Alan Hood

Some days are inevitible, no matter how much you prepere yourself and dread the day, you know it will come no matter what.  I got that call that you never want to get from my mother on sunday.  She told me that my grandmother was going to be put in hospice to prepare her to die.  I immediatly made plans with my family to make the trip to Albuquerque to visit my grandmother for what may be the last time.  A couple of hours later after speaking with my grandmothers doctors my father told me that I should make the trip immediately, never a good sign.  So we quickly packed and made the trip.

We got to Albuquerque and went directly to the hospital, arriving at midnight.  My grandmother was sedated and never gained conciousness the entire time we were there, but i believe she knew I was by her side because she would squeeze my hand.  16 minutes after 8:00 Monday October 29th I watched my grandmother take her last breath and pass to a better place.  My grandmother was a very reliogious God fearing woman who unquestionably knew that she would be going to heaven and there is no doubt in my mind that she is there now, in a better place without all of the pain she was suffering through for the last few years.

The part that hurts me the most is knowing that the glue of our family is no longer holding us together and I am sure that whatever was left of the foundation will eventually erode without her.  Some people are just good to their core and my grandmother was one of only two that I haver ever met in my life.  So as I Sit in Starbucks in Albuquerque New Mexico I find it sad that this world and my family will have to be without such an incredible woman.  Grandma, I love and will miss you forever.

As time goes by it seems to me you could have been a better friend to me. A statement that when turned around makes think that I should have done some things in my life better than I did. I guess that is always a problem that I have had though, dwelling on the past and not looking to the future. We are not our past. We are our present, and our future. I have to keep reminding myself that no matter what has happened in the past as long as I am breathing there is always time to make the present and the future better.

If you are like me and tend to procrastinate and dwell in the past then I submit for you also that no matter what you have done in your past, you have the opportunity right here right now to make your life better. Mend those broken relationships and take action right now on the things that have prevented you from succeeding in the past. Don’t regret tomorrow what you didn’t do today. It is better to regret action you did take than action you didn’t.

I find it hard to get motivated to go to a job that I hate more and more every day. When you find yourself in a position that you just hate what you are doing for a living it can become very frustrating to even wake up on mornings that you have to go to work. How do I overcome this frustration? By looking forward to the new year when vacation time starts again and I am planning to take every Friday and Monday off for the first 2 months. Along with my regular Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday off I will only have to work 2 days per week for 2 straight months and I will still get paid in full. I know it sounds insane but I really can’t wait. Working 2 days a week is exactly the kind of job I need to maintain my sanity. During those 2 months I plan to get the websites really rocking and hopefully I will not have to go look for a different job when those months are over. Well at least I hope it will happen by then. Over all I would say that the chances are pretty good considering the massive traffic growth that the sites have seen over the last few months. One of the sites is hitting that magical 200 unique visitors per day threshold that makes a website actually worthy of speaking about. But either way even if I have to go look for a different job after my vacation is all spent at least I will be able to keep my sanity unlike what I a currently doing.

The Dallas Cowboys held Adrian Peterson in check and won for the 5th time in 6 tries this season. Tony Romo managed the game well and didn’t throw any interceptions in a game that should have been a lot more lopsided than the final score showed. Terrell Owens really has matured into a real teammate and didn’t cause the derailment of a season that could have been on the brink after the loss to New England. What can you say about the Cowboys other than this looks like a real team finally. The past few years the Cowboys have just looked like another average team, but this year they are finally rounding into a complete team. And really what I think about it is what a relief. It can be hard on a fan that expects or desires great thing for their team and ends up with mediocrity. Finally this team has the ability to be great. The Cowboys have tough tests coming up in the next 3 weeks but I am confident they will step up to the challenge once again.

So I was watching the game and doing of all things at the same time, installing a new disposal. Ah the joys of home ownership. Sometimes it seems like there is a never ending list of things to do to maintain a house, but usually it is when you would just rather be doing anything else. I got the new disposal installed and running but crawling under a sink is the last thing I want to do while the Cowboys are playing. Just so you know I had to install the new disposal because somebody decided to ruin the last one by cleaning out the pool filter and jamming it with sand and grit. People really do some stupid things. Alright it was me but I have an excuse. I am flipping stupid. Now there are only 2 big chores to get finished before the Halloween party next Saturday. Yippee!

I made a comment to my wife’s uncle today after he mentioned that the Cardinals were getting beat up on by the Redskins that I preferred when the Cardinals kept the game close and then lost on a last second field goal. Well it didn’t happen quite like that but the result was the same. Cardinals get a chance to kick a last second field goal to win and miss wide left. Not quite as good but I can live with it as long as they are starting to feel demoralized like all of the previous 14 teams have during the time I have lived here. The Cardinals are cursed there is no question about it and as long as the Bidwells own this team they will never win a Super Bowl. Which is perfectly fine with me.

Well for the first time this season the Cowboys have lost a game. I didn’t really think that they would go 16-0 but they still have a shot at 15-1 so I am still happy. I think the boys played about as well as could be expected after the Monday night debacle in Buffalo. I just think that at this point in time New England is just the better team. In fact I think New England may be on of the best teams I have ever seen play the game. Yes the Cowboys of the early 90’s were incredible but New England has one of those special teams that no matter how much you hate them you just can’t root against em. Now it’s back to the drawing board and sincerely hoping that the Cowboys don’t lose confidence after 2 poor showings. Losing confidence would be a terrible thing to happen at this point in the season. No matter what their record is, I think it is vital that they win their next game. Yes I really did say vital. Football is one of those games that when things go wrong they tend to stay wrong for long stretches if you don’t have the confidence to make them turn around.

The Cowboys really did play well today and against any other team I think they would have won, but that doesn’t mean that this team won’t see it differently. Hopefully the team will rally and keep things light in practice and not let this game get into their heads. I guess I wouldn’t be worried about it if I thought they had really strong leadership but I just don’t know which path Terrell Owens will take. Hopefully he will continue to be the man that I think he is growing into and will stay strong for this team and not get accusatory and bring the moral of the whole team down. As a complete outsider all I can do is hope for the best and also continue to stay positive for this team. This Cowboy team really is the class of the NFC and I hope they will continue to prove it on Sundays.

Just a side note my Sooners kicked some Missouri butt on Saturday and with Cal and LSU losing they should be right back in the national title hunt in a couple of weeks. And congratulations to the Cardinals, they got beat by freaking Vinny Testaverde. I just have to laugh at the way the Cardinals continue season after season to find their way right back to mediocrity. The only person I feel sorry for on that team is Kurt Warner, he went down with another injury early in the game and from what I saw may not return for a while. Okay I also feel sorry for Adrian Wilson not only does he continue to get bad calls against him, but without Anquan Boldin he is the only real force the team has. Anquan and Adrian just a small piece of advice from someone you don’t know, forget the money difference when it’s time to sign go to a team that actually has a chance of winning for your own sanity. Save your money now and you will live comfortably forever and go sign with another team for less money. In fact I think both of you would fit very comfortably in Cowboy uniforms.

Speaking of Adrian, oh my god I wish I had watched my man Adrian Peterson play today. 224 yards on 20 carries against the anointed Bears defense. 361 all purpose yards, not only a rookie record but the 3rd highest all time. I wish your weren’t wearing purple Adrian. Hopefully you will play out your contract and also like Wilson and Boldin get a chance to play for a real team. A team that doesn’t wear fruity ass purple. Ravens purple is actually intimidating but Minnesota’s is just flat out weak. Wow come to think of it that’s another person who would fit nicely into a Cowboys uniform. I can dream.

I am personally saddened by Marion Jones admitting to using steroids. Women that hot should have to cheat. Seriously she is really hot. I mean hot like in unfreaking believably gorgeous. Okay seriously it really is a shame that she allowed herself to be pt into a position where she thought cheating was the right way to go. I won’t pretend to be surprised on mad or say I feel let down. That’s life and sometimes people make bad choices but what she did doesn’t affect or hurt me in any way so I won’t make a big case over it. It is sad that a woman as hot as she is has to spend time in jail but I will get over that also.

The really travesty will be if her teammates have to also give up their medals because of the choices she made. Yes the relay is a team event and it is possible that they received medals because she was cheating, but her teammates should have to pay for her crime. We have team sports everywhere that involve one or more of the team members that are caught cheating but we don’t make the rest of the team forfeit wins because of the actions of one. If we did then every team that Barry Bonds plays on should have to forfeit every win they got while Barry was playing. That is not the way we have ever handled cases where one participant is caught cheating. We penalize the individual not the team, and that is what should happen in this case also. Don’t make others pay for what Marion has done, they didn’t have any say so in the choices she made.

I hope that this event will mark a healing point for Marion Jones and she will go on to lead a happy and healthy life from this point forward. Good luck Marion.

Did I mention that Marion Jones is really hot?

Maybe the Cowboys deserved to lose that game but I guarantee the bills didn’t deserve to win. Sorry I don’t have time for the big breakdown of the game I am busy with another project right now. But I had to say I am really looking forward to the Patriot v Cowboys match up. My prediction: Cowboys 34 Patriots 31.

It almost feels like the Cowboys by week. I know they play on Monday night but still a Sunday without the Cowboys is not the way I want to spend football season. The good news is that I got to see two other teams I have great respect for, the Colts and the Chargers. Peyton Manning is incredible. I know there are a lot of Tom Brady lovers out there, but I believe Peyton is unquestionably the leagues premier quarterback; there is nothing he can’t do. And everything he does he does well. I am not taking anything away from Tom but Peyton is the man.

Guess who is not the man. Jay Cutler is not the man. I seriously believe that this kid has a serious mental defect. The look on his face reminds me of Corky, the kid with Downs Syndrome. I am absolutely not trying to make fun of people with mental defects; I believe that Jay Cutler has Downs Syndrome. And if the Broncos have not had him tested then they should. Either that or give that lifeless lump of crap a shot of adrenalin before each game to get him up for the game. I know the NFL is a serious business but I have never seen a winner who didn’t have fun playing the game. Jay reminds me of a kid whose father is forcing him to play the game against his will. Jay looks like he hates the game and would rather be anywhere than on that field. Good luck winning with Corky at quarterback Broncos. San Diego 41 Broncos 1 freaking field goal. HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

More tomorrow after the Cowboy kick some Buffalo butt.

One of the things that has always amazed me is the incredible artistic ability that some people have. I wish I could draw, paint, write, and most impressive to me is sing and compose songs. Music has always been an escape for me and I am so lucky to have access to the many artists who share their gifts with the world. I first started listening to rock and roll when I was in middle school, before that time I was only exposed to the music my parents listened to. Which really wasn’t much at all but the occasional country song (I won’t get into the tear in my beer crap). In middle school I made friends with a boy named Eric who had a much older sister (in College) who had great taste in music, and shared it with us. Ever since that time I have truly loved music and all of the joy that it brings to my life. Just listening to a great piece of music can make the entire world seem not as bad as it was just a few minutes earlier.

There is really nothing that I can think of that can completely change a person’s attitude like listening to great music. Tonight I will be attending my youngest daughter’s first band concert of the year which is always a joy, a little unorganized and chaotic but a joy none the less. I admire her for being able to play an instrument and to have an ability that very few people have.

I am incredibly fortunate to have both music in my life and a great kid that brings joy to my life in many ways but her ability to play the clarinet is a wonder to me. She has been playing for only about 5 years now but I can tell that she has that thing that make some people artists and some people hacks. I really hope that she continues to play music for her entire life and never gives up on something that brings joy to so many. To an end I thought that I would share a piece of music that I love and am sure that if you have never heard Collective Soul before after you listen to this song you will become an instant fan. Enjoy! Okay I couldn’t decide on just one so I am also putting up “Heavy” I have no clue what the video is but the song is amazing. Both videos are from a great band Collective Soul.

I met you before the fall of Rome. I begged you to let me take you home. You were wrong, I was right, you said goodbye I said good night. I love Bare Naked Ladies and the band is okay too.

Alright the real point of this article is that while browsing the internet it occurs to me that everything is really just a copy of something else. Very few original ideas survive the onslaught of copycats. All great or semi original ideas are copied almost as quickly as they are applied by the original, while maybe not as well they are most certainly copied. As surly as I am saying this there is already someone or many someone’s who have already said it. I love technology and the ease at which people can access ideas, but at some point too many clones become litter. Digg.com is a great idea for focusing attention on popular stories, but 1000 digg clones is litter. Why do people or more importantly corporations feel the need to always compete with the joneses? If you can’t do something better then come up with your own idea.

Facebook does what myspace only dreams it could do, so in some spaces a clone is a good thing. But not usually. The internet has given voice to many people who would probably not otherwise have the means to express themselves, but too many people singing the same rhetoric just becomes a cloud of noise.

I guess that’s why my blog this one in particular seems so completely unfocused. I don’t have a grand plan; I just enjoy writing about the things that interest or annoy me. Stats show that quite a few people read this blog on a regular basis and I hope they enjoy what they read or it at least stirs a little fire somewhere within them. At times I take a controversial side to an issue and don’t mind telling everyone why I think I’m right, but at least I am not unoriginal. I don’t care about the Joneses and I don’t care if people don’t like what I have to say. I do care about many things but I don’t care to read anymore unoriginal blogs.