danmodica.com

if you only knew...sheesh. I see some people say "its complicated". They have no idea. Or I have no idea. Either way, if it doesnt kill you, it makes you stronger. That way I am the incredible hulk.

My advice? Be an adult, stay calm, it will be better for everyone involved.

Thanks for  stopping by, i wish i could blog more but too busy. If you came here for wisdom and got nothing, email me your thoughts, I'll gladly email you back

as always

D

I think i blogged about this before but lets have yet another go at it.

In CT this past week a college football player was stabbed at a party on campus. At this moment, the killer is still on the loose. Its a very sad story on many many levels.

But the saddest part is the coverage by the local media ghouls. On this mornings local braodcast they spent 7 minutes interviewing crying teammates, a sullen coach and the now child-less mother from Florida. They had graphics and sad music and clips of the kid playing in this past saturdays game. Also they ran slide shows of pictures of the kid from internet tribute sites.

Meanwhile, there is a killer on the loose.

There was no mention of the investigation. If the other kids on campus were in danger, was there a suspect?, nothing. That doesnt attract an audience.

I dont know how they decide what is news and what isnt, really. I know there is a formula in the morning, keep the weather and traffic going and sprinkle it with news. But the way the story is presented is horrifying. The story was at the biggest college in the...

I have been avoiding blogging for the reason I listed in one of my previous posts but I really miss it. Do you miss me?

I've been hanging out over on facebook a lot lately so I will blog about that space.  For those of you who dont know, facebook is a social networking site originally set up for college kids to hook up together. Now its for their parents to reconnect with old friends and share their opinions about the world, entertainment and sports.

There is the public postings that everyone can read and then there is the shady underside of facebook, the private message. I dont know about any of you but my private message area is the most fun, vulgar, unpolitically correct, mean spirited area on the internet. i suppose it could get me sued, or arrested or punched in the nose.

Most of these messages are from guys and girls my age, whom on the front page are sweet and kind and wish each other good day and happy birthday, but in the private area are wild. And this brings me to my point.

We are all full of crap. Each and everyone one of us....

On weekends my job takes me into at least 5 grocery stores per day {dont ask, it just does}. Every one of these stores now has in front of it some organization with a coffee can and a banner asking for donations of some sort.

Some stores its war veterans, some stores its cub scouts and some stores its high school atheletes. Its also fine with me that these people have volunteered their time to collect money for an asociation who needs money but there seems to be a new tactic to guilt you into digging into your pocket and giving to the cause.

Today, 4 of the 5 stores I visited had the people right in the doorway, where you couldnt pass them without a slight evasive manouver. It wasnt like cutting through the Cowboys defensive secondary but you had to either zig or zag to enter and then again exit the store.

I also noticed that the designated smoking area is 50 feet from the door.  Personally, i think I'd rather walk by the brown fingered people with the yellow teeth and no coffee can than the ones who brought their kids as a prop.

Now, dont get...

i missed posting this up so here it is. NFL football.

I would normally breakdown the games or give you my thoughts on the upcoming season but what I really want to hit is the problem the league will have with attendance this year.

We as a country are in a ressecion, although every day the news media will tell you its either over or getting worse, times are tough. To buy a ticket to a NFL game costs around 90$ for one. A lot of people arent thrilled to shell out 90 bucks to see a game that at home you can watch on a 52 Plasma TV. Add tolls and parking and food etc, its expensive to go to a NFL game

The other side of this is that if the game isnt sold out in a city, the local tv affiliate isnt allowed to air the game. Losing tones of ad money from commercials. In the past the local TV station would by the remains tickets and lift the "blackout" but now in cities like Detroit , where the team stinks, they have 25% unemployement. Thye ahave 25000 tickets unsold at 90$ a pop. All of a...

Take a moment today to remember how you felt on that Tuesday morning 8 years ago.

Here in the northeast it was a beautiful day with blue sky and 70 degrees. i was driving listening to Howard Stern tell a story about how Pamela Anderson kissed him when one of his showmates broke in to say an airplane hit the world trade center.

Remember how your emotions went for "wow- what was that pilot thinking?" to 'wow -we are under attack" to "wow - what the hell is going on?"

Remember how you scrambled to call family members and get to a television to see what you could find out.

Remember how many times they showed that plane crashing into tower two.

Remember the images of people jumping out of the burning 100 floor buildings because they knew they were going to die.

Remember the irresponsible reporting by the media that day.

Remember people around the world hate us because we are free.

Remember that politicians will use today to further their causes with the power of fear.

Remember the soldiers and civilians that have died in military operations initiated because of that day.

Remember the CIA and FBI admitted...

Number geeks unite!

9-9-09 is just a coincidence of numbers but it has all kinds of significance to all types of wierdos, geeks and people with too much free time on their hands. and Me.

In China, more than 10,000 couples were expected to register their marriages in Beijing on Wednesday and 6,000 more couples were set to tie the knot in Shanghai -- even though it's a weekday, said the Xinhua news agency. because there is no better reason to vow to spend an eternity with someone because of a random number. Actually in Chinese mythology, the number nine is good because it means the same as "longlasting". If you ask me they should have picked another word, because that is just confusing. To confuse matters further the number nine in China is associated with the dragon and its nine forms that I had originally wanted to post here but it gave me a headache. Look it up.

The lottery here in CT sold out of the number 909 and 9090. Amazing. You oculdnot bet that the number was going to come out. The drawing hasnt happened yet but I will guess it wont hit, although in LAs Vegas...

Or technically "type" something .

So howya doon, how ya been? I've been busy, not too busy to sit at my computer and read the news or chat on facebook but too busy to gather my thoughts and put them in a blog posting so I'll just stare at the keys until I come up with something.

My garden. Thats a good spot to start. Its been a great harvest at "garden modica" this year. My yellow tomatoes and peppers have been awesome in both size and quantity. I made an enormous pot of tomato gravy and reopened the "sauce vs gravy" argument for all. Look, its gravy. I know in the supermarket its called sauce but thats just a myth perpatrated by big corporations who think you are so dumb that you would confuse the big red jar with the picture or a tomatoes on it with a small brown jar with a picture of a turkey on it.Say it with me now "Gravy". Thank you

I also had a banner year for zucchinis, or is it zucchinii? Either way they were perfect and I've eaten a lot of zucchini bread and muffins.

Hmm. Music. I wrote some new...

I used to sit at my computer and type these pleasant little blog postings about why the world has gone nuts or the celeberity who didnt wear underwear or sports but lately its all too wierd for me.

For example to day - The guy who put a bomb in a plane that blew up over Scotland was sent home early under a "compassionate release" law they have in Scottland. He was flown {ok, who amongst us wasnt hoping that that plane exploded?} by private jet to Lybia where he recieved a heros welcome by thousands of people. {ok who amongst us was hoping that that palne blew up over the thousands of people?}. Then the media got all up in the faces of the families of the people who died in the explosion. Oh roll tape. someone is going to cry, Ghouls.

Then its health care reform. One side likes it, the other side is calling the president Hitler for trying to give health care to people who dont have it. Again the media gets involved. How many times have you seen the guy yelling at Orin Hatch this week on TV? The media isnt reporting this debate, its fueling...

I try not to make my blog an obituary column but sometimes a true great person passes and it not only deserves a mention but a tribute.

John Hughes was a movie writer and director that made some of the greatest teen and family movies ever in the 1980's -1990's. They were comedies that were also dramas but the characters were so real and indentifyable with my generation he became a  legend.

I can watch his movies and recite every line, no matter how corny, painful or  outrageous. His stories defined the coming of age of a generation, showing us how to laugh at our own angst and insecurities and, even more importantly, to laugh at other people's angst and insecurities.

Since his passing late last week, I honkered down and rewatched a lot of his movies and noticed that all of lifes important messages can be take from the themes of his movies. 

1. We're all the same in different ways. -- Breakfast Club
2. Rich or poor, life can suck. It just sucks more if you're poor. -- Pretty in Pink
3. Everyone's family is embarrassing and insane. -- Vacation, Christmas Vacation
4. It's not the destination, it's the journey. -- Planes,...

The internet is a silly place. But some people are so gullible it goes beyond silly.

as always

D

Now were just making up words here.

Actually this one stuck. A staycation is when you are broke, so you take you allotted time for vacation from your crappy job and just stay home and do stuff close to home for the week. Also, you lie to your coworkers and boss about where you are going so that they dont call you to ask how to get the copier to work or about the Fienstien account or {gasp} come in this afternoon for a couple of minutes to help us on this one little thing.

I looked up the definition of the word vacation and got this : A vacation  is a recreational trip or a leave of absence from work for recreational, cultural or religious purposes.

We here at danmodica.com also like to make up words and we like time off from work, so we decided to help you all label your summer time off and not be a follower of the mainstream and their trendy "staycation" terms.

Baycation - a trip to San Francisco, city by the bay. You'll hang with the weirdos at Haight Ashbury and wish you brought extra deoderant to pass out. Hope the...

I joke that I am an old man but I am finding that I still have a ways to go yet before I can say I'm old.

There are two types of old people in my life. There are the retired, I am enjoying the golden years old people and then there are the two guys from the muppet show who sit in the balcony andcritisize everything while producing nothing theselves. I am refering to my coworkers before anyone gets bent.

I can trash them all I want in here because they think the internet is stupid. Imagine that? I am not going to trash them completely though. Just an observation or two.

One is retired but still working and the other is just old and working. They are both loyal employees who do marvelous work but the downside of having old people as coworkers is, there is no bending or change allowed.

Take today for example. During the summer months we cover for each others' vacatiions and have to change scheduling around a little to compensate. I forgot to mention that these two do the same thing every day of the week on the job. Its not to say...

The state I live in is still without a budget and because of talk radio and talking heads on TV, the democrats and republicans in CT think they are supposed to attack each other instead of the problem. The new talking point is the increase of state taxes and not thats its wrong or unfair but which tax to raise.

I dont take sides because they are all brain dead suits with no clue how my people live but I do have some thoughts on their current arguement.

One side thinks an increase in income tax is the way to balance the budget. After all, people in CT make too much money as it is and they should be punished for being successful and/or not successful. After all, its the law makers and bean counters who squandered all the previously collected money, why shouldnt they just reach into our pockects and grab some more money to help them make ends meet.  

The other side wants to increase the "sin tax". The sin tax for those who live under a rock is a tax on things you dont need but want -like cigarettes and alcohol. This one blows my mind. First...

I am taking a short trip today. I'd use the word vacation but people without real jobs dont take vacations, they take trips.

I have to get on a plane and if you visit here enough, you know I am not afraid of the flying, I am afraid of the crashing, and the TSA. We were not meant to fly. Especially at 600 mph in a tin can manufactured by a company who biggest factor for getting permission to make this "aircraft" was they were the lowest bidder.

Wish me well, be back soon and then its back to daily blogging, really.

You can follow me and my adventure over on the facebook page...see you there, or see you here or see you in hell {kidding, i am pretty sure this blog alone has afforded me a sit down with St Peter}

as always

D

Here in danmodica.com land the word furlough has been bestowed upon us lately. So I went hunting for the true meaning of this new trend in the workforce of America.

Dictionary: fur·lough n. .

1. 1. A leave of absence or vacation, especially one granted to a member of the armed forces.
   2. A usually temporary layoff from work.
   3. A leave of absence from prison granted to a prisoner.
2. The papers or documents authorizing a leave

or 3 the boss thinks stiffing you for a days pay every once in a while will not only save the company but also make you feel like you are really part of the team now by using such phrases as "we're all taking a furlough day" or "if we all do our part we can turn this thing around". Spare me the Knute Rockne rah rah crap and run your company more efficiantly and we would have to do this friend-o.

In the particular case of where I work, its the company we have[had] a contract with that needs the fixin'. We just got hit with their mismanagement shrapnel. Perhaps when they get their crap together , we will follow suit, who knows.

Part of me...

Who among us, upon receiving a traffic ticket, hasn't shaken an angry fist at the sky (ideally after the police officer has left the scene) and cried "I'm going to contest this ticket." The gesture is bracing after the degrading scene of being pulled over for exceeding the speed limit by a measly 11 mph—"Do you know how fast you were going, sir?"—or zipping through an orange traffic light. The intent to challenge gives the person left clutching a ticket a sense of purpose. Justice can and will be restored. It's the American way.

But things took a turn for  Massachusetts residents last week, when Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill into law allowing the Commonwealth to charge 25 dollars to each hearing as a fee. This means that if you challenge a ticket in Massachusetts and win, you still owe The Man the price of one bottle of tequila . Yeah, thats fair.

Most of us never actually do fight tickets. In our hearts, we traffic violators often know that the policeman is right when he says we were going 66 in a 55 mph zone. Also, we are lazy or too busy to take a day to go to...

SPECIAL GRILLING LAWS

thou shall not say, "you're burning that, flip it over"... no I am not and go away or I will smack you with my spatula

do not brag about your {or anyones} grill being bigger my grill is feeding you, enjoy it and stop over compensating, you're embarrasing yourself

sticking a beer can in a chickens ass does not make for a more moist meal you're wasting good beer and falling for the biggest cullinary hoax since sun dried tomatoes

the side burner is for rookies all grill masters know that if it belongs on a burner, it goes inside with the women on the stove, the burner is a waste of good shelf space

aprons are acceptable thats right, on this joyous occasion men can wear aprons freely and openly as long as they are the...

I am a self admitted internet junky. Surfing the internet has replaced some reading books and tv and a lot of other time killers in my life but I have found I am not alone.

There are these websites classified as "social networking" websites that I for one am hooked on. There are myspace and facebook and twitter and a couple of others but I am sticking to what I know.

If your only experience with these sites is what you see on the news or hear word of mouth, then you think its a dark world of peodephiles and teenagers hooking up and other weirdness but I am here to tell you its just the opposite.

I am a facebook person. On facebook, i have been reconnected for better or worse with some old friends and some new ones. Its seems we all share the same internet fondness and this facebook is like our hangout.  To simplify it, its a large message board that people post thoughts and ideas and what they are feeling or doing and the rest of the invited population is free to comment and discuss it. It has been nothing but a positive experience for...

So I sit and stare at my blinking cursor and I type things but most of them seem to personal or weird, so I delete them. Its been a couple of weeks and although the world gives me thousands of subjects to blog about but it seems they all come full circle to have my personal life creep into them and thats not fair to the people around me.

You see, I am at a weird crossroad in my life that  is rattling around in my big old empty head and I am not sure what to do about it. Its nothing threatening or fatal, its just a crossroad that is always on my mind.

I do now see why people go through mid life crises and get piercings or tattoos or a girlfriend half their age, but I am not going to do that. I have to deal with this and make it through to the other side cleanly.

Should you, my faithful reader, be worried? Probably not . But thanks for the concearn. Is this crossroad cross-able? Of course it is, i just have to take every step just right  and I have been consumed by it.

I...

I guess i should say something about GM going bankrupt .

In case you live under a rock or something you know that this morning General Motors filed for bankruptcy protection. What that means is, the auto manufacturer filed for court protection with a government-financed plan intended to create a viable company that can compete in world markets.The U.S. government will extend $50 billion of loans to the 100-year-old automaker and plans to convert that into a 60 percent stake in the reorganized company.

So the government now owns 60% of a dying company. Great, this should end well.

"GM and its stakeholders have produced a viable, achievable plan that will give this iconic American company a chance to rise again,” President Obama said today. The government was becoming a “reluctant” owner of the automaker, Obama said, adding that his goal was to “take a hands-off approach and get out quickly.”  Or get more broke trying, he forgot to add.

I know this is unAmerican but I think something this massive happens for a reason. I think {and I could be and probably am wrong} it should be allowed to take its natural course down the drain.

Sure people will...

So I went to a mini reunion with some old/new friends the other night. It was a great time and I look forward to doing again soon as the interest from the uninvited has been peeked. It looks as if this will be a monthly or bi-monthly event which in my opinion will be great.

The odd part of the night I want to discuss is, the greeting of people. It used to be a hand shake. A firm gripping of 2 hands shaken lightly with some nice words like “how are you doing” or “pleased to meet you”. Not anymore. Now there a several greeting and I had to adapt and learn some of them on the fly because I am a social klutz.

Keep in mind most or all of these people I hadn’t seen since 1982. Some of them I have a good relationship with, thanks to facebook, but some of them I had no idea they would be there, and was pleasantly pleased to see them again. So, lets...

8 days without blogging. Wow.

I suppose I could blame the nice northeast weather we are having as an excuse. Its been really nice out, making me do yardwork and washing cars and just sitting on my picnic table staring at the sky. I love just staring at the sky sometimes.

I could blame the baseball season for my lack of blogging. As you steady visitors know, I am a heartbroke Mets fan who cant stop routing for my team and seem to watch every game just waiting for something bad to happen. Lucky me, it ususally does.

I could blame this season of LOST too for my neglect of the bloggerino. It was a great season and I really cant wait until next January until it starts again.

I should blame my newest hobby, Facebook where old friends are new friends and new friends are great friends. Its a lot of fun, if you're not there, stop by and say hi

I cant blame my anger for the weirdness in the world for the lack of blogging. I watch the news and shake my head and look for the remote. Its a bad world folks.  I should be mashing...

So Ms California is getting blasted by some people and defended by others because she asnswered a question honestly.

Carrie Prejean rose to fame in mid-April after declaring her opposition to same-sex marriage during the Miss USA pageant.

"I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage,". Actually an articulate answer from a beauty queen. And then the fireworks started.

I have made my views and thought public here about how I feel about the word marraige so we wont rehash that and make this about me. Lets stick to Ms Prejean.

She was asked a question, she gave an answer. But because we are a knee jerk bunch of jerks society now she will always be the poster girl for people against gays. Unfair? yup.

You know why this happens in America?Because we have too many media outlets employing too many people and there really isnt that much "news" to discuss to fill their pages, telecasts and blogs. So they get a subject and run it into the ground, reguardless if it is correct,true or otherwise.

It smacks of cencorship...

The attorney general of the great state of Connecticut  name is Richard Blumenthal. He seems to really care about the goings on of the state and making sure things stay fair for consumers and residents. He has a creepy hairdo that needs a googling, but for now we are going to discuss his obsession with the internets, mainly craigslist.

As you know there was a guy arrested that the media dubbed "the Craigs List Killer". The news media loves knicknames so they can put it on their flashy scroll thingy as they frighten local residents into not wanting to go outside and now surf the internet.  The accused man named Phillip MArkof, is being charged with one murder and 2 attempted robberies of women he met on a  website named Craigslist. Craigslist, for those of you who live under a rock, is a website that people post free classified ads, selling and buying most anything, employement ads and just regular message boards. One of the services offered on the site is "erotic services" .

The attorney general Blumenthal is asking that Craigslist remove the entire section of erotic sevices because he feels not only is it illegal, its dangerous. The illegal...

Finally, something of substance has appeared in the news. Swine Flu will kill us all. EVERYBODY PANIC.

Really,  dont panic not because I said so. Its the media running witha simple warning a fear mongering all into a fury {and watching their reports over and over}When I am wrong you can call me an idiot from your flu death-bed.Dont panic for the following reasons:

• The Mexican Government estimates that 86 people (or more) have died from Swine Flu. Okay, that's tragic. But why the hell are we taking their numbers at face value? For starters, if you read the fine print the death numbers being tossed around are estimates. There are 18 confirmed deaths so far. Which ain't awesome, but it's a damn sight better than a hundred.

• In quite a few articles I've read, I've seen statements to the effect of researchers aren't sure why the cases in the US and Canada appear to be milder than the ones in Mexico and none have resulted in death. I know we'd all like to pretend that Mexico has its act together, but last time I checked Mexico was a third world country with third world healthcare. Do the math.{i...

On the 10th anniversary {seems odd to use the word anniversary to describe it} of the Columbine school shootings there is a movement afoot to make it legal for students to carry concealed handguns on school properties.

I like guns. Guns when properly used are fun. I think all sane and properly educated people should not only be allowed to have guns but encouraged to learn to handle, store and shoot weapons.You never know when it will come in handy and its just downright exciting.

I will not have a 2nd admendment debate discussing here because I am all in favor for it with several small caviats such as backround checks, banning the legally insane from owning and taking away guns from convicted felons. Thats it, thats my list. Other than that, lets go get some guns and ammo and shoot things.

Now on to students carrying weapons. I'll make this simple. No. The one argument is that at Virginia Tech in 2007 some armed student could have whipped out his pistol and taken the deranged gunman out. Or he could have missed and shoot another person. Or further enraged and already mentally unstable guy with many guns. or used...

Ok so lets start with the honest disclaimer. I do not use illegal drugs {I have the drug test results to prove it}. I have the occasional beer, have discovered I really like tequila and am starting to get into wine a little bit but I dont drink to excess and havent been "drunk" in a really long time. There, thats out of the way.

Today is 4/20. The day pot-heads across the land giggle to each other like their secret handshake to acknowledge that they are pot-heads. Well actually it has become a little more than that recently, but for the most part its a stoned persons holiday.

The "more" part of that is what I am here to talk {type? whatever..} about. There are several organizations that have taken 420 as their battle cry for the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana.  I'll start with the decriminalization.

Pot, in my opinion, seems to be as harmless or harmful as alcohol but since Nixon made it illegal in 1972 it has been the source of many arguments. Such as legalizing for medicinal purposes. There are studies and more studies that show that people with glaucoma are helped relieve symptoms...

Mark Fidrych died this week.  Its very sad when anyone dies especially someone who we admired or brought us back to a special time in our lives like our youth.

Fidrych was a malor league pitcher with the Detroit Tigers in 1976 and was just plain wacky. He would talk to the ball, talk to himself, aim the ball like a dart, refused to use certain balls. In his rookie year he beat the Yankees on Monday Night Baseball and the sold out crowd at Tiger stadium wouldnt leave until Fidrych cam out and tipped his cap. Nice stuff.

His career was cut short by a torn rotator cuff and he faded into obscurity working as an asphault truck driver in MAss. Where also his life was cut short.

He was found under his truck tangled in the driveshaft and dead, very very dead. Tragic. But clearly he was maintaining the truck and got stuck and died. But that wasnt good enough for the local police and more importantly the insurance companies.

An autopsy was ordered to rule out fair play. Who ordered this? Well you see, there's a law in MAss that all unattended deaths be investigated to rule...