Could someone please turn the heat off...

     A blog from Tempe...which is just outside of Hades.  This is the first "summer" (Arizona should have its own season name...like simmer or broiler) I have not traveled out of state for work or anything else and let me tell you...the 100+ degree days are taking its toll on my sunny disposition.  Don't get me wrong...I wouldn't trade living here for anything but now I know why the people I work for stay away from June to October.  Thank the Lord that I took this job at night where it "cools" down to the mid-90's (insert laugh track).  But Mother Nature has been really pissed off this summer with monsoon rainstorms that come out of nowhere and humidity on top of the heat...(I will never insult the monsoon season here again.  These storms caused havoc and power failures and dangerous lightning all across the valley).  In fact, this summer set a record for highs during the day and highs at night also...  The good news is that come next week, weather.com has predicted the end of the triple digit highs.  Starting next Tuesday the highs will be in the 90's still but the humidity will come back down in the 20% range.  Back to the dry heat I have come to love.  By mid-October I am hoping for sweatshirt nights and t-shirt days again...(not exactly Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, but I'll take it).

     October will also signal the return of the "members" to my job.  After a complete renovation of the clubhouse, locker rooms and dining room, the club will reopen in October with a gala party and grand re-opening.  That means that more people will be around and it will be busier for the security department...(but not necessarily my shift unless there is a late night party).  Work has been going wonderfully.  I just passed my 90 day mark, so my benefit package should take effect any day now.  I will have go in and sign my life away but its a good thing.  Being able to go to the doctor (I am okay, just saying...) if I need to is a thing I took for granted these last few years.  And the summertime residents (snakes) are readying to go into hibernation in the next few weeks and that will make walking around a bit safer...although there are bobcats around (saw one last night walking across the street).  October also signals reseeding and the rise of golf prices so the the focus will be on practice this fall.  I found my hitting net and AstroTurf mat so I can set up outside and hit balls and will go to the range more often.  Everything else is pretty good.  Continued hard work on the dietary changes and working out have produced a 21 lb. weight loss and so far I have been able to keep it off.  Really looking forward to cooler temps so that hiking in the morning after work can be added to the mix...

Is it just me...?

     Is it just me?...I watched the major unveiling of "FoxSports1" when it came on the air in August.  Do we really need another ESPN clone with nothing new to offer but obscure sports the real networks didn't want to air in the first place?  Do we really need another collection of former players and coaches offering their "unique take" (oxymoron) on a subject already beaten to the ground so many times that my ears are bleeding?  I think not, but is it just me?

     Is it just me?...Has political correctness gotten so out of hand that IT has become more offensive than the statements it was invented to politically correct?  I am through with trying to figure out what to call someone anymore.  I have a novel approach.  Let's just call them "people" without any mention of the their race, color or ethnic background.  Or better yet, walk up, introduce yourself to them and then call them by their name.  This "Caucasian American" (are you serious?) has had it with labels of any kind.  I am a man and my name is Jim.  If you are uncomfortable with using my name I will answer to "sir" without being offended in the least. I think that terms of respect (which you still must earn) are the losers in this offensive attempt to put labels on "people".  Is it just me?

     Is it just me?...or am I the only one seeing kids today with no social skills whatsoever?  Parents buy them the latest games and computers and they spend every spare minute in a fantasy world (alone) and never develop basic social skills needed to interact in the REAL world.  My parents used to say that they wanted things to be better for their kids and they gave us the opportunity to succeed...they didn't buy us a way in.  When we failed they didn't blame our teachers or society or anyone else.  They blamed us and rightly so.  "Hit the books harder", no outside or dinner before homework was done...we learned to deal with failure and learned to strive not to do it again.  We weren't given trophies for participation (what kind of pansy crap is that?). You lost! Deal with it! You want to win? Practice and play harder...hard work and dedication and desire were the principles you lived by. Coddling kids by praising them for losing is not the way to prepare them for real life where failure is an everyday possibility.  By the way, good parenting is not pushing your kids on teachers and coaches and boarding schools so that you have someone else to blame and sue when Johnny fails.  Good parents spend time with their kids, engage them in outdoor activities with other children and nurture their hopes and dreams.  They RAISE them themselves and are an active part of their child's life. Is it just me?

Is it just me?...or is technology making terrible drivers even worse?  Driving is still an activity I cherish and I am constantly amazed at the way people drive.  Since when is GPS the only way to get anywhere anymore.  Have people lost their sense of direction?  If you miss your turn does that mean you have to return home and start again?  If you know the exit is coming (and the Garmin tells you over and over) why do you need to make a four lane right turn at the last minute, cutting off everyone who knows where they are going.  And then flip them the bird when they get upset?! Rush hour occurs everyday twice a day...does going 80 mph on an exit ramp and then slamming on the brakes and cutting back into traffic really save time?  And if you're in a hurry? Leave earlier...(I want credit if this revolutionary idea ever takes off).  When I started my new job, I found several different routes in the case of road closures, flooding, accidents, etc. and I am sure that if I miss my GPS turn, that I can get there taking the next exit (recalculating).  And please PUT THE &%^ing PHONE AWAY!  Is it just me?

   Otherwise, everything out here in the desert is going well.  A little tired of 100+ days but soon I will be basking in the weather of fall, winter and spring.  I will never make fun of monsoon warnings again.  Holy crap! We had some storms last week that devastated some areas.  Flash floods and torrential downpours came out of nowhere and hit very hard... Mother Nature wins.  Much respect to her and her moods.