Facebook? What the heck is Facebook? Why would I need or want it? Well!!!!! Facebook is a social networking website. The website’s name stems from the colloquial name of books given at the start of the academic year by university administrations with the intention of helping students to get to know each other better.
Why? Because everybody needs to be on Facebook! It allows users to add friends, send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves.
For example: I graduated in 1981 and haven’t seen many of my classmates since the graduation party (that had way too much everade) at the end of the year….. Facebook has allowed many of us to at least connect again after all these years, share pictures of our families and even organize a multi-class renunion (I didn’t attend but the pictures shared from it were really nice to see). It also allows people to find old college friends, neighborhood friends that might have moved way in the 5th grade and even family members that you may not have seen in years. Once the connection is made you can stay in touch, share pictures, videos and chat in real time or leave post on other friends and members walls (page). Additionally, users can join networks organized by city, workplace, and school or college.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you don’t have a Facebook page go sign up. It’s quick, simple and may help you connect with people you have completely forgotten about. http://www.facebook.com
Wait wait wait before you judge!!!! I am a 46 year old who has not touched the drug in many many years. In my past there may have been a time that it was in my hand, I may have taken a hit…..or two…..and possibly inhaled…..deeeeply…….There’s even a possibility that I enjoyed it at the time. There’s also a very good chance that I was drinking legalized Beer at the time increasing the tax income for the city, county and state. With that said and now being older and more responsible I seldom drink and no smoking Marijuana (Pot) at all and not sure how many years it’s been since I last did and it really doesn’t matter.
Let’s get down to business now. And business is gaining tax revenue from the Billions (yes Billions with a “B”) marijuana trade in the US as well as the trade between other countries that are currently smuggling it in. I know there’s a downside to drugs as there is in anything similar including alcohol, guns, food (yes food), cigarettes, and prescription medications. Anything can be abused.
If Marijuana were legalized and controlled similar to alcohol it would cause no more social issues than alcohol and I agree those are bad enough but most of those issues can be helped by education and needs to start and run K through 12 . The main advantage of legalization would be the tax revenue that the government would gain which could pay for social security, Medicare and health care. I think an individual should be able to grow their own for their own personal use maybe pay a yearly license and then buy a different license to be a retailer or wholesaler. The same rules and regulations that apply to alcohol should apply to marijuana. There are many things that would have to be worked out to make this work and stop the billions in spending on the drug war. I do think that it could help the country’s economy in many ways. This is just an opinion…..what’s yours?
What would you do if the dream came true and you won the Lottery? Here’s how I think I would handle it.
So my numbers matched and I’ve found myself millions of dollars richer in a matter of minutes. The first thing I would do is KEEP IT QUIET! I think if you immediately announce it to the world you’ll end up with relatives and friends you never knew you had. I would then immediately contact a Lawyer and Accountant. I have a few friends that are Attorneys and Accountants that I think I could trust to them to help me through the next few months or year of the life changing event. Now it’s off to contact the lottery commission to let them know I’ve won and eventually pay the taxes and take possession of a large sum of money. Before I help a single person I would get a chunk of the money setup in some type of long term annuity or investment for my family’s future. Now it’s time to take care of business. I would quietly gather my families (mine and my wife’s) together and let them know what’s happened. I would also let them know that they will all receive a nice bit of the winnings and what they get is what they get…..in other words don’t just take it and blow it. It could change their lives. I think I would give each of them equal amounts so that nobody can complain that someone got more. I’ve thought about this a bit and think that I would just pay off everyone’s bills but that wouldn’t be fair if one family member didn’t have any debt they wouldn’t get anything. Then I thought, “pay off the family member’s debt then give them a gift of x amount of thousands of dollars”. Yes, someone is going to get more but they should all just be happy and use it to prepare for their future and retirement (and maybe spend just a little). I would make sure all kids and grand kids in the family had an opportunity to get a college education. They don’t get the cash they just get their education paid for as long as they are going to school and making the grade. Yes they would have to make the grades! After all of our families are taken care of I would want my wife to choose what charity organizations (if any) or other people she wants to help. I wouldn’t want any attention for helping but would just want to help. I would probably live similar to how I live now but would work for myself doing something I really enjoyed as would Stacy (actually it would be nice for her to not work : ) ). Most likely we’d build a new house and replace a few old cars. I wouldn’t blow it on big boats or expensive cars just to have the toys I’d just get what I need. The main thing is to prepare for the future because we never know what tomorrow might bring.
I have to say I am quite frustrated with our health insurance as I am sure many millions of other people are. I am one of the lucky people whose employer, or actually my spouse’s employer provide us the ability to pay a chunk of her pay check to have family healthcare. Did I say healthcare….I meant to say Pain in the ass! Yes our quality insurance is a pain in the backside. It doesn’t pay for the things it is supposed to such as preventative care and it fights with medical facilities and does its very best to not pay anything for months and months. The medical facility becomes angry with us and we get angrier with the insurance company. In the end they finally decide they need to pay and send them a check……not all of what they owe but just enough for the clinic to send us more letters to say you still owe us…..then we go back and argue with the insurance company for several more weeks to finally have them pay all of their part 6, 8 or 12 months later……I know this happens to people all over the country every day. Just read a few forums online or watch the news…..Do we need a public healthcare system? I don’t know but I sure as hell do know that the current Insurance companies need to be controlled by some entity so that this kind of crap isn’t allowed. No more of the “we’re not covering your health problem because it’s too expensive or this is a pre-existing condition even though you may have been born with the condition”……Healthcare in this country could be good if the Insurance companies were forced to do what they are supposed to do instead of hanging on to your money as long as they can to earn as much profit as they can with it. Yes we all need healthcare but insurance is a different story!
I really enjoy discussing politics and religion. It stimulates the brain and causes you to seriously give other people’s ideas some deep thought. Whether I agree or disagree with other people’s opinions about both it really gets me thinking about what I’ve been taught and things I have learned and decided to accept as truth. As with most families we learn most political and religious views from whatever our parents and families believe. I think this is great and I’m happy to see that most people, as adults, decide to take it a step further and actually learn something on their own by research and faith. BUT! There are the many hundreds of thousands of people that when you even attempt to discuss politics or religion it QUICKLY becomes “Their Way Or The Highway” !!!! To those who don’t even have the slightest of open minds GROW the “F” UP! If your best friend decides they are now atheist not Christian instead of arguing and turning a friendship into a hateship learn to say “hey that’s cool whatever you decide”. If you think they are going to Hell for their decision then “so be it”. If your mom decides to switch to Republican from Democrat then just let it be. You can’t rule the world nor can you “Force” them to go the other way. They will make that decision on their own and who knows where life will take you. I think it’s awesome that people have different beliefs and political views and it’s great to debate whatever it is you and they believe. Just remember that it’s a friendly discussion/debate not a conversation that should lead to trying to “DRIVE” your ideas into someone’s head and make them believe they way you do. I love it when a friend says “hey have you ever thought about?” and whatever they say just makes me think. I hate when someone says “hey the way you think is stupid and if you don’t agree with me then you’re wrong”. So how about we start taking the time to listen to others and just let what they say sink in and then express your opinion and let those who hear what you have to say go on to later let it sink in and maybe even change their mind or for that matter their life. People don’t need to head off to public meetings and SHOUT their opinion at whoever is holding the discussion and telling them they are WRONG and only your party or religion is right. Maybe it’s time to just LISTEN and then when you get home do some research on what you’ve heard and if you don’t like what’s being said run for office or start your own religious organization and change it. The main thing here is to JUST LISTEN!
I just had to get this off my chest. Why can’t AT&T get 3G Cell Phone service to Poteau? We’re not that far from Ft. Smith and you can actually get it in Pocola……They could put it on one tower here and it would cover all of Poteau….How about we all complain since they are doing like a Billion dollar upgrade because of the class action suit filed for the misleading 3G speed advertising and non-availability. Any one that uses AT&T/Cingular needs to complain by letter and phone (dial 611 on your cell phone) and COMPLAIN. If you’ve ever used 3G you know why we need it and if not just do it for me please
1. Employment! The most important thing to improve the community is create new jobs. Jobs create revenue for businesses and trickle down to the entire community.
2. Fiber To The Home! Let me explain! We need more competitive communication services in our area. We are lucky to have DSL at least. But to only have ONE cable company and ONE Telephone company, and only those two provide Internet. Thank God for Dish Network! I would like to see Fiber To The Home allowing use to have Smart Meters for our water, gas and electric allowing us to see usage and manage our utilities better. Then we have the ability to use Voice Over IP (VOIP) for telephone and then IP TV or digital television. All for about 90.00 a month. This is available in 1000s of communities nationwide already. Now that President Obama has included Broadband Internet in the stimulus package maybe our city can apply for grants to make this happen!
3. Build a Community Center! THIS IS ON IT’s WAY! Great Job Mayor Shockley, Councilmen/Councilwomen and Planning Commission. Thank you for making our community better!
4. Improve School and Facilities! We all know what needs to be done here. As I have said before, quit piecing together buildings at a landlocked location and build a first class facility with first class Science, Math and Fine Arts buildings. Build a quality Gymnasium and Football Stadium with Artificial Turf. It may not be long before we are thrown into 5-A and we just don’t have 5-A facilities. As a side note: Stop the petty crap in the administration like whining about the young wrestling Pirates not having the ability to use our school’s wrestling facilities and even more silly: use of the Pirate name (Poteau does not own a trademark on the word Pirate). Who do you think you are preventing our young future Pirates from learning from our coaches and kids at that young (5-6-7 and up) age. These kids are the future of our community as well as future athletes and their parents and our coaches are taking their own time and money to build what will be our future championship wrestling team. Many of these kids are already champions. This is the kind of pettiness that our school board needs to put an end to. Even if it means replacing some of the administration! I know many are worried about statements I make regarding athletics and think I should focus more on education. Athletics create a lot of income for our school system. They are also important in teaching kids discipline, self respect, teamwork, trust and many other great attributes.
5. Street Improvement. We really need a turn lane throughout Broadway. Basically from the Industrial Park to FatAlberts (I’m exaggerating a bit). It’s always nice to have good roads to build a great community. Not that ours are horrible (many cities have much worse roads). I also remember a time when it was discussed to extend the Muskogee Turnpike. Can that be revisited?
I’m sure there are many other things that can be done but that’s where you come in. Feel free to comment and list them here and maybe as a community we can see them accomplished.
“Bandit Born and Raider Bred, when I die I’ll be Pirate Dead!”
When I was a kid in elementary school I had a facination with astronomy. I still like sci-fi moves about space. However, the question always exist especially when I see something like this video. This is actually what we can see and know actually exist in our universe. It shows me that something truly had to create it and there must be more than our small short lives.
Astraphobia: is defined as an abnormal and persistent fear of thunderstorms! Consequently, when indoors they might seek shelter under a bed, in a closet or in a basement. They generally keep a watchful eye on the sky and remain alert for reports of electrical storms.
I love spring time but I guess I don’t have Astraphobia I just don’t like parts of thunderstorms not the storm in general. I actually think some parts are awesome. Lightning is awesome and I love to watch it but I’m not going to go hide to get away from it unless I’m stuck out in the open. Thunder gives us all those moments of Holy Crap did that hit my house…..Then there’s wind…..once it hits over 60 miles per hour it’s time to hang on and expect some damage…..but the BIGGIE is TORNADOES…..I don’t like ‘em…..I watch the discovery channel just to see the programs about the chasers….they are crazy……but it’s cool at the same time!
But now since severe weather is just around the corner I just wanted to make a post about spring weather and remind you to be prepared. So There.
ALSO: I have a really nice John Deere Mower for sale on the clnk.com home page. Since I moved from a large one acre lawn to a standard city lot it’s just too much…….so please check it out and buy it from me…..Thanks
RANT TIME: WE ARE POTEAU! We are the county seat for LeFlore county. We have the largest population in the county. WHY then? Do we have a crappy gymnasium. Why do we not have a great facility for concerts and productions that is city owned? We should have one at least as nice as the CASC auditorium! Why do we not have artificial turf on our football field? Why do we have almost half as many kids going out for band, football and other extracurricular activities as other schools in our area (Greenwood for example)!? Why is it that our school looks like a piece of tinker toy crap that’s been pieced together over the last 80 years instead of buying more property in another location and building a nice high tech facility for education! We have had the money in the past and it’s been squandered. I am extremely disappointed in our school board over the last 30 years for allowing things to move in a downward spiral instead of moving up (I miss Ted being in there, he spoke his mind). The thing about change is that change is supposed to be good and cause growth. This place has either become stagnant or gone down! It’s time for the people of this community to STAND UP and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Get involved in meetings…..Create community groups…..heck just comment on discussions like this….believe me people read it…you would be surprised……Start with with your local school board and work your way up to the mayor…..they all have phone numbers and they all live here in town…..if you ruin their dinner when you see them out just to let them know how you feel, so be it…….that’s part of being in public office (that’s why I don’t run)!
Unrelated to local crap….I feel the need to pass along a little computer knowledge. I know many of you have read the bad press Windows Vista has gotten and many have even opted for a Mac instead or stayed with good ole XP. To set the record straight…Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 is great and anyone will love it. So go ahead and make the move and feel good in your purchase that it will fully support Windows 7. Windows 7 is in beta now and I have been running it as my work machine for a month now. It is AWESOME. It had a few bugs a first but it is a beta. Vista is ok but WINDOWS 7 will put Apple back on the defensive. If you really want to splurge go ahead and by a touch screen monitor with your Vista machine even though it doesn’t have any great features Windows 7 is Built for multi-touch and will make you almost never need a mouse or keyboard. Anyway…enough about computers and back to small town BS! Have a great day!
After spending 12 years myself in the Poteau Schools I just can’t understand why our local Administration can’t make a decision earlier……5:00 am is early enough and not too late for us that have to rise early and get off to jobs and still worry about our kids. The school also should know that not everybody listens to KPRV and less than half of the Poteau area have TV 10. So It’s time to move into the current century….Call Channel 40 and at least 5 and post on your web site by 5:00 am simply “Yes” we’re having school or “No” School will be closed.
