Icewind's Ramblings

When you join the military or are elected to public office you take an oath to protect the country from both foreign and domestic enemies which is part of our Constitution. Throughout history world powers nearly always fall from within. We may be going that same route as we look for ways to get involved in all the world’s conflicts when we cannot take care of things on our own home front.   We have invaded Libya to stop another nutcase from killing his own people as we watch over the country’s oil fields without taking anything for our efforts to stop the violence in that country.   It has been that way in all of our Middle Eastern protective missions. Does that make us a stupid country?   The foreign oil is there for us to take as part payment for helping countries gain freedom from dictators who think nothing of killing their own people.   Within our own borders exists 1,000 to 2,500 years worth oil and gas.   We have hamstrung ourselves from using it and...

Remember back before the election during all of the campaigning and coverage of the presidential primaries how MSNBC was gushing all over Barack Obama? Well it is interesting now a year later to see how things have changed.  Its not the same now as reality sinks in.  Did you watch Obama's TelePrompTer reading last night?  What a mess we are in and a joke of a speech.  I couldn’t watch all of it because my bullshit meter kept going off and pegging the “get out your chest waders” because we are in deep shit.  He didn't read anything that was unexpected. Holding BP accountable.                        Yep we’ve heard that for 58 days now. We've been on the job from day 1.      Yep typical ‘no urgency’ gov’nment job. Clean up the Gulf Coast .                ...

Tomorrow is Bike to work day and my company is hosting a BBQ for our new interns who come in to work with us during the summer months.  The combination bike day and a welcoming BBQ will make it a fun time and the weather is looking great for the event.  I was volunteered to help cook and people were bringing side dishes and deserts.  I figured I would give everyone a treat with my slightly different baked bean recipe. Baked beans are a favorite side dish in the South.  It's rare to go to a barbecue or to a pot luck dinner and not see a baking dish with baked beans. Some baked beans are a whole lot better than other baked beans . . . it takes some "doctoring up" to make the really yummy baked beans . . . the kind that means you come home with an empty casserole dish or crock pot.  If you’re really lucky someone will take the cornbread and lap up the juice in the bottom of the dish. There are probably as many baked bean secrets in the South as there are South...

I need to come clean since I pretended to be asleep last night after “The Incident”. I would like to give you a little back story before I confess.  This past weekend was one of those times where there were multiple things going on and everyone is required to give way from the normal routines and go into that feeding frenzy mode that comes during these times. We had the start of the Olympics with the athletic competition getting underway on Saturday.  Then add to that the happenings in Daytona with auto racing which included Danica Patrick’s debut in the Nationwide Series 300 and the running of the 52 nd annual Daytona 500 NASCAR race and you have the makings of a stomach disaster. To properly watch any of these events you have to prepare for them.  The Super Bowl has its ‘must haves’ to do it up just right.  There is always chili, hot dogs or hamburgers, nachos, and the chips & dip that set the mood for the afternoon.  Mine was no different where you...

Dog Farts . . . or how my eyes were burning as I woke up this morning. Sometimes dog farts tend to be nastier than some of our best human counterparts.  My wife’s dog Gus lets go of some absolute beauties . . . and he knows it too.  I have been known to pinch my nose and give my traditional cry of "Awwwwww Gussssssss!", as he never moves off the bed just looking up at me with innocent eyes in the dimness of the bedroom as if to say "What?"  But I know that he knows, because of the way he looks away again just a little too quickly hoping he will be left alone and not thrown or kicked off the end of the bed.  The other night he was in fine form after sneaking the remnants in a bowl of chili . . . his own pungent smell woke him up . . . and he indignantly got up . . . jumped off the bed and left the room!  Of course leaving behind the toxic cloud in his wake, luckily it wasn’t mine and no one else woke up so I did not get blamed for polluting the room. Of cou...

I love the internet as you can find almost anything with a few key words or a brief description.  There is information on subjects or topics from all walks of life and that cover any side or point of view about a subject. Example: Itchy Butt has much information with a quick Google search and trying to find a remedy could be found in of all places on Craig’s List.  Even Answers.com gets a hit! What a product to help you stop itching . . . Here's the text of one testimonial ad for AnaNOitch-D on Craig’s List: "Hello there, I bought two bottles of AnaNOitch-D to get rid of my rectal itching.  After just a few days of using this natural remedy the itching stopped.  Now I don't need the second bottle.  I paid $33 for it as you can see on their website, but I will sell it to you for $14.  If you live close by, you are welcome to come over and pick it up.  Please let me know.   Myra . " Now that's a sure sell if you suffer from this ailmen...

I’ve had this one tucked away for many months now debating when to post it as I have moved away from some of my earlier funny but questionable musings.  But I do feel it is a subject that many experience but may never have thought to ask . . . Well that’s why I am here to help . . . your itchy butt expert who took two years of research without any government grants to give you this insightful information. Have you ever needed to scratch your butt in public but there were too many witnesses?  Well I have a solution for you for just about any situation. Icewind’s Guide on “How to Scratch your Butt in Public (without unwanted stares)”. 1. The Wall Approach - Slowly back-up towards the closest wall possible. Then, take desired hand & move it towards the itchy buttocks.  Scratch uncontrollably, until its better. 2. The Pants Approach - “The Back Pocket” carefully reach into the back pocket of your pants.  Slowly itch the desired cheek and act like yo...

I read a lot of blogs when I get the chance on all kinds of subjects and one that seems to get a ton of verbiage is about people who work in offices.  Some are complaints about people who have co-workers who steal their lunch or co-workers who wear too much perfume.  A few about those people who haven’t mastered email etiquette at work.  I read blogs where people rant about their bosses, complain about their work schedule, moan about their cubicle size. Which makes me feel somewhat guilty. Because usually . . . I don’t have anything to complain about.  Sure, I might have a backlog of work from submittals or O&M manuals waiting for my attention or a list of calls to return but is that really something to complain about?  Not really.  The work hectic but I think I thrive on it if truth be told but this is just . . . It’s sort of a gross story, but I did it as a child too . . . so I can understand the appeal. (Get it . . . A PEEL?  I’m here all ...

I have been thinking lately . . . I know that may not be a good thing but it happens sometime. I wanted a glass of Beringer’s as I was writing this but none could be found so I will just have to do without for awhile. Back to my thoughts . . . recently it came to me as probably most people who share time with other people that there are those things that happen in the normal course of everyday living. The thing that struck me was what might seem normal for me might not be ‘normal’ or acceptable to others. They might be those annoying things that either totally gross out the other person but they may never say anything and let things go on possibly for years and years. You probably know where this is going by now as it gets down to those basic things of living in close proximity with other people. Do you “let it rip” in front of your spouse or mate? Then it gets into the whole ‘fluffing the covers’ issues whether that is foreplay to some while total...

Well they (the government) has given the auto industry a few billon dollars now and so far I haven’t seen any real change here in Alaska . The new administration has put out a few new requirements on auto makers to force them to make more fuel efficient vehicles which should have happened ten to fifteen years ago. It may be that they are wasting spending our money on goofy or totally useless things. It used to only be car commercials that went into the absurd. We have all of those Cal Worthington Ford Commercials here and on the West Coast which over the years has always been over the top or just plain annoying. Now it seems every commercial has that not so subtle message they are trying to drill into your brain. You know what message. You are not only making a life altering decision when you purchase your car, but you are also stating to the world (indirectly bragging) your individualism with your choice. Your life will not only be richer and better no...

It was a long drawn out campaign for both sides and to be honest I’m kinda tired of all of this now. But I know I will keep watching, reading all I can to learn and stay informed of the issues. Because I know, that despite the divides that politics can create, despite the unrest from all sides, the strained tensions that develop . . . politics ultimately DO bring out the good in people if we let it. Politics allows everyone to put our heart on our sleeve, to illustrate what we believe matters. It allows us to talk of subjects we have views on but may not know how to bring up . . . topics of abortion, of gun control, government size, wars and the environment. It provides the perfect opportunity to believe with every ounce of you in something outside yourself. Politics sometimes brings out great people . . . it’s given us Churchill and Trudeau, FDR, Mandela and the Kennedy’s. Politics has provided a platform to address social injustices . . . to highlight inequaliti...

It has been a long grueling week here in Alaska . It ran the gamut from being pretty cold for this time of year with it in single digits or just below zero in the mornings while I looked at the weather map on the Today Show showing that Alaska was “Above Normal” so I have no idea where they were getting their information. Driving to work in the darkness was somewhat deceiving with the ‘black ice’ covering the ground several mornings that we had ice fog around the city. The clear nights with the cold temperatures, no wind, and the inlet close-by made for some tough driving conditions for many people. We had a couple small snow flurries which most hoped that it would warm up a bit and have the heavens cut loose with a nice fresh snowfall before the Holiday . Fresh snow cleans everything up for a bit and makes things have that ‘wintry’ look. Work tried to beat me down this week as I tried to keep up with everything going on. Multiple projects, several ...

Everyone needs a good laugh and today is no exception. Too much to go into right now but this was sent to me today and brought with it a smile. Maybe one will find its way to your face. To bad we cannot have commercials here like Australia with that little bit of fun. Enjoy! Ice

Today has been a mixed bag of things going on here in the northland. Anchorage finally dropped the price of gasoline to below $ 3.50 a gallon today while word on the news is saying the Lower 48 is seeing gas prices about a dollar a gallon less than here and a few areas that the price has dropped lower than $ 2.00. That’s great for those areas and hopefully we will see something around two fifty before long. There was the rumor of traffic here today as the traffic engineers were working on the traffic lights by the Dimond Mall. They turned them off at 9 AM this morning for maintenance and other work and should have them operational around midnight. It did not make for a fun day for anyone who had to drive around the area as there were vehicles backed up in all directions while the flaggers directed traffic in the below freezing temperatures. It was only 9 degrees this morning and rose only to about 25 when I left the office at 6 PM tonight. I could see th...