David's Tangled Thoughts

Hours ago, former Philippine President Corazon “Cory” Aquino died from cardiac arrest, a complication from her fight with colon cancer. Rest in peace. Cory Aquino became president after running against President/Dictator Ferdinand Marcos when called for snap elections in 1986. Marcos was declared the winner of that election but outside observers and members of the election commission accused the vote of being manipulated. A People Power Revolution occurred and Marcos was forced to flee. Although Aquino is credited with restoring democracy to the Philippines, she was a pretty ineffective president. She wanted to continue a good relationship with the Americans despite the fact that the United States had supported Marcos during his earlier years in power. The legislature, and especially the Senate, didn’t and she was unable to keep the US from being booted out of their military bases. Her peace overtures to the communist and Muslim rebels were unpopular with the conservative member

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I have a facebook buddy over in Arizona and he was tagged by one of his friends in a couple photos. In the photo album, a bunch of people were pointing to their palms. Must have been some Michiganders down there! Either that or they are doing something weird. Just for the record:

Talk about one helluva impulse buy! I was shopping/browsing at Meijer when I noticed that their stock of Star Trek toys was on clearance--50% off! I picked up this model/toy of the Enterprise for $15. I couldn’t resist. It seems odd that I am excited because I did not initially like the new version of the Enterprise . Since seeing the movie , it has grown on me. I thought about getting the store’s last phaser for $8 but I was able to hold off on that. (Granted, it took me walking half the length of the store before coming to that decision.) The model toy is fairly decent. I must commend Playmates for doing for a good job replicating the onscreen version as they usually tend to be hit and miss. The stand is pretty nifty, it’s a ball and socket so the owner can pose the ship in a number of ways. The ship also lights up. My only real complaint are the sounds it makes. They are audio clips of primarily movie dialogue. Personally, I would rather hear sound effects from the s

Hey insurance company, I probably could have used this sooner! Almost four months after my injury, I was approved for and was sent a bone stimulator. My leg hasn’t been healing as fast as was expected by the two doctors I’ve seen. I’m up and walking but the doctor that I am seeing now still wanted me to start on this treatment. I don’t know if it is working. I certainly can’t feel anything so I wonder how anyone can say that this is stressing my bone. I just strap this doohickey on for twenty minutes and let it do its thing. Hopefully Dr. R. will be satisfied the next time I see him.

After having to deal with tollroads twice this month, I thought it might be a good idea to get a transponder so that I could use electronic tolling. Had I had it, I would have been able to save quite a bit of money during my travels to DC and Chicago since some of the roads have discounted tolls when you use the transponders. I had the choice of getting I-PASS for the Illinois Tollway, I-Zoom for Indiana’s, and E-ZPass for a bunch states further east (which will include Ohio soon). All three are compatible with each other and operate together as the E-ZPass Interagency Group. Generally, having a transponder from one network will allow you to have access to the others but full benefits might not transfer. For example, a person with I-Zoom can’t park in some parking lots that accept payment from E-ZPass. For a brief moment a while back, it looked like Indiana might not have allowed I-PASS users discounts that they provide to I-Zoom users which prompted Illinois to threaten that it w

The Defense Secretary got his wish and funds for the further production of the F-22 have been stricken from the defense budget. This is a bigger news item than it should be. First of all, halting the F-22 is not going to imperil national security. Sorry to say it, but the Raptor isn’t the solution for today’s threat matrix. This is a largely symbolic action on the part of Secretary Gates and President Obama. The money slashed from this line of the budget is going somewhere else. It’s not being “saved.” And considering it is 2 billion out of a nearly 700 billion dollar budget, it wouldn’t be the biggest “savings” in any case like it is being suggested by Gates and Obama. So there you go, a punch for both the supporters and the haters of the F-22. I am biased towards the F-22. It sure is a beauty and the technology that is behind it makes my mouth water. I would love to get my hands on one of those! I think it is a shame that the program is being cut below the minimum require

The first of the blueberries are ripening. It will be another week or two before harvesting starts. In the meantime... When you live on a farm and experience fresh berries, whether they are blackberries, strawberries, red and black raspberries, or these blueberries, the stuff that are available in the store look nasty and insanely overpriced. I don't think the general public knows how much supermarkets are marking up the prices because I can promise you, farmers don't get a lot of money for the amount that they sell in the market. If you can do it, I would recommend you find local farmers because when you can buy directly from them for food that you can preserve by canning or freezing, it will be worth your time. My grandma sells a significant portion of her harvest to her repeat customers. Some of them have been dropping by her farm long before I was born. There's a a family who lives in Chicago that own a summer house here in Michigan. At least once a summer, they

I'm currently sitting on the bluffs here at the Venetian Festival waiting for the fireworks to start. It's kind of cold and I'm giving serious thought to skipping out on them. There are some new construction projects going on. They look promising. I'm not sure what some of it will be but I hope that it is recreational area. The food continues to be both crappy and expensive. At least they aren't doing the ticketing system like the last time I was here. That was a pain. People had to buy tickets and the vendors would price everything. For example, a 20oz bottle of pop would be 2 tickets, an elephant ear would be 4 tickets, a sirloin tip meal would be 10 tickets. Even though this a open event (no charge for admission or parking), it's a bitch getting out of the area. Other than the fireworks and the beach, there really isn't all that much it offers me that the county fair doesn't. Still whenever I end up here. I try to find the fun it.

I had an appointment with the doctor and I am being allowed to ditch the immobilizer. Like any I’m-a-man-I’ll-do-it-my-way kinda guy, I’ve been ahead of him for a couple weeks now. I got rid of that sucker on my DC trip because it was easier to walk around without it. However, I will be doing it without the crutches. Soon, I’ll be able to do what Lucy says . Hmm, I think that I need to buy new shoes. My right shoe is more worn down than the left. How unfortunate. [rubs hands] It wasn’t all good news though. The doctor also said that although I am healing, there a few areas that are healing as fast as he would hope I guess I will be using that bone stimulator after all. Now that I know how long to use it and how often. Tomorrow, I will brave the cold weather (the high is going to be in the sixties), and go out to the Venetian Festival. So expect some pics out of that fairly soon. Also, I plan on seeing the new Harry Potter movie. Might as well see what everyone’s talking abo

My sister came back from the Cayman Islands, my dad went to go pick her up at O’Hare . I went along for the ride. On the way through Indiana, we made sure to look out for any escaped convicts on the side of the road. Two out of three prisoners are still on the loose after escaping from the Michigan City Prison. One was caught at Chicago Mayor Daley’s summer house in Grand Beach. (Not the smartest move, there.) As we passed by the tower formerly known as Sears , I saw the new observation platforms . These glass boxes jut out so that observers, paying a pretty penny, can step out over open air and see the ground below their feet. I’d definitely would like to try that and can’t imagine it being as scary as some people have said. We also passed by Six Flags Great America . Dad said that they were going to close the park. I didn’t believe him. I thought that he was probably confusing the bankruptcy with closure. A quick search before making this post hasn’t come up with any resu

Did any of you grow up in a place where ice cream trucks came by? You know, you'd hear a familiar tune and then only have moments to beg money off your parents and make a run outside before the ice cream man was gone? Yeah, I didn't. First place I lived I was too young. The second place... well... I doubt the Germans allow their kids to have treats. For the third place I was locked away on an island and it wasn't open to the public. Fourth place had street vendors and even then, you were taking a health risk. The fifth place was too f'ing cold for ice cream. When I came to Michigan, I lived briefly with grandparents. It was then I got to experience the ice cream truck. It happened a few times until I moved to another neighborhood in the same town. I don't recall an ice cream truck ever going through that neighborhood. I suspect it was because we were too near to the unsavory segment of the populace. I currently live on a country road. In country surround

Where were you at 12:34:56 07/08/09? I was processing a pile of paperwork and forgot to take notice. BTW, I didn't go on vacation. How the hell did I end up with three big stacks of paperwork on my desk?!

Yeah, I meant the one in Washington, DC not Lansing . Ready for a long post? I had the opportunity to take a trip to Washington, DC for Independence Day and I took it. My friends, Kraig and Stacey , live near the city in Maryland. You might remember them from when I took a trip out to San Diego and Tijuana last year. It was an eleven hour trip which was mostly toll road (I hate toll roads). Not wanting to push my luck with my own car, I decided to rent a car and for about $20 a day, I didn’t think it was too bad. Plus gas turned out to be about just a little over $100 there and back so I saved money over buying a plane ticket. I left on Thursday night and got there mid morning on Friday. On my way over, I had a good time driving. It was night so there was very little traffic. My primary concern was deer jumping out. Then the rain. Then driving in the Appalachians in the dark. I had hoped to stop by a place in Pennsylvania to meet up with a former blogger but I thin

I'm back in Michigan. The trip to DC was awesome and I've got lots to share but it's too late in the evening so you'll just have to wait a little longer! :0)

After a nice trip though the Museum of Natural History we went through the local festival that is being held on the north end of the mall. I managed to snag some chicharron, yucca, and fried plantains. Mmm sarap! We are now waiting for the fireworks to begin.

The parade was pretty long and I was expecting that but it wasn't as spectacular as I thought it would be. It had the usual marching bands and a few floats just like most local parades. I did think the cultural entries were pretty good though. We're now having lunch at the Old Post Office. There are mall type food stands and a nice atrium. Kraig, Andy, and I are going up the tower in a few.

Its almost noon and I am outside the Department of Justice building, next to the National Archives, waiting for the parade to start. It's not as crowded as I thought it would be but if this was a local parade, it would be crazy packed.

Happy Independence Day! I'm heading to the Capitol in a few hours where will I have the greatest Fourth EVER. Stay tuned.

This morning I read in the news that the Sears Tower is going to be renamed the Willis Tower. :(

One more shift until freedom!