The Coyote Chronicles

I read a lot of blogs.  Someone once asked me what kind of people engage in blogging, and I really couldn’t offer a simple explanation.  Maybe one thing we all have in common is that we are people unafraid to share our thoughts with total strangers.  Beyond that, I’m not sure what makes us invest the required time and energy on this “hobby.”  Sure, some do it for ad revenue, and some because they have a particular agenda they want to advance.  In the beginning, the Coyote Chronicles was a place for me to rant about the excesses of the Bush administration.  Two elective wars and a budget- busting tax cut for the wealthy was motivation enough.  It wasn’t really supposed to be a political blog, but once some local aggregators picked me up there was no turning back.  I had readers.  Before long, I was making friends, and then MeetUp came along, and I was able to get to know other bloggers and many remain friends today.

I’m actually proud of the fact that I have been doing this for so long.  Rarely do I go without posting for very long,  though there are times when I must step back and clear my internal cache, so to speak, and just observe without comment.  Sometimes, I may feel strongly about a given subject, but am unable to write a readable post about it and by the time I can, the issue at hand is no longer timely.  So, there are gaps but by and large I feel that I can point to my body of “work” here with some pride and I make no apologies for the content or lack thereof.

On to 2012.  Finally.  What can I say?  I’m happy to be alive and surrounded by family and friends and I look forward to another year of trying to make myself a better person.  I’ve made some progress, I’m happy to report.  There is still work to do.  I’m doing a bit of consulting this year and I am excited about that, I’ve conquered some challenges here on the farm, and I am ready to apply my experience to something that does not involve tractors or chain saws.

So, I’ll stay at it in 2012.  Hope y’all stick around as well.

The War on Christmas wages on, but I am taking a much needed leave from the front lines.  It has been bleak to say the least.  Just when I thought we would no longer hear any utterances of, well, you know, I was innocently headed into the grocery store when I overheard one woman wish another woman a “merry Christmas.”  Ever vigilant, and mindful of the casualties this conflict has produced, I sprang into action.  I puffed out my magnificent chest and loudly berated her in that parking lot until she broke down and started blubbering on with some nonsense about baby Jesus’s birthday and such.  I was having none of that.  Now that I am flush with funding from Obama’s sinister 15 cent Christmas tree tax, I assured her that I could hold my position indefinitely, and she had better remove that ugly word from her already limited vocabulary.  Had she not climbed into her SUV and locked the door, I’d have pointed out to her that baby Jesus was in fact born either early Spring or late Summer.  ”This month is for us pagans!” I screamed.

Whew.  Anyway, I hope my family, my friends, and my readers all have a wonderful Holiday.  I got some news today that I should be sad about, but I am secretly happy about instead.  It involves a nasty break-up and my oldest daughter, but the result could mean she will come and stay with us for a decade or so.  Now THATS a Christmas present, dammit.

Please be safe, eat too much, drink responsibly, and remember to call people you are too busy for through-out the year.  I shall have a gaggle of rabble rousing friends here this weekend, and there shall be merriment and animal sacrifices.

All most all of you   some of you a couple of you one of my readers was struggling what to get me as a present this year, and I know how much anxiety that can bring about, so, in an effort to make your life easier and better, this is what I want:

I can take delivery almost any time, again, if this lifts at least some of your burden.  I’m good like that.  Be well.

I’m both amused and a little perturbed at the amount of press this young man is getting.  I didn’t really follow him in college, after all, he played down in Florida and if I have to follow an SEC team, it’s going to be that perennial powerhouse,VanderbiltUniversity. When Tebow came to the NFL, the haters started in almost immediately.  He can’t throw.  He can’t run. He can’t make it in the pros.  I didn’t pay attention, considering that those same things were said about Joe Montana, who was marginally successful as a NFL quarterback.  Who can say whether or not Mr. Tebow possesses that rare ability to overcome his physical limitations and just win football games?  The Broncos have been playing a better game of late, and they are winning games, both by producing points when they need to, and by minimizing mistakes in close games.  Unfair or not, it is usually the QB that receives the lion’s share of the attention when a club turns itself around. As a football fan, I’m happy to see it.  Football fortune is fickle, and Mr. Tebow could commit a fatal rookie mistake and see it all come crashing down to earth.  He wouldn’t be the first NFL media darling to experience that. The Denver Bronco/Tim Tebow story would be painstakingly covered by Bob Costas or Bryant Gumble, complete with slo mo video montages set to overly dramatic music.  I look forward.

Apparently, that is just not enough.  Mr. Tebow, it turns out, is a pretty outspoken Christian.  He is a member of that growing number of young Christians that wear their faith on their sleeve, unable, it seems, to seperate luck or whimsy from God’s will.  I have no doubt that the young Tebow boy feels that God hisself has seen fit to have him under center in Denver, and that he must let both his fans and his detractors know that he is simply God’s pawn, a mere servant, just doing the Lord’s will.  I’ve seen this before.  Anyone remember The Minister of Defense?  Reggie White too was a tool for God to use to punish opposing running backs.  It is not uncommon for professional athletes to have religion.  (Or professional rappers, for that matter)  Steve Young has it.  Curt Warner has it. There are many athletes who believe in God and are thankful for their blessings.

Then, as always, the media feels it’s necessary to exploit this.  Game-day directors love to shift focus to the young Tebow, kneeling in prayer, apparently asking God for just a little lift so the football clears the goalposts.    Yes, I know, Mr. Tebow seeks this exploitation.  I remember cringing when I saw the super bowl ad.  But, that is to be expected.  He doesn’t know any better.  He was born and raised in an environment of evangelicalism.  It is as much a part of his life as football, if not more.  But members of the media do know better.  That is probably why they do it.  I wonder though, if some tall, muscular, good looking quarterback with an excellent passer rating were to roll out a sajjada and make himself prostate on the 40 yard line, would the camera pull to a tight focus?  Would he even be allowed to do it?

So, until the wheels come off the Tim Tebow bus, we will be beset by non-stop marketing of this handsome Christian quarterback.  Personally, I think it sucks for him, the NFL, and the non evangelical fans that tune in watch our best athletes play football.

Gawd I love this: Mrry Xmas!

What’s the matter with Kansas?  If you are a High School student in the Shawnee Mission East school district, the matter is about free speech, emancipation, and petty political purity.  Emma Sullivan, a high school senior, attended a speech given by Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, and tweeted her distaste for the man’s policies.  Some of the Governor’s staffers, (at least one of whom has some sketchy ties with a faux grass-roots political organization funded by the Kochs) saw the tweet and notified her school Principal.  He then courageously informed the staffer that the young lady was 18 yrs old, hence,  that he had no legal jurisdiction over her.  He advised the brown-nosed Brownback staffer to grow up, move on, and get on with the business of bringing opportunity to the people of Kansas.

Wait, no he didn’t.  Actually, he called the young lady into his office, scolded her for nearly an hour, then demanded she write an apology which he would dictate to her if she needed.

At the time, Emma had roughly 60 people following her on Twitter.  As of this morning, she has now topped 5000, and people from every state now know of her plight.

Talk about some great staff work!  You’d think, even Kansas, they would be aware of the power of social media.

Read this at 5:00 a.m. this morning, before ingesting my Columbian free trade java, but still most of it resonated with me.  If you are too lazy to click and read the link, it is one of Andrew Sullivan’s readers submissions on the state of his/her religious beliefs, or lack of. Here is a snippet:

At the same time, I support and personally feel belief in the mystery of it all, recognizing that we don’t know what we don’t know; and I have a strong sense that the teachings of Buddha, of karma, of Judaism, of Mohammed, and of Christ have a great deal to offer – that these world views all are directionally healthy if interpreted without literalism, that they all imply reasons for gratitude and that they all help build social fabric as shared belief systems, and that those things are good things which probably outweigh the obvious downsides of groupthink and the devastating divisions they also cause with humans who otherwise have so much in common.

It’s a good read, but I happen to believe that groupthink and devastating divisions far outweigh whatever comfort we find in our social fabric of “shared beliefs”.  But I thought “Gratheism” was a catchy term.

On a lighter note…Bob Costas did a piece last night during the halftime “show” of the Patriot/Eagle game, where he called out excessive player celebrations in the NFL.  Long overdue, in my opinion.  Spike the ball if you must.  Yes, it’s an adrenaline charged moment, and some scores are worthy of some celebration.  I forget who said this, but it’s spot on:

“Upon reaching the end-zone, act like you’ve been there before.”

Don’t mock.  Don’t dance.  And for the love of Pete, don’t kneel and give thanks to God.  (I was VERY put off during the Denver game, when they were about to attempt a game winning field goal in overtime, and the director cut to a shot of Tim Tebrow  on one knee, praying on the sideline. What on earth does a prayer for victory sound like?

“Dear God, I humbly beseech you to make this kick good, and visit defeat and humiliation upon my opponents.”

Anyway, NFLers, do your job without the ridiculous gyrations and such.  Unless, of course, you’re willing to lay prostate while we heap derision and scorn upon you for fumbling or missing a catch-able ball. Wait…we already do that.

Question:  Does anyone else out there hate the term “Black Friday” as much as I do?

It’s not classy, folks, but I just have to swirl the schadenfreude around on my tongue for a minute or three.

Super Committee?  Not so much.  As a recovering Democrat I have to say thank GOD Kerry & Co didn’t capitulate.  I don’t want to see cuts in entitlement programs, but standing up to Congressional bullies pays dividends down the road.

Dear Yahoo:  Turn off your comments section, now.  I am embarrassed to share DNA with 90% of the morons commenting on your news stories.  Seriously, let’s not show the world how much stupid exists here.  Let them think Cain and Perry are anomalies.

The world needs a better toilet.  And more of them.  I’ll have more on this later.

It’s funny to watch how puppies don’t “get” that they have grown.  Cookie tries to fly through small spaces she could get through last week, but now that she has doubled in size and heft, she can’t even wriggle through those spaces.  I used to have a nice table next to my arm-chair, but after being upended once or twice, it is bound for the garbage heap.

Dear Police everywhere:  Please stop pepper-spraying our young people.  They are trying to tell us something, and it’s really bad form.  The world IS watching.

Dear Fox News:  Pepper-spray is basically a “food source?”  Seriously?  Y’all went with that?

Back Later, thanks for dropping by!

The carpet in the master bedroom is ten years old.  There is no money in the budget to replace it, but I knew I couldn’t live with it much longer.  Inside pets, toddlers, and time had left it stained and just funky as hell.  I’ve had it cleaned a number of times, but usually, it seems to revert to it’s former state within a week, regardless.  Still, I decided to have it cleaned.  I logged onto Craig’s List, and one particular ad caught my eye.  I called the number, and spoke to a young lady named Melanie.  I explained what I had, she quoted me a price, and the next day she was there, on time, and accompanied by James, her partner.

On the phone, Melanie explained that their method did not involve soaking the carpet with water and then trying to extract it with a vacuum  type machine.  Apparently, water can easily get down into the pad, and since the carpet machines can’t get down there to remove it, it can begin to mildew and rot the pad away.  What James and Melanie do is use an enzyme (after a thorough vacuuming) which goes to the base of the carpet fibers, then they literally buff it with a brush that is affixed to an industrial type buffer, like you see in office building and schools and such.  The pad stays dry, and after the carpet is raked, it looked beautiful, almost like new.  They did an awesome job, and I got tickled watching Melanie move heavy pieces of furniture, given that she weighs only slightly more than our neurotic Pomeranian.

Seriously, if you are thinking about having your carpets cleaned, give these two hard working entrepreneurs a call. (615) 598-7613.  They have a website that is pretty self-explanatory, and they are of course listed on CL.  There are plenty of carpet-cleaning scam artists out there, but you will be pleased with their work ethic and of course the way your carpets look when they get done.  By the way, they told me there is no sales tax on carpet cleaning, ever.

It’s really nice to feel like you got your moneys worth.