Some 2008 events

With the new year we thought we’d post some upcoming events. At the bottom is a link to a quiz that will help you determine who to vote for if you’re undecided. Just answer a few questions and the best suited candidate for your beliefs will be chosen.

The 7th Annual Hangover Fest is on. New Years day the gates open at 10 am. Admission is $10 for spectators and racers. Free aspiriin and can coozies will be handed out at the gate, with $1 bloody marys for those over 21 and not racing. For more information, or to check the latest on if it’s still a go, you can go to the website-
http://www.cordovadrag.com/

 Later this month, and also car related, is the 25th Annual Rod & Custom Auto, Motorcycle & Products Show January 25th through the 27th. It’s held again this year at the QCCA Expo Center, 2621 4th Avenue, Rock Island. The 2008 NSRA Give-Away car will be on display at this event. Show hours are Friday, 5pm-10pm; Saturday 10 am to 10 pm; and Sunday 10 am to 3 pm. General admission is $6, with kids 6 and younger free. A little later there will be discount tickets available. for more information to to-  http://www.sturgisontheriver.com

 On Friday, February 1st at 6 pm, the Mississippi Valley Chapter of the Institute of Industrial Engineers is going to hold a Science Trivia Night at St. Ambrose University in the Rogalski Center Ballroom in Davenport. It’s open to the public and has some neat things going on. For information, cost, and contact person to register, go to the  news release.

 If you don’t know who you’re going to vote for, you can fill out this quiz. It will match your answer to a candidates platform. To see how it works go to-
http://www.wqad.com/Global/link.asp?L=259460

 We’re getting cabin fever and are more than ready for a car show. The shoveling is done, again, and the snow is off the cars so we’re going to have a cup of coffee. Comment on whatever’s on your mind.

Happy New Year!

  The new year will see a lot of changes in a lot of different areas. Illinois is going smokeless. We’ll wait and see how that works out.  We’ll see a mostly new City Council seated in the new year, some new car models are set to make their entrance, and a lot of other things that keep our life interesting.

 We don’t make New Years resolutions and never have. As I’ve told our son many times, if you say you’re going to do something you have to back it up. Besides, if you know me, I’m too skinny, don’t drink, and try to treat everyone with respect. I can’t gain weight, I have no desire to start drinking again, and I like giving people the benefit of the doubt. As for my smoking, I’ll quit on my terms.

 So we wish you good health and good humor in the new year.

FBI, recalls, and more

The FBI appears to have had a good year. In the December 2007 press release they have the year in review. Some things we remembered, some we don’t remember hearing about. Like the 1/26/07 story on the former KKK member who was indicted for the 1964 kidnapping and murder of two black men, or the 3/23/07 story about the former Navy man indicted for terrorism and espionage. There are quite a few in the release. To see what the FBI has been up to, go to- http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel07/yearinreview_2007_122607.htm

 The FCIC in Pueblo released the new recalls. Nissan appears to be the only car related recall. Children’s products have several recalls from jackets to teething rings.

 Consumer products also has several recalls from counterfeit circuit breakers to snow mobiles and lawn mowers.

 Food products is also a lengthy list with a lot ground beef recalled to something called Dried Roach (fish). If you’re interested on what’s on the lists go to-

the recalls page

 And lastly a short Guardian Angels update. The Friday patrols were uneventful, but chilly. Seems like the bad guys are wising up and either taking the winter off, or moving to new areas. We just left training, and things went well there also. There may be a new program in the works. We’ll do post on that when we get the information confirmed. Comments on any subject are welcome.

A billion

 We did not write the following, but figured it would be food for thought. So if you ever wondered how much a billion is, read on. If you think we pay too many taxes, read on.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend,

but one advertising agency did a good job of
putting that figure into some perspective in
one of its releases.

  A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

  B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

  C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were

    living in the Stone Age.

  D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

  E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and
  20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

  While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let’s take a look at New Orleans It’s amazing what you can learn with some simple division 

  Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D), is presently asking the Congress for $250 BILLION to rebuild New Orleans .  Interesting number, what does it mean?

  A. Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents of
New Orleans (every man, woman, child), you each get $516,528.

  B. Or, if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.

  C. Or, if you are a family of four, your family gets $2,066,012.

  Washington, D.C .. HELLO!!! … Are all your calculators broken??

Tax his land,
Tax his wage,
Tax his bed in which he lays.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes is the rule.

Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.

Tax his ties,
Tax his shirts,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he tries to think.

Tax his booze,
Tax his beers,
If he cries,
Tax his tears.

Tax his bills,
Tax his gas,
Tax his notes,
Tax his cash.

Tax him good and let him know
That after taxes, he has no dough.

If he hollers,
Tax him more,
Tax him until he’s good and sore.

Tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in which he lays.

Put these words upon his tomb,
‘Taxes drove me to my doom!’

And when he’s gone,
We won’t relax,
We’ll still be after the inheritance TAX!!

Accounts Receivable Tax, Building Permit Tax, CDL License Tax,
Cigarette Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Dog License Tax, Federal Income Tax, Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA), Fishing License Tax, Food License Tax, Fuel Perm it Tax, Gasoline Tax, Hunting License Tax, Inheritance Tax, Inventory Tax, IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax),  IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax,
Liquor Tax, Luxury Tax, Marriage License Tax, Medicare Tax,
Property Tax, Real Estate Tax, Service charge taxes, Social Security Tax, Road Usage Tax (Truckers), Sales Taxes,  Recreational Vehicle Tax, School Tax, State Income Tax,
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA), Telephone Federal Excise Tax,
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax, Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax, Telephone Minimum Usage Su rcharge Tax, Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax,
Telephone State and Local Tax, Telephone Usage Charge Tax,
Utility Tax, Vehicle License Registration Tax, Vehicle Sales Tax, Watercraft Registration Tax, Well Permit Tax, Workers Compensation Tax.

 STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

 Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago,
and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.   

We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

 What happened?  Can you spell ‘politicians!’

 And I still have to ‘press 1’ for English.

 Comments on any subject are welcome.

You know you’re from the QC when…

 We recieved an email from someone who used to live here and now lives in Colorado. We had to chuckle at the irony, but thought we’d post it today. Thanks for the nod Karen.

You know you’re from the Quad Cities when….

You know what the phone number is for “Car Dead Call Fred”!
You refer to the Mississippi River as “The River”
You have to watch the paper to see which bridge would be best to get across “The River”,
 since they are all are being worked on
You know that Joes, Franks, Shortys, Clints, and Nancy’s are not names, but pizza places
You know that Whitey’s is an Ice Cream place, not a racial term
You know that South Park is the name of a mall, not a television show
You know that Daisy Duke’s is off of I-280, not a character on a television show
You know that Tuxedos is not a place you rent one from

You know that Milan is not pronounced like the one that is the fashion capital of the world
You know that Orion is not found in the star
You don’t crash into a low clearance bridge driving on Brady or Harrison street
You know that pork is THE white meat, not THE OTHER white meat
You have used the phrase, “stupid Iowigian”
You have to dial long distance to call someone within sight across the river, but dial a l
ocal number for someone twenty minutes away
You measure distance in minutes, not in miles
You know what Taco Pizza is
You THINK you know what four cities make up the Quad Cities. No one really knows.
You know what Evel Knievel sounds like when he’s mad
You hear someone say, “I’m on Kimberly” and you do not think it is something sexual
You know who the Howard family and the Nunn family is, and that they are probably stronger
than the police force.
You’ve ever been “cruising down the avenue.”
And at 16, you became familiar with the “Unnecessary Repetitive Driving Prohibited” signs
because you were, in fact, “cruising the ave.”
You used to go to The Factory..and it wasn’t an actual factory.

You take an entire week off of work for The Great Mississippi Valley Fair, and it’s a
highlight of your summer.
“Hymans Furniture Store” or “The Thirsty Beaver” doesn’t sound funny to you.
You know where the “look out point” is.
You know where the “World’s Largest Truckstop” is and you have been there on your way back
from a night of drinking in Iowa City.
You know who the Clown lady is..
You remember the term Pocket Change Park
You and everyone within your friendship circle has, at one point in their life,
worked at hy-vee or APAC
You have tried, and succeeded at buying beer from a foreigner at a gas station when underage.
You wonder how 280 is a real interstate when it only runs 5 miles.
When someone says “I’m goin on the boat” you know it’s for gambling purposes.
You know not to go to Ross’s unless its 2 in the morning or you are drunk.
You know that “the District” doesn’t have anything to do with red lights.

A couple things

 By today, the trash should be filled with wrapping paper and boxes and most people should be over their food-induced hangover. If you’re still off work, we hope you’re enjoying the free time. As for us; no rest for the wicked, so we’ll be up to our elbows in drywall mud shortly.

 We noticed in yesterday’s QC Times, a few things that caught our eye for numerous reasons. The front page had the story that Jennifer Olsen is suing the person who did the last minute mailings of negativity. Our feelings on this have been stated before, and we hope she wins. To read the article go to-
http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/12/25/news/local/doc4770233404cff207038126.txt

 For those of us who like to jump in the rod and cruise, there’s a bit of sad news too. If you cruise north, just past Dubuque is a really neat stretch of curvy, hilly, scenic, two-lane blacktop that has the best scenery in the area. It also takes you to Balltown. And if you’ve been to Balltown, you stopped at Breitbach’s Country Dining. On Monday morning, it burnt to the ground. This place was the oldest family run business in Iowa dating back to around the 1850s. We feel your loss Mike, and even though a lot of priceless antiques were lost, we hope you rebuild. To see this story go to-
http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/12/25/ap-state-ia/d8to1mc00.txt

 Here’s a little game that guesses your number. If you want to try it go to- http://www.quizyourprofile.com/guessyournumber.swf

 For us gearheads, a little update. January 25-27, 2008, is the weekend for the indoor car and bike show in Rock Island, at the Expo Center. We’ll have more on this event at a later date. And February 23 & 24, 2008 is the rod and custom indoor show in Monticello, Ia. This will again be held in the Monticello Berndes Center. Little Hershey 43rd Annual Swap Meet and Car Show will be May 17 and 18. It will again be sponsered by the Rockford Chapter of the Model T International club. It will be held  at the Boone County Fairgrounds in Belvedere, Illinois.

 That’s what’s been happening, or going to happen around this chunk of pavement we call the Quad City area. Comments on any subject are welcome.

Lead in older homes

 I’m going to serious for a moment, since Christmas is for the young and young at heart. If you have children and live in an older home, please take a look at this post.

 Exposure to lead poisoning is a problem for families with small children living in older homes. While I’m not certified in lead or asbestos removal, some common sense applies. Most people don’t think while sanding trim, or drywall repairs and should. Anytime either is sanded, it should be done with either a damp sanding sponge, or wet/dry sandpaper that is wet. Never dry sand with young children in the house. You cannot remove all the dust no matter how hard you try.

 A good site for basics of the problem is from the Canada Mortage and Housing Corporation. You can see the webpage here-
http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/yohoyohe/inaiqu/inaiqu_007.cfm

 You can get a free factsheet, or download about the sources of lead, testing, and removal of lead if you go to-
https://www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/b2c/b2c/init.do?language=en&shop=Z01EN&areaID=0000000024&productID=00000000240000000034

 Another site that has some free downloads is Realty Times. This site is also informative. To see the site go-
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20020214_leadpaint.htm

 A blog post from the ‘tiny matras’ about the problem, has a link to the lead safe home webpage which is also informative.
To see the blog post, and link at the bottom of the post go to-
http://tzt.blogspot.com/2007/10/this-old-house-make-mine-unleaded.html

 The EPA website has a download pdf on how to protect your family from lead in your house. To get to the site go-
http://www.epa.gov/Region7/citizens/lead.htm

 To find out more about lead poinoning, here’s a faq page that has some of the answers. To see it go to-
http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Kwa-Men/Lead-Poisoning.html

 This is a problem for people with young children who prefer older homes. In 1992 a law was passed that if the house being purchased was built prior to 1978, the seller has to provide a disclosure of potential lead paint problems.

 A lot of people, ourselves included, prefer older homes. If you have young children, have them tested. It’s scary to hear from your Doctor that your child has a high lead count. We know, we went through it. Parents have no reason to feel guilty, although they do. So if you think there’s a problem, there probably is. This post is by no means a blueprint on lead removal. It is meant to help people with this problem see they are not alone, and the problem can be fixed. If you live in an older home and have young children, please go to the links, research the problem, and get a solution. In most cases it’s not as hard as some believe. If we can help in any way, please let us know.

Christmas

 Just a couple things on this Christmas before we’re cruisin again. We hope your Christmas day doesn’t turn out to be a drag. We’d like to thank the military for keeping us free, the Police and Firefighters for keeping us safe, and the Healthcare professionals who keep us healthy. To all who work on Christmas day, a heartfelt Thank You.

 If Santa hasn’t made it to your house yet, we’re sure he will. If you don’t celebrate the holiday, we hope you enjoy a sunny December day. Don’t do any doughnuts in the parking lot, uncork the headers, or rap your pipes in the parking ramp. Keep the shiny side up and drive no faster than your guardian angel can fly.

  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Night before Christmas

 Ever since Clement Moore penned ‘The Night Before Christmas’, people have been rewriting his work. Here are some of the other versions of his work-

A Bikers’ Night Before Christmas

Hot Rod Night Before Christmas

Military Night Before Christmas

Nascar Night Before Christmas

Redneck Night Before Christmas

 You should be able to find something in that list to your liking. There are several more takes on the poem, but we’ll stop here.

We wish you a Merry Christmas

 In just a few short days it will be Christmas. We hope everyone gets the gift they want,  plenty to eat, and your family to share the memory with. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

——————Addendum—————————-

 I forgot to add a holiday message from the leader of the Guardian Angels, Curtis Sliwa. I recieved the email earlier and had a brain fart, I’m sure he will forgive me. Here it is-

Season’s Greetings
 
We want to thank the communities,
partners, friends, volunteers and all the Angels
who have supported and continue to support
our education and youth efforts throughout
the year.

Our mission is only possible with people
like you and we celebrate you this holiday season.

Curtis Sliwa and all the Guardian Angels 
Wishing you every happiness this Holiday Season and prosperity in the New Year