GrayWolfNOrlando's Blog

When travelling  major roads here in Central Florida, whether it be I-4, I-95, Beechline,  when coming up on exit ramps and a driver sees those large signs hanging over the road way, there's one in bright yellow  that says "Exit Only" whether it be in the far right lane or far left lane.  What does that mean? Does it mean it's the only exit for that particular direction and that lane doesn't end. I think not. The sign means you must exit, but I guess people need to have it spelled out for them.  I was on I-4 earlier today and I was in the 3rd right lane of 4 lanes and almost got taken out because the driver that was suppose to exit at the last second decided to switch lanes into the lane I was in.  It wasn't like he didn't have enough time to make his mind up. There were two signs over the road indicating this, exit only with an arrow below it.  I guess people now days are oblivious to things beyond the boundries of their vehicles.  The driver of this vehicle did have Orange County tags on his vehicle. Needless to say, I was just a bit ticked off because I have no idea how the driver behind me kept from rear ending me. But I see this just about every day.

Over the years, channel 27 had been broadcasting SEC Basketball Games including all SEC Tournament Games with the exception of the finals which was and still is on CBS.  That made it easy. This year, Fox 35 started airing  SEC Games along with the tournament games. What I was disappointed in was that Fox 35 didn't  broadcast the first two days, which were Thursday and Friday, along with Saturday Nights Games.  I follow SEC games more than any other conference, because it is the best conference, but I and I'm sure therewere others had a hard time finding the SEC games  that Fox 35 wasn't airing.  I had no problem in finding the ACC Tournament Games which was on channel 65.  Big East, Big 10 on ESPN and so on.  All the games was pretty much on one station. I also understand that the tornado that struck the Georgia Dome  kind of screwed things up, but  if Fox 35  is going to air SEC Tournament Games, then air them all. I understand that CBS may have  bought the rights to air the finals, but I never had to run through the channel guide as much as I had to this year. Grant it I have a satellite, but if I wanted to watch a SEC Tournament Game, I had to go to the channel guide to see if Fox 35, Sun Sports, Fox Sports Net South, Fox Sports Net Florida or Sports South was broadcasting the games. Then what Fox 35 wasn't airing, had to channel surf between the other four networks to see who was airing the games.  The games may have been airing on Fox Sports Net Florida but blacked out on the others. I'm really disappointed in Fox 35 in their coverage of SEC Tournament Games. It was a whole lot better when channel 27 broadcasted the games because they broadcasted ALL THE GAMES with the exception of the final which is aired on CBS.. Either show all of the tournament or don't show them all!!!

 

This is to all the kids who survived the 30's, 40's, 50's 60's and the 70's.

First we survived being born to Mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no child-proof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread with real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight, because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, No Internet or chat rooms..........

We fell out of trees, got cut,  broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We were given BB guns on our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friends house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If you are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.

While you are at it,  forward to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?

The quote of the month by Jay Leno:

"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure  this is a good time to take God out of Pledge Allegiance?"

I was out yesterday with the family and was exiting my subdivision from the back end onto Apopka-Vineland Road.  As I made my turn onto this road, I noticed a road construction sign, in my opinion, if no work is going on at the time, signs should be turned around or layed down, but any way, I noticed that there is repaving being done to Apopka-Vineland Road. Why I ask? The entire road has either been repaved or has been widened to 4 lanes in the last couple of years. There is nothing wrong with this road, no pot holes, no ruts, absolutely nothing wrong with this road.  Now if they wanted to repave something, it should be Dr Phillips Blvd., but then there's really nothing wrong with this road either except for the patch up work due to excessive watering of the road way by sprinklers. This repaving of Apopka-Vineland road is a waste of tax payer dollars for unecessary road work.

This was sent to me by my Sister and thought I would share it with everyone. It is something to think about.

THE LAW IS THE LAW

So, if the U.S. government determines that it is against the law for the words   "under God"  to be on our money, then, so be it.

And if that same government decides that the "Ten Commandments"  are not to be used in or on a government installation, then, so be it.

I say, "so be it"  because I would like to be a law abiding U.S. citizen.

I say, "so be it" because I would like to think that smarter people than I are in positions to make good decisions.

I would like to think that those people have the American public's best interest at heart.

BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I'D LIKE?

Since we can't pray to God, can't Trust in God and cannot post His Commandments in Government buildings, I don't believe the Government and it's employees should participate in the Christmas and Easter celebrations which honor the God,  that our government is eliminating from many facets of American life.

I'd like my mail delivered on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving and Easter.  After all, it's just another day.

I'd like the "U.S. Supreme Court to be in session on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving and Easter as well as Sundays."

I'd like the Senate and the House of Representatives to not have to worry about  getting home for the "Christmas Break."  After all it's just another day.

I'm thinking that a lot my taxpayer dollars could be saved if all government offices and services would work on Christmas, Good Friday and Easter.  It shouldn't cost any overtime since those would be  just like any other day of the week  to a government that is trying to be "politically correct."                   

                                             
  In fact.......

I think that our Government should work on Sunday's (initially set aside for worshipping God...) because, after all, our government says that it should be just another day...        

                               What Do You All Think???

If this idea gets to enough people, maybe our elected officials will stop giving in to the "minority opinions"  and begin, once again, to represent the "majority" of ALL of the American people.

                                              SO BE IT........

                                         Please Dear Lord,

Give us the help needed to keep you in our country!

                               'AMEN' and "AMEN'

i was on I-4 today for the first time in months and as I was jumped on I-4 West heading towards Tampa, I noticed a sign that stated  "No Trucks In Left Lane For The Next 60 Miles". Now, I was outside of Lakeland where the speed limit is 70mph and I got behind a car pulling a trailer doing 50mph in the left lane. The state of Florida should had gone a step further and prohibited vehicles with six wheels or more from using the left lane. This includes vehicles pulling trailers, boats and so on. I find it's not so much the 18 wheelers holding up traffic in the left lane it's cars and pickups pulling a trailer. If you're going to ban a large truck from using the left lane, then you ban all vehicles pulling trailers, boats and so on from using the left lane.

Another top 10 team goes down in defeat with #17 Kentucky defeating #1 LSU 43-37. I've watched Kentucky play quite a bit this year either on national/regional tv or through pay per view.  Kentucky has come a long way since Rich Brooks took over as coach. From the depths of probation with the team having losing seasons the first 4 years on the job and finishing last year with a 8-5 record and a bowl win in 22 years.  Kentucky has played 2 top 10 teams now, the other being then #9, arch rival Louisville and defeated both of them.  The only loss for Kentucky was against then #11 South Carolina.  I wonder how many people now think Kentucky is for real with the defeat of  LSU. Over the years, Kentucky had been close in defeating top rated teams from the SEC, only to come up short. Like in 2002, Kentucky takes the lead against LSU with a few seconds left in the game when the LSU Quarterback threw a 75 yard hail mary pass. The fans and players started celebrating before the pass and LSU won the game. Last years teams took a thumping from LSU 49-0. Kentucky has played well in some games against Florida and also taken a thumping in others.  One of the CBS anouncers mentioned that he had talked with  Coach Rich Brooks of Kentucky and Brooks stated that he wanted to compete with the top rated teams in the SEC and Lundquist stated to the audience that, not only can Kentucky compete, they can win against any team in the country.  In LSU's first 6 games, the opponant was averaging 58 yards ruching. Kentucky rushed for 125 yards and two running touchdowns without their starting running back in Andre Little who was injured.  Kentucky scored 43 points against the #1 defensive team in the country. I know it went 3 overtimes, but 43 points is 43 points, no matter how you look at it.  Now Kentucky plays Floida next week in Lexington and maybe Kentucky can snap that 22 game losing streak.  Kentucky has always been the door mat in SEC Football where they could compete at times. Now Kentucky can compete and win against any team in the conference or the country.

Over the last several years, there's been postings on the internet including the one a few weeks ago to boycott big oil for one day because of the high prices.  Now, I for one believe that this wouldn't effect oil companies at all because it's for one day. But, if everyone and I mean everyone from coast to coast would boycott the same oil company for 30 days starting  with Exxon/Mobil on June 15, 2007. The reason I say Exxon is that they are making huge profits at the expense of the consumer. The other companies are making profits too, but nothing like Exxon. If no one is buying gas from Exxon/Mobil, prices would have to come down. Then on July 15, boycott Shell for 30 days and on August 15 boycott BP for 30 days and so on. I think it's time that consumers start banding together to combat high gas prices.  One day boycotts aren't going to work, but a 30 day boycott of one, maybe two oil companies for 30 days may just get their attention.

I would like to know, if you are driving on a four lane road and you are going the speed limit and passing slower vehicles that are in the right lane, where is it written that the driver in the slow lane can turn on their turn signal indicator and just switch lanes right in front of the vehicle passing causing that driver to hit the brakes and cause a rear end collision. I see this all too often here. This happened to me today where I almost got rear ended becuae I was less than a car length from the car switching lanes and the driver had one of those convex mirors on the outside mirror so he had to know I was there. I talked to a friend of mine who is a native of Florida and he said I would of been at fault if there had been an accident. If this is true then this law needs to be changed.

With all the complaining of energy consumption in this country, price of gas at the pumps & so on, why hasn't someone in the State or Local Government haven't come up with a plan to time traffic lights. Yeah, a few months ago, County Commissioners were going to pay a consulting firm big bucks to study traffic problems on Conroy-Windemere Rd by the Millinia Mall. You don't need to be a Rocket Scientist or pay some firm to figure out the problem. It's the traffic lights. Not a one is in sequence with the other. You catch one you catch them all. Same with Sand Lake Rd at I-4. And there are others. 436 and I-4 in Altamonte Springs, S.R 414 in Seminole County. I've called numerous times wanting to complain about the situation on Sand Lake Rd and I-4 but no one returns my calls. Typical of the Local Government. They don't care. Problem on Sand Lake Rd is, if you're travelling on I-4 East and want to get off at Sand Lake Rd & make a right turn you aren't permitted to make a right turn on red, even with the short exit ramp, But if you're travelling West on I-4 getting off at Sand Lake Rd. one is permitted to make a right turn on red even with a mile long exit ramp. The problem here is that people are making right turns on red blocking the travel lanes of Westbound Sand Lake Rd. by people wanting to make an immediate left onto Turkey Lake Rd. The other problem is from International Dr to Turkey Lake Rd. there is 4 traffic lights within a half mile of each other & not a one is in sequence. Common sense would tell someone in charge of this mess, to keep traffic moving, traffic lights need to be in sequence. Could this be why so many people in Central Florida run so many traffic lights.

I thought the purpose of these electronic boards were to inform a driver of road conditions and or traffic accidents on the expressways. I really don't care how long it's going to take me to get from the East/West Expressway to Sand Lake Rd. on I-4. I want to know where the traffic accidents are so a driver can avoid the mess. A week or so ago I got caught in one of the biggest parking lots on I-4 East bound between the Bee Line and Sand Lake Rd and the electronic board was giving the travel times to the main routes through Orlando. If I recall correctly it stated the travel time to the 408 was 10 miles with a travel time of 11 minutes but here I was stopped on I-4 halfway between the Bee Line and the Sand Lake Rd exit ramp where it took me almost 20 minutes to travel one mile. It's apparent that if there was an accident, that accident didn't just occur at that particular time when I was stopped. Now, if the people in charge of this electronic board system can't operate it right, then why was this put in. Of what I have seen with it, it's not being utilized right. At times I've seen them not even on. My opinion, if these devices aren't going to used right, then get rid of the people and put someone in there that will, but that's just my opinion.