Soxy

QUOTE(Steff @ May 30, 2006 -> 07:33 PM) Soxy... what breeds are you considering? A mutt. One of my friend's parents own a pet store and they take in stray litters give em their shots and sell them for $5. The one I'm (hopefully) getting is a girl after all (phew). My friend's mom apparently can't quite tell what kind of dog it is, she thinks a lab with something else. So, I would say I am looking into the ultimate designer one-of-a-kind dog.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ May 30, 2006 -> 05:05 PM) Oh yeah, we make sure that nobody comes in without first corraling the dog. Especially when we are on the lake, if anyone walks into our yard he immediately advances towards the intruder. It makes me nervous sometimes since he could do some damage if he wanted to, but at the same time, he listens when told what not to do. We've had female German Shephards that are the same way.

I've got a dog question for you all. I grew up with all female dogs, but now I'm considering getting one of my own. My question is: how does the gender of the dog affect personality? Is there really any difference? Just wondering. Thanks guys!

What? No Fergie Duchess of York jokes? I'm disappointed people!

I saw that, although the "dropped" price for Cedar Point was still around $40.

QUOTE(YASNY @ May 30, 2006 -> 06:13 AM) Now, pray tell, where in the world did the American citizens get the idea that they were entitled to this or entitled to that? Where did this entitlement mentality come from? I wonder .... hmmmm. From being wealthy and knowing that there will always be a lower class to do your dirty work?

QUOTE(Texsox @ May 29, 2006 -> 10:07 PM) You are drifting dangerously close to losing your feminist card . . . Oh my! It's sooooo hoooot, my blouse is clinging to me, just look No, I think we were entertaining for other reasons. Like sheer lack of talent.

I'm very sorry to hear about that Kalapse. I hope you and your family find some solace together.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ May 29, 2006 -> 05:38 PM) Because tennis is awesome? Let me be more honest about my tennis skillz (and my friend's), we spent most of the time running after balls after we lobbed them out of the court. Although the guys on the next court actually stopped playing to watch us. So, um, tennis loosely defined although highly enjoyable.

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ May 29, 2006 -> 02:56 PM) Soxy how can you say just the right thing all the time? If I wasn't so gay.... It is my gift, it is my curse.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ May 29, 2006 -> 02:57 PM) Bob Ley is sexy and respectful all at once. You really need counseling.

I can't even tell you how sad I was when Wellstone died. I think that will be my "Kennedy" moment. I really looked up to him and Sheila.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ May 29, 2006 -> 02:49 PM) Right. This goes along with what you've said repeatedly in the past, and I think this is an instance of this. They all have good intentions, their efforts are there, but then in the end, the beauracracy gets to them all. I think that MN has had some decent senators in the past. I liked Dayton and I liked Wellstone.

Sorry guys, Yahoo doesn't appear to be updating, what's the score/inning?

So hot. Why did I agree to play tennis close to midday on the hottest day of the year. Ich.

I voted yes to legalization, but I think decriminalization is a better option. I think that is the option where the gov't can tax and regulate it. Not sure though. . .

Purple Heart Museum I thought I would post this here. Sounds like a very good idea, and I'm sure everyone on here knows at least one person who got a purple heart, so maybe pass on this information--sounds like a nice way to document history. Historians hunt for Purple Heart stories By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press Writer Sun May 28, 11:24 PM ET VAILS GATE, N.Y. - Cpl. Robert Frink was captured in Germany during the final months of World War II. He and two comrades were forced to swap uniforms with their Waffen SS captors, lined up and shot in the back of the head. Miraculously, the bullet entered Frink's neck and exited his cheek without shearing his spine or jugular vein. He even felt a German kick him as he lay bleeding. "Believe me, I played dead!" After his captors left, Frink fled, found some Canadian troops, and was saved. The wound earned him a Purple Heart. Sixty-one years later, it is earning him an entry on the "Roll of Honor," a database being compiled for a museum honoring Purple Heart recipients. When the museum, the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, opens in November, visitors will be able to search out facts and stories about soldiers wounded or killed. New York officials heading the project think — though no one knows for sure — there are up to 1.7 million soldiers who belong on the list. So they're putting out a call: If you or a family member has been awarded the Purple Heart, they want you. More precisely, they want your information for the most comprehensive list of American military sacrifice. "Somewhere, in every family tree, this is going to hit home," said state Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro. The Hall of Honor is being built at a woodsy historic site north of New York City where George Washington's army camped toward the end of the Revolutionary War. It was here in 1782 that Washington created the Badge of Military Merit, which he decreed would be "the figure of a heart in purple cloth." "The end of the war was coming," said Michael Clark, manager of the New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site. "He thought that this was an opportunity to recognize the troops before the army was disbanded and went home." The original badge was awarded for exceptional performance, not battle wounds. Surviving records show three sergeants received the medal, though Clark said more soldiers might have been honored. The badge fell into disuse after the war, but was reintroduced as the Purple Heart in 1932. Thousands of World War I veterans received Purple Hearts retroactively — as did a few very old Civil War veterans. In 1942, Purple Hearts were restricted to those "wounded in action against any enemy." How many have been awarded, no one knows. Clark has heard of wounded World War II soldiers told to simply grab one from a box. But a tally of the wounded and dead from World War I on is about 1.7 million, most from World War II. It's impossible to find and verify every single award. But the modest staff at the state historic site is trying. After quietly collecting information for years, parks officials in March put out a widespread plea for veterans and families to share stories and materials for hall. Clark said about 5,000 responses have come in, everything from e-mails from Iraq to packages with typed stories and sepia-tinged photos. Ronald Vellner sent in a tiny piece of metal shrapnel that pierced his right thigh in Korea. Survivors of Frank Emberson sent in a small envelope stuffed with photos; a corner of the envelope is frayed off where a bullet caromed off his breast pocket into his arm during World War II. Gold Star mother Deborah Tainsh sent in the story of her son Patrick, a rebellious young man obsessed with surfing who shocked friends when at age 29 he sought his father's blessing to follow his footsteps into the military. The 33-year-old sergeant was on patrol in Iraq in a Humvee when he was killed by an explosion in February 2004. "I just want you to know I tried to do the right thing," he wrote in a note to his family in the event of his death. " ... I didn't always do things on your time line, but I've always looked up to you, Dad, as the man I've always wanted to be." The men and their stories will be included on the Roll of Honor. Clark also is coaxing wounded veterans to tell their story in front of cameras for the museum's exhibits and archives. There's a sense of urgency because the number of surviving World War II veterans is shrinking quickly. Ironically, members of that legendarily stoic generation are providing a lot of the stories. Project workers think older veterans realize it's finally time to talk. Frink, for instance, barely mentioned his near-miss execution in Germany since coming home to California in 1945. Now 81, he still chokes up recalling how his two comrades who were killed. He finally wrote down his story recently and e-mailed it to a veterans' Web site. "I've had a hard time grappling with this baggage I've been carrying around all these years," Frink said. "Years later, it still hurts." ___ On the Net: Purple Heart Hall of Honor: http://nysparks.state.ny.us/heritage/purple_hrt.asp

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ May 29, 2006 -> 05:51 AM) When I was growing up, neighborhood kids mowed the lawn, bussed tables at the local restaurant and such. They did it to earn a few extra bucks on the side and to learn the value of a days work before moving on to bigger and better things. Unfortunately, nowadays American kids are spoiled and lazy and would rather plug their eyeballs into a TV screen or computer monitor than get out there and work. First Nuke, I don't know if you're old enough to play the "when I was growing up" card, I think you've gotten to be above 30 for that to work. Seriously, though, I agree with you. I had a paper route until I was old enough to get a real job, got a real job and have been employed ever since. I don't know that I think it's sheer laziness that makes a lot of Americans not want to take jobs, I think it's more about entitlement. I think a lot of people's attitude is more that they're above those jobs and that they're entitled to something better. Even in class I'll see it, people think that just because they're in college they'll pass or get a B or whatver. I think the work ethic has degrade, not just because of laziness, but because people think they're owed or should just get something. I think I can be a bit lazy (although I am at work on Memorial day. . .), but I certainly don't think I am owed anything or that, in dire straights, that I would be above any job.

Never forgotten.

Looks like we need more one term senators. . . In final term, Minn. senator cuts loose By FREDERIC J. FROMMER, Associated Press Writer Mon May 29, 3:39 AM ET WASHINGTON - Asked to describe his attitude in his last few months in office, Sen. Mark Dayton (news, bio, voting record) cited a line from the 1960s song "Me and Bobby McGee." "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose," he says. The first-term Minnesota Democrat is not seeking re-election and, these days, sounds very much like a politician with little to lose. In February, upset about a plan by a South Dakota railroad to run coal trains close to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Dayton said the clinic "is worth a hell of a lot more than the whole state of South Dakota." He later apologized for the remark. The following month, he called fellow Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold (news, bio, voting record)'s proposal to censure President Bush over a warrantless surveillance program "an overreaching step by someone who is grandstanding and running for president at the expense of his own party and his own country." Dayton did not apologize for that. He even told a Minnesota high school group he'd give himself an "F" if he had to grade his accomplishments in the Senate. "And I would give the entire Congress, of which I'm a member, an F for results," Dayton said in an interview. He pointed out that he also told the students he'd give himself an "A-minus" for effort. Dayton, 59, announced last year that he would not seek re-election, concluding that Democrats could field a stronger candidate. His reputation took a beating months earlier when he temporarily closed his Senate office, citing a secret intelligence report that he said made him fear for his staff's safety. Dayton said he still takes his position seriously, "but the fact that I'm not up for re-election, every word is not going to be politically dissected, gives me a certain freedom that I haven't felt before." "I didn't just say, 'Well, I'm not going to run,' so now this light switch or something turned on," Dayton said. "But it's sort of evolving." He said he's felt more relaxed without the pressures of raising money and having a "political target on my back." "Mark Dayton is in his last months in public office, probably ever," said Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "He hasn't had a particularly successful tenure. So why not speak out as bluntly as possible and have some fun?" Still, said Steve Schier, a political science professor at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., "giving himself an F — that must be a first in Senate history." "This is a fellow who's issuing a few Bronx cheers on the way out the door," Schier said. The Minnesota Republican Party has noticed Dayton's increased bluntness with approval. "He's certainly let it rip lately," said Mark Drake, the party's spokesman. "We appreciate his candor when he does acknowledge that he does deserve a failing grade for his performance in the Senate. I think he's right when he says he's been ineffective and hasn't accomplished a lot." Dayton stressed that while he's speaking his mind more freely, he's no second-semester senior. "I'm not coasting to the conclusion of this job," he said. "I am fully engaged." Dayton doesn't have to worry about post-Senate employment. He's a multimillionaire, and has been donating his $165,200 Senate salary to the Minnesota Senior Federation.

It's an imperfect world. . .

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ May 28, 2006 -> 10:13 PM) Thanks guys, unfortunately he was put down this morning. Don't know if we'll end up getting another cat at this stage. I'm sorry. That really sucks. I've always said pets are like family except far less annoying. At least he didn' thave to suffer much.

Can I just insert a quick Cubs joke here? Pretty please? What did Jesus tell the Cubs the last time He was here? Don't do anything until I come back. hahahaha

Well, what else is there to do in a nursing home?

I couldn't justify the expense of a landline, all I need is the cell.