Red Wings Get Back to Work on the Stanley Cup 2009

The Wings are rested up after polishing off the Columbus Blue Jackets in a four game sweep. They get ready to face the brutally physical Anaheim Ducks on Friday at Joe Louis Arena. Home ice advantage is important. The Ducks beat the #1 seed San Jose in an upset by physically grinding the Sharks into the ice.

Chris Osgood will be back in the nets and is healthy. He took a pounding in the fourth game and survived it with a 6-5 win thanks to a last minute goal by Johan Franzen, aka "the Mule".

Go Red Wings. Face off is 7:00 pm (EDST) on Friday evening.

Watch Out For Flying Pigs: Swine Flu Alert

From the CDC:

20 confirmed U.S. cases of swine flu. None have proved fatal.

ADVICE FROM THE MEDICAL EXPERTS AT THE CDC:

There are everyday actions people can take to stay healthy.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.

Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

• Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.
• If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

My Five Things

Here they are:

1- Swine Flu in Mexico City. This could be a "biggie". A biggie because of the world wide travel in today's world. The last "Biggie" was the Hong Kong flu outbreak in 1968. We've all been worrying about the Bird Flu the last few years- but it has luckily been confined to bird populations and people who play with dead birds... i.e. there is no human-to-human transfer. Sine flu on the other hand is being passed from person to person and therein lies the problem.

They are passing out masks in the area's in and around Mex City and they are saying that the antiviral medicine, Tamiflu, is somewhat effective.

Something you might want to keep around the house is: masks, Tamiflu, Tylenol and an emergency stash of food and water. Good hand washing, as always, is vital to staying healthy.

Stay tuned to see how this plays out.

2- Lions plunk down over $70 million to sign junior QB Matt Stafford. Won't they ever learn? Most football teams build a solid foundation and then select a QB to run it once all the parts are in place. The Lions brain trust however (drawing on their 50 years of not winning a championship) have chosen a different path. The thinking goes is that Stafford will hold a clipboard and learn this year ($8 million a year for holding that clipboard- must be one VERY IMPORTANT clipboard) and he'll be ready to start next year. What did Forest Gump say... "stupid is as stupid does" ? It applies here.

3- Red Wings are rolling. They wiped out the Columbus Blue Jackets four straight games to move on to the next round.

4- Cool weather in San Diego. We had some 100 degree weather on Sunday and Monday- but it cooled off and is a chilly 65-70 degrees for the next few days. It feels nice.

5- Presidente Obama's first 100 days are almost up. He seems to be shaking up our country, our finances, our national security and defense. He is becoming friends with our enemies and making enemies with our friends. What's up with that? Change, Change, Change. Is it for the good or the bad? Seems to me there is a fine line between Change and screwing up and I think he's crossed it. Are the actions he has taken in his first 100 days going to take 100 years to correct and undo? Now the media might think I am being negative about the so-called and self-proclaimed "savior" of America. But I can only judge the lame results from his massive spending and hob-nobbing with dictators.

Hugo Chavez and Barrack Obama were a pretty cozy pair recently at the "Meeting of the America's"- exchanging warm greetings and Communist literature. I just hope he didn't sign up for Chavez's "Dictators for Dummies" class. All this Obama-mania and left winger change makes me more than a little nervous. Following the leader (president or dictator) blindly is not in my playbook.

And how was your week?

Do You Know Me ?

- I was born on June 26, 1898 in West Point, Virginia.

- General George S. Patton was my second cousin.

- I enrolled at VMI (Virginia Military Institute) in 1917 but dropped out after a year and enlisted in the Marine Corps.

- I fought in the "Banana Wars", World War II, and the Korean War.

- I am the most decorated Marine in history. I was awarded five Navy Crosses, a Purple Heart, Distinguished Service Cross, a Silver Star, two Legion of Merits, a Bronze Star and three Air Medals.

- I retired from the USMC after 37 years of service in 1955 as a Lieutenant General.

- I received the nickname of "Chesty" because of a my barrel chest that was due to an asthmatic condition.

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-Who Am I ?

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- Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller

Do You Know Me ?

- I was born in the town of Cincinnati, Ohio on December 18, 1946.

- I am a film director, screenwriter and film producer.

- I always liked making films and to earn a merit badge for the Boy Scouts I made a nine minute 8mm film called "The Last Gunfighter".

- At age 13 I won a prize for a 40 minute war movie "Escape to Nowhere" that later inspired my "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".

- I knocked around in TV and did episodes of Night Gallery, Marcus Welby MD, Owen Marshall, Attorney at Law and Columbo.

- My first job as a director was "Jaws".

- You've probably liked some of the many hit movies of mine. They include: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler's List, E.T., Poltergeist, The Color Purple, Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, The Terminal and many, many others.

- I've won three Academy Awards.

- My divorce settlement with my first wife, actress Amy Irving, was the third most expense on record at $100 million.

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- Steven Alan Spielberg

Happy Easter

We trekked off to church at 6:30 a.m. for Sonrise Service. Well- getting a parking spot proved to be "No Problemo". Pastor Ray preached from John, Chapter 20:

The Empty Tomb

¹Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ²So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"

³So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. ⁸Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹⁰Then the disciples went back to their homes, ¹¹but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹²and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

¹³They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"

"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." ¹⁴At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

¹⁶Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).

¹⁷Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "

¹⁸Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.

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A Blessed and Happy Easter to all.
Remember "He's STILL the Reason for the Season".

Good Friday

Good Friday is the Friday before Easter, which is calculated differently in Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity (see Computus for details). Easter falls on the first Sunday following the Paschal Full Moon, the full moon on or after 21 March, taken to be the date of the vernal equinox. The Western calculation uses the Gregorian calendar, while the Eastern calculation uses the Julian calendar, whose 21 March now corresponds to the Gregorian calendar's 3 April. The calculations for identifying the date of the full moon also differ. See Easter Dating Method (Astronomical Society of South Australia).

Because Easter in Western Christianity can fall between March 22 and April 25 on the Gregorian calendar, Good Friday can fall between March 20 and April 23, inclusive. In Eastern Christianity, Easter can fall between March 22 and April 25 on Julian Calendar (thus between April 4 and May 8 in terms of the Gregorian calendar, during the period 1900 and 2099), so Good Friday can fall between March 20 and April 23, inclusive (or between April 2 and May 6 in terms of the Gregorian calendar).

Holy Thursday

(From the Wikipedia)

Maundy Thursday (also known as Holy Thursday or Great and Holy Thursday), is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. It is the fifth day of Holy Week, and is preceded by Holy Wednesday and followed by Good Friday. In 2009, Maundy Thursday occurred on April 9th for Western Christian traditions including Roman Catholicism.

On this day four events are commemorated: the washing of the Disciples' Feet by Jesus Christ, the institution of the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Christ by Judas Iscariot.

Yeah Team... 2008-9 a Great Season for MSU Basketball

In spite of losing to UNC in the NCAA finals, it was still a very, very good year for basketball at Michigan State. So Congrats to the MSU hoopsters for their fine season.

101 in 1001-- Item # 34 Make Two New Friends

Why I Chose This Goal: After I retired from the military, it seemed like my large network of friends shrunk (I guess that sort makes them acquaintances rather than friends now, does it?) It seems that this is a common complaint of people who retire from one career and enter another.

They told me that you have to sort of re-tool your life and circle of friends. So I made a concerted effort to meet new people and develop friendships outside of the military and the work environment.

What I Did: Duhhh. Ive gotten involved in a writing group, made several friends in the neighborhood and through volunteering at the polls. Needless to say I've made many acquaintances and also a half dozen new friends (thus- mission accomplished). I have also joined several on-line groups where I can share local sports interests, wine making, etc.

Always Working for the Man

Some days, especially this time of year, you feel like all the work hours you put in go for someone else. Yes- it's tax time. Don't get me wrong, I mean I don't mind supporting others with my tax dollars- in fact Joe Biden says it's my patriotic duty. It just bothers me a bit when I need to keep supporting more and more. I mean we have three kids and since they're ours, we love them and support them. But I wonder how many others I am giving aid and comfort to with my tax dollar?

I guess it's all the others out there who need my help.

+ They starving artists who need my tax dollars to create art that I usually don't particularly care for. I mean welding together re-bar, sheet metal and old gears into a face is something my car mechanic could probably do in his spare time... but it's art and it's on display in downtown San Diego.

+ The prisoners who are watching cable TV and work out in a gym 3 times a week and living better than many of the working poor or homeless.

+ The CEOs of big banks and wall street companies who are spending their million dollar bonuses and enjoying lavish retreats on my tax dime. These are the type investments that I wish my tax dollars weren't financing.

I want better roads, food for the homeless and schools that teach our children.

I'd like to return prisons to be places that are austere, ominous and nasty places with few bennies or perks... then maybe guys would think twice about committing a crime. And there would be no so-called "white collar" prisons in this system. Put Scooter Libby and Martha Stewart and Michael Vick in with the regular criminals. I guess guys like Maddoff and others would think twice about swindling billions from retiree savings accounts.

I'd like to see those CEOs who F'ed up the whole banking system and the Senators and congressman who helped make it all possible be stood up in front of America on television and be given their time in the public eye so we know who these deadbeats really are... sort of like America's most wanted. Right now these guys are nameless and faceless people who are getting a pass on all their mistakes. Barney Frank and Chris Dodd.... they act like they were on vacation and out of the country when all this badness went down. "who me?" seems to be their response. I think getting shamed on national television and giving them their "due credit" would go a long way into not letting this all happen again.

In short, as a working American I wonder how many people I'm supporting with my tax dollars and why. When I wrote the check to the IRS this month, I wondered how much bigger the damage was going to be for this working American next year. The President and Congress just increased their spending and... God knows they aren't going to take a pay cut to help pay for this mess... I would hate to think that my taxes will go up... afte all Obama promised me they wouldn't (Tune in next year to see if he kept it).

So I'd better keep working for the man. After all, I'm going to have more people to support and since my share of the responsibility will probably go up then I'd better get a second job!

Happy Taxes.

How About That?

MSU 82 UConn 73

"Groovy, Baby!"

April Fool's

Ten News Flashes on April 1:

1- Recount Vote is in: McCain won the election and is really our President.
2- Lions picked to win Super Bowl in 2009.
3- Recession fears are nothing but a medias hoax.
4- Documents found: Al Gore really did invent the Internet.
5- Elvis sighting: He's a prisoner in Gitmo.
6- Movie " Godfather 4" is being filmed.
7- Gary, Indiana voted #1 U.S. tourist destination.
8- Alien base found on dark side of the moon.
9- Dinosaurs believed to have invented fire- smoking tobacco (not asteroid) caused their extinction.
10- Ellen Degeneres secretly wears dresses.