stray cats

Let me see if I got this right.  The Justice Department is arraigning Roger Clemens because he allegedly lied to Congress about taking a drug that wasn't illegal at the time.
This is the same congress that decided that Timothy Geithner should be Secretary of the Treasury even though he failed to pay his taxes...and the same Justice Department that decided it wasn't going to prosecute members of the "New Black Panther Party" who were intimidating voters by standing in front of a polling location in para-military dress, carrying night sticks, during the last presidential election.
So, here it is in a nutshell; Clemens could get as much as 30 years and a $1.5 million dollar fine (not likely to be that severe) for cheating at baseball and lying to congress about it (congress is involved in this, why?) while Geithner breaks the law by failing to pay taxes and wins a high-level cabinet post, and the Black Panthers get a free pass after trying to deprive citizens of their most valuable and treasured American right. I guess that sounds about right.


I quit smoking about 6 months ago...for at least the 15th time in the last 36 years.
Once I quit for a few hours out of protest when I went to the local 7 - 11 and the price of a pack of Winstons had gone up to 50 cents ... outrageous!!!
Once I quit for about 5 years because I went to the hospital with chest pains one night and the doctor told me I hadn't had a heart attack but smoking was going to kill me.  After 5 years I bummed one at work one night and...well, if you've ever quit smoking you know what happens after you've had that first one and "it didn't bother you."
Most recently I quit to save money on health insurance.  I had to sign an affidavit that I didn't smoke or my health insurance premium would go up $25.00 per month. 
Let's see, I was smoking approximately 2 packs every 3 days. At roughly $4.00 per pack (at the time) that's around $80.00 a month I was spending on cigarettes. And I was Ok with $80 for smokes but not with the $25 for the insurance, so I guess it was psychological more than financial, because if cigarettes had gone up to $5.50 a pack I don't think it would have had the same impact as the insurance thing.  Anyway for whatever reason I quit again.


I went to the dentist this morning.  I didn't take my phone because I'm afraid that if it rings while I'm in the chair, someone will flinch and the hygienist will pierce my gum with that wicked looking pointy thing she has in my mouth.  I also didn't take a camera because, well, why would you take a camera to the dentist's office.
So I'll just have to tell you this and you use your imagination.  They are building some new buildings in the complex where the dentist's office is. As I was driving up I noticed two guys working on the windows of this new building.  They are both using ladders.  The first guy has a normal extension ladder he's up on it working.  the second guy has one of those folding step ladders, you know just the "A" shaped thing...but he's climbing it up-side-down and keeps falling. What I mean by up-side-down is he has the ladder up-side-down. He doesn't unfold it but props it up against the building, legs up and top down and tries to climb. I don't know, he finally got up...
that might have made more sense if I'd been able to take a picture.