Another Short Break.

I have had a slight case of writers block lately. I also am getting ready for a trip which hasn't helped at all. My vacation starts September 1. I am going to leave on the third for Illinois. I will be there about 5 days. I am looking forward to yet, yet there is a little sadness since this is the first time I have been back since Dad passed away last year. I will start blogging again after I return.

Before I go, I want to respond to Rob and Jeff about the Pete Rose situation. I agree that there are guys in there who morally are much worse than Pete. In fact, while I am on my break I will do some research and will do a post about Ty Cobb. My main objection to Pete was he put himself above the rules, and I recall reading somewhere in a Good Book about reaping what you sow. I understand why you feel Pete belongs.

In case you are wondering about the picture, I did a Google image search for short break and that popped up. It is from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. You can find it here.

I will resume the fifth grader questions when I return. Just in case somebody didn't actually know, "Custer's Last Stand" took place at the Battle Of The Little Big Horn. It was in all the papers at the time.

I Respectfully Disagree.

Three weeks ago I talked about how I felt that Michael Vick deserved a second chance and should be allowed to resume his football career. In the comments I recieved from that that two of my friends, Dana and Jeff, both expressed the opinion that Pete Rose should also be forgiven and allowed into the Baseball Hall Of Fame. I understand where they are coming from, but I disagree with them.

If you only base belonging to the Hall Of Fame, there is no doubt that he should be there. No one has more hits, played in more games, went to bat more times, and made more outs than he did. I know that last one is a negative statistic, but that comes with longevity. There is no doubt with all he accomplished he should be in. However, baseball has one major commandment, Thou shalt not bet on baseball games. To borrow from Hamlet, "ay, there's the rub".

Gambling had been around baseball in the early days, but never on the scale as the 1919 World Series. I have supplied a link to Wikipedia. As with most articles there, it gives a fairly good overview of what happened. 8 members of the Chicago White Sox conspired to throw the Series. They were acquitted after a trial, but the newly appointed Commissioner of Baseball, Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis, banned them for life. It was an example for all the players of the consequences of gambling. Ever since then it has been stressed to players you do not bet on baseball games.

When originally confronted by the betting allegations Rose of course denied them. Baseball Commissioner Bart Giamatti hired attorney John M. Dowd to investigate. Dowd found that Rose bet on Reds games in 1986, 1987, and 1988. Rose continued to deny that. The matter was headed for Federal Court when Rose cut a deal. He agreed to be placed permanently on baseballs ineligible list. He never admitted why and baseball didn't push the matter. For almost 15 years he continued to lie and claim he never bet on baseball. Then as his eligibility for the Hall Of Fame was running out he wrote a book. I tried to find out how much he was paid for it, but I wasn't able to, but he never admitted gambling on baseball until he was paid for it. I do believe him when he said he never bet against the Reds, but he now fully admits to breaking that commandment.

Had Pete come clean at the time the allegations came out, I would be more forgiving. Since he chose to lie for all those years and only admitted it as a desperate chance to get into the Hall, I do not believe he deserves to get in. As a baseball player, you do not bet on the games for any reason. Dana and Jeff, I understand and respect your reasons for him getting in. This in mine as to why he should not.
A double bar at the end of a measure signifies the end of the piece of music.
Today's question is Grade 5/U.S. History.

In 1876, "Custer's Last Stand" took place during what battle?
I knew this one. 133-21.

That Didn't Take Long.

They have not officially reinstated him yet, but that hasn't stopped the NFL from selling the Philadelphia Eagles Michael Vick jersey. It can be yours for only $79.99. (Where is Triumph the Comic Insult Dog when you need him.) I agree that Vick deserves a second chance, but in my opinion it is a little tacky for the NFL to cash in immediately on it. It shows what their main concern is, the almighty dollar. I don't have a problem with them trying to make money, I just feel that they should have waited until it is official.

I am also wondering just how effective he is going to be. He has not played in two years and he definitely will not be the starting quarterback. The Falcons were not happy with his last few games. He did not seem to have his head into the game. How is he going to respond when a crowd boos him? Philadelphia fans have a reputation of being rough on the home town players. When they are on the road, I am sure he will face out right hostility. I hope he is prepared for that.
Luke is 54 inches tall.
Today's question is Grade 4/Music.
What does a double bar line at the end of a measure signify?

• A) a rest
• B) the end of a piece of music
• C) the end of a measure

I had to guess and I was right. 132-21.

Sunday Serenade.

I am going to try and post a song here. If this works out I will probably do this every weekend.

Travis was right. A salamander is an amphibian, not a lizard.

Today's question is Grade 4/Measurements.

Luke is 4 inches taller than Angela. If Angela is 4 feet, 2 inches tall, then how many inches tall is Luke?

I knew this one. 131-21.

Never Give Up.

In one sense, you almost have to admire someone who sticks with their beliefs, no matter how dumb they might be. No, I am not making reference to Rod Blagojevich. I am talking about Roy L. Pearson, Jr. He was the judge who sued a dry cleaner for $64 million for losing a pair of his pants. It did not matter to him that they had his pants, he claimed they weren't. Of course, he lost that case. Shortly after that, he also lost his job. Now he is suing for wrongful termination. He simply doesn't understand that he lost all credibility as a judge with that suit. He has lost this case, but he will more than likely appeal. He reminds me of the Black Knight in Monty Python And The Holy Grail. In case you haven't seen the movie, the Knight gets both arms and both legs cut off and still wants to fight. Like I said, you can almost admire Pearson, if he wasn't being so ridiculous.
The joke that I had to resist yesterday was this was this question stinks. The olfactory system is our sense of smell.
Today's question is Grade 1/Animal Science.

True or False? A salamander is a lizard.
I knew this one. 130-21.

Farewell Taco Bell.

It was a job that I never wanted. I had somebody living with me and I did not want to have to work a second job. She was supposedly trying to get one, but I could tell that she was only going through the motions. I put in several job applications and Taco Bell was the first that called. The interview was basically a formality. I was what the manager was looking for. The job I was hired in for was cleaning captain, a fancy title for janitor. Since I have 16 years cleaning experience in nursing homes and hospitals it wasn't that hard. I had cleaned surgery rooms so a fast food restaurant was easy. I was working about 20 hours a week. Two days my job was to unload the truck, put it all away, then do some basic cleaning. About a month after I was hired the person living with me moved out in the middle of the night. She left a note and one of the things it said was now I could quit Taco Bell. I kept the job for awhile to get some bills caught up. I decided that I would quit in February 2008. Before I quit I told the manager that if he wanted me to I would stay on two days a week and do the trucks. That was acceptable so I did that.

At the end of June I gave my notice. It was a six month notice and I would quit at the end of the year. At that time the trucks were arriving on Wednesday and Saturday. Around October it was changed to Monday and Thursday. That change made it easier for me and I stayed on. I finally decided in early June of this year that I would quit at the end of August. I am going on vacation to Illinois at Labor Day and I did not want to work two jobs when I returned. My leaving was pushed up two weeks due to another scheduling change. The trucks had been scheduled for 2:30 A.M. on both Monday and Thursday. If you have been following this blog you know that Thursdays have been a lot later. The new schedule calls for Monday deliveries at 1:00 P.M. and Thursdays at 10:00 A.M. Since I work Monday nights there is no way I am going to unload a truck and then have to work all night.

I am writing this before I go in. I am going to check at 7:00 A.M. Hopefully the truck has been there. If not, I will get as much ready as I can, clean the parking lot, and they will call me when the truck arrives.

One of the biggest reasons I have stayed is because of the way I have been treated. They really do appreciate what I have done. There has been a manager change since I started but the attitude remains. They basically stay out of my way because I obviously know what I am doing. I will miss the people, but I am ready to rest a little more. I don't need the money. It was nice having it but I usually ended up blowing it. Now I have to be a little more responsible. I think I can handle that.

Addendum. It is now 11:45. I went in at 7:30 and the truck was being unloaded. I spent three hours there and I now am done. It has been fun, but I really won't miss it.
Sorry Travis, but granite is an igneous rock.
Today's question is Grade 2/Health.
Which of the five senses is most directly related to the olfactory system?
Must resist bad joke until tomorrow. Sorry, I was talking to myself again. I knew this one. 129-21.

A Question For My Blogging Friends.

A couple of days ago I recieved an email from feedmil.com wanting me to submit a short informative description about my blog. Have any of you done this? I just used it search for my blog. It shows my last post, mentions I post 5 times a week, and it is rated a 2 out of a 10 scale in popularity. Actually I am surprised it rates that high. I figured on that scale I would only get a one. I will wait a couple of days before I decide whether or not to write something. I am not sure if I want to because, if you read this regularly, you know I hate writting about myself. Now if you will buy that, I have some real estate I'll sell you.

This is the second time I have been contacted by feedmil. I had another offer for something free if I would plug it here. It was some kind of eyeglasses, I don't remember what they did, but they would have sent me a pair if I then wrote a review about them. Since they were nothing that I would have used, I passed. If I ever get another offer I will consider it. Before I agree to it I will make sure the sender knows that I will be totally honest about the product. If I think it is the greatest thing since sliced bread I will say so. However, if I feel it is as useful as teats on a boar, I will also say so. I won't lie just to get something free.

If I do write a description for them I will post it here as well.Travis was right. The Himalayas are higher than the Rockies.
Today's question is Grade 3/Earth Science.
Granite is an example of which type of rock?

• A) igneous
• B) sedimentary
• C) metamorphic

I had to guess and I was right. 128-21.