I'm now a Senior Citizen

Well, I just turned 60 and am sad that I no longer can visit with a variety of people from my youth. They've all passed on. I am sad because I miss them and if they were still alive, they would owe me considerable sums of money. A few of them bet me a million dollars I wouldn't make it to 30. As you can see from the picture I raced motorcycles and they figured that a wild kid like me would never make it to adulthood. SURPRISE!!! Here I am. Sad to say, I can now relate to why the seniors of my day were cantankerous and crabby. I have to admit I am a little sick and tired of all the dumbing down of America the media is accomplishing. We still need a different direction. More on that coming.

The media is so focused on anything that is able to be used and abused. Like the current Tiger Woods fiasco. Is he a good guy? How do I know. Is he a philanderer? Apparently. Is that any of my business? No, and I don't really care. I enjoy watching him play golf. He is possibly the best professional golfer ever. If he can't keep his pants zipped up it doesn't affect me. It affects his relationship with his wife whose picture is just to the right of Tiger below.

So, looking at her, I guess having a ton of money and traveling all the time creates plenty of opportunities Tiger to "sample" other interesting relationships (the physical kind). Personally, I can't understand why he would. She looks pretty interesting to me. But, none of my business and he will ultimately pay the price.

Me, now that I'm 60, not too interested in fooling around. Not many "takers" anyway. Although as a personal goal I decided it was time to improve and lose some of the tonnage. I had "hit" 310 pounds at my sad peak. Now, I am 70 pounds lighter and hopefully can keep that going. "Enormo must die" is my personal motto. What works for me is push back from the table. Eating is not fun. Also, exercise because that helps everything. I am getting keen to keep walking more and maybe even renew my membership at the Health Club. Hit the machines.

Now That it's Over

Well, now that we have our new President Elect it is time to stop the Republican hard right whining and start figuring out how to spend the next four years. He seems to be off to a good start, other than appointing Hillary as Secretary of State. Guessing that since he needed something to "offer" her for shutting down her campaign and the VP job wasn't really an option then the appointment as Secretary of State helps her fuel her campaign in 2012 or 2016. She gets national level political experience (which she grievously lacks, thank dog) and also International Affairs (not the kind Bill is always working on but the Department of State kind).

Personally I am not a fan of hers and feel it is a little sad that she is being groomed to position her as the next Democratic Presidential candidate and provide her with the opportunity to have the experience she (and Barack, candidly) lack in the World Political scene. I still don't think having the Clinton's back in the White House is a good thing. But, it is what it is.

So then, signing off and getting ready to sit back to watch the fun begin.

Politics and the media

With the election for our next Press-a-dent so near it is time to wake up from the daily distractions of work, home life and all the other things that normally occupy my mind and pay close attention to the realities of what I want politically for the next several years. McCain or Obama. What a choice. You might think I am in the "we'd be better off without a President than either of those idiots" but no. Candidly I need to make up my mind apart from the influence of the overwhelming onslaught of emails that from friends on the Republican side that show Obama as being the end of our American middle class way of life. From those on the Democratic side, McCain is pretty typically portrayed as the new Bush. Personally, after watching them in action in the debate last night I think they are both level headed and intelligent people who genuinely care about doing what is right. I think the real issue is, what IS right?

The things I think we all need some help on are understanding the key issues and what we really need our leaders to do to ensure we stay on track and prosper rather than sit by as the economy tanks and we watch our futures grow dim as our investments and homes lose rather than increase in value. I sure as hell know how I would lead. That'll be the next blog. The real issue here for me right now is the media and the candidates.

I am so disillusioned by the media's complete and utter lack of character, ethics and responsibility to report the news and not run a media campaign for Obama while doing everything in their power to attack and demean McCain and Palin. I am really checking out on the media. Television is no longer Bob's main past-time (actually it hasn't been for quite a while). All TV News programming is complete and utter bullshit and the programming is clearly getting in the way of advertising. Yep, another topic some other time.

What we need in the media are some new versions of my early influencers, pictures above, Edward R. Murrow, Dave Garraway, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley. Why, you might ask? Because they were the bastions of editorial opinion and honest reporting. No talking heads there. What are the issues, who is involved, who is right and why, who is wrong and why? That is how it is supposed to be done. Sure they had producers and writers telling them what to say but I always got a sense that they had a lot of influence over the content and it seemed more real and down to earth to me.

Nowadays, the media is not doing that. The real change came during the Vietnam war. The media became a powerhouse and quickly began to believe their own B.S. Since then it has become all about the media and not about the down to earth reporting we the public deserve. Hence the talking heads we see now. So if you aren't "pretty", an actor and good at appearing sincere you can't do well. If you aren't a liberal Democrat, same deal, not going to do well.

Obama is their golden boy and I ask WHY!? He is clearly intelligent, articulate and I like him but he has a very poor record in voting the way he claims. He has repeatedly voted against tax cuts for middle income, elderly and farmers designed to help protect them from being overburdened tax-wise and he claims he is for tax cuts. Not too convinced by your claims last night Barack.

McCain, somewhat better record but interestingly, as many bills as Barack has not voted on John seems to be way more inclined to not vote. If you are interested in how I come to these conclusions try the voting database on the Washington Post site:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/

For Barack specifically:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/o000167/votes/

For John specifically:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/m000303/votes/

The really disappointing thing about McCain for me is Senate bill 2371 which he failed to vote on that had a provision to establish a bipartisan committee to reduce and eliminate wasteful government spending. Interestingly it was a large bill with many provisions and John McCain was one of only two Republicans that failed to vote on the bill which was defeated by a 63-32 tally. There were 15 Republicans that chose to vote with the 46 Democrats against the bill. No Democrats voted for it. And if you are into the math, there were two Independents who also vote against it. But I digress, back to the media.

So do you listen to and believe Katie Couric and Brian Williams and the other talking heads? Not me. After the few minutes I watched of the Sarah Palin interview Katie conducted I have had my beliefs firmly reinforced watching the perky news anchor trying (well, actually working, hard) to back Sarah into a corner. I really like and admire Sarah Palin. She stood up and basically confronted Couric. She has strong opinions but still seems open minded. She has a solid track record and is truly impressive. Ask the corrupt politicos she went after and who are now in jail where they belong. Her heart is in the right place.

So all in all, I am de-marketing oriented. I research major purchases and consider the numbers on my own. I have no strong compulsion to buy something because I saw it on TV. Sorry numbskulls, marketing doesn't work on Bob. Big SUV, not a status symbol to me, rather an embarrassment instead. Big giant house, too bad for all you meatheads that overbought and "took advantage" of the "adjustable rate" mortgages. Did you think the rates were going to go down? Sad for the folks that got snookered because they were too ignorant to understand the error of their ways and now have mortgage payments that may have doubled in the last year and they could barely make them before.

The media should have been looking at the mortgage market and doing specials on how to understand and do it right. Advising folks to stay away from the low interest "deals". Did they? Hell no. So, they need a wake up call from us, the people, to force them to stop being so full of themselves and get back to reporting the news and events rather than twisting everything to create the controversy they so desperately want because it helps them sell the ad time. You think Wall Street is the only place where the common good and what is truly honorable and right is completely disregarded by the "greed heads"? Nope, the media is in the lead there as far as I am concerned.

Update on Vista

Holy smokes! Who knew? Since I have a Little more time and experience with Vista it seemed appropriate to do a quick update. I have discovered a variety of other features that I really like. First is the logging. You go to Start/Computer/Manage/Event Viewer and you'll find logs for everything you need . Also, in the same window (or in the Task Manager Performance tab) you will find Reliability and Performance (or Resource Monitor in Task Manager). Much more info than anything in XP pro. Yer gonna luv it.

Another really likable feature is how well the OS handles program abends. That is abnormal end for you not old timers (an old mainframe term that is a bit more specific in meaning than crash. . . sheesh Bob. . . ). Thing is, Vista knows the program is abending or not responding and logs the errors (which you can see in the logs described above). It also tries to manage the abend and restart the app or keep the machine from crashing. It works for me. So, once again, I like it.

Windows Vista, the wait is over

Well now, I just had a birthday and my family got me Halo 2 as a present. When I opened the package we discovered it is a "Vista only" game. Staring an upgrade in the face. . .

I never thought I would be willing to upgrade as there has been so much bad press and reported dissatisfaction by users. I figured, heck I am a system builder and Vista has been out for a year. The updates released by Microsoft should fix the big bugs. So I got 2 licenses and installed it on mine and my son's machines. We backed everything up, did a clean install and it was terrific. After all the waiting I would have to tell you that it is a really good operating system.

The install was faster than I expected and once completed I instantly fell in love with the new interface. It is clean, cool looking and very slick. I also like the fact that the computer now boots up into a usable state more quickly than before. I had XP Pro SP2 with all the updates. I always keep things updated. It isn't a huge difference but it is quicker and it is really stable. There are some things that are a bit annoying admittedly.

The UAC (User Account Control) function is the main one I had issues with. UAC is there to protect you from all the bad stuff people try to do to you. Like malware, spyware etc. It also prevents you from successfully installing and using some programs as well. So, I figured it out, turned it off and suddenly everything was working like I wanted it to. The system is mad and nagging me to turn it back on but I'm not going to just yet. All in all that was a pretty minor thing considering how much I like Vista in general.

I have a pretty Good machine for Vista to run on, 2.75Ghz 64 bit dual core AMD CPU with 2GB memory and all the attendant stuff to make it fast and reliable. Built it myself (yeah, I'm a custom system builder) and I also built the machine my son inherited from me. They both run great and they seem to be doing well with Vista. If you think an upgrade is something you want, go to the Microsoft Vista website and run the Upgrade Advisor tool. It will check your machine for potential problems and provide advice on where they may lie. I personally found Home Premium to the be the right version for my needs. Good balance of features and price.

Above all, enjoy yourself. Take it easy and have fun.

I see morons, they're everywhere

Working hard not to go into a rant. I think that's noisome and annoying but it is getting hard not to if you are someone that has a lot of experience driving and observe the insane decline in driving skills. I am not always the most courteous driver but I actually go out of my way to be courteous to other drivers. Doing the "random acts of courtesy" thing lately. Need to get over to make the exit? Go ahead. I thought it might catch on but we'll see. Too soon to expect results and the driving just gets worse every day. It has become common to see people running red lights like they are some kind of annoyance and everyone else on the road is in their way. . .

I just saw a guy in a big SUV (yeah, I think it is a personality type genre, nothing against SUV's) that was in the right turn lane at a light. Suddenly the very dim light goes on in his miniature brain and he realizes he really wanted to turn left. So. . . he puts on his left turn signal and pulls out onto the cross street traffic to stop at a diagonal in front of the go straight lane and the left turn lane where he wants to be. Shame you never see the cops enforcing the traffic laws anymore. He could've used the citation based wake up call. I can't imagine where someone would get the idea it would be okay to do that. Given my age, it makes sense that in the day we thought that driving properly and well was something that mattered. Behavior like that wasn't tolerated. Now, it has become the norm. Try not to be like that. Sorry to rant.

House on the rock

Took a trip up to the House on the Rock a couple of weeks ago. Pretty interesting place. Lots of strange and cool stuff to see. This is a picture of the Infinity room. Cantilevered out over the scenic Wisconsin countryside.

Bob's Early Days

I think I was 19 when this picture was taken in the motorcycle shop I worked at. Getting a new bike ready to deliver to the customer. Place was a rat infested pit. I had fun anyway though.

Playing at the Gravel Pits

This was fun.

Since this is the 3rd post remember to go down and work your way to the top

Keeps things in order. This one shows me landing from the jump. Airtime Bob.

Old Bob's Racing Days

I used to race motorcycles a very long time ago. Here are a couple of pictures from then. This one is me coming off the starting line. Always was good at the starts. I'm the guy with the front wheel "pawing" the air in second place.

Hi Costa

Hi Costa, well, if I got this posted in time. . . Here are a couple of my pictures from waaaaay back in the old days. Like 35 years ago. Pretty classy race setup... Electrical tape numbers, bluejeans, flimsy jacket. Fun stuff though.

Rugged Outdoorsman Bob Says "Yeah Hey"

Ahhh. . . I love fishing. Not the TV kind with divers catching the fish and then hooking them on the hooks to make the "talent" look like they are catching them. I like the kind where you sit in the boat trying all the techniques you've learned from reading In-Fisherman and Walleye Insider and discover there is a lot more to it than that. But all in all you learn, get better and most of all have fun and eat well.

We go to Whiskey Jack's Lodge in Ontario on Sturgeon Lake

http://www.whiskeyjacklodge.com/

Beautiful place, the lake that is. The lodge is pretty typical. Rustic, primitive and functional. Dale Matthews is the owner and he is a good person. Good fishing and they do hunting as well. Not me, I fish.

Getting out in the wild, "the Bush" as the locals refer to it is the best part of it for me. It is a primitive and wildly beautiful place. Here are a few pictures so you can see for yourself.

Wounded Bob Says Hi!

Wounded Bob Says Hi!
Originally uploaded by 5 hour butt.

Just got a new picture poster account and am learning it. Back to the normal sporadic stuff soon.

Interesting Mid-Western farmland scenery

My daughter and I were taking pictures a while ago and I really liked this one. It is an old Twin Beech that someone stuck in the ground as a sculpture (I think). I love it. I flew one once. An old buddy of mine was a pilot and he flew one for a living for a while. He hated it, the job. Cold as hell in the winter and bad hours. But he built time and eventually got an airline job. 

Blah Blah Blah

Daily life. When I was a kid it used to mean get up and go to school. Get home, do homework and have supper then, watch TV. Dad went to work, came home ate and watched TV. Mom kept it running at home. Simple.

Nowadays, whew. What a circus. Clothing, cell phones, attitude and music all have taken a big jump into a truly different direction. Sure, we liked music when I was a kid but it was getting your thrill on Blueberry Hill or Little Duece Coupe. Now, suck this, f that, bitch, ho, seems kind of sad.

It seems we are so self involved and wrapped up in our own little worlds we forget the rest of the world is always watching. Like driving. I have actually lost my opportunity to get through an intersection because I had to wait for all the left turning cars to finish running the red light. Courtesy is a fondly remembered little practiced thing these days. Personally, I have decided to be overly courteous. I get a kick out of the reaction people have when I wave them to go before I do. Maybe it'll catch on a little.

Tis the Season

As I get into the Holiday spirit it seems it isn't really the season to be jolly. It rather seems, to me anyway, to be the season of cardboard. God how I hate cardboard. Of the things I dislike (mostly when forced to work with them, for instance drywall, the dust from sanding drywall mud, dog poop and the static laden styrofoam peanuts that fill the cardboard boxes I speak of) cardboard is the worst. Everything comes in cardboard. We recently bought new furniture for our dining room. We set up the time for delivery and when the truck arrived we gazed expectantly at the door for our new stuff and what to my eyes did appear but an onslaught of flat boxes delivered into my living room. The gentlemen delivering summarily (and courteously) informed me that they deliver, not unpack assemble and haul off the remaining 6 metric tons of cardboard. So I got busy. It took days of cutting, burning and hauling to rid ourselves of the stuff.

It is unwieldy, doesn't fold up into small neat bundles and I hate it. I love the holidays though and hope you have a really terrific one.

If you are awake. . .

Now that a long period of inactivity has probably gotten the traffic down it may be time to start posting again. Not so much motorcycle pictures but perhaps thoughts. I'll be back as soon as I think of something to write. Meanwhile. Happy Thanksgiving.

This is the last picture from the trip. We have arrived at my house, home at last. Cyndy got us "Welcome Home" baloons. A hero's welocme for the 2 weary travellers. This was an amazing trip. A journey through the heartland and an experience most people will never be able to experience (not that they might want to) in their lifetimes. We met so many wonderful people and saw incredible sights. I wish I could've taken more pictures but it just isn't possible to get them all. This was something that changes your life, for the better. It restores one's faith in the country and the people. It renews your spirit and recharges your psychic batteries. I am a better person for having done this and I have a new appreciation for how good life has been to me. At last, I think, the sleeper has awakened. 

I love this place. It is by US 20 and 84. Very near Galena, another cool place to go.