Archive for February, 2006

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IAFF HISTORY

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006
IAFF HISTORY



I had posted this link in the past, but then the IAFF took the website down. Apparently, they unveiled the site at a Conference late last year and then took the site down to continue work on it. Just by chance, I found the site on my own when it was up on the internet. Now the IAFF has officially unvieled the site on the IAFF mainpage. The IAFF history site has pictures from none other than our local. Yes, you are welcome. I answered the call from the IAFF to send them some pictures. You should check them out. I am unsure if they will be adding to the site or if it is complete. If they are still looking for pictures, we have plenty to add. If you will notice, we might possibly have the most pictures out of any other local. Stop in and look around, read the history, and check out the photos. There is a picture of Station #9 circa 1932 here. (Read More)



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174,000 Reasons Tim Kaine likes Daniel LeBlanc

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006

As most of you know, I am not happy about Gov Kaine appointing Daniel LeBlanc as Sec of Commonwealth. I do understand that Kaine has over 174,000 reasons to do so. I bet there are 100 folks here that would argue about that.

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Virginia bill makes Volokh!

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006
Professor Volokh had this post about a Virginia bill, HB 1531, that "would prohibit health care professionals from asking a patient about gun possession, ownership or storage unless the patient is being treated for an injury related to guns or asks for safety counseling about them." Apparently, it passed the House 88-11 but went down in the Senate.

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Speaking of Blogs in Virginia

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006

Republitarian has compiled his list of the “25 Most Influential Bloggers in VA.” The first time I looked, I was at number 13. Then by the next time I looked, I was down to 15.

If by the time you head over there to see who made his list, don’t be surprised if am down in the 20s and dropping. :)

P.S. What is up with everyone wanting to rank the Virginia blogosphere these days? When I see one of these kind of posts, I get that same feeling every kid gets in elementary school when its down to two people left to be picked and only one spot left on the team.

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Too many blogs in VA?

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006

Shaun Kenney seems to think so and says “[t]here’s a bubble, and you get the feeling (at least in the Virginia Blogosphere) that it’s about to burst.”

I think he may be right, but I love seeing all the new Virginia blogs. During the gubernatorial campaign, it seemed like a new Virginia-based blog was popping up every day. Some of those have stuck around and others have faded away.

I guess this blog will stick around until (1) I run out of money to pay the hosting fees, (2) Y2K hits (a few years late), or (3) [insert act of God that prevents me from blogging]. Hopefully, none of those three will occur and I will keep plugging along.

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Smyth Mayor/Town Council Candidates

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006

It appears the Smyth County’s General Registrar Sandy Elswick has released the list of candidates in Smyth County’s towns (Chilhowie, Marion, and Saltville) for the May 2nd Town Elections. The list is available here from the SBE. These are the candidates who have filed thus far. The deadline to file as a candidate is next Tuesday, March 7 at 7:00PM for Smyth County’s town elections.

Since I live near Saltville, it is of particular interest to me. On the list I see that incumbent mayor Jeff Campbell has filed for re-election with no opposition thus far. For town council, none of the three incumbents (Cahill, Holley, and Hutchins) have yet filed. Newcomers Andrew Bresnock, Jr., Terry N. Hunt, and Ronald Neil Johnson have filed. Of those three I personally know Neil Johnson, who served as athletic director when I was a student at Northwood High School. I also believe that Bresnock is the pastor of the local Friends Community Church in Saltville. I do not know who Hunt is.

I encourage all those who can run to do so in Saltville. Something has got to change and I can say that if I lived in Saltville I would definitely be running.

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Mass Transit

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006

Here Jerry, From On High, has an interesting post about how SWVA is helping subsidize mass transit in NOVA.

I agree with him that the only mass transit in Smyth County is the U-Haul trucks headed for the county line.

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VDOT Making Cuts

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006

Here is an article from the RT-D about VDOT making maintenance cutbacks due to overspending by $40 Million on maintenance activities in the last 7 months.

As a result, VDOT will cut back on cutting the grass and other road maintenance activities. In previous years we have saw VDOT do similar tasks after very harsh Winters. However, this Winter had been pretty mild so far with no hugely significant snow/ice events.

Therefore, I think the management of money at VDOT needs to be looked at again. Or could it be that Tim Kaine is “making” a transportation crisis?

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Top 100 Songs Of All-Time

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006
Recently, Virginia Centrist put up a post about the 100 best guitar solo songs, and it got me to thinking, what are my favorite songs of all-time? Well, since you're wondering, here they are (the first 20 really are in numeric order, but the rest is just kind of an aproximation [sp.?])...



1-You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma (David Frizzell and Shelley West)

2-Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash)

3-I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (Hank Williams)

4-Mama Tried (Merle Haggard)

5-He Stopped Loving Her Today (George Jones)

6-The Wild Side Of Life (Hank Thompson)

7-Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young (Faron Young)

8-Tears In The Holston River (Johnny Cash and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)

9-Jambalaya (Hank Williams)

10-Blueberry Hill (Fats Domino)

11-Wabash Cannonball (Roy Acuff)

12-Is Anybody Goin' To San Antone? (Charley Pride)

13-Livin' In The Sunlight, Lovin' In The Moonlight (Tiny Tim)

14-Angel Band (Stanley Brothers)

15-I Never Picked Cotton (Roy Clark)

16-Uncle Pen (Bill Monroe)

17-Song Of The South (Tom T. Hall and Earl Scruggs)

18-Hello Darlin' (Conway Twitty)

19-Rank Stranger (Stanley Brothers)

20-Meet Me In Heaven (Janette Carter, June Carter-Cash, and Johnny Cash)

21-May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose (Little Jimmy Dickens)

22-Marie Laveau (Bobby Bare)

23-I've Always Been Crazy (Waylon Jennings)

24-Walkin' The Floor Over You (Ernest Tubb)

25-Choices (George Jones)

26-Fraulein (Bobby Helms)

27-Don't Say Aloha (Bashful Brother Oswald)

28-Rocky Top (Osborne Brothers)

29-Don't Get Above Your Raisin' (Flatt and Scruggs)

30-Freeborn Man (Jimmy Martin)

31-Goodhearted Woman (Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson)

32-America First (Merle Haggard)

33-Rapid City, South Dakota (Kinky Friedman)

34-Sing Me Back Home (Merle Haggard)

35-Cold Hard Facts Of Life (Porter Wagoner)

36-Coat Of Many Colors (Dolly Parton)

37-You Don't Know My Mind (Jimmy Martin)

38-Gone, Gone, Gone (Lefty Frizzell)

39-Howlin' At The Moon (Hank Williams)

40-Ahab The Arab (Ray Stevens)

41-Tiptoe Thru The Tulips (Tiny Tim)

42-Wild Weekend (Bill Anderson)

42-Me And Bobby McGee (Roger Miller)

43-Six More Miles (Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper)

44-T For Texas (Jimmie Rodgers)

45-The Road Goes On Forever (The Highwaymen)

46-Nothing I Can Do About It Now (Willie Nelson)

47-I Do Believe (Waylon Jennings)

48-I Wonder If God Likes Country Music (Bill Anderson and Roy Acuff)

49-I Don't Believe You Met My Baby (Louvin Brothers)

50-Hillybilly Rock (Marty Stuart)

51-Guitars, Cadillacs, and Hillbilly Music (Dwight Yoakam)

52-I'm Movin' On (Hank Snow)

53-John Henry (Doc Watson)

54-California Blues (Lefty Frizzell)

55-The One Rose That's Left In My Heart (Johnny Cash)

56-Frankie and Johnnie (Jimmie Rodgers)

57-Louisiana Saturday Night (Mel McDaniel)

58-Kiss An Angel Good Morning (Charley Pride)

59-The Prodigal Son (Roy Acuff)

60-Let Me Rest (Stanley Brothers)

61-Tennessee Saturday Night (Red Foley)

62-Cocaine Blues (Johnny Cash)

63-It Ain't Me Babe (Johnny Cash and June Carter-Cash)

64-Okie From Muskogee (Merle Haggard)

65-Ida Red (Uncle Charlie Osborne)

66-Train Of Love (Bob Dylan)

67-Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry)

68-For The Good Times (Ray Price)

69-Sunday Morning Coming Down (Johnny Cash)

70-Country Roads (John Denver)

71-Great Balls Of Fire (Jerry Lee Lewis)

72-Old Friends (Roger Miller, Ray Price, and Willie Nelson)

73-Midnight Rider (Waylon Jennings)

74-Will You Visit Me On Sundays? (Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn)

75-Cincinnati, Ohio (Connie Smith)

76-If The South Woulda Won (Hank Williams, Jr.)

77-Wild Irish Rose (George Jones)

78-Yellow Rose Of Texas (Johnny Lee)

79-The Baptism Of Jesse Taylor (Johnny Russell)

80-American Made (Oak Ridge Boys)

81-The F-Word (Hank Williams, Jr.)

82-The Race Is On (George Jones)

83-What Ever Happened To Us? (George Jones and Tammy Wynette)

84-There Ain't A Tune (Cowboy Jack Clement)

85-This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie)

86-A Fool Such As I (Hank Snow)

87-Leavin' Louisiana In The Broad Daylight (Oak Ridge Boys)

88-The Gambler (Kenny Rogers)

89-Keep On The Sunny Side (Carter Family)

90-No Expectations (Cowboy Jack Clement)

91-As We Travel Through The Desert (Uncle Charlie Osborne)

92-Help Me Make It Through The Night (Sammi Smith)

93-Al Smith (Uncle Dave Macon)

94-Time's A-Wastin' (Carl Smith and June Carter)

95-Faded Love (Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys)

96-Showboat Gambler (Jesse McReynolds)

97-Maple On The Hill (Mac Wiseman)

98-Games People Play (Hank Williams, Jr.)

99-Whiskey Lullaby (Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss)

100-Will The Circle Be Unbroken? (Roy Acuff, Johnny Cash, Ricky Skaggs, and Levon Helms)



Anybody else like any of these songs? Thoughts?



-Neal

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40 Days… Can I Do It?

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006


Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. I've given up the computer for Lent. I don't intend to type, touch a mouse or look at a CPU until the Monday after Easter. If I pull this off, it'll be the longest I've gone without doing those things in 16 years.

Meanwhile, if you come across something interesting you'd like to share, please feel free to leave a link as a comment on this entry. I'm sure I'll return to the computer like a hungry dog on April 17, and I'll be grateful for fun links to click.

I'll talk to you then.



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You’ll need a lawyer to deer hunt in Southhampton County

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006
So says outdoors writer Bill Cochran in this article about the local politics of deer hunting in one Virginia county.

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On a surfer/lawyer/author

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006
Reading here about the late Peter Beck, of the Charleston SC bar, it says:

"He was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University Of South Carolina School Of Law. He was a partner with Qualey and Beck Law Firm. He was the current President of The Charleston Chapter of Surfrider Foundation, past President of Zeta Psi Fraternity at the University of Pennsylvania, a member of The South Carolina Bar Association, a former Assistant Solicitor for the 9th Judicial Circuit (Charleston County), a former Assistant to the Washington, D.C. News Bureau Chief of Hearst Publications and Broadcasting, and local admissions representative for the University of Pennsylvania. He was an avid surfer and an author."

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How we won the war

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006
Heh. Thanks, Steve.

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Mr. Olibe

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006

I once had a section on my old blog called “Happy Little M Bites” which gave small tidbits and funny stories about myself.  I’ve decided to reinstate that category.  I’ll get back to the Enemy story soon.  I just don’t feel like writing it right now.  So, let’s talk about Mr. Olibe.

Mr. Olibe was not his name.  IN fact, his last name was Martin.  When I was little, for as far back as I can remember, and even before I can remember, my parents had a boat and a house on a lake.  We would go to the lake every weekend (or as often as possible in the warm season).  When I was very little I loved olives.

Yes, you read that correctly.  I was 2 and I loved to eat olives.  Couldn’t get enough of them.  (I wonder why mom didn’t see my martini addiction sooner?)

When we would go to the lake, our neighbor, Mr. Martin, was my very best friend.  He was an alcoholic who drank many martinis filled with…you guessed it, Olives!  I was 2 and had a hard time saying Vs so I called them “Olibes.”  I would go to Mr. Martin (mom said I would normally disappear, they’d go search for me, and there I would be at Mr. Martin’s) and ask him, “May I have an olibe?”  He was the highlight of my lake trips.

Most parents would worry about their 2 year old taking up a friendship with a drunk alcoholic divorced man, but my parents honestly couldn’t stop me, and if they could, they didn’t want to because they knew Mr. Martin was a nice man.

Today I ran into Mr. Martin’s son, who is now 34ish.  He told me that his dad had died of liver disease awhile back.  He then told me “You know, you were the highlight of dad’s week, showing up asking for olibes.  He talked about you until he died.  Probably still tells the story of the Olibe Girl in Heaven right now.”

That made me smile.

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Relating To Woody

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006

Slantblog has a good one up about propaganda and how music relates. F. T. Rea shows his great talent as he writes

"It carried me me back to a time when the music of Woody Guthrie (1912-67), and his folksinger ilk, stirred passions and spoke for people who were accustomed to being ignored"....................................

"Thinking about what those heartfelt songs meant, remembering my own raw youthful feelings concerning what those songs were about, I've been Lou Gehrig-ed (tears rolling down cheeks) each time I've listened to it."



Good stuff indeed. Go read it all.

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Tuesday, February 28th, 2006

Karl.......Karl......Karl.......KARL!!!"

 

Woo woo woo woo... Coming... Woo woo woo woo... Almost there... Woo woo woo woo... What is it boss? I heard you holler.

Sit down, Karl. My goodness, you look a little red in the face. You feelin okay?


Doing fine, boss. Just a little winded. I ran all the way from the Executive Office Building.


And it took you seventeen seconds? We got to get you in shape there, boy. No room for laggards in this man's White House. Now take a load off. Here, wanna forty-ounce? It's an eight ball.

An eight ball?



Yeah, Turd Blossom, an Olde English 800. High gravity. Get with it Karl. That's what Easy E drinks. Tupac too, God rest his soul. Anyway, I hear you've got the latest ratings.

 Uh... Oops, I guess I left them at the Capitol. Hold on... Woo woo woo woo... Look out Doris, I'm coming through... Woo woo woo woo... Hey buddy, learn how to drive... Woo woo woo woo... Hey, Denny, seen my papers? Great! Thanks... Woo woo woo woo... Coming, boss... Woo woo woo woo... Almost there... Woo woo woo woo... Whew. I guess I'm ready for that forty now.

Here you go. Hold on, I'll get you a clean paper bag... Now, I'm looking for some good news, Karl, I'm looking for some rocking good news.


And good news you shall have. Let's see what we've got. Okay, here's the CBS / New York Times poll... and it shows you running at a very strong 34% job approval...

I'd rather be president that be popular.

Fortunate, that... and, mmm... your core is holding well. Only a little drift there. This says that 52% of conservatives still think you're doing a good job.

 That's over half!

 

Indeed it is. And really, the best news of all is that this is a CBS / New York Times poll, so we can be pretty darn sure that their numbers are skewed.

Make sure you include that in the official talking points file. What else do you have? Getting any good vibrations from the trooperoonies?

Yes sir, there is some new data on the trooperoonies. The new Zogby poll shows that 72% of our forces think that we should get the hell out of Iraq by the end of the year.

But not all of those want to leave immediately, do they?


Not at all, not at all. Only 29% feel that way, while another 43% are willing to give you six months or so. And of course, there's the 28% who would like to stay until Hell freezes over.

Bless their hearts. That's the sort of spirit that makes your heart swell with pride. But I tell you what, Karl. Don't just give me the good news. I'm the 'take charge president'. I want the good and the bad.

Okay, then... This new BBC poll of over 40,000 people in thirty-five countries says that 60% of the responders believe that you've caused terror attacks to be more likely, against just 12% who think terrorist attacks have become less likely.

Wow. WOW! You're telling me that there's 28% who don't have an opinion? Oh my God, Karl, that's a lot of potential hearts and minds that we can win over. Well you have made my day, Rovester. It's just one good news story after another... Why do you think the news media never focus on the positive side of things?

I really couldn't tell you, sir. They must be missing a large piece of spine.

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How Does That Old Saying Go…Out Of The Frying Pan…

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006
"The probe began at the county courthouse. "If she did it, she now faces a felony instead of a misdemeanor," Rigg said. He said that she probably she didn't think about the fact that she was getting out of simple misdemeanors by committing a class D felony, and going from a $500 fine to a five-year prison term. Du now faces more trouble than before. The Polk County Attorney's Office could not

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Put me in (the Bodpod) coach

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006
I just ran a 6.8 40-yard dash. That’s a little less than Michael Vick, I know.



I may have leaned a bit at the starting line, and the cones could have been a little closer than 40 yards apart. But 6.8 is my unofficial time, and I’m sticking with it.



Boy, am I winded?



I have to sit down before I try the broad jump. I haven't jumped broadly since seventh grade, but I'm ready to make my leaps today. Then, I'm hitting the Bodpod.



I'm doing this to myself because I'm all pumped and excited from watching the NFL Scouting Combine. The participants are amazing athletes, and it’s exhilarating to watch them go through the various drills.



Plus, how can you not watch when Cleveland Browns head trainer Marty Lauzon yells at the soon-to-be NFLers while they're holding 225 pounds above their pusses? Lauzon spouts off humorous nicknames at the players as they approach the bench press. And, if a player does well, the high-stung Lauzon often gives players pecks on the cheek as they use what little strength they have left to pick themselves off the bench. Now that's must-see TV.



The NFL Network is doing an amazing job of keeping football fans interested in the off-season by broadcasting the Combine live from Indianapolis and turning the thing into a watchable event.



Almost everything at the Combine is televised. It doesn’t hurt interest either that a bit of controversy has sprung at the scouting event in the form of Vince Young's leaked Wonderlic score.



It's amazing that we're in the last days of February, fresh off the Winter Olympics and ready to delve into baseball and March Madness, and the story all the sports media are talking about is a football player's intelligence test score. I guess that provides further evidence that football is indeed America's new national pastime.



But let's save that talk for another day. Right now, I need to find a Bodpod. I hear they're a couple here in Southwest Virginia. Virginia Tech uses the Bodpod in its athletics programs, and Radford University has one in its College of Education and Human Development. (Refresh the page until the Bodpod photo appears.)



I think I'll call around for an afternoon appointment. Wouldn't it be great if you could get a tan in those things, too?

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No football since the 40s? King will have to ditch the leather helmets

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006
King College athletics director Dale Burns told the Bristol Herald Courier Tuesday that the Bristol, Tenn., school is considering bringing back football. Burns did not give a timeline for a possible start of a football program, but did tell the newspaper that pigskin talk is "on the table." Pigskin on the table? Sounds yummy! King, which has not fielded a football team since 1941, is in the initial stages of moving it athletics program from NAIA to NCAA Division II. The Tornado most likely will play in the South Atlantic Conference when the shift is complete, thus pulling out of the Appalachian Athletic Conference. Those of you who follow Southwest Virginia sports may remember UVa-Wise went through a similar process about five years ago, but wisely – pun intended – chose to remain with the NAIA. UVa-Wise's planned move was initiated mostly by college administrators, not the athletics department. Part of the reason for the planned NAIA exodus was to allow the football team to play a more competitive schedule. Shortly after the decision was made to stay in the NAIA, the Highland Cavaliers football program, which had been playing as an independent since its birth in 1991, found a home in the perennially tough Mid-South Conference. The college's other sports remained in the AAC. A move for the Cavaliers to the NCAA would have created more travel – they're not many NCAA DII schools close to Wise – and thus less class time for student athletes. King, however, is in a better geographical spot and would have close-by competition in Carson-Newman and Tusculum. Those two teams, with the addition of SAC member Mars Hill in North Carolina, could provide interesting conference rivals for King. The non-conference schedule could include UVa-Wise and Emory & Henry College.

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It’s all about me

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006
Roanoke Times, 2/28/06, Pg A 5: Hillary Clinton says Carl Rove is spending lots of time obsessing about her.

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Apparently The Junior Senator from NY has shifted her focus from husband Bill to advisor Carl.

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It’s not clear how Carl has communicated his obsession to Hillary.

Bill and Monica were alleged to have participated in phone-sex while he was away from Washington. Would that really work for Carl and Hillary?

Based on her beauty, charm, whit and good nature a phone relationship might be a very good alternative to "being there".

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Perhaps Carl is hoping to keep his job in the White House after Hillary is elected President. Not clear what’s in store for Bill!

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Some guys will do anything to keep their jobs!

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NEWS FLASH

There is a new bi-partisan bumper sticker that was just released:

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RUN HILLARY --- RUN

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The Democrats are putting it on their rear bumpers

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The Republicans are putting it on their front bumpers

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