It's official.

Van Halen is back with diamond Dave as front man for the ego maniacal Van Brothers, and son now. I guess Michael Anthony was a little too cozy with Sammy Hagar this past year and now he has been replaced by Eddie's son Wolfgang.

Will I shell out 75 or 100 dollars to see Van Halen's Rockers with Walkers tour? I don't know yet. I saw them at the Cow Palace on their 1984 tour and twice again with Sammy out front. I may just stick with the great memories of the shows I saw. The only way I would go is if my son wanted to see them play live.

Eddie's playing is worth the price of admission, although he looks like a character from a horror film these days. What the heck happened to him? Maybe that cocaine and Marlborough diet he was on through the 80s wasn't such a good idea.

David Lee Roth can still sing and he is amusing although I think if he could lick himself all over he wouldn't leave his house.

I love me some me!

Is it too much to ask?

Can you just do your job, the one we are paying you for, and keep you social activism to your off hours? Don't hand them out from your tax payer funded office. If you feel so strongly about this cause I am sure you can mail your 'certificates' to the couples from your house.

With Lois Wolk termed out, I wonder if she has aspirations on the 8th assembly seat?

(From the Sac Bee)
Yolo County Clerk-Recorder Freddie Oakley plans to present "certificates of inequality" to same-sex pairs on Valentine's Day. She says she designed the certificates to ease her soul over having to deny marriage licenses to gays and lesbians.

Freddie, the former lobbyist, said at one time that she might defy the Governor and not hold the special election in 2004. She seems to hold a mighty high opinion of herself.

The law? Who cares. If it goes against my beliefs or politics, I"ll just ignore it, or make up some super cool certificates to show how unjust the laws are.

Did the Senate confirm Mrs. Oakley to the US Supreme Court while I was in Red Bluff last week?

No? I didn't think so, she is still just the Yolo County Clerk/Recorder.
Do that job first, leave the gay marriage laws writing to Mark Leno, I am sure it will be on the Governors desk again shortly.

I am sorry she feel the need to 'ease her soul' but c'mon, do it on your own time Mrs. Oakley.

Men doing man things.

The church I belong to is small but growing at a rapid pace. We have close to 200 people at our Sunday service and we are staring an earlier service soon to make room for the people who want see what this new kind of church is all about. Bayside Woodland is church for people who don't like church. It's fun, it's inspirational, it's touching, it's about God's word and how much Jesus loves each one of us and we want to show that love by reaching out to our community.

One of the things I am exited about is the growth of our Men's Ministry. In most traditional churches I have attended, the wives and mothers drag their husbands and son's to sit through hymns and preaching while the guys twist in their seats waiting for it to be over so they can smile at everyone and get to the parking lot as soon as possible. That is not the model we are building on.

As men, we want an environment where regular guys can come to church and be built up, encouraged, strengthened through fellowship with other men who are going through the same challenges, hardships, triumphs and learning how trusting God can help you in so many ways.

But I am not sure about hanging around a bunch of stuffy Bible thumpers you say? Relax, we are a regular guys, some of us are married, some are single, we are everything from contractors to accountants, we wear jeans and t-shirts to business casual. Everyone is at different step in their spiritual life, some are studying the Bible every night and others are just leaning who Jesus is and that's great. No one will roll their eyes if you don't any other scripture except John 3:16. Again, this ministry is for regular guys who love the Lord and want spend some time with other like minded men doing fun things. Man things.

We are just getting rolling here in Woodland but we have a bowling night coming up and we want to set up some golf outings, shotgun sporting clays, and I would like to see if we could get a group of ATV riders together to ride one Saturday or Sunday after church. Like I said, guy things.

Football season is just finishing, you can Tivo the Nascar race or basketball game if it starts early, the service is starts at 10:45, if your a man in Yolo County, you should come check us out, we would love to meet you. Bring the family if you have one, the music is upbeat and fresh and the message is relevant. Even my 'cool' teenage son likes it.

(I am not speaking for Bayside Woodland, I am just a regular guy who loves this church, please don't hold your opinion of my blog against Bayside)

It's Friday eve.

I like Thursdays. Even when I wake and feel little tired and wrung out from a hard week, I have a bit more bounce in my step on Thursdays. Friday drags on at times and the same way the chase is sometimes better than the actual catch, some Fridays don't live up to their billing. But you can always count on Thursday to get your mind thinking of the weekend. Chores, honey do's, football, dang were almost out of football, the kids basketball games, and sometimes even a date with my wife.

Married couples should go out on a date from time to time, this means more than once a year fellas, find a sitter to watch the kids if you have them, find a good restaurant that has an early bird special and turn your phone off. The early dinner is a key at least for my wife and I. This past weekend I pushed her to the limits by staying out dancing in Red Bluff until midnight both nights but I made sure we slept in the next day. 11:00 PM might as well be 3:00 AM for my wife, she is in bed most nights by 9:30 and reads till 10:00 and then it lights out. An early dinner just to listen to her talk about what's going on at work goes along way.

Have a good Friday.

William Arkin, I would stay inside your house for a while, say ten years or so.

If you missed the crap storm brewing over William Arkin's piece in the WA Post, here are some highlights.

Blackfive is, um, er, very very upset at Mr. Arkin.
Hugh has some background on him.
The milbloggers would like to have a word with Mr. Arkin, I believe those words would be ' someone should call an ambulance for this guy'

How dare you cut your taxes!

Ah, the Louvre, the Champs Elysee, the smell of roasting upholstery wafting up from the rioting Muslin suburbs. Oh and don't forget the high taxes. The rich folks in France have finally had enough of paying for everyone else, they are moving. Where? To another EU nation? To Germany? No.

They are taking their Euros and depositing them in Switzerland.

The row was triggered by the decision, late last year, of the French rock star Johnny Hallyday to leave France and take up residence in the Swiss Alpine resort of Gstaad.

Hallyday, who has complained publicly about the high taxes in France, will now pay tax not on his multi-million-dollar income, but on the value of the fairly modest chalet he has built himself in Gstaad.

All he has to do in return is promise to live in the chalet for at least six months of each year.

In France, where Hallyday is a national icon, there is anger. Advisers to the French presidential candidate Segolene Royal have accused Switzerland of "looting" its neighbours.

"We are profiting from the mistakes of our neighbours," he explained. "They are making economic promotion for us for free, everyone now knows that Switzerland has an excellent tax system, so I'm very grateful."

Have some pastry and while your here, how does an overall tax rate of 21% sound? Sure, I know a good Realtor.

Sounds like California, just keep taxing the rich, see how many more top income earners take off to Florida.

Who needs em? Who ever stays here needs them. With the market booming and the economy growing, the top earners in the Golden State are filling up the coffers in Sacramento. If the market hiccups or the economy slows, Fabien and the Democrats will be coming after those top earners because they aren't paying like the used to.

They don't have many hurricanes in Switzerland do they?
Humidity?
Gators?
White Trash?
Sounds better all the time.

The driest January on record, good for golfers, bad for ranchers

I am not sure how the weather is in Lusaka, Zambia, where one my regular readers lives, but here in Northern California, we need rain. The clear cold weather was fine for a while, but the deep freeze a few weeks ago hit the citrus farmers hard, and now I guess its the livestock industry's turn. This is shaping up to be the driest January on record, which would be ok, if we had a wet fall, but we didn't. The grass in the hills is short and the water holes and stock reservoirs are drying up. Some ranchers are hauling water and hay into the hills to keep their cattle from loosing any more weight. These are added expenses that will take most, if not all the profit from the calves at sale time this spring.

El Nino is a tricky thing, sometimes we get a dry winter and a warm and wet spring. I am hoping for the second part of the equation to get here. The problem with the El Nino rains in the spring is they can come in waves, one after the other, and that can mean flooding. So I guess I will look back at this post when I am bailing out my kitchen in March and remember fondly the dryness of January.

Bull sale report

I am home, alive, sleep deprived, a few dollars lighter and still married!

After three days in Red bluff, I am glad to be home. I was happy to hit the on ramp to I-5 South, taking my wife and I back towards Esparto. We arrived at the fairgrounds in Red Bluff on Thursday to take in the sights and sounds of the Bull Sale. Some highlights;

The top working cow dog was purchased on Friday afternoon for a whopping $23,000! It was a great cow dog to be sure, but for that kind of money I want it to work cows, fix the fuel pump on my truck and do my taxes. The top gelding brought just shy of $30,000, while the average was around $6,000. The bulls sold today and I didn't arrive early enough to get a seat but I just heard that the prices were not down significantly even though all the cattlemen in California need rain in a bad way right now.

In case you are wondering what the two lovely bar maids in the picture have to do with a livestock sale,,,,um,,, that's a good question. A trip to the Palomino Room is essential to getting the full bull sale experience. Friday night was a blast. All three bars inside including the one upstairs were six deep and the dance floor was so crowded that it resembled a Carhartt clad mosh pit at times. The band Shilo was playing upstairs, but our gang stayed down on the main floor with the DJ. I am not sure how Toby Keith, AC/DC and Tone Loc go together, but everyone danced and had a great time.

My wife loves to dance and I tried not to get to out of hand. I kept remembering the scene in "Hitch" when he is explaining the rules of dancing; hands at your sides, feet shuffle back and forth, this home, this where you live, you don't leave home. Well, I left home when the played AC/DC, there is no stopping me when I hear that music, just stand back and watch your toes.

In the end I bought a new snaffle bit, a couple of bull sale hats and had enough fun for six people.

I can't wait for next year, or at least untill April when the Red Bluff Roundup starts. It is one one the best rodeos on the west coast.

Take the pledge

Not another dime to the NSRC if they support these skunks.
Sign up now.

It's a busy week for me

This week many men and some women will suffer from type of football withdrawal. I will not. In the two weeks between Championship Sunday and the Superbowl lies a few days I look forward to all year.

That's right, it's time for the Red Bluff Bull and Gelding Sale!


I posted on this last year at this time, but to recap; The top working stock dogs sell Friday afternoon, followed by 120 great Quarter Horses, Paint Horses and mules sell on Friday night, then you shake off your lack of sleep and watch the the bulls sell Saturday.

The Bull Sale has become more of event that a place to buy top quality livestock. Granted if you won the lottery and wanted to get into the cattle business, hey it could happen, Red Bluff would be a great place to start. The working ranch geldings they sell have been worked, evaluated and judged before they hit the sale ring, kind of like NFL combine workouts.

If you are trying to sell a horse with a few 'holes' in it, you will find it very hard. The sale committee can sift, that means reject, your horse from the first day it gets on site until they enter the sale ring. If the horse has a hidden injury, they vets will do their best to find it, if your horse kicks, bites, won't load, or just generally blows up, he is out of the sale.



The working stock dogs are fully trained cattle handling employees, but without the workman's comp and salary. They are not cheap, most sell for 3-4,000 dollars although the top dog last year brought an astounding $15,500.



You need bulls? They have them, some of the best breeders of Angus, Hereford , Charolais, Beefmaster, Gelbveih, bulls will have what you need.

The best place to eat is the Green Barn on the main highway, and the best place to take in all things Bull Sale is the Palomino Room on Main Street. I have pictures of Friday night at the PR from 2004, and I can get just about any favor I ask from my friends because I have them.

I am nothing if not devious.

Championship Weekend.

Although I no longer have a dog in the fight, my Cowboys are home playing golf, cutting new rap CDs or what ever it is NFL players do in the off season, there are two very interesting games coming up Sunday.

First lets look at the Patriots, Colts game. There so many backstories to this game that it looks like a television show season ending cliffhanger. Will good guy, boy scout, milk drinking, 6 foot five, 230 pound quarterback with a laser-rocket arm, Payton Manning, finally get over the hump and reach the Superbowl? Will Tom Brady, the best crunch time, gotta have it, last second, 4th down 90 yards to go quarterback of our time break the Colts heart one more time, or is this the year that the gritty Patriots loose to the better team? Will the game come down to a last second field goal with the Superbowl bid on the line? Will Adam Vinateri, the Colts new free agent kicker, who just happens to wear three Patriot Superbowl rings, put the Colts over the top against his old team? My prediction; Colts 33 Pats 20.

Over in the NFC, Cinderella wears black and has a bit of Bourbon on her breath. The New Orleans Saints have come from a 3 and 13 season last year to being a win away from the Super bowl. Drew Brees, Duece McAllister and rookie sensation Reggie Bush have brought a swagger to a team and some home grown pride back to New Orleans. Chicago on the other hand seems like a bad soap opera. The teams wins, the quarterback plays great, then lousy, then great, then just well enough to win. The Bears defense is outstanding as usual, but will Rex Grossman be taking Chicago to the Superbowl, or will he fitted for a pair of cement shoes and a one way trip to Lake Michigan? My prediction; Saints 24 Bears 17.

Please feel free to comment on Sunday night and flame me for these pick, because if my teams win, you know I will be gloating, big time.

What to do in Iraq. Surge? Retreat? Send in the UN?

As someone who supported the war in Iraq, I want America to win, not because I want to be on the winning side if an academic argument or simply to root for the home team, it comes down to simple fact that if we loose in Iraq, the consequences will be swift, horrible and deadly on a scale that will make the losses we have suffered so far seem like a bad month in the war to come.

That war will be right here, on our soil. In our schools, in our malls, in our stadiums, and in our public squares. If we loose this war by retreating, that is the only way the US military can be defeated, we will have proven Osama Bin Laden right when he asserts that America is a paper tiger that can be sent home with its tail between its' legs after a few thousand deaths.

I understand that every life we loose in the war against Islamic terrorists is tragic. Every name they announce on the nightly news means some family will not be having their loved one come home. I mourn for those who have lost someone and I actually pray for those who are fighting. Now that I have made myself clear on what I believe we will be faced with if we retreat, just how do we win in Iraq and in the broader war?

I don't know. I will throw out some ideas I agree with, but in the end, if this was an easy fix, some one much smarter that I am would have figured it out by now.

What about this surge? Are twenty thousand new troops going to make a difference? Maybe. The MSM and the retreat lobby say that it's too little too late, but lets look a little deeper.

How many combat troops are patrolling Baghdad? I couldn't find an exact figure, but it seems to be between 8 to 12 thousand infantry types, folks with M16s, not support troops, who are working side by side with the IA. If the majority of the surge goes to Baghdad as boots on the street patrolling house to house and shaking down the neighborhoods for bad guys, it may work. Maybe.

Success will only come if the Maliki government gets out of way with regard to the rules of engagement. If the Iraqis want our help to keep them safe inside the green zone then we must be able to go after who ever is causing the escalation of sectarian violence in Baghdad. If it's his Shiia buddies getting some payback for the bombing of the Golden Dome, one of the most holy sites for the Shiites, or they are Iranian Shiites who are supplying the Shiia militia with IEDs to kill Americans, the gloves have to come off. No one can be off the table. Muqtada al-Sadr and his militia are going to have to put down their AKs, pick up a shovel, and get to work rebuilding Iraq or we will crush them. The Sunnis who once backed the al Qaida insurgents are now rethinking their alliances.

Neither side will put down their AKs if they think America is going to pull out in 18 months. If that belief is allowed to be the majority opinion inside Iraq, progress will be impossible. If all sides believe we are leaving, they will go into overdrive carving up Iraq for themselves and their backers in Iran and Syria.

The non binding resolution proposed by democrats and a handful of republicans is exactly what we don't need. How is telling the world that the American congress does not want to send the troops the military says it needs to win in Iraq going to help us win? The plain fact is that to most of the left, the war is already lost in their minds. From the first day we went into Iraq, they were looking for a way to loose so they could point their finger at George Bush and tell him, he was wrong, the war was wrong, ect. Can we grow up now? If you don't want a troop surge, tell the American people what your plan is to win in Iraq. They don't have one. They never have, they never will.

I take that back, Joe Biden has a plan from a think tank in Washington that he likes to sell as his own, it calls for dividing up Iraq into three separate nations. Hey at least it's a plan. That is more than I hear from Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid or Jack Murtha. If anyone can explain how redeploying our troops to Okinawa is going to win the war in Iraq, I am all ears.

What about the UN? Can they help? I don't know, I am not sure that we need any blue helmets selling UN aid to the highest bidder or trading it for sexual favors to children will be of much use in winning the war. The UN has a new General Secretary, maybe he wants the UN to become relevant again in the world. Maybe he wants to wipe away the shame of Rwanda. If the UN could start small in southern Iraq, maybe Basra, its pretty quiet down there, they could get their feet wet without having to do any hard fighting for a year, then they could start to move north into the hotter areas of Iraq. One truck bomb was all it took to send them packing from Iraq the first time, I am sure it was a tragic time for the UN, but what part of peacekeeping didn't they understand?

The name is a little misleading, if there is peace, you don' tneed much to keep it going. The cub scouts could keep a peace. Their mission is more of peace making. Get between the sides and try to negotiate a cease fire and when you find anyone targeting and slaughtering innocent civilians, you shoot them. If that is not the job description than what the hell are we paying the UN to do? Write reports? Badmouth the US? Run a corrupt oil for food scandal that was so large, we will never find out how many billions in aid went to Saddam and his prostitutes who received kickbacks all the while bemoaning the US.

I just don't see the UN helping out. They could if they were serious, but like the left, the UN is just as invested in seeing the US fail because of their hatred for Bush that they will never do anything substantiative to help win the war.

So where does that leave us? I'm afraid the media will keep the democrat's talking points well oiled and fresh in every newscast. Bring the troops home, it's a lost cause, the Presidents has failed. I wonder if the Department of Defense started publishing how many insurgents we are killing over there, if the American public would support continuing our mission in Iraq?
Why are the only deaths being counted in Iraq coalition forces and Iraqi civilians? I still can't figure out why were not telling the world that were are stacking up dead insurgents like cord wood. If the public thinks our soldiers are dying and not killing the bad guys, we will have what are faced with now, a loss of support for the war. If they knew were killing the terrorists as fast as the Iranians and Syrians are shipping them in, I think the mind set of the people would change. Why doesn't the US military release these figures? Maybe it's a lesson from Viet Nam, or something else I don't understand, but I wish they would.

Lets wait and see how effective the troops in Baghdad are. It will take some time, maybe a year, maybe longer, there will be more casualties if they start cleaning out the worst part of the city, so it may look worse before it looks better. If we can get some help from the UN, great. Let them patrol northern Iraq with the Kurds, or somewhere safe for a while. You want to talk to Iran and Syria? Ok with me, as long as the short version is, stay out of Iraq or we will not stop at the border when we are chasing the insurgents. If we trace a convoy of fighters or supplies to your soil, your soil will get an airstrike.

We are left with two scenarios for Iraq. Retreat, bring the troops home and watch as Iran, and Syria carve up Iraq and the simmering sectarian war will boil over into a full scale civil war with millions of deaths. Remember Pol Pot? With the added bonus of al Qaida and its brand of Islamo fascism strengthened and emboldened to bring the Jihad to America.

Or we can stay. A lot of things must go exactly right, or close to it, for Iraq to become a nation that is somewhat stable. The cost will be great and process will be a long one. Iraq may need a new government with new leaders who are Iraqi first and Shiite, Sunni or Kurd second. Can Iraq find this kind of leadership? I don't know. If we leave without having a government in Baghdad that can represent all the factions, Iraq will fail. That may be the hardest part.

I am way to old for full court basketball

Saturday night my son wanted me to drive into town to go to the open gym night at the fairgrounds. He said it was open to anyone from his school including the parents. I said I would take him and dug out my old nikes from the closet and put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and a my old sweatshirt with the sleeves cut off. I was ready to ball, baby.

"You look like a homeless guy" my smarty pants son said.
"Shut up, or you can walk to Woodland" was my loving response.

I watched the first game or two then decided that I could guard a few of the smaller 8th graders, so I joined in.

Big mistake.

If, like me, you have not played a game of full court basketball in a while, say two years, you may want to ease into the game. Not me. I'm tough, I can keep up with these kids.

In six or seven minutes I was gassed. I was feeling light headed and my lungs were screaming at me to stop. My knees were complaining loudly too.

I waited an hour and played another five minute stretch and that was it for me.

Way, way to old and out of shape for this stuff.

Please don't Euro-fy Yolo County

(photo courtesy of the Daily Democrat)
I am not sure what University the Cal Trans engineers graduated from, but that school must think the Euro style mass transit it the cat's meow. Why else would anyone propose a traffic roundabout for the intersection of County 98 and Kentucky Ave in Woodland? This type of traffic control devise may work in a city with cars, although I have been through a few and saw one person not yield to a car coming into the circle and smack right into the drivers door. Just try adding tomato filled big rigs into that mix, you know the ones driven by folks who's just received their commercial drivers license that week. Yea, that will be great.

Anyone who has seen a driver eating a McMuffin and fiddling with their iPod looking to get past the tractor trailer in front of them, knows how this will end. They dart to the right at an intersection to get around the truck only to get smashed by the rear wheels of the trailer when the truck makes the same turn.

Oh boy, and just wait until Friday nights watching the casino patrons flying down Rd 98 and trying to navigate a roundabout with three tractor trailers at the same time. If you want to catch a good video to put up at YouTube, sitting in a lawn chair at the roundabout would be a great place to shoot it.

What is wrong with a plain old vanilla four way stop? Not exotic enough? Not very impressive to put on your Cal Trans resume? Oh well. If Cal Trans want to sell this traffic donut, then show the people of Woodland 10 traffic studies where these have worked to reduce accidents and speed up traffic flow in an area with the same traffic patters, and with the same rural agricultural trucking patterns. I could be all wet, the roundabout may be coolest thing since velcro, but I want to see the studies that show it works in a place like Woodland.

You call this cold? Well actually, yes I do.

I know that some you readers out there will look upon our cold snap here in the Sacramento Valley and chuckle at the poor little whoosie Californians freaking out over temperatures in the teens and twenties. To you folks who had to shovel your way to the mail box today I say, that is why I live here, so I don't have to know the warning signs of frostbite and hypothermia. I like winters in the 50s and 60s and I enjoy the occasional 70 degree winter day.

I spent a few December weeks in Lakeview Oregon. Waking up where it is 24 below zero is not a climate I wish to adjust to, thank you very much. Breaking the ice in water troughs with an axe so the horses can get a drink is not for me.

I have wrapped the pipes, covered the pressure tanks and left the hose bibs running at the far ends of my water lines hoping I can make it through this cold snap with my water system in tact.

The horses are in the barn, I have a wood for a fire, and my wife just bought a big supply of hot chocolate. I am ready, I think.

I may have to break out my insulated coveralls tomorrow. After all, I am a big time Californian whoosie.

This just in, killing terrorists makes more terrorists?

I could write this particular post several times a week. Why? Because the liberals just don't get, and presumably never will until they are on their knees with a hood over their head with a group of Islamic fanatics shouting Allahu akhbar! as they start cutting with a rusty knife. These Muslim fanatics don't want to talk, these folks want to kill you, me and every other man woman and child who do not hold to their version of Islam. Here is a recent example of the give-peace-a-chance-global-speak that passes for intelligent dialog.

Sir: With the shadow of Black Hawk Down yet to fade, America has fashioned another spectre in Somalia which will come back to haunt it in years to come. This week's bombing will not only fail to eradicate the al-Qa'ida suspects but will further jeopardise the international community's reputation in the Horn of Africa in the long run.

Granted, there is a terrorist threat in Somalia. And America also has selfish interests in increasing its influence in this newly oil-rich area. But far more concerning than the terrorist threat, or the inevitable absence of purely altruistic humanitarian sentiment, is the international community's conceptual failure to view Somalia other than through the lens of the "war on terror". Somalia has its own troubled history of colonial occupation, Cold War interference, regional instability, clan-based conflict and failed statehood- and a present in which these fuse uniquely.

To ignore the complexities of Somali identity, and to fail to address the situation on its own terms, will encourage exactly the angry, destructive terrorism that we allegedly desire to erase. Rather than conduct counter-productive bombing campaigns, we must focus our efforts on bringing all parties to the negotiating table. We must actively strive for stability and security - for that of Somalia and the international community is interconnected like never before.

LAURA KYRKE-SMITH

LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

This woman's view on terrorism is only marginally less dangerous than the Wahhabist view on Jihad. Let's take a look and see if we can understand what she is trying to say.

This week's bombing will not only fail to eradicate the al-Qa'ida suspects but will further jeopardise the international community's reputation in the Horn of Africa in the long run.

Did anyone say this weeks bombing will eradicate the al Qaeda suspects?
No, but did we kill a few of them? Yes we did. Killing al Qaeda by the dozen or the bushel is fine in my book. Jeopardize what reputation? The reputation of America as a paper tiger that runs away when you give it a black eye? That one? I risk ruining that reputation if its ok with you.

Granted, there is a terrorist threat in Somalia. And America also has selfish interests in increasing its influence in this newly oil-rich area. But far more concerning than the terrorist threat, or the inevitable absence of purely altruistic humanitarian sentiment, is the international community's conceptual failure to view Somalia other than through the lens of the "war on terror".

Granted there is a terrorist threat? I believe that the problem with her rational. If you have terrorists running through the streets killing people, there is little chance for economic or social development. You must first rid the place of the terrorists, then you can get the billions of dollars of aid the west sends to the horn of Africa to the right places and the right people. Sending cargo containers full of food, supplies and other aid related materials that never leave the port because they are stolen by the terrorist who run the country and sold to buy more kalashnikovs is little more than a feel good effort of our part. Far more concerning? To who? To the millions of African families being driven from their homes and slaughtered, the 'threat' of terrorism has long since turned from threat to horrible reality. Seeing Somalia through the lens of the war on terror is pretty easy Mam, because it is smack dab in the middle of it. Oh and a nice touch getting that war-for-oil jab in there.

To ignore the complexities of Somali identity, and to fail to address the situation on its own terms, will encourage exactly the angry, destructive terrorism that we allegedly desire to erase. Rather than conduct counter-productive bombing campaigns, we must focus our efforts on bringing all parties to the negotiating table.

Don't you just love the open minded, deep thinking in her letter? This is the tired rhetoric of the peace activists, long on the idea of negotiation, short on just how you negotiate with a 19 year old Islamic fanatic who thinks the only way to get into paradise is to die while killing as many of the enemies of his God as possible. Besides the fanatic beliefs, why would a guy who takes what he wants, when he wants, from who he wants with his machine gun give up anything? He is a king in his own land, and if he dies killing infidels, so much the better. This fellow needs to be killed before any negotiations can hope to take place.

What Somalia needs isn't a visit from Jimmy Carter, it needs a few more c-130 airstrikes.

Good news from Washington

Sen. Tim Johnson's condition has been upgraded from critical to fair. That is great news for his family and his friends back in South Dakota. I just hope he recovers quickly before the Senate does anything that requires a tie breaker. Elections mean something, the Democrats won control, they should have it. If Senator Johnson's condition prevent him from serving, I hope the Governor of South Dakota lets Johnson pick his successor.

I would like to see another moderate like Johnson, or even a Democrat that understands the threat we face in the war against the Islamist, I would take another Joe Lieberman.
Another Ted Kennedy?

Uh, no thanks, I'll take Johnson with a magic 8 ball.

Bonnie Garcia to speak in Woodland

California Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia will be speaking at the Woodland Republican Club meeting, Tuesday, January 23rd at 7pm.

The WRP meeting will be held in the Leake Room on the ground floor of the Woodland Library.

Besides being Arnold's favorite hot blooded Latina, she seems to be a rising star in the Republican party. I will be attending and I hope I have the opportunity to meet the Assemblywoman.

If you are interested in attending, shoot me an email.

Apple iPhone

Uh, can I just have a phone that works? Oh and no stinkin side buttons please!

The family and I were having dinner in Woodland tonight at the new El Charro, the old restaurant was closed for not paying overtime to it's workers, I like the old place better, but anyway as we were eating my son asked me to listen for a strange noise. I thought he was hearing things but he said I should check my phone, I did, and I had been calling my friend for three minutes and he was yelling through the phone to get my attention. Sorry Sam.

I hate all the side buttons on cell phones these days. If you sit in a chair with side rails, you can bump it and darn thing calls the last dialed number, or takes a picture, or some type of action that is unwanted. I have tried to lock the keys but if you hit the buttons just right, presto your calling wife, for the third time that day. My wife get very annoyed at me for this, especially when she outside working with a horse and has to stop to answer the phone only to hear me driving down the road, or talking to a client, but her favorite is when I call using power tools.

Its not that my wife is easily annoyed, its just I am quite annoying.

I am sure the cool factor is very high, but c'mon, do we really need a phone that plays movies, holds 10,000 photos, 10,000 song and can tell you the time in Prague?

I don't. But I am old, and as my son constantly reminds me, painfully uncool.

How bout' them Cowboys.

I am just sick. Tony Romo botches the hold on the game winning, one, ONE FREAKIN YARD, field goal. The loose by one point in a game they had in the bag. Not that I care or anything.

When does training camp open for next year?
(sniffle) I am going to bed now, or go walk onto the freeway.

You may have seen this,,,but in case you haven't

Spiders on drugs.

Hey nice web Mr. Crack Spider

Two speakers, two elections, one media.

I was reading and watching the coronation, I mean coverage, of Nancy Pelosi's swearing in ceremony and a few thoughts crossed my mind.

I wonder if Connie Chung or anyone from the MSM has interviewed Nancy Pelosi's family members to get that 'gotcha' quote to take some of the luster off her sudden stardom? Remember when Connie leaned over to Newt Gingrich's mother and asked hew what Newt thought of Hillary Clinton, "Why don't you just whisper it to me, just between you and me," Mrs. Gingrich whispered "She's a bitch."


Where is that interview from the MSM today? Do you think if you interviewed any of Nancy's relatives you could find one who would say that Bush is worse than Adolph Hitler? I wouldn't take that bet.

What about just the plain vanilla reporting of the swearing in ceremony? You certainly couldn't tell who Time magazine is pulling for, could you?

Lets take a look. - Time's coverage of Newt's swearing in.

An obscure figure to most Americans only a few months ago, Newt Gingrich of Georgia, sworn in as the 58th Speaker of the House on Wednesday, thus completed an extraordinarily rapid rise to power. His inaugural speech moved well beyond the harsh partisan message that brought him to power, and his first meeting with the newly circumscribed President was an elaborate exercise in conciliation and cooperation. But the House reforms that began, as he had promised, on Day One came swift and bold, and the orderly procession of the votes demonstrated the security of his hold on both the House and the nation's agenda.

With a history professor's sense of occasion, a futurist's grasp of possibilities and a politician's dexterity with symbols, Gingrich brought two gavels with him that day. The first -- a link to the past and a token of how long the G.O.P. had waited to regain power -- had belonged to Joseph Martin of Massachusetts, the last Republican Speaker, who relinquished it to the Democrats 40 years ago. The other, a jumbo mallet suggestive of Gingrich's power and willingness to use it, was donated by a fan. On opening day he favored the big one.

In a House that voters have refashioned with dynamite, Gingrich's gavel represents to his followers the instrument by which the rubble could be bounced into a new political arrangement, one that Republicans could dominate for years to come. It was that prospect, the blood-tingling thought that they might be witnessing the start of a G.O.P. millennium, that brought a real fervor to the Republican side of the House on their marathon opening day. "Newt, Newt, Newt!" they chanted. "It's a whole Newt world!"

Blood tingling indeed.

What about Nancy? Time magazine today-

The spotlight belonged to Nancy Pelosi on Thursday as she became the first woman in U.S. history to stand at the head of the House of Representatives, second in line to the presidency.

Pelosi, a 66-year-old Democrat, aimed to introduce herself to America not just as the San Francisco liberal decried by Republicans, but also as an Italian-American Catholic, mother of five and native of gritty Baltimore, where her father was mayor.

She arrived on the House floor for the historic event with her six grandchildren in tow, including baby Paul Michael Vos, born to her daughter Alexandra in early November. She thanked her family for supporting her journey "from the kitchen to the Congress." After her election by a vote of 233-202, the chamber's Democratic-Republican breakdown, Pelosi stood holding the sleeping infant 'who did not stir ' and shook hands as she accepted congratulations from her fellow House members.

Minutes later, cheers erupted in the chamber as House Republican leader John Boehner handed her the speaker's gavel. Pelosi always has said she wants to be judged by her abilities, not her gender, but she happily acknowledged the importance of her achievement.

"Today I thank my colleagues. By electing me as speaker you have brought us closer to the ideal of equality that is America's heritage and America's hope," Pelosi said. "This is an historic moment "for the Congress, and for the women of America. It is a moment for which we have waited more than 200 years. Never losing faith, we waited through the many years of struggle to achieve our rights."

"For our daughters and granddaughters, today we have broken the marble ceiling," she said. "For our daughters and our granddaughters now, the sky is the limit."

The sky's the limit. Oooh, I get all tingly just thinking about it.

You won't find a 'gotcha' interview with Nancy or her relatives for a long time, if ever. You won't hear about the temper tantrum the voters had to elect Nancy and her crew and you won't hear symathetic interviews with conservatives asking them how they are going to get their message out to the voters to get back into power. Why?

You really don't need an answer do you?

Time to return the old header.

All rise for the Empress of America.

Nancy, I hope you enjoy your time as Speaker. The honeymoon is already over between you and the feverswamp left. The rest of the nation is not far behind.
The problem with having power Nancy is having power. Just wait until the low hanging fruit of the minimum wage increase and low interest loans for college students is passed. Then what?

Oh yea, there are still a few hundred thousand militant Islamic fanatics out there that want to kill us, what about them? Are you going to offer them low interest college loans to appease them?

Yea, just wait a few months your highness, just wait.

Oh, by the way, Hillary just called and wants you to know there is only room in Washington for one alpha,,,,,female.

Sell your car and start walking or we're all going to die!

What a load of crap. Here is the latest sky is falling hysteria from the eco nuts.

Disappearing world: Global warming claims tropical island
For the first time, an inhabited island has disappeared beneath rising seas. Environment Editor Geoffrey Lean reports.

Rising seas, caused by global warming, have for the first time washed an inhabited island off the face of the Earth. The obliteration of Lohachara island, in India's part of the Sundarbans where the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers empty into the Bay of Bengal, marks the moment when one of the most apocalyptic predictions of environmentalists and climate scientists has started coming true.

As the seas continue to swell, they will swallow whole island nations, from the Maldives to the Marshall Islands, inundate vast areas of countries from Bangladesh to Egypt, and submerge parts of scores of coastal cities.

Eight years ago, as exclusively reported in The Independent on Sunday, the first uninhabited islands - in the Pacific atoll nation of Kiribati - vanished beneath the waves. The people of low-lying islands in Vanuatu, also in the Pacific, have been evacuated as a precaution, but the land still juts above the sea. The disappearance of Lohachara, once home to 10,000 people, is unprecedented.

Hmm, a whole island submerged because the Ocean is rapidly rising. Hmm.


Was the island in question 6 centimeters high? Could it be the island is sinking? That would get my vote. I am sure George W. Bush is to blame for this in any case, along with America, and Republicans, and Haliburton, and red meat, and the NRA, and GM and Big Tobacco, and the pharmaceutical industry, and Evangelical Christians and probably to a smart part, Mark Foley.
Yep, those SUVs are going to kill us all.

No credit? Bad credit? It's no problem, we write our own loans!

And we need to get a better deal next time. A 60 year term at 2 percent interest?

Britain has paid the last instalment of its World War II-era debt to the US and Canada, with a $100 million payment to its allies.

Britain was left with a debt of $4.3 billion to the US and $1.2 billion to Canada more than 60 years ago, when London took out loans to finance reconstruction.

Annual payments on the loans, taken out at 2 per cent interest, have since totalled twice the original debt in dollar terms.

I am actually shocked that a foreign nation paid off it's debt to us. The Britts are good folks, even if they talk funny.

Its not the arrow, its the Indian.

I once told my son that skill has much more to do with the end product than tools. I asked him who would win if I played a round of golf with Tiger Woods and we switched bags at the first tee. Using the best clubs money can buy, I would improve my score by, I don't know, maybe one stroke. Tiger using my $400 clubs might cost him three or four. Tiger still whoops my butt all over the course. Tiger has skill, I am a hacker.

The same principal applies to music. When my son wanted a guitar, I wanted to start with an inexpensive model and he stuck with it, we would look an upgrading it. I started browsing music stores and eventually would up looking at Ebay. I found a Stratocaster copy made by Bridgecraft. It was $59 plus shipping of $19. What the heck, if he never plays the thing, it will make a nice wall hanger. He started playing and then it sat for while.

One day my wife's uncle Tom stopped by the house on his way back home to Arizona. Tom is one of those colorful characters who never quite fit into the world. He is a brilliant musician, but has some interesting ideas about life. He is basically an old Hippie, and I really like him. When he found out that my son had a guitar he asked to hear him play. After a few minutes, he asked if he could show him a few things, my son agreed and Tom started to play. My son looked on in amazement as Tom took that $59 guitar and make it sound great. Tom showed him a few power chords and my son was hooked. It took someone to show him that ability is what defines greatness, not the price of the tools you use.

My son has gone on to buy a another guitar, an Epiphone Les Paul Jr. He likes it, but he still plays his old guitar and has since cover almost every inch of it with stickers. It looks kind of cool, it gives it some character. He plays an hour or two most days and is becoming a pretty competent player. He is getting to point now where he can play a guitar and tell me why he likes it, the way the neck feels, the different sound that the different pickups make. We were playing a few makes and models at one store and I handed him a G&L strat, he didn't know about G&Ls or what they cost, but he loved it. That particular one cost $1,300 and so far out of his price range it might as well been 13 million, but he now can tell how well it is made and knows how a really good guitar feels.

He is looking at spending his Christmas money on a new guitar. We have been to all the local music stores and have been to Guitar Center over in Sacramento a few times. He is finding out that name brands don't mean very much, unless you are buying a high end guitar. Epiphone has several Asian manufactures who make most of their guitars, so why pay $100 more for the name if you can buy the same model under another name? I told him to play every thing in his price range regardless of name and find the one that feels right to you.

He now gives me a bad time because I bought an acoustic guitar just after he received his. I am not anywhere near his ability and he says its because I don't practice enough, he's right.

If I could only get him to study his school work an hour or two every day.

How about a big bowl of Raisin Bran and two bags of Cheetos?

Sure thing Saddam, what ever you want big guy, heck eat the whole box and both bags, its not like you need to watch your weight any longer. You want the puffy or crunchy Cheetos?

Happy hanging, say hello to Hitler when you get to Hell, and turn down the sheets for Castro, he'll be along soon.

Adios scumbag.

Saggy pants, styleless hair styles and skater shoes.

I know I am old, I am quietly coming to grips with that fact, but I like to hold tight to the fantasy that lives only inside my head that I am still just a tiny bit cool. I guess the give a way to the fact that I am uncool is I still use the word cool.

I remember discovering cool, I believe it was around 7th grade. I started to realize that girls were not icky. Not only that, but if you didn't go around playfully tackling them to the ground, they would actually talk to you, and even hold your hand if you found the right one. From that time on, I made sure I wore clean 501's and a clean t-shirt to school. I didn't wear anything 'funky' or anything that I am too embarrassed to have a picture of, well maybe that terry cloth Hobie shirt with the Hawaiian print.

Other then a few years in tech sales, when I wore business casual most of the time, basically I have not changed my look too much over the years. I don't wear 501's any longer, they don't fit me as well as they used to and the fact that Levi-Straus has been taken over by liberals. I wear Wrangler jeans mostly. I wear t-shirts, mostly Carhartt or Dickies brand because they are thicker than most others I have tried, unless I have a day when I am in meetings when I wear a polo or button up shirt.

So that's me, Mr. Style.

My son, on the other hand is very conscious of his 'look'. Thankfully he is in a school that requires students to follow a dress code. But in his off time, he wants to wear the cool t-shirts with the cool skater brands. Hurley, Adio, DC and so on. The pants he wears are baggy and he likes wear them without a belt. I see the kids with their pants around their thighs and he doesn't wear them hanging off his butt, but he is always pulling them up. Why don't wear your belt I ask, he says it's uncomfortable. I make him put it on anyway. I know, that is so cruel, I'm sure I am stifling his independence or his finding his own place within his world or some other feel good nonsense.

As for the hair style, long and shaggy seems to be 'in' these days. I don't mind the hair over your collar, heck I had that in high school, the thing that gets me is that the style is not to touch it with any kind of hair styling tool. No combs, no brushes, jut wash it, shake your head back and forth and presto, it's done. I call it the sheep dog look, but hey what do I know, I am old.

I now have to resort to trickery to get my son's overgrown briar patch trimmed back. This past time, I used a trip to the music store. We had a day off together and I asked he wanted to go to town to check out a few guitars at the music stores in Woodland and Davis. He jumped at the chance and once I had him in the car I sprang the trap. Well, while we're in town, lets get your hair cut. Noooo.

Heh, heh. Sometimes you have resort to trickery to meet your goals, especially when your old and un cool.

All right, back to work!

Enough of this sitting around crap, back to the salt mine,lets go forth and toil!

I am just giving myself a little pep talk.

I am a bit under the weather, so I am off to bed to get some rest.

I gained 3 pounds, and that was just last night.

I am stuffed, still.

Last night we attended the 4:30 Christmas service at Bayside, what a show. Many folks don't like the high end production value given to such a celebration, but for those folks, there are many church services that are very formal, stick with the message and little else. To each his own. I have felt the Lord's presence in the smallest of churches and when I am by myself especially. I don't see anything wrong in making a Christmas Eve service enjoyable to the masses, especially the teenagers and young adults, they are the people who will grow God's church when I am pushing up daisies. If they want to see a great music show and slick power point presentations to stay interested and in touch, that's what we need to do as a congregation.

Lincoln Brewster and his band were fantastic, they played a little Trans Siberian Orchestra set with dual lead guitars and both Lincoln and the other lead guitarists can bend the string on a Stratocaster. Along with the upbeat music, they had a soloist sing Oh Holy Night, and other Christmas favorites. Great, just great.

The message came from Pastor Ray, it was funny at times, especially when he played the 'grace' scene from The Ballad of Ricky Bobby on the big screens, as well as poignant and touching. Bayside had 17,000 people attend Christmas services over four days, that is reaching out to your community.

As we shuffled out to make room for the next service, we were early as we made our way to Black Angus. We had 6:30 reservations but we arrived at quarter to six, however they did get us seated and we had a huge dinner. I know, I know, I don't need a huge dinner, I could probably go without dinner for a year, but that is another story. I am so freakin' stuffed, 18 hours later, that I probably won't each dinner at the in-laws. Or maybe I will, honey baked ham rules!

Christmas was great, the kids received more gifts from our friends than we bought them. It looks as though Santa's sleigh, crashed through our roof and half of his bag spilled all over our living room. We could make a bonfire that could be seen from space if we lit the wrapping paper and boxes in the pasture. My favorite present was the Cabelas long sleeve shirts. I am not sure who makes them, but I have a good quality shirt from them that has lasted 15 years or more. I gave my wife a pair of flannel lined jeans, she loves them.

So this Christmas is in the books and it was good one, any year the family is healthy and together is a good one.

The Fracturenator?

Have your self a Merry, scratchy, stiff and uncomfortable Christmas Arnold. As much fun as I have with our Governor, breaking your leg skiing on Christmas Eve not the way I would want to spend my holidays. Ah the smell of baking ham, the fresh pine scent of the Christmas tree and the tangy smell of Fiberglas casting material.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger broke his leg while skiing with his family Saturday morning in Sun Valley, Idaho, a spokesman said.

Schwarzenegger, 59, was taken to a hospital for X-rays and was discharged with a fracture to his right femur, said Adam Mendelsohn, the governor's Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications.

He will have surgery to repair the bone when he returns to Los Angeles, Mendelsohn said. The governor remained at his Sun Valley home Saturday night and still planned to spend Christmas there.

Tahoe isn't good enough? That's what you get for going to ski in Idaho.
Squaw valley is on line one Governor, they say Ho Ho Ho.

Traditions and good friends

I am looking forward to some time off. I am not going to get out of bed until 9:00 tomorrow. I will be awake at 5:30, but I am not getting up. My wife can send in the dog, both kids and the USC marching band to dislodge me from my pillow top California Kingsize bed, but her effort will be in vain. I am sleeping in.

My wife as not a morning person, she sleeps 9 hours a day and would sleep 10 if she could. I am finding that I don't need as much sleep as I once did, six or seven hours is adequate. It is rare that my wife is up before I am, and heaven forbid that I sleep if she is stirring.

Of all the great things that we are doing this Christmas season, I am really looking foreword to a few of them. Sunday's Christmas Eve service at Bayside In Granite Bay with the whole family will be great, going down to see my Grandmother will be special too. The other event I am really looking foreword to is spending Tuesday shooting with my friend.

When I was single, one my favorite things to do was to spend an entire day just shooting and talking about life with my friends. We would pack a lunch, and load up the truck, driving around until we found the right spot. We would spend hours and hundreds of rounds of ammunition just keeping the squirrel population in check. We talked about life, women, politics and our futures. Those were good times and great friends. Some of them have moved away and others I haven't kept up with as much as I should, but I still have a small circle of close friends that I enjoy spending time with.

Of all the blessings I have in my life, good friends to share my triumphs and tribulations with are so important to me. If you have read this blog for any amount of time you could figure out that I am outgoing and an easy person to get along with, and you would be right for the most part. Although I have many people I consider friends, I have a very few that I talk to about the real important matters in my life. To have that person who will listen to you and then tell you the truth, not just what you want hear, is priceless.

I am truly fortunate to have a loving family and very good friends in my life. I am aware that is not the case in many homes in my community and throughout our nation. If I could wish a Christmas wish for everyone, it would be to know those two things.

Company Christmas Parties, don't be 'that' person

If you don't know who 'that' person is, you may already hold that title and are unaware. 'That' person is the man or woman who has three too many trips to the punch bowl and creates a bit of infamous company history for years to come. Every company has a story like this one.

Do you remember when 'insert name here' got plowed at the Christmas party and told 'insert good looking co-worker of the opposite sex's name here' that he/she should go to a motel and celebrate after the party and he/she slapped him/her silly? Or the party when 'that person' got smashed and told his supervisor that he was flaming jackass?

I have worked for a few companies that threw big Christmas parties and to tell the truth, I would rather have an extra day off and skip the cheese tray, catered dinner and open bar.

Remember, this advice is equally valuable at New Year's parties. Have a good time, stay off the sauce and offer someone a ride home. You will feel twice as good on New Year's Day, once because you are not hung over, and secondly because you may have saved someone life.

I try not to drive anywhere on New Years Eve, but this year I am going to see Todd Bolton play in Woodland. I am driving my Dodge 4x4 diesel truck to the concert, if I have to drive on New Year's Eve, I feel safer with 6,000 pounds of steel between me and 'that person' on my way home.

If you don't check back for a while, have yourself a very Merry Christmas.

Jews or Muslims? Who is being targeted?

Well, that depends on who you ask. If you ask the Muslim PR spin machine, they are being constantly attacked and need government help and protection.

Muslims' sense of belonging could be eroded by European nations not tackling discrimination, a watchdog has warned.

A report by a European Union-backed anti-racism body says the number of Islamophobic incidents in the 25 member states is probably under-reported.

The report calls on governments to speed up Muslim integration - but says Muslims must also do more to counter stereotypes and fears of extremism.

At least 13 million Muslims are thought to live in European states.

In the report, the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) says it has documented a wide range of anti-Muslim or Islamophobic abuse across the EU's 25 member states.

Cry me a river.
If you go to any street corner in a Muslim area of London you can hear the most viscous anti Semitic speech shouted through bullhorns. Oh, and the Death to Britain chants are a very good way to gain that sense of belonging you so desperately want. Maybe if you stop advocating the murder of your hosts, you may be welcomed to stay.

If you look at the facts, they are hard to argue with.

Jewish people are four times more likely to be attacked because of their religion than Muslims, according to figures compiled by the police.

One in 400 Jews compared to one in 1,700 Muslims are likely to be victims of "faith hate" attacks every year. The figure is based on data collected over three months in police areas accounting for half the Muslim and Jewish populations of England and Wales. The crimes range from assault and verbal abuse to criminal damage at places of worship.

I would think you are much better off strolling down the streets of London wearing a Hijab than you would be wearing a Yamika. But hey, don't let facts get in the way of a good story.

New Year's Eve plans in Yolo County?

What is there to do in Yolo County this new year's eve? I will bet there are more than a few parties put on by various groups, there is a party at the Woodland Opera House ,but for my money, I will be ringing in the new year with my buddy Todd Bolton and his band at the Eagle's Hall in Woodland. Todd is flying in from Nashville to play for the home town crowd.

I have been friends with Todd for more than fifteen years and I remember him playing the Madison Town Hall at what we affectionately refer to as 'Oakie Stomps'. The hall in the town of Madison, population 520, is about as large as your local dentist office, imagine it packed wall to wall with inebriated brush oakies and you get a sense of where Todd started. Dang, I had some fantastic times at those dances.

Todd has a few CD's under his belt now and performs regularly around Nashville. He plays great country music with a southern rock flair and he is a dynamic performer, he runs through the crowd and sings with his fans, it really is a great time.

I would imagine it will sell out, the Eagles Hall is not that large, but it will be rockin on New Year's Eve.

Cat 6 augmented, 10 Gigs Baby!

We live in a fast world. We want speed, in our cars, in the drive through, when your in line at the bank on a payday Friday, we just want it faster. Data communications is on the bleeding edge of this pursuit of speed. Having been in the industry for over 10 years, I have seen the data world transition from the Coax world, thin net, thick net, IBM type 1 and 2 and then back to twisted pair, Category 3, the short lived Cat4, then on to Cat 5, Cat5 enhanced and then Cat 6. Not to mention the transition to fiber optic media. If you wait a year, someone will come out with some type of media that will increase your network speed. And don't get me started on wireless.

I have been working on a small project, 100 or so voice/data jacks in a remodeled building. As a test sight, we are installing the new Category 6 Augmented cable for both applications. The cable is much thicker that a standard 5e cable and only available on reels as of now. It is a pain to install because of the size and it's tendency to kink with the plenum jacket. The specs for the cable solution claim that it will transmit 10 Gigabits of data over the 4 pair UTP cable. We will be testing it after the holidays and I am anxious to see the results. Is anyone going to be transmitting 10 Gigabits over copper in this building? No, not for the foreseeable future. A 10 Gig NIC would run just under 1,000 dollars and I don't want to think of what a Cisco 10 Gig 48 port switch would cost. I can see this application in a server room or as a short distance backbone, but does this really need to be installed at the horizontal level? Everyone talks about future proofing their cable plant, Cat6A should do it. I just think by the time end users are actually needing a 10 Gig solution someone will have figured out how to run through the fibers in the carpet or though the electrical plugs!

Hey, what do I know, I just a cowboy who installs the stuff?

Tickets for church.

If you ever want to know if your church is making a difference in your community, look around during Christmas. Last year my family and I were trying to figure out where to go for Christmas Eve services. My wife was working a half day in Sacramento and we thought we might attend our old church, Bayside in Granite Bay. I have been to one service since they finished the church building, we went to Bayside when they met at a high school gym. I looked online and found out their early evening services were 'sold out', that is to say that they had passed out all the free tickets to those services. I searched around to find another service and we attended the Bayside of Roseville that evening. It was a great service.

I always chuckle when I think of selling out a church service. In a day when most churches are struggling to keep their parishioners, let alone growing their church, when you are selling out services, you must be doing something right. Bayside Woodland is growing at a rapid pace right now and it is doing wonderful things in our area. My wife traded a Sunday off this weekend and we were all able to attend the 10:45 service today. It felt great to have the whole family in church together, my wife's parents were also there.

I hope one day Bayside Woodland will have to hand out tickets to manage the crowds for Christmas services, but as for this year, there will be an open seat for anyone who wants to come and hear the message of grace, hope and forgiveness that is the celebration of Christmas.

My wife will be working a half day again this Christmas Eve. She and her parents have never been to a service in the main Granite Bay Bayside, so I went online and I have 6 tickets to the 4:00pm Christmas Eve service. Tickets for church, go figure.

Ah, to be young and unencumbered by reality.

Why is socialism appealing to college students? I believe it appeals to them because when it is removed from the realities of the world it makes sense. Everyone does their share, everyone get just enough to get by and everyone should be happy with that.

When she graduates from Ringling School of Art and Design next year, aspiring photojournalist Cassandra Avalon will bail on her apartment, located in low-income Newtown.Navigating through opposite ends of Sarasota's economic margins has, at her ripe old age of 20, given her a wide-angle glimpse of futility.

"I'm educated, but I don't think I could ever get there, into the rich society," says Avalon, who moonlights as a beverage assistant at the Longboat Key Club. "Not that I'd want to, really. "I remember, when I walked through the airport at (Washington, D.C.'s) Dulles, I counted 22 American flags. Everybody seems to have all this patriotism, but when you ask them to make a sacrifice for somebody else, no one volunteers to give up a Lexus so I won't have crackheads outside my door."

Avalon, an American citizen who grew up in Denmark, supports positions championed by many liberals: universal health care, affordable housing, an end to the war, etc. But what sets her apart is her political affiliation: the Socialist Party of Florida.

Yea, if we just took everything from the rich and gave it to the poor, that would solve it all. Sure Avalon, sure. I give up my Lexus and magicaly someone's crack addiction goes away.

It is only when you put socialism into practice you see it's fatal flaw. The human being. The human being wants more. More what? What do ya got?

I once heard something that made sense to me. My friends and I were talking about money and what we would do if we had a million dollars. We thought about what we could buy and where we would live and what kind of cars we would have. We all agreed that if we could work hard enough to make a million dollars, that would be enough. This was back in the 80's when a million dollars was actually a lot of money. My Father over heard us talking and said the man who would be satisfied with one million will never have the drive to make it. The man who has one million and wants five million, that's the guy to put your money on.

That is a fact. Not just an American fact, it is true the world over. If you have grass hut, you want a bigger or more water proof grass hut. If you have three flocks of goats you would like ten. If you have a one bedroom apartment and a 1996 Volkswagen, you want a two bedroom house with a new car in the garage. That is the flaw in socialism. The people who would be satisfied with a million dollars are everywhere, the people who have a million and want five are harder to come by. Those are the people who start businesses and corporation from their garage and turn them into billion dollar companies, they are the ones who hire employees, make payroll, buy products and services from other people and build factories. Oh, and by the way, those who would be satisfied with a million dollars, would not be satisfied for long. After they had the trappings and material possessions that a million dollars would bring, they would want more.

Why? Because it's human nature.

I have seen both sides of wealth, I have seen the upside and I have been dead broke. I have found a balance that I am comfortable with. I have a good job, a nice house, great family and above all, I have Jesus Christ. That maybe the other great flaw of socialism, any government based on human being doing what they are supposed to do all the time is doomed to failure. America stands out from the world. We were founded on the principals of freedom and built around the belief in a greater power than man. Socialists and liberals want to tear that down and replace God with 'the greater good'. Lots of luck with that.

Eventually everyone thinks they deserve 'the goods' without having to work for them. It's called a welfare state, and they will collapse under their own weight given time, take a look at Europe.

The best Christmas presents.

I have always tried to make some of my Christmas presents by hand. I have done a bit of blacksmithing and I can weld, grind and burnish almost any type of metal so those types of gifts are not hard for me to make. I also dabble in leather craft. I am not a very good at carving and shading, but I do some border tooling and stamping as well as hand stitching.

I like working with my hands, but to tell you the truth I like writing letters just as much. A heart felt hand written letter means more to me than any other gift I receive.

This year I am writing a special letter to my step Father.

My Father past away in 1991 and after a 8 0r 9 years and a move that took her up to north Idaho, she met Paul.

He is as different a man from my Father as you could find. My Father was a rough, hard working, hard drinking man who made and lost more than few fortunes in his life. There was never a dull moment around our ranch, that's for sure. I loved my father dearly, but he was a troubled man doing the best he could.

Paul is a very quiet, kind, God loving man, and he loves my Mother with all his heart. I only get to see them once a year or so and I wish I could spend more time with them both.

I like Paul as a person and I love him for how he loves my Mother. I want him to know how important he is to me, how I don't have to worry about Mom as much because I know she is in good hands.

Have you been the recipient of such a letter? Have you ever written one?

Looking for civil war?

Found one. Not in Iraq, but within the Palestinian territories.

It looks like Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh was trying to sneak back into Gaza with 35 million in hidden cash to prop up his failing government. Hamas and Fatah are killing each other, as well as deliberately murdering high value children, with regularity trying to gain power.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh crossed into the Gaza Strip late Thursday night after being barred entry for hours by Israel because he was apparently carrying some $35 million in cash in his luggage. His delayed entry sparked a series of clashes on the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing from Egypt that left one of Haniyeh's bodyguards dead and 18 other people wounded, including the Palestinian prime minister's own son.

The casualties occurred when Hamas gunmen attacked the terminal and exchanged gunfire with Palestinian Authority security personnel linked to Fatah and with Egyptian security personnel. The Hamas gunmen used explosive charges to blow a hole through the concrete barrier separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt.

Win the Green Card Lottery!

Did you know such a lottery existed? I found it cruising through some overseas classified adds. You learn something new everyday.

What is the Diversity Visa (Green Card) Lottery Program?
Each year, 50,000 immigrant visas are made available through a lottery to people who come from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. None of these visas are available for people who come from countries that have sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the past five years.

The State Department holds the lottery every year, and randomly selects approximately 110,000 applicants from all qualified entries. The State Department selects the approximately 110,000 applications since many will not complete the visa process. However once 50,000 are issued or the fiscal year ends, the lottery is closed.

I guess we need more people from Mongolia?
I guess.

Cindy Sheehan; irrelevant, impotent, and just a little bit sad.

Cindy Sheehan was convicted, again, this time for trespassing. She was trying to deliver an anti-war petition to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. I know you Code Pink folks get stirred up when ever Cindy speaks, but please, can we just put her out to pasture with the rest of the 60's peacenicks and talk about how we are going to achieve victory in Iraq?

I don't care if you think Bush lied, I don't care if you think Cheney and Halliburton made up the Iraq war to get rich, I don't care if you think the World Trade Center was taken down by controlled explosives and the people who were on the planes are living in double secret federal protection somewhere in Area 51, I really don't care. Can you just focus on the fact that at this very minute there is a conference going on in Iran where Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his buddies are figuring out how the world miscounted 5.9 million dead Jews during the holocaust? They may be working on a way to finish what Hitler started. We have very dangerous enemies in the world.

I know, I know, we made them mad by invading Iraq or helping Israel or putting a military base in Saudi Arabia or publishing cartoons of Muhamed, or distributing Kevin Federline's CD, or whatever sends these killers into the streets to murder and decapitate as many infidels or Sunnis or Shiias as possible. Can we just focus on the situation at hand? We are at war.

Bringing our soldiers home will not make you safer, quite the opposite in fact. Call it what you will, a phased surrender, a drawdown surrender or just a plain old white flag-helicopter from the rooftops at Saigon surrender, if we abandon our position in the region, between Iran and Syria, we will have to go back. This time with a few dozen B-52s to destroy Baghdad, Fallujah, Tehran, Damascus and a few other terrorist training sites. The problem will be, the reason we came back. More than likely that will be be a mushroom cloud over the city of New York or Seattle, or even Tel Aviv. As bad as the situation looks in Iraq, it is kind of like holding a wolf by the ears, you don't like it very much, but dare not let go.

Cindy and her new communist friends hate America, good for them. Put a few more bumper stickers on your Prius, but for crying out loud, leave us alone. We don't want to hear from you, we don't care how many times you get arrested to stick it to the man, we don't care if you think Hugo Chavez is a great guy and will weep once Castro is dead. Go home, or at least hang out at some 'fair trade' coffee house and bend the ears of the flip flop, Che Guevara t-shirt wearing barista . As for me, I have heard quite enough.

Do you have $90,000 in cash in your freezer?

If you do, and you are under federal bribery investigation, you too could win a seat as a democratic congressman. I thought the people of Louisiana were soft in the head for not evacuating in the face of a category 5 hurricane, but to re-elect William Jefferson takes the cake. I wonder how much of that cash in his freezer was in three dollar bills?

City Councilman Oliver Thomas said Jefferson's victory would make the recovery more difficult.

"People are watching this election all around the country and I can only imagine what they are thinking," Thomas said. "It will be very difficult to go back to them and ask them to trust us with the money we need here."

Ya think?

"my highest priority, immediately, is to stop the war in Iraq.''

This boys and girls is why you cannot elect democrats to positions of power. Nancy Pelosi hasn't been sworn in as Speaker of the House yet and she is laying down her plan for Iraq; Surrender.

What about victory Nancy? What about the highest priority being an immediate victory in Iraq? Nope, we quit. To quote Eric Cartman, screw you guys, I'm going home. That should make Iran, Syria and what's left of al Qaida shake and tremble in fear.

Pelosi and Mayor Gavin Newsom, who also spoke, had ripostes for Republicans who warned during the campaign that electing a Democratic majority would foist "San Francisco values'' on the nation.

"While we are diverse, we speak with one voice when it comes to fairness and giving people hope in the city of St. Francis,'' Pelosi said.

Newsom lauded "a city of dreamers, a city of doers ... a city where we unite around our common humanity. ...Those are the values of San Francisco.''

To all you people who stayed home this past election and allowed the Democrats to gain control of Congress; you suck.

Yolo Cowboy's bolt action rifle and revolver emporium

I need another rifle like Cindy Sheehan needs a bad haircut. With this in mind, I still want another blot action rifle. A .223 Remington for varmint shooting would fit in nice to my collection. With all the calibers I own, I do have a gap between my 22 rimfires and my .243 Winchester. Although my favorite varmint slayer is my M1 Garand.

Some folks think I am soft in the head to be hurling such a large amount of lead at a ground squirrel, I say poppycock. I have spent a day shooting 405 grain cast bullets at all types of small critters from my Winchester 45-70 takedown. With such recoil and rather marginal ballistic performance, a true varmint gun would be more efficient and cost much less per round sent down range.

I would like to have another VZ24 Mauser converted for this rifle but the bolt face is to large for the .223. I may look into a light weight rifle rather than go after the heavy barreled versions that varmint shooters prefer. My varmint shooting is more mobile than stationary, so a Remington model Seven should be a good fit. I have many Remington rifles and they all shoot well, two shoot exceptionally well.

I am actually not looking for any revolvers at the moment. I always have an eye out for a good buy on Smith and Wesson Classic Hunters in 44 Remington Magnum. I think the 8 3/8" Classic I have is the one handgun I love to shoot the most. I would like to have a 6" to carry. I am always looking for Colt Government or Combat commander 45's. I don't have a lot of extra cash to spend on firearm acquisitions at the time, but one can always dream.

Check out the new Header

This was taken last year with a dusting of snow on the Blue Ridge.

James Kim, a tale of tragedy and I'm sorry, stupidity.

Sometimes the mistakes you make have a cost that go along with them, a traffic ticket, a broken bone, a broken heart, a criminal record and unfortunately, sometimes they cost you your life.

It is easy to think as you listen to your Sirius radio and drive in the enclosed warmth of your car that the real world just outside the tempered glass is something that would never hurt you. The same feeling of safety you get as you hurtle down the highway at 70 miles hour inside your metal, plastic and glass box can be instantly shattered by reality. The laws of physics don't stop once you close the door and start the engine. I don't care how many airbags your car may have, if you hit a concrete freeway abutment at 80 miles an hour, you will die.

There are other laws that are just as uncompromising, the laws of nature fall into that category. Driving into a national forrest in the dead of winter on a forest service road that you are unfamiliar with, because you don't want to backtrack and take the State Highway you missed the turn off to is about as stupid an idea as I can think of.

Do I feel sorry for James and his family? Absolutely. It sounds like he was great guy and a terrific father. I am sure he thought to himself about a thousand times, how could you be so dumb. There is nothing more expensive than regret.

I have driven into the forest in my jeep with snow covering the ground a few times. It is a great time, if you are prepared.
Rule number one, don't go alone. If you get separated, or if you drive for a little while and don't see another vehicle, it's time to turn back.

I took our kids up to the snow one day and drove up Drum - Forbay road near Colfax. I was in my 4 wheel drive truck and we stopped to make a snow man and sled, when we started home we decided to go up a little further to see if we could find one more good sledding hill. I saw the faint outline of tire tracks in the snow covered road and followed them for a mile or so. There I found, and I am not making a racial statement here, an Asian family in their Toyota mini-van stuck on the side of road trying to turn around. They were from the Bay Area and wanted to see the snow. If I had not come along and dug him out with my shovel and truck he would have had a nice cold walk three miles back to the Freeway. I though to myself, what the Hell was he thinking?

When I go Jeeping, I have a winch, locking differentials and 35" tires. I can out of almost anything I get into. I also wear the clothing I would wear if I were camping overnight there. I have on my waterproof boots, a bag with a winter parka, rain pants, and a few power bars in my emergency kit along with enough fire starting gear to light a fire in a snow storm.

Some of the chuckle heads I have been with were wearing tennis shoes and a t-shirt. I asked them what happens if you get separated and break down out here? Aw, that will never happen, they say. One night alone in a freezing metal box will change your mind.

Sadly for the Kim's, a dumb mistake turned into a tragedy that cost James his life.

Your car is not a magic carpet, it can break down, run out of gas or get stuck. It is a complex machine with many moving parts, but it does not have a brain. The human behind the wheel has been equipped with one, use it.

Oh boy, are you folks in trouble now.

I am now, as I speak, er type, using my new SBC Yahoo DSL high speed internet connection.

You can only imagine the excitement of answering the freaking telephone while using the internet. No more waiting 45 minutes for some stupid joke video email from my wife's uncle to download. Now it takes one minute for it to download before I delete it.

I can now search for interesting stories and news even faster.

Ooh, ooh, give us an example you say.
How about this?


This is the all new, Iranian made Samand, they will also be made by the peasants, I mean citizens living in freedom and prosperity in Venezuela.

"Samand has the most modern systems of safety and comfort, including seat belts for all passengers, central lock, powered window winders, air conditioner, radio cassette player, left and right wing mirrors adjustable from the interior, etc.

The national car, designed by Iranian and foreign consultants, with a 1761 cm3 engine, is a completely modern automobile with high safety standards, front axle, numerous accessories, and a newly-designed body."

Did you hear that, it come with a front axle! Dang them Persians can build em'.

I wonder, if you buy enough CITCO gas from Hugo, do you get a free Samand?

Oh well, it's late and after my one hour self-installation experience, I need some sleep.