This day has been a literal pain in the butt!

That's what happens when I run for the first time in two months and DON'T STRETCH!

Today has literally been a pain in my ass because my butt is seven kinds of sore today!

Pallin's best-friend's-sister's-boyfriend's-cousin's nieghbor's dog Gulty of Selling counterfeit Catnip...

News at 11!

Okay, the election has been over for nearly two months... Obama is putting his leadership team in place... The "Cool" hipsters are walking with a bit more swagger in their steps... life goes on.

So why in the HELL is the Argus Leader running stories about former VP Candidate Sarah Pallin's daughter's boyfriend's mother getting busted for drugs?

I can only think of one of two reasons....

1) Last digs on the Republicans, which is kinda childish and stupid, to be honest.

2) Too lazy to post anything of real substence in the margin.

This is a big honking clunker of a story... frankly, who cares? And to be honest... there are more important things we need to worry about:

1) Why didn't Heidi and Spencer from "The Hills" get married in the courtroom?

2) What is up with Adrian Peterson fumbling the football so many times against the Falcons?

3) Does this shirt match with these pants?

4) What is more appropriate to bring to a Christmas potluck, pie or cookies?

5) Why must I always spill ketchup on my white t-shirts?

6) Oprah??? or Uma???

7) Will my aunt make more of Grandma Driscoll's coconut bon-bons for Christmas Eve?

8) Why do I put an even number of socks in the washer and come out with an odd number EVERY FREAKING TIME?!?!

9) Did I leave the stove on?

10) Can I stop feeling dirty because I rooted for the Packers last night? After all, it was so the Vikings could make the playoffs!

ALL THESE THINGS COMBINED have more relevance than what Sarah Palin's daughter's boyfriend's pot-smoking mamma does! And for those who think for some reason it's still important, I have one piece of advice for you...

GET A LIFE!

Happy Festivus, all you rest-of-us!

Speechless...

For those of you who don't believe there is anymore beauty in the world... I dare you to watch this and NOT be moved!



Couldn't do it, huh? Didn't think so! LOL

Sacrifice

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived."

--General George S. Patton

Today is December 7th, 2008... 67 years to the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, which was the final catalyst for the United States' entry into World War II. The vast number of Allied soldiers who gave their lives in the years following stand as a testament of sacrifice... to put your life on the line so that others may live in freedom.

You'd think everyone would be grateful for these brave men and women... and you'd be wrong.

All you have to do is talk to soldiers who were spat upon when they returned from Vietnam... or who were called "butchers" and "baby-killers." All you have to do today is read the "intelligent" musings of folks like Ted Rall and Stephen King, who think that our soldiers are somehow beneath contempt.

No matter your thoughts on what is going on in the world today, please remember it is not the soldier's responsibility to dictate foreign policy. His or her job is to merely carry it out. If you have an issue with the foreign policy, take it up with the lawmakers. Don't be cowardly and insult and demean the very men and women who are making sure you sleep in your beds tonight safe and sound.

I don't agree with a lot of what President Bush has said or done in the past. But that doesn't give me the right to act like an ass and harass these brave men and women who are putting their lives on the line for a putz like me. And anyone who thinks otherwise are bigger putzes than me!

Finally, I'd like to direct you to the story of Captain Rob Yllescas. Captain Yllescas was seriously injured while serving in Iraq. Despite a valiant struggle, Captain Yllescas passed away December 2nd. My friend and former KJAM Board Op Vince Mathis was selected as part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln ROTC honor guard which escorted Captain Yllescas' body from the plane to his family. Needless to say, it moved that goofy kid, and it moved this goofier kid, too!

But it's not the intelligentsia or the academics who keep us free. It's not the auto executives and the banking big-wigs that keep us safe from our enemies. It's not even me and my media brethern who make sure these blessings of liberty remain secure... it's ordinary men and women like Captain Yllescas, Cadet Mathis, and the soldiers that served in World War II, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and countless other military engagements that have always been willing to put their lives on the line when others would not.

In closing, I leave you with this thought...

Law and our civil rights, for all our too precious moral insecurities, are worth little without someone willing to secure them at the risk of losing life and limb. We decide, in the end, where the frontiers of liberty and security intersect and that decision cannot ever be cost free. In a borderless world those frontiers are becoming increasingly harder to detect and defend. And yet defend them we must if we are to preserve our way of life: this experiment called America. The cost we pay for daring to be free is our own lifeblood: that of our own sons, daughters, husbands, wives. It is a price that will always be too high. And it is a price that we will never get used to paying: one we should never get used to paying.

-http://www.villainouscompany.com

I am humbled by these real heroes... Thank you, one and all.

$1.40

So I'm doing some number-crunching...

Amount spend on 7 months membership at the Madison Community Center, $140

Amount of weight lost... 100 pounds.

140/100=1.4

$1.40 a pound... Oh my God... I'M CHEAPER THAN HAMBURGER!!!!

Gotta love the Playoffs.

Okay, not sure if this will work... but this is a little highlights reel from our coverage of Madison High School, Area high school, and Dakota State University football on KJAM.

To listen... just click on the title of this posting. It'll re-direct you to my box.net site. Then just hit "Play."

Enjoy!

Welcome, Recruit Wollman!

I guess my little sphere of influence is getting larger all the time with my Jackrabbit's Den!

My friend Matthew Wollman is a senior at Madison High School. Pretty neat young man. He does stats for both the volleyball and girls' basketball teams for MHS, so we get a chance to shoot the bull quite a bit during the bus rides to and from games. His dad joked that he meets a lot of girls this way...

So THAT'S what I was doing wrong in high school! Forget football and wrestling, I should have had a clipboard! LOL

In any case, Matt is going to United States Marine Corps Basic Training following graduation, and he will be known as Recruit and (hopefully!) Private Wollman.

Frankly, the Marine Corps is lucky to have such a good kid in their ranks.

Matt has decided to blog about his progress as a recruit in the Delayed Entry Program. So feel free to visit and offer him encouragement.

So... Matt.. Congratulations and Semper Fi! NOW POST SOMETHING! LOL

No Auto Industry Bailout!!!

I don't always agree with what Detroit L3wis says on his South DaCola blog... he can be a little too snarky for my tastes...

But this is something he and I can both agree on...

You did this to yourself. Over thirty years ago you were told to start improving fuel effiency in your vehicles and to develop new technology like electric cars. The Japanese did just that and now are thriving. Detroit decided to build bigger cars like HUMMERs and send their electric cars to the compactor. You have had plenty of time to adjust to the market - you chose not to, now you are going in the toilet. Big Surprise.

Amen!

The Incredible Shrinking Announcer!

So I was looking at some old photos of myself and looking at how much I changed... these are in relative chronological order.

Rain Rain Go Away!

Freezing rain expected throughout the day today. In fact, several schools have canceled classes or will start late.

For our area, here's the link for the latest school closings and postponements...

If you're brave (or stupid) enough to travel in this weather, here's a good site for the latest South Dakota Road Conditions.

In the meantime, if you don't have to go anywhere, grab a cup of coffee, crank up the computer and relax today!

I did it.

I stepped on the scale tonight at the Community Center.

I now weigh exactly 180 pounds.

I did it.

Wow.

Soul-Searching

So it's been about two weeks, and I haven't made contact with the ex-siggy. Nor has she tried to make contact with me.

Que Sera, Sera.

While I'm disappointed that the relationship didn't work out, I wasn't crushed by its failure either. It seemed as though the last couple of weeks, she was keeping me at arm's distance. Always on the computer, some nights saying less than 20 words to me. So when she split with me, it didn't really come as any big surprise.

On the rare moments that I haven't been preoccupied with sports and work, I've done a little soul-searching on why I wasn't more broken-up. Perhaps it was we weren't together that long. Perhaps I was expecting her to disappear like she did three years ago. Perhaps my experience with Nicci left me a bit more calloused than I had anticipated. Or perhaps it's as my mom said... I was in love more with the idea of being in a relationship than the person.

I think it's a combination of all of the above.

In any case, it seems as though she has a new person in her life... Good for her. If she's looking to make me jealous, she isn't. I wish her the best of luck.

In the meantime, I'm business as usual. I've been re-connecting with old friends, working out (as usual!), and generally enjoying my life.

But I learned a lesson... getting into a relationship just to be in one is never a good thing. It's not worth the added stress! LOL

I'm Moving!

Okay... before you all get into a panic, especially Cory, let me explain....

First of all, I am NOT LEAVING Madison, nor am I leaving KJAM. Heck, I'm not even leaving my apartment building!

But I AM moving into a smaller apartment that will be opening up next month. It'll save me about 75-dollars a month in rent, and hopefully some more on the utilities.

It's all part of my grand plan to save myself some money and tighten up my finances. And no, it's not the economy; I've been doing this well before the economy hit the toilet.

So, I'll be doing some major house-cleaning and packing during my "Stay-Cation" in a couple of weeks. So to make room, I have a very nice futon that I never use for sale. The first $75 bucks takes it! E-mail me at jackrabit1@gmail.com or call me on my phone if you're interested.

A sad day....

I was going to do my first post-election day posting about my thoughts on the day and the races... but I just got hit with a stunner.

One of my favorite authors, Michael Crichton, has died at the age of 66.

I've read several of his books, including "The Andromeda Strain", "State of Fear", "The Terminal Man", "Airframe" and "Disclosure". Several of his books became best-selling movies, out-Grishaming John Grisham himself.

What I appreciated about Crichton, is he took what could have been very dry, mundane material and made it fascinating. Read through "Andromeda Strain" and you'll see what I mean. He takes the scientific method, which we all learned about ad nauseum in high school science, and makes it relevant and exciting when it comes to dealing with a deadly virus from outer space.

And of course, he's best known as being the creator of the hit TV series "ER".

He was, for lack of a better term, a polymath. He was a medical doctor, researcher, public policy analyst, author, screenwriter, teacher, anthropologist, actor, and director. And I'm just getting by as a sports director!

Crichton was a unique voice in modern literature. I'm going to miss not seeing anymore new novels.

Water... genius!

So I did something really stupid yesterday.

I decided to work out, which wasn't the stupid thing. I did 45 minutes on the Eliptical trainer and was feeling pretty good. So I went for a swim for another 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes in the hot tub. After that, I spent 20 minutes in the sauna.

Guess what I didn't do? That's right... I forgot to drink some water. THAT was the stupid thing.

So when I stepped into the locker room after the sauna, I collapsed faster than the stock market. One minute I was standing and getting ready to shower off, the next I was kissing the locker room floor. Good thing I didn't hit my head on anything--as if I could have caused any more drain bammage!

It was an interesting sensation... my arms were tingling, I was light-headed and I felt nauseous. Not the smartest thing I've done, but it sure was a hell of a lesson in physiology!

Needless to say, I drank plenty of water after this morning's workout... and I stayed the hell away from the sauna!

Handle with care...

Sometimes, when life gets you down... you just need a good song to enjoy.

Enjoy!

"Some things just aren't meant to be."

"Some things just aren't meant to be."

Sounds like a cliche, but it's fairly solid advice my mom gave me yesterday. Those words keep echoing in my mind as I wrap my mind around the fact that I am once again single.

It was made painfully official Wednesday night. "Ex-Siggy" says she has too much on her plate right now with a new job, family issues, and school. I tried to make the argument that it wasn't the best idea to push away the people that cared about her during this stressful time, but she had her mind made up.

"Some things just aren't meant to be."

As disappointed as I am in our relationship coming to an end, I also find myself not being "broken up" about it. Perhaps because I knew she was keeping me at arm's length. Perhaps because I've been hardened and calloused because of the Ex-"Thing" and what she put me through. Perhaps it all goes back to what my mom said...

"Some things just aren't meant to be."

In any case, I did some soul-searching. And with the exception of some deep-seeded trust issues (which seem to have served me in this case) and a really STUPID argument, I didn't do anything wrong.

But what bothers me is some friend of mine have been telling me that she's denying ever having dated me. If that's the case then perhaps it is for the best that we part ways.

In any case, I'm not going to dwell on it. As Dad told me last night, "There are other fish in the sea." And I'll go back to what Mom said.

"Some things just aren't meant to be."

So I guess I'm back on the market. A little older, a little sadder, and perhaps a little wiser.

The "R*****" Chronicles

I blanked out the R- word because it is a bit offensive to those who have real developmental problems... I guess this means The ex-"thing" is biased against mentally-challenged people! LOL

Anyway, I am FINALLY getting defrosted from last night's game. Granted, the temp dipped in the 30's, but when you have to keep your gloves off so you can take notes during the game you get a bit frosty. It was a good game, though, as Howard was able to rebound from an early deficit to win 20-8. They'll face a pretty big Tri-Valley squad next Monday... if it gets cold, perhaps I can get cursed to be set on fire again so I can stay warm this time! LOL But it was cool that I was able to fit into my leather coat and have it actually be LOOSE! No regrets about losing this weight, by cracky!

Speaking of the playoffs... how the HECK does Dell Rapids hang 70 POINTS on Sisseton?!? Granted Dells is good, but WOW! Of course, I'm an old Quarrier, and I can remember when we couldn't post 70 points in a SEASON, much less one game! I still remember my sophomore year when we had a total of TWO touchdowns... and one of them was a fumble that was picked up by our offensive guard and run in for a score. He was named our starting fullback next week!

But it should be pretty exciting and I'm looking forward to a return trip to the Dakotadome. I'm working with my friend "Bart" on the broadcasts, and asides from a couple of stumbles, we did pretty darn good! And after the Dome... VACATION!!!!

Speaking of which, I think I'm going to take a "Stay-cation" this fall. I was thinking of going to Wisconsin to see family, but considering that I pretty much disowned one of them, it would be really, really awkward to go back there. So I'm going to stay home, work out, sleep, visit family, clean and pack for my eventual move and catch up on my reading. Next spring when I'm a bit more financially stable, I might see about going to spend some time with my pal "Cliff Clavin" and his family in Tennessee.

So that's about it for now... hopefully some more good things happen this week and weekend; we'll have to wait and see.

A load of hot air!

Okay, so it was colder than a well-digger's backside yesterday, but it's a cute title.

Now that we survived the windstorm of yesterday past all I can say is YOWZA!!!

In fact, just taking a look at some of the pics around Brandon and Sioux Falls and Aberdeen, and it was a surprise no one was hurt or worse.

And the wind had a bit of an effect in my family. One of my family member's big pine trees is now at a permanent 45-degree angle. A few years ago, it had fallen over, we re-staked it and tied it down in the hopes that the roots would take hold again and keep it from doing the same thing. Took the ropes off this year and at the first gust of wind... BLAMMO!!!

Needless to say, it'll be coming down in the not to distant future... but if I get over there with a camera, I'll make sure to take a picture. Kinda looks like the old Zip Tower when it was supposed to collapse.



I don't know what makes me laugh more, the failed implosion or the guy's laugh!

We can make it better than before... better... stronger... faster!!

And cue the funky 70's theme music for the "Six Million Dollar Man!"

My friend Cory out on Lake Herman must have had this brewing. In one of his latest posts, he figures that the Republicans losing this Presidential election may just be a good thing. Without going into too much detail, he figures that who ever is going to be elected, faces about a 50-percent chance of reelection. So that might mean we'll only get four years of Obama "Change".

But a lot of what he talks about, I had posted in a previous posting (By the way, you're welcome for the idea, Cory! LOL). In the posting, I had talked about how the Republican Party had drifted away from its belief of limited government. With such things as the Patriot Act, and now the Wall Street Get Out of Jail Free Bailout that Bush and Pelosi forced down our throats, we are now facing more government interference in our lives than ever before! Add to that fact, you have the so-called "moral majority" looking to impose their will on the populace of the U.S. via the Republican party, and it's no wonder that the party is in chaos.

I think what needs to happen in order for the Republican Party to be of any validity in 2012, is to dump the big government ideas... to dump the "moral majority" leadership that has been so divisive and get back to the idea of LIMITED GOVERNMENT. Make the party a clear alternative to the big-government-loving, tax-and-spend Democrats. Renew the "Contract with America" that called for a balanced budget amendment and congressional term limits. Get back to your Libertarian Roots, for crying out loud! Ronald Reagan and William F. Buckley are probably spinning in their graves!

Until you do that, you'll just be a cheap carbon-copy of the Democrats, and not a very good one at that.