Umm...

So when you get an email on your Blackberry and want to forward it to your other email account, make sure that you select the proper account. In my quest to be more mobil with my blogging, I enabled email blogging. I forwarded the message below to what I though was my work account, which turned out to be my mobile blogging account.

Strange thing is, some of you saw this before I did.

More soon....

Fw: BuDu Racing 2010 Multi-Sport Calendar

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

---

From: "Deanna-BuDu Racing" <deanna@buduracing.com>

Date: Wed, 9 Dec 2009 10:31:17 -0800

To: <happychowjones@hotmail.com>

Subject: BuDu Racing 2010 Multi-Sport Calendar

	Greetings James! It is time to start preparing for 2010…Are you ready??
	Our 2010 calendar is posted, and if you register online prior to January 1, 2010, you will receive $10 off your registration fee. We are also sending out an email with a link to a survey on the website Survey Monkey, and would really appreciate you taking time to complete the survey. We will be randomly giving away registration coupons to 5 of the people who respond to the survey by January 5, 2010. Thank you in advance for taking time to do this.
	Sun Apr 25 – Mount Rainier Duathlon (long & short) Enumclaw Sat May 29 –Spring Festival 10K Run and 5K Run/Walk Moses Lake Mon May 31 –Spring Festival Triathlon and Duathlon Moses Lake NEW Sat June 12 Moses Lake Family Tri: For the Health of It! Sat June 19 – Five Mile Lake Triathlon Auburn Sat July 3 –Five Mile Lake Women’s Triathlon Auburn Sun July 11 – XTERRA Vashon Off Road Triathlon (still to be confirmed) Sat July 31 –Ellensburg Sprint Triathlon Sun Aug 1 –Whisky Dick Triathlon Vantage Sat Aug 28 – Lake Sammamish Triathlon Issaquah (will be USAT Sanctioned in 2010) Sat Sept 4 – Bonney Lake Triathlon (Olympic and Sprint) Sat Sept 11 –Lake Stevens Triathlon (Olympic and Sprint)
Are you still looking for a gift for someone?  We are offering a holiday gift certificate available through December 31, 2009. Gift Certificate
We look forward to seeing you in 2010. Have fun training!
Deanna Muller BuDu Racing - Event Management www.BuDuRacing.com 206/920-3983

 

Just checking in...

How are you? Good? I'm good too. Pretty good at least. October is a fun month. Some exciting stuff going on. Holidays. My birthday. Other people's birthdays.

Haven't blogged for a while. Just thought I'd check in with my devoted followers. Still hangin' in there? I hope so.

I'm trying to. Who isn't right?

It's started to rain out here in Washington. The rainy season. Summer was good though. Long days spent doing things people do in the summer. I like to swim.

What are you going as for Halloween? I'm not dressing up this year. Just not that into it anymore. I do like the candy though. Who doesn't. Thank you George Renninger.

Well, good talking to you. Sorry it's been so long since we've just chatted. It was nice wasn't it? I thought so too.

New World Man

So I was just checking out my blog features and found out you can email blog posts. Since I've abandoned the blog for over a month now, I thought I would try something new.

I may just star emailing it in. I could also text it in if I want, but don't think that's necessary.

I am writing this post via email as my first test. Wonder if I can attach a photo?

Anyway, we'll see if this adds any life to my future posts.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

I'll take "Four's a crowd" for $500...

[Writer's Note: This post was published July 11, 2009. I couldn't figure out how to change it on here.]

In May of 2009 this Blog site had a four way tie on its weekly Poll...









What is Can't we all just Blog along?





Correct!





Thanks Alex...





So I don't know what to do... Sliders/Robber Barons/Game Show Hosts and Jumping on Trampolines?







Sliders are small hamburgers. Often steemed. They are regaining popularity now. Everyone seems obssessed with little burgers.





Here's a photo.











Robber Barons is a term for an industrialist who made a lot of money through unfair business practices.








Not robbers like this:







Robber Barons like this:





Starting with (from left to right) John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and J.P. Morgan

Game Show Hosts:



Alex Trebeck is the best game show host ever. He knows everything. Enough about game show hosts.



Jumping on Trampolines:

Jumping on trampolines is fun. When I was a kid growing up in New Jersey nobody I knew that was actually fron New Jersey had a trampoline. The only people that had them were transplants from the west. For some reason, I thought having a trampoline meant you were rich. I have since come to find out that they aren't expensive. I did have an exercise trampoline when I was a kid. Wasn't that great.

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So I started this post the end of May. I couldn't think of anything to say that was funny, novel etc. but I had to get it done. It was holding me down man. I had to break the chains and set myself free. This is what you get when you have a democratic voting system for post topics and a blogger who just comes up with choices out of thin air. Unfortunately, I don't have a set of rules that come into play when situation like this arise. Someday. I'm determined to bring more next time though. I have had a couple of ideas lately that may appear soon. We'll see.

I did put a new poll up on the top left for you to vote on. Take your time, think a lot, think of all the choices you've got, cause they won't be here tommorow, so vote a lot?...(Do you know where this poorly modified line comes from?)

Anyway, til next time.

The Dead Show!

So I've liked the Grateful Dead for years. One of my favorite bands of all time. A couple weeks ago a friend of mine called me with an extra ticket to their show at the Gorge. Actually, we were going to go to their show in 2004, but Amber was pregnant with the triplets and I didn't want to be 2 + hours away in case she needed me. Turns out, she didn't have the kids for about a month after that. Chalk it up to missed opportunities and fatherly responsibility, I guess?

But, I wasn't going to miss them this time. After all, they're already down a founding member and a handful of keyboardists. And this wasn't just a Dead show, the Allman Brothers were going to be there along with the Doobie Brothers. Is it clear why I couldn't miss this show? (Though I don't necessarily like the Doobie Brothers, they do have a ton of songs in regular rotation on classic rock stations.)

Instead of giving you a complete account of the show, I thought I would address the highlights through 10 Questions About the Dead.

1. What are the Grateful Dead? The Grateful Dead are one of the greatest bands of all time okay.

2. So why do the just call themselves The Dead now? In 1995, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter Jerry Garcia died. Now when the remaining original members play together they are just The Dead.

3. How would you describe their music? I like to describe their music as American Rock. They incorporate rock, blues, jazz, country, bluegrass etc. into their songs.

4. But, aren't they just a jam band? No. They're a jammin' band.

5. What kind of people like the Dead? All kinds. I saw complete families, hippies, bikers and stoners at the concert.

6. But, don't all the fans take drugs? Pretty much. There were a handful of people there that weren't on something. In the old days there was a lot of acid and marijuana etc. Now it seems like its mainly just pot. Though in a somewhat troubling scene, there were two couples in front of us with a 5 month old and a 12-14 month old. One of the husbands came back and I caught: "you'll enjoy your walk much more if..." and then they were chewing, I should say biting into, some tablets that looked like Mike and Ike's but weren't. The left after that so I can't report on the effects. I just hope those babies made it to bed okay.

7. So, how was the concert? It was a good show. They sounded really good. The guitarist that fills in for Jerry is great. They played a diverse set heavy on the late 70's and 80's material with some other gems thrown in. They played for over 3 hours.

8. How were the other bands. The Doobie Brothers played first. We got there about the middle of their set. They played all of their hits and sounded good, but not interesting. The Allman Brothers were great. Warren Haynes, who plays Jerry's parts with the Dead also plays with them. They played 2 hours straight.

9. So, are you glad you went? Definitely. It was a great show. Even though I got a really bad headache towards the end and threw up out of the car window on I-90.

10. Would you go again? Yes. As they say, "There's nothing like a Dead show".

Here are some pictures:

Here's me. Notice the strollers and kids in the background.

Here's the view of the Gorge:

Here's the stoners that sat in front of us:

I think they just came for the drugs. They didn't seem to be affiliated with or interested in any of the bands.

Here's the band:

Here are some random Deadheads from the show:

I didn't take this picture, but they had better seats than I did.

Here's the blanket I sat on:

That's my leg!

Here's the view from where we sat:

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Thanks for checking me out this week. Sorry for the delay on this one. I started writing it last Saturday before the show with the intent that I would finish it up early in the week. Well, I tried a couple of times and didn't know where I was going with it. But, here it is. Check back soon for other great posts. I put up a new feature last week so I wouldn't forget what has been requested.

Also, check out the new poll and cast your vote. All I can say is that it's important. So VOTE okay. Last poll there was a four way tie, so who knows what you're going to get with that post. I don't know any other blog that allows as much reader interaction as this one. Use it or lose it...

The Art of the Deal...

Alright, so can I brag a little? I know that I have set the bar pretty high here, but this might just raise it again. Possible? Yes!

So, Saturday came around as usual. On Saturday mornings, we clean. I handle a mean vacuum, but that's a topic for another day. We finished early. Before Maggie's nap. Made great time. Friday night Annie asked me for some glue to make a Mother's Day project for Amberlyn. (I presume that most of my readers are close acquaintances and therefore know my family, so for those of you from Waterloo, Ontario and around the world you will just have to bear with the personal references). Unfortunately, we didn't have any except for some rubber cement and you know what a mess that is.

Skip ahead to Office Depot. Now I spent some time as an associate at one of Office Depot's main competitors, OfficeMax. So, you could say they knew I was coming.

I saw it as soon as we got there. It was displayed on an endcap in the electronics. A clearance item, mail-in rebate, the "Last One". Let the negotiations begin. I was ready.

Then I waited. And waited. The kids were restless. I was chomping at the bit to get my claws into the unsuspecting Depot sales team.

I called on my negotiating idols.

Corleone

Trump

Spacey

I got the Department Manager. The Paper Department Manager...

She was frazzled already. They were busy. Did I mention I was ready?

I'll spare you the carnage, buy suffice it to say that I got the winning end of that deal.

The result: I walked out of there with a good laptop for... Ready? $200.00.*

My idols would be proud...

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Hey thanks for stopping by. I know you don't have much time in your day and I want you to know that I appreciate you. If it wasn't for you, who would read this? Anyway, check back soon for some new topics. I added a list of upcoming posts so that I can keep track of the ones I blatantly ignore. You can't always follow the voice of the people. But don't despair, your voice will be heard.

On that topic, make sure you check out the new poll on the top right. Every vote counts. Double votes count twice. Feel free to double up.

*So, they couldn't find the battery so they dropped the price in half. I did get her to drop the price an additional 10% before that happened. Also, the after market battery was only $68. So it's still a great deal, Okay?

J-E-R-K C-H-I-C-K-E-N

Jamaica is an island in the Caribbean.

Early inhabitants of the region included Caribs, the Arawak and the Maroons.

Rarely does one forget to include the Taino Indians in that list.

Keeping up?

Charqui, the root of the English word "jerk", means dried meat in Quechua.

Hot peppers are combined with Jamaican pimento to make the Jerk seasoning.

Incans don't use Jerk seasoning.

Cherokees either.

Kentucky is known for their fried chicken.

Everyone loves fried chicken.

Not everyone loves Jerk chicken.

Well, these people do...

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Well, thanks again y'all. Not sure why Jerk Chicken won the last poll. I thought you would pick Happier Times for sure. Who doesn't like to think about happier times? I sure do. I love it. Feel free to take a stab and this week's poll on the top left. That's top right for those of you seeking relative accuracy. And don't forget to vote early and often. Unlike in national elections, we don't publicly frown on duplicate votes while secretly hoping for them.

Another thing: If you guys are reading this, shouldn't you add your name to the Followers List and "get up on this crazy train"?

How?

[Quick Disclaimer: This is not a serious Blog. The content is comedic in nature and doesn't reflect the writer's racial views in any way. Got it? I didn't have to say this about Canadians, but I guess I do here.]

***********************************************************************

One of the most important public service announcements of the last 30 years starred a brave Native American who took on a critical problem facing America. Take a minute to see for yourselves. Beware. The following video has been known to elicit uncontrollable crying and general bad feelings from all who watch it.

I hope you had a box of tissues nearby. I should have mentioned that before. I barely made it to the bathroom myself before my shirt was completely soaked.

Now take a moment with me to recollect this poor man's journey. It began in what appeared to be a pristine river. Our hero started out on an innocent canoe ride. (It must have relaxed him). Only to find refuse in the river. Going further it appears that he experienced a time warp into the 1970s, 1971 to be exact, landing in a major commercial port, passing evil factories and power plants only to find that perhaps that meadow that he was travelling to was overcome by highways and cars. Not to mention the litter. The place was riddled with it. His only recourse at the time was what many of us might have. The shedding of a tear.

That brings another question to mind: Was our hero crying because of modern society's negative impact against the environment or because of the complete unfamiliarity of his surroundings? I mean he probably left his squaw back in his village. With his two children Walks with Elk and Stands like Oak. If he really did take a time warp, which for all intents and purposes would have been the only way he could have arrived where he did, he would never see them again. Nor would he fit in with the kickin' styles of the 70's in his full leather Native American clothing, not counting certain pop bands of the era. Imagine the looks he got. That would be enough for most men to turn their faces in shame.

What became of our hero? Did he go on a scalping rampage? Trade skins for wampum? Get smallpox? We will never know. All I do know is that from now on if a crying indian comes up to me, I won't shun him. I will embrace him. He most likely just misses his family and is searching for a way back to his wife and children. To which I say: Happy journeys dear friend, happy journeys. In the meantime, I just need to figure out how to reverse a time warp. How hard could that be?

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Thanks for checking out this week's post. I hope to be getting back on track soon. Check out my new poll by the way on the top left. See it? Now, take a moment to think of all of your friends who might not be checking out my blog right now and vote for them. It's what a friend would do. Isn't it?

Was that February we just passed?

So I realize that I am a month behind on my posts. I typically like to post once a week. I started to do eighties fashion a couple times, but stopped. I'm just not that into it. Move on already... Sorry to those of you pining for that post. Here's a picture I was going to use:

Those guys know what's hip...

As you may be able to tell from this picture, I was not necessarily going to write about fashion in the 1980s, but possibly fashion for people in their 80s. That may have been funnier, but I wasn't sure. Just in case, I looked for some 1980's fashion photos as well.

Here's an example:

We all wore Underoos in the 80s right? And check out those guns!

Okay... Here's another:

Reminds me of Beat Street...Not Breakin' or Breakin' 2 Electric Boogaloo... Beat Street

But, as you know, I seem to have taken February off. Maybe it was the inordinate amount of holidays for such a short month... Amber's Birthday, Valentine's Day, President's Day, Lincoln's Birthday, Washington's Birthday, Ground Hog Day, Boy Scout Day, Kite Flying Day, Umbrella Day, White T-Shirt Day, Toothache Day and Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day to name just a few.

February also has the Day the Music Died. That's the day when Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper died in a plane crash...(They were rock and roll stars in the 195os. Rock and roll was genre of music made popular in the 1950s which was derived from the Blues among other things). I thought that was good to add from my readers who were born after 1985. They're still just little.

Alright... Here's a picture:

To top it all off, February is Black History Month. Add the study of Black History to the numerous of holidays and you have no time left for the sometimes frivolous, though always informative, posting that goes on here.

I don't think March will be as jam-packed. I'm not even going to look at my calendar...

That must be what this very fashionable octogenarian is doing...

Did I mention that Mardi Gras was in February...

Until next time...

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Hey, I really am sorry for not doing that Eighties Fashion post. With such a great response to the poll you would think I would have jumped right on it to please my readers. Nope.

Anyway, I have added a new poll on the top left where you can weigh in on your opinion as well as the opinion of as many dead people and pets that you should feel free to vote for as well.

Oh... In case you're wondering, February is really a packed month. There is literally a holiday every day of the month. And it's not only Black History Month but:

American Heart Month
An Affair to Remember Month
Canned Food Month
Creative Romance Month
Great American Pie Month
National Cherry Month
National Children’s Dental Health Month
National Grapefruit Month
National Weddings Month

Now you can see why I was so busy...It was Canned Food Month people...

Rock and Roll Fantasy!

This week I wanted to give you a little something about my time in the entertainment industry. It's a tough nut to crack, that's for sure and I know that many of you harbor aspirations to be the next big thing. Everyone wants to rock. That much we know...

Life as a rocker wasn't easy. There's the practice, the rejection, the late hours. But it's worth it for the sake of rock, cool clothes and adrenaline rush from being on stage. And don't forget the babes. Hot Babes.

A few people already know about by rock and roll prowess. To some it has reached mythical proportions. (I should say that they think it's a myth that I even play guitar).

I started playing in my room in 8th grade. I followed the likes of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and The Dead Milkmen. From there, I joined a few bands in high school. Epitaph, Jubilee Baha Brothers and Glucose Toad to name just a few. But I felt that there was more...

It all started my freshman year of college where I met Eric Hauck and Shad Smith. Who knew that three years later we would start one of the most amazing bands of 1997 and 1998.

THRIFTY SPACKLE

The summer of 1997 Eric contacted me and convinced me to bring my electric guitar to school with me that year. He knew I'd be ready to rock. That summer he penned such classics as All Ears, It's the Truth and Francis. All Ears later became a staple of our live shows. At our first full practice with Dan the drummer we knew it was something. We rocked so hard you could see the walls crying tears of joy. We were all drenched.

Our first show was in a pretty popular local hangout in Provo, the Roman Gardens' patio. You don't have to read that again. You read it right the first time. Pretty exclusive place. We rocked it with a Rentals cover band and Tim Boisvert. Impressive company, I know... Unfortunately, no footage remains from that show. The Rock Gods still weep because of it.

But then there was Mama's Cafe. THE place in Provo for hot bands to rock. I remember it was a week night. A well sought after date to be sure. It started with this:

All Ears:

Jim (Guitar), Shad (Vocals), Eric (Bass), Dan (Drums)

Have you sat back down? I know that got you to your feet. We played for about an hour that night. But my personal favorite was this gem...

Wonderful Spatula:

Who would have thought that a song about a kitchen device could be so moving and so rockin' at the same time. Sadly, only one other show exists. The BYU Halloween Bash

Now, along with my lead guitar duties, I sang a couple of my own songs. They were generally acoustic based and only sometimes turned from love songs to songs about Jews.
Here is one of them from the BYU show.

Don't Know:

I'm sure you noticed the raw emotion spewing out of me. As well as the pleas to the crowd not to leave because of the touching feelings that I'm sure were their reason for leaving early. Not to mention the impressive display of plaids that only a true rocker can get away with.

Finally, I will share one of the little known tracks. I guess we only played it one time, since until recently I didn't remember ever playing it, but it was a rocker and was about everyone's dream to be a Jellyfish.

If I was a Jellyfish:

The Rock Gods smiled on us that day in October. I probably even made out with a hot babe that night.

After the BYU show, Dan left the band on study abroad and we got a new drummer from the music department, but we had only one show left and it was panned by the critics and club management as being too loud. We never played live again. But there are these moments...and that's important. Now I dabble here and there and Eric does an annual Cul-De-Sac of Fire on the 4th of July, but nothing will compare to those days. The hits, the misses and the rock. Maybe we will have a Thrifty Spackle reunion sometime. But until then, it's just the memories.

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Thanks for checking out my post this week. Check back soon for new posts. One thing about the polls... They need more votes. A tie between three great topics doesn't work. That's why I keep encouraging you to vote for your neighbors, friends and dead relatives. Maybe now that ACORN will be getting a few billion of the stimulus money we'll get more votes.

If you want to see and hear more Thrifty Spackle including .mp3s that you can download to your Ipods check out http://www.thehaucks.com/ThriftySpackle/

Man's Best Friend?

In researching for this post I learned quite a bit. Everyone knows that most dogs are pleasers. They just want their human masters to be happy. But what about those dogs that think they have a higher calling? They don't want to be trapped in a life of fulfilling their master's every need. For those dogs simply can't live under what they see as the totalitarian hand of man. We as humans need to tolerate them and embrace our differences. They deserve that much.

With that said, in an attempt to celebrate dogs and their diversions and accomplishments, I dedicate this post...

Dogs are natural athletes. They love to run and jump and play. Anything. They want to compete and show their chops. They also like to lick their chops, but that is another story. They do have large tongues... Back to the topic at hand. Take this dogs for instance:

Can you feel that intensity? What a winner! I can tell he's all about pushing the limits of competition. Feeling the adrenaline rush that comes with the struggle between mind and body.

*

I think you know what I mean... Take a look at these studs:

They're going all out baby! You can't deny them... No way!!!

Alright... Time to catch your breath... I mean it. I know you see what I see...

*

Focus:

Dedication:

Precision:

Hubris:

But don't get me wrong, dogs do enjoy human pastimes as well:

They Surf:

They swim:

They Hunt:

They play Poker:

And when the win, they know how to party:

But, just like humans, some can't hold their liqueur:

I think you understand where I'm coming from now. So lets embrace them. If you have a dog, let it run free, pull a sled, do an obstacle course once in a while. They deserve it.

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Thanks for checking out this week's post. And for voting on the poll. As you can see, a new poll has been posted. So if you would, please rock the vote. It's all you can do.

I know some of you might say, what happened to Hamburger Joints, wasn't there a tie for first in the poll? The answer is yes. But, I felt that it was the right time in to do this important post. Hamburger Joints may emerge gloriously one day, but for now, just take a minute and think..."Has my appreciation for the canine increased?" Enough said.

Hello...

Hello my friends. I have missed you. With the free time over the holidays you would think I could have posted something profound for you...I had several ideas that seemed to fade.

I was going to do a year in review, but I think it's too late for that now...

I was going to do a post on December holidays, but that fizzled...

Is it still Kwanzaa? Be right back... Nope. That ended January 1...

I think I will ease into the new year. Nobody get stressed. Okay?

I will be back with more posts soon enough. I promise.

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I have decided to revert to my previous polling method. Check out the new poll that's up... I don't think I need to tell you what to do with that. Rock It?