The Latest On My Dad

Well I paid a visit to Dad this afternoon
at the Hospice Care Facility today.  He looks good (apparently MUCH
better than he did before), but it doesn't look like he'll be released
anytime soon (this is due mostly to my parents' current living situation
- Don't get me started on THAT tangent).  From what I've been told,
he still can't hardly do anything (Even HEARING is a major challenge for
him).  He can hardly get out of bed, let alone do anything else.

Aside from that and a few aches and pains, he's his ol' usual self.

I keep hoping he'll be released sometime soon, but I'm told he needs
a night nurse.  And since my mom is NOT a licensed nurse, even though
she's his Personal Care Assistant, she can't possibly serve as his night
nurse and STILL be expected to do the same during many of the daylight
hours.  In short, he basically needs 24/7 care.  which is why
he's back in the hospital in the Hospice Care Facility.

His dies is mostly liquids as he can't even chew, so it doesn't look
like he'll get his appetite back simply by eating a six inch Veggie Delite
imported  from the nearby Subway
anytime soon either (I was able to pull this trick off with ease when my
Mom had Hip Replacement surgery several years back.  Jared would be
so proud.  :)).

Well....That's the latest news from here, now back to you in the studio
(Wait....I am in the studio.  What am I talking about??? 
:)  *LOL!*)

Cheers for now  :)

Pat

Why Wait for A Manned Trip To Mars?

I keep hearing how badly so many of my fellow Liberals
want to send President Bush to Mars when it becomes to do so.

Well....I just couldn't resist the temptation to post this (and a manned flight to Mars is such a *LONG* time to wait), so I have a better idea. *devilish grin*

We all know that the Bush clan started this whole mess with Iraq in the first place, right? 
Of course we do.  What if we were to MAKE IT CLEAR to the GOP that
a trip to Mars just isn't gonna happen soon enough.  So instead, we'd
like to send THE ENTIRE BUSH CLAN on a ONE WAY trip - TO
IRAQ.

I mean think about the possibilities here.

* The whole clan can build and amintain a ranch somewhere on the outskirts
or Baghdad IN THE OPEN DESERT..

* George Sr. and Jr. can use their GPS receivers or other similar souvenier
gizmos they got for being President and seek out and destroy all the WEAPONS
OF MASS DESTRUCTION which are said to be in Iraq that used to belong
to Saddam Hussein, but has yet to be proven to exist.  While they're
doing that, they can also TAP INTO THE IRAQI OIL RESERVES WHICH WILL
HELP REIMBURSE _OUR_ GOVERNMENT who almost had to fight this war
almost single-handedly (not to mention who could've just as single-handedly
toppled Saddam's regime in the first place!).

* Laura & Barbara Bush can have a schoolhouse built so they can
both teach all the Iraqi children their ABCs and 123s.  And while
they're at it, they can also teach Iraq's adult population to "Just
Say NO" to Al Qaeda recruiters who are ALSO believed to be still in
the region.

* Jeb Bush (Remember HIM?) can be head of the hired help at the ranch.

Why do I mention Jeb Bush?  Simple.  At least we wouldn't
have to worry about HIM running for President in 2008 against Hilary and/or
Al (Gore not Sharpton)

DOES THIS MAKE $ENSE OR WHAT???

Comments anyone?

Cheers for now  :-)

Pat

BREAKING NEWS ON THE HOMEFRONT - Dad's Back In the Hospital Again

Just got the news from Mom not even 20 mins.
ago. My brother Bill will pay him a visit tomorrow. If he's
still there, hopefully I will do the same in the next couple of days (I'm
almost flat broke as it now that I don't even have the bus fare for a ONE
WAY trip, let alone a round trip one).if they'll allow me to do so (It's
a somewhat complicated issue). Otherwise, I'll try to give him a
call oon the phone. Of course, phone contact isn't the same as contact
in person (especially for someone who may be on their death bed), but it's
the thought that counts, isn't it? He's there due to overall weakness. He's also not eating very well. Doctors haven't a clue why or what's causing his currrent problems.

I'll keep everyone posted on Bill's visit when he updates me tomorrow.

Meanwhile, my other brother Leonarrd in Kansas
City, MO has been informed by Bill & I (and probably Mom too).
Hopefully he won't have to fly in. But if he does, oh well.....

I'm also hopeful that the hospitalization is only temporary, although
since he's in hospice care due to his colon cancer and reaction to chemo
treatment, he'll most likely (and very sadly) be in and out of the hospital
for AT LEAST the bulk of 2004. With any luck at all, he'll live long
enough to see another holiday season, but even that may be somewhat ambitious.

Cheers for now :-)

Pat

RIAA STRIKES AGAIN

When....Oh WHEN will the RIAA get the message? 
WHEN will they understand that the problem with file sharing HAS NOTHING
WHATSOEVER to do with a willingness among the masses to repeatedly violate
the law (a law which was CUSTOM MADE for the RIAA I might add), but instead
has EVERRYTHING to do with their persistent GOUGING of the price of CDs
AND their UNWILLINGNESS TO FAIRLY COMPENSATE THE ARTISTS???

The latest comes in  this
Wired News article

Read it and tell me what you think.

Cheers for now  :-)

Pat

State Of The Union Address Reaction

Gee....What can I say about tonight State
Of The Union Address?  I was more or less expecting something like
a TWO TRILLION $$$ in proposed appropriations to cover the costs of a manned
space flight to Mars.  But instead, I was left fumbling for words
and looking for weaknesses in his speech.  Only to find therre weren't
very many.

But fellow Liberal  Kevin
from Calpundit.com  found some.  He also had some  advice
for the so-called Democrats in Washington

However, as good as Kevin's advice is, I do have some issues with some
of the things he said about the SOTU itself.  They are as follows......

6:44 ? A standing O for increased support for community colleges?

Why not Kevin?  A Community College is just as good as any other
college.  Though I do agree with you (I assume you meant this point
even though you didn't say it in your blog) that support should be increased
across the board for all colleges and not just the "chosen
few" that "play by the rules of the GOP".

6:57 ? Get rid of steroids in professional sports? What the heck
is that doing in the SOTU?

Uhh....Could it be that it's just as much of a drug problem for our
youth as it is for pro sports atheletes Kevin?  Gee....I wonder.....

Okay, so I just found just those two issues (like I said, they were
minor).  Now here are some things I'd like to emphasize myself......

6:48 ? We can cut the deficit in half in five years, apparently by
limiting the growth in discretionary spending to 4%. This simply defies
all reason. That won't even come close to cutting the deficit in half

Add to this that President Bush wants to spend (or should I say $pend?)
THREE HUNDRED MILLION of YOUR taxpaying $$$ - FOR A PRISIONER TRANSITION
SYSTEM AS WELL AS the (reportedly) TWO TRILLION $$$ he wants for a
single
manned mission to Mars, President Bush will have become the
first
President to send America plummeting into BANKRUPTCY.

This is ON TOP OF the ONE HUNDRED TWENTY BILLION $$$ DEFICIT
we face NOW.

6:51 ? Any attempt to take away Medicare prescription benefits will
"meet...my...veto." Huh? Who's proposing that? Especially given that Republicans
control both houses of Congress?

Not to mention the fact that it's been us Liberals who've been
fighting for Heath Care Reform for the last several years while
the Republicans were in a state of denial as they tried to convince (or
would the word INSULT be a better word?) Americans that Health Care didn't
need reforming.  Isn't it funny how hypocritical Republicans
can be?

That being said though, I do agree with the President when he said that
"Government-Run Health Care" is the wrong prescription".  Time to
get rid of the bean counter when it comes to Health Care IMO.

Overall impressions of the Democratic response ? Jeez, that was just
horrible. I don't think they said a single memorable thing, their delivery
was stiff (though Daschle was better than Pelosi), they didn't really offer
any kind of competing vision, and I don't think they drew any blood at
all. What a missed opportunity.

I agree wholeheartedly Kevin.  I mean WHAT WAS THAT?!?!?!? 
There was NO taking the President to task.  NO addrressing of the
manned mission to Marrs issue (as expected by MANY State Democratic Party
HQs INCLUDING the Colorado Democratic
Party which held an SOTU viewing party at the Denver
Press Club earlier tonight)

I was VERY disappointed in the so-called "leaderrs" of our party in
Washington.  If there was a single word to describe it, that word
would be LAME LAME LAME.

NOW....MY PERSONAL MESSAGE TO PRESIDENT BUSH.....

Mr President.....With all due respect to the office you hold, I'm
afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave and do so IMMEDIATELY.

President Bush said in 2000 that he wanted to bring back honor and dignity
to the White House.  But he never mentioned anything about deception.

The saga continues......

Video blog on this tomorrow (Hopefully with official video of the SOTU
and Democratic Response).  It's getting late and I'm tired....*yawn*.

Cheers for now  :-)

Pat

WEIGHT LOSS & SIZE ACCEPTANCE - Getting With The Program IN A REALISTIC MANNER

Today, I did something I rarely 
do.  Today, I watched The Oprrah Winfrey
Show   Today's show was her annual WEIGHT LOSS show. 
She had on several people who had lost weight using the Get
With The Program diet plan.  She also had on several other people
who want to lose weight and want to try this program out for themselves. 
Her guest was Bob Green from Get
With The Program

Needless to say I found this show very interesting, yet also kinda disturbing
in some ways too.

As faithful rreaders of my blog know, I'm a firm believer in the issue
of SIZE ACCEPTANCE.  In fact, there's a group devoted to this very
issue.  It's called the INTERNATIONAL SIZE ACCEPTANCE ASSOCIATION. 
You can find the link to their website on the left or simply by clicking
here

Among the people they had on were people who were tired of their weight
and wanted to lose some of it.  But there was also a woman who didn't
really need to lose ANY weight at all, but simply joined her co-workers
in their efforts to lose weight as an incentive to GAIN a few pounds and
some strength.  This is a disturbing sign because it shows that people
will use diet plans for just about ANYTHING these days even though
it's for all the WRONG reasons.

Diet plans are for people who want to lose weight, yet there are SCORES
of people who use them for things OTHER than weight loss.  And that
can lead to TRAGIC results.

In fact, I drread to think of how many people with eating disorders
who are in a state of denail who watched the program.  It's scary
because they NEVER mentioned what were the right and wrong reasons for
lossing weight or for getting on that diet plan.  In fact, it was
NEVER discussed.

I mentioned in my LIVE video blog (NOT the one in the link to the left
or above) that in order for ANY diet plan to work, you have to learn to
ACCEPT YOUR SIZE.  That is to accept WHO you are and that there's
a VERY REAL probability that you will NEVER be able to achieve the figurre
of your favorite role model, idol, etc.).  I also said that as you
learn to accept your size, you'll also learn WHAT (and sometimes WHO) your
enemy forces are AND the fact that you'll have to learn how to deal with
them and keep them in check BEFORE you attempt to go on a diet plan. 
But you WILL come reasonably close though.

But ONLY if you work at it and stick to the diet plan you are on.

Folks, this isn't rocket science.  Nor am I some sort of "fitness
expert".  In fact, I know I could stand to lose a few
pounds myself.  But BY THE SAME TOKEN, I also realize that I have
to learn to ACCEPT MY SIZE as it's WHO I AM.  If I lose a few pounds
- GREAT.  FABULOUS.  What I am saying just amounts to good ol'
COMMON SENSE.

And until you (and I) learn to FULLY ACCEPT OUR SIZE, who and and/or
what our enemy forces are AND how to deal with them and keep them in check,
NO DIET PLAN WILL WORK.  Not only that, but we'll just keep lying
to ourrselves over and over again.  And if we're not carreful, we
could end up making choices we could end up regrretting in the future.

If you're a heavy-set person like I am, I urge you to check out the
International Size Acceptance
Association (ISAA) and get a membership.  I plan to (No, that
ain't no bull either).  I'll start posting my weight every once in
a while as its checked right here on my blog (Don't see any reason NOT
to).  If I'm going to lose weight, I'm gonna do so REALISTICALLY. 
How 'bout you?

Cheers for now  :-)

Pat

BREAKING NEWS: RIAA Hits The Streets

From the MusicRadio
102x Blog Page (which I also own BTW :-))

Thinking of downloading music from one of the P2P file sharing networks?
Thinking of SELLING music to your friends? Think you won't get caught?
Apparently a 55 yearr old Los Angeles parking lot attendant didn't think
so.

Want more? Read this L.A.
weekly article

Apparrently, the RIAA thinks they're a LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY of some
kind and has even gone so far as to hire ex-cops AND the Director of the
Alcohol, Tobacco & Frearms

Fox News also has an
article on the subject too.

And, as if matters aren't getting WORSE, it appears as though we can't
expect very much support frrom the Electrronic
Frrontier Foundation either, though I expect this could very well change
should the RIAA be using their rag tag "police force" for otherr things
such as attempting to enter people's homes. In fact, Jason Schultz,
a staff attorrney told the L.A. Weekly
that "The process of confiscating bootleg CDs from street vendors is exactly
what the RIAA should be doing,".

Maybe so. But IMPERSONATING A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY is something
which could land them in more HOT water than they can say RUMPELSTILSKIN
if they're not careful.

As sucxh....the position of MusicRadio 102X and The Pat Cook Show is
simple. They can bust strreet vendors with this tactic BUT I
DRAW THE LINE WHEN IT COMES TO ENTERING MY HOME!!!

And that, ladies and gentlemen is the bottom line.

Cheers for now :-)

Pat

The Adventures Of Replacing My Identity

Boy....I am TIRED.

You'll NEVER believe what I spent the better part of the last TWO days
doing (then again, this *is* the Internet, so maybe you will).

I spent the better part of the last two days running around getting
documentation and other stuff to replace a few ESSENTIAL cards which were
in my wallet that I needed to have.  I say this this because I somehow
managed to lose my State-issued ID, my disabled persons discount card for
the bus, and the building security card which I use when I enter the building. 
I know I wasn't pick-pocked because my wallet and it as well as the rest
of my cards and MY MONEY were still present and accounted for.  Yet
I somehow for the life of me managed to lose those three aforementioned
cards.

I discovered they were misssing when I stopped downstairs as I was leaving
the building to run an errand this past Friday to double-check to see if
I had enough change for bus fare.  It was a good thing I did so too
because once I opened my wallet, the mystery surfaced immediately
as I keep those cards on top of everything else as they are the most used
ones.  Though just to be sure that I wasn't imaginging things, I thumbed
through each one of them.  Nothing.  I next realized that it
was possible (albeit very remote) that they slipped out of my wallet
and out of my pants pocket either as I slept one night or when I had my
pants off and laying next to my chair on the floor.  I went back upstairs
to my apartment to begin my search.

I looked all over on the floor in the area where my pants were. 
Nothing.

I looked and felt underneath the cushions of my chair as well as underneath
the chair itself.  Nothing.

Fearing the worst, but not panicking, I hoped I would find them later
after I came back from running my errand (security is always more than
willing to let someone in even though they're not supposed to.  the
same goes for other residents in the building).  Suffice to say that
never panned out either.  So I knew the only thing I could
do was to put in for replacements.  But that would take $$$.

Figuring I still had my Social Security Card and knew my number by heart
(No I am **NOT** posting it here for all too see!), I figured I'd go down
to the local DMV office to replace my ID (I had already replaced my building
security card even though I could never get the thing to work).  But
lo
and behold, the  State of Colorado 
DOES NOT accept Social Security Cards as proof of identification (you would
*think* they think they would).  In fact, about the
only item they accept is a BIRTH CERTIFICATE.

So I thought "WONDERFUL.....NOT!".

 Though I have to admit I should've had a copy of my birth certificate
in a place (other than my baby photo album) where I could get to it in
case it was ever needed.  But leave it to dumbass me for not thinking
of such things....

After I baord the bus (paying the FULL $1.25 fare as opposed to the
$.60 discount fare I would get with my disabled persons discount card if
I had it) leaving the DMV (and with cell phone in hand and soon up to my
ear), I called the agency that handles birth certificates to verify
what I needed for proof of ID to get the copy of my birth certificate which
(again I admit) I should've had to begin with.  If I didn't have what
was needed and couldn't drop by home to pick it up, I would proceed home
to stay.  As luck would have it, I had a couple of items which were
on their list of secondary ID.  I then bypass the apartment and proceed
to  Denver
Vital Rrecords to get a copy of my birth certificate.

But it was there I got my biggest surprise.

It cost me FIFTEEN FUCKIN' DOLLARS just to get ONE COPY of my birth
certificate.  I was thinking $15 for a piece of paper.  What
a ripoff"  Talk about price gouging!!!  :-( 
*BIG TAXPAYER FROWN!*

Anyway, it was too late to go back to the DMV yesterday (Monday) to
get my card and I had a 3:30 appointment to keep.  So I decided I'd
return the next day, which is today (Tuesday).

On Tuesday, I returned to the DMV with birth certificate in hand. 
I was given a piece of paper which had a number and was told to have a
seat and wait till it was called.  I waited.....and waited......and
waited......and waited FOR A WHOLE FUCKIN' 90 MINUTES for my
number to be called.  Once it was called, I walked up to the clerk
and she processed my order.  She then told me to have a seat until
I was called to have my picture taken.  I figure I must've waited
another 10 mnutes or so this time around, but was FAR more reasonable
than my previous waiting time before I was called.  This time, they
verified my information and had me sign some things and then took my picture. 
I was then given a special "temporary ID" which, I'm told, is as good as
the real thing, but when I asked the clerk if people who needed to see
this "temporary ID" paper when I'm doing certain things such as cashing
checks at the store, she said I'd have to "call and ask".  I was then
told that it could take up to THREE WEEKS  for it to COME IN
THE MAIL.

WHAT THE FUCKIN' HELL IS UP WITH THAT?!?!?!?

Is it just me or have we entered so far into this so-called "outsourrcing"
era that we can't even get a fuckin' ID card on the spot like we have been
before?  I suppose I'lll see my ID card come with a MADE IN CHINA
or MADE IN IBDIA tag on it.

Can you tell that I'm NOT a happy TAXPAYING CITIZEN here?

I mean, imagine this....I am stuck with (what amounts to) a state-issued
VOUCHER which has NO PHOTO on it.  That means all one needs is a temporary
ID paper.  Don't terrorists still use THROW AWAY PHONES??? 
With this system, what's to stop a terrrorist from obtaining a THROW AWAY
ID?  Although it's only good for 30 days, terrorists can do
WONDERROUS things in that 30 day time period with that THROW AWAY
ID.

I think I'm going to write my State Representatives AND the Department
of Homeland Security (as clueless as they really are) if for no otherr
reason than to point this out to them.  THAT is being a responsible
American (Yes I am a Democrat, so what of it?).

Anyway, off my political soapbox now and back to the subject at hand. 
Suffice to say I eventually leave the DMV (hopefully for the last time
in a LONG while), and manage to get to my next destination, the  RTD
Administration Building before they close to replace my disabled
persons discount card.  But I still had another trip to make. 
That was down to my parents' apartment where I could then pick up some
MUCH NEEDED and borrowed $$$ (I stuffed the fare boxes with $1 bills I
was nearly BROKE by the time I left the  RTD
Administreration Building ).  But this was a good thing as I avoided
a trip I would've had to make eventually by making the stop.  :-)

Well.....That's all there is to tell of my advertures the last two days. 
Tme to put a wrapper on this and post it.

Wednesday's blog will be on an  Today
Show  report  on
blogging

Laters.  :-)

Cheers for now  :-)

Pat

New Years Resolutions & Other Stuff
By way of of the  Brain
Engines V2.67 Blog  I stumbled across this
site  that, in it's own little funny way, kinda
makes you ask yourself what your New Years Rresolution should be. 
Being the curious cat I was, I decided to take this little test and, well....Here's
my score.


Take the What Should
Your New Year's Resolution Be? Quiz

 

You can take you own test by  surfin'
on over to this URL  After the test, you'll be given
some HTML to do whatever you want with.

Kinda neat huh?  :-)

Say...Hey.....ATTENTION COLORADO BLOGGERS....I keep seeing
a link in the  Colorado
Bloggers Ring  a website by a group who (saupposedly)
pick a place to meet in perrson.  Several blogs in the same ring indicate
there's a blog page on Diary-X by the group, but BOTH the Colorado
Bloggers Ring Listing
&  the
Diary-X Page  that's on several blog sites results
in a 404 NOT FOUND error.  Nothing comes up on  Google

eitherr.  :-(  Does ANYONE know if this group
is still around and, if so, the URL of their website or blog page? 
This sounds like a very interesting group if I can get in touch with someone
to find out what they do and the like.  :-)  MUCH thanks in advance
for any info. anyone can give.  :-)  It's as if this group has
seemingly fallen off the face of the earth or something.  :-(

Anyways....In other news.....I **FINALLY** found an RSS Reader that works with Windows so I'm now
able to read other people's blogs if they have an RSS or XML feed.  So far,
I've surfed my way through the  Colorado
Bloggers Ring  and found quite a few people with
RSS feeds of one kind or another.  I also went through the Yahoo!
Group Online Diaries Ring  but quickly found that
I'm THE ONLY one with an RSS feed.  WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?!?!?!? 
I'll be going through all the other rings to get the feeds from all the
other members of those things too in the very near future.  No, this
isn't to launch some sort of "terrorist attack" (God knows the Bush Administration
does enough of that themselves, but that's a completely different subject
for a different day  :-)).

Incidentally, you can grab the RSS feed for ALL of my
blog entries just by clickin on the RSS FEED in the left hand column at
the top or simply by  clicking
here   :-)  This is provided as a FREE
service to you for your convience.  :-)

Finally, I heard they lowered the "terror alert" level
today from Orange to Yellow today.  You know what that means for us
Liberals.  That means the Bush Administration needs more time to plan
the next "terror alert".  Incidentally, has anyone read this
arrticle
in the  New
York Observer ???  Pretty SCARY stuff.  I rrecently
heard that a California Deomocrat (can't think of the guy's name, but he
apparently serves on one of the Intelligence committees) once told reporters
that he can see the "terror alert" level drropping all the way down to
blue (the lowest it can go), [quote]"Sometime in his lifetime".  Heh. 
I can see THAT happening as early as January 20th 2005 when President Bush
receives his ONE WAY ticket back to Crawford, TX after we elect a Democrat
into the White House who will restore REAL Honesty & Integrity back
into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

But until that happens, we're just gonna have to ride
out the Conservative storm of '04.....

Anyhow....It's getting late and I need to post this. 
I'm tired.  Got lots to blog about and not enough to do it in. 
:-(  *Ugh!*  Don't ya just HATE that feeling?

Cheers for now  :-)

Pat

Judging President Bush Just Became A Whole Lot EASIER
I just sumbled across this NIFTY little way to create
a graphic to judge President Bush on a variety of issues.  It's called
the WayPath machine and it can only be found at  WayPath.com

Here's how I measured Bush on a variety of issues ranging
from WMD to (yes!) even KaZaA  Why KaZaA you ask?  Well, we STILL
have yet to hear the President'ss take on the issue of file sharing, but
you'd be surprised at how many people

Don't believe me? TAKE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF.

 

.

Notice how President Bus is all over the map here? 
Hmmm....Gee.....I wonder why that is......

We want to thank our friends at  M
Log  for this information.  You can create
YOUR OWN WayPath grraph simply by going  here

Cheers for now  :-)

Pat