The Oakland Raiders and The Michael Vick Signing

Hey there. I'm a huge football fan. I follow football and all news that is football. I had my Heavy Metal Rankings last year that took a lot of time to compose, but I'm bringing it back this year as a top 10 list as opposed to a league wide ranking system. Yesterday was the first preseason game for my team, the Oakland Raiders. I've been a fan since forever and I was looking forward to finally see my team in action. Even though it was only a preseason game and the starters would not be on the field for the full 60 minutes, it provided me with a sense of, "YES! Football!" lol I hate, HATE, the summer months. Not only does the heat get to me, there's no sports to watch. Sorry people, but baseball is such a bore to me that it's not even considered a sport in my book. Once the basketball season is over, there isn't a sport out there that will get my adrenaline going and no reason to have some guys over for a game and a few brews. So to see my Raiders on the screen and kicking some ass was definitely welcomed.

I love what I saw. The timid JaMarcus Russell that started for the Raiders last season is gone. Last night's Russell was consistent and poised. He stood in the pocket, he didn't eye his receivers through the whole route, he looked left and right scanning the field well, and even ran for a good 18 or so yard run. This is the QB that will take the Raiders places. Not the guy from last season that made it easy for the defenses to read and take apart. The Raider team as a whole looked real good. They spoke confidently and walked tall. They look like a team to be reckoned with. The running backs were superb. Especially Darren McFadden. And considering that we have three strong backs in Fargas, McFadden, and Bush, we should have a very strong running game that should soften the defenses up for Russell and his receivers. Speaking of receivers, Chaz Schilens looked outstanding. Last year, Russell looked for his TE Miller for completions but Russell looked comfortable passing to his WRs. We even saw a few bombs launched by Russell to rookie Darrius Heyward-Bey. I believe that once the timing between these two is right on, they are going to be a deadly combo. Heyward-Bey has speed and Russell underestimated his speed and he under thrown the first pass to him and on the next, he over thrown the pass. One thing is for sure, the Raiders are looking very capable of making some noise in the AFC West.

The Raiders were not all offense either. Their defense stepped up and stopped the Cowboys in goaline situations and the Cowboys were never really in rhythm. The only touchdown for the Cowboys came on Romo's last drive of the first quarter. Michael Huff even came up with an interception and there was constant pressure on the Cowboys QBs. Their run defense is better, but still needs some work. That's the one of many areas that coach Tom Cable has addressed to his team. The Raiders look like a team that is listening and their look and demeanor convey that. The Raiders are finally moving on the upswing and showing the commitment to excellence that owner Al Davis has been preaching for decades. Preseason game or not, when your team can put a 31-10 beat down on your opponent, you are doing something right.

Now, on to Michael Vick. While driving home from work, I started listening to ESPN Radio, in hopes of hearing about the Raider game, instead I hear about the breaking news... Michael Vick signs a 2 year deal with the Eagles. We all know the story of Mike Vick by now. The guy ran, or funded, a dog fighting ring where many dogs were seriously injured and killed. He claimed that he didn't know it was wrong since he grew up around dog fighting rings and what not. The man paid his debt to society and spent almost 2 years in jail. The commissioner, who I believe is doing one hell of a job, conditionally reinstated Vick, allowing him to sign with a team, but not play in a game until the commissioner makes his final decision on whether or not to fully reinstate Vick.

Many fans are divided on the Vick signing. Some strongly feel that he should not be allowed to play, others feel that he should deserve a second chance. The one thing that is going for Vick is that he has Ex-Indy coach, Tony Dungy as a mentor. Tony Dungy is a class act guy. Everyone respects him and when he talks, players listen. Having Tony by Vick's side made his signing possible. Let's face it, the Eagles signed Vick, knowing that he is under the watchful eye of Tony Dungy. If Vick did not have Tony as a mentor, I do not believe that he would of signed with any team.

Even the Eagles owner did some "soul searching" before approving Vick's signing. I praise the owner, not for signing Vick, but for having the stipulation that if Vick is not proactive in anti-dog fighting campaigns, then his tenure with the Eagles is done. That takes guts. Imagine your boss coming up to you and says that you'll be fired unless you spend a good 10 hours a week at the local YMCA for community service. Many of us would say hell with that, not because we don't want community service, but because we know that we can get another job elsewhere that will not require us to work an extra 10 hours a week without pay. Vick does not have that luxury. The Eagles' owner is making it known that Vick MUST work for his spot on the Eagles and you have to give him huge praise for that.

People make mistakes. And those of the criminal kind, pay their debts to society with jail time and then are released back into that same society without any guidance what so ever when they have paid their debt. It's difficult to be reinserted without guidance. Looking at a job application, it clearly asks if you've been charged with a felony and if you've been in jail. They claim that the information will not be taken into account when the job decision is made, but let's be real. If it will not be taken into account, then why the hell would you ask? Just to know? It's BS, if you ask me. Imagine Vick trying to get signed by a team without someone with credibility backing him. He wouldn't be able to do it. They'll look at him as a criminal, someone that's a liability to himself and their team. But because he has Tony on his side, teams can see that he's on the right path. He's being guided by a man that the NFL highly regards as it's personal Jesus. If you have Jesus backing you up, that stigma of a criminal does not have as much weight as it had before. Mike Vick should be thanking his lucky stars that Tony Dungy exists. If not for him, Vick's career would have been over in 2007. Tony Dungy will not allow his name to be tarnished by Vick. If Vick screws this up and blemishes Tony Dungy's name, Vick will have truly committed the ultimate crime and should forever be labeled as the biggest screw up in NFL history. Later.

Bluelight Specials at Kmart

Hey there friends. Kmart is having a sale! You know me, I'm always good to save a few bucks. Especially now that we have a little one on his way, every dollar that we can save will help us in the long run. This is why I'm glad that the Kmart Bluelight specials are back. I mean, we already shop at Kmart and it's been awhile since I've heard the PA system announce a Bluelight item.

It's about time, if you ask me. Since the kids will be back in school soon, we'll be hitting up the local Kmart on Aug. 15th (this Saturday) to take advantage of the 40+ Bluelight Specials that they have planned. Since the kids will need back to school items, we're definitely going for backpacks, since they just don't seem to make it past a full year. lol So it would be great to get a $20 back pack for $8 during their Bluelight special. Come to think of it, we could also use some patio furniture. I got our shed up this week and since I got it up, my wife and I created a lot more patio space now that the items that cluttered the patio are now in the shed. Patio furniture will be on sale (70% off) but if we get there for the Bluelight special, it's an additional 20% off! We need a patio set of some kind. Maybe a bench and a table with at least 4 lawn chairs. We have an open space in our back yard that we just don't hang out on because there isn't a table with chairs there. When we have company over, we usually stay indoors since there really isn't anywhere to seat our guests when we walk outside. And you know what else I can pick up while there? A grill! My wife and I were just talking about getting one yesterday. I had a small, old grill that wasn't covered (again, no shed) so it got ruined by the sun and rain and needed to be thrown out. Now that we have a place to shelter a grill, I can look into getting a decent sized grill. Something where I can grill more than 4 or 5 patties at once. Thinking realistically, I doubt that I would be able to get all the items that I need, UNLESS, the price is right! Considering that the price is slashed significantly during Bluelight time, maybe I'll be lucky enough to get everything I want. We'll see what I can score from Kmart come Aug. 15th! If by chance we won't be able to make it to Kmart, we'll check out Kmart.com, since they'll be having their own set of Bluelght specials there. Hmmm.... maybe we should do some online shopping since I know my wife can't be up on her feet for so long. Then again, I've never heard her say no to shopping in store so maybe we will end up going. lol

I also started following Kmart on Twitter, since I've discovered that they offer printable coupons for items. Who wouldn't want to score free coupons? I'm looking at one right now where I can get a free set of wooden pencils for buying back to school stuff. I'm going to buy back to school items anyways, so yeah, I want free pencils too. lol Sale starts Aug 15h, friends. Check it out. You know we will. Later.

Are We Overprotective Parents?

Hey there. I got to thinking... Are we overprotective of our kids? The thought came up when my wife was telling me how one of her workers was complaining how his pops didn't let him ride his bike out on the street. He was 10 or so years old and could only ride his bike in his back yard. Mind you, his pops is/was a private detective so I can see where he would not want his kid on his own. My wife then said that we let our kids ride their bikes in the yard too and not on the street. He asked when she planned on letting them ride their bikes around the block, and her answer was, "When I'm walking right behind them." lol

Now... It's been a couple of days since our boy left for summer camp. We all miss him and we swear that we hear him sometimes at home. We're parents that talk to our kids daily. Even when we were in New Orleans, we called home to say goodnight to the kids. Having our son be at camp is tough since we are not allowed to call. Might make the kids homesick, we guess.

Anyways, it made me think on whether or not we're keeping the kids close to the vest. I know that when I was kid, I left through the front door in the morning and I wouldn't come back until waaaaaaaaay later in the day. And this was before I was 10 years old. I chalked it up to it just being the times and how things are different now.

As a child, my brother and I were always up to mischief and we were not in the house much. I feel as if the kids are always in the house doing 1 of 3 things: playing video games, playing with each other, or watching TV. We had to mandate a rule to make them go outside and play because I am sure that if it were up to them, they'd hang out in front of the TV all day. Every day, when we get home, we force them to go outside and play with the dogs for at least an hour. This gets them outside of the house to get some much needed outside playing time. And even then, they're in our yard and no further than that.

So I'm thinking, are the kids in the house because we don't let them take off and explore? I mean, how much exploring can you do walking down the street? Its weird because when I was a kid, I knew where my friends from school lived, so if I wanted to hang out with a friend, I'd walk to his house. Since we live in a different city from where the kids go to school, they don't have that option. Maybe that's the problem... I don't know. It's something that my wife and I will have to figure out. This is a big reason why we felt that camp would be good for our boy. To be outside, with his peers, enjoying nature and other activities. Our daughter has expressed an interest in camp and wants to go next year. My wife says that she's not sure if she can deal with 2, soon to be 4,kids away without communication. Come Saturday, we'll get a chance to speak to our boy and see how things played out. Until then, later.

TruTV - It's Not Reality, Actuality

Hey there friends. I love watching truTV. I remember when the campaign to transition Court TV to truTV circulated and the one thing that really caught my attention was the slogan. truTV - It's Not Reality, Actuality. I truly believe that this is the best slogan for a TV station. There are many "reality" shows out there now that boast it's cast as "looking for love" or "surviving" somewhere, but when word gets out about what went behind the scenes, how can you classify it as "reality TV"? The surviving shows have buffet tables for the cast and crew between takes and all these looking for love shows seem so fake and scripted that you know the "winner" will not end up with the host just so that there can be a next season. It's not "real enough" for me. I'll watch these kind of shows with little to no reaction from me. I need something that will cause me to think, something that will cause a reaction, something that is real. I need to experience the truTV effect.

What is the truTV effect? It's fairly simple. Have you ever watched a show and then squirm at the sight of a doctor cutting open a corpse? How about seeing a baseball hit a guy in the head and you jump up and go, "Wow, did you see that?" Or have you ever had the "ouch" reaction to the classic video of an object to the groin. Many squirm, many say ouch, many simply grimace. This, my friends, is the truTV effect. Why do we react this way? I'd say it's because we know that someone experienced what we saw. This is not a fictional show. We are seeing an open body, someone really got hit in the head and that person on TV is really feeling that excruciating pain of being hit in the groin. We see that and we feel that. That's why the programming on truTV has the the truTV effect on us. Here's a good example of the truTV effect in action.


These shows are real stories. Some are not for the faint of heart and if you feel that a young one should not be exposed to some of the content the shows have, then you should monitor the shows on the channel before allowing them to view. It's the only way to go when you have a channel that will show you life as it happens. For example, Operation Repo is a show where the repo man goes out and repossesses your vehicle. Think about that for a second. How can you stage that? How can you script a show like this? A person is coming, with a tow truck and camera crew, and is going to repossess your vehicle. What do you do? Do you fight him off? Do you run for it? This show captures all the crazy reactions that people will do to keep their car. Language is vulgar, punches are thrown, and tears are shed. These are actual reactions, friends!

Another great show is Forensic Files, my personal favorite, and is one of the best shows on TV, period. There's no dancing around it, a crime has been committed (or someone is accused of a crime) and investigators are out to uncover the truth. It's insane how the forensic investigators go through every nook and cranny to find evidence. How it's all pieced together to "re-enact" the situation. The projection of the bullet, the splatter of blood, the hair fibers found on a coat, shoe impressions, etc. etc. If you want to feel the truTV effect, then you need to watch this show. It will amaze you how little evidence it takes to uncover the truth. I regularly watch this show and point out to my wife the one piece of evidence that tied everything together. It's a show that talk about well after it's over.

Need more of a visual? Check out some of the videos that playing on truTV video to get a better glimpse of truTV. Experience the truTV effect for yourselves. Look for it in your guide and start seeing some real reality TV, no... Some actuality TV. Later.

Mission: Shed, Almost Complete

Hey there. It's been forever, it seems, but I finally got our shed up. After months and months of cement bags sitting by the side of the house, the foundation for the shed was set in place. All last week, I started to build our shed after work. Knowing that I would not be able to complete it all at once, I built the frame first and decided to wait until the weekend to really tackle the job. Sometime during the week, my wife told me that she hired her brother to come and help me during the weekend. I figured it was ok, since we sent our boy to summer camp for the week, he would be a good help and someone to talk to while building the shed. He helped me put up the walls of the shed but he was really helpful when it came to put up the roof beams. I don't think I would have been able to that on my own so I'm glad he was there for that. We left the shed, partially complete Saturday night and I continued the work on Sunday. I managed to get the roofing 95% done. Roofing was a HUGE pain to do. Not so much because the sheet metal was heavy, but because I couldn't reach some of the openings on the roof to screw in the bolts. It was frustrating me and it came down to me not screwing them all in and having to get on the roof of the shed to do it. I still need to do some now but that will have to wait until next weekend. I need to screw in the last 2 pieces of the shed. Since the roofing is at an angle, I need to finish off the highest point of the shed (I can't think of the name right now but you'll see what I'm talking about in the pictures).

The dogs thought it was their mansion. They walked in and out of the place like they owned it. The girls are pretty happy with it. They kept walking in and out of it and they helped where they can. My wife is glad it's finally done. We can finally move some of our stuff outside to create even more space for the baby. We've been storing all kinds of stuffs in our closets so it's going to be nice to get all stuff outside. It's also going to make our yard look a lot better. We have bikes and tools and all kinds of stuff that is just lingering in the yard. Finally, we'll have a place to put all that away. I strongly recommend you guys get one, if you don't have one already. Check out the pics of our shed. Later.

I Submitted a Short Story

Hey there. I haven't logged on to Associated Content in awhile, so I decided to check it out and see if there are any topics that would interest me to write about. Right there, on the front page, I see the task to write a short story. A flash-fiction, actually. Hmmm... Interesting, so I went ahead and checked it out and AC provided 3 sentences for you to start your story with. The sentences seem a little dark, implying some kind of bad news of sorts. I went with, "She still couldn't shake the previous night's dream." and ran with the "horror" thing but with a twist at the end. Check it out. I called it, "The Devil's Pawn". Click the link below and let me know what you think of it. Thanks!

The Devil's Pawn