Month: October 2009

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Animals Astronomy Blogging Driving Hoaxes Holidays News People Sports Travel Weather

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

The 101ST weekly edition – and the kickoff of a brand new year of the weekly ‘Grab Bag’ begins … NOW !  Get ready for this !

1.  I missed the entire ordeal as the news was breaking LIVE to a riveted International television audience last Thursday. That’s right. I was actually working – at my job – as the ‘balloon boy’ saga was playing out over the skies of Colorado. I found out about it after the fact later that afternoon. We eventually realized that it was an elabourate hoax orchestrated well in advance. Should the ‘balloon boy dad’ go to jail for his hijinks ?  No. Should he perhaps be fined or be ordered by a Judge to reimburse the count(ies) and state for all expenses incurred ?  Sure. The guy made some bad decisions, and he lied to the authorities. But he doesn’t belong in jail. He also doesn’t deserve to lose his kids over the matter.

2.  My Washington Redskins are NOT a very good team this year. You can blame it on the special teams – the defense – the offense – the quarterback – the coaching staff – the front office – George W. Bush – El Niño – whatever. The blame game is not going to make them any better than they are now. The bottom line is that they have a lot of talent on that team, but they are simply not scoring points and winning games. The best teams in the NFL eventually became the worst teams – and vice versa. Are you a fan of your favourite sports team(s) only when they win, or are you a fan through the thick and the thin – through the blood, the sweat, and the tears ?

3.  Exactly one month from today I embark on the longest continuous road trip of my lifetime. On the 20TH of November of 2009 I’ll be driving approximately 825 miles from Homestead Florida to Gulfport Mississippi over the course of 14 hours. The next day I’ll be driving the remaining 590 miles to north of Dallas Texas as I begin a week-long holiday stay with my Mom, Dad, their cat, Brother, Sister-In-Law, Nephew-To-Be, and their dog.

4.  We climbed back up to the 80s this morning at around 11:30 AM – exactly as I forecasted last Saturday night when we last dropped out of the 80s at the start of our recent cold snap. Officially at the air base we dropped down to 59°F on Sunday morning, 56°F on Monday morning, and 63°F this morning. (Minimum temperatures were several degrees cooler in some of the farming areas around town.) I don’t expect another cold front over the next 7 to 10 days, so get used to a lot of sunshine, warmth, and higher humidity – perhaps even some more record high temperatures.

5.  This will be our last full weekend of Daylight Saving Time. On the following Sunday morning – the first of November – at 2 AM local time we fall back to Standard Time, and I am so truly looking forward to being back on ‘real’ time. I’ll have the daylight when I want it – at 6:30 AM rather than 6:30 PM. BRING IT ON !

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Animals Blogging Humor People Radio Travel

Monday Night Countdown

This Just In:  In the dark of the night it was revealed earlier today that ‘The Major’s Tweets’ had been temporarily removed from the weekly blogging schedule. It is now on hiatus – which is usually not a good sign. Anyone remember the ‘Lipitor Moment Of The Night’ ?  Anyone ?  Anyone ?  I didn’t think so.

Returning to Monday nights here on the big blue blog it’s the venerable former hit series ‘Monday Night Countdown’ !  LET’S ROLL !

This week it’s the TOP 7 Persons, Places, and Things that randomly come to my mind at this precise moment:

1.  Behnke – My brother will appreciate this one. As little kids in the late-1970s this was a fairly regular place that we (our family) used to visit to buy plants and mulch. It’s located on U.S. 1 in Beltsville Maryland. Me and my brother always pronounced it as ‘Bing-kees’.

2.  Rick Dees – ‘Alex, I’ll take ‘Famous People Who Have Influenced My Life Over The Years’ for $1,600 please.’

3.  2032 – It’s the year that I turn 65-years-old. Can I get a what-what ?

4.  Joo-Joo-Bee – It’s one of the many crazy nicknames that I had for my little feline buddy Boots (1993-2007).

5.  Hialeah – In my nearly 22 years of living here in America’s Riviera I don’t believe that I have ever stepped foot in that city.

6.  Royal – They used to totally rule the world of typewriters back in the day, and can you believe that they still make and sell them today ?

7.  Dude Walker – He was a crazy morning deejay on TOP 40 Q-107 in Washington D.C. about 30 years ago. He was teamed-up with legendary news man Doug Limerick back then.

Categories
God People Weather

Life Pointe Church Sunday Morning Tossed Salad

– It was 60°F in Homestead early this morning with wind chills in the low-50s !
– That made it our coldest Sunday morning since the last Sunday of February 2009 !
– It was much colder outside than it was inside – a true rarity !
– Attendance was clearly up across the board this morning.
– It’s great to see God’s Kingdom expanding right before our very eyes.
– I’m glad that I’m part of that expansion.
– The devil needs to find somewhere else to wreck his havoc.
– My age-mate Mark S. and I co-hosted during the first service.
– Mark led the Communion, Closing, Offering, and Dismissal.
– I led the Welcome and Connection Card orientation.
– Next Sunday morning I’ll be leading the Closing, Offering, and Dismissal.
– During the second service David ‘Ritz‘ co-hosted with Kelly J.
– Ritz did a quick little impersonation of me while he was on stage.
– I gotta admit – it was pretty good too.
– I need to work on my ‘Ritz’ impersonation.
– It’d be like a combination of Butt-head (Beavis’s bud), Goofy, and a surfer-dude.
– I’ll see what I can come up with.
– Lead Pastor Travis J. continued our ‘Misfortune Cookie’ message series.
– It was all about ‘Beer & Partying’.
– Travis wants each and every one of us to stop doing stupid things !
– It is not OK to disagree with the Bible where the message is clear.
– This is clear – drunkenness is prohibited.
– I drank alcohol for 22 years from the age of 18 until the age of 40.
– I could go months and months without drinking.
– But then I would totally binge drink and get drunk in public and act like a fool.
– I stopped drinking completely nearly two years ago.
– I choose total abstinence from alcohol.
– I decided that alcohol in any form didn’t belong at all on my fantastic journey.
– I choose to have Jesus Christ at the core of my heart and soul rather than booze.
– Alcohol caused me to make bad decisions.
– The real sober me had to live with the consequences of those bad decisions.
– I’d rather deal with the consequences of being totally sold out to Christ !

This week’s message was based on the following Scriptures out of The Good News of God: 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Ecclesiastes 8:15, Ephesians 5:18, Isaiah 24:9, 1 Peter 4:3, Proverbs 20:1, Romans 14:13-21, 1 Timothy 5:23

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NLT, 2ND Ed.)
9  Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God ?  Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality,
10  or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people — none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.
11  Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Have a great week everybody, and remember to always – BE THE CHURCH !

Categories
God History Life Music Radio

Saturday Night Retro

It’s the music of my life – and Life. There’s the life that I used to know prior to the Summer of 2006, and then there’s the Life (always capitalized) of today. The soundtrack of today sounds far different than that of yesteryear. The soundtrack of today is inspired by the center of my heart and soul – my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The soundtrack of yesteryear was inspired by the world around me – a world that told me what to do, where to do it, when to do it, and how to do it. That era may be long gone – a distant memory – but it is certainly not forgotten. That era existed, and then it died.

This week’s featured song is what I refer to as a ‘Melbourne song’. It was part of the soundtrack of my life back during the wild and crazy Spring of 1993 in Melbourne Florida. A lot of good came out of that era. This blog is an offspring of the original MANx CAT BBS (dial-up bulletin board system) that was created back then. This song kept me dancing into the night. It’s AB Logic featuring singer Marianne and rapper K-Swing. Here’s their long-running International dance smash entitled “The Hitman” !

Let’s kick it: