Grabbaggar

Blog has been moved to my new location

2011-09-19T16:41:00.001-07:00

This blog is frozen time, but the good news is you are cordially invited to check out my new blog that is solely concerned with technology at......

Grabbaggar.com

How to Have an Amazing Home Network for maybe a little less than you think

2011-09-18T23:25:00.000-07:00

My house doesn't have giant stacks of Compact Discs, but I have over 10,000 songs that I can access instantly. I don't have massive piles of physical DVD's, but I can access 10s of thousands of movies instantly.

There are many different ways to do what I have done, but let me walk you through how I choose to do it, and if you're looking to do it yourself, and maybe you feel a little technically challenged, my hope is after you read this, you will see that it is a little easier then what you may have previously thought.

MUSIC- In the late 1990s portable MP3 players emerged that let you carry around about 500 songs. The iPod was launched in 2001 with 1000 songs in your pocket, and then the iTunes store, all this set about a revolution in how we acquire, store, and listen to our music.

I have my entire iTunes Library stored locally on my main computer, a beautiful IMac with a 27 inch screen 14 GB of RAM with a 2.93 GHZ quad core i7 processor. (As beautiful as it is..soon it will be "just a device" with the advent of ICloud as Jobs said in the most recent apple keynote) Anyways the files are all on the main computer and the software that manages and runs the music files is called iTunes.

I can listen to my music many different ways, I can sit in front of my computer, launch iTunes and just instantly search for the song/album/artist that I want, and play it. My Computer is listening Zone 1 and what I am going to describe to you is called "air tunes" (similar but not exactly the same as 'air play')

OK now here is where it gets really cool. Apple makes 2 amazing pieces of hardware, the Apple TV and the Air Port Express(both cost $99). Both of these plug into the wall and connect to your network automatically. Once the air tunes device is plugged into the wall you can connect speakers to it. Now when I sit at my main computer and launch iTunes I can see my ATV or Air port devices and thus can control them. I have 4 Different Zones of music in my house. Bedroom, office, family room, and living room. Of the 3 zones that are not my computer, one of them is an ATV, and two are air port expresses. On these two I have connected a pair of Bose computer speakers, they are small, yet provide rich sound. The Apple TV is connected to my bedroom TV speakers. OK so sitting in front of my computer using iTunes, I can now turn off and on four different speaker zones, this is awesome, but the problem is, every time I want to hear something different, or if I want to turn off the music, I have to run to my computer. But what if there was a way to control your computer remotely? Here's where it gets double cool: The Apple IOS devices (iPod touch, iPad, and IPhone) have a free app available called "remote" and with this...you guessed it..you can now control your computer using a device that is always very close by...your iPhone. And it's a beautiful experience, reaching out and touching your music, seeing the album artwork, and tapping on what you want to hear....and where in the house you want to hear it.

To have this experience Your computer doesn't have to be as new or as powerful as mine, ...if you already have a computer and an IOS Device, you can add a zone to your house for only $99.

Movies I have been collecting DVDS for 15 years, pretty much since they were launched in the mid 90's. So how do we get all of these physical DVDs into my computer? Unfortunately it is not as easy as music CDs, but it can be done. It does take longer, but the end result is well worth it. I am a Mac enthusiast and I am going to recommend a free piece of software that will rip your personal Dvds for you. (I don't know/care about Windows...my advice to anyone who owns a windows computer is to throw that computer in the garbage and buy a Mac.) LOL, anyways the App is called "Handbrake" Once all your DVDs are ripped, you can then put them in a folder and point iTunes towards that location. Since each movie is about 1 to 1.5 TB in size, I strongly recommend going to Costco and picking up at least a 1 TB external hard drive to store these movie files. I personally have a 3TB drive connected not to my computer, but to my Air Port Extreme Router. So now we've got all our movies ripped and iTunes recognizes them. Once again I sit in front of my computer and find any one of them and start watching it right on my computer. Or I could do something much better. Apple TV will take the contents of your iTunes library and stream it to your Television. Since we already know that IOS devices have a "remote" app, I'll bring it to everyones attention that not only can the IOS device control your computer, it can control your Apple TV as well. So I sit down in front of my TV and browse through hundreds of DVDs that I have made personal copies of! The Quality? Near DVD quality. I have two TVS in my house and an ATV connected to each one of them. Built into the software of apple tv I can also flip through all my photos, Rent HD quality new releases instantly, watch any MLB baseball game, watch netflix on demand, etc. etc. Again, if you already have a newer TV with an HDMI input, a computer, and an internet connection, then for $99 you are Golden.

And that ladies and gents, is my home network! Any questions, type them into google! How do you manage/store/consume your entertainment media? Let me know.

Will Netflix become the next Yahoo!?

2011-09-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

Netflix shares dropped 40 points points today to close at $169. Why? Well for a couple of reasons..number one they lost 1 million subs this fall because of their price hike, and in addition to that they lost a good portion of their Starz catalog, taking away a good chunk of their streaming movie offerings.

Netflix had an amazing run, they took out Blockbuster video and their absurd "late fees", lame selection, and lines that you had to wait in on Friday and saturday nights.

I've brought it up many times before that in my perfect world we have everything available to us instantly anywhere we are and on any device we want and all of this for a fair price. For example lets say that for $40/month we have access to every song ever recorded, every book ever written, every TV show, And every movie.

Netflix gives us a good selection of movies for $7.99 streaming, but it's fragmented..we don't get everything. Because major cable companies are scared and they are pressuring netflix (they probably influenced the starz take away deal) I hate the cable companies like comcast and time warner!!...

It takes a one in a lifetime visionary like a Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos from Amazon to break these pressures. The day the Kindle was announced all paper publishing became obsolete and ridiculous, thanks Jeff for helping to wreck these lame publishing companies...Steve Jobs took out the record companies with his iTunes Library. (Sony et al had no idea that iTunes would take off like it did)

Apple and Amazon will use their magic to incorporate netflix like capabilities into what they have. (they already do as a matter of fact with Amazon streaming) Amazon is already trying to get a deal for a monthly all you can eat "netflix for books" and it's only a matter of time. We're still in the Wild Wild West, and in fascinating times....If I were to guess who gets that's future $40/month?

AMAZON...and netflix will be relegated to great tech things of the past like Yahoo!, and the Netscape browser.

Reflections on Apples Keynote

2011-06-06T17:18:00.000-07:00

About 15 Years ago, soon after he regained control of Apple, Steve Jobs had an interesting Q&A at a Developer Conference much more low key, then it was today. He talked about how he could with his company intranet login as himself and have all his stuff served up to him instantly. He could do this because all of his files were stored on a central in-house server, and if he made a change to one file, in one location, it was changed to all locations.

This was always in the back of his mind, and it is what Apple has been evolving towards ever since. And today they have announced...ICloud..... What this means is......

We never have to worry about our files being lost
When you enter or modify an address book on your Iphone it is automatically changed for all devices..and it never gets lost. (it works this time, unlike with mobile me)
When you take a photo with your iphone..it is saved forever without having to do anything
All your music is now scanned and saved... able to be downloaded again forever on any device
We don't have to update our iphones or ipads anymore by connecting them to a computer..it just does it for us (no more connecting our iphones/ipads to a computer)
You don't even need a computer anymore to use an ipad or iphone
When you buy a new ipad, iphone, or mac, you login and then all your stuff appears.
When you buy an app, an ibook, or a song from one device, it instantly goes on all your devices.

All that and more is available this fall, and I can't wait that long folks!!

Watch the keynote yourself at www.apple.com

Scan and Toss and NFC Payments

2011-06-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

Paper, Paper everywhere...but it never needs to be that way for any of us..

====Garrett in 2011

All my books are in the cloud

All my music will be in the cloud on monday

All of my movies and tv shows are stored on harddrives and not dvds (and soon so shall the blu rays)

With the nice scanner that I have, I can take all of my paper records and scan them and toss them on dropbox...when we get letters from the boys schools, or anything paper, I just scan and toss the dead tree. Once it is scanned I can access it anywhere, from my Iphone, Ipad, or computer. But the revolution has growing pains...papers can pile at times, and when they do, I sing my "scan and toss" song.

When I walk into a dental practice and see all of these paper records I want to grab the doctor and scream! "Scan and Toss!!" But slowly and surely there are more and more paperless offices emerging.

So to conclude......CLOUD CLOUD CLOUD......Put your papers in the cloud! Tra la la...you never need to have a bunch of papers lying around your house...

And now part two: NFC payments (not football)

What could be more obsolete than your wallet? Really all we need is our Iphones....Cop stops you and asks for your license? Wave your phone at his mobile scanner...Need to pay for something?...wave your phone at the scanner..(I already do this at Starbucks) Within a few years this will be standard. (Except for the old lady who still writes out a check at the supermarket)

The Cloud

2011-05-23T17:35:00.000-07:00

2011 is the year of the cloud.

What is the cloud? Basically its a term describing the notion that all of your digital stuff is no longer stored on a local device like your computer. Instead it is stored on the internet, in the "cloud", able to be streamed to any one of your devices, like your iphone or ipad. The advantage of this is that there is no longer the need to synch or transfer any files, once they are uploaded once, you are done.

A lot of us are already using cloud services, like google docs, dropbox, i disk from mobile me and others. But these are mostly for documents, and not optimized for music and video streaming.

Amazon got to the market first with what they are branding their "cloud drive" and today they went right at Apples throat in undercutting them significantly by pricing the new Lady GAGA album for 99 Cents. As you can see in the graphic they are giving a free upgrade of 20 GB (enough for many peoples entire music library) to anyone who buys the album. Why are they doing this? Well because Apple is rumored to come out with their own cloud service in the coming 60 days or so. Amazon is thinking that they can get a good headstart and pull enough people away from Apple by getting them used to their service and making it worthwhile to pretty much give away the hottest album in the last year and a half. Amazons regular music "mp3 store" is also being priced about 2 dollars cheaper per album then the equivalent on Itunes. And once you buy from them, it is backed up forever in their "cloud drive" I am buying all my music now through Amazon until Apple meets their price.

Apple and Amazon are two amazing companies both run by genius visionaries (Jobs and Bezos) and I love both of them, use both of them all the time and I love the competition!!

May the best Cloud win!!

The Rapture!!

2011-05-21T18:01:00.000-07:00

Whether you are a post millennial dispensationalist, or a mid tribber....doesn't it feel good to know that as of now 6:01 PDT on May 21st 2011..We are all still here!

Whooo hooo!

Goodbye to the local Blockbuster

2011-05-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

Yes I know that I have posted variations of this post many times over the past few years on the blog but almost not a day goes by where I do not think about this revolution in media happening before our eyes. Thanks to boneheaded decisions and failure to adapt to the marketplace, Blockbuster is in bankruptcy and the majority of its several thousand stores are shut down. Including the one on Lyons Ave and Orchard Village Road. It was once a thriving location filled with people hoping that the latest new release wasn't all checked out, or trying to talk their way out of late fees. Here is what the store looks like tonight

There are many reasons why this store is gone but let me tell you my personal reason why it makes no sense to ever rent a physical disc anywhere.

I have Apple TV---one of the apps is Itunes, and one of the apps is Netflix instant.

Netflix: For $8/month I can stream 15 thousand movies directly to my tv, my iphone, ipad etc..(yes it picks up where i left off)

Itunes: I can browse all the new releases and basically 95% of the movies that are out there and rent anything that I want in HD. Not sure if the movie is good or not..well I can check Rotten Tomatoes which is next to all the movies..I can read a synopsis...and I can view the trailer.... Just a tad bit better then asking someone at Blockbuster "Is this a good movie?" Of course movies are never checked out..and there are no late fees....no lines to wait in..etc.

Blockbuster never adapted....they got killed by Apple, Netflix, and redbox...and I don't feel the least bit sorry for them...

Good Riddance! Now please can we get a good tenant in there so it's not such an eyesore!!

Chicago

2011-05-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

Matt, my Dad and I went to Chicago for 2 days for Matt's 35th birthday..

Here is my take on the city.....Amazing City! Great food and culture..midwestern hospitality and all of that.

The Highlight of the trip was Wrigley Field which is probably in an exact tie now with Fenway park for coolest baseball stadium outside of the Ravine. We sat through a 1:15 min rain delay in 30 degree wind chill and then the entire game as well but it was worth it!

Cross this off the "bucket list"

Waveland Avenue

We took a 2 hour bus tour of Al Capones Chicago which was good..then we got to walk around and do some sightseeing and look at the river, the lake, millenium park, the outside of the Sears (too long of a line to go in) and we got to do this on a sunny day with about 65 degree weather on Saturday.

In Front of the River on Michigan Avenue

Other than the amazingly bad weather that Chicago gets...it gets my vote as one of the best cities in America

Thoughts on the Ipad2

2011-03-22T17:09:00.000-07:00

When I first got the original Ipad last year I wrote that it was very cool, but not quite a revolution in the way that IPhone revolutionized our smartphones. The reason is because it was not quite a computer, and not quite a phone, but something in between. It was an amazing device to consume media....but not much in the way of a productivity device. (at least that's what I thought at the time)

And then slowly but surely I realized the revolution....which is..... bye bye paper! As a pdf reader with apps like "Goodreader" which is the gold standard of pdf apps...and "Iannotate" which lets you legally sign contracts with your finger. It goes a long way in marginalizing those pesky cluttering stacks of dead trees. Now with a high speed scanner, cloud based storage like "Dropbox" and a 3g connected IPad I have all my records with me, able to instantly call up...and reference whenever I need to. The vet needs Raven's rabies record? Well instead of digging through a file cabinet I can e-mail it while I am standing in front of them. And on and on it goes. It totally replaces the briefcase. Everything is archived and saved, not in dusty boxes that create clutter and get pooped on by rats, but in the cloud, able to be called down to the Ipad in seconds.

Now when you take all this functionality and slim down the device, make it even more comfortable to hold....and much faster. You have something that is indispensable. Before I wrote about the desert island where I could only have one device...I said it would be the iphone....but now it would be the Ipad 2.

Goodbye Paper!!

Miracles

2011-03-14T17:17:00.000-07:00

There are a many variations of this story..........

A whole family is wiped out in a car crash except for one little girl that "miraculously" survives. Depending on your superstitions you may cite "God" or "someone looking out for that girl"

But skeptical and cynical me cannot listen to any of these reports whether it is on the evening news, or through a friend, family member or acquaintance and not think this thought.

NO IT'S NOT A MIRACLE! A MIRACLE WOULD HAVE BEEN IF THE CAR WOULD HAVE SPROUTED WINGS AND FLEW SO AS TO AVOID THE ACCIDENT ALTOGETHER!

Sorry to burst your bubble folks but Miracles don't exist, there is no such thing.

Peace

Steve Jobs unveils the IPad 2

2011-03-02T23:41:00.000-08:00

The Ipad 2 looks awesome, but what was even more heartening was after the internet rumors and reports of only 6 weeks to live...Jobs looked great. We got to see the master at work at least one more time and hopefully for many years to come. In his trademark outfit Jobs poked fun at the hapless copycat competitors like samsung and motorola, while pointing out some really cool new Ipad apps like Photo Booth and Imovie, and for me the one that I think will be my personal favorite..Garage Band.

Jobs pointed out that they had sold more ipads in 9 months (15 million) then all the tablet PCs in history. Ipad 2 will be thinner, lighter, and faster, and include 2 cameras as well. Pricing will remain the same as well as the amazing 10 hour battery life.

Jobs closed the keynote by reaffirming apples mission...the perfect melding between technology and liberal arts. He reminded us why Apple is the most amazing tech company in history. And he got this Apple geek all kinds of fired up!!!!!

Long Live STEVE!!!!!!!!!

Grabbaggar's Quick reviews of best picture nominees

2011-02-26T00:24:00.000-08:00

Black Swan: Tasha and I watched a pirated copy of this movie together in our very own Cinema Du Elisandra. "The white swan, comes naturally to you..but what I want to see is your black swan" It was a privilege to see Natalie become the Black Swan...very original and safe to say the best ballerina movie in history.

The Fighter: Didn't see it

Inception: I almost didn't want to like this movie, and I went into watching it with a bad attitude, but during the film I got sucked into the concept and imagery and the mind bending story of a dream, within a dream, within a dream

The Kids are All Right: Good movie, it is about a lesbian couple Anette Benning and Julianne Moore and how their adopted kids find their biological father. Tasha and I both liked it.

The Kings Speech: Didn't see it

127 Hours: How to make a movie interesting when everyone knows the ending? Well they did it here, with a great performance by James Franco, and tight swift pacing....and the payoff is amazing.

The Social Network: My pick for Best Picture. The Godfather of Tech movies will win best film, and it will be well deserved.

Toy Story 3: Perfect ending to the trilogy. When Andy goes away to college and gives his toys to that little girl....impossible not to cry if you are a parent.

True Grit: Didn't See it

Winters Bone: Hidden gem of the nominated films, very good movie, authentic, gripping and real. Sticks with you and well worth seeing.

So of the ones I have seen I choose "The Social Network" although I would not be surprised if "The Kings Speech" takes it based on the buzz.

Reflections on my Mission Trip to the Philippines

2011-01-31T16:09:00.000-08:00

In the Summer of 1995 when I was 21 years old I participated in a 27 day trip to the Philippines. The trip was through RHCC and I had to "raise" like $1500 dollars for it if I'm not mistaken. The raising of the money involved me sending out a letter that said that God has given me a heart for the Philippines and was leading me to go there, please gimme some money. Here now I am going to tell you some things you might not have known about this trip. First lets meet the players.

Jenny- A girl in her mid twenties who was the leader of our group. She would be described as "A very Godly woman" She is a nice person who was carrying about 30 extra pounds, but she was a cute blonde. When asked why she wasn't married she said, "God hasn't called me into the 'ministry of marriage' whatever that means.

Dwight- Dwight was an impish creepy guy in his mid twenties who lived alone with his mother in a one bedroom apartment and had a secret crush on Jenny. Dwight had to deal with a homosexual Philippino boy named Digoy who used to sexually harass him much to Dwights dismay.

Scott- A very nice guy and a confused homosexual who told me about his experiences making love with a man while in the "catcher" position. Scott also liked to sleep nude. I hope he is fully "out" now and enjoying life.

Rochelle- A 19 year old Phillipino American who had family there, she was a typical teenager, nothing too interesting to report here

Erin-Erin was just a typical normal person who wanted to go on a mission trip. She was cool.

If you have never had the chance to immerse yourself in a 3rd world country I suggest you do it. The experience was great, from the insane humidity, to watching cockfighting, to having our hosts think they were reminding us of home by driving 1 hour to Bacolod mcDonalds and one hour back to bring us disgusting big macs. The people who I was supposed to witness to would pretty much sit stonefaced as I would recite the basic four spiritual laws, and do evangelism 101. But they were friendly.

Our hosts were very nice to us. We stayed in the church which also had a house attached to it. The Shower was a bucket and a faucet in an outdoor shack area. We did have an indoor toilet and running water, just no shower for whatever reason. I got to see a part of the world I would have never got to see...I got to ride a WaterBuffalo through town....I got to eat some pretty delicious mangoes....I was woken up every morning at the crack of dawn to the sound of roosters, or a pig being slaughtered.

It was a unique and beneficial experience for me. If you are reading this and you are one of the people who gave me some money so that I could go, I offer you a heartfelt thanks!

Is it harder to give up God or Directv?

2011-01-19T19:57:00.000-08:00

Question? What is more difficult? Accepting that there is really no god, and that we don't go to a magical place when we die....or accepting that I don't need to keep paying Directv $120/month.

They are both scary and weird...and you feel all alone when you come to the full realization!

I watch way less TV now then I used to...I don't have the desire to do it. I am mostly on the computer instead of TV. We have 3 of them in our house..there's like almost one in every room. And they have replaced the compulsion....there are only two reasons to stay with TV...Sports and maybe HBO. Sports though, is the only thing that right now cannot be replaced by netflix..apple TV...etc. I say right now..because in the near future mlb and the nhl will lift blackout restrictions and make there services streamable to all devices. But right now it aint worth it...I tried to lower the cost of directv per month, but if I tear down all the channels I don't watch...one of those just happens to be Prime Ticket..which happens to televise 120 Dodger games a year. Directv isn't stupid..they are a great company with a great service.....but like Tower Records, Barnes and Noble, and Blockbuster..people are waking up to a new reality.

Here are the only things I watch..

Hockey

Baseball

Football

Basketball

MSNBC, FOX News, and CNN

A&E (Intervention, Hoarders, Huge)

True Blood

Mad Men

Californication

But like I said before, there are other ways to get most of that, that doesn't include paying $120/month.....Stay tuned....What about you? Are you with me on this one...or could you never see yourself not paying a TV provider.

Will Grabbaggar get a bit edgier?

2011-01-19T19:40:00.000-08:00

There's a big conflict between wanting to be open and honest about everything that I think and feel about things in our world, and realizing that everything that I put down here is saved and can be read for posterity by anyone (namely current future employers)

I put forth a straight-laced image in my corporate life..clean cut...no tattoos....my reputation is everything...is the key to $ and advancement. In fact my company would not have hired me if this was not the case.

So I have made my blog about as off the grid as you can get.....you will see subtle changes to things if you look hard enough.

I still have the policy of reviewing comments and deciding whether or not to post them. I will post basically any comment though, with the exception of abuse or spam..

So this blog just got a little bit of a reboot..there won't be any more discussions of things of a personal nature or about my family or friends...As Stuart Smalley would say, "Accept my anonymity"

Making my computer my home entertainment server

2011-01-19T19:21:00.000-08:00

About 20 years ago when we had two VCRS, I used to hook them up together and copy movies that we would rent at the Wherehouse. All the good ones were always checked out and on friday and Saturday nights it was always crowded. I would copy them from one tape to another....one time denise brought back the copy to the Wherehouse and they got mad at her LOL.

So I went from this to copying dvds through dvd shrink and then having a massive collection of DVDS in 6 binders in one of our shelves....There was always the option of leaving the ripped copies of the movies on my computer, but who really wants to sit down in front of their computer and and watch a movie? Not me.

Along comes the latest version of Apple TV, which takes content from Itunes and streams it to your TV...So now I can make backup copies of my own personal collection and house them on my computer...with the price of storage so low, I can house about 2000 movies for a couple hundred bucks. What I love about digital copies is the control that I have over it. From my iphone, I can call up any movie in my collection and play it on both of my TVs. The picture quality is near dvd and the sound is 5.1... It is fantastic.

I have also gotten addicted to renting new movies in HD on my ipad and streaming them to either tv, or watching them on the ipad if I want. The days of renting physical discs...late fees...and movies you want to rent being "checked out" are over!! Goodbye Blockbuster!!

Dexter

2010-12-14T19:06:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about the new world of complete seasons and series on DVD/Blu Ray/Netflix on demand is that it allows you to discover shows you may have missed. "Dexter" is the perfect example of this. The first two seasons are on Netflix instant and so one evening I decided to check out season 1 episode 1. You see I am weird, I can never start watching any show in the middle. I must start with Season 1 episode 1 and work my way up from there.

"Dexter" got me hooked right from the start, it is the quintessential guilty pleasure show about a serial killer vigilante with a heart of gold. But here's what is really interesting: Tasha and I don't usually enjoy the same shows, she doesn't care about Mad Men, True Blood, and a few others that I love. But recently she checked out Dexter and now she is hooked!! She is halfway through season 2, and has stayed up late on a few occasions to watch "just one more episode" very unusual for her!

Season 5 just ended last night, and being as how it is the most popular show on Showtime, it has been renewed for at least one more season. And Tasha and I can't wait!

My favorite of all time

2010-12-01T18:40:00.001-08:00

As I'm sure you've all seen in previous posts I have quite a few musical artists/groups that I like. Now the greatest of all time will always be the Beatles, but there is one artist that I listen to and like more then even them....the man from Newcastle, Gordon Sumner, or as he is known to millions, "Sting" I've been listening to Sting and the Police since I was a few years older then Kevin. Here is a breakdown of every police Studio and and Sting solo album..

Outlandos D' Amour

Virtuoso Drummer Stuart Copeland discovered Sting and invited him to be the bass player along with Henry Padovani (later replaced by Andy Summers) Success came very quickly to the police as legendary classics like "Roxanne" and "So Lonely" came flowing out of Sting effortlessly. A musical genius Sting was just beginning to write a string of classics both for the Police and later his solo career.

This album is Ska Reggae Rock all the way. It is certainly the most reggae influenced of all five of their albums. I don't listen to it quite as much as I do some of the others...all in all I will rank this album #4 out of 5

Reggatta De Blanc

The groups sophomore effort features radio mainstays like Message in a Bottle and Walking on the Moon, Sting was in a zone of pure dynamism as the melody to message in a bottle came to him out of the blue. I was/am so obsessed with that song that I know that the group sings the refrain "Sending out on SOS" exactly 25 times. In fact I remember one swimming practice in high school I screamed out the song for to girls on my swim team (Coed swimming was fun) The track "Bring on the Night" is a true gem...Ranks as #3 out of 5

Zenyatta Mondatta

"First to fall over when the atmosphere is less than perfect, your sensibilities are shaken by the slightest defect"

This very singable album is one one of my all time favorites...A tour de force of pop gems, interspersed with jazz rock anthems features some great instrumentals it ranks as my #2 out of 5 in the Police Canon

Ghost in the Machine

Coolest album name ever, whenever there is any unexplained problem with any technology I always joke that it is a Ghost in the Machine..The reason why I have to rank this as #5 of 5 is because there are a few songs in the middle of the album that barely miss the mark and in this tight race I have to lend weight to that fact...on the flip side "Spirits in the Material" and the classic "Every little thing is magic" make this an amazing album...And then there is the hidden gem "Secret Journey" which I think is masterful.

Synchronicity

The fifth and final album by the group is the undisputed masterpiece. Except for the crazy "Mother" track...every one of these songs is gold...Every one is amazing...Synchronicity II was a rocking way to start their 2007 concert tour, and their live treatment of "Wrapped Around Your Finger" was my favorite rendition in the 4 times I was privileged to see the group in concert......The Hidden gem in this is the Hypnotic "Tea in the Sahara"

Solo Career

Sting is a perfectionist that needs to be in control of all steps of the process...after the Synchronicity Tour he broke up the band and set out on what I think was the most successful second act in pop music history. His first album would be heavily jazz influenced. (I'm gonna pick my top three favorite out of his 7 to date)

The Dream of the Blue Turtles

Begins with "if you love someone set them free" (the antidote to every breath you take) Jazzy, Loungey, and brilliant, this first of his solo records has such hidden gems as "We work the Black Seam" (if you don't know by now Grabbaggar considers hidden gems to be those songs that are not obvious in the amount of radio airplay they garner) Sting hired top Jazz musicians like Branford Marsalas to help him make this record.

Nothing Like the Sun

I wore this CD out in my room on Palomino, and have burned a hole in my HD listening to it as well...You really hear the beauty in Stings voice and the sonic perfection of the songs...every single one of them is brilliant....this is my second favorite Sting album. Hidden gem is his cover of "little wing" by Jimi Hendrix.

Soul Cages

Stings most personal album is also his best. Sonically perfect..beautiful..haunting...peaceful....brilliant...I could go on and on, the quintessential album to listen to when you relax or fall asleep, or do just about anything. It is an absolute marvel, a true masterpiece! (Ya I know what you're thinking, Garrett, why don't you tell everyone how you really feel? (:)

Ten Summoner's Tales

Many rank this as their favorite....playful....funny.. I remember thinking when I picked this CD up in Chico, "Can he do it again" that is write amazing songs? And when I played "If I ever lose my faith in you" I remember screaming in my dorm room "yes!!...freakin amazing, how does he do it?!!" I was a spazz.

Sting doesn't like to just use one style of music...often times he will fuse together different styles and experiment with different time signatures like the country song "Love is stronger then justice" in 7/8 time and he again changes the time signatures in "St Augustine in Hell" This is my 3rd favorite and like I said is probably his most accessible solo album.

Mercury Falling

Darker and more poignant then Ten Summoners tales it continues to meld musical styles and spawned "I hung my head" which Johnny Cash covered to Stings delight. Hidden gem here is "I'm so happy that I can't stop crying" A cathartic painful and ultimately somewhat redemptive song that talks about divorce..yes I have to fight back tears many times when I hear it.

Brand New Day

This album grew on me and is certainly one of his best..I think this one went 3x platinum, so many others liked it as well..We all know and love "Brand New Day" and "Desert Rose" (who doesn't dream of rain, a lay a lay?) There is a song here that starts out as pure country, then seamlessly transitions into gospel..and then at the end right into jazz...your homework dear readers is to tell me the name of this track...

And last but not least

Sacred Love

Stings last "true" solo album was released in 2004 (he has 2 since then, but they aren't really what I would call true studio albums) Anyways, for the first time we have some dance techno....soul..jazz..etc...and the hidden gem "Dead mans rope" and one of the funnest songs to sing along with "Stolen Car (take me dancing)"

Its been six years since Sting has put out his last album with true dynamic songs...does he have enough left in the tank? He will be 60 years old next October (Mark, Scott, and I saw him on his 40th b-day at the Hollywood Bowl) We will all find out...in the meantime..lets crank up the music!!!

Sting is my favorite of all time!!!!

Dodger

2010-11-27T23:34:00.000-08:00

Did you know?:Kevins First word was "Dodger" he said it "Dod-Che"

Like Tasha wrote in her blog, we got Dodger almost on a whim just a few months after we were married..I was 23 and Tasha was 22. There were 8 chocolate lab puppies and 3 were female. We took Dodger because she seemed like the most calm of the bunch (:

We would take turns picking her up and holding her and looking at each other with an "oh my gosh are we really going to do this" face. We didn't make it out of there empty handed..we wrote a check for $200, and drove the 30 miles south back home to Chico. Dodger rode on Tasha's lap the entire way. I can still picture how cute both of them looked.

We loved having a new puppy in our house and as she grew older she was very hyper and playful, a typical Labrador.

Dodger was a born retriever and an excellent swimmer. We would take her to the creek by our house in Chico and watch Dodger go flying off the rocks diving in the creek and joyfully swimming around until she had swallowed so much water that she would then have to yak it back up on the walk home.

The 4 years we lived in Ventura were Dodgers Glory years. Since Ventura had (and still has) a look the other way policy with regards to dogs on the beach, Dodger thrived there. We would let her off the leash and she would stalk sea gulls and chase them...she would go charging after a stick when I would throw it in the ocean, leaping over the surf until she located it and then with a flick of her "otter tail" make a quick u-turn, body surfing the shorebreak and running back to Tash and I.

She was a natural frisbee dog. We had her special dog frisbee that I would throw to her on the beach I would try to time it so that she would leap into a small wave right when she caught it. A lot of times I would jump in the ocean with her and body surf right next to her. She never had to be trained to retrieve sticks, tennis balls, or frisbees. She was just so much fun to play with. She could run so fast.

If Dogs go to a special Dog heaven, this is where I think Dodger will always be, running in the surf, waiting to chase her next sea gull

7-1-97 - 11-27-10

"Social Network"

2010-11-10T18:36:00.001-08:00

Ahh what a great movie...this one ranks among my all time favorites....I rarely go to the movies anymore because of my issues...(see previous post) But this one one was by far the best tech movie that has ever been made. It follows Mezrichs book closely and shows the creation of a "once in a generation idea".

You don't have to have ever used a computer to enjoy this one though...it is close to a masterpiece and will easily be nominated for Best Picture.

J Timberlake had one of the all time best lines..he plays Shawn Parker the creator of Napster...when told he didn't win, the record companies did, he replies, "Oh really? How many Tower Records do you see?"

I was giddy the entire time watching this one..FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!

Quick take on the midterm election

2010-11-02T22:23:00.001-07:00

The GOP as expected took back the house in historic landslide fashion. This is very similar to what happened in 1994 with Bill Clinton and the "Republican Revolution" But in 2010 instead of the "Contract with America" we have the Tea Party.

If Angel and O'Donnell hadn't run in the Senate, then most probably the GOP could have recaptured the Senate..instead they put up wacky out of the mainstream Tea Party backed candidates like Christine "I'm not a Witch" O'Donnell. 3rd partys always hurt the mainstream party that they are most affiliated with. Nader in 2004 took many votes away from John "Reporting for Duty" Kerry. And of course Ross "I'm not crazy, people are after me" Perot. The Tea Party will dissolve in a few years and re-assimilate into the GOP.

So we are back to gridlock just like Admiral Stockdale said in the 1992 VP debates. The best Obama can hope for is that the economy will begin to rebound and by 2012 he will be reelected, if it doesn't and the GOP can put up a good candidate then Obama is a one termer.

So this election I voted for

Legalization of Ganja...even though I have never smoked the herb in my life

Barbara Boxer

Jerry Brown

and the Democratic opponent to our lifelong congressman Buck McKeon

Looks like I better make it official and change my party registration from Elephant to Donkey.

I'm pretty much a Bill Clinton Democrat

P.S. Whoever put together that Whitman attack ad that showed Whitman and Arnold saying the exact same things....brilliant! One of the best political ads ever.

Enough with the Miners!!!!!

2010-10-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

Last night at the Kings game the PA announcer made an announcement and they showed live footage on CNN of the miner rescue in Chile. The last time I was at a sporting event and a news announcement was made was in 1990 at the LA Colisseusm during a Raider Game (Operation Desert Storm)

I understand that this is a sort of uplifting story. What I do not understand is the crazy coverage of it..especially on my twitter feeds @breakingnews and @cnnbrk Why do they have to make an announcement about every single specific miner???? And why did they interrupt the Delware Senate debate on CNN for BREAKING NEWS another miner is out?

####Breaking news###as I write this blog..miner number 17 is out..his favorite color is blue, he likes long walks in the rain, and he is now happily reunited with his wife...please stay tuned as we break in to another of your programs to bring you ####Miner 18! And it looks like they have lowered a monkey down carrying a cheese sandwich to the rest of them. Or maybe 12 monkeys!!!

IPAD V Kindle

2010-09-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

I love it, two of my most favorite gadgets going head to head.

Of course Kindle is a far better dedicated reading device.

Good thing I have both!

Apples Media Event Today

2010-09-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

Look at those cool new multi touch Nanos!!

This morning a much healthier looking Steve Jobs rolled out all the new Ipods, Itunes, and Apple TV. I am continually struck by just how good Jobs is as a presenter, he is masterful and is my personal model when I have to talk about things in front of people. In discussing the Nano he had a great quote that went something like this "Its still so amazing to realize you can carry thousands of songs in a device this small" I couldn't agree more, Apple changed the way we buy and listen to music. I still use my IPhone as my primary Ipod because it is just one device in your pocket. The Shuffle I use to work out only as it is easily wearable and just clips on to my shirt and weighs like nothing.

The Apple TV is now much smaller and has features like the ability to send content wirelessly from your Iphone and Ipad, for example you can walk into your house with a ton of pictures you have taken on your Iphone and then instantly view them on your TV...and that is just one of the features....I love these Apple Media Events..can't wait for the next one which will probably be in January....

Check out Apples Site to view the presentation and take a look at all the cool new stuff

The New Kindle

2010-08-28T19:02:00.001-07:00

Watch the Video that Kevin and Zach made here

The Devils Music

2010-08-27T11:18:00.001-07:00

In high school my friend Scott introduced us to Rush. The famous Canadian rock group that captivated me from the moment I heard the opening guitar to "The Spirit of Radio" Rush is known for amazing musicianship, as a power trio they create amazing intricate and "tight" music parts, they are characterized by "off time" signatures...the members are a fantastic Bass player, with a falsetto voice, the great "Geddy Lee" a virtuoso guitar player "Alex Lifeson" and then there is "Neil Peart" who many put as the greatest rock drummer to ever live (no argument here)

Although I haven't been as fanatical about listening to them as I once was, they are on the short list as one of my favorite bands.....I can put on pretty much any one of their albums today and every part of it is as familiar to me today as it was in 1991.

OK enough of that...here is what spurred me to write this post.....There were many in the RHCC youth group who objected to the "Pentagram" depicted on the 2112 album. Even though this had nothing to do with the devil...the 20 minute epic song talks about a totalitarian regime that crushes a young upstart who tries to start a revolution with a guitar....It ends with the ominous announcement "Attention all planets of the Solar Federation, we have assumed control" the Star was the symbol of the Federation...not the symbol of the Devil, Beelzebub, Captain Howdy, or any of the other nonsensical and ridiculous superstitions the group had.

Fast forward to this week and me watching the brand new Rush documentary: something struck me. These guys are extremely soft spoken and polite, Neil Peart, the person who penned the subject of the album is painfully shy. Geddy and Alex are extremely polite and nice to everyone, they are not devil worshippers. In fact Gene Simmons of KISS recounted how when Rush used to open for them he was amazed that the band members never partook of the abundant supply of female groupies. Rush preferred instead to quietly retreat to their hotel rooms and watch TV..Gene Simmons jokingly wondered if they were gay, and couldn't believe how square they were. But they aren't gay, they're just music nerds...obsessed with getting it right...and that is why they have lasted almost 40 years.

One could argue that Amy Grant is more immoral then Rush, after all she divorced her longtime husband after having a fling with Travis Tritt or some such country star.....Yet everyone was singing "Angels watching over me" at the church group.

The Funniest Political Gaffe in History

2010-08-25T13:03:00.001-07:00

Here is a little comic relief for everyone...remember this?

E-Books for Troops (yet again)

2010-08-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

Uncle Dennis wanted an update on this great project...and here it is...Len Edgerly informed his faithful followers on this past Fridays "The Kindle Chronicles" podcast that

http://ebooksfortroops.org/

is now officially up and running as IRS approved tax deductible non-profit.

Again for those who don't know our troops in Afghanistan have a lot of downtime and they do not have a lot of space in their packs for personal stuff...they play a lot of cards...they play video games if they can...and they read paperbacks....soldiers oftentimes trade them around and sometimes they will read the same book six times because they don't have that many to choose from. The new Kindle(www.amazon.com/kindle) which releases this Friday can hold about 3,000 books, and can go for ONE MONTH (yes you heard me correctly) without needing to be recharged. The price has dropped to $139 dollars for the WIFI only and it has gotten smaller and lighter while maintaining the exact same screen size....(mine will arrive this Friday and I am incredibly excited!)

What could be better than to outfit everyone with one of these devices? No one deserves it more then the men and women over there.

Blockbuster and Barnes and Noble wont exist in their current form in 5 years

2010-08-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

20 years ago it used to be an event, something exciting. Dad would bring us to the Wherehouse to pick out two movies, one for me and one for Matt. (so that we wouldn't fight) The stores were usually pretty crowded as people fought for the latest new releases. Sometimes we would browse the return pile anxiously awaiting if someone had returned a copy of "Rainman" or "Dragnet" We were satisfied whether we got our movie, or if we just rented "Raiders" for the millionth time.

Nowdays like many other families we have Netflix on demand, and Amazon on demand. We can browse the screen and pick out the movies that we want to watch. New releases we can watch instantly with a HD copy sent right to us. And that's me, Im 36 years old though. The younger generation grabs their movies and content right off of bit torrent and Pirate Bay for free. That is why Blockbuster videos are closing down. As an aside there is an interesting other reason called Redbox. I'm sure you have all seen these Kiosks around 7/11's and supermarkets. For only 1 dollar a day you can rent new releases if you don't mind the 30 day "windowing" period. I saw one of these Kiosks at the airport in Austin, for a buck you can grab a movie to watch on your laptop and then return it to any Kiosk in the country. And it's totally self service and convenient. Why would anyone want to go to Blockbuster and pay 5 dollars? or even 3 dollars? So price, convenience and selection are killing the "brick and mortar" Blockbuster stores. Hollywood video is already gone, and Blockbuster stores will soon only exist on the internet competing with Netflix, and for a while Redbox.

Barnes and Noble has not "gone under" but they have been put up for sale. I love books and I love browsing in Barnes and Noble. But they have been seriously hurt by the amazing company that is Amazon. People like Amazon for the ease of shopping on their site, the selection that B&N cannot match, and the entire experience. Also millions of people like myself are now choosing to buy their books directly on mobile e reading devices like the Kindle. B&N has tried to compete with Amazon by launching both their own e reading device the "Nook" and their online store at bn.com In both cases they do not offer nearly as good of an experience as Amazon does. I knew this would eventually happen with them, but I didn't think it would happen so fast.

And the bottom line is this, whether you think these changes are good or bad, it is what the consumer wants.

Albums everyone should have

2010-08-12T19:38:00.001-07:00

One of the great things about Itunes is the fact that it tells you how many times you have listened to a song...and as such it tells you how often you have listened to a specific album.

(These stats go back as far as 1-31-07)

What is the number one album that I have listened to?

No surprise here...."The Soul Cages" by Sting. (51 times)

An absolute masterpiece...it's hard to put how great this album is into words, it is a sonic experience...I have been listening to it continuously since I got it in 1991.

Number two "The Joshua Tree" by U2 (49 times) The definitive U2 album...The classic of my generation.

Number three "Nothing Like the Sun" by Sting. (46 times) A truly great record, amazing musicianship, sonically beautiful, and as always the classic vocals.

I feel what I eat!!

2010-08-02T22:21:00.000-07:00

When you are fat like I was, and then spend about 2 years at a normal BMI, you begin to notice a few things.

I stayed fat for so long because I was physiologically addicted to foods high in saturated fats, sugars, and empty carbs. I would eat those foods and a lot of them. If I didn't eat those foods I wanted to because they made me feel good. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I drank too much alcohol too, lets not forget that little chestnut.

I didn't want to exercise or eat right because that made me feel bad. That is why I think half our population is fat. Everyone wants to feel good, and food is an easy way to make us feel that way.

The difference now is that I am physiologically addicted to working out. I really don't work out that vigorously, I only do 30 minutes a day on the elliptical, and light weights every other day. When I was on vacation, I swam 1/2 a mile every day when I could. I do this because I want to, because it makes me feel good. About a month ago I felt an endorphin rush after the elliptical similar to the rush of opiod pills. I have been chasing that natural dragon ever since! Now I know that when I eat things like In and Out I have a high, and then a crash. And the crash does not feel good, so it makes me somewhat less inclined to eat food like that now. But I still do, just not as much. And now its time for some ice cream!!

Winnepausakee

2010-07-28T23:16:00.000-07:00

View and download a larger version here

The Genius of Steve Jobs

2010-07-16T16:02:00.000-07:00

On Monday Consumer Reports (influenced by an overzealous media and after giving it their highest rating) said that they "could not recommend the Iphone 4 due to the Signal Attenuation issue"

Throughout this entire process I felt like Annie Wilkes in Misery...."Has everyone gone mad? What's wrong with you people! Don't you understand? This is the greatest Cockadoodee consumer electronic product in the history of the world!"

I knew what was going on here from the beginning, it is a case of overblown media hype. In Apple you have a company that has basically revolutionized the world in the last ten years and has put out products that are so far superior to the competition that it is laughable. They have overtaken Microsoft in terms market valuation, Their stock price has risen from about 50/share to 260/share. They changed the way we acquire and listen to music, they revolutionized the smart phone with touch screen technology, they made the personal computer fun and into something beautiful. With the exception of Apple TV, pretty much every single product since Jobs returned in 1997 has been phenomenally successful.

It is against this backdrop that we started to see youtube videos that displayed signal drop when you hold your phone in a certain way. It wasn't until last night that I was able to replicate this issue, and I was trying every day. But the issue is minor and it is not unique to the Iphone. So why is the Iphone singled out? Again it is because this "perceived" chip in apples armor comes against an amazing track record.

So today Steve Jobs comes out and says a couple things. And I am paraphrasing his lordship.....

"Guess what folks, every smartphone has antenna issues, and then he proved it by demoing the exact same issues on the Droid, Storm, Samsung, etc" ----I felt like saying Haleleuia! take that Consumer Reports!

"Just over 1 half of one percent of our Apple care calls have had to do with Antenna issues, based on what you have been hearing you would have expected it was at least over half!"

"Compared to the 3gs the Iphone 4 has reported about 1 percent more dropped calls....again based on what you have been hearing you would have expected it to be a lot more!...but even this is unacceptable to us and we are not satisfied"

"Everyone gets a free bumper case"

"If you don't like the phone return it for a full refund"

And my favorite quote......

"We love making products that surprise and delight our customers"

Nothing could be truer steve

Long live Apple!!!!

P.S. Oh yeah I almost forgot, Steve said today that in the three weeks since they've been shipping IPhone 4...they've sold 3 million of them (:

The Iphone 4 Antenna Song

2010-07-16T10:10:00.001-07:00

Sorry this is in a bad format...but click through to the 16/9 version.

My review of the Iphone 4

2010-07-08T22:16:00.000-07:00

"This is the biggest advance to the Iphone since the original Iphone"

====Steve Jobs (Grandmaster of all things and bringer of light)

With the competition of the "Android" phone which is the second best phone on the market (a distant second in my opinion) Apple had to fill in a couple holes where the android had caught up. And folks, they did this and more, I got everything I asked for. HD video, a 5 MP camera with a flash, and a second camera. But to me the killer part of this new iphone is the "retina display" which is an amazing feature that really makes reading on your iphone like reading on paper. It is a serious competitor to "e ink" and even is superior to the Ipad display which I had raved about when I got it. To appreciate the display, you really have to see it for yourself..I still am not used to how pretty it looks, amazingly sharp, and yes I have not seen any pixelation!

In terms of the phone design itself, in a word it is beautiful, elegant metal with glass on the front and back. (There is never a need for 3rd party scratch resistant cover on your iphone guys...it's glass! Unless you carry sharp diamonds in your pocket, I think you'll be OK) The phone is very thin, making the 3g and 3gs look bulky by comparison. I purchased the bumper case from Apple and it is a great addition to the phone, making it easier to grip and protecting it to a degree from any accidental drops.

If I could only have one gadget in the world I would choose the Iphone 4 over everything else.

Luckily I can have all of them though (:

And finally here is my take on the antenna thing....it is a made up fake bogus story that the media glommed onto and is total BS

====Garrett the Apple geek

P.S. My only disappointment was that they did not double the storage to 64 GB

Iphone 4 32 GB

Iphone 3GS 32 GB (Tasha's Iphone)

Imac 2.0 GHZ

Mac Book Pro 2.2 GHZ

Ipad 64 GB Wifi only

Ipod Classic 160 GB

Ipod shuffle 4 GB

Grabbaggar goes to podcast land

2010-06-23T00:04:00.000-07:00

Hey guys please everyone subscribe to the Grabbaggar Podcast where in episode one we talk all about the evolution of how we get store and listen to our music.

http://web.mac.com/garrettriley/Site_2/Podcast/Podcast.html

Click the Subscribe button while Itunes is open and you will be all set!

Kevin is Nine Years Old!!!

2010-06-13T09:34:00.001-07:00

Big Happy Birthday to Kevin!!

Check out Mom's Post

http://tasha-lifeoftherileys.blogspot.com/

We have lived here for 5 years now!!

2010-06-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

After counting down the days..we are finally free of Bakersfield!! This was taken the day we moved in and everyone helped us unpack.

Zach at 14 months just wanted to know that his toys made it safely to his new house

Since Tash and I got married 13 years ago..we have lived in four different houses: chico 6-97 -7-99: Ventura: 7-99-4-03 Bakersfield: 4-03- 6-05 and now Valencia..making this the longest we have lived in any one house. After thinking about moving down to San Clemente, we reconsidered and remained here...enjoying our comfortable, happy, roots. We love living in Santa Clarita...it is it's own oasis ringed 360 degrees by mountains and foothills...A great place to raise kids with great schools and great weather...it is only 30 miles from downtown LA but one never has to leave...and if it's roller coasters you like...well guess what boy...we got the best in the world right here.

(: Anyways...just wanted to mark our 5 year anniversary of living here on Via Elisandra

13th Anniversary

2010-06-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

13 Years ago on a blistering hot Chico Saturday...two college lovebirds decided to tie the knot.

HAPPY 13Th To Tasha and I!!!

John Wooden

2010-06-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

What a great life he lived

Changes that made the game better? You be the judge

2010-06-03T23:06:00.001-07:00

1876: Curveballs are ruled "legal" purists cry that this will wreck the game as baseball is a 'gentlemens' game and it is immoral for the pitcher to try to "deceive" the hitter

1920: Baseballs are now wound tighter and unlike previously the object of the defense is not to try to scuff up and blacken the ball...henceforth, a new white ball must be brought into play whenever an existing one if scuffed. Hitters now have a much greater advantage.

1969: The mound is lowered...no longer can Bob Gibson with his season long 1.12 ERA dominate the way he did previously...advantage hitter

1970: The DH is implemented in the American League only...a revolutionary and major rule change.

1992 and forward: The dimensions of the parks become smaller...with Camden Yards leading the way of the new retro parks....Hitters have a huge advantage....Dodger Stadiums massive foul territory is covered over with Dugout club and baseline box seats...it is unlikely that anyone will ever score again from 2nd on a wild pitch a la Kirk Gibson in 1988.

1998? Interleague play

2009: Limited instant replay arrives in MLB: utilized only on disputed home run calls

Expanding the use of instant replay will not hurt MLB...it will make the game better..no more 2009 ALCS where the umpiring was despicable...etc..etc...and expanding replay is no where near as drastic a change as the lowering of the mound...Where were you captain in 1969? Were you speaking out against the mound change then? It is akin to widening the distance of the plate right? Were you upset about it..was the change good? Has it hurt baseball? Why or Why not?

How to make MLB better (and make sure yesterdays disgrace never happens again)

2010-06-03T15:17:00.001-07:00

A perfect game is one of if not the hardest thing to accomplish in professional sports. Only 20 have ever achieved it (Two earlier this season ironically) And yesterday we saw something that has never before happened in the history of baseball. The Umpire called the runner safe on what was a clear out and therefore the play was officially scored a hit, thus stealing the perfect game from Galarraga. Did this happen in the 4th inning? NO! It happened on the final play of the game!!

The Umpire immediately realized his mistake upon looking at the replay, and tearfully apologized to everyone who would listen. Today Selig the inept commissioner of baseball did not reverse the call.

This is 2010 not 1953...we have the technology to eliminate this kind of thing, and do it in a way which ironically will speed up the game. The NFL uses instant replay, so does the NHL, and Tennis has the most foolproof system of all...and it's great!! Here is what I propose...

Today two doubles were overturned in MLB ironically and called homeruns due to instant replay!! Time to expand it..
Utilize a replay ump to review these plays
Outlaw the silly arguments where the manager or coach flings his hat and kicks the dirt and jaws with the ump..(these take time)...instead..give each manager 2 challenges per game.....just like the NFL..these can be done quickly
In critical "game is on the line" situations...any close play must automatically be reviewed by the replay ump......
In closing...the great game is better than this...we are better than this....humans beings evolve, we get better.....I'm not proposing we change the distance from the mound to the plate..or make it 4 strikes instead of 3..I'm saying we use technology to make right calls to protect the integrity of the game!

While on the subject of MLB..here is another suggestion to help make the games come in around 2.5 hours..like Hockey does, and like Basketball does......

No more 7th inning singing of "God Bless America"!!!
No more batters stepping out of the box
No more pitchers taking a lap around the mound
Teach pitchers not to be "strikeout" pitchers
Limit team conferences on the mound to 3 per game (just like a timeout in the other sports---in Hockey each team gets only one 30 second time out!)
No more managers running onto the field of play to argue calls (this doesn't happen in the other 3 sports)
Make a foul territory rule where the field must be a certain size of foul territory...(The way Dodger Stadium used to be) This will increase the frequency of outs.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

James Carville goes slappy go jacky on Obamas response to BP Oil Spill

2010-05-27T00:30:00.000-07:00

Carville vents his disbelief and anger at Obama's reaction to the Oil Spill...very interesting....

It's Over

2010-05-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

********SPOILER ALERT*******************

The Twilight Zone for our generation has finally come to an end. Lost went out last night in beautiful, poignant fashion.

From the very first frame of the pilot episode (Close up on Jacks eye opening) I was hooked on this show. I can't ever remember a show that has captivated so many, and frustrated so many. Shot on location entirely in Hawaii the show was beautifully filmed , and "The Island" held so many secrets that enthralled millions of people. But beyond the "mystery" what made the show great was that it was a great character study. Everyone, Jack, Hurley, Locke, Kate, Sawyer, Sun and Jin, Michael, Walt and Sayid had rich and fascinating back stories.

Have you ever read a great mystery novel? If you're like me you'll agree that sometimes whats the most fun about these stories is when you don't know the answer. Many times it is much more fun to use your imagination. I have read zillions of books that were let downs at the end once the bad guy was revealed. What was so great about Lost was that whenever a question was answered, a new one or new ones were introduced. This happened most famously in the series at the end of season 3 when the "Flash Forwards" were introduced and the entire series reshuffled itself in perfect fashion.

So on to last night...why did I like it so much? Because it didn't answer every question!! It left me feeling very satisfied at the end though...and here is the final scene.....as Jack collapses and is dying.....Vincent the Yellow Lab...runs up to him licks his face and then sensing trouble, he lays down next to him to comfort him in his dying breaths....Close up on Jacks eye...and it closes....fade to black.

"Now that...is the right question"

2010-05-12T22:07:00.000-07:00

New site I found..you can ask me any question you want and you can be anonymous about it......then I'll put my answers for y'all..

http://www.formspring.me/garrettriley

Come on...ask me a question already!!

Remembering Kristin and Neda

2010-05-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

On May 10th, 1984 two 12 year old girls were brutally murdered by a 16 year year old monster. One of the girls, Kristin MacKnight was one year older than myself and went to Riviera Hall with me and my brother up until 5th grade...I have a single memory of her playing in the playground, that I can recall. Her sister Brenda was in my grade and also was in my graduating class at Peninsula.

I repress this event....I've been repressing it for 26 years now....the date MAY 10TH is one thing that triggers the memory...another is a certain song that I cannot listen to anymore...it was one of the songs playing when I read the newspaper article about it the day after it happened. Last night I was up till midnight and when the date May 10th came on my Iphone..I started to feel sick and angry again...angry that the monster is still alive in Corcoran Prison....I thought about what their lives would have been like....Who would they have married? What would they be doing? They would both be 37 or 38 years old today.

I'll never forget Neda O'Sullivan or Kristin MacKnight.

The Peter Gabriel Concert

2010-05-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

"It’s all too easy in the age of “American Idol” to forget just how profoundly powerful music can be in the hands of an absolute master like Peter Gabriel."------La Times review of the concert

Part two of the Tasha and Garrett Hollywood Bowl summer concert series concluded Friday night with Peter Gabriel, backed by a full orchestra. He is doing something different this time out and forgoing all guitars and drums. The first half of the concert was all covers...in fact he played the complete track list of his new CD in order. Then a 15 minute break..then the second half was his classics (every song he has written is pretty much a classic) At 60 years old his signature voice hasn't lost that deep gravelness to it..and his range is intact. But for me I was longing to hear his signature rhythm parts and diverse electronic sounds that are his trademark. So the concert was for his standards a bit of a disappointment..most of the songs were downtempo and very soft.

So next month Tasha and I conclude with part 3 Sting.....who I will be seeing for a record 9th time (Four with the Police and Four solo) I have always thought of Peter Gabriel and Sting equal to each other in songwriting talent.....and the greatest test of all...how many times have I played "Us" or "So" by Gabriel...or "Nothing like the Sun" or "The Soul Cages" by Sting.....countless times folks...countless

Because of the Arizona immigration law, I will lose money

2010-05-06T23:57:00.000-07:00

Arizona is one crazy state, when I was there a few weeks ago, myself and my co-workers went out to dinner at a sports bar with this sign on its door: "NO Firearms allowed on the premises" Something you would never see here in the Golden State.

Illegal immigration is a tough and complex issue, and I want to point out something that happened to me today at work. For those of you that don't know, my job involves traveling around the San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas going into dental and vet offices. I've got some diverse areas, from the affluent Pasadena, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, etc. To the not so affluent: Palmdale, Lancaster, Panorama City, Van Nuys. About 15% of all my visits are to primarily hispanic practices. One of the best if not the best performing spanish speaking practice is in Reseda and the reason it is doing so well is because Ricardo the OM (office manager) is someone who knows how to sell dentistry and package it with financing to give the patient every chance to say "Yes". But no matter how good you are if you don't have patients then you are in big trouble. So today Ricardo and I are talking about things in general, our kids, schools, the craziness of the DOW today...how he is going to UCLA to take some more classes so he can get certified in some restoration procedures and so on. Then he told me something interesting...he said that the past two weeks has been extraordinarily difficult because people are not coming in. I asked why and he said "Because of what is happening in Arizona, people are scared" I didn't engage in a political discussion because I never do on any sales calls...but basically it comes down to this: Elective procedures that cost money are some of the first things to be put off when people are scared about a life altering event. They retreat, they do not spend....

So here is how that will effect me: for Q1 this year I finished at 105.5 % since I finished at over 105% I will get 105% of my bonus....because of this it is very likely that I will finish below 105% for Q2 and get 100% of my bonus...therefore causing me to lose money...and it will be a direct result of the Arizona immigration law.

Encouraging Physicians to write off label...an Insiders perspective

2010-04-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

Today it was announced that Astra Zeneca will be forced to pay a fine of $520 million dollars for inappropriate marketing practices (read encouraging pharma reps to influence the docs to write off label)

Here's how it works...you have a drug company that spends gazillions of dollars to get their drug through testing and approval to be indicated to treat a certain ailment. Seroquel (Astra Zenecas) Anti-Pyschotic had a narrow indication: schizophrenia. By law the drug company cannot encourage a physician to write this drug for anything other then schizophrenia...But here is what is interesting...The Doctor is God, he can write any drug for anything he wants to...if he wants to try Seroquel out on a 6 year old boy who has ADHD, or write it to treat alzheimers in old people, that is within his purview.

One of the drugs that I sold was called Alinia...and it was indicated to treat crypto and giardia (2 nasty stomach bugs) there was another indication that they tried to but never got and that was for "C Diff" another bug you don't want to get. Anyways, it got around that the docs were writing Alinia "off label" for C Diff and of course the company was happy, and the reps were happy because the more a doctor writes a drug that we sell, the more money we make. So again, by law I was absolutely forbidden to encourage a doctor to write my drug for C Diff because it is not indicated for that. One manager at Cardinal told us "When a doctor asks you about writing for C Diff, we must tell them that it is not indicated for C Diff and leave it at that" But another manager said, "We might include that while this is not the indication, many doctors have had success writing it for C Diff" So off the record in a very 'don't ask don't tell' kind of way it was officially prohibited, but unofficially it was winked at.

So that ladies and gentlemen is the weird, wacky, world of pharmaceutical sales.

For more about this click here:

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/27/drug-maker-to-pay-520-million-fine-for-illegal-marketing/

Happy birthday to Matt!!

2010-04-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

A big happy b-day to matt....hope the waves are breaking today, the beer is cold and you have a great day!

Zach is 6 today!!

2010-04-20T00:26:00.000-07:00

Huge happy birthday wishes to our awesome son Zach! We love him and will have a great time celebrating Zachie Day today!!

The Sarah Palin Network

2010-04-16T08:47:00.000-07:00

Yeah I am a little late in putting this up....Tina Fey, my favorite female entertainer ever does a great skit skewering our favorite Governor who quit her responsibilities to the people of Alaska to cash in on her fame.

E books for troops

2010-04-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

This will probably be my last post on the subject.....we have great news........The website www.ebooksfortroops.org is now officially set up....it is a full non profit site with connections to a sergeant that is in afghanistan who is coordinating the distribution of the kindles.....here is a quote I lifted directly off their site

Additionally, an aspect of a deployed soldier’s life that is commonly overlooked is that he, or she, must also find ways to pass the downtime that inevitably occurs during a deployment. It probably comes as no surprise then, that reading has always been one of the primary activities of our troops as they rest and renew for what lies ahead.

With that said, there’s a problem – books take up a significant amount of space! For obvious reasons, it would be extremely challenging for any military to build or bring a “field library” during an overseas deployment. Instead, it is common for soldiers to rotate books from person to person and to read the same book multiple times during a single deployment as a way to pass the time and get a break from the stresses inherent in their profession.

And that’s where we believe E-Books for Troops has a tremendous opportunity to help.

While the soldier of yesteryear could ill afford to carry more than two to three books, today a solider with a single e-book reader has the potential to individually transport a library of 1500 books! With a device that weighs 10 ounces and is only slightly larger than a paperback, we can transport a massive library of books overseas and improve the quality of life of the troops who are serving our country in its defense. We think that is pretty amazing stuff.

So please donate now.....to Dennis's good point on the previous post (all be it a downer). These devices last for 20 days on a single battery
charge ....the bases all have outlets and can be recharged while at base.........troops routinely carry around devices that last a mere fraction of the time----namely iPods...Sony psps...HD flips....and on and on....they will love this.

Reflections on my Ipad and Apple in general

2010-04-07T22:16:00.000-07:00

"So Garrett are you getting an Ipad?"

I think almost anyone that knows me was aware that I pretty much had to have one of these things on day one. I remember when I finally made it into the Apple Store in Northridge after waiting for 5 hours in line to be one of the first to get the original Iphone the day it came out...I saw one of the staff members playing with an actual Iphone...(the first time I ever saw one in person). My reaction was a physical one, I got weak kneed and tingly at the sight of this amazing object in this girls hand, glowing like a luminescent jewel.

So on to the Ipad....It arrived for me at my doorstep last Saturday and I didn't get my hands on it till a few hours later because I was at the Dodger Game. When I powered it on and started to play with it I was hit by one primary thing...The Display. I have never seen a better display then on the Ipad...it makes everything: photos, web pages, e-mail, look amazing. It is like the transition from 480i to 1080p HD in television terms.

Now would be a good time for a disclaimer...I wanted to like the Ipad...for a few reasons...everyone wants to be right about the decisions they made...I am an Apple fan boy who has bought most every one of their products...etc. But this product actually exceeded my expectations..in a few areas...I didn't think it could replace the traditional laptop, but after a few days of playing with it and especially doing my company work and playing around with their "Pages" and "Keynote" apps for the Ipad...I was making killer presentations and great docs...(The mt. Whitney Doc for one was made entirely on the Ipad) And I realized "Wow! I don't need a laptop anymore.." It is easy to type on especially in Landscape mode with the large onscreen Keypad, and with the Blue tooth apple keyboard it is even better. The versatile case can be quickly configured to lay the Ipad on a flat service at a perfect angle for typing. Anyways it is even better than I thought it was going to be......

Is it as big a revolution as the Ipod and Iphone were? Probably not, but it is a revolutionary new device in so many ways.

On a practical note..here is how our computing life will go from now on....We will always have one large IMac....that is like the central hub of our network....all our stuff is on that...The Ipad will be the device that is carried around in the house and curled up with like a book to do e-mail, surf the web, read books in low light, etc...And the trusty Iphone will always be on my person wherever I go.

On another note....Apple is so far ahead of all of it's competitors in the category of smartphones, music players, and computers that I (no joke) cannot even comprehend when someone asks me what I think of a Blackberry, or The Droid for smartphones.....Or if someone has a "Zune" music player....or a Windows 7 based desktop or laptop...it is mind boggling to me!

P.S. Congratulations to the newest owner of a Mac Book Pro my brother Matt!

Garrett Riley

Iphone 3 GS 32 GB

IMac 2.0 GHZ

Mac Book Pro 15 in 2.16 GHZ

Ipad 64GB WIFI only

IPod Shuffle 2GB

All the Rage

2010-03-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword====Jesus

Matthew 10:34 (NAS)

Yesterday the FBI arrested a Militia group calling themselves "Christian Soldiers" or something like that. These are people who have so much anger in their lives that they wanted to murder policemen, they hate Obama because of his policies and his race

they hate immigrants, they hate anyone or everything who doesn't agree with them....they are on the extreme far right end of the spectrum.......These people are religious terrorists but this time instead of being muslim they are christian. They believe with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength that they are doing the will of God. The mindset of the religious fanatic is murderous...400 years John Calvin burned a man alive because of a disagreement over doctrine. Abortion doctors are targeted and sometimes shot in cold blood or have their clinics blown up, purely for religious reasons. Jon Krakhauer wrote a brilliant book called "Under the Banner of Heaven" that details the FLDS (Fundemental Latter Day Saints) a truer version of Mormonism and more like the original book of Mormon...where a mother and her child were murdered because God told the men to murder them.

This will not stop anytime soon......

On the flip side...I've never heard of this kind of conflict or strife occurring because people were thinking freely and using logic and reasoning.

Peace!!

Kindle for Soldiers Update #3

2010-03-27T22:45:00.000-07:00

My favorite podcast is "The Kindle Chronicles" done each week by a guy named Len Edgerly who is a Kindle and Ebook reader fanatic. It was through his podcast some weeks ago that I had the idea for e-readers for soldiers. What has been happening through the podcast is that a website is being set up and an official non-profit is being established...up till this point Len was taking donations via a paypal link on his site to collect enough $ for a few Kindles to be sent...but now it is going to be officially set up...once it is setup I will tell everyone how to contribute.....And I will make it a permanent link on my blog, facebook, etc

Where would we live if we didn't live in Southern Calfornia

2010-03-24T22:19:00.001-07:00

Well first off I can tell you it will be nowhere near the south san joaquin valley (Bakersfield) :)

We are perfectly happy here in the Santa Clarita Valley and have absolutely no plans or desire to move anywhere else...but if we did......

There are 3 Finalists, 1. The Pacific Northwest....2. Phoenix......3....Denver

And the winner is...Denver!! And here are a few reasons why....

I went there for the first time last August to hang out with my brothers and go hiking and attend a Rockies Dodgers game at Coors Field, and from those couple days there I really liked what I saw...I liked the following things...

The Mountains: I love being around mountains, it gives me a sense of perspective and security...(Santa Clarita is surrounded on all sides by mountains and foothills)

The best of both worlds: Hey what if you could put a world class city in the middle of an Alpine environment...You would have everything that is great about a City..MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL (only when the Raiders come (:) and have endless hiking trails and skiing all in one place.

The Quality of Life: It seemed to me that Coloradans enjoy a great quality of life and perhaps a slower pace...of course everywhere outside of so cal is a "slower pace" unless you live in Manhattan.

The Changing of the Seasons: Yes I know it is ridiculously cold in the winter but it would be cool to live in a place where it snows and you can ski all the time whenever you want to.

And that is the answer to the poll question...thank you for playing!

Where would you live if you weren't living where you are?...(you can't pick the same state)

Vicodin, Percocet, Oxycontin

2010-03-17T20:33:00.000-07:00

"Painkiller Addiction" is one of the most insidious and prevalent addictions that exist today in America. Doctors prescribe synthesized forms of heroin, most commonly in the forms of brand names Vicodin, Percocet, and Oxycontin. The generics are Hydrocodone or Oxycodone.

Science has no better way of controlling pain then opium. Nearly all of my readers has been prescribed some form of these painkillers throughout the course of their lives. And you have all been no doubt very thankful for them. I know I certainly was 3 years ago when I had my lower wisdom teeth out...the oral surgeon had to slice open my gums and it was painful for about 2 weeks. Without my painkillers I would have been seriously hurting.

But there is a magical side effect to this pills, it makes you feel fantastic. I will try to describe the feeling for my readers....The first time I took one was for my vasectomy I believe. So I am in bakersfield recovering, I have my Johnny Carson Box set, my ice pack, and a bottle of Vicodin I popped the first one and here is how it went....

A peaceful feeling of relaxation gradually descended on me, almost like I was melting into my mattress, I remember feeling like I was on a cloud....Simultaneously a warm tingling sensation started coming up my spine, to my cranium, then shivering over my face, down my torso, my arms, and my hands "felt like two balloons" I was definitely comfortably numb. It was amazing folks, I can't sugar coat it. I have never done any drugs in my life other than Alcohol (which absolutely is a drug) and opiod pills prescribed to me. The pills were 30 times better than than two glasses of red wine after a perfectly cooked steak, and that's saying something!

And that is the reason why Elvis, Anna Nicole smith, Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, Corey Haim died, and (Rush Limbaugh lost his hearing) etc. etc.

Please scientists, make a non addictive form of painkiller for us!!

Zach Receives an award for Academics

2010-03-15T17:16:00.000-07:00

Only four people from each class get an award...Zach was very surprised and happy .

We're getting closer!!

2010-03-07T21:46:00.001-08:00

We Got New Countertops

2010-03-04T19:31:00.000-08:00

Tasha and I got Granite countertops installed today in our kitchen..here is how it all went down...

First I went to slabyard in Van Nuys to pick out our piece of Granite...

Then the guys came out to demo our existing tile

And here is the finished Product!

We think it looks great and are very happy with how it turned out!!

Update on Kindle for Soldiers

2010-03-02T16:49:00.000-08:00

****************Amazon has yet to get back to me on the question of "is there a way to give a gift of a "pre-loaded" Kindle, or does Amazon coordinate with carepackages for soldiers....

The way Kindle works is that it must be tied to an account with a credit card....one account can have 6 devices on it, but all devices have the rights to buy books, so I can do one of two things...

Give a soldier a Kindle and have he or she load up their own books while they are already in the field (bad)

...or

Give a soldier a Kindle attached to my account (worse)

But there is a third option! Target a particular soldier who is about to do their rotation, buy he or she a Kindle and ship it to them..with a $100 amazon gift card as well in which they can load their Kindle with at least 10 books (and of course there are 1 million free books as well--everything written before 1922 is free) And a hard plastic case with it as well...

So Mom, if you want to bring this up at Saddleback, please do, or maybe Jeff Barrett wants one, I would be happy to donate it to him as well.......

My Oscar Picks

2010-02-28T23:43:00.000-08:00

Nominated for Best Picture: (Ones I have seen are in Italics)

Avatar

The Blind Side

District 9

An Education

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Precious

A Serious Man

Up in the Air

Allright, I feel the best picture of the ones I have seen is.......

Inglourious Basterds

Actor: Jeremey Renner of the Hurt Locker is my pick cause I haven't seen the other

four!

Supporting:

Chrisoph Waltz from Inglourious Basterds......gives an amazing performance

And all the rest of them I haven't seen! How bout that

KIndle for Soldiers

2010-02-26T23:26:00.000-08:00

I have an idea that I am so excited about that I had to share with you all. Each Soldier stationed in Afghanistan or Iraq has about one cubic foot in their supply packs for personal items......they LOVE reading books in their downtime, but pack space is a huge problem. Each soldier can carry one maybe two paperbacks with them, and according to guys in the field, these are passed around and sometimes re-read 5 or 6 times.

An Amazon Kindle is thinner than a paperback and weighs less then a pound...each one can hold 1,500 books. Imagine giving a soldier this! These guys are going through hell for all of us while I get to relax on my 800 thread count egyptian cotton sheets reading whatever I want on my Kindle....This is the absolute least that we can do. I am in contact with Amazon about this, I want to get at least 10 Kindles out in the field, loaded with books for our guys. I am coordinating with existing care package groups and trying to get requests of what kind of books the soldiers would want....There are companies like "Medge" that make hard plastic waterproof cases, and the Kindle can go for a week on a single battery charge.

Amazon sells the Kindle off it's website for $259.......stay tuned....for updates here and for a new website all coming soon

Shamu Strikes Back

2010-02-24T17:10:00.000-08:00

Well as I am sure all of you know by now, a 40 year old female whale trainer was killed today by a 12,300 pound Bull Killer Whale at Sea World in Orlando. Apparently the trainer was involved in the show in front of a live audience when according to one witness, "The Whale swam up, leapt out of the tank and grabbed the trainer in its jaws by the waist and thrased her around" The woman died as a result.

I love Sea World and I love Killer Whales, but folks we are dealing with a 12,000 pound Apex predator and these sorts of things happen...These whales are trapped, tranquilized and sold to the theme parks for upwards of a million dollars a whale, all for our entertainment. Instead of swimming freely in the ocean, they are forever confined to a small tank and made to perform circus tricks. So it's not suprising when these things happen. According to one marine biologist the whale thought it was playing with the woman, and like Lenny in "of mice and men" the tiny rabbit died.

So yes I am hypocritical in that I will still gladly pay my money to Sea World to see these awesome animals...these trainers have to know that they are playing with a loaded gun. And while this is tragic, this blogger will not blame the whale for being a whale.

Accepting Optimum treatment for Dodger...ahh maybe not.

2010-02-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the boys and I took Raven in for her booster shots, and I took Dodger in to get a cursory exam, and discuss some end of life care decisions for this loveable pet thathas been part of our family since 1997. I was willing to pay the 65 bucks for this exam for Dodger, after talking to the Vet about the 2 different scenarios of Dodgers death, 1. We find her dead one day or 2. We bring her in to have her Euthanized....here is how the conversation went..

Me: "Yeah she has definitely slowed down and has some stiff joints, like most 12 1/2 year old dogs. We tried OTC joint pills for a while, what would you recomend?"

Vet: "We need to do a panel on her so we'll need a blood sample, also we'll need to do XRays"

Me: "Uhhhh, how much would that be, and is it necessary in this case?"

Vet: "Well we need to diagnose her, it could be a number of things, and we really would need that panel, it would be around $300 for the xrays and panel, and $150, for just the panel, also I recomend prescription anti inflamatories which are $25/bottle"

Me: "I am thinking no on both the xrays and panel, can we give her anti-inflamatories that are OTC"

Vet: "Yes you can give her a 325 Mg aspirin in the morning and also at night"

Me: "OK I think in this case that is what I am gonna go with"

Vet: "Yes I can feel her spine is a little knotted here and she has arthritis"

Me: "OK I'll start giving her the aspirin"

Vet: "Her ear is gunked up so we'll clean that"

Me: "OK, thank you doctor"

So I saved $300 bucks, and only had to pay $122 for their care........Good ole Dodger though went on a 2 mile walk two nights ago and did OK so she's got a good nother year or so (:

Uncle Dennis Kings Canyon Ukulele Slideshow

2010-02-13T20:53:00.000-08:00

Dodger Release Spring Training TV Schedule!

2010-02-09T21:06:00.000-08:00

This is by far the most games they have ever televised! I love it!!!

Date	Opponent	Time	TV
Mar. 6	White Sox	1 p.m.	Prime
Mar. 9	Rockies	1 p.m.	Prime
Mar. 10	D-Backs	1 p.m.	Prime
Mar. 12	Reds	1 p.m.	Prime
Mar. 14	Rangers	1 p.m.	Prime
Mar. 17	White Sox	1 p.m.	Prime
Mar. 18	Cubs	1 p.m.	Prime
Mar. 20	Padres	7 p.m.	Prime
Mar. 21	Indians	1 p.m.	KCAL
Mar. 22	Angels	1 p.m.	Prime
Mar. 25	Brewers	1 p.m.	Prime
Mar. 26	Royals	1 p.m.	Prime
Mar. 27	Mariners	1 p.m.	KCAL
Apr. 3	Angels	1 p.m.	KCAL

Abortion

2010-02-09T20:01:00.000-08:00

Fun topic right? This is a highly sensitive issue that sparks strong emotional responses from both sides; it is a very fascinating topic. Up until my "deconversion" I had always been pro-life, my reasons were simple and black and white. In short I believed it was murdering a baby. This opinion was of course held by me to a large degree because all of my friends held the same opinion and it was reinforced by my primary in-group, the church.

Why did I change my mind? Maybe my answer can be found in ex Rolling Hills Covenant Senior Pastor Gordon Kirk. When I was an eighth grader he was speaking to us about how bad abortion was because it was murder and against God's will. He fielded a few questions and than a particularly intelligent one "Pastor what if your daughter Christina was raped and got pregnant as a result? Would you abort the baby?" Pastor Kirk was silent, and then carefully and to his credit answered honestly, "I don't know"

And that is the crux of it for me. Of course abortion is a regrettable option and should be prevented at all costs. But do I have the right to take away that choice from my neighbor?

The overwhelming majority of people who are Pro-Life are so for purely religious reasons.(There are also atheists who are pro-life but not many) They believe that upon conception there is a divine spark created and thus an eternal soul. In the real world however nearly 40% of pregnancies spontaneously abort. In fact I expect there will be many Christians in heaven who will be amazed that in addition to their children they already know, will be a few kids who will introduce themselves, "Hi Dad, I am one of your kids whom Mom's womb spontaneously aborted! Anyways, you were gonna call me Richie, nice to meet ya! And here's Samantha and Jim, your other spontaneous aborts from that chick you met at the bar " Get my point here guys? God must really love abortions, because he chooses to abort 40% of all conceptions.

It is also very interesting to point out the actions of the abstinence ONLY movement serve to increase unwanted pregnancies. Barack Obama in the campaign said, "Lets make abortions rare, I wanna reach out to the other side to reduce unwanted pregnancies" Now of course in the religious movement there are fervent and frothing parents who lobby the school board to present abstinence as the only option, and this increases unwanted pregnancies. Obama was coming from a place of measured reason and logic; the abstinence only movement coming from a place of superstition. (Have sex and you will be tortured by the 'devil')

How does abstinence only movement increase unwanted pregnancy? Well if you think about it just makes sense; statistics show that when kids are presented abstinence as the ONLY option for birth control, they are much more likely to not use protection when they do have sex. And so viola, you have an unwanted Pregnancy!

And more then likely the poor girl will have to have an abortion..

Sarah Palin Reads Cheat notes on her Hand!!!

2010-02-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

The teabaggers paid her 100K to dress up and show her legs and give a prepared speech. In this speech she criticized Obama for reading his prepared speeches from a teleprompter....During the hard hitting Q/A portion, Palin had written some notes on her hand!!!! The Youtube poster didn't know at the time what the words that Sarah wrote on her hand (like an 8th grader writing cheat notes) but Grabbaggar can report the words are "Energy" "Tax" and "Lift American spirits"...here is a close up of her hand

And here is the Youtube video...Classic!!!

Update ***********White House Press Secretary has just mocked Palin.....and I didn't see the embed codes so I couldn't directly post it, but if you want a devastatingly funny take on this debacle, google "colbert palin retard" to watch a clip from the "Colbert Report" Skewing how Palin said it was not OK for Rahm Emanuel to use the term "retard" but it was OK for Rush Limbaugh to use that same term.

Stephen King and "Under the Dome"

2010-02-05T13:55:00.000-08:00

Stephen King has been writing best selling novels since 1974 with "Carrie" I first started reading them in high school with "The Shining" and continued on with pretty much all of them after that. Stephen King is so much more than "A horror writer" he is a master story teller who creates great characters and is a genius and coming up with unique "sayings" that his characters have, (Annie Wilkes in Misery calling Paul Sheldon 'Mr Man')

His new book "Under the Dome" is over 1000 pages, and I finished it in about two weeks (thanks Kindle!) Non readers are intimidated by a long book, but I say, if a book is good, it doesn't matter how long it is, you never want it to end! If you want to know what Under the Dome is about just google it for reviews, but reading a new book by Stephen King is like stepping back into a familiar place. It also keys a certain dopamine receptor in your brain that feels familar, this is the case with all good books but with SK I just get a familiar "feeling" that is hard to describe. Wow, how does Garrett read so fast you might ask? He must read for 5 hours a night! Well guess what folks, I don't, here is how I do it....remember I always have my book with me on my Kindle App for Iphone, so I am reading every day for 30 minutes on elliptical machine guaranteed....I am reading on the John, I am reading when I am waiting to talk to an Office Manager at a Dentist office, I am reading at lunch, I can do all of this because my book, whether it is 1 page or a 1000 page hardcover always fits into my pocket.

To Anyone who has never read a Stephen King book I would start with any one of these

Carrie

The Shining

The Dead Zone

The Stand

Salems Lot

He Does these impersonations; You'd think it was the real person!

2010-02-05T13:46:00.000-08:00

It is fun doing impersonations, I am no Bill Hader, Daryl Hammond, or Dana Carvey, but here are a few of my favorites:

Every President from JFK on (easiest to do is Reagan and Dana Carvey's impression of George Bush Senior)

Johnny Carson

Borat

Al Pacino

Allright I'm running out of steam here...to conclude...

Everything Mike Myers and Dana Carvey have ever done (:

Peace!

Mammoth

2010-02-03T09:49:00.001-08:00

Tasha and I were snowhoeing around the Sherwin Meadows this past Saturday...we had a great time!

Grabbaggar a Kindle Blog?

2010-01-30T22:19:00.000-08:00

Yes folks I have filled out the necessary information and Amazon is in the process of their final approval process, with that I could be a "published" blog on the amazing kindle device....while we all hold our collective breaths I want to say a few more words about the e-reader revolution and what could happen with the Ipad being the strongest competition yet. I don't know much about many things, but Kindles and Apple Gadgets are the greatest thing ever and they are now going to fight it out for e-reader dominance and yes I am pretty much an expert in this topic. So here we go....

No matter how great the Ipad is, it lacks one critical component that if present would have destroyed the Kindle without any doubt.....what Ipad lacks is "e-ink" Apples display is amazing, crisp, in color, the interface is mindblowing, the touch screen interaction is second to none, you can read in potrait or landscape, you can read it at night, the screen is 2.5 times larger, you can change the font style ( I predict amazon will have this in a few weeks) And of course it displays all the standard docs, word, .pdf, etc in brilliant color, while the Kindle is only in black and white........BUT.....its display is backlit LED which is not as good of a pure reading experience as devices like Kindle with the e-ink technology.....Kindle text is redrawn with each page turn and looks like a piece of paper, the Ipad doesn't have this. So an interesting thing is going to happen folks....Kindle's license lets you have 5 device on one account, so I think I will mostly be utilizing the amazon store and then when I am out, read on my iphone through the Kindle App, when I am home, do my reading still with the Kindle, but if I want to I can switch to the Ipad with the forthcoming amazon app......Apple is still happy if you buy with the amazon app through their device they take their standard 30% like they do with all apps.....So I told Brett that the Kindle is probably dead, but folks I am not so sure, I think for pure reading the Kindle defeats the IPad, but it is very close.

If you don't have a Kindle I encourage you to go to www.amazon.com and watch some of the videos that talk about why most Kindle users (including me) now opine that it is actually better then a book, and allows you to read faster, read more, and read and discover books you wouldn't normally read. Books are cheaper, better, and have no negative impact on the enviornment...

BTW technically once I am accepted into the Kindle Blogosphere one must pay .99 cents per month to subscribe to my blog......or any other blog on there. So please tell a thousand of your friends and I'll make like 700 bucks! Ya right

Dodgers Select a Seat

2010-01-28T15:25:00.000-08:00

Recently Zach and I went out to Dodger Stadium for the Select a Seat Event...We were able to find great seats at one of the best possible seat locations in our pricing

****News Flash..Sometimes the video is there, sometimes it's not..and no I don't know why

level...enjoy the video!!

The Ipad

2010-01-27T22:53:00.000-08:00

Today Steve Jobs (blessed be his name) announced and demo'd the Ipad...I encourage everyone who is curious to please go to www.apple.com and check out the keynote address....Jobs is a master presenter and I look forward to this bi-annual keynotes with the anticipation of Christmas morning. In his keynote address Jobs announced that they had just recently sold their 250 millionth IPod....as well as posted a 4th quarter revenue of around 15 billion dollars. I can't think of another company where one man is almost singly responsible for this and it is just astounding. Apple does everything so much better than other companies...when people ask me what I think about the Droid, or the new Blackberry I have to check myself from preaching a diatribe to them..suffice to say, no one builds better computers, music players, and smartphones then Apple, it's a joke to even suggest any competitors in the same breath as the Iphone, Mac, or Ipod. And Steve Jobs is the leader in all of it...I was talking to Brett today and he brought up a good point that Jobs is equal parts, techno genius, visionary, brilliant business savvy, and has great charisma....Try saying that about Bill Gates!

So Jobs (may he live forever) gave us the next big thing which I will obtain without question, and use as constantly as my iphone....there are so many features that it has that I can't wait to play with....the MLB app alone is worth the price!! I have to quote Ryan my neighbor and his point that he brought up...he said, "I have my laptop with me to surf on the web on the couch all the time, this will be so much better"

Grabbaggar reviews "Avatar"

2010-01-27T01:20:00.001-08:00

Those loyal readers out there know that I rarely go to movie theaters anymore...prefering to wait until the Blu Ray release...but I couldn't miss this one. James Cameron delivers a MASTERPIECE of visual effects. Actually he reinvents the form....the 3D effects are like nothing we have ever seen before and quite honestly make me wish that I could live another 100 years and have perfect eyesight forever because this is only the beginning of a revolution in the way we watch movies. And it is a leap forward in CGI..the effects have taken the biggest leap forward since the Matrix gave us "bullet time" Some of the scenes are indescribable, so I encourage everyone out there to see it!!

"Can we just stick to the issues?"

2010-01-26T21:35:00.000-08:00

Here are Grabbaggars positions on the issues of the day...

Gun Control: Against

Torture of detainess suspected of terrorism: For

Abortion: Pro Choice

Strong National Defense: For

Government Healthcare: For

Euthanasia: For

Death Penalty: For

Big Government: Depends on the issue

Religion: Atheist

Same Sex Marriage: For

Stem Cell Research: For

Creation or Evolution: Evolution

Raising the Minimum Wage: Against

Illegal Immigration: Against

Restricting the Internet: Against

Gays in the Military: For

That's all I can think of for now folks...feel free to copy and paste with your own in comments...or make up some that I missed.....

P.S. It would be awesome if one of my faithful lurkers can come out of the shadows and post their opinions on these issues

P.P.S. In many of these there are shades of gray, yes I know.

If Garrett Ran the World: Property Taxes

2010-01-25T23:36:00.001-08:00

I believe that in LA County everyone pays 1.25 percent of the assessed value of their home which for me and Tasha is about $5625 per year which is due in equal installments in November and February. Now lets say we did some major improvements on our house...so nice remodel, spruced it up real nice...added some major square footage etc...What we have done is increased the property value of our home, and increased the value of everyones property in the neighborhood. You would think that by doing this we would be rewarded? But that is not the way it happens, if you improve your house, you actually are punished in the form of more property taxes. So good behavior is punished.

On the flip side of that coin...if we let the house fall into disrepair our values would be lowered and we would be rewarded for this behavior in the form of lower property taxes...

So what they are doing to sum up is Punishing good behavior, and rewarding bad....

Ladies and gentleman, if Garrett Ran the world I would have an independent county assessors office who would take a look at all properties and give tax breaks to those that have improved their homes, and maintained or approved the appearance with meticulous landscaping.

Yeah like that will ever happen....

The A Team!!!!

2010-01-25T19:45:00.000-08:00

"If you have a problem if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire........THE A TEAM!!!!!!!"

When Matt and I were in our formidable years and it was my Dad's weekend, he would let us watch three classic shows...The Dukes of Hazzard, Knight Rider, and The A-Team...Classic memories!

Conan O'Brien

2010-01-23T21:49:00.001-08:00

"To all the people watching, I can never thank you enough for your kindness to me, and I'll think about it for the rest of my life. All I ask of you is one thing: Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism – it's my least favorite quality, and it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."

– Conan O'Brien

I have to say folks I was really touched and moved by the way Conan went out last night. I thought that the above quote was one of the greatest things I have ever heard a "goofy entertainer" say. He said before in the same show that he could say anything he wanted about NBC, and then proceeded to tell how grateful he was for the chance to be working for them for all these years, first as a writer for SNL, and on to host the Tonight Show. He was clearly emotional and he went out like a Gentleman.

And yes he has convicted me! I don't want to be a biting Cynic...but yes I do have those qualities in me, and sometimes they manifest like a soothing balm when I get attention with clever sarcasm....but the key is to be KIND and not cynical, and work hard!

My Favorite SNL Commercial Parody ever

2010-01-20T20:41:00.001-08:00

Whoring out your kids is the worst thing you can do

2010-01-20T16:39:00.001-08:00

Sarah Palin makes me sick to my stomach... she exploits her baby for her own personal financial gain.

And now another installment of "If Garrett Ran the World"

2010-01-20T16:07:00.000-08:00

"My doctor tells me I have 'joint problems'"

I now call on Veterinary offices, and pretty much all of them have posters saying something like, "If your Pet is even a little overweight...." And then it lists the ailments such as, joint issues, heart issues, high blood pressure, hypertension..and on and on it goes. Vet techs, receptionists, doctors have no problem openly discussing with an owner that their pet is overweight.....Now you see where I am going with this folks....

Its no different for People!! Morgan Spurlock brilliantly put it in his documentary "Supersize me" it is much easier for people to talk openly to smokers about the clear health hazard smoking presents, but it is no different of a hazard watching an obese person eat a cheeseburger. Obesity takes years off of your life and makes you miserable. There is no one on earth who is fat and obese that is happy being that way. I speak from personal experience, it affects nearly every aspect of your everyday life FOR THE WORSE.

Yes I know this is America, and people have the right to overeat and not exercise, and they have the right to smoke, and do things that are bad for them. But there are limits to these rights, smoking in public is pretty much banned because it affects other people. So do whatever you want as long as it doesn't effect me or pose a collective negative effect on where our valuable tax dollars go. It is time for some harsher measures when fat people effect our lives negatively....

1. Healthcare==I am so sick of hearing a fat person talk about their joint problems or diabetes (gee I wonder why you have those ailments)... A primary reason why our healthcare system is so messed up is because of obese people seeking treatment, (yes there are other reasons but that is for another day.) I propose the following, anyone with a BMI over 30 must go to a completely separate healthcare facility and be forced to pay huge premiums for coverage. I do not want to go to any hospitals or out patient facilities and see huge fat people with their gout and diabetes...go to your separate facility!!

2. Airplanes=====If your ass doesn't fit in the seat, or if your fat rolls spill over to the person next to you, then you aint flying!!!

There are many others folks you get the idea....

This has been another installment of...."If Garrett Ran the World!"

Bobby Ryan Game Misconduct Hit on Moller

2010-01-15T16:27:00.001-08:00

Yes folks I saw this live last night...after this happened two of our guys tackled Bobby Ryan and a great fight ensued...Bobby Ryan was charged with a minor and Major penalty for charging, including a Game Misconduct penalty...Hockey Rules!!

Crazy Religious Nut Outside Staples Center

2010-01-14T23:57:00.000-08:00

Well after the Kings beat the Ducks 4-0 tonight (Oh Yeah!!) myself and my fellow Hockey fans were met with a happy lunatic screaming into a yellow plastic cone, I took out my Iphone and shot this video, enjoy (:

Mark McGwire Talks about the Past

2010-01-13T21:19:00.000-08:00

So two things happened while I was at my Nat Sales meeting that I have covered on my blog before...McGwire (PEDS) and Pat Robertson's sickening comment about how the Haitian earthquake was Haiti's fault because they made a "pact with the devil"---Im sure that you all know my opinion of both these events, I'll skip the two bit Televangangelist for now and talk about Big Mac.

I was disgusted by the hypocrisy of former Hall of famers and other like Goose Gossage, and the moral sanctimony of sportswriters who govern entry into the hall of fame. I LOVE sports as all of you know, I amazed at the skill of hitters...as Orel Hershisher said, "The average person couldn't even STAND in the batters box, much less make any sort of contact against a major league pitcher." There are only a handful of people on the planet who are skilled enough to be major league hitters and since the days of Cap Anson, they have all tried to get a competitive edge...from stealing signs, to drinking alcohol, to corking bats, to taking amphetamines, to Beta Blockers, to Laser Eye Surgery, to Cortico-Steroids, (cortisone shots are steroids taken to help a player recover faster from an injury, sound familiar?) To drinking 15 cups of coffee, to doing sudafed, and on, and on, and on. There was no policy in the MLB against Steroids the entire time McGwire played Baseball....Steroids as I have said till I am blue in the face have a unfair negative connotation. They are simply a synthesized version of a hormone produced naturally in the body. They do not kill you...they did not kill Lyle Alzado....Tylenol is thousands of times more dangerous and is way more of a killer then steroids. Tasha took steroids for 25 years of her life. You wanna make the point that Mac should not be in the hall of fame because he took a drug w/o a prescription? Is that it? Cause it wasn't against the rules in baseball. I guess by that logic you should keep someone out of the Hall because they borrowed their friends Statin pills, or throw me in jail if I would have taken one of my Dad's ambiens he offered me. Why is Phil Niekro in the Hall of Fame? He blatantly cheated and was proud of it going against the rules of baseball to get an unfair advantage against the hitters. All the while baseball had a clear policy against such "unfair advantages" I don't get it and it makes me sick. Mark McGwire deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, and he will get cheers from me when I see him the Ravine this summer when the Cards come into town.

Here's another comparison.....one day Ty Cobb ran into the stands and almost beat a crippled man to death during a game because the man called him a "White N" Why is he in the Hall of Fame and Charlie Hustle isn't?

My Favorite President?

2010-01-06T20:04:00.000-08:00

In January of 1993 I thought America was in Big Trouble, we had elected someone who was a communist and was going to tax us into oblivion. Here was a man of questionable moral standards who had dalliances with Gennifer Flowers and also used his State Troopers to get him girls. I thought the world was going to come to an end. How could anyone vote for him? Are they stupid? Don't they understand? But guess what folks, after a rocky start, and with the help of a profound period of prosperity Bill Clinton was a great President.

I was thinking about how he secured the release of the two girls that No Korea captured, and the picture that was taken with Kim Jong Il. In that picture Clinton was sitting ramrod straight and stonefaced. Great statesmanship. (Communicating to Kim Jong that "America is not a friend to your nation" )He has the rare gift of complete mastery over the issues, and complete mastery of the glad handing part of politics. He is just as at ease talking to an Arkansas pig farmer as he is at ease being grilled on the most complicated nuances of policy. George Bush has great Charisma and is at ease with hanging out with people, but not as "at ease" as with discussing policy nuances. Obama I think has the policy nuance thing pretty well nailed, but although he has great charisma, comes off as a little bit nerdy and awkward in some glad handing situations.

The "likeability factor" is very important in American politics because it corresponds directly to the approval rating which gives the President more influence over the lawmakers.

The command of the issues is very important because it allows the President to be more effective in executing policy.

Anyways, 16 years ago if you would have told me that Bill Clinton would be my favorite President, I would have thought you were out of your mind.

With regards to Monica Lewinsky......

I have to assume that nearly all Presidents have had mistresses, Clinton was outed by Linda Tripp, and his case was blown up into a circus.....So if I fault him for extra marital affairs I have to fault 80% of our Presidents for the same thing.

P.S. I never voted for Bill Clinton, I voted for Bush and Dole

This Process will be on CSPAN

2010-01-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

America has a long history of Politicians promising things in a campaign in order that the Electorate votes them in to office. With this montage that I found on Drudge this morning, the question I put to our President is "Why was/is the process not on CSPAN and open to the American public like you promised?"

Levels of Belief in God

2010-01-05T22:52:00.000-08:00

I had a great talk with a good friend of mine this past weekend and it stirred up some familiar ground so.......

Allrighty folks lets take a poll...this is a non scientific and non forwarded poll...Here we go...which one of these categories would you classify yourself in?

I have a strong belief in God, I talk to him every day, I know that I am saved through his son Jesus Christ who died for me on the cross. This is the central meaning in my life, I believe that Jesus is the only way to get to heaven, whoever does not believe in him will after death enter into an eternal separation from God where there will be weeping and nashing of teeth.

I believe in God, this belief comforts me. I pray and I go to church. I am really scared to die and I am glad that I am going to go to heaven. It makes me feel good to believe in something greater than myself.

I believe in God and I am a Christian, I haven't been to church in years but, I am going this Sunday in fact because my coworker is reading this book called 'the Purpose Driven Life' and he wants me to come to his church he says it's really fun and the people there are really nice.

I guess I believe in a higher power, because how else are we here, and I went to Yosemite and thought, there is no way that Half Dome and El Capitan could have happened by random chance. I could could care less about going to church and reading the bible.

It is impossible to know if God exists because you can't prove it one way or the other.

I have a total lack of belief in any supernatural deity.

Which one of these possibilities do you fall in to dear readers? Or do you have another possibility that I haven't written here?

Oh yeah and for those that don't know...here is my answer......

I have a total lack of belief in any supernatural deity.

Marin County, Sonoma County and Santa Rosa

2010-01-04T23:41:00.000-08:00

The four of us went to Santa Rosa for a few days over New Years and had a good time hanging out with friends and family and hiking along the Armstrong Woods Coastal Redwood Grove near Guerneville.

I have been to Santa Rosa at least a dozen times over the past 15 years but with this last trip I realized something.....Santa Rosa is a really great town. In fact pretty much the whole area from directly north of the Golden Gate bridge is nice. Maybe its living in our semi arid desert here in So Cal with its dry climate, but it was a nice change to be shrouded in a mist world. The area is very green and very misty...everything is cool about it except the fact that it kicks up Tasha's asthma and allergies into the red zone. Santa Rosa has a cool downtown area, and like Santa Clarita is the perfect size town (150K) and serves as a fully self contained community although it is 40 miles away from SF and Santa Clarita of course is 25 miles to Hollywood. It is like the Pacific Northwest but maybe not quite as rainy.....Most all the area around SR is cool....(Sebastapool, Bodega Bay, The Redwood Grove, tons of wineries) Don't worry though folks we are not leaving Santa Clarita anytime soon...we love living here.

P.S. It has been over a year since I last descended into the San Joaquin Valley and when we were coming down the Grapevine the view almost made me sick! (Yes we lived in Bakers Hell for 2 years)

Full Body Scanners

2009-12-30T14:07:00.001-08:00

With the latest Al Queda attack using the "underwear bomb" there is renewed call for tightened airport security. Most notably the Scanners that can see the outline of a persons body, including their breast, buttock, and genital reigon. (We don't quite have the 'Total Recall' Scanners that Arnold crashed through yet)

Puritanical privacy groups are against these scanners ostensibly because they are embarrassed that someone might see their disgusting flabby bodies and laugh at them? I don't know the reason cause I don't understand it. I say bring on the scanners! Heck if it cut down the lines I would walk onto the plane naked wearing nothing but a party favor on my tallywacker. But that's just me, I am full of whimsy during these final days of 2009.

Happy New Year to you and yours!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

I extend my sincerest Christmas and Holiday wishes to everyone, thanks for reading and may you enjoy a special day with your loved ones.

New Years Eve Milkshakes

2009-12-24T09:09:00.000-08:00

For New Years lets revisit a classic homage to "There Will Be Blood" first is the real scene..

And now here is the classic re imagining

Yes back in those days I was drinking one to many milkshakes!

Jon Stewart makes fun of Obama's Nobel Speech

2009-12-14T23:40:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of fairness and to enlighten all those who Only watch Fox News and listen to Only Rush and Hannity.....guess what? Jon Stewart is taking jabs at Obama on the daily show now folks! How bout that? Will this change your opinion of him? Yes this video is 4 minutes so just forward it up to the 2 min part and enjoy

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Obama's Nobel Speech

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

Garrett's 10 best films from the 1990's

2009-12-14T00:25:00.000-08:00

These lists can be addicting once you start, and the more I thought about my list for this decade, the truth is folks last decade was even better for movies...so strap in and here we go with my 10 best/favorite films of last decade

10. Pulp Fiction====The classic masterpiece that revolutionized a genre and spawned a zillion imitators. Watching this movie is so much fun.

9. Braveheart====They may take our lives, but they'll never take OUR FREEDOM! Mel the Mad Genius knocks it out of the park with this classic epic.

8. Forrest Gump===Tom Hanks creates one of the most memorable characters in movie history in this funny, touching, and moving film

7. Fargo=====Totally original quirky funny fascinating

6. LA Confidential=====Not since Chinatown has there been a better noir film about LA in the 1950's...Curtis Hanson perfectly captures the era and puts Russell Crowe on the map

5. Boogie Nights=====One of my all time favorites, this movie has so many classic moments and lines, PT Anderson's direction feels alive and Fun!

4. Slingblade=====The Citizen Kane of redneck films....Billy Bob Thorton created an enduring masterpiece with this one...the fact that he wrote and directed this movie and created the character is astonishing

3. The Matrix=====Speaking of Astonishing! This movie is mindbendingly surreal and totally revolutionary....The Wachowski Brothers created one of the best Sci Fi action, Kung Fu movies of all time

2. Goodfellas=====Next to GF I and II this is the best Mafia movie ever made and is one of the most quotable and rewatchable films that I know of.

1. The Silence of the Lambs====My pick for the best movie of the decade is the all time classic movie that swept the academy awards and rightfully so. The best psychological thriller ever, one of the greatest villains ever, this is a perfect masterpiece of a film and one that never gets old.

My Picks for 25 best Films of the decade

2009-12-13T16:40:00.000-08:00

By popular demand, and at Matt's requet, here are my picks for the best movies of the decade (caveat, I haven't seen District 9 or Avatar yet, and they would probably go in here, but I can't include them cause I aint seem em)

25. United 93---Respectfully done and like Schindlers List will most likely be a "one and done" movie for me cause I just can't take the emotion of it...this was probably the hardest movie I have ever had to watch.

24. Touching the Void------A brilliant Documentary about 2 climbers that climbed an impossible peak in the Andes and one climber who struggled back from certain death.

23. Minority Report------One of the most gripping Sci Fi thrillers of recent years that potrays what computers will be like in the future with the "multi gestural" interface that is already coming true

22. Brokeback Mountain----A beautifully done and achingly sad film that is wonderfully paced and acted

21. Pans Labyrinth-----A fantastic Spanish film that takes us on a journey with a little girl who creates an intricate and fascinating fantasy world to deal with her fascist Stepfather who is a lieutenant in Francos Spain.

20. O Brother Where Art Thou?----Another Cohen brothers film that is a remake of the Odyssey which takes place during the dustbowl, total original and brilliant movie

19. Donnie Darko---A cult classic that I only discovered recently....a fantastical trip through time paradoxes as a suburban boy is suddenly told that the world will end in 9 days.

18. The Reader----I won't ruin the big reveal in this one but it plays with your idea of who the good guy and bad guy should be..a great film

17. About Schmidt---Jack Nicholson is at his best here as a man who takes a journey in his motorhome after his wife dies and he retires to try to understand how he got to where he is in his life, and what does it all mean?

16. Michael Clayton----A very smart thriller, the kind of movie that a love, involving corporate operatives and fixers.

15. Downfall----The most accurate and powerful movie ever made about Hitler, it deals with his last days in the bunker as the Russian Army is converging on Berlin

14. The Last King of Scotland----A terrifyingly powerful performance by Forrest Whitaker who portrays Idi Amin....We take a journey along with a reporter who is seduced into Amins inner circle

13. The Departed-------Great thriller about the Irish Mafia, the Boston PD and two undercover guys in each camp

12. The Aviator------Scorcese did this and the Departed back to back and I think the Aviator was a little bit better..."Come in with the Milk, come in with the Milk"

11. Borat-----It takes an amazing amount of talent to pull of the kind of comedy that Sascha Cohen is able to do. He is a genius at what he does.

10. Memento-----I love movies like this....it involves a puzzle for our protaganist who has short term memory..he wasn't hit by a pear, and just wants to know what happened

9. Crash------It is great that this won best picture because it was considered a longshot. Ensemble piece that honestly discusses race in America.

8. Batman Begins----This is a masterpiece of a Superhero movie. Christopher Nolan took the genre and raised it into art. "I need to be something elemental, something terryifying, to use fear against those who prey on the fearful"

7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-----Quirky and brilliant film about a couple who impulsively have their memories of each other erased. What a brilliant idea with great execution.

6. Into The Wild---Hal Holbrook gives the best performance in the 3rd act of this movie again with a great portrayal of loneliness

5. The Bourne Ultimatum----The 3rd in the Trilogy is the best as Matt Damon reinvents the genre of the spy thriller....awesome film!!

4. No Country For Old Men-----Basically this is a perfect film..."Call it, what am I betting on? Everything"

3. The Fog of War-------The most brilliant documentary of its kind....it explains so much about why we go to war, as told by Sec Def Robert McNamara

2. There Will Be Blood--------One of the top 5 greatest performances ever caught on film...there are actors and then there is Daniel Day Lewis.....The final scene is so brilliant that you are literally shaking.

1. Mullholland Drive----The best movie of the decade is this mindbendingly genius movie by David Lynch. The film almost goes beyond categorization and description, but it did leave a powerful imprint on me, it is a work of art.

Grabbaggars memories of 2009

2009-12-08T21:41:00.000-08:00

I'll be taking a bit of a hiatus until next year but thanks to all those who read my blog regularly....my goal is to be honest and make it entertaining...it continues to be a great outlet for me...Merry Christmas to everyone and I'll see you in 2010...........Here are some memories for the year

Climbing Mt Whitney
I survived another year of the recession
Everyday is a happy memory with Kevin and Zach
Ditto for Tasha I Love being married to her and love her more every day
Tasha's 3 Day Walk
Skiing in Mammoth
Zach starts T Ball and Kindergarten
Kevin excels at reading comp
My Bear Den...Den 1 rules!!
Being a Season ticket holder for both the Kings and Dodgers
Getting the Dog I have wanted all my life
Facebook
Going to Two Harbors and camping on "Serenity Now"
Finally not rebounding back to being a huskier gentleman
Going to Colorado with Mike and Matt
The epic U2 concert at the Rosebowl
Home refi at 30 yr fixed at a 4.75 rate
Camping in Ventura
Laying by the pool in Tempe, AZ in 115 July heat
Reading like mad with the Kindle device and Iphone app
And finally.....I am happier and healthier then I have been in years!!!!

Scientology and Tom Cruise

2009-12-02T17:12:00.000-08:00

Just by writing this blog I could be labeled a SP (Supressive Person) according to those who worship LRH (L Ron Hubbard) with that said...Scientology is a dangerous cult that is harmful to us. It comes to us in many fronts..Nanconon. Criminon...Applied Scholastics......Here is Tom Cruise (Class 4 Level VII Operating Thetan) explaining the value of AS or "Study Tech" a costly 'education' that is supposedly the best in the history of the world.....Maybe I am a suppressive...after all I was a pharmaceutical rep....enjoy Toms rant on Study Tech....

And this is the famous "award ceremony" Where Tom Cruise is extolling the virtues of LRH and Cult Leader David Miscavige the COB (Chairman of the Board) of Scientology....David Miscavige is other then LRH....the single greatest man Cruise has ever met, and he's met them all. Enjoy the wackiness if you haven't already seen this one. It includes the Nazi Style salute to a giant picture of Science Fiction writer L Ron Hubbard....and please enjoy cult leader Miscavige talk about how they want to eradicate physciatry and bring LRH solutions to all governments...this nonsense is endlessly fascinating to me.

"Religion should not cost its members money"

===Garrett Riley