Bust @ MindSay 
drug
We decided to go shopping before the zoo, my sister and I! What a great day we had planned. And it was going so well! Out of the six major Thrift World Stores in the Metro area of Omaha, we hit two. The two nicest ones with the Brand Name clothes! One on the Northwest side of Omaha and one on the Southeast side of Omaha near the Zoo.
What a great way to end our mini camping trip that just turned in to being a mini stay at my sister's house due to the varying weather that kept popping up! Instead of staying at the really nice free camp grounds we stayed at my sister's house for a few days, I wasn't going to chance being caught near a big man made lake that had extermly high levels near the banks of the camp ground!
Anyway, after a GREAT haul of a summer woredrobe for both kids from two different thrift shops and then treating the kids to lunch, we headed to Henery Dooley (sp?) Zoo for a nice afternoon. It started out great! We hit the Jungle, the Sea Lions, the Garden of Senses, the Cat House, part of the Avaiary, the Gorrila House, the Cat Complex, the feeding time for the smaller tropical birds, the Desert Dome, and the Giaraff House. With smaller enclousers along the way of course! Of course pictures are on here! Enjoy!
While we were just ouside of the New Butterfly House and the Aquareme deciding which one we were going to go in first before we started heading to the town were my van was sitting so the kids and I could head home and my sister and her kids could head home, we heard the tornado sirins go off! Now I know why so many ppl get killed in public places during storms! The tornado sirns go off and the majority of the Zoo visitors head for the Goddess Dayum parking lots! I kid you not! Well being country girls, my sister and I herd the kids to the aquarememe (sp?) house under the canapoy and bust out our cell phones. Each of us respectively calling our hubby's, asking them why the hell neither one of them called to tell us there was a storm system heading straight at Omaha! We informed both of them that we were heading for the storm shelters in the Fish house and we would call once the storm passed. Then we hearded the kids towards one of the Zoo Workers holding a door open to the basement of the complex leading to the exective offices and we were one of the first groups down.
There were a few other ppl down there already but what we found the most funny out of this was that everyone single person down there including us, were NOT from Omaha persay but from the surrounding communities and areas! We are NOT fools! While the main secruity guy was telling us and the few zoo workers what the plan was, he was getting reports from the weather radio and the few of us that stopped and made calls. Then he asked us to sit tight, while he and his other crew went outside to go round up the rest of the Zoo visitors and get them inside various zoo complexes till the storm passed.
We had a couple of upset kids of course, my daughter being one of them, and a lot of upset ppl, including ball players that stuck around after the College World Series before they went home. Those of us from the midwest were laughing and joking and calming the kids down. We kept telling everyone that we are in one of the safest buildings and don't worry about the animals they know what to do and the zoo workers were making sure they were safe also. Once all the zoo workers got in the main secruity guy came back in to our basement and said it was pitch black out and winds up to 90-100 miles per hour and they would not know if a tornado hit till after it was clear out. The lights did go out and thankfull the generator kicked on right away.
After we got the okay to clear out and leave the zoo, we got some pictures of the damage done in side the zoo. Down trees and one of the heavy glass safety entrance doors to the Wild Kingdom Palliviallion was completely blown off and laid gently down in front of the Pavillion! I missed that picture! There was hail everywhere! We had to make our way out of the Eastern Side of Omaha back towards the I-10 exit so we could head to Freemont NE which is an hour Northeast of Omaha, where my van was sitting! Damage everywhere! While driving the news said, the Art Festival got hit hard downtown Omaha, there was a boat taken off of a dock in the Missiouri and was dropped on the roof of a house, trees blocking roads, and down electrical poles all over Omaha downtown/metro area! We stopped on the outskirts of town to feed the kids and the Taco Johns we hit had running TVS. The area heading to Fremont NE was hit hard also and a semi rig was entangled in electrical wires! Cars of the road, rigs off the road, and major damage. This system worked its way into IA and massive damage and two killed on the IA side.
We got detoured outside of a town between Omaha and Fremont due to massive damage and accidents. Where I got a phone call from Randy when he got home. My dog Spud died during the day yesterday! Randy was upset and of course the kids and I were very upset also, but we also knew the dog was going to end up dying on us. Spud was the dog with the unknown seizures. At first Randy thought he somehow choked while he was outside on the chain but when he went up to examine Spud, there was plenty of slack in the chain and the collar would have slipped right off of his neck (we made sure that it could slip off if he was caught up when running or on the chain if something would have happened). The way Spud was laying and his facial features, you could tell he had a massive siezure. So trying to find our way on back country roads and county paved hiways we didn't know to get back into Fremont, we had upset kids and nobody was out directing the traffic. My sister and I again being country girls said fuck it and got on a country road and started heading towards the sun because Northwest was where we wanted to head. We picked up a truck in front of us from our home area just a different county and he had the same idea. We got rerouted via the roads with no help from anyone due to big trees, silos, fencing, and other debries in the mushy gravel roads! A normal 1 hour drive from Omaha to Fremont took 2 hours!
Once we got to a lil town Southeast of Fremont which would have been the quickest route we got denied by a State Trooper directing traffic. Nobody was allowed into town where a small lake was surrounded wiht houses and such due to the damage! They weren't letting anyone through not even family members of the town or land owners with no houses. Ambulances and Fire trucks were all over the town and two of the rural fire trucks were making their way towards the other road leading to Fremont. We just turned around and followed the fire trucks into Fremont. Finally! Fremont NE had no major damage. Some trees down and some windows broken but no major damage. Then we pull up into the truck stop where we left my van. I got a lovely suprise! My rear windsheild was blown out or a rock got kicked up in the storm! I have no rear windshield now! Nothing was stolen. But everything was glass covered clear up to the front seat and everything was water logged! Thank GODS I had what ever paperwork I did have in there in sacks and covered up! My Leadership Manual alone would have cost me 100 some dollars to replace if it got water logged or damaged somehow!
So I called Randy yet again and told him we FINALLY made it into Fremont but I would be still a lot later because we had to clean up the glass and find places for the kdis to sit with out getting cut up! Thankfull we were able to pull a couple of the pillows from underneith my tent that dind't have glass on it and give those to the kids to sit on. My sister handed over one of her towels so I could sit on it while driving. And then we rearrange the back so none of my Thrift shop finds, my tents, sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, or other camping gear would go flying out for my hour drive home! I ended up pulling over twice on the way home to rearrange my back but FINALLY my normal two hour drive ended up being a 4 hour and 45 minute drive and we made it home at 8:45pm. where we promptly unloaded the van and shop vaccued it out so I could get some plastic on the windshield due to more storms coming this weekend.
After we got that done, we gave Spud my Fat Man Dog a burial worthy of a King. See we couldn't bury him. The ground is too wet and his smell would draw the local wild dog pack and the local coyote pack. Not to mention all the other wild critters int he area. So we took my lovely burn pile Randy made up for me this weekend and gave Spud a Funeral Pry. We didn't want any other anmals digging him up and eating on him. Randy loaded him on the bonfire and I threw some sage, cedar chips, and sweet grass all over Spud and we said a lil blessing for him and said our goodbyes.
Now today, I get to call his old family and inform them that he is gone. I am doing laundry from the back of my van and going to take the kids down to my girl's house because they are still stressed from last night. A lil fun down at Aunties house and coming home about the time Daddy gets home from work will do them good.
Now I am off to throw another sleeping bag into the wash! Pictures to come after this post!
Locks, Busts, and Sleepers
Finally, I have returned. Sorry for the hiatus, but I'm back for the stretch-run in baseball and the start of the football season.
For my comeback column, I'm going with fantasy football at the request of one of my loyal readers.
There is no shortage of rankings out there for fantasy football. The trick always has been and always will be sorting through those rankings and picking out who will fulfill those expectations and who will do nothing but disappoint. And, if you're lucky, maybe pull out a sleeper or two in the later rounds.
A key factor is the scoring system. Unfortunately, this varies from league to league, so these musings might not apply to everyone. However, I will try to note which players will see their value significantly affected by changes in scoring.
Quarterbacks:
Locks
Peyton Manning, IND: He's arguably the most consistent player in fantasy. Most leagues only give 4 points per passing touchdown, but if I were in a league that gave 6 points for touchdown passes, I would seriously consider Manning with the third pick behind LaDanian Tomlinson and Stephen Jackson.
Tom Brady, NE: He threw for 3,529 yards, 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last year when his best receiver was Reche Caldwell. Now Caldwell is the fourth receiver behind Randy Moss, Dante Stallworth, and Wes Welker. I don't think any of the receivers will be worth the rankings they have been given because Brady spreads the ball around so much, but the new daddy should put up big numbers consistently.
Carson Palmer, CIN: He might have the best year among all of these quarterbacks. Believe it or not, this will only be his fourth year as a starter, and he is only getting better. After a healthy offseason spent working with his receivers (he was rehabbing a knee all of last year and barely made it back for the regular season), he should be ready for a huge season.
Marc Bulger, STL: It pains me to put a Ram up here, but Bulger deserves it. He is ranked fifth or sixth on most boards, but he will have a better season than people expect. Last year, he had 4,301 yards, 24 TDs, and just 8 INTs. And that was in a new offense with a new head coach. The offense didn't lose any key pieces in the offseason while improving the receiving positions with the additions of TE Randy McMichael and WR Drew Bennett, both of whom should be effective redzone targets. Expect good, consistent numbers without many turnovers.
Busts
Drew Brees, NO: Remember, this is based on his ranking, not necessarily his actual production. I think Brees will be a top-ten fantasy quarterback, but I don't see him matching the numbers he put up last year. While it's true he has had the offseason to work with his receivers (which he did not have last year), the loss of Joe Horn will have a big impact. Even though Horn only played in 10 games last year, and was only the number two option behind Marques Colston, he was the team leader and Colston would not have had the season he did without Horn's guidance. Again, Brees will have a good year, but he will fall well short of year's totals.
Donovan McNabb, PHI: The oft-injured QB played MVP-caliber football the first 10 weeks of last season before getting hurt and missing the final six games. I expect a similar season this year. If you want to be assured of a playoff spot in your league, McNabb is your guy. If you want to win a championship, stay away from him. If he isn't healthy for the playoffs, he can't help you win.
Vince Young, TEN: For the life of me I can't figure out why so many boards have him ranked as highly as they do. With the exception of keeper leagues, Young does not belong in the top 10, and I've seen him ranked as highly as 6th. He threw for 12 TDs and 13 INTs. He ran for 7 TDs, but also fumbled 12 times (he only lost 3 of them, but that is based on luck, not skill). On top of that, he lost his top receiver (Drew Bennett) to the Rams and his starting running back (Travis Henry) to the Broncos. Couple that with defensive coordinators having a year to game plan for him, and he will be lucky to crack the top 15 in fantasy.
Sleepers
Philip Rivers, SD: I wouldn't be surprised if he was a top 5 QB this year. Last season he threw for 3,388 yards, 22 TDs, and only 9 INTs. That was his first year as a starter. He will only get better this year. They are bringing in a new coaching staff, but it's not the offense that will slip under new head coach Norv Turner.
Ben Roethlisberger, PIT: This really is a gut decision. He has had a healthy offseason (remember last year's motorcycle accident and ensuing appendectomy?) and receiver Santonio Holmes looks ready for a breakout year. Considering he is ranked in the 15-20 range on a lot of boards, he could provide fantastic value in the later rounds.
Running Backs: Most of the top-ranked backs are going to produce right around where they are generally ranked, so I won't spend much time on them.
Locks
Steven Jackson, STL: Call me crazy, but he could have a better year than LT. In keeper leagues, I would actually consider taking Jackson ahead of Tomlinson. This will be LT's seventh season, he is 28 years old, he has never missed a game, and he has had more than 300 carries every year. He is incredibly consistent and will probably have the best fantasy numbers this year, but he won't be doing it for much longer. Running backs who have had a heavy work load usually can't keep it up past age 30.
Shaun Alexander, SEA: He is slipping to the end of the first round in a lot of drafts, and even into the second sometimes. He doesn't deserve top consideration like he did last year, but he will be productive and consistent enough to warrant being picked around 5 or 6.
Busts
Clinton Portis, WAS: He still hasn't recovered from his knee injury. Washington just signed Ladell Betts, the "backup" who ran for over 1,000 yards last season, to a new contract. In the seven games when Portis did get the majority of the carries, Betts still averaged more than 7 carries per game. Even if Portis is healthy all year, he will only split carries. I wouldn't be surprised if Portis played fewer than six games.
Marshawn Lynch, BUF: It's hard to put a rookie in the bust category, particularly when he is being drafted in the third round at the earliest, but people seem to expect good numbers from this guy. This truth is, he has a sketchy injury history in college, he has a veteran behind him who could easily become a touchdown vulture, and rookies tend to wear down around week 12 or 13, just in time for the playoff run in fantasy. Lynch could be a great number three running back who can fill in for a bye week or if someone if facing a tough opponent, but he shouldn't be counted on to deliver in weeks 14-16, when it matters most.
Reggie Bush, NO: If you are in a keeper league or a PPR (point per reception) league, take him off this list. If you are in a standard redraft league with a standard scoring system, leave him here. If you take out his game against San Francisco last year he had 528 yards rushing, 611 yards receiving, and 4 total TDs. Solid numbers? Yes. Worthy of a first- or second-round selection? No. He has a year of experience under his belt, but there is no reason to believe his workload will change significantly. Deuce McAllister will continue to get the goal line carries, meaning Bush's value is in his yards and catches. That just isn't good enough for where he is being drafted.
Sleepers
Jerious Norwood, ATL: He didn't have great numbers last year and is slated to be splitting carries with Warrick Dunn in Atlanta--but that's why he's a sleeper! Dunn is 32 years old and has a bad back. Michael Vick isn't there to steal rushing yards (he had over 1,000 last year). Touchdown vulture T.J. Duckett is gone. Take Norwood and sit him on the bench for the first few weeks. By week six he'll be getting the workload of a feature back.
Brandon Jackson, GB: Like Lynch, Jackson is a rookie running back with competition at his position. Unlike Lynch, Jackson is going very late in a lot of drafts. Some shallow drafts don't have him being taken at all. He will put up around the same numbers as Lynch and should be available much later in the draft.
Wide Receivers: Like the running backs, most of the top guys will produce around where they are ranked, so I won't spend much time on them.
Locks
Reggie Brown, PHI: I debated listing him as a sleeper, but I think his ranking is just too high for that category. Some of the receivers who are commonly ranked higher, but whom I think Brown will outperform: Calvin Johnson, Plaxico Burress, Hines Ward, Randy Moss, and Marques Colston. And if you are in a keeper league, Brown is even more valuable; he is 26 years old and should be in his prime for at least five more years.
Lee Evans, BUF: Don't be scared off by the fact that he plays in Buffalo with J.P. Losman and a mediocre running game. Evans will put up numbers...again. Last year he had 1,292 yards on 82 catches and 8 TDs. Expect more of the same.
Joey Galloway, TB: Don't ask me how he does it, but every year Galloway puts up good numbers. Throw in an upgrade at QB for Tampa Bay, and expects another year with 1,000+ yards and 6+ touchdowns.
Busts
Terrell Owens, DAL: Things are too quiet in Dallas right now. As soon as something goes wrong, as things tend to do in Big D, we can expect to see the T.O. side show again. Last year it worked out alright: 1,180 yards and 13 TDs. The difference is the coach. Last year, Parcells was there to keep the machine running smoothly, even though one of the parts was squeaky and needed constant oiling (great metaphor, right?). This year, they have Wade Phillips, whose tendency as a head coach has been to set the machine in motion, sit back, watch, and hope nothing goes wrong. With a talented, veteran team this could work. And T.O. is a talented veteran. Unfortunately for the team, when he starts squeaking for oil and Phillips doesn't give him any, the whole machine will fall apart.
Randy Moss, NE: Another head case. The difference between him and Owens, though, is that Moss will behave this year. If he were in Dallas, he would be a lock. Too bad he is in New England. Tom Brady spreads the ball around too much for Moss to be a legitimate #1 fantasy receiver. He will probably end up with 800-900 yards and 8 TDs if he plays every game...and that's no lock.
Sleepers
Vincent Jackson, SD: He's 6'5". He is now starting. San Diego lost its top wideout from last year (Keenan McCardell). Every defense puts it focus on LT and Antonio Gates. All of that adds up to Jackson being open in the endzone a lot.
Drew Bennett, STL: He is currently listed behind Isaac Bruce on the depth chart, but don't expect that to last long. Bruce is on his last legs and is an injury waiting to happen. Even when Bruce is healthy and starting, Bennett will be a popular redzone target for Bulger.
Devery Henderson, NO: It makes no sense why he is ranked as low as he is on so many boards. Once he is recovered from a strained hamstring, which he should be by next week, he will be starting for one of the most high-powered offenses in the league. On top of that, he had 745 yards and 5 TDs last season as the third receiver behind Colston and Joe Horn. With Horn out of the way, Henderson should improve those numbers.
Tight Ends:
This is what I'm going to say about tight ends: No tight end should be picked before you have filled every starting spot for QBs, RBs, and WRs. It doesn't matter if you start three receivers and Antonio Gates is still on the board. You are better off taking someone like Greg Jennings to be your #3 receiver and waiting until later in the draft to take a TE, someone like Ben Watson, Randy McMichael, or L.J. Smith. The difference between the top, middle, and bottom tight ends simply isn't drastic enough to warrant wasting a fourth rounder on Gates, which someone will do in every draft.
Kickers:
Don't take a kicker, any kicker, until the last round of the draft. Period. Example: Last year's most productive kicker, Robbie Gould of Chicago, went undrafted in almost every league in the world...and that's not an exaggeration.
Defense:
Don't take a defense until the second- or third-to-last rounds. People will take Chicago and Baltimore early. Let them. You will get better value going after a position player, then waiting until late to take a defense like Jacksonville or Carolina.
If anyone has a question about a particular player or team just let me know.
As always, comments, critiques and suggested topics are welcome by replying here or by emailing me at KONsports@yahoo.com.
happy valentines day peoples.
biked away my frustration and confusion at two minutes a mile this afternoon.
ran through my head what i could say or could not say on the ride back home
but decided that.
i'm confused.
The Lord knows that this world is cruel
I ain't the Lord, I'm just a fool
and in love with somebody don't make them love you
Must I always be waiting, waiting on you
Must I always be playing, playing your fool
I sang your songs, I danced your dance
I gave your friends all a chance
Putting up with them wasn't worth never having you
Maybe you've been through this before
But it's my first time so please ignore
These next few lines because they're directed at you
I can't always be waiting, waiting on you
I can't always be playing, playing your fool
I keep playing your part
But it's not my scene
Want this plot to twist
I've had enough mystery
Keep building it up
Then shooting me down
But I'm already down
Just wait a minute
Just sitting, waiting
Just wait a minute
Just sitting, waiting
Well if I was in your position
I'd put down all my amuntintion
I'd wonder why it had taken me so long
But the lord knows that I'm not you
and if I was I wouldn't be so cruel
cause waitin' on love ain't so easy to do
Must I always be waiting, waiting
______________________________________
i went to physical therapy. what a bust.
so i went to roundtable's pizzza and hablado con el jefe.
i might get a job by saturday. whoozah.
so later i might go on my roof again, like yesterday, and just play the guitar.
nice. bright. white. night. lights in the sky and from the lampposts.
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