Weekly 12/5

Cain Calls it Quits
So I guess no non establishment option is out there anymore.  I had hoped his new ideas would shake up the presidential race.  No its more of the same self enriching, self protecting, politics as usual. 
Ravens Beat the Browns
The Ravens beat a division rival.  No road game let down this week.  It seemed harder than it had to be, but we will see how they fare in the next few weeks.   
Looked at cars (used no discount vs new 15%) whats going on?
This was at a particular dealership that sold new and used cars. I know there are incentives on new cars, but showing an unwillingness to budge on price on a used are seems sort of weird.I did find a new left over 2011 very similar that is advertised at $1000 less than the negotiated price for a 2012.  I had hoped to beat the 2012 price by more than $1000, but I am not done yet.  I have mixed feelings about playing dealerships against each other.  When it comes to saving money anything is on the table for me besides lying outright.   

Weekly 11/28

This weeks blog is going to be random thoughts:

Ravens beat the 49ers on Thanksgiving.  That is a quality win against a 9-1 team.

I finally took my boat over to Sunset harbor Sunday.  I still need to pull the batteries oh and the auto fogging actually worked.

My neighbors garage was opened (5 am Monday morning) and a skateboard was almost stolen (the person dropped it on the way out), need to keep aware

Decided to buy a car.  I don't think I am getting the G37 convert. coupe anymore too impractical, probably a used sedan.  I really don't know what I will get, but I am going through a process.

I am buying a car becasue I have spent in the last 2 months:
$200 on a drive shaft seal
$115 on a diagnostic at a deal to tell me the next two (done at an independent shop) 
$750 on a caliper, rotors and pads
$550 on a new wheel bearing
$1615 total

I've had this noise/vibration for a year or more that got intolerable which lead to these things.  Oh the noise isn't gone.  I don't doubt these needed to be done and were real problems, but it still isn't fixed. 

Weekly 11/21

Thanksgiving week
Last week my company made a mistake (and the mistake for my productivity standpoint) of giving me a smart phone.  Wow. I thought I know what I was missing and it wasn't much, but I was wrong.  To have real features and apps that work and not just gimmicks is truly useful and cool.  I mean yeah I could get on the internet and I could take pictures and I could email and text with my blackberry and other cell phones, but to get it all on a decent sized screen and at speeds that really work I couldn't imagine how I made out without it before.  (Before I forget I need to get the app that would let me blog).  So I mostly just email and play games, but I have found some neat apps and am discovering new stuff everyday.  

So the Ravens beat the Cincinnati Bengals (who were in first place).  It was a quality win and without Ray Lewis on the field.  The defense gave up a lot of yards, but they got 3 turnovers which was great.  The offense was actually balanced and even had some explosive plays.  All in all a pretty good game against a quality opponent. I hope they can keep it up Thursday vs. the 49er's. I wonder how my barber is getting along.  A niner's fan in a Ravens world.

I need to take my boat over to get pulled this weekend.

 

Weekly Update 11/14

Last week this whole Penn State scandal came out.  Ugly stuff pointing to something I see much of these days.  I don't like the hero worship (of Joe Pa) and institution worship (of Penn State).  He is just a man.  Worthy or respect sure, but not of a godlike status.  But let's take this farther, the reasons for the cover up were to preserve the status the institution and the public figurehead.  I believe that if these legends and myths weren't perpetuated and furthered the actions of this man would have been stopped and innocent people's lives would not have been ruined.  No one would have stopped and thought about the appropriate action to take.  The proper authorities would have been called and this would have been brought to an end.  Unfortunately those that heard the stories stopped and considered, how will this reflect on our institution and what are the impact on it before they thought what is the danger to others from this man.  Obvious comparisons can be drawn to the Catholic church scandals and the institutional cover up which led to the victimization of thousands of people.  the scale is much different but the lesson to be learned is the same,  More damage was done to the reputation in the wake of the cover up then if the crimes were confronted head on. The church seemed to stand for something greater than man thus trust worthy, which made the betrayal worse. When a man and a school are held in that regard the damage is still significant when they betray that trust. Would I support a school sure and respect a coach ok, but not enough to make the mistake that they are infallible.   

Ravens lost again.  I am glad I was in Delaware in a hanger working on an airplane.  I didn't waste 3.5 hours that's the good news.  The bad news is the Ravens are schizophrenic as I thought they were. They beat the Steelers in a good game, well executed.  Then they struggle against Seattle?

At the barbershop on Friday evening, one of the busiest times, I was sitting in a chair getting my hair cut.  I looked at the waiting area and every person, teen aged through middle age, was white.  I guess Harford county is reversed integrated.



 

Weekly update

Ravens won, offense looked lost for the first half as usual

For some reason the GOP primary has caught my attention.  Herman Cain is accused of sexual harassment.  Sound familiar Clarence Thomas ring a bell?  Is it that these "powerful" black men aren't well behaved or more prone for compliant?  I think the latter.  They may have made those comments or actions, but so have many other men.  I think the comments/actions weren't as well received by the victims because the perpetrators are black.  That comes from what I have seen in my experience.  I see lots or harassment that is laughed off or even accepted as desired attention, but usually from white men in power. If it came from a black man and he said it well that's another matter.  I am not supporting inappropriate behavior in the workplace in anyway, but it happens.  What the question is how is it dealt with and is it fair? 

Weekly Update

Ravens Lose to the Jaguars
I dont know if I am mad at the Ravens or myself for Staying up so late for nothing
As I saiud last week the Ravens offense is average at best and last night it wasnt at its best
The shame is the defense is almost always a Superbowl winning defense
The offense is a losing team, bottom third offense
What could have been if we had an offense
It used to be the blind loyalty to a sorry quarterback
Now it is an offensive coordination/communication/trust issue
Something has to change

Went shooting this weekend.  I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it. Seeing those clay pigeons exploding from my well aimed blast.  Now I want a shotgun again.

Weekly Update

Ravens won
Flacco made 2 nice passes, but that doesn't excuse the first half struggles
Yes there was pressure, but why freeze and fumble?
People compare him to Ben, Ben doesn't just stand there and get hit, he moves up in the pocket or laterally
Flacco isn't an elite quarter back he is average and that's it
We have to work with what we got
If that isn't good enough then we need another one

Other thoughts
Republican Primary
What happened to the tea party?
I was expecting some more crazy candidates to laugh at besides  Michele Bachmann and Palin before she quit
It's becoming more of the same people corrupted by the system into mediocrity
Cain is interesting, but do you really think they are going to nominate a black man?