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I have to admit, I'm jazzed about this...

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:41:39 EST

As has become ususal for me, this is totally sports non-related.

(I did go cross country skiing today. That was exausting....but fabulous exercise. Okay, with that comment added, this blog is only 99% non-sports related.)

So, on to what I'm jazzed about. I was awarded Firefighter of the Year by my department Chief on Saturday night. It's probably the first time in the department's history that award has been accepted by someone in a black, back-less evening dress.

I had a pretty good rookie year.

Merry Christmas to all!

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:12:18 EST

Hey, Sportsliners (and especially the outstanding crew of the Auto Racing Board):

I just wanted to take a few moments to wish all of you a Blessed Christmas and a safe and happy New Year (...not just the first day of it; I'm talking about being safe and happy for the whole darned year. It is the start of a new decade after all.)

Life is still just as crazy as it was months ago. Just today, I went on a call first thing this morning....then straight to work from 0800-1130 at job #1; across town for 1200-1830 at job #2. Wild. You'll get no complaints from me, though. I'm in an area where the largest employers have closed their doors entirely, or cut back their work force drastically. Anyone here who is getting a regular paycheck is very fortunate.

Life is just crazy, or I'd be around more

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 1:01:49 EDT

I've been checking in and reading a few threads on the racing board when I can, but gosh, I've been slammed lately. In summary: two per diem Physical Therapy jobs (...and I've been warned that a third facility is likely going to call me as well), EMT class (will be finished at the beginning of next month. Yea.), firefighter training (got my "arduous" pack test out of the way, and my wildland refresher done), calls (it's dry here already; four out-of-control grass fires in the past week, and medical calls as usual), and tomorrow I'm teaching English comp at the community college (I'm covering my sister's classes.) At last night's fire training, I learned to run all the pumps in the two apparatus that I'm least-familiar with, and I got drive the gigantic water tender. (The three engines and the other tender aren't quite so big; that tender is massive. And I seriously feel like a big kid around these trucks; it's so much fun.)

Your 2nd amendment rights under attack

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 7:34:36 EDT

There is currently a bill in congress (H.R. 45) which will essentially grant the Federal government permission to treat law-abiding gun owners no better--or even worse--than convicted sex offenders and other felons. Don't believe me? Check this out, from Congressman Denny Rehberg:

"Americans are concerned about H.R. 45, the “Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009,” sponsored by Representative Bobby Rush. This bill contains sweeping gun control measures such as universal background checks, a federal firearm licensing requirement and the creation of a firearms tracking system.

In addition to the new licensing regulations, this legislation also requires gun owners to inform law enforcement within 72 hours if their gun is lost or stolen. Failure to report a lost or stolen gun will result in criminal charges against the gun owner. Also, if a child uses the owner’s gun to harm themself or someone else, the gun owner will be held legally responsible.

The penalty for good behavior...

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:50:09 EDT

I posted a new blog entry, and it didn't format quite as I wanted. Instead of spending a bunch of time messing with it and editing, I thought I'd just delete it and do it over again later. Bad idea.

Little did I know that removing my own blog would result in a message in bold red letters stating, "this entry has been removed by the administrator' ...and a score of -100. Wow. ...and oops. I guess I won't delete my own posts again; the penalty for trying to post only well-formatted information is pretty stiff.

You have been warned. Have a nice day.

One of a kind.

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:12:01 EDT

The following is copy/pasted from an entry in an online "guestbook." I'm posting it because it tells the story better than I possibly could.

"Hi Craig and Tammy,

I was at dinner tonight with my brother-in-law, his family and my family for my sister-in-laws birthday. Out of the blue my brother-in-law asked affectionately about this "Finberg guy" and the incredible support he is receiving throughout Montana. When I shared with him the basis of our friendship (forever), my affection for you, your family and your wife he understood why your support is truly incredible.

Craig, you have touched all of us so much. When I think of it, the entire class of '75's love for sports began with you. You made it popular to read the Sporting News, to collect pop tops with pictures of Pro athletes, to study the box scores, to play pick up games of basketball on dirt courts with plywood backboards and to play a classic game of sandlot baseball across from the high school. I recall our group listening to my first World Series on our transister radios, during recess, as the Twins played the Dodgers in 3rd grade. I remember all of us listening to the Wildcats almost winnng State in the mid-60's, and it being the focus of our discussion for weeks. I recall betting you on whether "my" Colts would beat "your" Vikings. I think Joe Kapp through 7 touchdowns that game. So much for my bet.

Not particularly relevant to anyone but me.

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:30:58 EST

I arrived back home a awhile ago after being called out for a 'possible suicide attempt.' Given the state of the economy, my crew has been anticipating the likely increase in these types of calls. But this one had nothing to do with economics.

I'll never for the life of me understand what prompts anyone to try meth. It's pure (expletive) poison. The destructive capacity of methamphetamine on the human brain and body makes it incomprehensible to think anyone would ingest it on purpose. Dump alcohol and prescription drugs on top.....what a (expletive) mess.

It's a pretty sad business to spend a few hours in the middle of the night trying to provide some level of comfort to an emotionally-wrecked spouse. I'm glad I was there for this one, though; the guys don't have the experience in dealing with famlies that I do.

The demise of basketball

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:37:48 EST

I used to love basketball. I played for a great team and we ended up with some very nice trophies. But it's been a lot of years since I've watched the sport. I saw this video today and I was reminded of why I stopped watching.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/Please-note-that-Chase-Budinger-s-face-is-not-a-?urn=ncaab,136602

When I was a player, I was once in a very similar situation. An offensive foul wasn't involved, but there was a player down on the floor in front of me, and I had a considerable amount of momentum carrying me forward. (And the other player was in a crouched position, not flat on the floor.) But unlike Coleman, I kept my eyes focused on the other player, jumped over her and landed on the other side on one foot, never having touched her at all.

My bro-in-law got a fruit basket for Christmas...

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:45:56 EST

This is just me ranting a little bit on behalf of one brother-in-law and two sisters-in-law....

My brother-in-law--a totally wonderful person, that I'm thrilled to have as part of the family--received his Christmas present from his parents yesterday. A fruit basket.

I really have to wonder about these people. His dad does some pretty amazing carpentry, and has been building custom dining room sets for my brother-in-law's sisters. (For free. I saw them; they're really nice.) Several months ago, my bro-in-law was looking at buying some bookcases; his dad offered to build some for him, and he even built a prototype. However, my bro-in-law was informed that each bookcase would cost him about $200....plus tax. He had to turn down the offer, because that's totally not affordable. Incidentally, his dad gave the prototype to one of bro-in-law's sisters, for free.

A Global 'You've got to be kidding."

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 0:32:07 EST

I just read an article entitled "Zimbabwe: Cholera introduced by West." After listening to freaks like Obama's former pastor blame the US government for starting the AIDS epidemic, I guess neither I nor anyone else should be surprised by garbage like this, but frankly, when coupled with Obama's proposed "Global Poverty Act"--in which, US taxpayers, via the UN (an organization known for being entirely perfect and uncorruptable) will send massive amounts of US dollars around the world--it's getting under my skin more than just a little.

This new statement by the Zimbawean government particularly strikes a nerve with me. A very good friend of mine is currently in Zimbabwe, and has been for nearly two months. This is her fifth trip. Apparently things like schools, sanitation, food, and medical care from "the West" are meaningless to the Zimbabwean government when they can throw around baseless accusations that "the West" is responsible for intentionally starting disease epidemics. The finger is pointed directly at Great Britain, but, the US of course, gets sucked in too.

Why I'm thinking twice about shopping at WalMart.

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 1:25:00 EST

Firstly, to succinctly describe my shopping habits: I'm a bargain hunter. I dislike shopping in general. I also dislike clutter in my house so I don't buy a lot anyway.

Why I've been a WalMart shopper: It's cheaper.

What's making me reconsider: The WalMart corporate philosophy of essentially forcing its suppliers to out-source to foreign countries in pursuit of low prices. WalMart originally took pride in providing "Made in the USA" products and also utilitzing input from it's employees to improve it's stores. Everything has changed. WalMart, as the biggest retail chain, has become the biggest importer of foreign goods and not only encourages, but literally forces, it's suppliers to go outside of America for goods.