No Blogging Today -- I'm SICK!!

Thanks to all for the good wishes.  I am going to retire to my bed and get some sleep.  Hope to resume blogging tomorrow.

An Annoying Week

This has been a very strange week for me.  Let us count the ways.

1.  I accepted an original article for posting, only to have the author go ballistic on me over something totally unrelated.  I still have her eleven voice mails on my Iphone, ranting and raving, not to mention her crazy, venomous email.  Boy, did I screw up.  I gave this person, who appears to be seriously unbalanced, my phone number and revealed other personal things to her, which she then used to ridicule and insult me.  She finally seems to have backed off and gone away.  I won't make that mistake again.

2.  I worked on another blogger's banner for hours, only to have her post another guy's knock-off at the last minute.  I informed her, nicely, that I won't be doing any more banner art for her.  I still consider her a friend and an ally and I wish her well, but she may need to reevaluate her approaches to teamwork and human relations.  You can't treat people like that and expect them to help you later on.

3.  I went to band practice knowing that playing music would make me feel better.  The singer showed up with a bad head cold and I took it home with me.  AARGH!!

4.  I removed from my blog roll a former friend and confidant whose derivative, me-too style of blogging finally pushed my aggravation to code red level.  Apparently, she never realized how pathetic and unseemly blatant blog-whoring appears; but when it finally evolved into blog-stalking, with an undercurrent of hostility towards the targeted attention-giver, it's really time to call a halt.

Now I am going to cough and sneeze and blow my nose and feel like shit for the rest of the day.

Update:  The week isn't over yet.  I just received an emailed death threat from a Muslim.  His name and email are: Eddie Chavez eddiechavez7@yahoo.com. I am posting it here so his email address will fill up with Nigerian scam offers and other spam.

Alabama vs Texas, BCS Championship Game is This Evening

The BCS championship game is on television tonight. I have mixed feelings about the teams.  My ancestors settled in Alabama in time for the Civil War and fought for the South.  Alabama was once the site of the family's home; it is our ancestral homeland in a sense.  My great, great grandfather is buried there.

I first set foot in Alabama in 1994 and was amazed at how beautiful and green it was.

After the war my great grandfather moved the family to Texas to escape the carpet baggers.  Ever since then most of my family was born and reared in Texas, and we identify more with Texas now than we do Alabama (no one remembers Alabama but we all remember Texas).

So I can't in good conscience root against Texas, the greatest state of all time, in my family's view.  So all I can say is....may the best team win!!

Game time is 5:30 PM here on the west coast.  It is 8:30 PM on the east coast.  Westerners may be stuck in traffic at kickoff, so drive carefully but get home as quick as you can.

Rush Limbaugh's New HD Video Cam

Subscribers to Rush Limbaugh's 24/7 club can now watch Rush live in high definition.  I often listen to Rush on my computer but today decided to check out his new HD video cam.  It is amazing.  The quality and size of the video stream are greatly improved.

At the right is an actual-size screen capture I made of Rush's broadcast today.

Stogie's Favorite Blogs

This morning I seriously trimmed back my blog roll.  I deleted sites that I seldom visit or read.

Here are the sites (excluding the obvious large and powerful blogs) that I do read daily:

1.  American Power.  Donald Douglas recently passed the 1 million hits mark and did it with quality and quantity of content.  His gimmick:  he don't need no stinkin' gimmicks.  Thorough and timely coverage of breaking news and events are what earned Donald his million hits.  There are no shortcuts, but you can get there if you try.  Donald is a great blogger to emulate, and you have to get up pretty early to scoop Donald.

2.  Left Coast Rebel.  LCR is another blog that makes use of the quantity/quality aspect of successful blogging.  Plus, the blog owner is just a good guy, a friend, someone to brainstorm ideas with.  He has given me a number of helpful tips.

3.  Another Black Conservative.  Clifton is a great ally and friend, but also an excellent thinker and writer.  I like to describe his exposition as "solid gold conservatism," because it is pure and undiluted.  He is generally spot-on in his analyses of current events, and shows warmth and friendship to other bloggers.

4.  Infidel Bloggers Alliance.  These folks have been supportive friends since I started blogging four years ago.  They cover the Islamic threat very well and Pastorius of IBA has become a good friend.

5.  The Astute Bloggers.  These guys like to run saucy headlines and run at the left from unexpected angles.  They are thought provoking, entertaining, informative AND they can write.

6.  The Camp of the Saints.  Bob Belvedere's site is entertaining and frequently displays legacy cheesecake.  No, not the eating kind, where the legacy attribute could lead to food poisoning, but the actresses of Hollywood's golden age, before they went bonkers and jumped off a leftwing cliff.  Bob is also a good friend who lends a hand to other bloggers when he can.

I think it's time to say "thank you" to these bloggers for their friendship, assistance and support, but also for their excellent contributions to conservative blogging.

There'll Be Some Changes Made

It's a new year and I am reevaluating my blog associations.  I will be pruning my blog roll later this week and removing those who do not post regularly, or who are merely cheerleaders for The Other McCain.  (You know who you are.)  It's fine to support McCain, he and Smitty are great guys, but if begging for their attention is all that your blog consists of, you aren't my cup of tea.  One blogger seems to have segued into blog stalking.  It's not a pretty sight.

Right now I have to get ready to practice with my band.  Playing music makes me happy.  At this moment, blogging does not.

Melanie Morgan is Ailing, Has Left Her Radio Show

Melanie Morgan, lately of the liberal ass-kicking business, has left her radio show for health reasons.  She did not explain what those health reasons are.

Nasty liberal posters at Democratic Underground and SF Gate are hoping she dies a painful death.

If that scum hates you, you must be doing something right.

Get well Melanie and God bless.  We need you.

Read more about here.

Record Cold Temperatures -- Still Believe in Global Warming?

From the Drudge Report we get the following headlines for today:

Winter Could Be Worst in 25 Years for USA...

CHILL MAP...

3 Deaths Due To Cold in Memphis...

PAPER: GAS SUPPLIES RUNNING OUT IN UK...

Elderly burn books for warmth?

Vermont sets 'all-time record for one snowstorm'...

Iowa temps 'a solid 30 degrees below normal'...

Seoul buried in heaviest snowfall in 70 years...

Historic ice build-up shuts down NJ nuclear power plant...

Midwest Sees Near-Record Lows, Snow By The Foot...

Miami shivers from coldest weather in decade...

Still believe in an impending "global warming" disaster?  It should be apparent by now that the AGW hysteria has been a fraud all along....

Stogie's Band to Play for Wounded Vets

I had my second practice last night with the new band.  In three weeks, we are scheduled to play for wounded vets at the V.A. Hospital in Palo Alto.  We won't be the only entertainment, but still it is an honor to play for these veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.  So between now and then, it is practice, practice, practice!

2010: The Sun Rises on a Brand New Year

2010:  I like the sound of that.  Two thousand ten.  It's a nice, round number.

A new year seems to stir the human soul with fresh possibilities.  It feels like opening all of the windows and letting a fresh breeze blow away the stale air.  Time to start anew.  I must not let my life continue in the same, well-worn rut.  Now is the time to think of new approaches, new strategies, new plans.  What has worked in the past, but no longer works, must be discarded and replaced.

The arenas that must be explored and changed are these:
1.  What I do for money (work and career) in this new and radically changed economy
2.  What I do for personal enrichment (e.g., music, writing, reading, Photoshop)
3.  Personal relationships:  how to improve and strengthen existing relationships with friends, allies and family.
4.  Where I live.  Do I stay where I am or should I move where there may be better opportunities?

January 1st is always a good day to take inventory of your life and plan for needed changes.