Facebook - the unhealthy relationship we ALL keep going.

Hello everyone.  As I sit here on a snowy Saturday night, watching two of my children try and beat each other in Call Of Duty, Black Ops II (which I don't like at all, but they do), I, as just about everyone does now, grabbed my laptop, or phone, or whatever was closest as absent mindedly jumped  onto Facebook.  I really didn't have any reason to, but when we all get bored, that's what we do.  So, instead of just posting aimless random nonsense, I asked what I should write about, and was told to write about "the idiocy of Facebook" which is ironically what I decided to write about.  

I am an avid Facebook user, as well as an avid Twitter user.  I also post photos to Instagram, post things to Foursquare and Get Glue, and write this thing from time to time.  Not quite sure how I got involved with doing all these things, but I do.  Tonight, I want to discuss Facebook and Twitter.

I joined Facebook originally as an alternative to MySpace, because it felt like that was being overrun by kids.  When I joined Facebook, it was specifically to keep in touch with people I went to high school with, and a few long distance family members.  I post status updates for a few reasons.  Making people laugh is one of them.  Making people think is another.  Sometimes, I do it to express my pride in things my kids or wife have done.  Occasionally, I link to articles I think are interesting, but for the most part, I just stick to the basics.

I am on Twitter to entertain myself for the completely stupid things people say.  Between the celebrities that spout off on things and the cyber-side of people I know that surprise me, I chuckle at Twitter more often than not.  I rarely tweet anything that isn't linked to something.  I don't have many followers, because I think my Twitter feed is pretty boring.

My rant tonight is on Facebook mostly, and the things that pop up on my "timeline".  I have hidden so many people on there due to recent events, be it the election, or the Newtown tragedy.  If it were easier to go through and "thin the herd" on my friends list, I would.  

I would NEVER deny anyone their opinion, or the right to express them, but with that being said, I also   won't subject myself to ridicule and scorn based on what I believe. I had opinions on who I wished to win the Presidential election, but I never expressed them for fear of verbal retribution.  I have seen people that say "if you voted for __________ you are stupid and should be killed."  Really????  I have my beliefs on the 2nd Amendment and guns, but I dare not express them publicly for fear of being labeled a "p***y" or "nutjob".  

Am I just being the grumpy old man, or does Facebook act just like the dead end relationship that you know you'd be better off without, but just can't cut loose?  If so, how do you handle it?  Ironically enough, I will be using FB to monitor responses to this.

Thanks for listening. You may now go back to pictures of Tard the angry, butt-ugly cat.

Thanksgiving....and the "Holiday" Season.

Hello my friends!  As we all prepare to give Thanks tomorrow then stuff ourselves to excess, watch football, and fall asleep early, I thought I'd share a few thoughts on the happenings of the next few days.  Come along for the ride.

I am truly thankful for all the good things I have.  My family, my friends, my job.  All important things that I sometimes take for granted.  Now, sometimes my family pisses me off, and sometimes my friends can be grade A douchenozzles, and some days my job absolutely kicks me in the nether regions wearing steel toed boots, but you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and then you have....if you finished that sentence properly, you're an 80's TV hound like I am!  Tomorrow I will have roughly 17 people at my house for the Thanksgiving feast - and although I have some preparations to finish, I am anticipating a very fun day. Our annual Bingo game is always a hit, I'm hoping to get some card playing in, watch a little football, some of the parade, and of course the food and beverages!  What I am NOT looking forward to is after tomorrow - the "Holiday" season.

I celebrate Christmas.  Always have, always will.  I put up a Christmas tree every year.  I enjoy the atmosphere of Christmas.  What I don't enjoy is the politically correct nonsense of the "Holiday" season.  I appreciate all of the holidays, and know that each holiday is held dear by those who celebrate it.  I do not make assumptions about who celebrates what.  If I wish you a Merry Christmas, I am not rubbing in your face that I celebrate Christmas, or trying to jam my religious beliefs down your throat.  I am merely expressing hope that you enjoy the Christmas season.  If you don't celebrate Christmas, my wishing you a Merry Christmas is not an insult to you.  If you say to me "Happy Hanukkah," I don't think you're trying to convert me.  I will just smile and say "Thank you - you as well."  Merry Christmas does not translate to YOU MUST CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS OR ELSE YOU ARE LESS OF A PERSON.  Quite the opposite - if I think enough of you to wish you joy on Christmas, that should say more than if I get the wrong holiday.

With all that being said, I have heard other people claim that it's insulting that the day after we give thanks for what we have, we go out to get deals on more things.  This doesn't mean we don't appreciate what we have, but as much as you explain to a child the meaning of Christmas isn't about receiving toys, I have news for you.  KIDS LIKE TOYS.  We are bombarded with advertisements regarding sales of these things, and of course kids will want them.  I, as a father, strive to make my children happy.  That's my job.  If I buy my children a PlayStation 3 for Christmas (which I'm not, but follow me) I am doing it for one reason...to bring joy to my family.  I am not doing it to "stimulate the economy", I am not doing it to make others that may not be able to afford it feel bad.  Trust me, my kids have had some lean Christmases in the past because I just didn't have the means to do what I would have liked.

I also don't need to be bombarded with the "PUT THE CHRIST BACK IN CHRISTMAS" propaganda.  I am not overly religious.  If that is how you celebrate Christmas, by all means, do so.  I never espouse my religious beliefs on anyone unless I am asked, and even then I don't most of the time.  I don't shove my beliefs down your throat, don't shove yours down mine.  If I choose not to attend mass on Christmas Eve, that doesn't make Christmas any less important to me.  To me, telling me how I should celebrate is as bad as telling me how I should be decorating my tree.

The point of all this is...whatever you celebrate, I hope you enjoy it.  I am not going to go through a whole laundry list of holidays every time I say good-bye to someone the next month.  I will say Merry Christmas.  If you feel you MUST correct me, do so respectfully, and realize I am not trying to convert you to Christianity. I am just wishing you well.

Now I must conclude this entry, as I have to prepare for Thanksgiving.  Enjoy your feasts.  If you drink, do so responsibly.  I am thankful for all of you who take the time to read my ramblings.  I am thankful for the comments which can be left here, on Facebook, or on Twitter. Truthfully, I'm just thankful to be here.  Be well, everyone.

INSPECT THIS - 2012 Redux

Hello my friends - you're looking well!  Have you been working out?  I was - but not lately - but that's a story for another time....

In 2010, I wrote about my anger with New York State regarding the ridiculousness of the annual NYS Vehicle inspection.  For those who didn't see it, here it is...go ahead and read it - I'll wait.

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4707919910671984040#editor/target=post;postID=3306603787214536518

So, what brings me back to this rant?  An experience I had yesterday that got me angrier than a stutterer trying to read Dr. Seuss.

Last year, I bought my little Mini Cooper Convertible.  The brakes on the car were done before I picked it up, and it was inspected.  I have put a decent amount of miles on the car, but I don't abuse the thing.  I just don't think it can take that sort of treatment. 

Anyway, I noticed (with the help of a friendly neighborhood Town of Hyde Park Policeman) that my inspection had expired at the end of September.  I had thought it was October, but whatever.  I was strongly encouraged to have my inspection done.  As I work right next to a Monro Muffler shop, and I needed my oil changed as well, I thought "I'll go there".  Am I regretting that decision?  Would I be writing if it all went smoothly?  Nay nay, I would not, so.....let us move on.

After a couple of hours, I get a phone call saying my car will not pass inspection because I need new tires and new brake pads (which, ironically, is what Monro SPECIALIZES in - brakes and tires).  I was told that to get the brakes done and the tires I need for it to pass, it would cost me about $675 altogether.  Like most of you, I don't have an extra $675 that I can willy nilly just whip out for this - especailly since I did my back brakes earlier this year and they cost me over $400.00.  So I told them, "I can't do the tires and brakes right now - I'm not having problems with them - put the front left tire back on (that's what they took off to "inspect") and just do the oil change and I'll set up an appointment for the other stuff." 

I went over and picked up my car, and had a coupon for $20.00 off the oil change - which was negated by the fact that I have a "special" oil filter that they didn't have and had to buy.  Nice little bait and switch there.  So I start the car and two indicator lights on my dashboard that weren't on when I dropped the car off are glowing like stars in the night sky.  One is the tire pressure warning light, and the other is one I had never seen before, so I grab my manual (which I keep in the glove box because I am automotively illiterate) and look it up.  It's an indicator that says MY BRAKE PADS ARE LOW - which ironically is what they just told me.  I had pads that ground down to the rotors once when I fixed the back brakes and that light never came on.  If I hadn't looked it up, I wouldn't even know it was an OPTION.  The tire pressure light was also not on before I took it there, so I stopped to check the pressure on all the tires.  Oddly enough, the ONLY one in desperate need of air was the tire they removed - and it was down to less than 10 psi, when it normally is at 32. 

Now, I don't have a camera taking video of them doing my car, and I would never have thought until now of taking pictures of my dashboard indicator lights beforehand, but I really honestly feel like they sabotaged my car to get extra business out of me.  It doesn't matter that I use the car to TRANSPORT MY CHILDREN places - let's take the air out of the tire to see if he buys new ones from us.  Well, here's the deal Monro - when I do decide to get my tires and brakes, it sure as hell won't be from you.  I may even make a nice big sign and post it on the road by your business calling you out. 

Has this, or ANYTHING like this ever happened to any of you?  If so - comment away!!  Comments as always are welcome here, on the Facebook link, or on Twitter at @billwinters18.

Time for me to go.  I have to go call someone to get my inspection re-done.

Catching up with my readers - my friends.

Hello my friends.  Nice to sit and chat a while.  Pull up a chair - we have much to discuss.  I haven't spoken to you in quite some time, and I apologize for that, but that is why I do this blog.  For my own therapy.  I have been asked "Why don't you try writing for the newspaper?"  I have three kids, two jobs, one wife and very little time to make deadlines.  This is my therapy.  The good thing is I don't have to submit this to medical insurance because I don't get charged to do this.

I have written on a myriad of subjects in the past.  Some were quasi-serious.  Some were borderline ridiculous.  At the time, they all were things I felt like I needed to get off of my chest.  I did an "interview" with a friend of mine for an entry - which I thought was a cool idea.  The thing is sometimes even when you want to write something, the well runs dry.

I could use this as a forum to rant about things, and I would be OK with that, but you have to know where your bread is buttered.  Every entry I write I link to my Facebook page so that people can find it and enjoy it.  I'm not going to rant about work when some of my co-workers will see it and possibly misconstrue who I reference, because I don't name names, unless it's in praise. 

I have written in the past about my children - probably to the point of nausea.  Not to me - I don't really get sick of writing about them because three children at ages 15, 11, and 8 provide enough material to write another badly acted obnoxious Disney Channel of Nickelodeon show.  The thing is, my kids are cool.  Do they drive me up a wall sometimes?  Of course...they're kids.  Do they make me proud beyond belief?  Absolutely. 

I could write about the daily excitement of living with my wife - who I love to death.  Do we argue?  Of course we do - we're married.  We're individuals.  We have two completely different backgrounds.  We each have our own beliefs on how to do things - sometimes they are the same, sometimes they're not even close.  Am I going to use this to complain how I do things differntly than she does?  The woman knows where I sleep.  She also knows where the kitchen knives are.  No, I shant be railing against my wife just for the sake of a laugh here and there.  I do still think used milk is a stupid concept though...(had to get that in there!)

My friends, I encourage you - go back and read some of the prior entries.  Which entries have you enjoyed?  The interview?  The stories of newsworthy items?  The stories of my family?  I am completely open to suggestion.  If you are interested in being interviewed for an entry, let me know - I'll send you a list of questions.

I hope everyone enjoyed their summer - I know I did.  I actually have a Disney trip under my belt now, but nothing crazy happened on that - at least nothing blog-worthy that I can recall. 

So until we talk again, I leave you with this advice....don't let your meat loaf.

Follow me on Twitter - my handle is @billwinters18.  Comments as always are welcome here on the blog or on the Facebook link, or you can tweet me.

How Many Songs Do You Know? REALLY?

     Hello again all.  Trying to convalesce from Post Concussion Syndrome is no fun.  I was taken to the Emergency Room from work the other day because of severe dizziness and sudden fatigue all based off of the concussion I apparently DID suffer on Sunday.  So, as I have been ordered to stay home and rest, I figured I'd throw the iPod on shuffle and relax.  Dangerously enough, that got me thinking.....

     I thoroughly enjoy singing.  I am somewhat decent at it, and find myself singing along to many songs that come on the radio, or the iPod, or whatever.  I also used to be a regular karaoke singer,  Not as much now, but still, on occasion, I will go to a bar, let people get drunk, and believe they're being entertained.  I kid, but I really do enjoy it. 

     When I sing karaoke, I pick songs that I know by heart, because I find it very difficult to sing and read at the same time.  I will pick things that I know most of, if I only need a word here and there, but for the most part, I don't look at the monitor.  I also get this awful feeling when I hear people butcher the words to songs, so I try to make sure if I really like a song, and want to sing it, I will learn the lyrics.  I have even gone online and searched for the lyrics to songs that I like to make sure I don't butcher them.

    I sat back as I listened to my iPod and realized just how many songs I could sing word for word.  I load a lot of full albums onto my iPod, and I have at last count 2,730 "songs" on it.  Some of them are instrumentals, and some tracks are no more than 30 seconds, but as I listen to the wide array of music that shuffles through, I don't know if I'm like Rain Man, or just very musically diverse, but I can go from singing a beautiful Josh Groban song to ripping into a Disturbed song, then back to singing the entire soundtrack of West Side Story or In The Heights.

     I have to be honest.  I don't remember all my niece's and nephew's birthdays, but I can sit here as I am now, and sing along to "The Girl Is Mine" by Michael Jackson and Sir Paul McCartney. 

     Everybody sings along to something - whether they do it in public, in the car, or in the shower.  If I had to guess, I could conservatively say I know the lyrics to over 1000 songs.  I want to know how many - honestly - you know the lyrics to, and what weird obscure ones do you know?  I can sing "The Streak" by Ray Stevens.  Most of you don't even know that one!

     So - hit me up @billwinters18 on Twitter, comment on Facebook, or right here.  If you have any lyrics you're not sure about, let me know - if I don't know them, I'll look them up because that's what I do!!

     Nice - Bruno Mars with Cee-Lo Green and B.O.B.!!!  Yes, I'm singing along!!!  "I'll Be Waiting On The Other Side" - and I sure will!!

Eating me out of House and Home - and not even home when they do it!

     Hello friends.  As I sit at home convalescing from a pretty good knock on the noggin yesterday (slight concussion and possibly broken nose), I have found something to rant about.

     I have been to a casino exactly one time in my life.  It's a very sneaky thing they do there.  They make you exchange your actual cash into chips for the purposes of gambling.  You basically exchange legal tender for chips with value imprinted on them.  Mentally though, when you look at chips, you don't see them as "real money" and therefore find it easier to bet them.  No chips = no money.  Of course you don't realize that fully until you're empty handed.

     The school lunch programs lately have done the same thing to us.  Back in the day, we used to bring actual cash to school to purchase our lunch.  On Fridays, my mother would give us a little extra for ice cream.  You bought and paid for what you could afford based on the change or money in your pocket.  If you didn't have money, you couldn't buy anything.  Pretty simple.  Good concept.  Worked for us for YEARS.

     Now, the kids have lunch accounts.  As parents, we have to fund these accounts, then our children enter a passcode to make their daily purchases.  Note, I didn't say LUNCH purchases....more on that in a bit.

    Money was an easy concept for me as a kid.  If I had money, I could buy lunch.  Most of the time, I would bring my own lunch, because lunch boxes were cool back then.  Of course, after elementary school, nobody used lunch boxes anymore, so we all bought our lunch.  That's fine - we had money.  It was easy to figure out.

     I don't think my kids grasp the concept of what their accounts are.  There is no tangible amount of money in their hand, so they feel as if they can just enter their code, and get whatever they want.  I'll use my high school freshman as an example.  Lunch at the high school is $2.75.  My parents would have given me $3.00 cash every day and that would be it.  Now, I have to fund this kid's lunch account.  I put $20.00 on it, expecting to last an entire school week.  Herein lies the problem.

     Other than lunch, the schools have started offering a la carte items.  Snacks and drinks that are separate from the standard lunch.  He likes these things.  Cookies, bottles of iced tea, whatever.  The problem is he uses his passcode and account to buy these things too.  So in one day, between all the extras, his daily expenditures went from $2.75 to $8.00!!  It didn't mean anything to him, because all he did was enter some numbers. 

     I can't even go into the website I use to fund these things and limit their purchase choices, so I'm stuck.  I am burning through literally almost $80.00 a week on school lunches for three kids because they like things like Gatorade and fruit roll ups.

     Schools need not offer these extras.  If they DO offer them, put them in actual cash accepting vending machines.  Kids don't grasp the concept that entering those passcodes is actually using money every time.  Is it just me, or was it a hell of a lot simpler sending kids with a few dollars for lunch?  I don't want to hear that tired argument of "kids getting beat up for their lunch money".  Kids bring iPhones to school - I don't think anyone will be threatening little Vinny of Debbie for $3.00 when they can take their $150.00 phone.

     What is your opinion?  Tweet me at @billwinters18, comment on Facebook, or comment here.  I'll check out the replies while I'm at work, working to subsidize my kids' scholastic culinary intake.

   

Sports and Superstitions.

     Greetings my friends!  Today is a big day for me.... my favorite hockey team in the entire world, the New York Rangers, play tonight with a chance to advance in the playoffs.  Not a big deal you may think, but note the title of this post, and you will be taken on a journey that goes from the ridiculous to the sublime.  Mostly ridiculous though.

     Athletes are a very superstitious bunch - almost to the point where it is borderline OCD.  Baseball fans know the story of Wade Boggs, a tremendous hitter who played for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and finished with the Tampa Bay (at the time they were the Devil) Rays.  Wade Boggs had the superstition where he would eat the same pre-game meal before every game - chicken.  Nothing else.  EVER.

     There are probably a ton of other stories like that, but I want to focus on fans and the superstitions we have.  By fans, I am targeting....me.  The cross-hairs are now fully aimed.

     Hockey players in general, when their team makes the playoffs, consider it bad luck to shave, therefore growing a "playoff beard."  Gillette has actually partnered with the NHL this year to encourage fans to "Grow One For Their Team" and support their team by growing a playoff beard as well.  Kind of silly that a razor company would encourage not shaving, but that's another topic for another time.  I decided I would join the festivities and grow a playoff beard to support my beloved Rangers.  Granted, I have never grown anything more than a little goatee in my life, and on the few occasions I have done that, it usually only lasts a few days, then I get rid of it because it itches like crazy.  This time, I started before the playoffs even began.  I stopped shaving all together, and pretty soon had a decent growth going.  Was I comfortable?  No, but the Rangers were playing well and I know that the cosmic forces of my fantastic facial fur were the cause, so I left it alone.

     Funny thing happened after about a month.  The Rangers started playing badly, and lost a couple of games.  Could it be that my scruff of good fortune had run out of luck?  I thought so - plus by this time, my wife and daughter wouldn't even kiss me for fear of scratching their faces.  So I shaved it off.  Completely.  I'm talking baby-butt smooth.  That night, the Rangers won.  Is that the end of the superstitious luncay?  Nay nay...not by a long shot.

     I ate my dinner in the living room that night to watch the game.  Instead of sitting on my couch, I sat on my ottoman, about 3 feet away from the TV.  I wore my light colored Rangers jersey, because they were playing on the road.  In hockey, the home team wears their dark jerseys and the away team usually wears white, or something very light.  My wife was wearing my Rangers cap that I bought at a game earlier this year, so I put on this ridiculous court jester, joker from the deck of cards hat that's red, white and blue with the Rangers logo on it.  I don't even remember where we got it, but it worked.  I drank one beer as the game started, not out of the bottle, but out of a glass.

     So, for the next game which was Game 7 (win and move on, lose and go home), I did the exact same thing - shaved clean, sat on the ottoman, wore the same color as the Rangers were wearing (my dark blue for that game), drank my one beer from a glass, and didn't move from my spot at all while play was going on.  They won again, and the player who scored the first goal was Marc Staal - whose jersey I just so happened to be wearing.  A pattern was developing.

     This past Saturday afternoon, they played again - but as is usual on the weekend, I had a lot of things to do, so I (GASP!) DIDN'T WATCH THE GAME!  I also didn't shave that morning.  Needless to say, they lost.  This can NOT be a coincidence.  The balance of the earth's core was off because my 200 pounds was not on my ottoman in my living room, and that HAD to be why they lost.

     No taking chances Monday night.  Clean shaven, dark blue jersey on (again, my Marc Staal), goofy hat, one beer, eating my dinner in the living room.  The Rangers won in overtime - who scored the game winner?  MARC STAAL. 

     If the Rangers win the Stanley Cup, I should get a ring.  It is my routine that causes these wins.  I'm certain of it.

     So friends, are you as hopeless as I am?  Do you have favorite teams, and superstitions that you follow because of them?  I look forward to reading your comments up until 7:30 - then I must have my dinner in the living room, my Brad Richards Winter Classic jersey on (they're on the road tonight), my one beer and my ridiculous hat.  You can see the hat on my Facebook page by the way - it's pretty easy to spot.  Comment on Facebook or shoot me a Tweet @billwinters18.  Just don't expect a response during the game!!

     LET'S GO RANGERS!!!!

The Great Milk Debate

     Hello everyone!! Have you missed me? I've missed you all - but things have been so hectic and busy that I barely remember to get dressed in the right order anymore. Anyway, since I haven't written in such a long time, something earth shattering must have happened to get me to the keyboard, right? You be the judge.
     I have been married to the same lovely woman for almost 9 years now. We don't agree on everything, but on most things, we're pretty close on. One thing we can NEVER agree on however is the "Used Milk" phenomenon. What is "Used Milk?" If you don't already have an idea, I will explain it to you. Most people like a nice bowl of cereal. I could probably live on it if I had to. As most people do, I enjoy my cereal bathed in milk. I believe that is actually how it is meant to be enjoyed. As such, depending on the cereal you are enjoying at the time, the milk takes on the flavor of the cereal. This is especially true of things like Cocoa Pebbles, or Cocoa Puffs, or even better, Honey Smacks. I look forward to the end of the bowl as much as the cereal itself because I LOVE to drink the milk. Janel equates this as slightly less than a felony. Her argument is "DON'T DRINK THAT - IT'S USED MILK." Maybe so - but I am the one who used it!! If she sees me or any one of the kids even ATTEMPT to drink the milk, she makes retching vomiting sounds and looks for things to throw at us.
    Now, when I eat soup, I don't just eat the noodles or beef and veggies and then throw out the soup. If it's Chicken Noodle, I don't consider it "used broth". Heck, even leftover gravy or spaghetti sauce is meant to be sopped up with a biscuit, or bread.
    So my friends - I throw it to you - what's your take on the "used milk" debate? Do you drink the milk after the cereal, or do you retch and vomit at the thought. Please comment on Facebook, or shoot me a tweet @billwinters18. I have to get to the bottom of this.
   Now I shall go enjoy some cereal, since Janel has already left for work, I can drink my used milk in peace.