Since I am hoping not to lose the 3 or 4 readers I have after yesterday’s diatribe, I thought I would ease up a bit again, and answer questions and such that have brought people here from search engines.

But first I would simply be remiss if I didn’t say I was thrilled to see that our legal system does still work properly as shown by the decision this morning that, NSA spying program was found Unconstitutional and must be halted immediately. (Of course, I am sure this will be blamed on “activist judges”)

Now on to the lighter fare. What brings people here (recently), what were they looking for, and can I give them an answer.

Lilo and Stitch Cancelled – yes it is true. Lilo and Stitch has been cancelled as part of the arcane setup created under Michael Eisner that cancels all shows after 3 years or 65 episodes, regardless of how popular a show it is. Last Year Kim Possible was cancelled as well, but after a groundswell of support and protesting, the show was brought back for a 4th season. You can go here to try and help save Lilo and Stitch.

Bensi’s Restaurant – an excellent Italian Restaurant… particularly for a franchise chain type of place. Oddly, they do NOT have a website.

biodegrable fabric softener – we have just recently started using the one from Ecover. And to tell you the truth we LOVE it. There are others from places like Sun and Earth, Seventh Generation and others, but we are very happy with Ecover right now.

war on breastfeeding – the latest salvo in the war is apparently due to the cover of Baby Talk magazine showing a baby breastfeeding. Why are so many people in this country so hung up on sex that they can not appreciate breastfeeding for the natural thing that it is? I wish I knew. From the attorney last year that wrote an op-ed piece comparing breastfeeding to urinating in public, to LiveJournal banning avatars showing breastfeeding, to the astonishingly stupid move at Victoria’s Secret of an employee telling a woman to use the rest room for breastfeeding it appears that this is a full scale war by the “purity” nuts that just can not see a breast for anything other than sexual purposes.

john kiggins – don’t know him, and worse have no idea how you got here from that search.

and finally

Kim Possible porn animated – you are sick and need serious therapy dude. (I am assuming this is a dude – and I think it is a reasonable assumption). It is bad enough there are still men out there pleasuring themselves to the image of Jessica Rabbit. But this is a kids show!

One tought thing about going on vacation is surviving the week before. On the one hand, I have the highly organized wife that wants to be “all set” to go well before hand. Luggage has been pulled out already, and items are already being packed. Personally I am a procrastinator on such things and would rather leave it all for Friday night. But in all fairness, I am also well known for forgetting things that I needed or wanted for a trip, which I guess is almost inevitable when you leave everything to the last minute. I guess this is one of those instances where”opposites attract” comes in as a benefit. She starts early and worries constantly that we will forget something. I maintain the laid back attitute to keep her from burning out. She keeps me from forgetting things, and with all that extra time, I become “suitcase man” because I can find a way to make all the overpacking she does, actually fit into the suitcases.

The other drawback is more obvious and probably more understandable to just about anybody. I am so ready for this vacation, that it is only Monday and I am ready for this week to be over already. Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of work to keep me busy. I just have no actual desire to get any of it done. I feel fried. I so desperately don’t want to be here today, that I would rather be home (over)packing than be at my desk today. But of course, somebody has to actually PAY for this vacation, and it is tough enough remembering that since as a consultant I am in business for myself, I do not “get” a vacation, I simply get “unpaid time off.” In the good old days, it was easier to say, “well that is what I get the big bucks for” but today thanks to outsourcing and such, I no longer get the “big bucks,” but all the drawbacks are still there. It could be worse I guess, I could not have the current semi-steady client contract that I am currently enjoying. But still, feast or famine consulting can sometimes be nerve wracking.

Today’s Non-Sequitur

Today, TheWife and LatteGirl are going to look at the private school that we are considering.

Then after that they are heading over to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. While I am fully behind, if we cower the terrorists win. However, I am also fully behind the fact that our President, through a failed foreign policy has made this country less safe, not more so. And the Statue of Liberty, is a tempting target (despite the Department of Homeland Security NOT regarding it as a national symbol). The only thing that gives me some sort of “comfort” is thanks to the “thwarted” terrorist plot last week, the raised alert level and additional security that goes with it, makes things a bit safer in the short term (until we get lazy again). Regardless, I will be at least a little concerned until they call and tell me they are back home safely.

The Shangri-La diet is still working amazingly well. When I started it about 9 weeks ago, my goal was to lose 10-12 lbs before vacation. I have now lost 24.4 lbs with a week to go before vacation. I actually have some clothes that I had hoped to fit in by next summer that I am now considering taking with me on vacation.

In order to keep this from turing into a diet blog, I have started one here. Although if things keep going this well, I will still probably post here, just to brag a bit.

I have a bit somber lately, so I thought for a change, heading into the weekend I would lighten up a little and share something a friend sent to me, which gives me some solace and reminds me why I should be happy that:

I don’t have a boy.

1.) A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.

2.) If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

3.) A 3-year old Boy’s voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

4.) If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20×20 ft. room.

5.) You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

6.) The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn’t stop a baseball.

7.) When you hear the toilet flush and the words “uh oh”, it’s already too late.

8.) Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

9.) A six-year old boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old man says they can only do it in the movies.

10.) Certain Legos will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old boy.

11.) Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

12.) Super glue is forever.

13.) No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can’t walk on water.

14.) Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

15.) VCR’s do not eject “PB & J” sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

16.) Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17.) Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

18.) You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.

19.) Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

20.) The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.

21.) The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

22.) It will, however, make cats dizzy.

23.) Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

24.) 80% of women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.

25.) 80% of men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

Throughout the day, if you watched the news, read the news, or basically were anywhere but under a rock, you know that officials in the U.K. have “thwarted” another planned terrorists attack, utilizing “possibly” liquid explosives.

However, what you may not have noticed unless you were paying really close attention were some interesting facts, which tell me that the “Terror Alert System” put in place by then Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge is worthless, and nothing but a propoganda tool.

In the details of the stories on yesterdays events, came some “background material” that seemed almost to be “filler.” How we were able to stop this thanks to some fantastic undercover work and how they had been tracking this for months. Through this undercover work they were aware that a “test run” was only possibly a few days away and the actual attack would happen within days after that. As the events unfolded in the early morning hours, the President had not even been awoken, because he had already been fully briefed and was aware of what was happening since Sunday.

Wait… What??

This attack was “imminent,” we were “fully aware” of it on Sunday and yet our Status remained Yellow? “Code Red” means the very real threat of attack in IMMINENT, so why were we still at Yellow? It was not until AFTER the fact that we went to “Code Red” on international travel. What if the timing of all of this was off? Since we knew of these “unfolding scenario” for MONTHS and we were fully apprised of the immediacy of the situation since SUNDAY, should we not have HEIGHTEN SECURITY IMEDIATELY? Of course we should have.

The fact is that the “Terror Alert Color System” is nothing but a tool and toy to use to allow the Press to scare the bejesus out of people. So just toss it already. It is nothing but a sham, and the way these events unfolded without the system changing “colors” until after the fact shows just how useless it is.

Two years ago, it was a beautiful day, much as today was. I was walking home from LatteGirl’s Pre-K program pulling her behind me in her red wagon, when I got the phone call from my sister. “Dad is not doing well, he may not make it.”

I frantically rushed home. I couldn’t get a hold of my wife. I started dialing everybody and anybody I could think of to watch after LatteGirl so I could get to the hospital. Finally I got ahold of my sister-in-law who was not only able to watch after LatteGirl, but gave me a ride to the hospital.

Rushing in, I frantically looked for somebody to tell me my father’s whereabouts. I got pointed to a ICU area behind a white curtain. I ran over.

I was too late.

I would never get my opportunity to say good-bye.

By most standards he was just an ordinary man, who lived an ordinary life in an ordinary town. But to those lives he touched he was anything but ordinary.

• He served in the Korean War (and only just before his death did I find out, he worked Special Ops for the CIA).
• He was very patriotic and proud of the United States and respectful of the Flag.
• He worked at Western Electric/AT&T/Lucent for 36 years
• Volunteered in a soup kitchen for almost 10 years after his retirement, and only stopped because of health issues that did not allow him to continue.
• Continued to raise money for the Soup Kitchen up through the time of his death.
• Helped raise money and acquire funding for the local library
• Was a primary organizer of the local chapter of “Pioneers” (organization of retired “Bell” employees).
• Was always their to make signs, volunteer, etc for the needs of his church
• Raised money for Disabled American Veterans
• Was a 3 time commander of his post of the Catholic War Veterans
• Collected and raised money for POW-MIA’s and their families
• Still had time for his family, attend my and my sister’s little league games, sporting events, play performances, recitals, etc.

and believe it or not… much more.

They say time heals all wounds, but two years later, while life goes on, I don’t feel any more healed. He was more than just a father, he was a statesman, a mentor, a guide for me to learn from and try to live up to, thought I doubt I ever can. And a part of me still feels missing and empty.

Rest in Peace.

Joseph P. Romeo
1928 – 2004