Monday, December 17, 2007

Seasonal Depression

Is it the cold harsh weather and lack of sunlight ?  Is it the holiday joy , blaring from the radio or documented in the news ,  that one assumes everyone feels except yourself .  
Is it the thought that following xmas is the new year , etching into history the past years` unfulfilling monotony.  Is it knowing that this years goals , will once again fail to be reached.  
  The years have sloughed off my blissful naievety... I no longer dream.  I no longer hope.
I am suffering from seasonal depression ; the season is the millenium.

Just Read , Next by Michael Crichton

Another great book by Michael Crichton - read non-spoiler review


Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Dickens , A Tale of Two Cities

I just finished reading this book - See Books and Mags


"Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms. Sow the same seed of rapacious licence and oppression over again, and it will surely yield the same fruit [...].""

Saturday, December 08, 2007

I am bored

There is a quote on boredom attributed to Soren Kierkegaard in “Either/Or”:



The gods were bored, and so they created man. Adam was bored because he was alone, and so Eve was created. Thus boredom entered the world, and increased in proportion to the increase of population. Adam was bored alone; then Adam and Eve were bored together; then the population of the world increased, and the people were bored en masse. To divert themselves they conceived the idea of constructing a tower high enough to reach the heavens. This idea is itself as boring as the tower was high, and constitutes a terrible proof of how boredom gained the upper hand.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Yes , I am Handy!

I officially and successfully , through blood , sweat and tears , changed my first flat tire today.  
Well , its not really my First flat tire , but first in a long time , and maybe the first completely alone.  Why is this such an accomplishment ...
Woke up to a flat tire ... I whipped out my bicycle foot pump ...pumped the tire up to a driveable inflation and made my way to the first gas station to fill it up completely.  My intent was to at least make it to a service station I use near my job and beg a ride to work from there as they fix/replace my tire.  Well , i make it to the 1st gas station .....NO Air ... I rumble and bumble to a second one ....cringing at every revolution of the tire as it vibrates the car ....and for a mere 50 cents I may purchase air to inflate my tire ... Psssssssss.... goes the air hose as
it fills my tire and Pssssss at approximately the same rapid pace do I feel air blowing at my chin thru a hole in the sidewall that you can stick a finger thru.  DAMN !!@$#..Not gonna make it to work with that much of a leak.  Rumble and bumble back home ...gonna have to put on the spare

Well ...it only took me an hour and half or so because the crappy little jack and wrench that comes with most cars suck.  The screw-style jack doesn`t come with a crank handle so you have turn it with a screw driver , half a revolution at a time.  Once I have the tire lifted sufficiently and begin to remove it , the crappy ass jack kicks over ...Three freaking times.  I knew enough to put the e-brake on and a brick under the back tire to keep the car from moving , but you don`t need a lot of movement for the damn jack to kick.  The last time the tire was almost  off and the jack tipped over dropping the disc brakes onto the bottom of the tire and rim jamming it into place ..agghhh..This all happened prior to my first coffee !
So , at this time I call work to alert my lateness and complain about my situation .. and head out on foot for a coffee ... Appx half a cup of coffee and a mile or so round trip later , I tackle the jack again.  Success ... Wheel off , Donut style spare on ...remove jack successfully 
, tighten lug nuts ummm tightly...  I am victorious .. 
I am a credit to my gender .. I am Man ... I can change a tire..
  
  

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving

Another thanksgiving gone by , didn`t do anything , didn`t speak to anyone , other than sending out some text messages .....went to Lori`s parents for about an hour then went home and laid on the couch watching football ignoring the phone that won`t stop ringing ....feeling down..Yeah the Jets got destroyed ...didn`t help the mood

Black Friday - had a nice day ...avoided all malls and stores ...took a nice scenic drive out to the northwest corner of ct stop[ing at a few parks on the way ...too cold to walk for very long ...we also hit Session Woods Wildlife Park , Burlington but simply checked out their museum of stuffed animals and skipped the hike - be back in the spring ... AND finally  as a surprise for my girl (she generally hops in the car for one of my excursions with no questions or expectations  or knowledge of our agenda ) took Lori to the Last Post - a kitty retirement home of sorts.  Its in Falls Village ,ct and this is a no kill shelter for cats who find themselves willed there or dropped off or whatnot.  Lori was in kitty heaven as we entered the Large Kitty Dorm.  There are large exposed wood beams with reclining kitties , numerous kitty beds , scratch posts kitt
toys and stuff.  And dozens and dozens of Cats !!! This cat hotel has kitty doors that lead to a fenced in area for kitties to run around , as well as a porch.  
As soon as lori kneeled down to pet an insistent kitty , we were surrounded .... easily 8 or more kitties were around us vying for attention.  Lori made her rounds and met almost every kitty.  We went outside on the porch and sure enough within minutes
the porch was packed with purry pussycats.  Say that three times fast !
Had to drag Lori out of there as she would`ve stayed for hours ... I anticipated that the kitty contentment she would experience would mean lots of nice and lots of love for me . . but even I was surprised how 
the glow of those kitty moments would last.  She was nice to me all day and all night .

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Hello all

  Its been a long time since I posted.  Sorry ....
Had a great labor day weekend.  Went to Maine , stayed in a nice bed and breakfast.  Over the weekend we visited about 7 different waterfalls between maine and new hampshire , drove up Mount washington auto road (6280 feet up) which was freaky as hell.  Took the scenic kangamangus highway in nh on the way home , Did a lot of hiking , dipping our feetses in the cold swimming holes by some of the waterfalls we visited , took tons of pics of some amazing bluff views in all the scenic areas we visited.  Ate killer breakfasts and had a killer dinner one night (I had my newest favorite since Aruba , Osso Bucco , and Lori had Elk Ribs (best steak you`ll ever eat)  I had my first taste of Elk in wyoming many moons ago so had to convince Lori into getting it. She loved it.  
  Going back to work is a drag , but again , had a great weekend.  

Friday, March 02, 2007

snowshoeing in new hampshire

Howdy
Lori and I had fun in New Hampshire.  I got to ski at gunstock on a beautiful day with beautiful views of Lake Winnapausauke (sp?)
On Sunday , we thought it would be nice to snow-shoe through the woods.  Lori wasn`t so down with x-country skiing thinking she`d spend more time in the snow than on it .  So we rent snow shoes , find the x-c ski area and start our hike.  ..................
   Now one must understand this concept to fully appreciate the following story.  Walking is an exercise that I have performed with sufficient skill for the better part of a 1/3 of a century.  
I have held the misconception that snow shoes were a tool created by ingenius men, to allow treading  upon piles of snow fearless of sinking into it.  I couldn`t have been proven more ignorant.  
  The prepostrous contraptions that Lori and I adorned for our exhilarating walk through nature 
disdained such travel with hilarity.  
 Walk on pile of snow , sink into pile of snow , pull foot out of snow , dump freshly accumulated pile of snow onto your other foot , repeat process ad nauseum.  
DUMB INVENTION !!! 

I`m thinking these type of snow shoes we rented werent meant for this type of adventure.  
We took groomed trails,  so except for a few moments of stubborness where I jumped off trail in attempts to prove the previous battles as hallucinatory , the contraptions were not actually necessary for our endeavor.  
I`ll admit the claws on the bottom were helpful for the groomed trails and that without these  one might find themselves without sufficient friction during ascents up icier areas thus proving what goes up , must come down.  
Another issue I had was that these damnable shoes were almost as long as skis ,or at least mine were ; Lori , wearing the womens style shoe, seemed like normal length .  Mine were like little snow boards that extended a monstrous length behind me , causing them to slap me in the back of the opposite leg during every forward step and  collided with each other violently during the ensuing stumble.  
I believe the resounding ruckus may have prevented our observations of wildlife.    I eventually_managed to construct a new gait ,  a bowl legged, hop ..drag ...skip style that 
enabled me to  drag these encumberants up and down  hilly trails with adequate adroitness.  I must admit this was quite tiring.  
Good exercise though.  Thats the mantra I had to keep repeating to myself during this trek to keep from losing my mind.  
Now , down hill skiing on Gunstocks wide black diamond (compare to blue at killington)  , that was fun.  Got a few hours in while lori finished her book in the lodge.  
  The town we stayed in was kinda dead , we had a couple of nice dinners , played cards with eachother in the room and went to bed early.  Pretty laid back weekend , but I had good company.  
Overall it was a nice weekend regardless of the impression you might have of the above description.  
  Going skiing again in a couple of weeks at gore mountain , upstate NY where my mom lives.  Gonna visit her , stay overnight , and then hit the mountain , minus the snow shoes

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

My letter about healthcare

FWD- Email
Kevin-
This is Joe from Working Families--we spoke on the phone earlier. Just wanted to thank you for letting me post an excerpt from your letter on the blog. You can see the post here: http://ct-workingfamilies.org/blog/?p=34
Feel free to comment, send around to friends/family, etc. And let me know if there's anything you need me to change.
If you do show up at the speakout tomorrow in Manchester, make sure to find me and say Hi.
Anyway--thanks a lot.
-Joe Dinkin
Communications Director
CT Working Families
978 223 5868
JoeDinkin@gmail.com

Saturday, February 24, 2007

chillin in New hampshire

I`m blogging from the Tuc Me Inn bed and breakfast in new hampshire. Tomorrow Lori and I will be doing some snowshoeing and hiking in the woods.
We are taking a long weekend so I can ski on Monday ... Going to gunstock.
Just had a nice dinner - I got the the OSSO BUCCO !!! my favorite ever since I had it for the first time in Aruba. OSSO BUCCO !!!!!
Lori had something ....I had OSSO BUCCO !!!
love it
ok . ...the town is a bit dead at night , probably going to bed early ...gonna kick lori`s ass at Uno first
goodnight
Kevin

Monday, February 12, 2007

Vegas


 Got some pics up - will fill in some detail over the week
visit the kasualkafe gallery

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Back from Vegas

Back from Vegas - 60 to 70 degrees most of the week , came back to temperatures in the teens 
and snow on the ground.  bummer 

Lori and I had a great time in vegas , everything we planned to do and see was done ...Love it when 
a plan comes together 
I`ll get some pics up this week and let ya`ll know what we did 

KB 

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Wassup from vegas....Colts Win ..congrats Payton. Lost a bunch of $ on game. No I didn't bet the game . Lost it playin slots while watchin game

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Rockstar Supernova

Lori and I went and saw Supernova at the oakdale theatre last night.  It was very cool , and a lot of 
fun.  For those who don`t know , Rockstar Supernova was the Rock version of american idol where
contestants sang in competition to win the front man job for the band consisting of 
Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, ex-Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke and ex-metallica bassist Jason Newsted.  

Lukas Rossi , the winner , brought his unique growling voice , along with his amazing falsetto , and general rockstar attitude to last nights show.  I thoroughly enjoyed the show , Lukas as front man transforms the "hard pop" music mostly written by tommy lee and clarke , into a new sound.  Lukas also performed his own song that I loved , Head Spin , that he wrote with his former band Rise Electric.  Listen to it here performed on the show.

Dilana , the chic that came in 2nd I think , maybe 3rd opened , followed by Toby the Aussie , and then Dave Navaros band Panic Channel.  Dilanas set was without a drummer , just 2 guitarists one of whom apparently was Magne ., a contestant.  She sang some originals and a great Black Crowes cover , She talks to angels , she definitely nailed it ... she has a wonderfully diverse voice and style.  Lori thinks she should`ve won ....she thinks the men were scared of a woman singer.  

Tobys band was o.k , kinda what I expected .  Hard poppy crapola , sung pretty well with good energy.  Nivarros band had a couple songs I recognized and I thought it was pretty cool.  Lori felt it was 80`s music only slightly updated.  

Finally SUPERNOVA , Damn that was fun.  Lukas just captivates you with his unique voice and quirky stage presence.  There were a couple of songs that stood out esp. his Head Spin song , as well as a ballady song that entranced you.  He performed a Rossi-style version of Bittersweet Symphony that was just tons of fun.  I really enjoyed the concert , I will admit that some of the songs written were not written with Rossi in mind , Toby or even Dilana would`ve made it sound more mainstream as was the spirit it was written in , Lukas at times doesn`t sound like he is singing in the english language , though his emotion drips with every syllable .  I think the band
picked rightly in Lukas who , as hinted, will play a bigger part in there next album.  He transforms everyday mainstream rock into something unique , palpable and emotional.  I would call it Grunge EMO . Lori I`m sure would disagree.  
  My other complaint , that Lori would definitely agree with , is that in the end we thought Dilana
would`ve sung a song with Lukas during the encore which was disappointingly short.  Dilana should`ve had more performance time , she in our minds , was a close 2nd if not possibly the best singer of the bunch.  I would`ve enjoyed more of her .  
All in all , I loved it ....Bought the CD on the way out .. The CD tames Lukas a bit and may make him more accessible to the average fan.
Kevin Beary


 

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

The State of the Union

 Here is a link to the presidents State of the Union address 

The president has excellent speech writers. I enjoyed his speech , I enjoyed his nod to our first female house speaker ( democrat pelosi) , I enjoyed his occasional conciliatory tone in response to the new democratic majority.
I thought he could have done more. He could`ve congratulated the democratic house on its first 100 hours initiatives and told them he looked forward to signing the minimum wage bill , the ethics lobbying and budgeting rules changes , the anti-terrorism bill etc. Especially since these are minor measures that have popular support that a veto wouldn`t fly ...it would`ve been easy to say < Hey I`ll work with you "
Instead , this speech just repeated his previous objectives only in better rhetoric. He still wants to change Social Security , push Health care on individuals , Protect his base with tax cuts , expand on the controversial no child left behind act , drill for oil in environmentally protected areas , INCREASE the war effort despite the opposition , I find it funny that now he wants to limit bipartisanship since they lost the majority. "Can`t we all just get along" after 6years of thumbing his nose at the democratic voice is insulting.  
Nothing has changed , only the rhetoric.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Manning Makes it to the Super Bowl

 Peyton Manning lead his team to 32 second half points to beat his (and my) archrival patriots.  This was one of the best comebacks I have seen in playoff action.  Peyton Manning still has to win the super bowl to officially get the camel off his back but getting there is a start.  

Bill Parcells retired from the cowboys today , probably because of the severe disappointment of the fluky playoff loss where Romo , the emerging franchise , blew the snap of the game winning field goal .  Football has its ups and downs,  persevering tough times , tough decisions , disappointing prospects , working your ass off...developing talent , putting it together , getting to the playoffs , Beating a good team and getting to Kick the winning field goal then doohhh .... !!!

Mr Parcells may have just had his last stab in the heart , loss
Miss ya Bill

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Finally some results from Democratic Power

 Bush gets court oversight for surveillance program
Austin American-Statesman (subscription) - 18 hours ago
By Richard B. Schmitt. WASHINGTON - In an about-face, the Bush administration said Wednesday that it has decided to seek court approval for electronic surveillance it had previously done without warrants.

It appears Bush will not budge on Iraq but is making concessions where he previously had hard stances.  He may also acquiesce to democratic demands for minimum wage increase , reducing the country's reliance on imported oil.  Last week he also dropped his plans to renominate 3 ultra-conservative judges that the democrats vigorously opposed.

I would like to see more of this compromise and am hopeful that the government can find moderate/centrist ways to govern.  

Keep in mind , the surveillance concession is announced just a day before the atty general  was to testify before congress and two weeks before the court of appeals rules on upholding the ruling that warrantless surviellance is unconstitutional.  The ACLU feels  "This move is pure smoke and mirrors to avoid the scrutiny of the courts and Congress, and lawmakers should not be fooled. If the White House now recognizes that the FISA court is the right entity to approve wiretapping, why did the president continue to violate the law for years?"

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

New years goal


Well I have smoked less than 10 cigarettes today....I usually smoke a pack and a 1/2- I got my toothpicks , gum , lollipops etc;  
I even went to the gym for the 1st time in months.  I`m already HUGE... 
o.k thats my belly but anyway 

In order to cut down on smoking I had to quit my 2 dunkin donuts turbo-iced coffees a day habit.  Lori picked me up some starbucks espresso cans and some sobe adrenaline so I won`t have caffeine withdrawal as well as nic fits--Unfortunately they don`t seem to wake me up like D-D but doin` that for a few days I should get used to it -- we`ll see
Modest goals first - I want to keep myself well under a pack a day and get used to stalling when I have the urge to smoke--
Wish me luck
Kevin

Saturday, January 13, 2007


We just picked up Lori's new PT cruiser.....well it is used but only a 2006 w. 15.000 miles...
"I love it" says Lori 

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Bush orders the storming of an iranian embassy in Iraq

Within the hour of last nights speech about a troop surge , and preventing Iranian and Syrian 
intervention , , US forces raided an Iranian consulate in northern Iraq, arresting five diplomats and staff and taking computers and files. 

Only weeks before Bush said he will consider all plans of action on Iraq , and seek bi-partisan consensus on an Iraqi plan , Bush stubbornly ignores all aspects of ISG , including dialogue with Iran and Syria , and effectively declares war on them with the arrival of an additional aircraft carrier strike force and defensive patriot missiles to protect allies (this means Israel) , and then this arresting of "legal" diplomats in the country.  

This is scary.  
I am not at this time stating he is wrong , or that I agree with attempting to dialogue with Iran and Syria but .......this is scary
I was reading something on MSNBC and Tim Russert came away the thought that Bush has hinted on a wider war which would include Iran.  
Scary

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Funny Bumper Sticker

I was on my way to work this morning and saw this bumper sticker 

"Work Harder , millions of people on welfare need you " 

I wanted to turn around and go home

 

Sunday, January 07, 2007

J E T S..i really thought we had a chance today.We played tough for most of the game but new england just came up with bigger plays . Season over ...just like that
But... remember the Jets were not expected to win more than 4 games and we went 10-6 .. This is something to build on.  
After the game , regarding the season Mangini said “I was most proud of the effort that they put in, the way that they worked, the way that they came together as a team, and the progress that they made collectively,”
The jets have lots of caproom , a new attitude and lots of young players to build around .  We are going to be a team to contend next year and on .