Car trouble - Sticky Gas Pedal

I will never ever say that I'm a "man's man". I'm only mildly interested in sports, I'm not great at fixing things or building things, I don't like mowing the lawn or painting and I don't know much about cars. When it comes to cars I know where the oil goes and where the cd goes. That's all I need. Turns out this wealth of information has no use when I'm out on the road with a gas pedal that is stuck and my speed is creeping up to 50 with my foot on the brake.
I may not be a"man's man" but I can be a bit of geek and so I did my research and discovered that the car's "throttle body" is most likely filled up with crap. Off I went to Appalachian Tire to get it fixed. Waiting in line another gentleman was on his phone:

"Yer, I'm at some place getting my tires fixed or something....uh huh..yer I don't know where I am."

Strange.

Anyway, so I explained what *I* thought the problem was (in an authoritative "I know about mechanics and use terms like throttle body every day" tone) and after looking at the car they agreed with me. I was more surprised that anyone but tried to not let it show. He said "If this happens again you will need a new throttle cable". I thought it was a strange thing to say but what do I know about cars? The car was finished with in about 45 minutes and I was driving home shortly after that with a much smoother gas pedal.
Then 4 hours later, the pedal is sticking again. Is it a coincidence that he predicted it would stick again and therefore assumed I would bring it back for the new throttle cable? Or did it need a new cable all along? I guess the answer depends on my scepticism about mechanics. It's due an oil change anyway so perhaps when I take it to another mechanic this weekend all will be revealed. I just wish I could have taken "shop" in school.

Growing up

I was discussing the issue of growing up yesterday. What does it mean in today's world? Should we be measured by what our parents were doing at our age or has the world began spinning so fast that it is no longer fair to compare? I have lots of questions about it as I struggle to admit that I need to somewhat grow up (notice I've already downplayed my responsibility with a "somewhat" clause ;-) ). I mean when my parents were in their mid-twenties they already had one child and a house. Is that as likely today? Should I be playing video games still and getting online to email, answer quizzes, read the news and blog? My parents certainly didn't do that and I doubt their parents would approve either. Instead of looking to our parents for guidance, then, should I look to my peers? Well, some are married and some aren't. A few have children. Some play video games. Some like comic books. Others are constantly on their cell phones while some play beer pong and visit taco bell regularly. "Growing up" should, therefore, be more about the responsibilities ones takes on or has to accept. Like paying bills, taking care of your home, being moderate in your behavior, making car payments, keeping your checkbook balanced and being respectful towards your partner. That means that it can still include playing video games, sleeping till 1pm at the weekends, watching Postman Pat on HBO Family and reading comic books ;-) Woohoo!

As the old Irish proverb goes:

You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.

Friday thoughts

Have you seen those E-harmony adverts? It's the one were it shows a girl then a boy talking about when they joined and "found love" and then shows the happy couple together. I'm not certain whether or not it's a REAL couple but it's often pretty cheesy but I think there is one thing that gives it away. The people in the adverts look like models looking into one of those crazy, distorted mirrors at the fair.

Everywhere I go, recently, there are signs up about the importance of hand-washing and how it will prevent SARS. I thought the SARS scare had died out a long time ago. I guess that shows how much I was paying attention. The soaps usually available scream at us "Kills 99.9% of all bacteria". It's like the age old diet coke complaint "If they can make it only 1 calorie why can't they make it 0 calories" or in this case "why can't it kill 100% of bacteria". That .1 percent may be the cause of SARS! I don't mind that it doesn't kill 100% so much as that what do all the other soaps that I've used throughout my entire life do? What percentage have they been killing? Like 20%? 5%? .1%? Was I better off just rubbing my hands "clean" on my pants?

WV Blog chat - with RedZeppelin - Part 1

In an attempt to get to know other bloggers better and try my interview skills I decided to have a one-on-one with RedZeppelin from Destination Unknown. Strangely, we end up discussing a Margaret Thatcher, Pam Anderson, what a good blogger should be and another WV blogger. Here is what happened:


Allclick: Greetings
RedZeppelin: hey
Allclick: Thank
you for indulging in my new way to create blog posts without putting in any real effort.
RedZeppelin: haha
Always glad to help without putting forth an effort myself.
Allclick: yes, I noticed on your blog that you have resorted to coping text from fiction now.
RedZeppelin: hehe
I figure as long as I keep at least a 2:1 ratio of my words to theirs I'm ok.
Allclick: I always thought it was odd that plagiarism is a sin, but imitation is the most sincere
form of flattery.
So what got you into the whole "blogging" thing?
RedZeppelin: Boredom?
Actually I was looking for a creative outlet in my otherwise humdrum life.
Blogging seemed like a nice way to express -- whatever needed expressing.
How about you?
Allclick: I guess I wanted to share things that were interesting to me, or that I found funny, and gain other perspectives about it. I hopefully wanted to make others laugh or gain some inspiration or think about something just a little harder
RedZeppelin: Ah, an optimist!
I gave up on making people think or reconsider their positions years ago.
Allclick: I think I still have the same aim but now just use it
as my own venting post.I write it on my blog so I don't have to dwell on the issue in my head any longer.
haha yes I'm an eternal optimist struggling to be a realist.
RedZeppelin: Most people cling to their beliefs like a shipwreck victim clings to a life preserver.
Allclick: that's very true!
RedZeppelin: There is far too little doubt today.
Allclick: I think with the posts that you have on your blog, though, you ARE making people think. Whether they want to or not. And whether you want them to or not! ha
Can you explain the "too little doubt" any further?
RedZeppelin: Well, people find news/op-ed sources -- a cable news channel, radio talk show, opinion blogs, news websites, etc. -- that always agree with them, assuring that they're only
going to hear or see opinions they share. That makes them feel good because the last thing they want to do is be exposed to a well-argued contrary opinion, because then they might have to consider for a moment that their position might be wrong. So hearing nothing but agreeing opinions all their lives they begin to feel certain that theirs is the only correct position, leaving no room for debate. When there is no doubt there is no room to learn. In order to learn anything you have to have some doubt in your own knowledge, or lack thereof. That makes you willing to accept new information that might change your opinion.
Allclick: I see what you mean. It IS comfortable to read articles that "prove" that one's opinion is the right one to have. I think that the comments section on News articles online has become so popular because it's satisfying when someone else can describe your argument but in a much better way.
RedZeppelin: True. But the problem is we NEED to be exposed to contrary beliefs. Even if it doesn't change our mind it makes us better thinkers by forcing us to reinforce our existing opinions. But the problem is we're moving the opposite way. Despite the full spectrum of opinions available at the click of a mouse, people are choosing only the information that agrees with them.
Allclick: Do you think that opinions can change in any circumstance?
RedZeppelin: Certainly! Smart and/or open-minded people will often change their opinions because they're always taking in new information. Unfortunately when a politician does it it's called waffling, a derogatory term.
Allclick: I think bloggers are almost of a different breed. I mean that they are likely to be more open to different opinions and seek out alternatives to what they have established.
Not that there aren't exceptions to that rule of course
RedZeppelin: In some cases, yeah, but some simply add to the echo chamber of concurring opinions.
Allclick: So how does one go about finding contrary opinions?
RedZeppelin: It's hard not to find them.
Read op-ed columns in newspapers you don't usually read. If someone makes a comment on your blog disagreeing with you and they have a blog, check it out. Opinions are the easiest things to come by on the net (aside from naked pictures of Pam Anderson). The problem isn't finding them, it's continuing to read them. Some of the best blog posts I read were by our pal Jedi Jawa when he was in full pro-Hillary Clinton mode. I despise Hillary, but it interested me to read comments from someone passionately for her. I'm sure you've changed your mind on big issues before.
Allclick: and these pictures of Ms. Anderson can be located... where?
RedZeppelin: My hard drive? Oh, wait.
Allclick: That's what I really enjoy about blogging. The comments and finding other bloggers who may agree but in a slightly different way, or completely disagree. Or at least find someone who is passionate enough about the same topic to share any words.
RedZeppelin: Yeah. By the way, I don't want to come off holier than thou. I can be as guilty as the next when it comes to staying in my comfort zone and reading concurring opinions. It's very uncomfortable reading opinions that are contrary to yours.
Allclick: I don't remember reading those posts (on Jedi-Jawa's blog) but I can understand the interest. It is always interesting to read articles about something the author is obviously passionate about even if it's cloud formations or hot dogs. Especially if it is an opposing view to your own.
Too late, Mr Holier than thou
I'm just trying to think about any big issues that I have changed my mind about. I can't think of a good example now but I'd say my views on immigration have changed a whole lot in the last 2
years. I tend to form an opinion on most matters but feel safe in discussing the idea and keep myself open to other view points.
RedZeppelin: And you still hate the Dutch, right?
Allclick: passionately. even the phrase "going dutch" or "dutch courage" gives me shivers.
So what do you look for in a good blog?
RedZeppelin: Naked pictures of Pam Anderson.
Allclick: Is that because you despise Pam Anderson and need to research opposing viewpoints?
RedZeppelin: Exactly.
Aside from that, a sense of humor. A blogger who doesn't take themselves too seriously. Someone who interacts with comments.
And naturally someone who blogs about things I'm interested in.
--------------

Time for a laugh?

Did you manage to catch the premiere of SNL this weekend? I caught the last sketch. If only I could remember what day it is on. Turns out it was its best season premiere since 2001 and the most watched SNL since 2002. A few writers have speculated the reason such as Tina Fey returning to the show to play Sarah Palin and that the host was Michael Phelps. These seem like pretty poor reasons for tuning in. Here's why:

a) I had no idea Tina Fey would be on the show, and was not surprised to find out she did appear as Sarah Palin (have you ever wondered why you never see the two of them at the same time?). So extrapolating from my information about me I can deduce that other people might also be unaware/unsurprised that she was on the show.

b) Michael Phelps, while very talented in the pool, has no acting or comedic experience (that I know of or that was evident in the last sketch I saw). Watching him talk about his experiences and training in an interview would be entertaining but watching him try and act could potentially be painful. Therefore, could he really be that much of a draw? Maybe in Baltimore.

I tend to think the real reason for the large audience is partly the fact that it's election season for el presidento and mostly because people need a good laugh. America has been hit by a couple of major hurricanes recently, there is serious trouble on Wall Street, the housing market is in serious decline, gas prices are "soaring" and television has sucked over the last 4 months. It's no surprise that folks are tuning in to watch a show that says "Hey, we understand what's going on at home, at work, at school. It sucks and here is why it's funny". Plus, who can resist McGruber.

News Roundup

1. Walgreens opens a new Hurricane store.
Perhaps in light of Ike landing down in Texas they could have rephrased the headline of this. Anyway, I had seen many adverts was Walgreens and wondered what the heck it was. I suppose I'll be able to find out now because of the new Hurricane and Huntington Walgreens. It's nice to see business growth in Putnam county but is there really a need for another pharmacy or another car dealership? Mayor Edwards seems to be pleased with the new Arby's and Taco bell that are being built alongside the new KFC but when are real restaurants going to be built in that area? If the only place to eat outside of the home is Taco Bell, KFC or Arby's I wouldn't be surprised to see the obesity levels increase. Why don't they put in an Outback, Longhorn, Chili's, O'Charleys? Somewhere where you can sit down and eat with your family or hang at the bar and watch "Footbaawwwl". Thanks Major Edwards but keep trying.

2. WV Bans School Bus Drivers Cell Phones
I'm not a parent but if I were I'd be pretty happy about this. The only thing I wouldn't be happy about is that it had taken so long to happen. So previously drivers in charge of 30(ish) kids safety would be operating a large vehicle while chatting to their buddies, with only one hand on the wheel? It would be hard enough concentrating without using the phone.

3. City Council awards paving contract (Herald Dispatch)
Yay. At last some of those road in Huntington are getting paved. 4 miles doesn't seem like a lot but I have a better idea. Instead of all the 26 separate projects (290 feet on one street, 1140 feet on another etc) just take that 4 miles of paving and fill in every single pothole. It should work out about even.

Something about Socialism

What is the deal with "Socialism"? It sure sounds like a nice word doesn't it? It even has the word "social" in it and everything with an -ism makes it sound way more fancy yet still there is an almost allergic reaction that takes place whenever the word is mentioned. I'm still not entirely sure why except the fact that people seem to associate it with Communism and Big Brother (not the TV show) type governments controlling everything. So, I asked my pal Mr. W. I Kipedia and found a heck of a long article that I wasn't much interested in. I instead narrowed my focus to socialized medicine *groan*.
Until I came to the states I had never even heard the UK's National Health System (NHS) refereed to as "Socialist" and it still makes me chuckle when I do hear it because it's said through gritted teeth. But the more I read about "Socialized medicine" the more I had to agree with Mr. Kipedia that it *SHOCK* already exists in the U S of A *SHOCK*. I know of more than one veteran who happily receives all their medicine and health needs from the local VA. A government run health care facility that is paid for by...taxes. Medicare and Medicaid can also be included in that they are a publicly funded system. Or so I am told.
As I delve deeper in the jungle of American culture like a confused, drunken explorer with a blindfold I wonder more and more about these kinda things. I don't really see where the problem is with adopting a complete health care system for all. In the current system Veterans, low-income parents, children, seniors, and people with disabilities are currently taken care of, potentially, by socialized medicine but apparently the rest of society does not deserve health care from the government. I suppose the wealthy few among us can afford to pay for private health care, as is sometimes the norm in other countries, so it is up to the individuals who are in the middle ground to fend for themselves.
The only problem with adopting this system is the taxes have gotta go up. Yes, yes I know. Taxes suck. But it's better than paying endless medical bills, paying for ambulances (this still surprises me) and emergency care as well as your health care insurance. I can almost hear the simultaneous clicking of a thousand mouses* closing the browser at this point and I doubt I'll sell anyone on the idea. But it's worth a bit of a deeper thought. Well this liberal aka limey thinks so anyway.

*probably more like 3 based on my current site meter count.

And back to the point

Well I'm going to wade out of politics and elections as that really isn't my strong point...and instead lets talk about sci-fi. Something that I do have a passion for. But first...

I watching tv the other night when the missus had put the FX channel on. A staple in their movie selection seems to either be X-men or I-robot and luckily this evening it was the latter. As we enjoyed the end of the movie I leaned over to Ms. Allclick and said "You know, this is nothing like the book". She wasn't interested in knowing that and I don't blame her, there was really no response. So, I began thinking about the nature of blogs and where the content comes from, as I frequently do. An obstacle for me sometimes is that I'll have a topic that I want to blog on, then I'll speak to someone about that issue, get it out of my system and forget about. In this instance, I didn't speak to Ms. Allclick about it so I get to share it on my blog. In other words, a discussion I didn't want to inflict on people I know gets to be read by people I don't. I wonder if that is true of other bloggers. They cannot find an audience at home for their thoughts and opinions so it gets voiced digitally.

On the other hand, I sometimes rant and rave about an issue to the other half and then end up venting some more on here but with a better perspective/stolen argument/bitter rage.

Seems I didn't get to mention much about sci-fi. If I don't get a chance to tell anyone in person about Issac Asimov, I'll be back.

The Dis-United States of November

I caught a part of the RNC last night. Mostly Sarah Palin's speech as I was attempting to read "Duma Key". As I listened to the whoops and cheers I couldn't help but think how divided the country will be come November. I mean, even after the election. Those on the "losing side" are going to feel alienated. Left out by their own country. Like their rights have been tossed aside. This feeling can only be increased by the spin doctoring and bad mouthing that each party do against each other. It's not "let the best man win". It's "make the worst guy stand out". I really hope I'm wrong but for some people there is going to be bitter resentment.

Why even have this division into parties? Why not every year whoever wants to become president forms their own party. I wonder who I can send this suggestion to.

This week...

I have been mostly playing: Resident Evil 2. Great stuff.

So little time

Thought I'd put in a brief appearance on my own blog to say that I'm still alive, just haven't found the time/inspiration/effort to put in a decent post for a while! Hopefully I can be back on it soon but from now until Christmas will be uber crazy for me. I'm hoping the time will pass quickly but at the same time feel guilty for wishing away the next 4 months of my life. Sometimes I get out of blogging because I feel like I haven't anything that I wish to share on my blog. Sure, I have plenty of opinions I could throw out but sometimes the effort of articulating your thought just right is a heavy burden. So, for now I'll just keep to reading other blogs and leaving sarcastic comments! Yay!

The things people do

I visited one of my favourite places yesterday. The Chinese buffet. A fantastic invention if you ask me. It really opened my world to Chinese food, the first time I tried it, as I could go up and try a little of everything (well most things) and then see what I liked. It's far too easy to eat way too much though. At one buffet I saw that they weigh the food if you are taking it out from the buffet to eat at home. They should weigh everyone on the weigh (haha - way) in and then charge them depending on how much food they ate.

Anyway, isn't it annoying when you are settling down to eat a nice meal and you just want peace and quiet when someone decides to start and continue an argument at another table? I mean she was really mad about something. I would be surprised if she even took time to ea her food in between breathing and arguing. I say "arguing" but it was more of an angry monologue than anything. I am old fashioned or is it just best to keep that kinda thing behind closed doors? At least for the sake of the other diners if not yourself? Perhaps she was frustrated at the lack of MSG's.

Friendship

Isn't friendship a difficult thing to manage? After playing "The Sims" video game I often wish that I had a way of finding out how close I was to someone and how close they were to me, simply by reading a bar with a number on it. It would be really easy to tell when someone didn't like you. "Oh, I see I met Dave the other week and he seemed like a pretty nice bloke *checks relationship number* crap. I like Dave 45 out of 100 and he feels -10 towards me." Much, much simpler.

When I was at school I tended to have a lot of acquaintances and people who I liked and who liked me but never really had a close group of "friends". I could tolerate being in a group of people and was accepted but I could only ever feel close to one person at a time. Today I still have a great friend from my High school days and he is able the only person I wanted to stay in touch with. He has always been there for me, we have a lot in common, a similar sense of humour. He even wants to travel over here to visit.

When I went to University for my undergrad, I didn't know anyone and no one knew me. It was like a fresh start. I ended up meeting and gaining a large group of people I considered my "friends". They cared about me, looked out for me, respected me and importantly made an effort in our relationship to spend time with me and want to spend time with me. One of my closest male friends would always ask me to join him no matter what he was doing, he would listen to my stories and crazy ideas and support me when I needed it. I hope I did the same for him.

I lived with three guys. It was actually a surprisingly clean house and we didn't allow parties...mainly because we didn't want to clean up anyone else's crap. I lived with them for three years and so we were able to get pretty close. One night about 6 years ago now I was out clubbing with my friends and housemates. I was on an upper balcony and was gesturing with my bottle of beer over the rail. Turns out the security guard under me wasn't too impressed and raced up to quickly escort me out of the building. I wasn't too happy about that at all and felt pretty alone and embarrassed out in front of the club. I started the long walk home. I was maybe 40 feet away from the building and I hear my name being called out behind me. It was one of my housemates. We walked home together, grabbed some food and chilled out at home. It was totally unexpected and still means a lot to me today, that someone would give up their evening (and it about 9pm or so) to keep me company, not desert me and cheer me up.

For the last couple of years I've struggled with friendships. Being miles away from my old friends makes it difficult to keep a good relationship going. Thankfully we now have emails and text messaging and skype (and yes I do remember a time before these inventions) but still that human presence can mean and do more than 100 emails or texts or phone calls. When I meet new people now it's almost like I'm starting off at a disadvantage. Investing in a new friendship is something which I feel I have to do so I can have that sense of trusting someone (who isn't Ms. AllClick, my best friend) and knowing that when I'm sick someone cares, or when I have a happy moment I have someone to share it with. So I feel I'm at a disadvantage because the people I meet already have friends and best friends and well established relationships. They don't need to put the effort into a friendship with me as if it doesn't work out it's no big deal to them. They have "Bob" they have known for 15 years from high school or "Dave" they used to work with 20 years ago.

What I liked about going to University for my undergrad was that everyone I met was in the same situation as me. On their own. So there was that desire and need for relationships. I haven't seen that near as much with my grad degree.

So to finish I recommend getting in touch with an old friend. Maybe their "Sims"-esque friendship bar is still 100 with you even though you think it's a 50.

Lego Star Wars: The Video Game

After finally completing "Resident Evil" with Chris and Jill, I had a chance to crack open my Lego Star Wars video game on the pc. Two words. Awe. Some. It's easy to get started, the controls are simple, the game play is incredibly fun and it's challenging but doable! The two player drop in action means that you can play alongside your spouse, son, daughter, grandma and they can take a break while you still light saber your way through the levels. There are plenty of hidden items and bonuses so that even after you complete the game in one weekend and a Monday you will still want to go back and find the other 20 characters you missed when you played it through the first time. It sticks pretty close to the main storyline of the movies and is actually more enjoyable in Lego that it was on the silver screen. Heaps of fun.

Did you know...

Did you know that according to recent statistics a 5th of America's population is a direct descendant of Brangelina?

304blogs.com

Can you say 304blogs.com three times, quickly? Yer, me too. It's pretty easy. I just wanted to give a big shoutout to the site. It kinda pools together all of the best blogs in West Virginia into one handy-dandy place! Thanks for the add, guys.

Where's my rights?

For some reason the title of my post has me singing "Where is my mind?" by the Pixies. Weird. Anywho, people who know me know that I can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke. So generally i'm pleased when I hear about smoking bans because it means I can go places and not have to smell the smoke or breathe any in. I have nothing against the smokers in general and would be quite happy if smoking only affected the one with the cigarette. It seems that it's a pretty prickly issue over in Kanawha county, however, in that bar owners feel they are losing business. Smokers feel like it's their right to smoke where they please and non-smokers feel like it's their right to breathe in fresh air. What a pickle. I read through some of the comments on the news article and wanted to reprint this one which I thought was particully articulate:

Smokers choose to participate in a lifestyle that shortens their life expectancy as well as the life expectancy of those around them. As a human being it is my right and the right of every other patron to be able to go into a bar or restaurant without the fear of being bombarded by a hazardous environment. The minute smokers enter a bar they immediately "own" the air inside the bar simply because there is no way to contain cigarette smoke. Since this smoke has been proven hazardous, and the bar owner has given up his/her rights to the air inside the establishment, it is the duty of the government to stand for the basic human rights of the non-smokers. Don't like it? Stop smoking. It won't kill you if you do.

Thanks to "Allen" whoever you may be.

The first to be last

I was disappointed to hear about the latest statistics for business in West Virginia. Apparently WV is the worst state in the country for business. How can that be so? We told everyone we were "Open for Business" right? Even worse than being 50th this year is the fact that we have held this title for two years running. Add to this trophy another; WV is ranked last in the U.S. for it's legal system by Institute for Legal Reform and considered a "Judicial Hellhole" by The American Tort Reform Foundation.

This kinda thing is way out of my usual zone of reading but when you want the best for the state it's kinda important to me to know the facts. I can't really give an analysis of the problem or a solution. So, instead here is a lawyer joke:

The devil visited a lawyer's office and made him an offer. "I can arrange some things for you, " the devil said. "I'll increase your income five-fold. Your partners will love you; your clients will respect you; you'll have four months of vacation each year and live to be a hundred. All I require in return is that your wife's soul, your children's souls, and their children's souls rot in hell for eternity."The lawyer thought for a moment. "What's the catch?" he asked.

Just 'cause it's Friday

"Cheers!"

10 things never to say to a West Virginian (ish)

Some things I've learned never to say to a West Virginian through trial and error:

1. "I can't wait until they get rid of those Mountains. More coal the better if you ask me."
2. "So, do you live near Lynchburg, or Roanoke?"
3. "I hear owning a gun and/or hunting is a way of hiding homosexual feelings."
4. "Those Ohioans sure know how to drive!"
5. "Why do you all talk funny?"
6. Do not mention "Deliverance". Or say "Georgia, my ass" after mentioning it.
7. "That Senator Byrd is full of himself, isn't he? What has that old codger ever done for the state?"
8. "Open for Business".
9. "Coleslaw? On a Hot Dog?!?"
10. " 'Course we need higher gas taxes. Joe Manchin's gotta pay for that new east wing on the mansion somehow!"
10.2. "So, this is West Virginia, huh? Where do I pick up my free degree?"

Low-tech meets High-tech

Isn't it great when the world turns full circle. A bit like buying flares and skinny ties in the 70's and then being able to dig them out and still look semi cool and fashionable 30 years later. It's especially great when you can use some old discarded technology and meld it into a solution to a modern problem. Simply take your low-tech cassette CD converter tape from the 90's (pick one up on ebay for about $3 if you foolishly tossed yours out with the Discman):

Aka "Old and Busted"

And insert into your car's cassette player (unless of course you bought one of those fancy modern automobiles and upgraded to a CD player - like a fool, Mr La-de-da). Then insert the prongy end into your MP3 player of choice and start playing the hits. Problem solved.

Summer Drought

Last summer I posted a blog post about the lack of water in the Teays Valley area because the reservoir had run dry. They ended up driving(?) in truck loads of water. Strange. Driving through the area recently I find myself worrying again about the low level in the reservoir. I mean guess who has to pay for those trucks to drive(??) that water in? That's right, the water users. Despite any attempts by the water company to educate and promote or enforce water conservation. Anyhoo, at the moment the reservoir looks like crap. I mean it is honestly ugly. Murky, brown, muddy water. Lots of debris. Some sort of pump-boat that is half sinking. Hardly a "tourist trap" or even something pleasant to look at for anyone in the city park. This could be a really nice area for people to go and enjoy but instead the city is too busy catering for mega food marts and car dealerships. Still, at least that new Arby's will be built soon.

Gone Baby Gone

The great thing about cancelling your subscription to Blockbuster Total Access is that when you do resubscribe a few months later you have a dozen of decent movies to rent. Such as...Gone Baby Gone.

The title kinda put me off this movie before I even knew what it was about. Sounded like a chick flick in which someone weeps about their loved one leaving them and then Patrick Dempsey appears. Fortunately there was no sign of McSteamy at all. Or is he McDreamy? Thankfully I can not answer that.

This movie is all about a kidnapping of...well a kid. It really is about a baby that is gone. Ben Affleck's debut as director actually is surprisingly decent. Set in a neighbourhood in Boston, two private detectives are asked to investigate a missing child despite major police and media involvement. Casey Affleck is the lead and carries the story well. The story is well paced, has enough twists and turns to keep you interested and reveals more about the Boston underworld and human nature than a simple kidnapping movie. It is clever and disturbing at times. Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris also put in some solid performances and Michelle Monaghan probably would have fared better if her character actually had more to do. A convincing thriller.

Water Verdict: Good for...ummm..drinking

So here we are 2008 and we still don't know what the heck water does to our body or how much we really should be drinking. 8 glasses is it? 2 liters? What about if I'm on a diet? What about if I am pregnant/trying to lose weight/was drunk last night/have been out in the sun/did a lot of exercise this morning/don't like water? Who knows. Turns out though that we've been doing it wrong. This article from the BBC recommends that people should drink "only when thirsty" and not to overdo what you are comfortable with. I'm pleased to hear it. It also says that the whole "science of detox is unsupported by evidence". Intriguing stuff. I hope no-one tells this to the multi-million dollar industry the bottled water market has now become.

The Dark Knight

Well I just had to write a little about this movie. It was an absolute epic and not just due to the 2 hour and 40 minutes of roll time. A roller coaster of emotion. A perfect mix of story, dialogue, characters and action all melded into one. Don't be fooled by the PG-13 rating. The story alone is way too involved to be comprehended by kids and there won't be enough action sequences and "hero" moments to keep them entertained. For the mature adult, however, there is a goldmine of enjoyment waiting to be uncovered.

Fantastic performance from the late Heath Ledger who takes a familiar character and makes him his own. It's a dark, disturbing but complicated villain who is both a genius and insane at the time. Aaron Eckhart is also perfectly cast as Harvey Dent. Gotham's white knight. He brings an air of politician, cop and gentleman all rolled into one as well as a darker side. The fact that both these two characters alone have so much detail in the character should show you the complexity of the movie. Gary Oldman also does a great job as Chief Gordon. Compare him to his roles in Leon umm I mean The Professional and The Fifth Element (two of my fav movies) and it illustrates his versatility of playing the smart and humble guy. Much more praise and focus should be given out to The Batman himself, Christian Bale.

Unfortunately there is not enough Bruce in this movie. Just a few rare glimpses of him. His back story was firmly established as the focus of Batman Begins and so now we see a more subtle development of his character. Bale seems to be suffering from his own success in that having always put in great performances and not been recognized means it is now hard to label a current performance as Oscar worthy as he always has had high standards. I suspect he may earn one of those "this movie wasn't great but you have been a great actor in a lot of other movies so here is an Oscar" Oscars that actors get after a while in the movie biz.

Another odd thing about the movie is that it is all so...light. Especially compared to Batman Begins. I wonder if this is to subtly show the change in Gotham from crime ridden to practically crime-free. It is hard to tell. It doesn't really affect the movie either way so I give my full recommendation in going to see this. You will not be disappointed.

When the highly paid continue to be well paid

I read in the news today that a WVU official has taken a $50,000 pay cut after the degree scandal. Instead of earning $135,000 he will now only earn $85,595. I suppose that second home in the Florida Keyes will have to wait a couple of years. At least he can relax knowing he's making at least 3.5 times the average West Virginian.

Thank goodness for spoiler alerts

Thank you IMDB.com. Reading through the plot keywords on movies I was interesting in seeing was spoiling the film completely for me. I'm so glad you have made them into a spoiler so that I will only see them when I roll my mouse over them. If it wasn't for this action I might have accidently discovered that in the film "Jaws" for example there is:

Female Rear - Nudity - Famous Opening Theme - One Word Title - Gore - Breasts

and reading these plot keywords: *possible spoiler ahead*

One Man Army - Girl Power - Insanity - Gangster - Atmospheric

Would have completely spoiled the new Batman movie.

Movies movies movies

I see TFG has been catching up on some summer flicks! Whilst I have not had the chance to see Wall-E or Hancock yet, I will be off to see some Hellboy II action this weekend. I finally got around to seeing the first movie a few weeks ago and loved it. Del Toro is really bringing an art form back into movies.

Other movies on my "Must-see at the movies" list include (but are not limited too):

The Dark Knight - (of course. Possible Oscar nod for the late Heath Ledger but Christian Bale needs one soon, right?)

X-Files - (Ms. AllClick really wants to see this. I'll want to see it but I'm a little scared it won't live up to it's potential)

The Mummy 3 - (It will be fun, won't it?)

Star Wars: Clone Wars (I actually thought that this looks pretty darn good!)

Pranxiety

I'm almost certain I've mentioned this before but today I had a good example of Pranxiety. Pranxiety is basically procrastination because you are afraid of what the outcome will be when you do something. It's the anxiety of "I need to do (x), but when I do that I'll know whether or not (y) is true/false/broken/upside down/yellow etc".

For example, putting off calling a hotel because you know that if you do call you will find out the truth that the room that you really wanted is no longer available (that was available last time you called) and that not having that room is awful and will ruin your vacation. Of course, the cycle then begins as you feel more anxiety about calling you therefore delay calling, and then the chances of the room actually being taken increase and you feel even further anxiety about finding out whether this is true or not.

Does that sound familiar?

Well, at last I finally made a call that I had been putting of due to Pranxiety and...it turned out fine. If I had of made the call a month ago I would have saved myself a month of feel Pranxious and probably could have enjoyed myself a little more than I did. If it had of turned out not fine at least I would have known and changed my plans accordingly and still not worried about it. The important thing is though, that Pranxiety does not help a situation, but making a decision and following it through can save a whole lot of worry.

I just need to remember that next time.

The price of gas in the UK

Now, I'm not a car buff by any standards so I need a hand on this one. I was looking through the British headlines and found this cool little article about the "Top 10 most economical cars". At number 3 is the Mini Cooper. Nice little car but it states it does around 72.4MPG. I flick over to the American headlines and find this little article about the "EPA's Fuel Economy Leaders". And now the Mini Cooper is only managing 28/37 MPG. I'm fairly certain that a mile is a mile is a mile. Perhaps it's the Gallon part....

Yes..it is. I figured it out. A UK Gallon is about 1.2 US Gallons.

So to use this new found knowledge lets take a look at gas prices..as I get asked this a lot..

Price of gas in WV today $4.00 for one US Gallon (for ease).
Price of gas in Hertfordshire, England £1.24 (GBP) for one Litre (UK)

1 Litre (UK) is the same as 0.26 US Gallons.

so 3.85 Litres (UK) = 1 US Gallon (roughly)

so £4.78p (GBP) for one gallon of gas here.

Which is $9.42 for one gallon of gas.

Phew. I guess that sounds about right. But remember the average wage in the UK is £23,607. (around $45,000 in 2002) compared to average wage in the US ($38,651 (2006)). And cost of living differs too, though I can't find some hard stats to prove that :-p AND we've been paying around that amount for..well years and years.

Still the articles are worth reading because with the rapid decline of trucks and SUV's thanks to the "soaring gas prices" we may be seeing a lot more of these economical vehicles from Europe and more of the ones that are already here.

Have you noticed how much the news like to use the same phrases...like "Soaring gas prices" or Pain at the pump".

Going skateboarding in Milton? Grab your wallet

Looks like the people of Milton have a thing against skateboarders. Hope that isn't an area of choice for you, Jackie. $50 is a little steep and who has to pay it? The skateboarders? The parents? Plus you have your 'board impounded for 30 days. I can see now the Milton officers practicing their Nollie kickflips and tailslides outside the station.

I used to love getting out on my skateboard. It was a really cheap and crappy skateboard that really was just a "show" board in that it was designed to look good not actually function very well. Toys R Us probably still makes it. So, it was easy to just stand on the thing and head down hill but trying to turn the thing usually resulted in bloody knees and a scolding from my mum. I'd love to start up again someday but I'm not into all that Vert ramp stuff. I'd just do mad street skills like my main man Rodney Mullens.


Rodney Mullen - Funny home videos are a click away

Finding your blogging niche

I have amazingly been blogging for over a year now and racked up over 200 posts. I never knew I had so much to say. I still kinda feel like I haven't found my niche yet and I don't know why. Perhaps I just like change, I enjoy throwing out different topics, styles, themes. Perhaps I get bored quickly with posting the same kind of thing. Or maybe I like to challenge myself to be original within the realm of my own blog. Perhaps after another year I will know. I suppose one never actually needs a niche. It's my own online web log so I can do as I please with it. In a way that is the niche.

Anyone know what happened down by the river in H'town today? Saw three police cars, two fire trucks an ambulance and the rescue boat. It shot across to the other side of the river and picked up a shirtless dude. Wsaz were there so i'll guess it will be on the news tonight. Whatever it was.

Outside the comfort zone

I have decided today to take a stroll outside my little familiar blogging comfort zone and read some unfamiliar blogs. I'll report back some findings and encourage you to take a step outside your comfort zone today and see what happens. I think i'll stick in the A's today.

Some blogs of note that I happened by:

Appalachian Greens
A Mountain Journey

Some observations:

Not all bloggers post something every single day (I'm just lucky to enjoy a group of bloggers that do).
Not all bloggers post something every month (the selfish buggers).
Not all excellent posts receive comments.
Not all blogs have to be funny to be an enjoyable read.
The amount of blogging styles is endless.

About time too...

Cor Blimey! Remember the Ocean's Eleven movies? Remember Don Cheadle and that terrible British accent.

Yer me too.

Still, it could be worse.

Scaremongering

I'm sorry to hear about a teen dying today down in Atlanta. They had scaled a couple of 6-foot fences and entered the restricted area of one of the roller coasters. A dangerous, but deliberate move. What upsets me is the way the AP decided to end the story:

"A teenager's legs were severed when cables snapped on the Superman Tower of
Power ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville in June 2007."

I mean what has a mechanical failure/complete accident have to do with this story? Yes, it was at six-flags and yes it was also tragic but mentioning it is like apples and oranges. To me it feels like scaremongering, basically telling the public: "Roller coasters are dangerous and you'll probably die or have your legs cut off if you ride one. It happened in Atlanta, oh and by the way do you remember what happened in Kentucky? That's right. So, stay inside because it's a big scary world out there. Everyone is out to get you. Even fun, safe places like theme parks. Don't trust anyone. Except the AP of course."

/End rant

Weekend Round-up

I would say this post was in the style of a fellow blogger. But she might be extremely offended by it :-p I give her the recognition for the inspiration of trying a different style though.

I got up this morning earlier than Ms. Allclick who is still suffering from a headache from yesterday. I had to get up a little early as I wanted to get in some exercises and then head out to the animal shelter. Ive been looking for a good routine to do in the mornings and so this week I added this little number:

Looks easy doesn't it? Hurts like a knife in the chest to me.

Then I was off to the animal shelter for a couple of hours and took out a dog that was big enough to walk me. There weren't too many pets there this week so i'm glad because it means they had a lot of adoptions this week.

Saturday night we watched "Juno" and I have to admit I really enjoyed it. I was expecting for "Junebug" to get on my nerves after awhile but you sorta had to love her. Great casting and script.

On Sunday I did a few chores. Yay. We spent at least 45 minutes trying to think of something to have for breakfast that didn't involve milk or running to the store for milk. In the end Ms. Allclick found a couple of yummy Brown Sugar poptarts.

However, by the time we left the house to meet some friends to watch the Euro 2008 final we were hungry again. It didn't help that we had to expend valuable energy cleaning out the water that was in the sunroof after leaving it cracked throughout the rain the night before.

We rarely ever go to Mcdonalds. It's awful going in there and the food isn't something we crave very often but it's handy and cheap to swing by and pick up a couple of double cheeseburgers. We ordered and pulled up to the food window and then were told "You might have to wait a while, someone just ordered 20 double cheeseburgers". Hmm. I wasn't too happy. Ms Allclick even quipped "We paid $3 for food and spent $6 in gas waiting for it". How true. I peered all around the parking lot for the 20 cheeseburger lardass but couldn't spot them. Eventually we received our surprisingly greasy food and we were on our way.

The game was fairly good. Some great football was played but there were no red cards, only one goal, no penalties, no really threatening free kicks or corners and the Spanish looked more likely to score than the Germans. I guess I'm used to watching England play aka Score a goal and then defend like crazy and hope we don't let one in.

We got home Sunday night, did a few more chores and settled in to watch a couple of "Supernatural" episodes. I'll have to blog about that show another time. Then as the sun was going down it was time to play "Silent Hill" of course. The perfect ending to any weekend.

The Storm this week

Just a short little video montage thing I made of the storm this week. That noise you can hear is the rain and probably me pooping my pants a lil.

Michaelanglo's Apprentice

Today I am in a strange mood. I kinda feel like Michelangelo's apprentice. I get to watch and learn from individuals who are very skilled and talented at what they do. They chisel the big block of marble in effective ways. They make it look easy, turning their wrist here, tapping the hammer there and brushing off the dust. They start carving an arm, a leg, a face and they know where to start, where to end and what it will look like. It is so casual for them, yet demanding and tiring. Myself, the apprentice has the same tools. The same training. But I feel as I approach the marble block I will tap too hard, chisel in the wrong way and I'll take the nose off.

So I tap away at the loose parts, the safe parts and I learn from the sculptor more and more.

It is sometimes difficult to appreciate someone doing such a hard job well because they make it look so easy.

"Doesn't the bride look so youthful?"

Just read an article on wsaz.com about some marriage statistics from 2006.

Just a couple of things that stood out:

Youngest bride was 14 years old.

Youngest person to receive a divorce was a 13 years old girl.

Anyone else surprised with that? Perhaps they mean dog years.

Top 5 Video Games Ever

Playing Silent Hill reminds me of some of the best games I have ever played. Ever. It's not easy coming up with a 5 but here I go. Feel free to comment, give me your top 5 etc...

1. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2. This has been the only PlayStation game I ever played enough to give me "PlayStation Thumb". That is two incredibly sore thumbs that made it pretty difficult for me to write when it came to my Psych exam the next day. The controls were so fluid, the challenges were difficult but not impossible and their was a decent competition aspect added in as well. Two player mode was also pretty decent and added to the one player story mode meant that you could be playing this game many months after first cracking it out the box.

2. Goldeneye. This N64 beaut was just jaw-dropping. I mean getting to be Bond was a dream come true but throw in a bunch of cool weapons (like the Golden gun and double missile launchers) a story mode that followed the movie pretty well and an endlessly entertaining 4 player multiplayer mode just made this a complete package. It was worth buying an N64 just to have this.

3. Doom. The definitive first person shooter. What a cracking game. The music was awesome. That cool noise when doors open. Finding secret rooms and blowing the heck out of demons with a shotgun. Great stuff.

4. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Despite being the obvious reason for crime across the global this game really showed the world what games could be. Funny, guns, well scripted and acted, have great graphics, gameplay, realism, guns, stealing cars, and guns. Plus you basically could just run around a big old map doing what the heck you liked. Even if you didn't decide to do any missions. One of the best features was simply having the radio stations. Such a simple idea but it really helped separate this game from the rest.

5. Mariokart - SNES. Another game that I could and did play for hours upon hours. The normal races were good. You weren't going to win first time, but once you learned some tricks and strategy and could remember the course you eventually improved at a satisfying level. Yes the graphics were simple but throwing that cart around the track was just so much fun you didn't care. Again, the multiplayer aspect was such a great idea. Battling go-karts with nothing more than different coloured shells and furious skidding.

Why I should never play Silent Hill again

Due in part to the fact that I never grew up with a playstation, I am currently enjoying playing some playstation classics thanks to Ms. Allclick. She recently purchased Silent Hill and for the last few nights as the sun has set we have played this supremely creepy game. I mean just the soundtrack gets me all anxious. Things bump and bang and moan without any warning. It just plain gives me the heebie-jeebies. And we were playing it as the storm ended last night. So, you can imagine my state of mind last night as I woke up, around 3am I guess, and stumbled towards the bathroom, mostly asleep and suddenly from the shadows hearing "Hey! HEY!!!" right in front of me scaring me out of my skin. Apparently, Ms. Allclick informed me later, I flailed at her and jumped a couple of feet in the air before running away. All I know is I'm cutting down on scary video games* and buying a thermal imaging cam**.

*Note: I doubt I'll cut down on scary video games

** Note: If I do buy this it will be so I can hunt some ghosts. Sweet.

Staycations and why we never need to leave the state

Last week I received amongst the usual ton of fliers and paperwork in my mailbox, a "Vacation Guide" from the lovely folks over at the Herald and Dispatch. You may have seen it. It was a colour newspaper with stories about going to King's Island, OH, or Myrtle Beach, SC or "see this" in Kentucky, or how wonderful THAT is in North Dakota. I didn't see one story about all the wonderful things to do in West Virginia. It struck me as a little irresponsible. At a time when gas prices are high and in a state like West Virginia where we could do with some tourist dollars, doesn't it make sense to advertise the great parks, natural attractions and festivals that take place in THIS state during the summer? Why are we encouraging residents to earn money here and spend it elsewhere?

I coined (after hearing it elsewhere) the phrase "Staycation". It was probably on "The Today Show" or something but it's becoming a popular idea to enjoy your own backyard this summer. Have cookouts, go fishing, invite friends and family over. You don't physically need to be somewhere other than home to have a "vacation". It's what you decide to do with the time and who you decide to spend it with that matters. Sometimes I believe people will go on vacations simply to have something to talk about at work or with friends because no-one likes to say "Oh I just stayed home." People like to say "Yer, I went to the beach! It was awesome." When they are actually wondering how to treat that nasty sun-burn and pay off the looming credit card bill.

"So, Allclick" I hear you cry "What's the deal? Are you telling me to stay home, or go on a in-state vacation? Make up your mind, buddy!" Well actually I'm saying go enjoy West Virginia this summer but if you feel like just staying at home be proud of it and make THAT your vacation to be proud of.

Summer Movie Season

Summer is officially here! You would never have guessed it if you live in Frame, WV but Wimbledon starts today so that means it's gotta be summer! And of course if it is summer that means the summer movie season is already in full swing. I usually think of the season starting with the first weekend in May as this is typically a blockbuster weekend such as all the Spidermans and I think Ironman showed right around that time this year. Ms. Allclick and I were planning on seeing "Get Smart" but ended up staying home and watching "Lars and the Real Girl" which was a terrific movie and probably worthy of it's own post. Even without our box office support "Get Smart" was the popular choice for many Americans over the weekend and topped Kung Fu Panda and the Incredible Hulk.

In fourth place was a movie that to me looked like it was always going to fail. "The Love Guru". The adverts didn't even look funny and they are supposed to be a representation of the whole movie. Scoring a 4.3 on IMDB at the moment and I'm not in the least bit surprised. It's a real shame for Mike Myers as I think he is a funny guy. I loved So I married an Ax Murderer, the Austin Power movies (well the first two) and of course Wayne's World. Even the first Shrek was pretty decent. Justin Timberlake has had the finger pointed at him for the cause of this rubbishness but I wonder about the pairing of Myers and Troyer, who is featured heavily in the trailers. The whole "mini-me" thing was wearing thin in the Austin Power's movies and I feel that Myers should keep himself close to other funny people like Dana Carvey rather than Justin Timberlake and Verne Troyer.

It's not a career stopper that's for sure but it's disappointing to see a good talent going to waste.

Euro 2008 - Quarter Finals

Portugal vs Germany

I'm going for Portugal. They have been a strong side so far plus the German's have a few injuries. Should be a good game!

Euro 2008 Predictions Group D

Ok last of the group games today...

Group D

Greece vs Spain

Russia vs Sweden

Man it's hard to pick between Russia and Sweden... I'm going to go for...Sweden.

Euro Predictions 2008 - Group C

Well it's time for the group of death to be decided...

Holland vs Romania

France vs Italy

Euro 2008 Predictions

More predictions! I really need to total up my score but I'm sure it's pretty poor!

Group B

Austria vs Germany

Poland vs Croatia

Croatia may be resting some of their main players for this game but I still expect a win from them today!

Update: I am 4 for twelve at the moment. What a crazy tournament.

Euro 2008 Predictions 3

Ok here we go..time for some more predictions:

Group A

Portugal vs Switzerland

Czech Republic vs Turkey

Wow this is post number 200 for me :-) Who'd have thunked it.

To be an Honorary West Virginian you must

I can't remember anyone actually accepting me as an Honorary West Virginian yet. However, here is my list of "To be Honorary West Virginian you must...":

1. Remind out-of-state folks about how beautiful the foliage is in the Fall.

2. Fish. Like fishing. Have been fishing recently. Fished on a boat. Fished while standing in a river. Like talking about fishing and not snicker while saying "Rod and tackle box".

3. Respect and/or play golf. Putt-putt is not included.

4. Know all the rules to playing "Horseshoes" and be prepared to set-up a game and take off your shirt at the drop of a hat.

5. Say "O-hi-a" when referring to that state to the North.

6. Hate "city life" on the grounds that it's "too busy and too loud".

7. Be able to point out geographical features such as "crick/creek"s and "hollow/holler"s.

8. Eat a West Virginia Hot Dog. Even if you don't like 'Slaw and prefer scrambled eggs.

9. Know the lyrics to John Denver.

10. Be Wild and Wonderful rather than Open for Business.

Oh and having an ATV helps...and voting for Hilary Clinton ;-)

Overdependence

Another hot topic on my mind this week. Depending on someone too much or even letting someone depend on you too much can be a great cause for stress and anxiety. Believing that it is your responsibility to be a constant caretaker for others, providing them with money, rides, a place to stay when they are fully capable of fending for themselves can be a terrible burden. It's difficult not getting into those kind of relationships especially with close friends and family because you do always feel that need to take care of them, and sacrifice yourself for their benefit. The key is to really understand that by letting others be independent they can learn from their mistakes and therefore grow, and you can free yourself to pursue dreams, goals and be eventually be happier in life.

This also applies for that morning dependency on coffee I have. So perhaps tomorrow I'll go without, just to show myself who is boss ;-)

Euro 2008 predictions 3

*sigh* I'm not having much luck so far but here is round 3 of predictions:

Group C

Italy vs Romania

Despite a lacklustre performance against the Danes I hope they can simply out play Romania

Netherlands vs France

The Dutch look so strong and France really haven't gotten started yet.

Group D

Sweden vs Spain

Greece vs Russia

I liked the way Russia played against the Spanish side so I'm giving them my All Click thumbs up.

Euro 2008 predictions 2

Here are some more predictions:

Group A

Switzerland vs Turkey

Group B

Croatia vs Germany

Austria vs Poland

Update: Damn! Another prediction down the tube. I'm 1 for 4 now. Such a shame for Switzerland.

Update: Argh! Now Poland are winning and Germany lost. I'm 1 for 6!

For Chris James

My brother emailed me this You Tube gem this weekend. A treat for any closet Ultimate Warrior fans..and anyone who likes innuendo.

Euro 2008 Predictions 1

Speaking of Euro 2008 here is my prediction for the day, ASAT style.. I was hoping to predict the France game but I guess I'm too late :-s Winners in Red.

Netherlands vs Italy

Group D

Spain vs Russia

Greece vs Sweden

UPDATE: Netherlands thrashed Italy, Spain kicked Russia's ass, and Sweden one...so my first prediction and I'm 1 for 3.

A question of culture

I was asked last week if there was racism in the UK. I guess it was kind of strange question, but I guess they were really asking "is the racism issue as big everywhere as it is in the US". It's a question I've been asked a few times and I till really don't have an answer. Of course there is racism in the UK but I really don't remember it being an issue that is so prominent. At least not when it comes to nationalities. I've struggled to arrive at a reason for this. It could be because of the mighty British Empire of many moons ago, it may be because of our close proximity to mainland Europe and a heck of a lot of countries. It may be the flood of immigrants.

Another reason occurred to me as I sat watching Euro 2008 this weekend. Soccer is held as a national sport in England and is loved by many. What is interesting about soccer in England is that a lot of the best players are actually from other countries. I wonder what effect this has on the nation's views of those countries? Let's take Manchester United..as everyone seems to know them. In goal is Van der Saar, who is Dutch, defender Patrick Evra and Louis Saha, French, Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese, Ji-Sung Park from South Korea. This is just one squad. These international players become ambassadors for their country. In a way and the fans can be devoted to a team so much that they will respect and admire the best player, no matter where they are from.

I wonder if the NFL was built up of international players what effect it might have on the country.

D for doughnuts

Thanks to blogging buddy Redzeppelin I was reminded that it is D-day today. Commonly known as the Normandy Invasion of 1944 as allied forces attempted to liberate mainland Europe from the Nazi's during World War II. I clicked onto MSN.com as I usually do as part of my morning website ritual and lo and behold it also informs me of D-day. Doughnut day that is. And how we can celebrate National Doughnut day. If you manage to ignore the big tasty picture of a doughnut you may end up glancing below and seeing the tribute to D-day. Nice.

I had the great opportunity to visit Normandy when I was in High school as part of the school trip. It's one thing to read about how many lost their lives that day (about 2,500 allied troops..but accurate numbers are difficult to determine) and how many were causalities (about 7,500) but another thing to visit the immense cemeteries with row after row after endless row of soldiers. Stepping onto the beaches and seeing the old turrets and wall defences will be something I won't ever forget.

Insanity

Someone wise once said that insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

I agree and say that insanity is also paying to work for free.

Constantly learning

Moving to America was a big shift for me. On the surface both countries (England and USA) are similar. We speak the same language, eat the same foods, watch the same movies, TV shows and believe in democracy and equality. To some extent. However, it's a constant learning curve for me. At least every week that goes by I learn something knew and have to adjust or reflect on certain things. Like eating with just a fork. Driving on the other side of the road. Using references from American culture as I talk etc. The list really goes on and on. I am trying to be fully aware of the American culture rather than be absorbed by it and that helps me understand a lot of why things happen differently here.

I guess one big issue I'm still pretty stumped on is this:

If you support Hillary Clinton for her views, personality, and experience why would you vote for John McCain instead of Obama in the election? I really find it impossible to grasp. I may not like a person's friends or their personality but if they feel the same way I do about major topics then I'll choose them. It's pretty simple.

It's like kids in the playground choosing soccer teammates. There are three players left, two player soccer and one plays tennis. The soccer player you wanted is chosen by the other side so who do you pick? The soccer player, or the tennis player? Or do you say "I wanted THAT soccer player. No fair." And go sit in the corner and pout?

OK I may have simplified it a bit but I hope you get my point. That's my one post on politics for the year. Now for something completely different...

Persistent as a mule

Persistence is a quality that is underestimated in today's world. Some may even call it being stubborn but when it comes to overcoming one's challenges, prejudices, anger, grief, fears stubbornness isn't such a bad thing. Committing to a challenge and following it through takes persistence, it takes stubbornness. Change does not happen overnight and it certainly doesn't happen without the ability to stay focused and motivated on the task at hand. Even falling several times at a task is fine as long as you keep at it, as no-one is perfect at everything first time around. By telling yourself that you will fail, that you will give up, is simply an easy way out. Its a way of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy and its a much shorter road to failure than it is to success.

I guess when I think of persistence I remember when I was 15 years old. I loved playing frisbee. I would stand out in my street tossing a frisbee back and forth with my friend Toby for hours. Literally hours. In the sun, or in the snow. We would chat about school, about "old times", about girls, movies and good old fashioned WWF wrestling. But having that frisbee to throw around gave us a perfectly good excuse to talk about all those things on our minds. Trying to learn experience from each other.
There was a frisbee club at my school. I had failed miserably at soccer, rugby, cricket and basketball but I was pretty good at frisbee and a friend of mine invited me to come play for them. Nervous and kinda excited I went along to the first practice of the season. I sort of knew the rules of the game and was confident with my throw. Then the coach told us "newbies" there was another throw, the forehand throw and that we had to learn it and that it was not easy.
He was right about that. I tried and I tried to get that forehand right. I threw it in practise, I threw it in the street, I tossed that frisbee around my room, trying to get my grip right, trying to figure out the physics of it. Six months later it finally felt right. It sure didn't fly straight, but it felt good, it felt like the proper throw. I played for my high school team for the next 3 years, we introduced the sport to the Physical Education curriculum and I had the chance to teach plenty of other kids that forehand throw. I went on to play for my university for 3 years and was invited to train with Great Britain junior team. I knew that without my persistence I never would have made it that far.

So be persistent this week and see what you can achieve.

More Spring Cleaning

My blogs list needed tidying up/editing so I took a few mins and sorted it out. There are a few new links in there, Donutbuzz, Saved by The Torso, Picture West Virginia so check them out. As I add about 3 blogs every six months you can tell how much time and effort I spend reading blogs out of my usual "circle of comfort". So if you feel like recommending a blog to me to take a peek let me know. I'm happy to stretch my circle.

Not that I'm bored with the current bloggers of course.

Memorial day

Well it's another American holiday coming up so I thought i'd do a little bit of research (i.e. check wikipedia) and find out the skinny on this holiday. Turns out it was formerly known as Decoration Day and is always the last Monday in May. It commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service. It started as a way to honour Union soldiers who died during the American Civil War and after World War 1 it was expanded to include any who died in war or military action.

So this weekend I guess I should expect to see lots of flags, lots of cookout...and lots of cars ditched along the roadside?

Breschgate

Sounds like the Governor had a rough day yesterday. His helicopter had to make an emergency landing shortly after take off, WSAZ.com reports. He is safe and well and there isn't really that much to the story...but the comments are priceless. Whoever came up with the idea that the public could give their own opinion about the news deserves a medal. I was tempted to say "Engine light? It was probably low-fuel." or "If the Governor is a pilot, why is he paying a pilot to pilot?". I titled this post "Breschgate" as the comments allude to the scandal and because there hasn't been a "-gate" thrown into the stories about the scandal. Is it not the done thing over here? Perhaps it should be WVUgate. Or Free Degree gate. Though that sounds a little bit too much like these guys:

Overhearings 2: "Hello, is this Go-mart?"

Heard this morning at the Go-Mart on 16th Street H-town where gas is $3.99.9 still unlike the $4.19 in the rest of the city:

"We usually don't raise the gas price when it's a holiday....unless we get a phone call"

The Robins

Well here is an update at last on the Robins. They all ended up hatching successfully and flew off about 3 weeks ago! Anyhoo, I finally have the pictures so enjoy as the story unfolds...

Spring Clean

Well I decided to change my layout a few weeks ago. What do y'all think? I liked the other one, but the fact that I couldn't change the width of the posts was annoying me. My posts would look delicious in the preview and then fall to pieces on the blog. Although there is a lack of colour I like the spacing here so maybe I'll keep it for a while.

Ohio

The grass always seems greener on the other side doesn't it? Is Ohio "better" than West Virginia? Is life easier there? Is it nicer to live there? I wish I could tell you. Apparently the gas is cheaper there though. It went up to $3.89 today. The link is to WSAZ.com who like to post a lot about the cost of gas in Ohio but not really so much on the West Virginia prices. I suspect an intern types up the story, realises how high gas is and then their head simply explodes. You may have guessed I like to complain about gas prices. Overall I will nitpick about a lot of things but gas prices is a biggie for me I guess. I think what makes me more frustrated is that others aren't really complaining about it. Well, not to me at least. Although that could be because they don't want another rant from a know-it-all limey. I think what also annoys me is watching the CNN news ticker. The one that says "Gas prices reach a average record high of $3.xx" and the "Average price" is always about 15 cents cheaper than what we are paying here. Still I suppose that's the downside of living in one of the most affluent states. Would anyone like to invest in my rik-shaw business in down-town Huntington?

Guess the statement...

Picture West Virginia

A recommendation today for this newish blog. Picture West Virginia. The Moderator Bryan Stealey had the wisdom to use one of my submissions hehe. But it's worth checking out for more than that of course. Some really great articles from West Virginians which allows people like me to gain a better understanding on things that count, things going on, what being a West Virginian is like, hopes and fears and everything in between. For a mountainous state that is difficult to navigate even when gas is at a reasonable price, this is a great way to hear about new places and find out what's going on. Check it out.

Behind

Well I am way behind on blogging. After having an insanely hectic two weeks and a birthday I just haven't had the time or motivation to get a decent blog post out! I have a brief respite this week and then am probably going to be super busy again for the foreseeable future. Over the past couple of weeks, however, I have had time to watch Ironman. It was surprisingly excellent. Robert Downey Jr. was a perfect Stark and the improvisation he was allowed to bring to the film really helped the script stand out. It's up at about $150 million in ticket sales from two weeks at number one. Not too shabby considering there are a few big, tasty movies coming up. Including the new Indy flick May 22nd. You may not have noticed that one. However, anyone who has been to the store recently and wandered up the cereal aisle probably saw a thousand Indiana Jones faces staring back. There is even a special "Indiana Jones" cereal. I stuck with my bran flakes but I did stand staring at the box as I weighed a bag of sand in my hand.

I hope y'all West Virginians enjoy your voting today. Remember lil folks like me who are unable to vote and make a difference in my community. I don't really know who I would vote for anyway. Probably who ever had the funniest TV advert...i.e. not Menis Ketchum. Maybe that dude from the "Menace" Ketchum adverts though. Ramble over.

Note: Thanks to everyone who wished me luck with my interview. It went really well. I was expecting a group interview around a table but I coped and put on my most charming accent and threw in a couple of big, British words.