Pictures and thoughts

These are recent pictures of Mountain Lake in Newport, Virginia. Notice how far the lake has receded.




Think this is caused by global warning? That is not the cause. Some say it is a crack in the bottom of the lake that allows water to escape. But I'm sure the long hot summer helped a little.

I saw this between Pembroke and Blacksburg. I think it should have been used in the tv show "Twin Peaks".


Can someone be pro-life and pro-death penalty? Well I am. Here's why. In abortion, the baby suffers but the baby is always innocent of any crime. When the death penalty is carried out, the person has committed some crime, or crimes, has a trial, and has been found guilty by a jury of his peers. This person is not innocent. Baby = innocent, criminal = guilty.

Nearly 1.5 million babies, a record, were born to unmarried women in the United States last year. This cannot be good. Even though some are born to couples living together, being a single parent is tough.

Poor, spoiled, rich kids...

These kids would be the professional atheles who play in the National Basketball Association. Last week, the NBA comissioner implemented a dress code. This code says the players must wear business attire casual when at team functions, including ball games. The code prohibits

"sneakers, sandals, flip-flops or work boots. . . . Sleeveless shirts, shorts, T-shirts, jerseys Headgear of any kind. . . . Chains, pendants, or medallions worn over the player's clothes; sunglasses while indoors; headphones (other than on the team bus or plane, or in the team locker room."

Well you know this went over like a lead ballon where 75% of the 375 players are black. Denver Nuggets' Stephen Jackson said, "I think it's a racist statement because a lot of the guys who are wearing chains are my age and are black." Philadelphia star Allen Iverson said they were being told not to dress "hip hop."

But the best example of being out of touch was Denver's Marcus Camby who said players should get a stipend to buy there new clothes. This comes from a guy who is making $8.1 million this year. He wants money to buy clothes?! The minimum salary is $385,000.

These men make millions of dollars playing a game. It is not too much to ask for a little class. In the real world, the boss set the dress code and we need to comply. If that is too much to ask for from the NBA, then the players can quit and see if they can find another job that pays as well.

Give me break.

Al

What's up with this?

This is a story of 2 men convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The Crime:
Suspect 1 - convicted on 3 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for giving alcohol to girls that were 14 and 15 years old.

Suspect 2 - pleaded guilty to 2 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor...there was no sexual intercourse, but oral sex was involved...plus a case of getting naked wihtout having sex.

The Sentence:
Suspect 1 - 30 days in jail and $2,500 fine.

Suspect 2 - 18 months in jail and $5,000 fine.

The Suspect Description
Suspect 1 - 20 year old star quarterback at Virginia Tech with a brother who is a star quarterback in the NFL

Suspect 2 - 52 year old librarian at Virginia Tech

I'm not making any judgements instead I let the facts speak for themselves. Does it pay to be a high profile person??

Al

Extreme Makeover - Home Edition...

Am I the only person who does not like this show? My wife enjoys it, but it always upsets me when I watch it with her. Tonight, they built a house and barn, gave a single mother 2 vehicles (the dad die in a manner I do not recall), filled the barn with stray, and planted 20 acres with grain.

They shows talks about deserving families. Well, there are thousands of families in the same situation. What makes one family more deserving?

The host and crew are not put out in terms of $. They surely get paid for their time. Sears donates material, community members donate time, and sometimes stars show up (it was Randy Travis tonight).

Is it the fact that ABC has a top-rated show that feeds off the needs of people? Is it ok since someone gets helped?

I am happy that people get helped, but something about the show rubs me the wrong way.

Just thinking...

Al

Village People Problems...

Oh no, drugs and ONE of the Village People. Maybe he is at the YMCA.

This really upsets me...

See this story. This lady hears voices, takes her kids to the pier, undresses them, and then throws them into the bay. I cannot even imagine the terror the kids experienced. Just think, one kid saw the other 2 get thrown over! Why don't the voices ever say "Momma, kill yourself, let the kids live, commit suicide..." No, these voices always say "kill your kids." Awful, just awful.

Al

Sports Questions

I watch a lot of sports, so there are some things that bother me. Like the following:

1. NFL place kickers - why do their shoes never match. I can understand that they have a special kicking shoe, but for Pete's sake, wear the one that matches it. Having different shoes is crazy
2. Celebrations in college and pros - a guy makes a tackle on the special teams and goes wild by celebrating all the way off the field. Making tackles is your job! Forget the celebrations. Expecially the stupid touchdown celebrations. I believe Vince Lombardi said something to the effect of "Its the end zone, act like you've been there before."
3. NASCAR - Why is it that drivers are never happy with their cars. Its either too tight, too lose, the tires are bad, it needs a battery, etc. BUT, every car that gets caught up in a crash was "a good car, a top 10 finisher, good running, etc"
4. Baseball - The manager really needs to wear a suit. Seeing those fat managers in tight uniforms just ain't right.
5. NFL - Guys in the defense secondary love to lay a big hit on a receiver after a catch, or even a miss. But if they get an interception and are about to be tackled, many will fall to the ground or run out of bounds. Seems they can dish it out but they can't take it.

Until next time...

Free Speech

The Constitution of the United States guarantees the freedom of speech. But it does not guarantee there will be no retaliation or negative consequences to those who exercise that freedom.

For example, take the Dixie Chicks and there recent problems. First, they talk negatively about President Bush. Then radio stations quit playing their music. The DCs kept saying "freedom of speech, freedom of speech..."

Well, no one stopped them from saying what was on their minds. But the people reacted in a manner that the DCs did not like. We must be prepared to accept the consequences of our speech.

The irony about the DCs freedom of speech complaining can be found in the first words of the US Constitution "Congrees shall make no law...."

So you see, the DCs had no leg to stand on because Congress was not involved at all.