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2016 Pre-Election Thoughts

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This year, 2016, has certainly been an unusual election season. In both candidates, electionDonald Trump and Hillary Clinton, are the most unfavorable people to run for the United States Presidency. It’s amazing and, therefore, I would like to provide some of my personal thoughts and opinions on this Sunday, 11/6/2016, ahead of the decision to vote for our next President this upcoming Tuesday, 11/8/2016.

 

  • Locker-Room Talk
    • Let me address this issue head-on because it’s a legitimate concern that a Presidential candidate such as Donald Trump clearly was busted using nasty language on a video. It’s disgusting for sure to hear such vulgarity; no doubt. Let me ask you to do this right now though….go into your bathroom and look in the mirror. Now ask yourself this question, ‘am I a perfect person?’ or ‘have I ever said something nasty?’. If you can honestly say that you are holy-then-though then so-be-it.
  • Bankruptcy and Tax Returns
  • tax-returnsOn the topic of bankruptcies and tax returns, this is really ridiculous. For those of you that know me personally I follow business news very closely. I study financial rules extremely close and I run my personal and professional business accordingly. So, let me be very specific about ‘Donald Trump’s bankruptcies and tax returns’ as far as I know them. Please know that I am know apologist for DJT, but these are the harsh realities from my personal perspective.
    • Bankruptcy: 500+ business ventures and 4 bankruptcies (0.8%)
    • Tax Returns: Every leaked tax return has been proven legal. It might appear shady but the returns were clearly legal. If you don’t like the system then change it.
  • E-mails and National Security risks
    • national-securityTo me, personally, this is one of the most important issues. When Bernie Sanders said “I don’t care about your damned e-mails” he was absolutely wrong. Her e-mails ARE very relevant. First of all, we, U.S. citizens paid for her service as Secretary of State and through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) all e-mail records are supposed to be available to us. This is clear, yet she chooses to intentionally setup an illegal server to support personal business with the Clinton Foundation.
  • The Russians are Coming
    • russian_american_handshakeThe constant story of “Russian hacking” really bothers me to the core. First of all, anyone that has common sense that ‘hacking’ is a reality. We hack, they hack, North Korea hacks, China hacks, I hack and nearly everyone else hacks. For pete’s sakes it’s 2016 and we live in an internet-connected, cyber-world. HOWEVER, this does not mean that the Russians are trying to influence the U.S. election. I have worked closely with many great Russian people, as well as visited Moscow once. I have written previously about this. My Russian friends are super nice and the most genuine ever. They all appreciate American democracy; as wacky as we might be at time. I’m really disgusted at the continued suggestion by the Clinton campaign that Russia is doing anything to influence this election.
  • LGBTQ
    • To be absolutely clear, I am in full support of people’s rights to marry whoever they want. That is none of my business. As long as people are happy then society wins, in my opinion. However, I lost a Facebook friend this year because I didn’t throw 100% support for Hillary. I have never, and would never, de-friend a Facebook friend over such as issue but this person choose to do exactly that.

  • Veteran’s Support

    • veteransThe lack of Support for our brave Men and Woman that proudly served in our military is absolutely disgraceful. Our current administration claims that everyone is okay but people with common sense know otherwise. It’s beyond disgusting. This is a real problem for me in this election decision. If Obama and HRC truly cared about our Vets then why are they in such a bad way 8 years later under their leadership?
  • Economy
    • economyAs I previously stated I study the economy very closely. The Government wants to publish ‘free-good’, fake statistics such as 4.9% unemployment but it’s a complete farce. 4.9% is only because of people forced to take on a second-job and also people continuing to abandon their job search.

Shaver Lake camping, September 2016

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mountain-top

This past weekend from Thursday, September 15th, 2016 thru Sunday, September 18th, 2016 the boys and I made our annual trek up the to the California mountains for cabin-camping.

Cabin-camping isn’t quite as extreme as tent-camping because our living quarters typically have a solid foundation, roof, refrigerator and bathroom. In other words, we rent a house for the few days instead of living out of a tent.

This certainly sounds like it’s easier than traditional tent-camping, but I can assure you that we challenge ourselves in many ways to make up for the convenience of having a roof over our heads.

shaver-lake

I have been fortunate enough to participate in this fun event for roughly the past 4-5 years. It’s my understanding that this great tradition has been happening for years prior and I’m so grateful to participate with these guys, and have great fun planning with our wives.

Each year our destination is different, however, generally we choose a location somewhere in the Yosemite National Forest. Sometimes we go more north and sometimes we go south. This particular year we went East! We ended-up near this place called Shaver Lake in California.

trees

Upon arrival at the location we all were very excited, as always. These cabins were a bit particular though. Why? Because the pathway to the cabin involved a 30-or-so yard walk from our parking place to the cabin itself. You might not think that’s a big deal but when you have as much ‘gear’ as we bring it makes a huge difference. Anyhow, that was a big difference from our typical situation because usually parking is more reasonable.

We ended up staying at this place called Cedar Crest Resort in Lakeshore, CA. The people were super-duper nice, no doubt, and we loved their friendship. We must honestly say though that the accommodations weren’t the best, nor the worst. The cabin was clean but not nearly as spacious as advertised on the website which was interesting but being the manly-men that we are; we overcame. In all seriousness they had four couches in one room and we each commandeered one of thcampfire-and-roughageem!

 

After we got settled into the cabin and got our gear settled-in it was time to ‘camp’! So what was the first thing that my amigo’s immediately did? Start the BBQ grill and a campfire, of course!

Our group this year consisted of 6 total dudes. This is the largest number of campers since campfireI’ve joined the festivities. The four other guys, other than myself, I have known for a while and really appreciate their friendship. This year, however, a rookie was introduced to the gang. This rookie-guy was an absolutely wonderful person! He was such fun, entertaining and a great person to talk with. I can’t wait to hang-out with him again buy cheap viagra online uk. It is always so much fun to have new people join the group.

 

 

frank-and-aussie

This is a beautiful picture of Frank (who is our fearless leader) and his beloved puppy, Aussie. This is a photo just before Frank took Aussie on a long walk. I know both of them really enjoyed this.

Frank is a great animal lover overall and I really appreciate this quality because he is an absolutely decent person. Thanks Frank!

Aussie is terrific fun among this group of guys. We love having Aussie join us for camping and he loves being in the wilderness. Frank is such a wonderful ‘daddy’ for Aussie that it’s borderline-sickening. Just kidding Frank-Buddy!

In all seriousness it’s really fantastic to have Aussie and Frank with us. I could not imagine spending a weekend without these two entertaining guys.

football-grip

So once we got settled, it was gametime for us six guys and Aussie!

Whether it was happenstance or not, a football was brought by one of my fellow campers. Maybe they had heard the legend of the Kevin Neal Golden Arm? Regardless, as you can see in the photo, my football grip has perfect technqiue which allows me to throw perfect spirals at every release of the ball.

In addition to perfect grip and technqiue, my unbelievable accuracy to hit a received in a full-motion route is simply amazing.

LOL, yeah right! If that were all true then I would be playing football on Sunday’s instead of camping with 5 other dudes in a cabin drinking beer all weekend.

golden-armOverall, I would have to say that this was certainly a fantastic experience. What I enjoyed most was the conversations with the other guys. This was really special to me. These guys are smart dudes and have a lot of common sense. It’s absolutely refreshing to have such great discussions, debate controversial topics like adults and agree that the Cowboys stink! J

So, in summary, let me please provide my ratings:

  • Location: Lakeshore, CA = 6 out of 10 Steeler Stars
  • Cabin: Cedar Crest Resort = 4 out of 10 Steeler Stars
  • Fellow Campers: 5 dudes and Aussie = 10 out of 10 Steeler Stars
  • Food: 9 out of 10 Steeler Stars
  • Drink: 7 out of 10 Steeler Stars

I had a lot of fun guys and I look forward to next year!

Sincerely,

Kevin

 

Bella and Jack’s vet visit, 7/14/2016

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Bella, our daughter/cat, and Jackson, our son/dog, went to the veterinarian today. A super, special thanks to our patience vet for his incredible compassion for our children. Also, great thanks to my wife for caring for our beautiful furr-babies.

Brandee has, thankfully, provided the update below.

“Update on the babies.

bella2

Bella was up first.

Weight: 6lb 14oz a loss of 1lb 11oz from 5 months ago. Heart rate higher than doctor would like, but will be monitored as he also detected an ‘acquired’ heart murmur. Meaning, it’s not congenital at birth. Joints and muscle structure in great shape. No signs of AR or degeneration. Bella’s cognitive and behavioral changes were noted. Her kidneys have shrunken and that is, of course, a concern. Blood was drawn for a full metabolic panel, thyroid, liver and kidney function as well as diabetes and a few others per my request to knock it all out at once so hopefully, Bella does not have to have blood drawn again so soon. At 14, she has never been ill before so this is all new to her. Most tests will be back tomorrow sometime. Results will also determine were we go to control her aggressive behavior towards Jack. It’s causing him to form anxiety and depression.

Jack would not go down via standard sedation, I knew what was coming and did not want Kevin to see it, so I sent him packing with Bella. Daddy packed her up and took her home. Ketamine is an evil drug, folks. If you find yourself in the situation where it must be used in your presence, make sure you have a talk with your vet before it’s administered so you know what to expect. Otherwise, drop your baby off in good hands, and pick them up after recovery is complete.

Jack was next.

jack3
Weight 95.6lbs. A gain of approximately 16 pounds since last visit, 5 months prior. Feeding has been dropped from 1 1/2 cups, 2x daily to 1 cup, 2x daily. A total of 4 needle aspirations to check for recurrence of cancer in lumps I’ve found over the past couple of weeks. All checked fine with no trace of cancer cells (thank you, Jesus). His paws are inflamed between the pads from grass allergens. He is going back on a short course of Prednisone to nip it in the bud. (At least he and I can console one another while we eat ice and dream of donuts;) Skin and elbow calluses are both looking fabulous (thank you coconut oil). Nails were trimmed. Dental inspection was fabulous, as always. He has his Mother’s good dental genes ;) He has the beginnings of an ear infection, and deep canal swelling in both ears, most likely due to his allergies. Meds were administered and will be continued at home. By this time, I called Daddy back after he’d fed Bella, made sure she sipped some water and walked off her pissy mood. She hadn’t. This child…

Everyone is home, showered and relaxed. Jack is still struggling a bit with confusion and getting his brain to reconnect with the rest of his body. A special thanks goes out to his Dad for carrying him to and from the car. Teamwork!”

Thoughts on Pat Summitt

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Let me first present the person herself and then I will explain the connection.

From Pat Summitt’s Wikipedia page:

pat summitt“Patricia Sue Summitt (June 14, 1952 – June 28, 2016) was an American college basketball head coach whose 1,098 career wins are the most in NCAA basketball history.[1] She served as the head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team from 1974 to 2012, winning eight NCAA championships (a NCAA women’s record when she retired).”

I personally never met Pat, nor did I really care for women’s college basketball; yet she earned my admiration as a great person.

What was clearly evident about Pat Summit were several things including the following:

  1. Passion
  2. Dedication
  3. Loyalty
  4. Determination
  5. Perseverance

Passion: It was, without a doubt, Pat’s passion for winning that was inspiring to her students/players, those who watched from afar like myself and even earned the admiration of competitors. Never once could anyone question Pat’s passion for excellence.

Dedication: I have read many stories of Pat’s dedication to her student/players past, current and upcoming. In her nearly 40 years of basketball coaching she had certainly known many student players. By all accounts it seems that Pat was a genuine friend to these women long after they were no longer players. It seems that Pat had this dedicated spirit from her heart.

Loyalty: Pat was clearly a fierce competitor but it was also clear that she was fiercely loyal to her students. At a time where young people are impressionable and building their character, Pat seemed to be such a positive, loyal and influential role-model.

Determination: Like no others, Pat had determination. It was more than determination to win basketball games too. You could just sense her determined spirit for life, family and decency from her body-language on the TV screen.

Perseverance: Pat, unfortunately, passed away in June 2016 due to complications of Alzheimer’s Disease. This is where the culmination of her Passion, Dedication, Loyalty and Determination came together. She fought this horrible disease with great dignity and excellent perseverance. Pat resigned her position as head coach of Tennessee after being diagnosed but she contributed to role-model building, mentorship and advocate as long as she could.

 

Overall, I think that Pat Summitt is someone that is a wonderful person. Others should aspire to learn from her lessons. She has been such a positive influence on millions of people. Her life and legacy is absolutely amazing. God Bless you Pat and Go Vols!

Life Updates 7/2/2016

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Bella’s Shave

As an annual ritual, and for Bella’s comfort, comes her yearly summer-shave. It’s quite a remarkable transition. Bella, with all her furr, weighs just over 7 total pounds. So she’s extremely tiny to begin-with. After shaved I can’t imagine that she weighs in excess of 6 pounds!

She is so little but she is in wonderful health. She eats, drinks, terrorizes (her Mommy, Daddy and Brother) and most importantly, poops really well for her 13 years.

bella1 bella2 bella3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jack’s Walks

Jackson certainly loves his walks. Anytime he hears the word “walk” his ears get perky, his tail gets waggy and he heads to the front door in great anticipation of his upcoming adventure. As much fun that Jack has during his walks the fact of the matter is that it’s more fun for me to watch him be so happy. I personally get more satisfaction from our walks then he does I bet.

Jack I have been taking more frequent walks and general late at night or early morning. Jack is a very social guy but he tends to get over-exuberant with other dogs so it’s best that other dogs aren’t around for his walks. When I walk him at these off-hours it allows me to let him run freely in our local park which he loves.

Just this morning Jack and I walked all around the park and the baseball fields. It was awesome!

jack1 jack2 jack3

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pool Open

It’s that time of year, once again, for Brandee and I to open our pool. With temperatures predicated to approach 100+ degrees in the next few weeks, a nice refreshing dip in the pool is required.

Fortunately, I think many years of experience really paid-off for us this year. Typically opening the pool was a real mess for many reasons including a poor pool cover or lack of filtering. It was traditionally a mess and took weeks before the pool was ready for action.

This year was exceptional because we did things right and it only took a few days to prepare the pool for action. Firstly, the cover we used this year was outstanding and kept all the nasty/wintery junk away! Also, after opening we have a strong filter and bottom-sweeping tools.

So we are ready for action and we welcome anyone who would like to come take a dip!

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