Steady State

My President…

steadystate — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 02:35:09 +0000

…showed his face again yesterday and delivered the first speech in a long time that made me remember why I voted for him in the first place. He FINALLY called out the republicans ridiculous claims that they are the party of fiscal discipline and “courage” to make necessary cuts. I voted for President Obama because I know he is smarter than me, and because I know he believes in compromise. If you don’t believe me — ask any liberal what they think about the health care bill or his extension of the Bush tax cuts. Both pathetic compromises, but compromises nonetheless, and instead of being grateful and trying to compromise with the democrats — the republicans are acting like the bully on the playground — expecting democrats to cave like they always do and give them what they want. The “Ryan” budget proved this by asking democrats to vote for vouchers for Medicare, essentially taking away the safety net we promised to our seniors and giving rich people more tax cuts. Obama FINALLY stood up and said — “THIS ISN’T COURAGEOUS”. You aren’t fiscally disciplined. Reckless unfunded tax cuts for the richest among us DO NOT create jobs, but they DO create debt. So if you’re serious about debt reduction let’s go back to the tax rates that we had when we were on track to start paying down our debt. The tax rates that fueled one of the biggest economic booms in our history. Let’s eliminate tax loopholes that let a millionaire pay less than me in taxes because he owns 3 vacation homes. Let’s cut defense, seeing as we could cut our defense spending in half and still probably spend more than the rest of the world combined. Defense cuts that have been proposed by the SECRETARY OF DEFENSE and poo-pooed by mostly republican congresspeople afraid to lose defense contracts in their districts. Let’s continue with common sense health reform that rewards health care providers for keeping people healthy instead of giving insurance companies more of our money and expecting seniors to pick up the rest of the tab. And let’s NOT stop funding the things that are small potatoes in the budget but keep our country moving in the right direction like infrastructure, education and clean air.

This was the President I voted for…

Too bad the douchebag republicans in the house will kill anything with ANY tax hikes in it. They say Obama should compromise, but they can’t compromise because they are ideologues with no fucking moral compass. Robots that explode anytime the word taxes is uttered without considering the consequence. This was a day I was PROUD to say I voted for Obama.

If you haven’t already, PLEASE watch the speech. Watch it here…

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/04/13/president-obama-s-framework-4-trillion-deficit-reduction

Happiness, Depression, Happiness….

steadystate — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 02:06:24 +0000

A bullet point list of life in the past 2 months…

Winter blaahs.

Trip to Florida. Twins Game. 80 degree weather. Stories about a guy named “Unny” that made me laugh and laugh…

Started reading again. Read a book about God’s grace that absolutely helped me find my soul…

Happiness…

Home to winter…

Depression.

Re-introduction to a happy girl named Alison.

A difficult decision to change some things about my job.

Movie nights with my wife.

Happiness….

Let’s all celebrate..

steadystate — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 23:31:35 +0000

Michele Bachmann is considering a run for the white house. I, for one, am going to celebrate by stealing $5 from a wounded veteran, and give it to the CEO of an incandescent light bulb manufacturer. Or possibly a coal lobbyist. It’s a tossup….

A picture of a pretty girl, and thoughts about elitists..

steadystate — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 04:49:37 +0000

The pretty girl..

How fucking cute is that. Daycare Christmas today. She sat on Santa’s lap…apparently pictures to follow. Karen has magical powers. If I brought Alison within 2 miles of a Santa Claus I am positive she would impale me with her Barbie.

Ok. Part 2. Should I be ashamed that I like John Mayer and that new catchy ass Katy Perry song? The world sells that shit to me, then people make fun of me for liking it. It’s kind of like being bombarded with McDonalds commercials, then being made fun of for being a fat-ass. I wish I was a musical elitist, and could say shit like “That new Fat Truffles record reminds me of the Troggs B-sides live track from Dublin, on vinyl, except without the passion…”

Instead I just crank up some Sugarland and keep my windows up. :-)

Blue Collar Baby…

steadystate — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 02:16:24 +0000

So far in the past 2 weeks I’ve moved a refrigerator up the steps, and rented scaffolding to put up a light in our 2 story entry way…I rule. (Yes, honey, I know you helped too…)

I saw the video of the metrodome collapsing…holy shit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxuxNLf87_Y

Anyways….I am going to the super bowl in one of my fantasy football leagues. Don’t hesitate to praise me.

In case you are all wondering about my feelings on this tax cut. It’s horseshit. We cut taxes for everyone (including bazillionaires) in 2001, and now we have this huge deficit because, you know, politicians spend money like an NBA rookie lookin’ to give his mama some new digs. This is a fact. We had republicans in all houses of power in the early 2000′s , and they ran up the deficit like no one else, so let’s be honest. Government is expensive. Someone needs to pay for it. Apparently the republicans think we should keep borrowing it from the Chinese. Progressive democrats think it should be people that can, you know, afford it, like millionaires. But, since Obama is a huge oscar mayer wiener, he is going to cave in and let the republicans pass this bullshit extension of the bullshit Bush tax cuts that will only continue to raise the deficit. I don’t get it…

Watch this..

steadystate — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 04:54:45 +0000

A growing part of what we do in the ICU on a daily basis, and why the last 6 months of life cost the most. A difficult, but extremely important topic nobody knows how to deal with. Frontline always does excellent work…

http://video.pbs.org/video/1639625115

Thankful…

steadystate — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 03:59:57 +0000

Thankful I was able to go to work and make a difference on Thanksgiving.

Thankful for wonderful neighbor who provided a Thanksgiving meal when I got home. Thankful for a glass of Seghesio Zinfande and the sounds of Mat Kearney to wind down the day.

Thankful for seeing my child grow before my eyes.

Thankful for my health.

Thankful for my friendships.

Thankful for the moment when I wrap my arms around my wife and she relaxes and I know I’m home.

Hello friends. Or Friend? Anybody home?

steadystate — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 02:16:42 +0000

I’ve decided it’s time to get back to doing a few things. I’m calling these my winter resolutions. Get back to working out 3 times a week. Get back to eating better. Get back to blogging once a week. The past few weeks I think the absence of these things combined have made my brain and muscles start to atrophy.

Since I last blogged my baby girl is 6 months older, and has now learned the word “No”. She is afraid of elderly people, including my grandfather, which has been challenging. She does still love to give me kisses and wrestle, and she’s healthy, so I guess I shouldn’t complain much. I’ve certainly been struggling to enjoy parenthood lately — it feels like constant whining and screaming, even when there are quite a few memories being made in between.

Our dog swallowed a whole Buffalo Wing Friday night. Stacy immediately became excited and prepared the yard for a burial. Hallie has proven tougher than we anticipated and is still with us.

Michele Bachmann got re-elected and Sarah Palin has her own TLC show that Stacy now watches. I wonder what living in New Zealand would be like?

We are not going to Saint Croix this winter. We are buying appliances and updating our house. Sometimes having to give up one thing to have another is no fun, but I guess neither is talking to bill collectors. Bah.

I spent many many hours preparing a presentation that I gave to a group of critical care nurses on drug overdoses. (It was good too…). When I got there they talked me into buying a raffle ticket for a quilt. I didn’t win the quilt.

Top gear is probably my favorite car show. It’s clever and British and they do things like race motorhomes. They call minivans “people carriers.” History channel is starting an american version that premiers tonight. I doubt it will be good.

How’s that for a start to my winter resolutions?

A long post…

steadystate — Tue, 04 May 2010 01:46:12 +0000

..fothcoming. For the first time in a while I feel like I have a lot to say.

7:29 PM. Alison and I had a great night, playing, wrestling on the floor, reading books, and taking a bath. I put her in bed and she said “Daddy, Love you.” When you hear that the first time from your precious girl…it’s an inexplicable feeling…

Now she’s in bed, sleeping. A cold premium is open on the coffee table. Twins are up 7-0 in the 3rd inning over Detroit. ”Come Alive” by Train is playing on Pandora. It’s been a good night…

Just got back from Washington DC, with the Southwest Minnesota Honor Flight. See: http://www.freedomveteransmemorial.org/honorflight.aspx

It was an amazing, exhausting trip. Around 110 veterans and 50 guardians flew on the 2 day trip. We had big groups of people to send us off in sioux falls, and to welcome us in Washington DC, and again to welcome us back in Sioux Falls. Hundreds of people. Active duty military, families, and groups of kids. Cheering these guys and thanking them for their service. It was incredible — apparently quite a few guys were choked up. And that’s not something you see from an 85 year old farmer from MN very often. It was a whirlwind trip — on Friday we saw the Air Force Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, Arlington Cemetary and the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown solider. On Saturday we spent 2 hours at the WWII memorial. We took a bunch of pictures of the group. There were tons of people there shaking the veterans hands, welcoming them to the memorial built for them. The most incredible were the groups of kids…I think that really touched the vets the most. We saw the Lincoln memorial, Korean war memorial, Vietnam war memorial, Navy Memorial, and the Air and Space museum that housed the enola gay (the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima), the concorde, a space shuttle, and the SR-71 blackbird, along with tons of other planes. Then onto the plane and home. Our plane was late, and our last day was a 22 hour marathon by the time we got to bed around 2 AM. Way too much for these guys — but it will certainly be a great memory for them (I hope). I got to spend some time with my Grandpa — but spent most of my time working. Loading and unloading wheelchairs, food, water, medical equipment and the veterans themselves. I pushed vets around the memorials in wheelchairs. I helped one guy with his nebulizer machine (and finding 110V outlets at an outdoor memorial took some searching…). The vets were so humble and thankful. I was humbled and honored to be able to do this for them. 2 days of work is a small price to pay…

Here’s some pics I took:

You can also see a bunch more here:

http://www.dglobe.com/event/group/group/Honor%20Flight/

http://www.us104.net/index.php/gallery/v/SW+MN+Honor+Flight/?q=gallery

In other news….on the way down to Worthington, I was flipping radio stations. I heard a guy on a Christian station, talking about ways to control the chaos of everyday life. He said something that kind of hit home for me. He said there are 3 components of living a more grounded, faithful, less chaotic life. The first was to “ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life”. He said he made a commitment to not hurry. He drove in the right hand lane for a full year. He made it a point to get places early. The result of doing this meant he was less stressed — so he took more time to talk to people and actually listen to what they had to say. He actually listened when he asked “How are you”. He took time to call people and just catch up. The second component was to lower your expectations, meaning you don’t have to get everything done. If the bathroom waits one more day to be cleaned…so what. Prioritize. Listening to a friend, playing with your kids, or spending time with your wife is more important than organizing your kitchen. The third component was to learn to say NO, gracefully. People will understand that you can’t be everywhere, all the time.

I’m really trying to take this to heart. If I decide to do something, I’m going to take the time to do it and do it right….not hurry through it. Life is too short to forget what you did that day. I spent 2 days with these vets that could tell me what they were doing the day Pearl Harbor was bombed and it felt like yesterday to them. They’ll tell you that life will pass you by if you let it…stop and enjoy the good stuff. Don’t let the chaos consume you. I’m determined to do just that….

Baseball season..

steadystate — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 03:17:42 +0000

..is among us. I am currently sitting in our basement, watching the afternoon twins game I DVR’d, in HD. Life is freaking good. Going to the game next Tuesday. I can’t wait to see Target Field. I feel like such a follower..I want to be pissed about how the stadium was built and the politics of it all, but I just can’t. The older I get the more I just love watching this sport. It seems baseball is one of those sports that’s retained some tradition, and besides the steroid scandal and David Justice, has been relatively criminal-free. And it’s one of the things I can count on all spring and summer to listen to at work to help me through those long evening shifts.

Otherwise things are going pretty well around here. Alison is ridiculously brilliant. She is putting sentences together, and singing along with songs. Just when I think she is ready to enter her secondary education she surprises me by picking up a piece of Hallie’s poop and playing with it. She also says “Hi Alison!” to people when they arrive. So we still have some work to do…give us a break, she’s not even 2.

I think I will have a milkshake tonight.

Palin-Bachmann rallied in MN the other day. I hope this movement takes off so we can do some great things.

Get these elites out of Washington and vote in some real folks. Real american patriots that prefer bombs to diplomacy (mostly because they don’t know what “diplomacy” means).
Bring back no-hassle purchasing of assault rifles.
Repeal any government involvement in health-care, so good care is reserved for people that understand liberty and personal responsibility (ie…are rich).
Cut taxes on everyone!! Fully fund all military budgets, but cut spending on everything else, including those evil entitlement programs. It’s time those people with mental illness and disabilities stop expecting everyone to take care of them!
Take away all rights for gays and lesbians. Hey gays, you’re grossing us out…stop being so gay and you’ll get your rights back.
Make abortion illegal. Eliminate spending on immoral programs like sex education, despite the fact these actually reduce abortions.
Mine more coal and drill for oil. Cheap energy is good no matter what the environmental cost (which is nothing, because global warming is a hoax). Plus green energy is for pussies.

Oh what this country could be. It would be like Mississippi in every state.

Anyways, to totally shift gears….if anyone is wondering if being a parent is worth it, this picture sums it up:

I am very blessed.