The things in my head go 'round and 'round

Life around our household has been interesting to say the least.  I managed to conract an infection in my foot making it impossible to put on a shoe and be mobile.  And seeing as

my job requires me to be a ble to walk around the store so that I know what is going on, not being able to walk was a hinderance so I spent the week between Christmas and New Years with my foot elevated.  sounds a lot more fun than it actually was.  Believe me.  Because being home at that time meant that I was home with MLW and The Princess.  That never ends well.  Too much time together and we start to get on one anothers nerves.  Really bad.  And I am the one who starts it because I am not as nice as MLW is.

That being said, I also spent some time learning how to make soy candles, something that I had done years ago but had gotten away from.  Actually, I didn’t make soy candles we made parrafin candles and had a great time with it, but this time around I am planning on making some soy candles.  I also made another batch of my famed Out Cider hard cider for some friends.  Said friends keep hounding me as to when this batch of cider is going to be ready for consumption, and if they keep it up it will never be ready for them.  I unfortunately have not brewed the latest batch of Imperial Red Ale because, hello!  Have you noticed how freaking cold it has been outside?  I am not a cold loving kind of guy.  And even though I do enjoy brewing some good beer, standing outside in the cold during the process is not my cup of tea.  Sorry.  I am not a cold lover.

This week we have the Pennsylvania Farm Show in town.  This event happens every year in January as an excuse for all of us who have gained 50 lbs over the holidays to pack on just a couple more.  something to make feel that much worse about ourselves before we get into the rest of the winter.  The best part of the Farm Show is the food.  Potato donuts, french fries, baked potatoes with real melted butter on top.  Deep fried vegetables fried cheese, fried mushrooms, fried everything.  They have really good milk shakes, and honey ice cream, and warm apple dumplings with ice cream, and oh my god pretty much anything else you might want to eat.  Really good fried tilapia, pulled pork sandwiches, beef BBQ, meatball sandwiches, blooming onions, onion rings.  I am salivating just thinking about all of that really good fried food that is waiting to clog up my arteries somemore.  If you have never been to the Farm Show and are going to be around the Harrisburg area this week you have got to stop by and check it out.

And don’t forget to look at that animals, cause there are about a billion 4-H kids around who have been raising all of the cows, and horses, and chickens, and such who like to show their animals offf.  We can’t forget about the kids.  It wouldn’t be right if we did.  But once you have gotten that out of the way you can head for the food court.  I will see you there.

The LSU Tigers are playing the PSU Lions in the Capital One Bowl as we speak.  And it doesn’t look like that much fun.  The rain has been coming down all week in Florida, and the field is a complete mess.  For those of us who are my age and have never played on artificial turf, it sucks playing on a wet, cold field.  Mud is no fun to play one.

No score as of yet, both teams had a 3 and out on both of their opening drives.  LSU just was called for pass interference.  Penn State first and 10 on the 35.  The last time these teams met was in 1974.

Paterno is going for his 24th bowl victory.  Penn State just can’t hold on to any passes.  The football is wet and it is hard as a greased pig to hold on to.  Another 3 and out. 

This is going to be a low scoring, nasty football game.

With 1:54 to go in the first quarter, Penn State scores with a 37 yard pass.  Penn State 7, LSU 0.

Penn State kicks a field goal at 5:22 left in the second quarter.  Penn State now leads 10, LSU 3.

Penn State intercepts a LSU pass at 3:46 in the second quarter.  On their first down they take it inside the 9 yd line. 

And with only 8 seconds left on the clock Penn State hits a field goal to go ahead of LSU 13 to 3.

Some pretty cool is happening here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  A House panel held a public hearing yesterday to discuss a bill that would allow the residents of The Commonwealth to use medical marijuana.  And that is very cool.  Of course there were protestors on both sides.  The Pros talking about the relief that marijuana can give to patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma, HIV or other physically painful diseases.  Along with the Cons talking about marijuana addiction.  A few years back this would never have happend. 

This is a historic day in The Commonwealth.

I used to have a Leaf Nazi.  Specifically, I used to live next to a Leaf Nazi.  Her and her husband were renting the house next to ours.  She was a nice enough person.  As long as you didn’t talk to her too much, or look directly at her.

Our Leaf Nazi had a particular trait.  She liked her driveway, and walkways to be completely cleaned of any debris.  Sweeping was her compulsion.  Constant sweeping.  Morning and evening.  And one of our trees loved making her crazy.

yes, I said one of our trees loved making her crazy.  Now, we humans anthropomorphize everything.  We do it with our pets, some of us do it with plants, you get the idea.  I swear that this tree had it in for our Leaf Nazi.  Why?  Because this particular tree would hold onto its leaves way past when all the rest of the trees on the block had dumped theirs.  This tree has been here since the house was built back in the early 50′s.  It has been around the block, so to speak.  I don’t know why the tree did what it did with its leaves, but I do know that it would drop some leaves each day.  The Leaf Nazi would come out of her house, grumbling all the way.  She would then sweep them off of the drive and go back into the house.  And the next day, the tree would drop some more.

I think that the tree is missing the Leaf Nazi becuase today I was out raking the lawn where “raking the lawn” means I was running the mower over the leaves so that I could empty the bag on the compost pile.  And the tree has 90% of its leaves still on.  Waiting.  Waiting for the Leaf Nazi.

Who no longer lives next door.

Crazy.

Thursday, June 19th. Mechanicsburg, Pa.

Food. Lots of it.

People. Lots of them.

Heat. Learn to sweat copiously, and like it.

Rain. Well, I don’t know about this one yet, but we have had some pretty violent downpours during Jubilee Day in the past.

I will be the good looking, bald guy, taking pictures. And most likely eating a sausage and pepper sandwich. And just maybe tossing back a couple of cold ones at the G-man. If I can find a spot to stand.

Come up and say “Hi”. And I will take your picture, and make you famous.

You have to be there. It is the largest one day freakfest…I mean the largest one day street fair on the east coast. It is a day full of knocking into people that you know, and more that you don’t know. It is this huge craftshow/greasyfood/howfewclothescanIwearandstillgetawaywithit/signupforverizon
tmobileattpatriotnews/areyouregisteredtovote/contributetoourcause/havesomefries/anddon’t
forgetthefreshsqueezedlemonade/everyoneNEEDStheirowncornshockbroom/youHAVEtoget
somekettlecorn extravaganza. You have to be there.

Just don’t park in my space. And don’t move my lawn chairs that I put out to save my parking space. ‘Cause even though it is a public street, I will have your car towed. You understand this if you come from Harrisburg.

Remember. The third thursday of every June.

Namaste.

I got this announcement from Derek Rosenzweig of Philly Norml last night:

I’m writing to you tonight to give you some excellent news! I have just heard from the sponsor of our bill, PA State Rep. Mark Cohen, that our bill will be introduced this Wednesday, April 29.

This is great news, and it marks a significant milestone in our fight to give patients the right to use medical marijuana. Currently, the following State Reps. have signed on as co-sponsors:

Delaware County
Greg Vitali
Philadelphia County

Vanessa Brown
Mike McGeehan
John Sabatina
Michael O’Brien

We still need more co-sponsors if this bill is to get past the first committee which hears it – either Health and Human Services, or Judiciary.

About the bill

Patients cannot get arrested for possession or personal cultivation
Patients and caregivers will have cards identifying them as such
Doctors can not lose their license for recommending cannabis in a valid doctor-patient relationship
A comprehensive list of ailments for which smoked, vaporized, or orally consumed cannabis or cannabis extract (hashish or hash oil) is found to be beneficial to the patient by either curing or easing symptoms
A procedure for adding ailments and diseases to that list

This is an important bill for folks in Pennsylvania. Please support it through your assemblymen.

Namaste.

There are a whole bunch of folks here in Pa that do not want the Gov to legalize video poker. And each one has its own agenda.

There are the casino operators who are projecting a loss of business if the Legislature makes it legal for the thousands of bars and restaurants who own liquor licenses to put up to 5 video poker machines in their businesses. Of course, as part of the casinos $50 million license fee, there is a clause that could help them get that fee back if the state puts them into a position to lose money. Which would put a hurting on the Commonwealth to make money off of video poker, unless they give the casinos something else in return. Like table games, but that is a story for another day.

Then there are the folks who worry about the overall cost of video poker to the state. They claim that video poker puts gambling in the face of folks who might not be able to afford it. Who might not be able to gamble responsibly. The cost here is of the human kind. Families broken up, homes lost, jobs lost, people destroyed. The groups that tout this litany talk about the increased crime, the increased cost of police protection, social service cost, etc. And this can be a huge cost, but don’t we already deal with this cost?

In 2007 Pennsylvania had 1491 deaths due to drunk driving. The same year there were over 15,000 DUI arrests. Alcohol, it can be argued, and its effect on people can result in the same drain on the family, and on the state. And yet we embrace alcohol. We love alcohol.

Hmm. Am I missing something here?

Gambling. Alcohol. Tax relief. Tuition relief.

Those subjects keep raising their heads here in the Commonwealth.

Governor Rendell is proposing the legalization of video poker in all establishments that currently have liquor licenses in Pennsylvania. He is saying that the video poker machines are already here, why not make some money off of them?

Sounds reasonable.

But then there is the problem of mixing alcohol and gambling. We ran into the same situation a couple of years ago when he ok’d the casino’s to serve free alcohol to their patrons. That raised a shit storm of protest that quickly went away. Regardless, there is a concern with folks drinking and having the capability to flush their savings down the rabbit hole of instant winnings.

And lets make this clear. I like to play slot machines. I think that they are very entertaining. But I do know what I have to spend, and what I don’t have to spend. Not everyone has the capability to make those distinctions. And being drunk pretty much takes away your inhibitions, now doesn’t it?

So which side are you on?

Do you see the good that can come from the Commonwealth looking for ways to grab some of the cash that is already being spent out there? Or are you concerned with folks who don’t know when to say when?

With those questions in mind, keep it in the back of your head the numbers of folks out there driving around on suspended licenses because of drinking and driving.

Hmmm…..

There is a major discussion going on in Pennsylvania right now. And it involves slot machines.

Yeah, gambling.

In 2004 the voters in Pennsylvania legalized casino gambling. That is, slot machine gambling. Table games have not been legalized at this point. The revenue from slots was to give property tax relief to state residents.

That hasn’t happened yet.

And now, Governor Rendell wants to allow all 14,000 bars and restaurants in Pa. to offer slot machines to their patrons. This is where the discussion begins.

Gambling preys on the weakest members of our society. If you disagree with that statement, look at the folks who flood the casinos in Pa. Our parents, and grandparents. Our retirees. And these members of our society are just like the rest of us. Some of them can gamble without concern, and some can’t. The biggest concern is the ones who can’t.

In 2006 Governor Rendell passed legislation that would allow the casinos to offer unlimited drinks to its patrons. More controversy. Visions of a crowed casino full of drunken slot machine players comes to mind.

Again, some folks can handle it, some can’t. We, as Americans, have a concern with being our brothers keepers. We want to believe that everyone is responsible for themselves, that we don’t have to help those of us who might need it.

But I think that we are wrong in that vein.

What about you?

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is the State Capital of The Commonweath of Pennsylvania.

A pretty important city in the whole scheme of the state, or so it would seem.

Harrisburg doesn’t have much in the way of tourist attractions. We have a baseball farm team called the Senators. We have a Civil War Museum. We have a small arts community, with some nice small music venues.

And we have our Mayor Stephen Reed. Mayor Reed is the longest serving Mayor of Harrisburg. He was first elected in 1981. During his term he has developed City Island,where the Senators play, and the Civil War Museum.

And then there are the wild west artifacts. Mayor Reed purchased a large number of western items for placement in a Wild West Museum. Which resulted in a large amount of negative outcry from the City Council, and from his constituents.

Recently it came to light that he had bought a warship called the Royal Savage. The unfortunate part is that this vessel belongs to the Federal government under the NAGPRA law, which essentially says any vessel used by the Navy is Federal property.

Mayor Reed tried to sell the ship a few years ago and was unable to.

But that isn’t the worst part. Mayor Reed has recently become the model for a booblehead doll. Yeah, you heard me correctly. The Mayor of the Capital of The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has a booblehead doll.

I shit you not.