Christmas Day 2009 and a sad lost in the sportsworld

Well here it is Christmas Day 2009 and yes we had a white Christmas of six inches of snow and blizzard like conditions. Some of the snow drifts were about as high as my knee cap, but it is great to spend time with family. Here is a snow picture outside my parents doorway.

Then Stinky the neighborhood dog messes up the drift ......Ugh

Then here is me waxing on and waxing off my gift

Also, I hate talking about bad news on the holidays, but George Michael the guy who created the "The sports machine" passed away from cancer on Christmas Eve. This guy was an influence on me because the show started in Washington D.C. before the show was syndicated nationally. The sports machine was big deal because the show started before ESPN was household name. George Michael even made sports that weren't so popular at the time a highlight show like NASCAR and Professional Bull Riding. A great sports journalist and a classy guy.

Signed

Tim "merry christmas" Crippen

PS: To John and Kim Lovitt just be glad your in Africa and not in K.C. right now.

Plaza Lights 2009

Taste testing

Besides my love for sports one of my other things I enjoy is that I love to eat. With Thanksgiving just around the corner......I'll probably be packing on the calories. However, this past Tuesday for the first time I got to do some taste testing at a resteraunt called Noodles and Co. My friend Daniel invited me and four others to do some taste testing. Now, this was my first time testing so I really appreciate Daniel invited me over for this.....hey it was free meal so I couldn't complain.

Anyway, we started off with a Mediterranean and a Chinese chop salad. Both very excellent. Then came the noodles from Mediterranean menu as the Penne Rosa and the Pesto Cavatappi just literally pop out. The pesto cream sauce on the Cavatappi was like wow. The Penne Rosa was just as good as the spicy tomato cream sauce was the perfect blend of not too mild and not too spicy.

Next came the Asian menu of the Japanese Pan noodles and Pad thai. The pan noodles were my favorite as they were caramelized and came with a little bit of cilantro.

And last but not least the American menu of Mac and cheese and Mushroom stroganoff. The mac and cheese was much better than that blue box if you know what i mean. A blend of six cheeses makes this dish very unique and the stroganoff what can I say it makes hamburger helper beg for mercy.

This place is great for anyone who is on a budget, anyone who is vegetarian and anybody who wants to eat healthy without giving up on taste. Hey, if any other resteraunts needs a taste tester then I am your man.

Signed
Tim "love the potstickers" Crippen

What has happen to freedom of speech

I have come to a conclusion that we in this country are way to super sensitive when it comes to racial issues, slang terms and stereotypes. I will give you some examples.
Earlier this week, Larry Johnson of the K.C. chiefs use the word faggot on his twitter account and to reporters in the locker room. Now, I'm not defending L.J. because he use the word as slang term for a male homosexual. But, let's look back two years ago when former college basketball analyst Billy Packer in a interview with Charlie Rose told charlie that he was faggoting out. Now, packer when he use the term he was referring to the definition as being tired out. So, what's the difference the way it was used? Different generations? Or, it is the climate that we live in.

Another example is Bob Griese ESPN analyst was suspended this week for his comments he made about Juan Pablo Montoyo. They were looking at the Nascar leaders in the race for the chase and his partner was asking "Where's Juan Pablo Montoyo?" Well, Bob Griese said "maybe he went to get a taco." As a joke I thought it was funny ,but the higher ranks of ESPN didn't think so.



Folks, we need to get a hold of ourselves and not take life so serious. In this country we either need to restrict our freedom of speech so that everybody is protected or keep unlimited freedom of speech where everyone can say what they want to say and not get hurt.

Signed
Tim "proud of the first amendment" Crippen

I'm sorry but you have the wrong number

About a month and a half ago.....I decided to switch cell phone companies and got myself a new number. Well, since the switch I have had numerous calls, text messages, text pictures that were sent to me, but were for the wrong person. Here are just some examples:





Ring, Ring, Ring, : Hello this is Bank of America is Adrianne ***** here.....NO....you have the wrong number.





Ring, Ring, Ring: Text message........Why haven't you call me recently we need to get together and hang out Sara......Reply to text message Who is Sara? Reply Back: This isn't Adrianne **** Reply: NO...I think you have the wrong number. Reply: sorry



Ring, ring,ring: Picture message: whoa!!! I can't show that on this blog or even talk about it. This Adrianne must have some weird and freaky friends.



Ring, ring, ring: Hello this is the Orkin man we need to take a look at your house for termites is Adrianne home? No you have the wrong number.





So Adrianne ***** I'm asking you real nicely to take care of your bank statements, hang out with your friends, get that termite problem taken careof and for the love of God give them your new cell phone number otherwise I might look like this guy in another ten years.


Signed
Tim "just leave me alone" Crippen

Another year older and another first

Well here it is again folks another year.......another birthday. I am a 34 year old man who on some days feels like he's 44 or even 54. As usual my folks celebrated my birthday by getting me a cake. As you will see it is a Chiefs cake....and for people who know me well....I am a Bears fan....not that I don't root for the chiefs....that's just my team.

Also my folks took me to this wonderful great authentic mexican restaurant in Parkville, MO called Agave mexican restaurant and cantina. Very good food for family owned place. If you go there you should try the spinach enchiladas and to top it off have a mexican cheesecake. It has a dry corn husk that is used as a bowl. Inside is a cream brulee with a carmel topping and some raspberry sauce on the side.......YummmmmmmmmY.

There happen to be another first in my life as I got to go see the Nascar time trials yesterday...Now, I'll admit before I went to the speedway I wasn't a big racing fan, but I never had been to the speedway or been in the infield until yesterday when I got to do both.

When I first got there and I went to the grandstand area....the first words that came out of my mouth was "Oh wow".

Then I headed over to infield, but to get there you have to head down some stairs into turn one. You go underneath a tunnel that is under the track and it lead you upstairs to the infield. You can see in the above picture where victory lane and the garages are located. Here is just a close up area of the garage where pit crews are fixing their cars to meet the right specifications and where fans can try to get an autograph of one of their favorite drivers.

I didn't see any drivers except for Jeff Gordon, but that was because he just finish using the restroom and waved to all the fans.

It's one thing when you see these cars on TV run on the tracks how fast they go, but when you see it in person it gives you more of appreciation of how hard these drivers have to concentrate when your going 175 miles per hour. It was actually a really neat experience and I would recommend anyone to try it just once. I may not always come out on top, but this birthday celebration and seeing the time trials made me feel like a true champion.

Signed

Tim "in victory lane" Crippen

PS: For ten dollars it was worth it

State Fair 2009

As September comes the three F's come into place.....Fall Weather, Football and the Fair. This year's fair was more unique as far as weather wise. Cloudy and cool and in the upper 70's all weekend long. Sure, the fair has some of the old unique events like the pig races, the chainsaw artist and of course the butter sculpture.

This year it was a horse and a shoeman.

New this year was a comic hyponist.......very funny. He put these people in this certain state of mind. He made people lose their bellybuttons, use the restroom and made people think their chairs were cow utters as they were milking away. Wether it's fake or not I don't know, but it made me laugh.

(The power of suggestion)

Then I saw one of my favorite bands : Huey Lewis and News. The show was pretty good....I wish he would have played "Couple day off" and "I know what I like to do" but hey I got a good seat and good show.

Heuy rocking the stage

And to top things off a very nice view of the midway from the ferris wheel

Signed

Tim "enjoyed the fair" Crippen

Why I think August is a boring month.

It has been awhile since I have written a post, but I mostly did this on purpose for this particular month. I've alwalys felt August was the most boring month of the year because any other time of the year there is something to celebrate. Let's start with January you got New Year's Day, February you have Valentine's Day, March you have St. Paddy Day, the beginning of spring and of course March maddness, April is fool's day and the start of baseball season, May has memorial day and June has flag day and the official start of summer. Sure there is the fourth in July and september starts the fall as well as football season. October has Halloween....November has thanksgiving and at the end of the year you have Christmas.

Now, I know some people would say that because I'm single and I'm not a parent that I should celebrate August like any other month. That's true because if I was parent I would celebrate august because kids would be heading off to school and it's also the last month you can get family vacation before you send them back. I know that I'm getting old when they are starting to send kids back to school in mid august. I remember when school didn't start until after Labor Day....that just shows my age. However, until that day comes I will still think of August as a boring month.

Signed
Tim " ready for fall and football to get started" Crippen

A day at Schlitterbahn

With summer half over and also having a day off from work today, I decided to go the newest waterpark here in Kansas city. Schlitterbahn just open on July 16th and when I heard that.....I thought I have to go there the first chance I get......well today was the day and wow they did a pretty good job. It's not completely done, but for the portion that was done......it was great. All the rides or area is connected to a river system that you can get to by a tube. From the three water slides named bahnzai, wolfpack, and black night to the main attraction the uphill water coaster named the storm blaster. This place had something for all ages including a hot tub area named Henry's Hideout where you can belly up to the bar for a cool coke or adult beverage. It was nice day to get out there anyway sunny and 83 with a little wind. If you want to get your waterpark fix in before summer ends....I would recommend it, but if you can wait or year or two it will be much better.

Signed
Tim "enjoying a weird summer" Crippen

I am eithier getting old or time is passing me by

This past weekend I happen to see a promo on ABC for the game show "Who wants to be a Millionaire?" I guess in august the show will celebrate it's 10th Anniversary in this country. Ten years? Has it been that long.....I remember when it first premiere......even Regis looks like he's getting older, but then again aren't we all. This also happens to be my 15 year high school reunion, but I haven't heard if were having one. Where does the time go? It seems like the things I remember from yesterday are coming to the historic milestones. However, this year hasn't been wasteful...in fact you might say it has been productive so far. I mean....I'm officially debt free. I'm finally under 250 lbs.....it's still a long ways away, but were making progressive. I'm up for a promotion at work and hopefully this upcoming semester I hope to be taking a class in sports management. I have to say that God this year has truly blessed me and that he has much more in store for me than I can possibly even imagine. Even if I am getting older.

Signed
Tim "enjoying the moment" Crippen

Fourth of July in D.C.

After some long days at work this past weekend it was so nice to get away for the holiday season. What better time to see the fourth of July then at our nation's capitol. I pretty much got to see and do everything I wanted to do.

The first thing we did was to go to Harper's Ferry, WV. I did tubing for the very first time.....at first I was wondering what did I get myself into, but I realize eventually that your suppose to let the river do most of the work for you. Other than couple of times flipping over and getting a bruised elbow....I say for a first timer I did pretty good. Went to a Nationals game with Paul (Crystal's brother) and saw fireworks afterward....very cool.

Next day; Paul and I, went to the Baltimore Aquarium

This picture is just one of the examples of how colorful the place was....I thought the price was a little high, but hey you only live once. Also, went to Camden yards...hoping to get a public tour, but instead they weren't giving out tours so we just went around the stadium and did our own self tour. Afterward Paul and I went to Fort McHenry where the Star Spangled Banner was created. It was also a prison to people who were southern sympathizers. The museum was pretty cool with some artifacts like a silver punch bowl shaped like cannonball. This picture below shows how big the cannons were during the war. Although, my big gun arms are a close second just kidding.

Fireworks at D.C. on top of the hill at Fort Meyer

I should give thanks to my brother and my sister in law for putting up with me this past weekend. I know sometimes I don't show it or say it, but I really did have great time out there.

Signed

Tim "back to the old grind" Crippen

Will there be democracy in Iran?

This week has been very interesting on the other side of the world. About a week ago, Iran held their elections and the current regime won. Not happy with the results, the opposition in thousands protested the results saying the election was rigged. At first I thought these protest would only last maybe two or three days. Surprisingly, this has been going on for a whole week and there doesn't seem to be a let up. The younger generation having been wanting a change for such a long time.....and who knows they might just get it. Today, was no different as people still kept on protesting as a video revolution showing images that might be too hard to watch. I saw one woman who was wounded and died later on camera. Seeing these images just makes me cringe.......I think about what happen in Eastern Europe in the early 90's or Tinnamen Square in Bejing China where in both cases people were wanting change in their country.

In fact watch the movie "The Patriot" starring Mel Gibson. Even in our own country regular citizens died for their own freedom who weren't even participating in the revoluionary war. Maybe, just maybe we will start to see freedom in the Middle East like places like Iraq, Afghanistan and even in Iran.

signed
Tim "freedom isn't free" Crippen

The Hangover

What do you get when you put a groom, a school teacher, a dentist and one weird future brother in law in which they spend a night in Vegas. You get one funny comedy in the movie "the hangover". It all starts when doug who is getting married in two days decides to spend his bachelor party in Vegas. What looks like a typical bachelor party turns out to be a nightmare when all of them are so out of it they don't remember anything from last night. Their friend doug is missing throughtout the whole movie as they get little clues as they try to remember what all they did wrong. Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms steal this movie and even the future brother in law gets a few laughs as well. From a missing tooth to stealing a cop car to even a tiger being in their bedroom suite it just seems to eithir get weirder or funnier depending on your perspective. Mike Tyson even makes an appearance in the film and plays a part on finding their friend. If they had cut a portion of the language and all of the nudity......the film would have been really great. If I had to give a rating for the film I would give it two and half stars out of four.

Signed
Tim "really hungover" NOT" Crippen

A sad story and my thoughts on the last tonight show

When I got up from my nap this afternoon and tune into the news, I saw that Dr. George tiller the famous doctor from Wichita who performed late term abortions was killed in his church this morning. They even arrested the suspect. Now when this story came out my first thoughts are that the media is going to treat Christians as bunch of hateful people who are nothing on but getting venegeance. That is nothing further from the truth. I also find it ironic that a man who attends a church and calls himself christian can do such a horrible thing as killing life of the unborn. Now, I'm not condoning what the person did because I think about the time when Jesus was being taken away and Peter cut off the ear of a Roman soldier. he said to Peter "Have you come out against a thief with swords and with clubs to take me.....I was daily with you in the temple teaching and ye took me not the scriptures must be fullfilled (Mark 14:48-49). See, I think that no court sytem, no killing will bring justice to the situation. Only God will judge this man and we should leave it to him on what he decides to do with Dr. Tiller.

Now, my thoughts on the last Tonight show with Jay Leno ......it was okay, but it felt like another show instead of the last show. I think it was because that Leno will back in primetime and is not leaving. When I saw Johnny Carson last show it felt like I was missing a late night friend with Jay it felt like .....I'll be gone but only for three months. Oh well....good luck to Conan as he starts tomorrow and good luck to Jay as he starts his show in September.

Signed
Tim "feeling allright" Crippen

I'm Debt FREE!!!!! FREEEEDOM!!!!

Twenty months ago, I took the course that many people have taken at least once in your life. The Financial Peace University hosted by Dave Ramsey. Now, while I was still in Wichita I had heard of him, but really didn't know much about him. After completing his course.......I started to realize why he is such a popular guy. For years.......I was spending money I really didn't have.....whether it was going to trips to New york City or Peurta Vallarta. Then eating out at the most fancy restaurant's in Wichita (and yes there are some fancy ones out there). It seem like everytime I got a paycheck ......I needed to spend it. Before you know it I was like Gomer Pyle saying "Shazam, where did it all go." No more.......yesterday I made my last payment to my credit card.......and now I'm officially debt free. I would have finished this last year, but I needed the car because my truck was getting old and beat up. How does it feel to be debt free? I don't think it will hit me until next month when I don't have to write a check to these snakes. I did celebrate this milestone......Yesterday at work it just happen to be employee appreciation day. I decided to pin a sign on the front of my shirt so that people can read it. It says " Today, I am debt free." Mostly, I got a lot of congratulations others seemed to be jealous and few people thought I might have been weird. Hey, if being debt free makes me weird so be it.

Sincerely,
Tim "feeling really good" Crippen

Baby birds in my dad's pick up truck

When you hear sounds of chirping baby birds acting like they haven't had a meal in awhile this isn't where you thought they would be.

Mass Hysteria over swine flu

I know that this blog post that people won't agree with me, but I'm going to speak my mind. This past week the local as well asthe national media has been starting out their newscast with stories about the swine flu. Now, I'm not saying that it doesn't exist. What I am saying is that it not a pandemic. Maybe in other parts of the world, but here in the U.S. only what one person has died. More people have died from measles or mumps back in the early 20th century. This is so much a scare tactic that people at my workplace have used it as an excuse to get out of work. You might have the flu, but your chances are not that of swine flu....unless of course you just recently got back from Mexico. I'm not so much mad at the disease then I am against the media who hype this thing up.....what was it a slow newsday at work....Come on this about as bad as that MSNBC report saying that global warming is going to cause the north pole to melt and oceans to flood coastal cities like NYC by 2013......we'll see these people need to be held accountable. Anyway, I digress......the swine flu hopefully within a few weeks we'll be an old news story just like bird flu and the west nile virus it will all be just another flash in the pan.

Signed
Tim " pass me the bacon" Crippen

Kansas City Tea Party 2009

My first ever protest or rally whatever you want to call it happen this past tax day here in Kansas City and around the nation. No, I didn't have sign ,but if I did it would have said this "If 10% is good enough for Jesus, it ought be good enough for Uncle Sam." This issue isn't a Republican issue or a Democrat issue it's a American issue of government irresposiblity. Here's a few pictures at the rally.

Signed

Tim "had fun at the rally" Crippen

Good Friday at the New K

I woke up on a Friday morning to some rain, but as my half day of work came to an end the sun came out and my cousin and I went to the home opener at the new K. I must admit the place was great. There were parts of that stadium that I didn't even recognize. From the sports bar with a party deck in the right field to the new fountain seats in left field it really was a sight to see, but don't let my words be your judge. Let the pictures speak for themselves.

In the end however the Royals lost to the yankees 4-1......oh well there is a lot of baseball left.

Signed

Tim "enjoyed my half day off to see home opener" Crippen

Phantom of the Opera and must read book

I must admit when it comes to musicals there are very few of them that I will ever go see. Last Friday was just one of those exceptions as I went to see Phantom of the Opera. The acting was great, the music was spectacular and in one moment there was a part of me that even felt sorry for the phantom character. If you get a chance to see it .....I would highly recommend it if you haven't seen it.

Now, a book that I would recommend for any christian who wants help Muslims learn about Jesus Christ. The book is called "Once an Arafat man" it's a story of man who at one time was Fatah fighter for the PLO the group that was once led by Yassir Arafat. He was a sniper as well as his chauffeur. The first few chapters are really tough to read, but as you read this book you see his transformation in his life as he comes to America. You'll laugh, cry and be amazed of his thoughts on how to solve the Middle East crisis. Great read.

Signed

Tim "the phantom rocks" Crippen

This is an actual blog

You have seen many blogs but now Barack Obama's teleprompter now has a blog. Here is the link barack_teleprompter_blogspot.html. Enjoy

The Auto show and March Madness #3

Well, once again I go to the Auto show and this year felt a little different than normal. There seemed to be less cars out there and less people seeing this event every year. Maybe it's the economy or maybe because they planned this during conference tournament weekend. Eithier way, my dad and I had wonderful time out there. The highlight had to be seeing the new F-150 Raptor now that is an extreme off-road truck. Here's a couple of pictures of the Auto show

Now, it's time for my annual picks for the NCAA tournament or what they call "March Madness". As a KU fan I don't expect them to get to the final four if they get there so be it but it's hard to win back to back national championships. Looking at the brackets and studying the teams I'm gonna start with are my sleepers. The two teams I would watch for this year is the Utah Utes and the Florida State Seminoles. The teams that I think will get to the Final four our Memphis, North Carolina, Louisville and Pittsburg. Speaking of March Madness I think my sister in law and my brother are suffering from this disease....I don't know if it's true , but maybe this picture might prove my point.

Signed

Tim " Happy St. Patrick's Day" Crippen

Watchmen a bit unwatchable

As comic books go there seems to be a new one every time made into a movie. X-men, spiderman, batman and now the latest "Watchmen". Now, I didn't know the storyline to the film before I saw it, but the movie explains that pretty good. The opening scene in the film is great as the hero or anti hero depending on how you look at it gets murder at the scene of his high rise apartments. His colleagues were known as "the watchmen". Helping to protect crime on the street, the vigilante rorshack vows to get revenge. The cinematography is great, the plot was easy to understand and some of the characters lack emotion. This was one of the worst comic films made since Spawn. If this film was more Pg-13.....I think more people might have seen instead it looked like a mixture of a soft core porn film and one of the "Saw" movies. Don't see it and don't even think of taking the kids to this film.

tim Crippen

You might be paying for what?

As a traveler; wether it would be by car or by plane, it seems like were paying for all these little extras particularly if your flying. You pay for drinks, pillows and blankets and even those stupid little headsets just to hear what's on TV. Now, a certain Irish airline RyanAir is thinking about charging you the passenger to use the restroom by inserting coin slots to use the facilities. I couldn't make this stuff up even if I tried. Look, I know the airline industry is hurting, but when you gotta go you gotta go ......I don't have time to search in my pocket to find a couple of quarters just to use the can. Last time, I saw a coin operated restroom was somewhere in Israel where you deposited the coins in this cement statue where the sun don't shine. Now try to imagine this over 30,000 feet. This idea would never work in America.

Signed
Tim "I gotta do #1 and #2" Crippen

Westminster's Best of show 2009

Stump the dog isn't he cute

Are there any athletes that are clean?

About 18 months ago, I wrote on my post on how Barry Bonds tied the homerun record and that it wasn't legitimate record. I also said that Alex Rodriguez or A-Rod would be the homerun champ in the near future because the only thing he cheated on was his wife and not steroids. Well. folks hold the presses......If the story from yesterday is true that A-Rod failed a drug test back in 2003 and was because of steroids then I'm really going to be wondering is any great athlete in baseball really clean.
This past week the sports world has seen Barry Bonds losing his battle with "The Feds". Michael Phelps smoking tree (Marijuana) and now A-Rod cheating (allegedly). No wonder it seems like our society looks at athletes so cynical. When I was growing up my athlete heroes were George Brett, Walter Payton, Cal Ripken, Nolan Ryan, Wayne Gretzky and Magic Johnson. Sure, some these athletes that I named had some off field trouble, but at least none of them took steroids or drugs just to get advantage on their sport. This generation of kids now who look at athletes now sometimes wonder is there anybody that I can root for?
Last year on 60 minutes, Katie Couric had interview with A-Rod and one the questions she asked was "Have you taken any steroids?" His answer was no. All joking aside we need to get that guy from the Fox tv show "Lie to me" to see whether some of these athletes who do interviews like this to find out whether any of then are telling the truth. Kids if you really want to be inspire look at your parents, older siblings if you have any, a pastor, a mentor.....anybody that you see that looks at life in a more positive manner. That is who your inspiration should be not athletes .......and if you do look for athletes look for good ones.

Signed
Tim "telling it like it is" Crippen

Superbowl, job fair and everything else on my mind

The superbowl was one of the best I've ever seen. It's in my top five of best finishes and even the commercials were pretty funny. My personal favorites were the Budweiser commercial where the horse brings the big stick and the Mr. and Mrs Potatohead commercial for Bridgestone tires.
The Job fair was okay .....I did get to talk to some recruiters, although some companies that said they were going to be there online weren't there on Monday. Oh well, you just keep on searching and be thankful that you still have a job. I waited for about hour in line just to get to talk to some recruiters. You can tell when the economy is bad when over 1300 come to an event like this and your hoping you get that certain position. I do have gripe with some people who attended this thing. If your coming to a job fair dress like your going to an interview not like someone who just got back from shopping extravaganza.
The switch to digital TV is only days away and I can't wait....or is it going be a few more months? Recently, congress is working on passing a bill that will delay the digital switch till June and yes President Obama is supporting this bill. Now, for people who have HDTV like me or people with satellite or cable were already there. I know they said reason their doing this because they ran out of money and coupons for the converter box. Give me a *#@$ing break, they have had this place for over two years....just another thing that happens when government runs it.

Signed
Tim "venting off" Crippen

For those who love to eat

Even with a sagging economy we all have tighten our wallets, but we all have to eat sometime. This week starting tomorrow in Kansas City begins restaurant week. For those of you who don't know about every major city has thing that they do once or twice a year called restaurant week. This is where fancy gourmet and somewhat nice restaurants let's you try your local flavor for a discounted price. This week 12 restaurants in the power and light district will have lunch for about 10-15 dollars and dinner for about 25-30. Each restaurant will have it's unique flavors.....I have my personal favorite there at the district...The Peachtree restaurant. There for restaurant week for 25 dollars you can get choice of one of three appetizers, one of three desserts, and the choice of these four entrees . Catfish/chicken platter, Honey salmon, Blackened shrimp or Lemon catfish. Yummy that sounds really good right now. To see the other K. C. restaurants this week that are participating go to www.districtresterauntweek.blogspot.com Bon Apatite

signed
Tim "ready to eat" Crippen

Wow that is amazing

I'm sure by now you have all heard about the "Miracle on the Hudson". How just about two days ago pilot Chesley Sullenberger or by his nickname "sully" landed an Airbus plane in the Hudson River. There were 155 passengers and crew and everyone on that plane made it alive. That part was amazing, but what was even more amazing was the pilot was trying to get everyone one out and the last passenger he saw he gave his shirt off his back literally as the pilot was the last one to leave. With temperatures in the river hovering around 35 degrees. It will be amazing to hear the pilot's point of view of what he was thinking when he had to ditch his plane. Although, not to make fun of the situation but this morning I heard from one of passengers on TV who was on the plane telling the anchor that after the plane landed and the exit doors open that people were opening up the cabin doors just get their luggage. What? You survived a crash leave the luggage there you can replace things later.

Signed

Tim "way to go sully" Crippen

New year's prediction post

Well another year has passed and were wondering where did 2008 go. I look back on some of my predictions and some came true others well were working on it. First the true then did come out right. Foreclosures were up from the previous year, I was promoted within my company, there was youtube tv on a reality series it was called "quarterlife" but it only lasted one episode. I won't give myself credit on the presidential election cause I cover all the bases. Also, there was major earthquake in California in midsummer...if you call 5.6 on the Richter scale a major one.
This year for me will be the year of bad economics......from companies like Lehman bros, Merrill Lynch, and AIG......to banks like Indy Mac, Washington Mutual and Goldman Sachs all feeling the pinch this past year. Bailout seemed to be the word of the year. Michael Phelps made us stay up late for a week to see him win eight gold medals in one Olympics. Central china had a major earthquake killing thousands of people. The Kansas Jayhawks won the national title in basketball and president bush avoided being hit by a shoe. The country also elected it's first African American president. We saw famous people pass away like Heath ledger, Michael Crichton (author of Jurassic Park) and Paul Newman just to name a few.

So what does 2009 bring us.......I'll try my best for my prediction post.

1. I will pay off my credit card this year ( last year I said the same thing but I traded in truck instead).

2. Gov. Blagovich will eventually be remove from his office this year.

3. President Obama will get his first chance to select a supreme court justice and it will be a Latin American judge.

4. The stock market will dip below 7,000 this year.

5. Unemployment rate could possibility see double digits since the great depression.

6.The Carolina panthers will be SuperBowl champions this year

7.Jay Leno's last show on the Tonight show this year will be just as tearful as when Johnny Carson left the show.

8. Lance Armstrong will be known as "the comeback athlete of the year" after his three year hiatus from winning the "Tour de France".

9.You will start to hear talk about 3-D TV's

10.The royals might surprise some teams this year....then again maybe not.

Signed
Tim "the swami" Crippen

Valkyrie

Well, once again Tom Cruise is another film about the millitary. This time he plays a german officer named Col. Stauffenburg who's main objective is to kill Hitler in the movie Valkyrie. I saw this film and somewhat like it. Cruise is a dead ringer for stauffenburg. If you look at a side by side picture between the real stauffenburg and cruise playing him it's very eerie. The nature scenes are great and the direction that director Bryan singer (X-men director) gives makes you feel like your in the operation yourself. My only two complaints of the film is that in part of the film it doesn't give true story of how stauffneburg lost his eye and his right arm. The other is that cruise doesn't hardly speak much in a german accent. The supporting cast is great you might not even recognize Bill Nighy with all the make up he had to wear as the squid guy in the second Pirates of the Carribean movie. Overall, if you like history and a good suspense thriller you'll probably like Valkyrie. Out of four stars ....I give it 2 and 1/2,

Signed
Tim "too many holiday film" Crippen

Merry Christmas

Check out the Mountain Dew Fleece Pants ......I'm wearing

Kudos to Hyundai

Last week, I receive a recall letter from Hyundai that my electrical wiring harness system needed to be replace. So, since there is no Hyundai dealership in Leavenworth, I went to closest one I could at Shawnee Mission. They not only took care of one recall part but two. The exhaust manifold was under warranty and they replaced that too. Then for the last five months I finally figured out that the reason for my check engine light was coming on. The speed sensor which is connected to the ignition system was pretty close to going out along with timing belt costing me over 600 dollars. I hate to spend the money for it but I always remember the phrase " Pay now and pay a little or pay a lot later." These guys had to keep my car overnight and gave a free rental car for the day. I'll tell you what even with having to part with some money these guys at Shawnee Mission Hyundai were the nicest guys to work with ever. Kudos to everyone from Mike the technician to Toby and Jay the service guys. The car feels like it's brand new even tough it's a 2002.

Signed
Tim "Merry Christmas" Crippen

Somebody dropped the ball

If you were like me this past friday you probably shopping just like millions of other Americans on a day we like to call Black Friday. As morning approach, I headed to Best Buy to be looking for a new tv. I didn't wait too long in line no more than five minutes. I looked at the Dynex 19' as well as the Sharp 22' TV/DVD combo. Both were great, but I decided to get the Sharp 22. I wait in line for about five minutes....they had everybody working the cash register. As, I'm writing my check a portion of my check gets ripped. They put it in the cash register....they said it was declined. I write a second check thinking since the number were portionally ripped off that the computer didn't read the first check. Declined again. Now, I'm getting mad they ask me if I wanted to use my credit card.....I was hesitant at first but decided to go with it. After making my purchase, I went to a local ATM machine just to see what I had in my account and it was more than enough to cover the TV. So, what have learn boys and girls. Well, for one thing somebody dropped the ball on this situation. Either it was my bank or it was something wrong with Best Buy's computer system.

Signed
Tim "AAAArrgh" Crippen

Single guy's guide to surviving thanksgiving

Okay for the first time ever in my life.......i spent thanksgiving alone. Yes, you heard right alone. No friends, family was in ark city, Kansas but I couldn't make since I have to work tomorrow.....it just felt weird. Too start we have to start from yesterday at work.......when I stopped at Topy's popcorn for a bucket of carmel. cinnamon and butter to snack on for the holidays. As I was driving by listening to some classic Bon Jovi, I see there was dude at the Little Ceasar's on shawnee parkway and quivira jammin to a fake cardboard cutout of a guitar advertisement for $5 pizza. I saw this rolled down my window....he heard the Bon Jovi music and he was really started to jam.....That may me laugh all the way to the grocery store. Then I stopped at the price chopper to get a substitute thanksgiving dinner. Hey, if you can make for grandmother's dinner or your parent's house.....I would suggest buying one of those Hungry Man XXL turkey dinner......it's not quite the same but it does the trick. I stayed up late watching movies and you can't go wrong with a holiday classic like "planes, trains, and automobiles." This morning got up watched annual parade....no balloon mishaps, but if you search the internet on the 1957 parade what happen with the popeye balloon you'll probably chuckle at it.

Catch some football as well as watching the plaza lights get turned on. My old roomate text me from California and is now in food coma. Not really, but you know what I mean. Did I survive thanksgiving? Yeah, I did but it really wasn't great as great as I thought it would be when your all alone.

Signed
Tim "I'm thankful for a lot of things" Crippen

Who says you can't get a free lunch

In recent months there sure have been a lot of promotions for a lot free stuff.......first back in October if somebody stole a base during the World Series you can win a free taco......I took advantage of this by hitting to three taco bell stores. Hey, I got free meal out of this. Then on election day Starbuck s coffee gave you free cup of coffee if you show your "I voted" sticker the same went for Chick-fil-A as they would give you their original chicken sandwich. Now, the lastest promotion is from Dr. Pepper. Back in March the bottling company made a statement that if the new Gun's N' Roses album "Chinese Democracy" would dopped by 2008 that everyone can get a free coupon for a 20 oz. Dr. Pepper on their website. Well, yesterday the album went on sell......and as Dr. Pepper president says "the drinks are on us".

Signed
Tim "have a happy thanksgiving" Crippen

Now what

So, the election has come and gone and we've elected a new president Barack Obama. I thought when I came to work that Wednesday morning that I would hear hooping and hollering of joyous celebration. Instead, I got more of the silent and empathy treatment at work. Maybe people were just tired of the election, maybe they were upset that their guy loss or maybe they were happy that their guy had won but was too tired that morning to show enthusiam. Eithier way I say to the new president congratulations "you've got a big job ahead and it's not going to be easy." I didn't vote for Obama or McCain in this election.....I voted for Ron Paul. Now, some people would say you just wasted your vote ......to that which I say No, I didn't because what I'm telling to both of the parties is that neithier one of you giving any real good solutions to fixing the mess....and it's more than just the economy. There is too many unknowns of what is going to be happening in the next few years.......Am I going to have a job? Is my 401K plan going to be a 201K? Is health Insurance still going to be with my employer? Are we going to see a switch in the Supreme Court in idealogy? Are we going to end the war in Iraq and Afghanistan a lot sooner before the job is finished? Just some of the questions that a lot of people are really asking about the new president.

I think with all the problems that we have in this country there is not a problem in this world that God can't solve if we turn our hearts toward him and reject our sinful ways as a country. Now, that may sound simple but at least it is honest.

Signed
Tim "glad the election is over with" Crippen

A clown coming in for an interview

Okay, I know it's halloween and people at our company do dress up and what have you just so they can have fun and maybe win some money prize. But, if your not part of the company and your coming in for an interview perhaps wearing costume before you are going to an interview is not a great idea as well as maybe having a beer in your hand. Well, today a woman who was applying for one of the two maintenance positions was wearing a clown suit. Luckily, my boss has a sense of humor and did the interview as if were a normal day. Now, I don't know if she will get the job, but if she does I will be amazed.

Signed
Tim "clowns are only needed for kids parties and the circus" Crippen

Ch...Ch...Ch...Changes

These last three days has gone through many changes surrounding me. First, let me start about my weekend. I headed off to Pittsburg this weekend to see our beloved Campus Christians House for the very last time for Homecoming week. It will be torn down after this year and made into a parking lot. I have many good memories of the place from ping pong tournaments, to my fishing buddy and I wrestling down on the floor to the praise and worship days on Tuesday Nights. Speaking of my fishing buddy, Dan Decker took a new job in West Plains, Mo as a helicopter mechanic. The football stadium added jungle tron to the South field which is a new video scoreboard (gee, I wonder how much that cost) Then today at work, two of my fellow co-workers in my department decided to quit leaving the maintenance dept with just the two of us. Oh, man making my job duties double. I just wanted to take a deep breath and say "things are going to get better it's just the question of when."

I guess in this year of change.... I shouldn't be surprised of people moving, new jobs, marriage and everything else in between that you realize that things are going to change. It's just a matter of whether you can adapt to it. As I get older it gets harder and harder for me to embrace change. I know I need to but it's not easy. I remember when I was coming home yesterday putting on old Michael W. Smith song that I still like to this day. It's called "Place in this World."
As I listen to lyrics of that song it still has the same effects on my life as it did when I was a teenager. Where I feel the I'm standing still, but the wind is constantly moving. To this day I'm still looking for a reason to find my place in this world. I've always enjoyed that song because it is so true.

Signed
Tim "working on changes" Crippen

An American Carol

If your a fan of the Naked Gun films or your views politically are somewhat conservative then you'll like this hysterical politcal comedy film "An American Carol". Starring Kevin Farley (Chris Farley's brother) as Michael Malone a liberal film director who hates America and wants to abolish the celebration of Fourth of July. He gets visited by his hero JFK in which he tells Malone that he needs to change his views and that he will be visited by three spirits. His first spirit is General George Patton from World War II played by Kelsey Grammer. then he is visted by George Washington and the spirit of death or future is played by country music singer Trace Adkins. This film makes fun of just about everybody Michael Moore, Rosie O' Donnell, the ACLU, TSA, and the muslim terrorists. I can't tell you what happens in the film but you will be laughing in your seats. In this crazy political season it's nice to have film that laughs at the other side.

Signed
Tim " very sad that the bears lost today" Crippen

My favorite time of year

This is probably my favorite time of year the season of fall. With baseball playoffs going, football underway, and politics all aside. It's nice just to walk around a park and see some of the colors starting to change on the trees. I remember as kid when my friend Brad and I would get some of the other teenagers from the church and we would gather leaves to make the biggest leafpile and jump right into it. Although, now as an adult when fall comes I realize that winter is just around the corner Ugh! Since fall has came I have done some things like for the very first time I went to a pig roast. Good eating I might add. Celebrated my Birthday just a few days ago and enjoy my day off in the middle of week. I saw the movie Appaloosa....it's okay but I thought it could've been better. If you like old sphaghetti westerns you might like this one. Help make apple cider with my folks.....all of this done within the last two weeks and we still have two and half months left in fall.

Signed
Tim " just wanted to put a post in October" Crippen

PS Go gorillas and Bears

Knight rider......you got to be kidding me

On my Februray 17th post ......I said that there was a possibility of Knight Rider becoming a TV series.....Well, my dreams or I should say my worst nightmare has come true. I'll admit I am a sucker for the original but this new series we'll be lucky enough if it last eight episodes. TV network executives don't have a new creative mind in their body. The try to bring back last year the Bionic Woman (a remake) and it got cancelled. Then a few years ago they tried to bring back "The fugitive" TV series and what happen "CANCELLED" . Now their trying to bring back another great classic Knight Rider.



First here are some steps for the show to make it a hit again

Bring back the Trans Am....the Ford Mustang is okay but give the car some pizzaz....Heck if you wanted change cars bring back the Pontiac GTO. Then Kitt's powers are another thing. In the original the car went into attack mode a few things change, but it was still the original car only with some turboboost. This car acts like it one of the cars from the Transformers movie....Kitt can change into a truck what??? I know it's the 21st century but be realistic. The producer of this show should know how to built a futuristic car after all he did do the "The fast and the the furious".

Second the voice of Kitt

Val Kilmer has got to go.....brick back William Daniels the original voice of Kitt or give me a voice that is distinctive ....oh let's say like James Earl Jones (just kidding) but you get my drift.

Third mike's girlfriend

Deanna Russo on the show is very good and HOT I might add. I don't know if she is related to Renne Russo but she is part of the reason I watch the new show.

All in all the show is going to have a hard time getting in audience, but who knows maybe this show will break the curse of Classic Television remakes and last for a few seasons. Only time will tell. I leave you with the two reasons I watch the show Deanna Russo and KITT. Enjoy



Signed Tim "the original is still the best" Crippen

I love L.A............N O T

Welcome to a place where dreams come true and things just look so perfect. Either this is heaven or it's southern California (aka Los Angeles). As I got on the plane I was looking forward to seeing so many things whether it was the beach or just time outdoors. I wonder if my suspicions were true about California .......I found out after a week pretty much is true.

Let's start first with day one.......I met up with my old roommate Robb who picked me up at LAX.

We headed to his place in Torrance, CA a fairly nice neighborhood. I was thinking it was going to be a small apt. .....Oh no, this wasn't an apt. it was a business/storage unit. Dusty, dirty and two window units in the roof with bars on it. Honestly, I thought I was staying pretty close to a prison cell. Day two was when it really got interesting because slowly but surely I started seeing the real L.A. A lot of the interstate areas just look so trashy along with a a lot of tagging along the cement sidewalks. Even some of the palm trees are faked because their disguised as cell phone towers. As we traveled along the Pacific Coast Highway or as the locals call it PCH. We pass by the famous beaches of Venice, Santa Monica and ended up in Malibu. Great picturesque scenery of the coast and the mountains that hug it Here's a picture that kind of gives you an idea. (Although this Venice beach you'll get my drift)

Two days later we went to the Tonight show with Jay Leno.....we waited in line for hours but we were able to get into the show and even before we did that we saw the NBC studio tour which is definitely worth seeing before you go to the show. Here's me doing the pointing thing again.

Before the show begins, Jay Leno does a Q & A with the audience and Robb and I got to meet Jay Leno. Somebody on his staff got to take a photo of us right there on the set. It was probably the highlight of the whole vacation To get a picture with a celebrity and nice guy too nonetheless was pretty awesome.

To cap things off we ended up at dodger stadium. Very unique stadium with three different levels. Yes, I did have super dodger dog (all beef). The palm trees around the stadium along with the mountains on one side and the L.A. skyline on the other makes this ballpark really special. Overall, LA. does have nice weather and great beaches and some of the people are friendly. However, the traffic is bad, people drive like maniacs, certain areas are trashy and I felt like I was in old mexico and not the United States. It was great to visit the city and my old roommate, but I doubt if I will ever go back there ever again. It's actually kind of great to come back to the Midwest where I can tell that a man is man and a woman is woman.

Signed

Tim "enjoyed nice weather on vacation" Crippen

PS: I know California is broke, but why do they charge $5.00 just to park at the beach? If you want to go to good restaurant...go to "Duke's" in Malibu for some great clam chowder at $6.50 for a bowl.

Jon Reep and Washington D.C.

It was a great time last time weekend as it started with Barrett and I going to see Jon Reep performing at Standford and sons comedy club. I haven't laugh that hard and cried and the same time in quite a long time. If you don't know who jon Reep is he's probably best known for the Dodge Ram pick up truck and says the phrase "hey, is that a Hemi?" He's kind of mixture of Jeff Foxworthy and Robin Williams. Funny guy!!



The next day.......I headed out to Washington D.C. to see my brother and sister in law. I had a wonderful time out there. We literally hit the town from going to Ruth's Chris Steak House to going to see the monuments at night to going to Washington Nationals baseball game to seeing the Washington Monument......it was just too bad that the time was very short and that we can only do so much in three days.

However, the plane ride going back as well as coming out there were a little bit inconvient. The airline that rhymes with "I felt ya" literally ignore me by not calling my name to check in my baggage. Luckily, it was carry on baggage, but I still had to empty my bag of deoderant spray and gel. Along, with tube of toothpaste. It was eithier me emptying it out or TSA. Other wise I was going to be late for my flight. Even with all the bad things that happen on the airlines...it did give me a perspective as I was heading home. On my flight, back there were some troops from Iraq who were heading home. These men and women were getting shot at every single day. Yet, here I complain about bad service from the airline. As we arrive at the gate we all applauded the men and women who were getting off the flight.

Signed
Tim "hey is that hemi" Crippen

Titanic the musical

No Leo Decaprio or Kate Winslet in this version of Titanic....although it would be funny to see the two of them try to sing a tune while their on deck. In this version of Titanic the main focus is more on the captain of the ship, the architect and the investor. Sure there are side stories like a love story, a wife jealous of being a second class passenger wishing that she was mingling on first class, a man working in the boiler room, etc. There is a lot side notes in this version so at times it might be hard to keep up. Seeing jason bridges perform three different characters is remarkable... He is a fourth in commanding officer and a first and third class passneger. For a community theater production of the show they did a pretty good job of the boat deck. Although, as I was watching last night's version I saw one thing real cheesy....for those who haven't seen it I won't give it away, but it just involves a dining room cart or was it a table. The cast and crew put in a lot of hard work into this from memorizing their lines, to the choregraphy and of course the singing. If there was anything I was disappointed it was that there wasn't as big audience for opening night. Otherwise, good show.

Signed
Tim "iceberg right ahead" Crippen

Women's tour

It was my first time helping out on a tour for my company that rhymes with the island of Malta so to advert being sued. But this wasn't just any tour .....oh no, this was a tour of women and some of them a little bit wild, some hungover and some well words just can't even describe. As the tour rolled through the warehouse.....these women were taking pictures of everything from the owner's offices to the history display of the company. In a way, I didn't really want to do the tour, but toward the end there was a representative who thank me and for the others for coming out on a Sunday and helping out with the tour. She didn't have to say it, but to me that was a great feeling and it just made the rest of tour such a nice time.

Signed
Tim " I'm glad this is over with" Dawg

Mid way Summer films

The dog days of summer are almost here or their already here depending on your perspective. As usual I check out some summer flicks and I give you my point of view on them. Now there are still some more summer films to see, but I'm going with ones that I have seen. First up "Iron Man" what a great comic book film for something new. I'm not a big Robert Downey Jr. but he actually pulls it off playing the title character role. Let's just hope the sequel is just as good. Speed Racer .....I know what the story is about but what happen to this film. Not even the people who brought you "the matrix" could save this film. Prince Caspian the second book of "the chronicles of narnia". Much better than the first one and more characters to enjoy. WALL-E is probably my most surprise pick of the summer. Great film for kids of all ages and there is great love story between two robots. Once again, PIXAR has gotten themselves another hit. Most recently, I have seen "The Dark Knight" and just to see Heath Ledger's performance of The Joker is worth the price of admission. The action is great, the performance's between Christian Bale and Heath Ledger are excellent. Heath should get look at Oscar nomination for his role in this film. If I had one gripe is that when Christian Bale puts on the mask and he talks .....I swear it sounds like he's channeling Clint Eastwood's dirty harry character. That's it for now for the summer flicks.

signed
tim crippen

the 100th Post

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P O S T

Fourth of July Weekend

Well once again we celebrate America's birthday as it turns 232 years old. I get together to see relatives of people I haven't seen since last year or in some cases many years. It was fun stuffing ourselves with good food and seeing the fireworks from us as well as our neighbors just shooting them off. This year's fourth was nice in a sense of how great the weather could have been. No rain, no humidity and very little wind. Wow, I can't remember the last time this holiday was like this, but hey I'll take anything I can get. I still have been enjoying the car since I got it, but I have to vent even more when I read an article this evening. As you know my car is a gas saver however it might get a sticker if I were living in California. There is bill in the California legislature where if it passes....your vehicle will have a sticker of whether it's a pollutant or not. I am not kidding .....so for my elantra it would be environmentally friendly. However, an SUV or a truck would get one of those bad stickers. What are we back in first grade? Hey, here's an idea let's put stickers on politicians who write these laws as if were giving them labels....Here's an example I'm a politician who raises taxes, or I'm liar, I'm a cheat or my personal favorite I will do anything just to get elected.

Signed
Tim " I can't even enjoy the holiday" Crippen