Fostering an Attitude of Gratitude.

Back from Alaska, Safe and Sound!

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:01:02 -0400

I get a big kick out of my son, Kevin! I love and encourage his adventurous spirit and his controlled craziness. And then I worry a little while he’s off at his next big trip, until he returns safe and sound to share the stories, pictures, and recollections. I get to live them vicariously!

He has a couple of friends that are equally adventuresome and crazy. One of them has been his best friend since kindergarden, the other since high school. They like to hunt and fly fish. I don’t know where he got that gene, certainly not from me. But I can remember when Kevin was about 4 years old, up at 6 AM on Saturday mornings to watch TV, NOT cartoons, but rather the hunting and fishing shows! So his interest goes way back.

The three of them just got back from a month in Alaska, spent entirely in the outdoors, hiking way out into the middle of nowhere, camping, and finding remote rivers and streams to catch all sorts of different fish, especially salmon. They were roughing it to the point of only taking three showers in a month. I’m sorry, I could not do that. I couldn’t even smell that!

He said, “Dad, we are going to the exact same places where hungry bears want to go to find something to eat. We will be fishing and competing for their food.” How do you think that made me feel?

They found a $500 used car on craigslist and had arranged to buy it even before they left home, and another guy that sold them local fishing flies. They bought a gun. They took a 4 day raft trip with a total stranger who also had a gun. They stopped at a bar literally 100 miles away from the nearest anything. So many things that I’m glad I didn’t know about until after the fact!

May I share a few pictures with you? Yes? Okay...

Kevin on the left, with friends Blake and Alex. Kevin in the middle.

Remote rivers, jumping salmon,
and happy fishermen!

Black bears and grizzlies, oh my! And only a few feet away!

Hiking sometimes 7 hours to reach a remote site. Ass-freezing over the below-freezing “nights!”

Enjoying the land of the midnight sun!

Hunting and eating whatever doesn’t
eat you first!

And practicing some wild story telling!

When you see a cute little hungry bear cub,
look out for the large, angry mama bear!

Can you tell I’m proud?!

Roxy Rocks!

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 14:57:51 -0400

From the bottom of my heart I want to thank my (now) dear eFriend, Roxy, from Roxiticus Desperate Housewives for not one but TWO awards! Awww, shucks, she shouldn’t have. But okay, I’ll take ‘em!!! Hooray!!!

I love the thought of the Beary Best Award. Who doesn’t like teddy bears? A universal symbol of cuddly friendship and love. Here is the award. Isn’t is great!?!

And the second award is for more mature audiences, because I’m not always childish. Occasionally I am mature. What do you think? I’m a kick-ass blogger! Oh, Yeah!!!

Thanks again, Roxy. I’ve said it on your site, now I’ll say it on mine... you rock, Rox!

And now, in the attitude of gratitude, I am passing on both of these awards and my eLove to some of my favorite people. I would encourage my readers to visit their sites because they are Beary good, Kick-Ass bloggers, too!

Twisted Sister, Dawn
Keli, the expert on Counterfeit Humans
Kayla from Adventures in Time and Space
Miss Sensuality, Amy
Kathy, writer of the awesome Junk Drawer
San Diego Momma, Deb
and Mandy, the Texas Medical Freak

Congratulations!

Here are the award rules:

The Beary Best Award
Rules
1) The Beary Best Award is given to those people who we want to know we care… just because
2) See rule #1
Click on the award to go to the site for the award code.

The Kick-Ass Blogger Award
Do you know any bloggers that kick ass?

Maybe they've got incredible, original content. Or they're overflowing with creativity. Is it someone that helps you become a better blogger? Or a bloggy friend you know you can count on? Or maybe it's someone who simply inspires you to be a better person... or someone else who sends you to the floor, laughing your ass off.

Whatever the reason may be, I'm sure you know at least a couple of bloggers that kick ass. Well... why not tell 'em so?

LOVE ON 'EM
• Choose 5 bloggers that you feel are "Kick Ass Bloggers"
• Let 'em know in your post or via email, twitter or blog comments that they've received an award
• Share the love and link back to both the person who awarded you and back to www.mammadawg.com
• Hop on back to the Kick Ass Blogger Club HQ to sign Mr. Linky then pass it on!

I Sold it on Craigslist

Thu, 7 Aug 2008 16:58:06 -0400

I feel compelled to give Craig Newmark a plug. I have looked on craigslist from time to time, but never really used it for much. Maybe because I have never been in the market for bitches and hoes. Yeah, sometimes it gets a bad rap. But my kids use it all the time, and this is the first time I ever used it for something big.

I listed my 10 year old 1999 Toyota Camry two days ago, got five interested parties within 24 hours, and sold the car within 48 hours! I got a very fair price for it, too. Am I kidding me!?! No, I’m serious! It’s hard to believe how fast that happened! So, I thought I’d give Craig a little link love. (No, I’m not getting anything for writing this post. I’m just grateful.) Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article about craigslist:

Craigslist is a central network of online communities, featuring free classified advertisements (with jobs, internships, housing, personals, erotic services, for sale/barter/wanted, services, community, gigs, resume, and pets categories) and forums on various topics.
The service was founded in 1995 by Craig Newmark for the San Francisco Bay Area. After incorporation as a private for-profit company in 1999, Craigslist expanded into nine more U.S. cities in 2000, four each in 2001 and 2002, and 14 in 2003. As of September 2007, Craigslist had established itself in approximately 450 cities in 50 countries.
As of 2007, Craigslist operates with a staff of 24 people. Its sole source of revenue is paid job ads in select cities ($75 per ad for the San Francisco Bay Area; $25 per ad for New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Boston, Seattle, Washington D.C., Chicago and recently Portland, Oregon) and paid broker apartment listings in New York City ($10 per ad).
The site serves over nine billion page views per month, putting it in 41st place overall among web sites world wide, ninth place overall among web sites in the United States (per Alexa.com on January 10, 2008), to over thirty million unique visitors. With over thirty million new classified advertisements each month, Craigslist is the leading classifieds service in any medium. The site receives over two million new job listings each month, making it one of the top job boards in the world. The classified advertisements range from traditional buy/sell ads and community announcements, to personal ads and even erotic services.
In December 2006, at the UBS Global Media Conference in New York, Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster told Wall Street analysts that Craigslist has little interest in maximizing profit, instead preferring to help users find cars, apartments, jobs, and dates.
The company does not formally disclose financial or ownership information. Analysts and commentators have reported varying figures for its annual revenue, ranging from $10 million in 2004, $20 million in 2005, and $25 million in 2006 to possibly $150 million in 2007. It is believed to be owned principally by Newmark, Buckmaster, and eBay (the three board members). eBay owns approximately 25%, and Newmark is believed to own the largest stake.

What’s the biggest item you either bought or sold on craigslist?

WooHoo!!! Comment away!!!

Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:20:39 -0400

I finally found the fix to the nagging comments problems since Apple’s switch from .Mac to MobileMe services.

The problem is that the urls have changed ever so slightly! The old blog urls still work, but with glitches. I have new urls for my blogs. I am now in the process of updating my accounts at BlogCatalog and MyBlogLog.

If anyone has the old urls on some sort of list, I have to ask you to update them to the following. After that, your comments will work just fine, and I can comment back!

Crazy Medical Cases:
http://web.me.com/ferdcrotte/Crazy_Medical_Cases/blog/blog.html

The Best Parts:
http://web.me.com/ferdcrotte/The_Best_Parts/Blog/Blog.html

Ferd Crotte, M.D.:
http://web.me.com/ferdcrotte/Ferd_Crotte,_MD/Your_Health_Blog/Your_Health_Blog.html

Thanks, to anyone who cares!
Sorry for the bit of hassle!

What would I do with a billion dollars !?!

Tue, 5 Aug 2008 20:45:37 -0400

What kind of billionaire would I be?

Mandy, of Texas Medical Freak, is one of my oldest blogosphere eFriends. It turns out she would be a Philanthropist, which I think is kind of like a beauty queen, in that she wants to bring health and happiness to the whole world.

I thought I’d turn out the same, because I have a lot of beauty queen in me, too! But no, mine turned out different:

I guess that’s alright. I would invest wisely and still devote most of the money to bringing peace and happiness to the whole world. It brings a tear to me eye just thinking about it. I better be careful or my mascara will run!

Okay, see ya, I’m off to the bathing suit competition!

My comment thing is still not right. Sometimes it works for people and sometimes it doesn’t. I still can’t leave a comment on my own blog! I’m trying to be patient. Not one of my strongest virtues.
I love you, Apple. Now, please, love me back dammit!

Ruby Tuesday

Tue, 5 Aug 2008 08:27:30 -0400

This is my first shot at Ruby Tuesday, which I believe is a regular thang for The Teach at Work of the Poet.

The picture has to have some red in it.

Here’s a picture of my favorite girl, but I can’t tell you who she is. She’s a mystery!

I hope the comments work. It’s been on the fritz. Apple NEEDS to do something about this!
Peace!

Date Night

Sat, 2 Aug 2008 20:54:05 -0400

Eric’s dad decided to take him for the weekend. I think it is the first such weekend in a year! Well, that’s another story. But I’m really grateful to have a weekend with Princess Gail free from the day to day autism stuff.

We got a bit dressed up and had a nice dinner at The Real Seafood, outdoors at the Maumee River overlooking downtown Toledo. She had her favorite, salmon, and I had some awesome fried shrimp!

Don’t I look happy?

Then we went to see the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight. I was skeptical of all the hype, especially what I perceived to be pity votes for Heath Ledger’s performance. But I was SO convinced! The movie was an edge-of-your-seat spectacle, totally jam packed with action! And Heath Ledger’s Joker was an inspired tour de force. He deserves at least an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor, though it seemed he was actually the lead. Oh, and as a side note, there was no Katie Holmes in this one. (She’s from Toledo, and we try to be fans, but it was not very smart to turn down the role she had played in the previous Batman movie. She should have asked me for my advice!)

Then we went straight home because Princess Gail wanted to show me something. ; )

I hope the comments work. It’s been on the fritz. Apple NEEDS to do something about this!
Peace!

Needy Ferd

Fri, 1 Aug 2008 11:54:54 -0400

She’s my Queen, but she drives me crazy sometimes!

I received another meme challenge from Mimi Queen of Memes.

Simple premise, so I’m not really complaining. Actually, it’s all in fun. My job was to google “Ferd needs” and see what comes up. I’m a bit surprised I found anything:

STUFF I GUESS I NEED:

Ferd needs a hug.

Ferd needs complete healing for his back.

St. Ferdinand (I bet you didn’t know I was a saint! Me neither.) seeks to serve brothers and sisters in need.

Ferd’s tour dates, with songs, videos, pictures... everyone needs a friend! (Did you know I was a rock star?)

Ferd needs to be cleaned up!

Ferd needs creative freedom. (This is apparently very important in the “environmentally friendly paperboard” business.)

Ferd needs a Special Needs Trust. (Like the one we have for Eric.)

Ferd needs more to eat, Annie is getting ready to calve. ( I found this to be “udderly” ridiculous.)

Ferd... knows the needs of wine lovers.

Ferd is dedicated to meeting customer’s needs.

11. Is it just me, or has everyone on the internet failed to make a Ferd... but... well, that’s really all that needs to be said about it. (I hope “making a Ferd” is something good.)

12. Da Ferd, The Albino Rhino, Big K, Ferdinand, Outlaw, Sunshine, and Sir Drinks a lot. That’s all the names you need to know.

13. Ferd needs urgent prayer. (Yeah, it’s up to urgent levels now.)

14. Ferd needs training. (Or depends.)

Ferd... needs explanation. (Yeah, go ahead and try! Some things just can’t be explained. They’re a mystery!)

Well, that’s it! My neediness exposed!

If you want to try this out, tag yourself, and let the Queen know about it.

Now excuse me, I need to tend to some of my needs.

I hope the comments work. It’s been on the fritz. Apple NEEDS to do something about this!
Peace!

I Wanna Hold Your Hand!

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:10:44 -0400

I have accepted the Quest.

I received this challenge from Queen Mimi of Memes.

Along with other knights (and beauty queens), my goal is to bring peace and love to the whole wide world!

It will be a long and fearless journey, so I better make sure my iPod has these two songs:

CLICK HERE

Earth, Wind & Fire

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:22:47 -0400

It’s been a long time since the band looked like they did in this picture from their heyday in the 70’s. Only three members from the original band are now touring, but let me tell you, with the kick-ass band they have assembled, the sound is still amazingly pure Earth, Wind & Fire! Here’s how they look today (Philip Bailey on the left, and the coolest bass player on the planet, Verdine White, on the right):

They have been playing together for 37 years!!!

I had the good fortune to see them a few days ago at the outdoor amphitheater at the Toledo Zoo, a small, intimate venue. This time we did not get rained away, like at the Stevie Nicks concert last month. On this day the weather was spectacular. The mood was energetic and joyful. The music was full of life. Everyone in the place was dancing!

The highlight performance of the evening, in my humble opinion, was “Let’s Groove.” Though today it also reminds me of Dance Dance Revolution. It’s my favorite DDR tune.

There is plenty of good new music around, but I find the great music of my youth to be the grooviest!