Ahhh...

Do you hear that? No?

Me either.

That, my friends, is the sound of an empty house.

Yep... first day of school here in NEPA. Nolan and Jake are off to learn their ABCs (and whatever other liberal crap that passes these days for education), Katey is at University, Liz is on her way to work... and I have the next two days off.

The morning went surprisingly well, actually. The whole house over-slept by about 20 minutes, but no one was crabby, fussy or belligerent and all got to where they needed to be on time, dressed and loaded with the necessities of the new school year.

Now, even more than bringing to mind the certainty of early afternoon naps on the couch and blissful quiet until 3 PM, this time of the year brings something else to my mind:

Football.

Jambo and our good friend John drafter the Cheesehead's roster this Monday past... and they did a hell of a job. I'm SO impressed, I thought I'd share the roster with all of you.

In no particular order (unless otherwise noted) here it is:

QB Aaron Rodgers, GB

QB Joe Flacco, BAL

RB Michael Turner, ATL

RB Ahmad Bradshaw, NYG

RB Michael Bush, OAK

RB Pierre Thomas, NO

WR Percy Harvin, MIN

WR Jeremy Maclin, PHI

WR Jordy Nelson, GB

WR Lee Evans, BAL

WR Mike Williams, TB

K Mason Crosby, GB

K David Akers, SF

Vikings DEF

Raiders DEF

Maclin and Harvin are studs, no matter who throws the ball, and Aaron Rodgers is the odds on favorite to lead his team to the next NFC Championship game. He's projected to have a 4k yard season, another 30 TDs and an average fantasy score (in our league, anyway) of more than 35 ppg. Thomas was a STEAL at where they picked him (9th round, I believe)... and YES, we know he'll share touches, but he is as good a receiver as he is a running back, and that is worth double points in our league.

In fact, Rodgers and Thomas square off in the season opener for both teams at Lambeau Field a week from Thursday. Potentially our two biggest scorers of the week playing on a Thursday night... we could start the season off with a BANG that game, huh? Brees and "da Saints" are looking to reassert themselves as Superbowl contenders (which I still feel they are) against the reigning champion Packers, and if the Packer defense is still tough as nails, Thomas will get his screen pass yardage all night long, with at least one TD before the game is over.

It was a good summer... but DAMN I love the fall.

Six years ago right now

My storage shed landed in my neighbor's yard, after going through my back fence.

The power went out too... And didn't come back for over a week.

Just about every casino on the Coast ended up damaged somehow, most beyond repair. There wasn't anything bigger than a brick left of Tullis Manor after the Grand barge landed on it... Or the old Tivoli Hotel after the Lady Luck barge bounced off it.

It feels longer than six years, truth be told.

"F--KING IRENE!"

I know... I'm not typically a fan of the profanity on the blog. I just keep associating this named storm with the "go signal" from the movie Blackhawk Down: Irene.

Rain total projections are now over 7 inches here in NEPA for Sunday, and that is going to make my old, leaky basement a very wet area, I can tell you. Liz and I just got all the essentials off the floor and as high as possible, placing the pump in the needed area and getting all ready for the inevitable rising water. We can handle about 150 gallons an hour... but more than that and we're fighting a losing battle. More than 20" of rainwater in the basement, and the furnace is flooded. It's not cold enough to need the furnace, but the added expense of having it cleaned and serviced is supremely inconvenient right now.

Couple this with the near certainty that we will lose power for at least a portion of the storm (meaning the pump won't run at all), and you see the problem shaping up before our eyes. Our power seems intimately tied with that of northern New Jersey (not sure if this is true, or why, if it is true), and they are expecting rolling outages of several hours of blackout, at least. We can weather the outages... we have water, oil, candles and food galore... but the pump needs juice to run.

I know... how can a Katrina survivor NOT have a generator? I just never seem to have the scratch to buy one.

Fun, fun... I move all this way to AVOID hurricanes, and here I am: prepping again for another storm.

{sigh}

My first earthquake...

Yesterday I experienced my first earthquake. Hundreds of miles from the epicenter, and it was still strong enough to cause all the light fixtures in the casino to sway. It even knocked bricks off the building my wife works in. Other than that... kind of a non-event.

Hurricane Irene, on the other hand...

The "cone-o'-death" now spreads quite nicely over my house for Sat night/Sun morning. I expect no real winds... but I can plan on copious amounts of rain and frequent power outages. The rain is fine... but I'm no fan of the power outages, I can tell you that. Still, I have water, propane and lamp oil, so I should be ready.

Busy day today... Katey, our 18-year-old, leaves for college tomorrow, and she is NOT ready to go yet. Seems she spent last night emptying her closets and dressers of ALL their contents and spreading them (seemingly randomly) around her bedroom floor. She then took my soft-sided luggage rack for the top of the truck and put ALL her clothes into it. It is amazing how such a small girl can have so many clothes... and how much those clothes weigh. She used no luggage, mind you... just loose clothing in the carrier. {sigh}

I want her to be excited for the experience... but just a touch of common sense (from both her and her mother) would be nice. She's only going to be away for nine days before her first long break for Labor Day, so how many outfits will she really need? I paid for unfettered access to the laundry facilities... so surely she can't be expected to take ALL her clothes, right?

Well... I'm off to start the day. Jambo should be in MS already (or very nearly there). I wanted to call him last night, but the cell died in the car and things were simply too crazy in the house once I got home. If you read this... call me when you are functional.

Today was a big day...

It really was: in one 24-hour period, we saw the end of the Fairness Doctrine here in the US AND the end of the Qaddafi regime in Libya.

Granted, neither is completely gone... yet. The Fairness Doctrine doesn't die (once and for all) until it's replacement policy is published and placed into action. That might take a few days. Qaddafi's regime doesn't officially die until he is found and the last vestige of his government is removed (once and for all). That, too, might take a few more days... but it is coming.

Both of these events are big... HUGE for the Obama Administration, and humanity in general. And, frankly, both surprise me.

I'm still trying to come to grips with what possessed the President to recommend this sort of "reform" from the FCC. We've discussed the Doctrine here often in the past, and Ryan and I (at least) have had some loud and rousing discussions about its merits and failings... but I think we both agreed that if it was going to go away forever... the last person we thought that would do it would be someone Obama appointed to the job.

Six months ago, Obama said that the US involvement in Libya's "revolution" would last only days, and only two years ago (June 4th, 2009, to be exact), in his Cairo Speech, he said "I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear: no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other. " Despite criticism from both his party and much of the liberal world, Obama maintained the US support of the NATO actions against Qaddafi and his forces... and the rebel victory is clearly (but not solely) linked to this support.

Were Obama a smart man (or one that surrounded himself with smart people, which is the next best thing), he'd be explaining that US efforts in Libya are NOT interventionist in nature... but are supportive of freedom and liberty as expressed and detailed in our own founding documents. We are not "imposing" American democracy on Libya... freedom and liberty cannot be imposed, by the very nature of the words and ideas. We are supporting efforts that reflect our own fundamental principles, and any risks or costs associated with such support are well worth it.

We are going to look back on the Obama legacy (be it one term or not) for DECADES to come, and have no end of things to complain about... but I really don't think either of these are going to ever be among them. I could almost say I'm proud of the man right now...

Happy Birthday!

On this day in 1970, my little brother was born...

He's been here in NEPA since Sunday, and I know it hasn't been all fun and excitement for either him or Leona... but I want them both to know I've had a blast. We've laughed at memories, talked about old friends, and complained about work (mine, theirs, anybodies)... and we've drank, ate and laughed some more.

I hope Jambo has a great day, and I will miss him (and Leona) when you guys leave.

An era of extremes...

That's what this election cycle is shaping up to be.

On the one side you have the remnants of the Obama/Pelosi/Reid followers who are convinced that taxing the rich (which equals taxing most of the moderate and large business owners/employers) and deficit spending will fix all the world's troubles by growing government's ability to control and dictate the private sector as readily as it dictates the public sector.

On the other side, you have the "Tea Party" favorites, who are rapidly being seen as even worse than the LAST Congress because there is nothing getting done via compromise and debate. Every single GOP candidate to date has vowed that there would be "no new taxes", even if that new tax was coupled with a 10-to-1 reduction in spending... and the same promise is going to be rung out of most of our Senate and House hopefuls, too.

Once again, I'm frustrated that the GOP won't stick to their guns and deliver a PLAN with consistent goals and objectives that counters the obvious and measurable failings of the liberal agenda. Congressman Ryan's plan has all but faded into oblivion in the last 9 months... and no real replacement has been forthcoming.

Has the GOP forgotten that the "incumbent" always has the edge? Whether its the House, Senate or Oval Office... the incumbent has the advantage in an election cycle. For the next 15 months, Obama can simply point to GOP partisanship and say "It's their fault, not mine!" and the historical record tells us 54% of the voting population will believe him over the opposition candidates. The only exceptions to this edge are when the opposition can plainly show an alternative to the incumbent's policies... as Reagan did in 1980 to Carter's policies.