One Year

From my other blog. A post to celebrate a year smoke free.

I was a smoker for a long time. Why I started smoking is lost in time, but I’d bet it was because it was cool. Everyone who was portrayed smoking looked so wonderful. Smiles abounded and sophistication dripped from smokers. It was difficult to ignore because it was so, well cool. After all what teenager doesn’t want to be cool? There were two other factors in play at the time, there were no rules against selling to minors and cigarettes where cheap, you could get a pack for less than fifty cents. It wasn’t long before I was hooked.

Almost all aspects of my life included a cigarette; break schedules at work, ashtrays in living rooms and on the porch and lighters. Lighters were the source of great debate between smokers. Should it be a refillable or a disposable? It really didn’t matter once strikers for match books were moved to the back, but smoking got a grip on my life and wasn’t about to let go. The tar became a concern once I knew what its effect was. The nicotine was another story. Nicotine kept me smoking far beyond a time when I knew it was prudent to stop. My best guess is I was severely addicted to nicotine for at least 10, and perhaps even 20 years.

It had been a desire of mine to stop smoking for some time. Unfortunately one thing after another conspired to side track me from accomplishing the goal. It didn’t take much to side track me, shiny objects did well and a general dislike for uncomfortable come to mind. However, as it became apparent my health would be well served I consulted with my nurse practitioner on a course of action. She prescribe a course seemingly designed to allow for my foibles. I could smoke for a week while taking the initial dosage then quit in the second week while taking an adjusted dosage. The entire program was intended for 3 weeks.

It took me 12 weeks before I stopped smoking on April 20, 2008. By the end I didn’t care if I ever saw another cigarette as long as I lived. As hard as it may be to believe I didn’t have any cravings once I stopped. I don’t know how that happened, most people say it’s normal to have cravings. Okay, but I had none. It could be a challenge in the coming years of that I’m aware. However, I will also remember how hard it was to quit and how good I feel now that I have.

Here’s to another year smoke free!

Blog Move

The blog has moved to Lahdee.com effective July 12, 2008. I'll keep this blog for a few weeks as everything that was here has been moved over there except Little Miss Molly. As soon as we get her moved over we'll shut this one down.

Saturday the Twelveth

The Obama campaign has decided not to purchase a sponsorship on a NASCAR Sprint Cup car.

"The Obama campaign will not be sponsoring a car in the Sprint Cup series, though we will continue to look for ways to reach out to voters and convey Senator Obama's message of change." said Bill Burton, an Obama campaign spokesman.

The wrecking thing I guess. There’s always custom playing cards or even the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile. How about a nice Navy Blimp? Why not, it's patriotic. Besides, who needs a whimpy old flag pin when you've got a blimp. Now that would show some balls to those NASCAR Dads, eh?



It's been cloudy with thunderstorms over the last few days here in the desert. The three day forcast is for temperatures in the high 90's and the low 100's. Hardly seems like summer.

Passing By

Zero 7 says it all, I'm only passing by.

CNN says yes to Denver

CNN has announced it's coverage plans for the Democratic National Convention and it's not petulant at all. Good for CNN, they will cover it all and will then move it all over to Investco for good measure. Good on them.

Friday

I can't believe it's Friday already. I have been incredibly busy at work and the house has extracted it's cost to my time afterwards.

Since Barack Obama announced that he'll be accepting the nomination at Invesco field in Denver the networks, who had threatened petulance, have decided that it's petulance after all. Politico reported on it Tuesday.

Network executives expect Obama’s relatively late-breaking decision to speak at Invesco Field at Mile High, a 76,000-seat football stadium, could add hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs to already cash-strapped news divisions. Each network has budgeted millions to cover the political conventions, but that spending is already accounted for in specific costs ranging from hotel rooms to staffing to building convention platforms.

The, ahem, money quote.

“It’s an historic event, obviously,” said a network executive. “But everybody is working on a very tight budget.”

The poor, poor networks; the networks that make money hand over fist, the networks that moved their news operations into their entertainment or sports divisions, those same networks who think that spending money on your business is hard on their bottom line.

Do you really think these sellers of soap, these makers of immense quarterly profit, these moguls of mainstream thought, really have your best interests at heart? Heh

Wikipedia reminds us that today is the anniversary of the Burr-Hamilton duel in Weehawken, New Jersey. The view from the bluffs is spectacular. Too bad that on this day in 1804 it witnessed the death of one and the demise of the other.

Remember the Podium

Remember how in 2004 the podium at the RNCC was made to look like a cross? Seeing as McCain has problems with teleprompters and his stature is diminished by the presence of something as innocent as a lectern, I wonder what the designers will come up with this year.

By his own admission, McCain is not a great orator. He is ill-suited to lecterns (which often dwarf his small stature), and he tends to sound as if he is reading his lines, not speaking them.

Maybe they'll come up with something different this year, a windscreen designed to replicate a jet fighter cockpit, a barbecue pit arrangement or something buslike perhaps.

How dare they!

Jeers to the DNC and the Obama campaign for putting the profitability of the networks in jeopardy!
Now that Invesco Field is on the radar the networks are fretting.

This creates issues for the networks for whom the costly setup, transmission and overall operation of the first three days and nights now might mean moving production of the final night to the Denver Broncos football stadium. Workspaces, anchor locations and all that goes along with a remote network news production would have to be shuffled for the final night.

Poor bastards.

Catching up

Apparently I missed the celebration so I’ll just toss in my congratulations. Jesse Helms is dead. That’s good, I suppose. Good in that he won’t live forever and if he doesn’t perhaps the crap he peddled won’t either.

One Year

A year ago today I took possession of my first house. After many years in condos and apartments this was my first journey into home ownership. I was excited and I was anxious. In addition to the responsibilities and costs of a house there was a pool. Not just a nice small pool, but a nice deep diving pool. It didn't take long to learn about pool chemistry and algae outbreaks.

I'm not sorry I bought it although watching the housing market go to hell in a hand basket hasn't been a pleasant experience.

Dirty Hippies!

Wanna scare the majority of America's who aren't following the campaign, those who unthinkingly say that it's time for a Democrat cause dubya and his party screwed it up big time? Just do a sit-in at a Barack Obama campaign office. As suggested by Paul Rosenberg at Open Left a sit-in may be the way to finally get his attention on the FISA debacle.

One possibility is to up the pressure by sitting in at campaign offices this coming Monday. If people are truly serious about there commitment to the rule of law, this is a logical next step. Unlike other lawbreaking, civil disobedience upholds the law by willingly embracing the consequences of its actions in order to challenge injustice.

Can you hear the howling? It's the corporate media screaming "hippies", "radicals", "Chicago" and the use of just about every other imagery intended to make Democrats look immature and silly.

Protesters being dragged from an Obama campaign office, that image would for sure get the great middle's attention. Don't think it could happen? Try it in Maricopa County, almost anywhere in Mississippi or some parts of Georgia and South Carolina and watch as republicans rub their hands in glee. No, no sit-ins please. You want to pressure Obama then get to the super delegates. They have the power to get his attention, not some sit-in that may well obsure the real issues.

Breaking News

In a continuation of his move to the center/right Barack Obama’s campaign announced today that he’ll be giving his acceptance speech outdoors, in Minneapolis, at the Republican National Convention. Details to follow.

July Fourth

Hey, whattya know it’s the Fourth of July. Many folks in the US have the day off, some even with pay. There are those who will spend the day on call, salaried no doubt, and there are those who will work a full day for an hourly wage. Some of those people will get an increase in that rate to compensate for the holiday and some will be lucky their getting a paycheck at all.

We’ll all be reminded of what a great country this is and how the sacrifice of others got us all the freedoms we enjoy today; the freedom to be stupid, the freedom to ignore, and yes the freedom to wear a flag patch on our ass if we are so moved. But, those flag pins, don’t be screwing with those flag pins my friend.

As the Fourth of July approaches, six in 10 of those surveyed in a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll say sporting an American flag pin indicates that a person is patriotic…

What’s next an additional section in Title 4 of the United States Code (4 U.S.C. § 1 et seq). outlining safe pin disposal?

Will an entire industry spring up to honor worn out or frayed pins needing to be removed from public or will we dare allow citizens, and non-citizens for that matter, to dispose of our treasured flag pins as they so desire? Imagine the outrage when Islamo-facists, having scoured our land fills, secure disposed pins and hold protests where they are melted and remade into bullets.

And what of our car magnets, are they not important also? How can I honor our soldiers if I don’t have a flag pin and a flag magnet? I don’t have either. Oh noes, I’m not a patriot, I don’t love my country! Quick off to Walmart, they must have quality flag pins and magnets, don’t they?