches of snow with 45 mile per hour winds will cause blizzard like conditions similar to Christmas Eve. WTF? Really. In March? So, I decided to leave work early today since there were absolutely no faculty or staff around at work to just play with my kids on a death vehicle as my wife calls it. More on that later. It could be a good decision at this point to not go to Joplin this weekend because as of the latest weather report, Joplin is now expected to get 12-22 inches of snow. Hopefully class is cancelled next week at MSSU...Oh wait, its spring break and I am also an online student so we don't get snow days like the others. BUZZKILL!! Now to the death vehicle.

My wife has been bugging me about trading in my Mustang and getting a four door car. Why you may ask? Because she thinks it is impractical since we have two small kids and one day I might need to take them somewhere in my car and since it is a two door and lacks the newfangled (I can't believe the blogger spell check allowed that word) safety harnesses that are on car seats nowadays. And I need to grow up. 32 year old men shouldn't drive a sports car. My typical, ummm, a grandma driving a four Taurus can outrun me doesn't make her back off. I say whatever though, age is relative to me and you married me, so suck it up. We dated for a few years before we got married so you knew what you were getting. Me and the car. So as it was brought up once again that we should go look at cars, I brought up the fact that I need a motorcycle. All it took was my sad puppy dog look and she fell for it...again. If you have read any of my post, I can be really persuasive. So I got a 2005 Dazon 125CC scooter with only 2900 miles. The guy that I bought it from had a friend get deployed and couldn't come home to pack up his house, so this guy put his stuff in storage and his payment was this scooter over two years ago. I have seen it sitting for quite some time and I noticed that it never moves so I figured I would go ask him if he wanted to sell it. Cha-Ching!! It is pretty quick and I can run around in the evenings around the main OU campus to the library to study since I live in the neighborhood. ( I don't really go to the library and it looks cool to have your hat turned backwards and a backpack on while you ride. But it's more like a run to the local campus pizza place where they have a slice and a draft beer for 5 dollars. It is a heck of a lot better than those crappy, get healthy Subway sandwiches with no drink.) This brand of scooter however is no longer made but all Chinese scooters have the same engines and practically nothing to them so I figured it would be an easy fix and total cost was only $200 for the scooter, $75 for a new CVT belt and an oil change and $125 for tags since all scooters in Oklahoma above 50 CC are considered motorcycles. The thing is, I need to stay alive on this death vehicle and once I prove that I am capable, then I get a real motorcycle.

If any of you have little boys you know they love motorcycles. So as a reward, I give them rides around the yard. Our house is perfectly in the middle of the plot, so I can open the gates on both sides and make a circle around the house. After repeating the process hundreds of times, there are now indentions in the grass where I go around, so in essence, I have created my own dirt track. Needless to say, it rained the other day so the yard was soft and we got covered in mud which me and the posse tracked in the house and momma the whip cracker wasn't to happy. So what else is new? It's me and two boys against her. WE RULE! But I also forgot to tell her that since we are expecting snow this weekend and I have to work on Monday unless OU closes the campus, we will have 4 houseguests in about 2 hours. Since we couldn't go up there, my brother and mom (the outlaw to my wife) are coming and don't plan on leaving until Monday. The couch will be calling my name later. I can't remember everything especially when someone calls while I am acting like kid riding a death vehicle. See. I cant be trusted.

25th Birthday of the First .Com

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The Weekly Rant or Thank You

We all owe Ms. Chism a great big thank you, especially those of us who took English 101 last semester. I didn't expect to get such a big response on my post about being burned out on writing last week, but coincidentally, Ms. Chism is allowing us to forgo paper number 4, or paper number 1,925, 575 as it feels to some of us. The only downside I see is we still have to write blogs. But I must say, the forbearance is greatly appreciated and it has given me a renewed sense of academic drive to finish writing blogs until the end of the semester. Now if only we could extend the deadline of paper 3 by one week. Let's assess the pros and cons.

Pros: We could probably use an extra week to just decompress and take a break from school as online classes usually still have assignments or required readings to do during spring break. We as online students also do not really benefit from snow days, or when the university closes due to weather or holidays. As long as blackboard is up, we still have to meet the guidelines. I could personally use the week to reread on how to properly write a paper and how to properly cite, before I turn in another catastrophe. The last pro is most of us in this class have kids that are in school and spring break for them is next week, not the following week from March 22 to March 26th that MSSU chose. That extra week could be used to go back to bed after dropping the kids off at school, or actually doing something relaxing such as a day at the spa or the afternoon at the movies.

So now let's take a look at the cons. Well to be honest, I can't think of any. Really. Unless you go and drink all week long and kill the millions of braincells containing the knowledge of writing, we will all be okay. Our scores will be higher, which in turn raises the class average, which in turn assures that the head of the English department is happy with Ms. Chism's teaching because the fail rate is low, which then assures that she remains at MSSU for as long as she wishes to continue teaching, which after this circle is followed, ensures that students, like us, continue to benefit from her, making all of us better writers. Or closer to meeting the 5 writing intensive courses required for graduating. It's your choice on how you want to look at it. Be rest assured that no matter how we use the extra week, it won't go to waste.

So to all of you who have read this, there is a box at the top where you can vote on whether or not the deadline should be extended by one week for paper 3 to be due. If that doesn't persuade her, is anyone up to hire a hacker to shut down blogger.com? We can't write, if we can't log in, can we?

The Outsourcing of Breastfeeding

We have all heard of outsourcing, but not like this. I read this article on time.com about people that breast feed children that are not their own. Although this practice was abandoned in the 19th century, these so called "wet nurses" are slowly climbing back. This practice is growing because in the US, 70 percent of babies are breast fed at any given time, more women are in the workforce and more women are getting breast implants. Studies have shown that children who are breast fed for longer than 7 months tend to have higher IQ's and may be healthier and happier. I think that this practice is a little weird and something that I would not have allowed my children to do regardless of the value.

First of all, what about the transmission of viruses that can be passed during breastfeeding? There are probably not any regulations and according to the time.com article above there is a company that places wet nurses nationwide. The company is called Certified Household Staffing and their website looks like a teenager threw it together for a class project. They boast a lifetime replacement guarantee and thank goodness they at least do background and drug checks, but there is no mention of disease checks. Viruses such as HIV, hepatitis or tuberculosis can be passed along to the infant. Seems a little sketchy!!

Secondly, how long can a person express breast milk? ( I am a guy and have no idea as my wife did not with both our children. I unfortunately, had no choice and still get sick at the thought of "latching" onto my mom. ) This article states that a lady by the name Brenda has outsourced her breast milk to 10 babies in the last 7 years. It is good money and she said that she will use it to send her two kids to college. At the going rate of $1000 a week to be milked, that is a pretty substantial amount. I figure at that rate and the fact that babies breastfeed for typically the first 6 months, that is around 60 months of work and at $4000 a month, she raked in approximately $240,000. Where do you claim that amount on your 1040EZ federal tax form? I did find the answer to the opening question and it says that as long as milk is expressed, you can lactate for twenty, thirty plus years. Holy Cow! No pun intended.

What makes this worse is the fact that even if you don't feel comfortable hiring a wet nurse, you can go to a milk bank and make a withdrawal. Seriously. There is a company called National Milk Bank that collects donated breast milk and makes it available to premature and critically ill babies. There is no dispute that, breast milk is best for a developing baby. I clicked on "shop" on their website, www.nationalmilkbank.org, and thank goodness, milk was not an option as there are probably wackos out there that would order up and do weird things with it. This is the only breast milk sharing program that I could actually see a medical benefit for.

As you can see, this practice of outsourcing milk mommies is a no go for me as I don't think it is safe, nor regulated enough to keep children safe.

Blahhhhggggggsss

So here it is another Friday and two blogs to post. I did happen to procrastinate on posting this week because the weather was nice the last few days and some yard work desperately needed to be done before the grass starts growing. We also had a tree in the front yard get struck by lightning a few weeks ago during one of those freak winter thunderstorms and the bark literally exploded off the tree into the yard. It was quite a mess and something that I did not think could be chopped up in the lawnmower like I usually do if something in laying in the yard. We all do it...just run the thing over and let the lawnmower chop it up. But lets get back to the point of this post, blogs.

Who else would rather write another paper instead of doing eight more weeks of blog postings? It could be open topic, a short story, fiction or non-fiction on whatever we choose. I personally have become burned out on doing these and I know that there must be others that are right along side with me, especially if you took English 101 last semester. Don't get me wrong, I understand how doing these each week builds our writing skills, builds adequate research techniques, etc, but lately there are weeks that I just don't feel like it and I am willing to let my grade suffer. It's sad, because I have a 3.85 GPA, but I think I cooked myself from taking these classes back to back. Could we have a vote?

Does anyone remember their high school English class? I do, and I remember having to write a paper in English on the last day of school and the topic was "Why?". There were no criteria, no page length requirements and you could leave class after you were done. I was out of there in 2 minutes after pondering and collecting my thoughts on the topic. I will tell you at the end of this what I wrote on that piece of paper, but I got an "A" on it. Even in high school, I was burned out. My parents got divorced when I was 7, and my mom never really emphasized school, so teh pressure to do good wasn't a thought. I figured that since we were poor growing up and with 7 kids my mom couldn't afford college, I would just work fast food and live a meager life. But I was a straight "A" kid, honor roll, attended a gifted program in sixth grade, but I didn't find school challenging. I was bored with it. I took all honors classes in high school and then I realized that I didn't want to be "that nerdy kid", so I started to only put forth the necessary effort to secure an "A", and Professor Chism can even validate that even I did it last semester..Once I calculated that without doing any additional work, I would still have an "A", I quit, I threw in the towel. I know I shouldn't do that, but I have always done it. It's sad and you want to know why?? it's....

Because. That is exactly why.

Weekly Laughter-Robot Spiders Take 1

So early in the week, my oldest son Parker who is three, almost four, fell asleep in the bed with me. I am a very heavy sleeper as my day starts at 5:30am and usually ends about midnight. This night was one of those light rain, no wind, soothing kind of nights. Great for sleeping. But unfortunately, I was woke up by a blood curdling scream from him in the middle of the night.

I woke up and immediately grabbed him asking him what was wrong. He looks at me, wide awake and says,"I am sorry Daddy for screaming and waking you up. But there was a spider trying to bite me."

Now, doing as any parent would do, I throw off the blankets looking for a spider. Parker looks at me again and says, " Dad. There is no spider, silly. I was only dreaming and it was a robot spider. But he had no teeth."

So I ask him why scream bloody murder in the middle of the night? " because", he says, "I was scared. It was a robot spider." So I reassure him it's ok, lets go back to sleep. He curls up next to me grabs my elbow, softly rubbing his thumb across it until we fall back asleep. So the rest of the night goes by without incident, my alarm goes off and away to work I go. But that is not where the story stops.

After I get home from work, I ask Parker if he remembers his dream. He says "Yes, there was a robot spider trying to get me and I screamed really loud, waking you up." And then he adds, "and since you were scared, I held you until you went back to sleep."

" I was scared?" I ask him. "Yes. You threw off the blankets looking for it so it wouldn't bite you, but he had no teeth, silly."

Let me add that I think any parents is going to throw the blankets if the word spider is uttered. Even saying spider-man or apple ciderman will get them tossed.

Ok, so I am the adult and I know that robot spiders don't exist, so I tell him, "Parker, I was looking just to check and make sure that there wasn't really a spider."

"I told you that it was a robot spider and I was only having a dream, but don't worry daddy, I held you until you went back to sleep."

I tell him thanks for holding me and I end the conversation. I know that I am not going to win. I just accept the fact that my son thinks I am apparently scared of robot spiders. But then later that night, according to my wife, I swat her butt twice in my sleep and utter " I AM A ROBOT" in a C3P0 voice.

Seriously?Was I bitten like in Spider-man the night before?

Killer Whales and Humans are a Bad Mix

I saw the news headlines yesterday exclaiming that a killer whale at SeaWorld in Orlando killed a trainer. I must admit that it is very sad and unfortunate, but then when I read that this particular whale has already committed two homicides in the past, the name "Killer Whale" is right on target. To me, if I encounter anything with the name "Killer" in it, it is probably a safe bet to keep your distance. These animals are wild animals and although they may have the capacity to be trained, they will always have the killer instinct. I don't really see the fascination of keeping wild animals in captivity and making them perform shows. Wild animals are in fact wild, and I think that they shouldn't be kept in captivity, which will prevent situations like this one so they don't happen again.

In this particular incident, the 12, 000 lb killer whale named Tilikum, grabbed the trainer by the waist and proceeded to play with her like a rag doll and the trainer drowned as the whale held her underwater. Onlookers who were there attending a meet and greet luncheon, said that the animals appeared agitated.. Agitated??? This killer whale who used to be able to swim freely in 343 quintillion gallons, that's actually 343 billion billion gallons of ocean water, to a reduced amount of 7 million gallons. This trainer had over thirty years experience so I am sure that she was aware of the dangers. But the fact that this whale had already killed two others in the past is what really shocks me. Obviously, there is something wrong with this whale and the ability for it to be trained. Oh wait, did i mention it is a wild animal and is a "killer" whale?

This whale apparently killed another trainer in 1991 and could of also killed a transient that wondered into the pool area in 1999. Who was his lawyer? Johnny Cochran? I don't know how many times an animal needs to cause harm to someone or kill people that someone should realize that this animal is not safe. Typically with humans, once you kill someone, you are placed in a cage and kept away from others so you cannot kill again. But this is an animal and according to the article above, the trainers' family says that since she loved animals, she wouldn't want something to happen to Tilikum. SO are we just going to let this animal kill again?? To me this doesn't seem like a smart idea.

I think that this unexpected death has made SeaWorld reexamine their killer whale ideas. As of today, they have suspended all killer whale shows at all three locations. This incident was taken more seriously as in 2006, a killer whale at SeaWorld San Diego grabbed the trainer and held him under water twice but he was able to escape. All that happened in that situation was that he was removed from the show and SeaWorld continued on like nothing serious has happened. If only they would have realized then, that at what price does someone have to pay in order for the whale show to continue? This guy was lucky and all he suffered was a broken foot, and now with this incident, someone had to lose their life in order for attention to directed to the fact that these

are once again, wild animals and they have the potential to cause death.

Tiger, Tiger Woods

I personally think that Tiger Woods should be banned from playing Golf with the PGA. The PGA has the right to exclude players from the tour that are not a good model athlete and those that portray a negative image. Will this happen? I doubt it because to the PGA, Tiger is a cash cow. Ever since Tiger came onto the scene, the PGA has seen increased revenues, increased purses in events as well as a higher viewer-ship. It is again, so pathetic to have the news inundated with Tigers Woods bull.

First point, If is was to do something like that. Shame on me. Tiger does it...Shame on the world and these women for throwing themselves on him..He just couldn't resist. As he said earlier today in his press conference, he felt like he was entitled to it. He was so powerful. He is a married man and if he had any morals, he wouldn't have done what he did. He has two kids as well. What a great freaking example. What ever happened to the phrase "Off with his head?". I know that it is a little extreme, but I think that Tiger needs to be punished.

I also know that Tiger has lost millions of dollars in endorsements. Does this hurt him? Not in the least. He was close to making a billion dollars from Golf as of last year. It was predicted that he would eclipse that mark this year. He lost use of the GM cars and the Cadillac Escalade that he drove around. SO WHAT! The man has money. He will just go by one. People in his shoes are not really punished for anything that they do. It is really sad.

I think that the PGA needs to suspend him effective immediately since he admitted his affairs today. The PGA needs to suspend him for 1 year and really teach the man a lesson. The courts are not going to get involved except for actually making him pay spousal support and child support because of his infidelity. I wish I was the one deciding how much he has to pay his soon to be ex wife...Because i think she is entitled to it all. She did nothing wrong, thought that eh was out on one of his golfing trips, but alas he was out playing around in other holes not located on the golf course. I know, it's a bad joke but i couldn't resist. And what is all this about his Dad? Just because your Dad sleeps around, does not make it better nor does it make it right. You are the one that F(*^^%ed up. Pull up your big boy underwear ( In case you can't find them Tiger they are around your ankles) and be a single, miserable person with no love left in your heart.

Only time will tell if Tiger will get punished by the PGA. The fans should boycott buying his products and his equipment. Maybe then, he will actually be serious and apologize in a way were it is not so scripted and fake.

Weekly Digression

Kids. They grow up way to fast. I am typically a planner in life and try to map out the future way ahead of time. Early in the week, I realized that my oldest boy who will be turning four in May will start pre-k in August. It seems like yesterday, he was just a baby and I was hollering at my wife to come and change his diaper because he pooped. But the time has flown and I as I looked through some pictures over the years, it is rather amazing to see his transgressions from a baby to a little, independent boy.

One of the things that does scare me is all the violence in the schools. And it is not just the students but now teachers are involved. I read this article a few weeks ago but dismissed it as I really never put any context into it, other than it was pathetic of those teachers to do this. Evidently, a fourth grade teacher set up a fight club in his classroom and even when the students got hurt and saw the nurse, she just covered it up as well. The only reason it was discovered is that a students father overheard his son complaining that he didn't have a lot of classmates in his corner and it upset him. After the father got it out of his son, the police did arrest the teacher and his aide.

I think that it is absolutely pathetic that a teacher would do something like this. It seems like almost every week, you hear on the news about a student getting killed, a fight breaking out, or even worse a child gets kidnapped. The world is becoming a more negative place and scary for children to grow up unless you do some research and move into an area that is generally safe. But the main issue is the schools. Do you trust the public school system to adequately protect your student? Or will the time come when enrolling your child you sign away the right for safety and the school just leaves it up to the students to protect themselves? I went to a poor center city high school and we had uncover cops posing as students with us our senior year. To this day, we still don't know if they actually existed but we were told that they were there. This was 12 years ago, and even then the schools had metal detectors. I was so glad to get out.

But really, what do you do? Do you put your kid in private school and shelter them from the real world, or do you let them be exposed to the dangers and pray that something doesn't harm them? Only time will tell which route I will go, but at the first sign of my kid joining his kindergarten fight club, he won't adhere to the first rule of fight club which is " Don't talk about Fight Club", because my son likes to ramble on and on, and he can't keep a secret. I have no worries there.

Global Warming. Where are You?

Ok. What has happened to global warming? This definitely has been one of the oddest winters ever. This time last year in Norman, Oklahoma we had tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms and this year we constantly have winter weather advisories and threats of ice. I hate the winter time, my kids hate the cold and the dismal, gray skies puts me in a negative attitude. I read an article a while back that said global warming was just a hoax because the world was actually getting cooler and scientists skewed the data. Did I mention that the temperature has only risen 1.3 degrees in the last 100 years according to this article? Let's look at the facts to see if this winter is almost over.

As of right now, 49 states has remnants of snow somewhere. The only state that doesn't is Hawaii. 67.1 percent of the United States has snow on the ground with an average depth of 8 inches and according to this article, normally only 40 to 50 percent will have snow. Also as this article states, this snowy winter doesn't prove that global warming doesn't exist as weather is variable, and this winter is just wetter due to the patterns of El-Nino which brings increased moisture along the southwestern parts of the US on average every 3 to 7 years. So this winter weather is just because of an unusual weather pattern. Unfortunately, this unique pattern is expected to last a few more weeks.

Will this winter weather be over soon? Well, I figure that since Punxsutawney Phil predicted 6 more weeks of winter, then it will be over soon enough. According to the National Climatic Weather Center, he has only been right 40 percent of the time. At that rate, he is better than the average weatherman, but I am willing to take my chances that it will get better.

People in Pennsylvania are also blaming global warming on the unusual winter weather up there. In this article, a climate scientist say that this winter has been weird because of the frequent larger amounts of accumulating snow unlike the usual a little here and a little there. I personally thought that the North Eastern part of the US was always snow covered during the winter. They are used to it. Almost every vehicle up there is a four wheel drive and that is where most of the snowmobile sales are at.

I personally don't think that global warming is as real as they make it out to be. 1.3 degrees warmer over a period of 100 years is not that significant to me. Didn't the Earth have a few ice ages, then a few melts, and they another ice age roughly 13,000 years ago? I think that this weird, colder winter is just because of the shifting weather patterns and this is the year that the pattern brings moisture from California, it meets with the cold air from the North and produces snow in the southern areas of the US. And do I think that it is over? I don't really know, and I just heard that it is supposed to snow here tomorrow night.

Weekly Rant

I must admit, I hate snow and ice. This winter has been absolutely horrible when it comes to snow and ice. I hate being indoors with no opportunity to be doing something outside, or the idea that I am indoors, isolated from doing something outside. I remember in Joplin a few years back we had three big snow storms right after another and each one dropped greater than ten inches of snow. I remember this because the turnpike was shut down and the hotel was booked solid. Good revenue stream, but guess what? No housekeepers or staff and I was the only one with a four wheel drive vehicle so I had to go and pick people up. I move 250 miles away to Norman, Oklahoma and the crappy weather hunts me down. But I thought that I had old man winter beat...Wreck havoc on me, they cancel school and since I work for OU now, I don't have to go to work. When this occurs, it kills me. I hate it. I become a sloth and just sleep in, eating junk food, staying up late, with NOTHING to do. Except for cleaning off my all wheel drive Chevy Equinox and mocking those who drive regular cars, stuck on the side of the road, or those that slid down a ditch. People in Oklahoma don't seem to be smart when the snow and ice come and the weatherman recommends staying off the roads, but I especially enjoy stopping and telling people that if they are stuck on the ice, they can let all the air out their tires and it will increase the square feet and get them more traction. But for those who don't know me, I am sarcastic and if i offer up any suggestions, and to be honest, dismiss them.

But lets talk more about Oklahoma drivers. We got over fourteen inches of snow the day before christmas. I decide hey, I need to run to Wal-Mart to pick up last minute dinner items and what do I see on my eight block journey? Probably a dozen cars smashed into each, a lady rear end a city bus in front of me and close to fifty cars abandoned on the highway. It looked like Armageddon out there. Almost every stuck car had the same problem with it, they weren't four wheel or all wheel drive vehicles. They were mostly little sport cars, meant for high speeds and cornering, not canvassing the prairie out here with fourteen inches of snow. I was smart. As you will see from the picture, it certainly wasn't my Ford Mustang I was cleaning off to drive in the snow. It was the vehicle that is meant for it. A car that sits up eighteen inches off the ground. And this is just one example.

Here's another fact to support my Oklahoma drivers are stupid campaign. Just this week, we had a freezing fog warning in the morning. To me, this meant the fog is freezing everything it touches so you should drive carefully.But what it really meant was, please tailgate me, flash your high beams because you want me to pull over and let you by, or you have a cool arse horn in your car and you would like for me to hear it. I personally value my life and choose to just turn up NPR (National Public Radio) and blare Stardate which comes on every weekday morning at precisely 7:00am-- and hear blah, blah, blah....a star exploded way up high and blah, blah, blah on this date some guy saw Uranus. Who cares, but I have a feeling that will be in another post. Simply put, people down here do not know who to drive and guess what happened? A 35 car pile up on an icy bridge that morning. I am glad everyone was okay, but I sincerely hope that the lead car that started the crash, didn't let all the air out of their tires because someone passing by told them so.

Man Blames Chili for Crash

I came across this article on foxnews.com about a truck driver who crashed into a house in Massachusetts because he claims he was knocked unconscious from a bowl of chili from Wendy's. He said that he choked on it after hitting a bump and he passed out. I thought that I had heard it all, but then once I took the time to process it, I thought, he was driving an eighteen wheeler and eating chili while doing so? He is lucky that his careless actions didn't hurt anyone. I would hope that common sense would of told him that it was bad idea to eat while operating this vehicle, let alone eating the chili from Wendy's.

I think that this was really careless of him to do this and he could of possibly killed someone. Remember the accident on the Oklahoma Turnpike last July that killed nine people? This was also caused by driver carelessness. These guys are driving around an 80,000 pound vehicle at upwards of seventy miles an hour and our personal vehicles weigh 1/20th of that. There is great responsibility in driving a vehicle of this magnitude and you need to more conscience of your surroundings and be on high alert at all times. According to the information on smartmotorist.com, 20-50 percent of accidents are caused by driver inattention.

What is astounding is on froedtert.com, they had an online survey to which teens and parents responded to. A staggering 45 percent said that were distracted while eating in their vehicle. More amazing is that 80 percent of car crashes and 65 percent of near misses are caused by eating while driving as this article indicates. I know that most of us are really busy and rely on multitasking and going through a drive thru is ever so easy nowadays since almost every fast food chain has one. I am guilty of this and a few years back I was stopped by the highway patrol for eating breakfast on the way to work. He told me that is why he stopped me and I explained to him that I was trying to eat before work and he waited for me to finish before I could leave. I was really lucky that I didn't get a ticket, but it made me more be aware as he told me that the ticket for careless and imprudent driving can cost you your license in Missouri. So I did the next best thing, I tagged my car in Oklahoma and got really dark tint so it would be harder to see. It is no excuse as to my carelessness, but it is something now with age that you consciously don't do. I will usually wait to eat until I get to work now.

I will admit that eating while driving to work accomplishes two things. You get to work on time and you have energy to start working. You just have to be smart about it. If you are merely eating a bagel versus a hamburger or chili in this case, be smart and pull over. It only takes a few minutes and you could avoid a serious accident.

Musings of a three year old

This is just for fun, but lately I have noticed that my three year old son shows signs of overthinking and advanced intelligence..Just this week he told me the following three things:

Example 1. I am always having to get onto him for jumping, standing or walking on my bed. It is one of those soft, marsh-mellowing foam mattresses so I can see why kids love to jump on it. I was laying in bed on my stomach late at night when I felt him walking on my back. I said to him " Parker. Didn't I tell you to quit standing on the bed?" His reply. " I'm not daddy, I am on your back." Technically right, so no spanking.

Example 2. Last night he said " Daddy. I can see the moon." I said to him jokingly " Yep. It's bright tonight. You wanna go to the moon with me?" Parker pondered for a moment and said "I don't think so. We would slip off because it is slippery." I asked him " What makes you think it is slippery and we would fall off?" "Well..It looks like snow and snow is slippery and we would slip off because it is small and you are big." My first thought was what the heck but then I realized he is right, so I chuckled and let it be.

Example 3. We were both sitting on the couch and he wanted a toy across the room on the floor by his toy box. He asked me if I would get it for him. I told him " Parker. You got two legs. You go get it." He looked at me and without missing a beat he replied " So do you." I looked at him puzzled at his candor and I solemnly walked over to the toy and brought it back. Again he was right, and since he was honest, (actually because I couldn't counter his comment) I felt compelled to do it.

So as you can see, he exhibits profound intellect and it is something that I have noticed just all of a sudden like late at night while I am sleeping, he is reading the Encyclopedia Brittanica volumes from a-z. It is really amazing to get insights to how he understands the world versus reality. He is my oldest son and his little brother who is almost two shows very little intellect. He doesn't talk yet and every time we turn around all he wants to do is sit and eat. He will eat anything as long as it passes his sniff test. He sniffs everything before it goes in his mouth. It is rather strange, but he has picked up on one thing. It must be funner to remove his clothes and pee in the floor and then use his clothes and diaper to wipe up the pee on the wood floor. And then toss it all in the trash and hide the evidence. Like we wouldn't notice that he has no clothes.