FamGuyToday by Aunty Fox

because, when the earthquake/tsunami hit Japan, there were a BUNCH of southern preachers who claimed this was god's punishment on the 'non-believers'.  Well, what are they saying now, as the tornadoes hit them?  As we hear how god 'saved' the survivors, what about their neighbors who died? God hated them?  As you see how the tornadoes went through neighborhoods (satellite photos available), are we to think god changed course for the 'believers, and took out the sinners? Tell me. I'm curious, cuz it just doesn't make sense, to me.

to let my friends know when I find a 'worthy' beer, I've got a good one, to share. The new 'seasonal selection' of Blue Moon (Coors). is very special. The "Spring Blonde Wheat Ale', is excellent. Not sure how long it will be available, but, will hate to see it go. 'Tis fun to find a really good one, among all the ordinary brews out there....

which is always good for putting life in perspective. Dennis was the husband of Nancy, who Carol worked with for many years at State Farm. He  passed very quickly and unexpectedly while listening to his I-pod. As we left the indoor service and gathered outside with the Navy Color Guard, under a clear blue Colorado sky, a beautiful, huge, bald eagle flew right in front us. Middle of the afternoon in north Denver. Dennis was a very patriotic veteran, and the ceremony, including the program, had many bald eagles, in different forms. As I saw the majestic bird glide over us, (fortunately before the 21-gun salute), I immediately filled with tears and could hardly see. Was really a cosmic moment. I later complimented the funeral director on great special effects and he said he had never seen it in the area, before. Pretty amazing....

who got hit by tornadoes, have been devastated. The weather guys are talking about the Fujita Scale, which tops out at F-5, with winds over 200 mph. The Oklahoma City tornado, which I worked, set an all-time measured wind record, when the guage broke at 318 mph. Still have the article on the wall over my desk. Absolutely unbelievable destruction, with the biggest (of many tornadoes) over a half mile wide and on the ground for over 20 miles, right through OKC. Kinda hard to find your claims when all the street signs are gone, as well as all traces of the house, except the foundation. When you looked closely at the video of the debris cloud ,swirling around the tornado, you could see cars and trucks, spinning around, hundreds of feet in the air. Pretty amazing when they came down, through the roofs of houses.... 

but it lost a bit of it's excitement. We all put $ in at the beginning, then draw names each week, and you can either win $, OR, have to cook the next week. Bad news, bad news, this week. I have to cook, cuz Julie lost, AND, all our cash got stolen, today, when Paul and Kathy's house was broken into today, while they were at work. I guess it was kinda funny as they explained to the cops, that our "survivor' money was stolen, along with TV, computer, etc. Way too many dirtballs out there. Just a coincidence, I'm sure, that there was a landscaping crew working next door, for the last few weeks.

Boehner and the Repubs had a lucid moment, saying they would look at the oil company subsidies ($4 billion) as they make record profits. BUT, when the Dems asked him to actually join them in doing something, he backtracked and hemmed and hawed. Typical Repub bullshit, when it comes to the people who OWN them.

this one is kinda special. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va-QvaSpWL4  , if you like good music. Put on the ear buds and enjoy the song 'Crazy', with Cee Lo and Christina.

I am posting a link to one of the best web-sites out there, for those who can't decide if they want a cat or a dog. Compromise, with a Maine Coon.   http://www.mainecooncat.com/Kittens.html Maine Coon kittens are very special, and this site is a great place to look at 'em.(use your down arrow) WARNING! They start at about $500 and go up, but are well worth it.

Several ski areas got over 500 inches (total) this year, which is very unusual (record), but Arapahoe Basin just went over 100", today, (base at mid-mountain) which is also really impressive. Means good water for all of us downstream, this year, EXCEPT, for the Colo River drainage, which goes south to Phoenix, etc. They are under normal. Way more Pacific storms this year than Gulf moisture coming up, Varies from year to year, but this was a good one for northern Clorado.

what a fantastic Easter we had. Am really disappointed I didn't get a pic of the girls. They were all so pretty. Ted and Nate were OK, too, but the ladies were special. Piper had her first egg hunt, and the dinner was SO good,with the wine from T&K and Laura's coconut cake really putting it over the top. Was shocked when Piper (under 2) could recite almost all the states, with special emphasis on 'Wyoming!' Cute and smart= pretty good combination. Won't be 2 'til July, and can already count, say her alphabet, colors of the rainbow, nearly all the states... What's she gonna do in kindergarten? I'm thinking Chinese....

silver acted today. After a good start, and near record highs, it kept hitting resistance and giving back gains, on huge volume. Finished up only 30 cents for the day, which isn't terrible, on it's own, but didn't like the way it traded. Maybe we're finally gonna get a decent correction so there's another entry point?

Vulcan mind-meld technique I was able to travel back in time and get a pic of Bailey and her sister. She said they had lots of fun, 'til they were separated, and she still misses her, but she likes us.

as Ted is representing his company at the Int'l Conf of Geophysicists (or GeoNerds, Kari calls 'em) in Vienna, next month, and Kari will be accompanying him. She's in Wash DC, with her Coal Creek Middle School students, right now, but will be back for Easter. After Vienna, they'll be doing another week or so, in Barcelona and ?  I didn't get to Europe 'til I was semi-old, and she's already been WAY more than me. You go, girl...

about silver. There is approx 5 times more 'above ground' gold in the world, than there is silver. Silver has many industrial applications, which, each year, destroy more silver than is produced. During the last few thousand years, until the gov't started interfering, the traditional gold/silver ratio, has historically been approx 16/1, which would mean silver should sell for around $95/oz, since gold is over $1500/oz. The most popular/largest selling silver coin, in the world, is the Silver American Eagle, which is one oz. of .999 fine silver. Congressional law states that eagles can ONLY be made from silver mined in the US, and sold through the US mint. About 3 years ago, silver eagles could be had for under $9. Today, the price went over $50, and demand is rapidly outpacing production. The US and European gov't is printing paper money, or fiat currency, at an alarming rate, rather than facing the fundamental problems confronting them. I believe they will cont...

last night and had a good time, w/good food and friends and saw one of the strangest people ever on TV, get even stranger. Phil is totally nuts, as he went racial and used the n-word to prove he wasn't crazy, which really doesn't make sense. Also heard a story first hand, of office humor, when someone actually hit the 'Reply All', button by mistake. BIG mistake, when a large group of people is discussing what a loser someone is, and he gets accidentally included in the e-mail. Nice to know that I'm not the only one who does stupid stuff.

what the game of pro b-ball has degenerated into. Am watching the Denver-OKC game, and can't believe the kind of crap the officials allow, as far as contact, and the 'acting' job of the players as they fake fouls. I can understand a team getting beaten, and Denver hasn't played well enough to win, tonight, after being robbed last game, but this is ridiculous. Hard to recognize the game I spent so much time playing.

I commented I was pleasantly surprised that silver dollars were worth over $40/ea. As of today, they are over $45. Interesting, VERY interesting, when you understand why.

remind me of a story I heard when I lived down there. A rancher, with a huge, expensive home, saw the fire coming toward his house and offered $10,000 to any fire dept that could stop the blaze, as most of the locals were busy w/their own fires. He was near the edge of the inferno when an old pumper truck, from a nearby small town, blew past him, with firemen hanging on the side, and drove right out into the middle of the flames, where the truck stopped and the men jumped off, working furiously to battle the fire, which was scorching them. They finally extinguished it and the rancher thanked them profusely, gave them a check, with a bonus, and asked what they were gonna do with the money. The captain, still smoldering, with most of his hair burned off, said, 'Well the first thing we're gonna do, is fix the brakes on that damned truck.'

NBC news, tonight, says 1 in 8 Americans over 65 has Alzheimer's. Whoa... That's scary, but does help explain the Repub base, that's not only the Red States, (NOT the intelligent ones) but also the 'OLD' vote. Explains a lot...

They spent approx $50 million to get one charge of 'guilty' (out of four), against Barry Bonds for steroid use. No charges against any of the crooks in the banking business that trashed our economy, or any of the players in the Bush crew for lying us into a trillion dollar war. Good job, guys. Great priorities.

'Game of Thrones' began on HBO, last night. Didn't really want to admit it, but was totally 'taken over' by the 'Song of Fire and Ice' series (winter is coming!) by George R.R. Martin. Laura got me started, cuz she knows I love a big, complicated read. SO, I didn't read much else, for a long time, as I got sucked into the 'other world' realm of 'Game of Thrones', 'Clash of Kings', 'Song of Swords' and "Feast of Crows'. Gotta admit, I was/am kinda skeered to admit I read the whole series (over 1000 pages each), but, I couldn't quit, once I got started. NOW, it is a very popular series on HBO. No way they can do it justice, on the 'little screen', but there is SO much to work with. Will be interesting to see what they do with it. This is the kind of series that could go on for over 10 years, even if they cut out huge parts of it. Hopefully, it will be interesting, and from what I've seen, I'm not...

the Denver Post's editorial cartoons, and there's a reason. Michael Keefe  won a Pulitzer prize today, for a reason. Mostly it's just about looking at what the Repubs do, and saying 'WTF'?  Their message makes sense, unless you have an IQ in triple digits. There will always be that part of our society that believes the BS, and those that are able to discern the truth. People like Keefe make a good living by pointing out, and laughing at, some of the crap they say.

there's many sources out there, from network and cable TV, to the printed page, and several on-line sites. I like to look at several, each day, and come up with the truth, through a consensus.  It's even fun to watch  BBC and Reuters, from time to time, to see the international view. At one extreme (and I mean extreme) is FOXNews, who's so far 'out there' I don't see how anyone can take them seriously. The other side has MSNBC who is also obviously biased. AOL on-line news is good, even though are slightly prejudiced to the right, and CNN is good for the international stuff, while CNBC is good financial news.  However, I think the best, most complete and entertaining news has got to be huffingtonpost.com  Of course I may be a bit prejudiced, but at least I'll admit it....

which party is on the side of the people, it's pretty obvious as the Supreme Court and Federal Election Commision look at transparency in political funding. The three commission Democrats want to revise regulations to bring about clear disclosure of donors and to restrict contributions from foreign sources. The three Republicans don't want to change the new rules. That would mean that corporations and unions could not only spend with no limits, the voters would never know who was behind the cash. As if there weren't enough corruption with big money in politics. The Repubs just laugh and say, 'We are for sale to the highest bidder, and we're gonna keep that information secret.' Sickening, but typical. Check it out, here. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/opinion/18mon4.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha211

This pic was taken while the ice cream was still in the cone, which was early in the experiment. Too bad her doggie wasn't here to lick her face/clothes/high chair clean. I think she liked it, though.

us to take them seriously? The politicians, on both sides of the aisle, who scream about deficits, taxes and gov't waste, while they continue to subsidize ethanol. This program, in a nutshell, shows what is wrong with politics in America. To keep a few farm belt congressman in the fold, we are all forced to send our tax dollars to pay midwest farmers to grow corn for ethanol, WHICH TAKES MORE ENERGY TO GROW, THAN IT PRODUCES. This is real simple stuff. If allowed to live or die, in the real world, it would DIE, immediately, BUT, the gov't pays farmers to waste time, energy and water, to get fed $'s, rather than growing the food that we and the world need. Insane, but SO typical of our gov't. Started by the Bushies, cuz it drove UP the price of oil and gave Repub states a huge cash infusion, it has been continued by the Dems, who should know better, but don't have the will to stand up to the lobbyists. Insane, but typical of our 'bought and paid fo...

and one was kinda memorable, although I didn't like it that much at the time. 'The Art of Racing in the Rain', is told from the perspective of a dog, as his owners go through some hard times. Wouldn't really recommend it, cuz it was too much of a downer, BUT, I did take some good thoughts from it. We humans must be a bit strange, when viewed from a dog's eyes. Do they really spend time wishing they had an opposable thumb and a tongue that would allow them to more enjoy the taste of food?  Also found a good new author, Barry Eisler, who has several books that I am gonna read. Love finding a new (to me) writer, and usually go through several bad (or average) ones before I do. P.T. Deutermann may be another good one. Am about half way through one of his and like it so far, BUT, have found it's much easier for an author to start a book, than to actually finish it well.

about the Vatican library. Bottom line, the church fought science, and preserved, yet hid, the best writings, (and most valuable treasures) of men, as when Galileo showed that the sun was the center of our universe, not the earth, as the church preached. Once they are forced to reveal the truth, they will, decades or centuries later. The Catholic church, the biggest, most profitable business on earth.

on NBC Evening News, with Paul Simon, as he gets older. He's 69 now, which seems impossible, as does my own age. As I read about how the Conservative rightwing rants against music in our culture, I can only compare their brain/thoughts against those like Paul Simon. Not even close...

One of the members of my foursome, the last day of the golf tourney in Phoenix, was Matt McNair. Since he lived in Lincoln, and was with the Uof N Foundation, we found we had a lot of friends in common. He was extremely funny and personable and one of my lasting memories will be the tatto of his initials he 'claims' to have on his butt cheeks. Straight on it says MOM, and when he turns around it says WOW. Just thinking of him today, and the good time we had, I decided to Google him. McNair began June 4, 2006, and leads a team of fundraisers who focus on the development priorities of the Lincoln campus as determined by university leadership. A graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Law and the University of Kansas, he most recently served as chief deputy attorney general for the State of Nebraska. His past experience includes attorney at law, business consulting, venture capital advising and federal credit union management. He also served as a lieutenant wit...

that Rush/FOX can't get any sleazier/slimier, they come out with new quotes. On his Thursday show, Rush Limbaugh tore into what he called President Obama's base. Limbaugh said that the president was attempting to placate his base during his deficit reduction speech, and he used a panoply of epithets to describe the base."His base is made up of people even more vile than he is," he said. "You've got...a lot of it is just walking human debris on the Democrat base side." This is from the professed leader of the Red States, who have ALL the  Bottom Ten spots, in income/education, and have ZERO in the Top Ten education/income. Just what is his definition of 'walking human debris'? Someone who doesn't believe his crap? Unbelievable, but SO typical of the ilk.

Bad news, good news, with the new Playboy list of top party schools. Not sure what they based their judgement on, but CU/ Boulder came in first this year. Guess I'll just have to buy the mag to see. Something about having the most high quality microbreweries, and over 50 med/mar dispensaries in town, but CU also leads in the number of Peace Corps volunteers and astronauts, and is near the top in Nobel Prize winners. Bottom line, Boulder has always been the destination of East Coast preppies who like to ski and have a good time during their 'higher' education process, and is one of the most beautiful campus/towns in the country. There's a reason Boulder hasn't followed the rest of the nation in unemployment and falling real estate values. As always, it's location, location, location....

based on crime statistics, just came out, and guess what? 9 of 10 are red states. The same ones (TX, MS, LA, AL, etc) that have the lowest education and income, heart of the Bible belt, and the backbone of the Repub party. Oh yeah, they also lead in obesity. Do I detect a pattern here????

and watch 'Celeb Apprentice', laughing at the leading Repub contender, Donald Trump, I realize how funny it is, as the Repubs get sucked into the whole celebrity thing, again. Last election it was Fred Thomas, after 'The Terminator' was elected gov of CA. The king of the celebs was Ronald Reagan, a B-movie star, who was always obviously 'acting', but they loved him. Sorta like FOXNews. Just put on a good act, and the sheep eat it up. Next time, I bet Tom Bergeron will be their candidate, unless Sarah has a new reality show.

cuz the new J CREW catalog shows a mother playing with her five year old son, and she has painted his toenails pink. OMG! This genderbending is how you create homosexuals. We must be protected! John Stewart tied this story in with another pervasive issue on FOX, that of Obama's missing (?) birth certificate. The Daily Show had a close-up of the document, and there in the corner, you guessed it. Color of newborn's toenails? PINK! Now we know why he won't show it....

is gonna be in deep doo-doo with his Repub henchmen. He is actually advocating 'looking at' cutting the multi-billion dollar subsidies the outrageously profitable oil companies are given, at the expense of every tax-paying, energy using American. The Repubs have been in lockstep with the oil lobbies on this financial windfall for decades. I can see the smoke coming out of Dick Cheney's ears at the mere mention of such a travesty.

I pointed out that I was kinda shocked, cuz silver dollars were worth $36. As of today, they're over $40, and rising. Definitely says something about our economy, and it's not good.

had a good one about Jon Kyl- (R) AZ, who said in a speech against Planned Parenthood, that abortions comprise well over 90% of what they do. When informed it was actually 3%, his office said his statement wasn't meant to be taken 'factually'. In reply, John Stewart said, 'Kyl spends 90% of his time in the Senate, drooling and farting, which isn't surprising because his body is 90% 'fecal matter'. They get their facts from the same place as FOX. They just make 'em up....

Part of the crap that FOX constantly spews, has to do with Obama's birth certificate. These 2 web-sites, Snopes,  http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthcertificate.asp , and Factcheck,   http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html  , along with MANY others, have pictures of the original birth certificate, with a raised seal and actual birth announcements from 2 Hawaiian newspapers at the time, and say the certificate is REAL. But over a third of Repubs, cuz of  'Fox and Friends', believe he was born in Africa. WTF? Just goes to prove the old saying, 'if you repeat a lie often enough, some 'idiots' will believe it.' One of the best responses as to why the Dems don't spend more time and effort on getting out 'the truth' went something like, 'If your enemy is shooting himself in the foot, you don't take away his gun'. How true...

from six days in Phoenix, where I played in the annual HDR golf tourney, staying with friends at a 'high end' Arizona retirement/resort community. Absolutely beautiful, and Terri and Dennis were fantastic hosts. As I think back I have a couple of over-riding thoughts. First, I don't understand why I can't score better in a golf tournament situation. It's lots of fun, but the athletic ability I had in other sports just never transferred to my golf game, esp in a multi-day tournament, and am not sure why. Second, although we were able to avoid political discussions, because we are SO far apart in that area, I was subjected to FOXNews (on in the background, or during the 'news' cast) at a much higher level than I could normally endure. Now, more than ever, I realize that once the decision is made to rely on FOX for your political/business information, you have totally given up on 'Fair and Balanced' reporting, and would become a full-time Obama/Dem hate...

I've watched a lot of sporting events, but I don't think I've ever seen any team 'suck', like Butler in the finals of the 'Final Four'. They made some 3's in the last 2 minutes, to finally get 41 points, barely. Talk about choking, on the big stage. UConn was terrible, and won by a bunch. Wow...

on TV tonight, and see parts of the 'Country Music Awards', I really miss a part of my life I haven't had for a while. For many years, I would drive across the country, for days at a time, going to, or coming from places like Seattle, Miami, San Diego or upstate New York, and all places in between, listening to the radio. It was exciting, in a different way, each time, and I loved the days behind the wheel, as I listened to the different type of radio available to the road warriors that spend their days on the highways.  That was the only time I listen to NPR or country music stations. Nothing comes from the heart, like country music, and you can only appreciate it, I think, when you're 'on the road'. Kinda miss it...

was perhaps the most important news show I've ever seen, and I've seen a bunch. They showed how the mortgage companies in the US don't legally own the titles they hold, if they have been transferred, as MOST of them have, by the 'mortgage mills'. This is HUGE. It won't hold up in court, as all these morts, ( and over 1/4 in the US are 'underwater'), are adjudicated, cuz the signatures have been 'faked', as 'signing mills' did tens of thousands per day, and legal ownership can't be proven. It won't hold up in court! This is disastrous for the mortgage companies in the world, and is just a matter of time, 'til the lawyers make their cases.  And 'new sales' will be killed, cuz they won't be able to get title insurance which is vital to the mortgage industry. You don't legally have to pay your mortgage, and they can't legally kick you out, and house values will get even worse.  More people will realize this, e...

there's a great story about bald eagles and their young. I used to really like eagles and big hawks, and worked with 'Birds of Prey', where I helped with hawks, eagles and owls. Really cool birds. BUT, within the last year those same birds have stalked Bailey, and I don't like them nearly as much. Really different, when they're trying to eat my kitty, and that's exactly what they're trying to do. Hawks, owls, eagles, all circling over my house, looking at Bailey (not at the same time). A big change of attitude, on my part. An amazing difference. in 'point of view'. Sort of a microcosm for our world today....

I'd hire a bunch of bikers, and pay them well, to go into Florida, and beat the crap of Terry Jones, the 'preacher' who burned the Koran. Would be money well spent...

today, after a record heat (by 8 degrees) yesterday, so I was watching the Nuggets at the Lakers, and REALLY enjoyed this game, as the Nuggies beat the Lakers, in LA, in spite of a bunch of bad calls by the zebras. Love these new Nuggets, after the big trade. Was 60 degrees this morning, and the temp dropped over 20 degrees in less than an hour, after a big wind blew through, and it started snowing, big time. I love Colorado...

as growers compete in different areas. http://www.denverpost.com/news/marijuana/ci_17756170  Kinda funny to see stuff like this in newspaper articles. Best smelling, prettiest (?), strongest. Kind of the wild, wild, west out here, compared to some places.

that only Dems make stupid remarks in Washington? After April Fool's Day, FOXNews has a special section on, 'Washington Fool's Day', and you can vote on stupid quotes from politicians. Surprise! ALL the stupid quotes are from Dems. Repubs obviously never say anyting stupid. Typical FOX bullshit, but I kinda wonder how they explain the 'Fair and Balanced' when faced with stuff like this. Oh yeah, that's a stupid quote, they just forgot to include it.

in this story of religious fanatics? The FL preacher who burned a Koran last week, (pretty much ignored by US media), OR, the Muslims in Kabul, who killed, and beheaded a bunch of U.N. workers when they heard about it, today? Just what we need in the world these days... More religious fanatics, and the trouble they cause.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/the-truth-about-the-econo_b_842998.html the story that the gov't and most of the media doesn't want to admit, from,Robert Reich,Fmr. Secretary of Labor; The Economic Truth That Nobody Will Admit: We're Heading Back Toward a Double-Dip Hate to say it, but I don't see any way we're gonna avoid it. The only questions are, how soon, how bad and how long will it last? The truth is, many people never got over the train wreck that was the GWBush disaster. Consumer confidence is way down and getting worse, gas prices are up and housing prices are down, with no end in sight. The only reason employment numbers aren't WAY worse is because so many people have given up, and the crazy way the gov't tabulates it. For a large part of the population, there hasn't been a problem, and won't be, BUT, for millions of people, it's a mess that's just getting worse. You can't run a gov't with a diminishing tax b...

a group of us split 4 season tix to the Rockies, SO, I got to see all the season openers, which is always a very special day, esp when the weather is good, like today. I was at the first game, when the very first hitter, Eric Young, hit a homerun in the first at bat. The place went NUTS, sorta like when the Rockies won in the bottom of the 17th inning, after falling behind 2 runs in the top, to make it into the World Series. Sports moments are special, cuz you never know when they're gonna happen, but when they do, WOW...