Bought a guitar and just contracted for lessons starting tomorrow. Having not played since high school I fully expect my fingers are going to take a beating for the first few months.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=367386232443&ref=nf

I'll be there to support my friend and Valley neighbor Heather in her fight agaist breast cancer. And as a side note it'll be one of the biggest Blues Shows & Jam session ever staged around the Northwest.

"Should speech be ... completely free!"

While speech should be free of censorship, it should still come with responsibilities. Malicious speech that causes harm should be penalised, contrary to what the news media thinks.

I missed it ... 3 plus hours of nothing but hits http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrDDtVMHraU

And the headline reads "Carnival Says No to 'Cougar Cruise'". http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/carnival-cougar-cruise-older-women-seek-younger-men/story?id=9540403 

And you know that if a bunch of older guys wanted to go on a cruise with a bunch of younger women us old guys would be labelled pedophiles ...

Some of the questions I've answered seem to be ridiculous & some think every answer should be 'black & white'.

Take the question "Do you beleive in dinosaurs? yes/no ... Dinosaurs are a proven scientific fact, they did exist! Why would I have to "beleive" in a documented scientific fact? Beleiving is an act of faith that there is something there that cannot be proven (as yet) by scientific methods. Oh well, just my left-brained pet peave I guess.

Then there's the one I always skip, just a 'black & white' question. "When you get to the point in the relationship that the idea of commitment comes up do you: a) 'cut and run' b) stay ?" Why not add answer c) 'I don't know' ? I mean unless some little guy pops me in the ass with an arrow making me hopelessly in love at the start of a relationship I have no idea how I'm going to react until I get into a relationship and that "point of commitment" is reached! And I dare anyone to say for sure what their reaction at that point is going to be UNTIL THEY GET THERE.

Colder than a well digger's patoot out there. !2 degrees on my porch this morning and the Great White Killer Dog didn't want to spend more than 15 miutes outside this morning. My sister e-mailed to complain she had to break the ice in the horse watering tanks and haul fresh water for the horses. Now she wants me to obtain & install the tank water heaters I was suggesting last summer. But it wasn't freezing last summer and she wanted the money for something else she didn't need, now she really doesn't care what it'll cost as long as the tanks & water lines get heaters ... even with my sister I've learned not to try to understand women's logic and just try to help them out when they finally realize they've got a problem. 

Long discussion (more like verbal sparring)going on over on Facebook, and I had to put my $2 in to stir things up. Science vs. Creationism, now that debate makes a lot of blood boil.  

A lot of noise across the pond over one small part of a Barbie Collection being autioned off for charity; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1229760/Its-Barbie-burka-World-famous-doll-gets-makeover-hammer-50th-anniversary.html . I disagree with the concept of 'Burka Barbie' and think the Italian designer had poor taste to include that style in the collection. But then again that would be my censorship of art now wouldn't it?

Family scattered for Thanksgiving this year, but I've gotten a few invitations from friends. Had to pick one, Jacki drew the short straw. So as usual I volunteered to bring a few things to 'The Feast'. First and formost will be my brined and smoked turkey breast, bone in and hot off the waterbath smoker, one of my standards. Then my mother's recipe of mashed candied yams in orange shells. And I'm playing with a variation of Campbell Soup's 'Green Bean Cassarole', my variation replaces the green beans with fresh asparagas/galic/onion in Golden Mushroom soup with the freid onion & topped with parmesean cheese. I'll test it myself before subjecting anyone else to my follies.

OK, time to let The Great White Killer Dog out and get her dinner set up.

Aw crud, I just remembered I have to update my profile this week to show another year has advanced ... another year of wisdom gained.

ltr