There comes a time, thief, when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison, and all that is left is a father’s love for his child. — Conan the Barbarian
I watched Little Bear take another step into adulthood today when we went on to a university for a tour. He’s been through a lot, and rough times will happen in his future. But I hope never forgets how much we love him, and how proud we are of him.
Posted by daddybear71 on October 4, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/10/04/movie-quotes-day-277/
Listen to me, you are never to return here. Your are to stay away and tell no humans about this place. Or I will track you down, and suck every ounce of blood from you body, until you look like a deflated whoopee cushion! — Hotel Transylvania
There’s nothing wrong with being completely forthright about your intentions. If they don’t have to wonder about what you’re going to do, then you can move onto things that are important.
Posted by daddybear71 on October 3, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/10/03/movie-quotes-day-276/
Posted by daddybear71 on October 2, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/10/02/musings-84/
If they’re more advanced than us, they should be nearer the creator for that reason. No real attempt has been made to communicate with them, you know? — War of the Worlds
Technological and societal advancement does not mean moral advancement. Neither does living in ignorance and squalor. What makes someone a better person is how they act toward others, not what they have or what they know. A primitive who treats someone as a guest and cares for them is just as good as an astronaut who does the same.
Posted by daddybear71 on October 2, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/10/02/movie-quotes-day-275/
In October, 1914, the Germans made the first of several attempts to take Warsaw, in what is today Poland. The Russians had taken a defeat at Tannenberg, but had been able to soundly defeat the Austrians in Galicia. In order to keep the Russians from exploiting their gains to the south and east, the Germans pushed two armies forward.
The clash between the combined German and Austrian forces and the Russian army pushed the Russians back almost to Warsaw. The Germans got to the Vistula, but were forced back, and had returned to their original positions by the end of October.
Russia had taken what would have been a mortal blow to many other nations at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes. It had been able to shove the Austrians back, however, and even after being attacked by superior German forces in front of Warsaw, were able to push them back as well. The Eastern Front was one of more movement than the Western, but the situation was very much the same: massive attacks against enemies, followed by counter-attacks, then a return to the status quo.
What we can learn from this is that so long as someone has the means to resist, they can still be in the fight. Russia, by the standards of earlier wars, had no business in continuing the fight, but she kept at it. Being able to soak up damage and then dish it out kept all of the powers in the Great War going for years.
Posted by daddybear71 on October 2, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/10/02/100-years-on-vistula/
In a follow-up to last year’s Vignettes, Jim Curtis, who blogs at Nobody Asked Me, has come out with “The Gray Man: Payback“. This novel picks up a few months after the end of Vignettes, with John Cronin and his family getting ready for the marriage of Jesse, his granddaughter, and Aaron. Here’s the blurb from Amazon:
Deputy Sheriff John Cronin and his granddaughter, Jesse, are preparing for Jesse’s upcoming wedding to her Marine when the Cartel decides to murder some South Texas cops as a payback for arresting their drug smugglers. They send a hit squad to kill Cronin, Jesse, and everyone close to the family. The only problem?
They missed the old man.
Leaving his badge behind, John Cronin, Francisco and a few others head south to teach them a lesson about what old school western justice really means.
Yeah, it’s a story of revenge, and Curtis does an excellent job telling the yarn. This book is better than the first one, and I loved the first one. The characters of John Cronin and Fransisco are especially well done, and as the story goes on, they become more and more three-dimensional.
This book is a page turner. Don’t be surprised if you read it in one sitting. The story flows very well, and Curtis does an excellent job at tying up the story threads in the end. I give this one of the highest compliments I can when I say that I would feel comfortable giving this book, which is in no way geared toward children, to my teenagers. Curtis makes the story real and gritty without being vulgar or graphic.
If you’re looking for a good book to read while you enjoy a couple of fingers of bourbon on a cool night, try this one out.
Disclaimer: I have known the author for several years, and consider him a friend. I was a beta reader for this book, but I also bought the final copy that I used for this review.
Posted by daddybear71 on October 1, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/10/01/book-review-the-grey-man-payback/
Well, that Spirit ain’t worth spit without a little exercise. — Pale Rider
Faith without works is impotent. Works without faith gain little. You have to have both. If you climb up on a hot rock and regard the universe with detachment, at best, you help only yourself. If you immerse yourself fully in the suffering of the world, you lose the perspective to see the beauty of creation around you.
Posted by daddybear71 on October 1, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/10/01/movie-quotes-day-274/
Posted by daddybear71 on September 30, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/09/30/thoughts-on-the-day-260/
The city government here in Louisville is considering an increase of the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour over the next three years. While this isn’t as bad as what we’ve seen in places like Seattle, which have mandated $15 an hour, it’s got some business owners hopping. I’m not a fan of such increases, but to be honest, I don’t have skin in that game other than being one of the people who will be on the hook for higher prices to cover increased labor costs.
But if you are a business owner in Louisville, I want you to do me a favor. If you could, please look at your current staffing and what you pay that staff. Then, look at what that staffing will cost you at $10.10 an hour. Then, I want you to decide which, if any, of those positions you will be eliminating so as to cover the cost of increasing the pay of everyone that will require a raise to get to the new minimum wage.
Then, I want you to take that data and send it in a polite letter to your metro council representative and the president of the council. Explain to them exactly how many jobs at your business will be lost if the new minimum goes through. If you think you’ll have to cut too deeply into your staff to stay open, explain to them how much you give out each year in wages, as well as how much you and your employees pay in taxes. If you’d have to scale your business down in order to comply, quantify that in the amount of money that won’t be filling Louisville’s coffers. If you’ve got the time, and I know the most precious commodity a business owner has is time, take these letters directly to their offices and have a discussion with them about how this is going to impact you and your business.
If upping the minimum wage is going to have an impact on your business, now is the time to quantify it and rub their noses in it. Make them realize just what they are doing to you. They’re saying that you’re bluffing and lying about what doing this will do. Call them on it.
Posted by daddybear71 on September 30, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/09/30/put-up-or-shut-up-2/
Listen, stupe. The first week I was in this joint, somebody stole my Red Cross package, my blanket, and my left shoe. Well, since then I’ve wised up. This ain’t no Salvation Army – this is everybody for himself, dog eat dog. — Stalag 17
Gaining trust is a hard thing. Regaining betrayed trust is almost impossible. “Forgive and forget” is a nice sentiment, but once you cross someone, you should have no expectation that past transgressions will not be considered, no matter how much others may have forgiven you.
Posted by daddybear71 on September 30, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/09/30/movie-quotes-day-273/
DaddyBear’s Den 