Icewind's Ramblings

Rule # 5 You Don't Waste Good Some of you may know what I am talking about and some may have to look it up but one thing is certain, like Gibbs I live by the cup, all day long. I have an auto start on my coffee maker and I can always be found with a cup of coffee.  I like my coffee not just as a pick me up but I love the smell and taste of really good coffee.  I credit this to my mother as she gave us "Good to the last Drop" Maxwell House Master Blend growing up and I have always gone to great lengths to find it all of my life. For many of us we try to learn from our mistakes and life our lives a certain way and in many ways we may or may not have them written down anywhere.  For one of my favorite antagonist there is a set of rules written down and over the years many have been revealed to the followers and fans.  One of my favorites is Rule # 5 . . . You Don't Waste Good! Now this can be taken in so many contexts and is open for interpretation ...

Life Observation # 169 - Patience  "Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the mark of a false messiah."           - Illusions by Richard Bach - Sometimes in our life we go through something and while in the middle of it may not understand why things are the way they are.  What I have learned is that you must trust yourself and stay true to your values even when the outcome and costs to yourself are on the line. I think it is about the value of a man or woman holding onto what they believe and having the understanding that it is not always in our hands or timetable to change the outcome. Patience was a hard thing for me to learn but after 7 months I think I have a pretty good grasp of it. Great things are on the horizon and I am spreading my wings to soar up to new heights to see it come to fruition! H...

Life Observation # 168 "Holding on to anything is like holding on to your breath. You will suffocate.” Sometimes we need to remember we cannot do it all on our own and need to look up and ask for help.  It still amazes me how that works and the capacity of what happens when you do. Ice

Life Observation # 167 Purpose gives life meaning. The human mind has no elastic limit. Ice

I think sometimes as we live our lives we get wrapped up in all that is going on and forget what is truly meaningful within our existence.  I have stated over and over that we need to live in the “Now” moment as that is the only thing that really exists in our lives.  The past is just that, gone forever and the future is not yet arrived and is still in the fantasy state of our minds. There’s no way to get around the fact that life is here and now with our entire being a whole entity and indivisible from ourselves.  How you choose to think, feel, and be is going to be what you get back out of life in the experiences you have and create.  Create positive thoughts and for the most part you will experience positive things and people back in return.  If you wake up and choose to be negative then there is a great chance that you will have a negative day or experience the not so good things coming back your way.  It all stands to reason just as common sense ...

Many of us get wrapped up in things and continually have issues with time and our management of it in our lives.  There are so many different items to be sorted and dealt with as one walks along our timeline in this life. Is it easy, probably not, and how you deal with things will make you either totally stressed or worked up or as things become a little clearer in our thought process we may start seeing that calm that comes with a Zen-like living or lifestyle. Everyone has stresses and sometimes it seems like the waves of Life keep crashing in on you but do not be dismayed . . . you have the power to change things. “You can’t control the waves, but you can learn to surf” Challenges are going to come . . . but we’re not supposed to get sucked in.  We shouldn’t let them be too “heavy” and weigh us down because we have been given the amazing ability to surf.  We just have to choose to do it. Osho teaches us, once you have tasted the juice of the present,...

You have the power to change someone’s life tonight . . . a call . . . an encouraging email . . . an idea . . . a contact . . . a positive post . . . or even a smile. And the funny thing is . . . when you do . . . your own life changes too! Ice

It does not matter what time of year it is but when things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough . . .    Remember the mayonnaise jar . . . and the coffee. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.     When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.     He then asked the students if the jar was full.     They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.   He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.     He then asked the students again if the jar was full.     They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.     He asked once more i...

Does life in Washington actually resemble an endless round of Crossfire? Or does it just seem that way from the boonies of Alaska? Life is not Crossfire . . . I can only hope a really good candidate comes to the forefront before election time. Ice

I remember when I was young going to the local Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC in recent years) was a big deal for the family and a lot of fun.   I even met the Colonel once dressed out in his hat, cane and that funny laugh of his. I do not eat there very often as it seems like each time I head over the prices keep going up and up.   My granddaughter wanted Mac & Cheese from KFC so I took her to the location just around the corner from my house. Blasted by a menu board with many items and large print size prices (I guess to keep you from going into shock).   I stood there looking at all the prices, kid’s meals, family meals and for individual meals. What struck me was how much the cost of chicken has gone up lately.   A 12 piece meal was $ 29.99 and this is for mainly thighs and wings with one breast thrown in.   What a rip-off. A two piece chicken meal was almost $ 9 bucks but that did come with a side and biscuit.   It’s crazy how they seem to dict...

Recent political activities seem to prove this point of mine. To succeed in politics . . . it is often necessary to rise above your principles. Ice

As we prepare our meals and ready for the gatherings tonight and tomorrow be remember our loved ones away from home around the world serving to protect our country and the freedoms we enjoy. Take a couple of minutes to watch this video of “American Trilogy” Many may remember Elvis performed this in Vegas so many years ago but the best I have ever seen it done is by my friends who used to play in Atlanta in the 70’s & 80’s in their band called Cullowhee.   In the middle of this rendition is the speech of General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox done so beautifully by Terry Edwards. Enjoy your Thanksgiving, Give Thanks, Be Safe, and may God Bless. Cullowhee American Trilogy Happy Holidays! Ice

This from the Wall Street Journal’s report from tonight’s NBC’s magazine “Rock Center”, Jerry Sandusky says: “I shouldn’t have showered with those kids”. I am one not to rant too much but this really pisses me off to no end.   He states he is innocent but he did do some of those things.   Now I am not sure where you come from or what your daddy taught you but anytime that urge hits you to shower or touch children comes over ones self it is time for you to put a gun in your mouth as God intends for you to be culled from the herd of those of us who never entertain those thoughts.   Anytime there is no major flag or siren going off in ones head as they are about to do something so terrible to an innocent child, you have lost your moral compass and to my way of thinking the compass was never there in the first place or there is no way to redeem oneself to get pointed back on track.   Rehabilitation should not be an option as it has repeatedly shown that more often t...

Some of the best things about life I learned from Lonesome Dove. Great movie, excellent characters, and tells a story about how to live life. Augustus McCrae “It ain’t dying I’m talking about, it’s living.   I doubt it matters where you die, but it matters where you live.” I'm just tryin' to keep everything in balance, Woodrow. You do more work than you got to, so it's my obligation to do less. “Yesterday’s gone and we can’t get it back.” “I'm sure partial to the evening,' Augustus said. 'The evening and the morning.   If we just didn't have to have the rest of the dern day I'd be a lot happier.” Hat Creek Cattle Company Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is . . . he's hard to stop. Biscuits “I never knew you to get excited about anything except biscuits maybe . . . and whores!”    Captain Woodrow Call to Augustus McCrae in Lonesome Dove. Whores L...

I have always liked the movie Forrest Gump and the way in the movie that Forrest’s life is happenstance and wanders . . . only to find itself in a place in time that has an effect on everyone around him. Take a look at the opening scene from the movie, Forrest Gump. Is it dumb luck or destiny?   Some of both I suppose but it amazes me that our own lives sometimes make twists and turns that surprise us.   Did we have our own plan and it worked out or did things happen as dumb luck blowing in the wind?   Did preparation meets opportunity happen in the cosmos giving us unexpected results? Could it be that simple?   I think not.   Everyone has a destiny, but the journey to find it is undefined.     Forrest is like the feather, blown around by the wind and does whatever he is told.   This journey, though random and simple, leads Forrest to many good things. He never knew where he would end up, but he reached it all the same. Is that how life re...

Never take advice from anyone with no investment in the outcome. Ice

Friday evening’s long awaited start of the 2010 Winter Olympics had that just right feeling after Beijing ’s spectacle with a “less is more” format.  It worked well and had some pretty interesting things going on showcasing Canada ’s vast and varied lands and people. Paying homage to the First Nation’s people and culture gave a great sense of place and heritage.  The dancers continued to perform during the athletes walk of Nations which lasted over an hour and a half.  They should have won some kind of medal for their endurance. I tend to like the winter Olympics more than the summer games as it is a smaller contingent of athletes and they make their walk on entrance at the beginning of the program so they can watch everything that happens.  The summer game athletes miss the program standing around in a parking lot somewhere while the show goes on.  A little less of the Olympic experience I guess so winter to me is much better. For those watching on televi...

With the ongoing problems with people trying to do harm to our country there is a way that these ‘enemy combatants’ . . . yes we are still at ‘war’ after the attack on our country on 9/11 . . . could be handled that is workable for almost everyone. Trying to solve the world’s problems with style takes thinking outside the box.  This administration has been trying to figure out what to do with the Gitmo detainees.  Do we close the facility or continue to keep them in Gitmo? De we set them free to wander off to parts unknown to continue their mission?  What about sending them back to their home country to be revitalized into their organized cells?  Do we let them loose inside America to wreak havoc on our soil again? How do we get our heads around this so that it makes sense and can be monitored to ensure our safety?  This might work and can be done with technology that is already used . . . just modified somewhat in scope and magnitude.  Each detai...

At the end of the Survivor Samoa Reunion show there was a brief clip of the upcoming season for its twentieth run of Survivor.  They called it “Heroes vs. Villains” which gave us a glimpse of who may be playing.  It started many blogs debating who should be on and possibly which side based on past appearances. Jeff Probst revealed the cast of 'Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains' during the People's Choice Awards on Wednesday night.  The cast features twenty former players that fans either love or love to hate  . . . and after seeing the roster, I can't wait until it premiers on February 11, 2010. With the production crew in the Samoa ’s filming started just after season 19 wrapped making a quick turn around for season 20.  You may also remember there was a major earthquake in the area during that time period but it is not known if that will play into the show as when it happened the only thing released was no one was hurt during the event.  Production may...

I’ve spent the last two days in an orientation class for job I recently started.  I was supposed to go to one in mid December but with the holidays it was cancelled until after the first of the year. I was able to start work for several weeks and as Monday approached I was starting to dread having to stop for two days to attend a class.  It had elements about the company and our mission.  There were lectures about the systems and the different divisions within our organization.  There were also several lectures (stories) about cultural differences within our staff and also our clients (patients/shareholders).  They were enlightening at times and showcased what makes this group of people somewhat unique in our fields of expertise. The class was filled with people from the four different divisions, some health care personnel with one doctor and six to eight nurses.  There were admin type people who worked in various clerical or billing type positions....