Hey, it's Thursday, the 8th of February. I have to start my 3 dayshifts tommorrow. Yuck! I absolutely HATE days. I would rather have a tooth pulled as to work a day shift.

Not much to say today (even tho it's been a little while since my last update). Props to my buddy JRAM on quitting smoking. Who knows, maybe one of these days, I'll decide to quit again. Or maybe not.

I think that we will have a full crew thru our day shifts. I'm planning on taking the following night shifts off. Rusti is working today, and has to work late, due to her D.U.I. class. I'll be glad when she gets home. The new season of 'Survivor' starts tonight, and we are planning on watching it.

Anyway, even tho this is a boring update, I am outta here!

Today is Saturday, the second day of my long break. I'm glad that it's finally here...could use a few days off. We were short (as usual) on our day shifts. Luckily, we only had one mental transport going to Knoxville. It was on Wednesday morning, and yours truly had the 'honor' of taking it. I was back in Carter County by about 9:30 a.m., so it wasn't too awfully disruptive. We stayed pretty busy on the day shifts, but, all-in-all, we did o.k. to have been working short.

You may (or perhaps, may not) be wondering what's up with the pic of the New York Strips. Well, here's the deal. I don't normally go out of my way to 'plug' a product, however, I must make a rare exception. A couple of years ago, my wife, Rusti, ordered some steaks off of the internet from a company called 'The Tender Filet'. I actually kind of dogged her for ordering steaks from the internet. I quickly changed my position after eating one of them. We have been regularly ordering their products ever since. If you love a good steak, Please try this company. I don't know how they do it, but every product we have ordered from them has been of SUPERIOR quality! These are the best steaks you will ever eat. They are consistently tender, tasty, and fat-free. We have ordered almost every variety they carry, and they are soooooo much better than anything you will ever find in a grocery store or steakhouse! To beat it all, they are priced comprably to anything you will find in a grocery store. I have become totally spoiled by their products, and can't stand to eat a grocery store steak anymore. They also feature pork barbecue that is absolutely to-die-for!

The only reason I point this out, is that I want to spread the word to anyone who may encounter this lame-a$$ blog. Do yourself a favor, and order you some steaks from them. I will enclose a link to their website.

Peace-out!

http://www.tenderfilet.com/home.jsp

Today is early Tuesday Morning, Late Monday Night. It is our 'hell week', working 3 12 hour day shifts, followed by one day off, then 3 12 hour night shifts.

If you haven't noticed, I've re-skinned this blog. Trying some new stuff. I don't know if I'll stick with it or not, but I thought I'd try something new.

Anyway, Rusti and I went to Lowe's this afternoon and found a really cool storm door to cover our front entry door. It is a Pella Storm Door and has a lot of cool features. We will probably go back next Saturday and buy it.

Today is Thursday...meaning it's the last day of my 'long break'. Back to the grind tommorrow night. Another break come and gone. They go sooo quick.

On a positive note, my loving wife, ordered me a copy of Microsoft Flight Simulator X. I was really surprised, and not at all expecting it. Thank you, Sweetie. I have spent alot of time on MS Flight Sim 2004, taking both VFR & IFR flights from various airports, including Elizabethton Municipal (0A9), and Tri-Cities Regional Airport (KTRI). I'm still in the learning phase of Flight Sim X, but, so far, it has been alot of fun.

I got a brake job done on my Cruiser, while off this time. It was done by Allen Matheson at Custom Brake & Muffler in Hampton. While I had my car there, I asked them (Allen & his wife, Kathy) if they could spray my wheels with black paint. The steel wheels on my cruiser had gotten somewhat rusty and looked horrible. They sprayed them, and they came out looking really good, and really upgraded the look of the cruiser overall. Thanks to Allen & Kathy. Gonna post a quick pic...wish that I had a 'before' picture....

The Vols lost to Penn State in the Outback Bowl. At least they got to a bowl this year, but how long are we, as fans, gonna put up with Phil Fulmer's lack of effort in preparing his team for Bowl Games. Not to mention that we haven't been to a B.C.S. Bowl game since our 1998 National Championship. We are now a middle-of-the-pack S.E.C. Team, rather than a dominant force within the Conference. Our slide into mediocrity is truly sickening. I think that the time has come for Phil to step aside. He no longer has the fire in his belly, and it shows. Our statistics since the turn of the century tell the tale. I feel that 2007 will see some major changes in the U.T. Program. People vote with their dollars. I know that the 'Big Boosters' can't be happy, let alone the average Vol Fan. I mean, who's gonna spend their hard-earned dollars to go to Knoxville, or to an away game, with the current state of affairs? I guess Phil's gonna "work like heck" to be a better coach. What a laugh!

Video of Saddam Hussein being executed

Originally posted as a link on the Something Awful forums, I saved and uploaded it to google video before the it died.

O.k. Today is Friday, the first day of our long break. Thank God it is finally here! I can't get the font set exactly right for this post. I don't know what the problem is, but it is NOT right!

I'm sure this break will fly by. Our long set of Day Shifts preceeding this break were brutal. It was like an endurance race to the end. On our last one, Thursday, Dec. 28, 2006 there was a reception held for Captain James Parrish at Dino's Resteraunt. He is leaving the Sheriff's Department for good and returning to the U.S. Army, as an adjutant to a 3 star Female General at the Pentagon. I, along with many others will sure miss him. I wish him all the luck in the world in his new assignment. By the way, his Army rank is Lt. Colonel. I salute you, LTC Parrish, and wish you the best.

I went by the 'reception' at Dino's. I only stayed about 30 minutes, due to the fact that I was on duty. I had my portable radio on, but I was afraid that the new Sheriff or Chief Deputy would take note of my presence, being on-duty, and all. No one else from my shift showed up. I have known LTC Parrish from about the 6th Grade at Happy Valley Elementary School, so I had to attend, if only for a few minutes. I also attended R.O.T.C. at East Tennessee State University with James. I got his email addresses, so maybe we can keep in touch.

I am sooooo glad to be off for a few days. I know that it will pass quickly, but at the front end it feels sooooo good. I wish that I never had to go back. More later.

- Get Your Own

- Get Your Own

Both of the above pics were taken when I was 19 years old. I was over at Mom's yesterday, and she gave me some old pictures to go through, and keep the one's that I wanted. Most of the pictures I had not seen in years. I wanted to include the above two. The first one, is me picking up Dad in a big ole bear hug in the kitchen. It was taken when I was on leave after Air Force Basic Training and Tech School, prior to going to Turkey, for 2 years +. To be exact, 2 years, 2 weeks and 1 day for a total of 745 days. The other is Dad & I just prior to my first wedding/marriage. I believe it's the only time that I ever saw him in a tuxedo. Anyway, I still can't believe he's actually gone. I guess the finality of it all will sink in, eventually.

Today is Thursday, the last day of my 7 day break. Back to work tommorrow night, and I sure do dread it. Sometimes, dealing with other people's problems just is too much. Like I have said before, I have problems of my own, and I don't pick up the phone and dial 9-1-1, and expect someone to solve my problems. But, oh well, I guess it's the nature of the beast. People just seem to call over the most trivial and stupid things. Sometimes I feel that they should be ashamed to waste Public Resources on the things that they call in about. If I actually get to help someone on a legitimate call, though, it can still be satisfying. All too many times, though, you help someone one night (as a victim), and they are in court with the suspect the next morning at the arraignment, begging for the judge to dismiss the criminal charges. Sometimes, I just can't wrap my mind around it.

It has been a very cold day, here. Snow has been falling sporadically, and they are calling for a big snow storm, sometime over the next 24 hours. Mom has still been doing so much better than I would have expected. She still has her 'down time', but overall, I am so proud of her.

I guess that this post is probably rambling. I just meant to post a quick update with a couple of pics. Rusti is still my rock, and I have heard from my cousins in Mississippi several times, which has been great. Today is the Anniversary of the Japaneese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. I have been watching shows on the Discovery Channel and the History Channel all day, depicting the event. My hat is off to all of the remaining survivors, as well as the victims of the attack.

http://www.discovery.com/

http://www.history.com/

Here's a picture from Thanksgiving 2006. This is Rusti, Me, and our new little nephew, Brody Ryan Miller. Brody is the son of Rusti's Brother, Curtis, and his Wife, Danna. Thanksgiving is the first day that we got to see him. He was 9 days old on Thanksgiving. He sure is a cute little fella.

Also, here is a picture of Brooke, Brody's Sister. She is such a cutie-pie, and sooo smart and well behaved. Brooke is a sheer joy to be around.

Today is Friday. We just finished up our Hellish set of 4 dayshifts, and finally made it to long break. This whole week we were short-handed, as our Sargeant, T Lowe was vacating. We had a very busy week, overall. Lots of calls, mostly 'junk calls'. I swear, people can no longer, apparently, run their own lives, and call 9-1-1 over the most minor things. They expect us to show up, and solve in minutes, a problem it took them years to create. People have gone off the deep end. Maybe I am burned out, but people cannot simply live and exist and solve problems any more, it seems.

Mom seems to be doing better than I ever expected since Dad's death. I am so proud of her. She still has her bad days, but she has been incredibally strong. I pray for her every day, and I see God's hand working in her life. Rusti, as usual, has been my rock. I don't know what I would've done without her. I have been in closer touch with my cousins in Mississippi than I have been in years. They have been so supportive, and I appreciate them. We have a small family, and I truly appreciate everything that they have done.

I started my long break today, and I already dread going back to work. I need to finish my degree and find a new line of work, I think. I plan to relax as much as possible, although I have a lot to do and take care of during my break. Anyway, I guess that's all for now. More later.