About Me

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El Paso, TX, United States
Still Wondering What's Next? Anything at Anytime (I) has/have had a rough start to the year. Sorry for the delays in Posts and I Promise to do better. No Excuses as Life Must GO ON! So Keep an Eye Open... Oh, if you would like to follow on Twitter I am @DanWins2007.

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Monday, August 30, 2010

A Downer to a Pick me Up

Anything at Anytime sometimes takes a little outside inspiration.

Today was a downer day for some reason and I just could not get anything going.  I lazed around the house watched a couple of movies on TV and other than the one I just watched I can't tell you squadouche about what they were.

I have no idea if any of you have ever heard of it, I never had.  The movie is called The Amateurs with Jeff Bridges, Ted Danson, and William Fichter from 2005.  A Definite must for a few reasons.  I will let you discover most of them for yourselves.  I will tell you one that got me going and thinking.

Murphy's Law happens to everyone sometime or another.  It all depends on what you do with it after it has hit you that counts.  I watched the movie and I saw myself in it.  All except for the ending and the general plot.  The Murphy's Law hitting when you least expect it.

A few years back I bought into a web store and busted My Ass creating links and trying to build connections and getting listed in yahoo and google and all learning how to input keywords and all that crap in just the right way.  I actually got a few sales out of it.  We (Jackie and I) both busted our humps trying to keep paying what I owed for the site and struggled and struggled to keep it running but as Life would have it and Murphy's Law - that is when I started getting sick regularly and missing work more and more.

Start cutting here and cutting there, Robbing Peter to pay Paul and before you know it we couldn't keep up with everything.  Then I was diagnosed with Later Stage Emphysema and lost my job because of missing to much work.  That is when reality bit me/us in the ass.

Eventually in a sinking ship you have to start bailing and patching holes or everything is gone.  So I had to give up a few things that really hit hard.  Needless to say my credit is shot to shit and seemed (note: seemed) to waste a bunch of our money.

We have "buttoned down the hatches" and have patched all the holes that we can and have both begun bailing to get ahead of the ones we can't patch (like me).  Family has come to the aid a few times as well.  Honestly, that surprised the shit out of me.  You know who you are and THANK YOU!

One thing I can tell you is Failure happens to everyone sometime and if you haven't experienced it yet you are either Lucky as Sin or to young to really know Failure.  It is what you make of that failure or disaster that resulted in failure that counts.

Some of you that read me on a regular basis have asked in the forums "Why I push so hard to try and make this blog go and get "Popular""?  Well, I am not going to sit on my ass and do nothing.  I want to contribute something to my family even if it is just pennies on occasion.

41 years old and I never did learn to quit in a fight.  I get knocked down, I get back up.  I may get up slower and slower but I will always get up and keep going.  That attitude has gotten me into a ton of trouble but it has also saved me from disaster.  This is one of the good times and The Amateurs has that kind of attitude to it towards the end with great rewards.  Don't know why but for some reason it picked me up.

Again if you haven't heard of it or seen it you have to give it a view.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

A Day with the Family

I decided yesterday to take the day off from writing on the blog so I could spend the day just being with and  chatting with my girls and wife about how their week had gone.  

Last week was their first week back to school (except the wife as she spent a week at school before without kids).  It appears all is well except my youngest has been bombed by her teachers with "TONS" of homework every night and plenty for this weekend.  The oldest has been lucky as the way they have set up the schedule for all of the classes it gives them more time in each class and they get most if not all of the work done in class.  My oldest also made the Volleyball team (YEAH!!!).  She likes Football (watching the Huskers with me) but not enough to want to play or I would have tried to help her get ready to play against the boys.  She realized Yesterday that my Huskers Women's Volleyball is consistently ranked in the Nations Top 25 so she started watching Volleyball the other day.  

One is talking about orchestra and the other is talking about band.  One with a violin and the other with a clarinet.  Anybody know where I can get some top quality Ear Plugs?

Jackie, well she is starting to fall in love with her new "little ones".  Of course, she is suffering withdrawal from her last class as she spent 2 years with them.  She misses having them all in the class room but I give it another week and she will be over it and totally involved with the new class.

After spending a bit of time with them I decided to start loading up some of the games I had on the computer before she crashed.  One that my wife and I both like to play is called "Zuma".  If you haven't played it - DON'T!!  It is as addictive as anything out there.  I got it loaded into the computer so she and I could start "competing" with one another again.  I Swear this computer cheats for her!

Anyway, I had a good time being with the wife and kids talking about how their week went and being the big "L" playing against my wife.  

Don't Forget in our hectic lives to take time out and spend it with your family even if it is just to sit and talk.
Life goes by to quickly the older we get.  

When we are kids things don't move fast enough.  When we get older and we start to slow down things speed up and begin to fly by.  Don't miss out because you shut your eyes to long.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Have I been here? And if so When?

Have you ever gone somewhere you never have been before, but when you actually got there you knew somehow, someway that you knew your way around?

I have had that happen to me a couple of times in my life.

Well today I am going to tell you about the first time.

I was 19 and had just left college, to go to my parents home, after having a Blast my first year at college (Blast by the way is code for Bombed).  My parents lived in Germany at the time, beautiful country by the way if you ever get a chance to go.  When I arrive I got to know the local area and got my European Drivers License and began to explore the surrounding area.

I got myself a job working at the dinning facility on the Air Base, at the time it was under a German company's contract and most of the employees were German and a few of the girls were my age.  Of course we all became friends (yes, the girls my age and I) and they invited me to join them over to the town they lived in so we could all go clubbing together.  The town was Hameln.  At the time I did not know the place and barely knew how to get there.  As I got closer somethings started looking familiar; the surrounding hillsides, the streams etc.... and the closer I got the more Familiar it all became.

The girls had told me the streets they lived on and I was to call them when I got into town for the directions.  Once I got into town I didn't need to call, I drove straight to the first girls apartment.
Talk about weird, I had no Problem at all finding the place.

A few minutes after I got to the first girls place she was ready to go and asked if I needed directions to the other girls place and I responded that I didn't think so.  10 minutes later we were at the other girls place and picked her up.  Both of them were surprised that I found them all that easily.  The clubs I did need directions too.
We had a good night, I got them both home and got myself home.

The next day at work we all were discussing it during our breaks.  Apparently both of them lived in very old parts of town and I told them I had never been there but for some reason I just knew where to go.  They both looked at each other, and one of the older ladies decided to speak to us in broken English and German.  The girls had to translate the German I didn't understand.

Anyway, the older lady (that looked like she could have been my Grandfather's Grandmother) basically said I had an "Old Soul".  The girls were as confused as I was by the statement.  She went on to explain to us a bit of the history of Hameln and explained that Americans and English referred to it as Hamlin - as in The Pied Piper of Hamlin.  Then she laughed at our looks and said "Maybe you are one of the children come Home!?!"

Sort of weird, spooky, and awesome all rolled up into one.  One thing I can say is that no matter where I was in Hameln, I never once got lost.

Is it possible to have knowledge of a place with never having been there before?  I can't say yes or no for everyone but as for myself I Do think it is possible.

If you have no Idea what The Pied Piper is, look it up and read it. A very interesting tale that will make you think.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Random Bouncing in My Head

Again Anything at Anytime has turned and headed in a different direction and I am not sure where it is headed.

(I know the picture has nothing to do with today's post but it is a cool picture and sort of relaxing don't you think?)

I was looking around the site today to make sure everything was still working and in order today.
As usual everything is looking good and has no snags.  I would ask that you notice the I support item to the immediate right of this article.  If you could take a couple of minutes and click around on it and listen to what they have to say.  I am not getting paid for it but the sponsor buys school supplies for needy children and the more people check it out the more kids get helped.  It takes just a few minutes and they ask for no personal info.

Another thing I noticed Anything at Anytime has hit 1,000+ on the Flag counter down in the lower right hand corner for the USA.  First one I have hit that high.  I would like to see it grow faster but for it to get there is sort of Cool.  Also just below the Flag counter is just a general counter in a maroonish burgundy colored back ground that I put up just a few weeks ago and it is already over 600 so looks as if the numbers are going up slowly.  Thank you all for stopping by and seeing what is going on here.

As You all know I started this as a project to help my wife out for one of her continuing education courses so she could say she knew how to respond to blogs and surf through to other blogs.  Project done.  Right?

Wrong!

Anything at Anytime began to take on a life of its own and has become a means of self help and exploration.  I can write Literally about Anything at Anytime and let my mind drift to whatever topics I catch as they go back and forth, up and down, in my head.

I also have a means to put out how I am feeling about/with my Emphysema in the Journal.  I haven't been doing it daily but every few days off and on and just little updates on how I am doing.  If any of you are viewing my blog for that purpose only you really need to check out Mo's site which has a Direct link on the Journal Page Just above my Journal entries.  She has a good bit of information and has linked to many sites about the Topic of Emphysema and COPD.  If you have or someone you know has send them here and there.  There Really is not that much info out there and what little there is tends to be old or rehashed.  Emphysema and COPD are a medical condition that does not get the attention that other medical conditions get.  MO and I will be hopefully trying to change that.

My Life With Emphysema


I also have had the pleasure of running into many Unique individuals and bloggers/writers out here in the wide Internet world.  They have topics ranging from Movie reviews to Personal Poetry to Math and just about Anything you can imagine.  Some have an adult theme and some don't.  Some make you sad an others make you smile and laugh.

To you my readers I propose a challenge to you for Today:  Do Something Nice for Someone you DON'T Know!

Think you can do that?

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Whats going On and a Request to you the Reader

I have been trying to Expand Anything at Anytime's foot print out there in the Internet World as of late.

Difficult task to accomplish.

I am on Facebook under my Name - Danny Winfield
Somebody started a bit on Facebook called Anything Anytime and it picks up all of my post from the blog when I publish them to my FB with Networkedblogs you can join me there as well (or follow down in the right hand column).

I am on Twitter now as well (got lucky and got to keep my screen-name):  DanWins2007
I am lost there and just learning my way around so give me a bit and you are more than welcome to follow me there and tweet/retweet or whatever it is on Anything at Anytime's behalf if you would like.

Annah Banana one of my many blogging buddies/buddettes over at When Red Means Go has put me up on her list of sites she visits and follows and a few of her followers have stopped in to take a peek.  She started her blog a bit before mine and has really promoted herself well and got Blog of Noted twice now (B.O.N.d) and has a very large following.  Hopefully some of her "Famosity" (her word and it seems to be spreading) will rub off here and at some of the other sites she is following.

I've gone and gotten myself placed in a few Blog directories and joined a couple groups to help promote the site.  I know my writing is not for everyone and I will never fool myself into thinking that.  I know that for a fact as there are authors out there that others just Love and I can't get into their writing style.  It is a fact that all of us that write or Post blogs etc.... must face and realize.  A Famous quote but I have No idea who said it:  "You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time."  That can not be a truer statement for a budding writer or blogger!

So for us to grow and improve it takes work from us (the writers) and you (the readers).  From the writers, we need to accept possible criticisms about what we have written and adapt to what our readers are commenting and asking for from us.  From the Readers, we need to give the writers comments, let them know what we think of what they have written and maybe suggest what we might like to see them try.  Another thing we can do as Readers is to pass the site address on to friends and family so that they can look at and read, you never know they might like it as well.  An easy way to do this is use the buttons you see at the bottom of the post, they look like this:

The Ones I use now are the "t", "f" and the cloud word thingy at the end.  Those allow me to post to Twitter, Facebook and Google.  I have rarely used the email button but if you prefer to email folks that is there as well.  They are at the bottom of every Post on many blogs.

The more people reading us and commenting helps us to give you all a better read in the long run.

At the bottom of the main body on each of my pages you will see a list of 5 of the blogs I follow and it rotates each time someone puts a new post on their site, some more frequently than others but honestly all of them have good stuff.  Some is lined up to adult or more mature audiences and others are just out there and fun, and some just tell it like it is.  Give them a look see and visit and comment and tell them what you thought about what they wrote.  It makes us all want to give you more and better.

Thanks Dan

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Captcha Humor II

Anything at Anytime hasn't done Captcha Humor in a bit so.......

These were taken as I go along and make comments and what I been given.

This one was one I got from FaceBook when I was posting one of my post on there.


So I gather I should have "Felt" an "Epiphany" coming on.  Nothing happened!

This one was in a response to Hyperthetically and a small issue I found on his site for just a little while.


It immediately thought of the Riccoli (or however you spell it) commercials, you know the cough drop commercials.

 This one was brought about talking about the various games and how they continually give you a bit and then you have to pay for more to open other parts.


Its as if the games give you a "Sip" of a "Skit" of the game in order to draw you in and pay much much more.

This one I am not even going to comment on.  You can read it for yourself and see what you come up with (No, pun intended).




Now, this next one comes from one of my Favorites out there that I follow and she follows me and you can find her at When red means go and it fits her to a "T"!


Annah, Girlo, I am going to close with that one for you today.

Hope you all got a few smiles and maybe just maybe a blush or two.

Have a Great Day!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Summer is Over! School Bells Ring

Anything at Anytime is suffering from no kids in the house today.


The house is silent.

Just me, Snuggles, and Thumper here in the house.  

Today Jackie (she started last week) and the girls all started school today.  Soooooo......... the house is Silent except for the rustle of paper from Thumper's cage when he moves or the pitter patter of Snuggles as she walks across the floor.

Man, this silence could drive a person Nuts!  Guess I am glad I'm already there, nobody has to drive.  LOL

Seriously, the house is pretty quiet as Summer has officially ended and School has started again.
Got everything ironed and ready last night.  Made sure they all had everything ready and at the door so they wouldn't run around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off.  

So Today's post is short just in case I have to run at short notice if someone forgot something.  

I imagine many of you are doing that today or in the near future depending upon your local school districts.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Meant to Do and I Took Part

Anything at Anytime's 100th Post! 


I Wanted to set this up with bells, whistles, fireworks and the whole shebang.

I decided to keep it rather simple and put two post together one short discussion and a 3 month I Took Part in That (haven't done one of those in awhile and you all should see where we are).

So on with the first bit.

Last night I was surfing the channels as usual and ran into one of my Favorite movies just as it was starting, perfect timing.  The Rookie starring Dennis Quaid as John Morris.  It is a Baseball Movie and has some good bits in it for young and old alike.  It seems every single time I see it I find something new that makes me think about how that could pertain to my life or what is going on with me and mine.

Well, last night was no different.  Now, I am not going to tell you the whole story and this and that of the entire movie because you have to see it for yourself and it is based on a True Event.  Anyway, to set up what got me thinking last night, John (Dennis Quaid) has had issues with his father in the past but an event is taking place in John's life that has him questioning his options.  John goes to visit his father and get his opinion (which in itself is a big step).  His father says this:  "Your grandfather once told me: "It's OK to think about what you want to do until it is time to do what you were MEANT to Do."  I know that may not be what you were wanting to hear."

So it got me to thinking about me and my situation.  I have always been the Dreamer type and always have tried to be a realist optimist (prepare for the worst and always hope for the best).  Maybe, just maybe, I was meant to write.  Who knows?  I don't know.  I just know that I have been at this consistently for three months now and it I am not at a point of stopping.  I just want to keep going and drawing more people to read and think about what I have to put out there/here.  Some may think I am nuts, others might find it funny and yet others may find something to expound upon.  Maybe I was put in the position/situation that I am because that is where I was Meant to be?


Part II of today's Post

I Took Part in That  -- 3 Month total and Map



As You can see by the map it is filling out nicely from the beginning.  Looking at the Map you see El Paso with the Largest Number and you see the total visits at 2,204.  If I have done my figures right I would say that between 270 - 300 visits have been by me when I go in and make post on other sites like Facebook and Google.  So I will go with the larger Number of 300 from the initial 2,204 and that leaves a total of 1,904 visits from 54 countries and 447 cities.  I hope that by the end of the year I can have that total close to or beyond 3,000 (would love to see that kind of traffic in a month, but small steps.)

Thanks to all of you that stop by and read what I have put up.  We all made that map look like that together.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

A Look at Me and Mine.

Since Anything at Anytime started several of you that I have chatted with have wanted to see "Me" so you have an idea of who is doing this writing.

I figured if I was going to do that then I might as well introduce you to the family so to speak.


The Day we got married.
In less than a month we will be at 14 years.


Snuggles in all her glory.



Thumper Loves sticking around the garden.


A Father - Daughter Dance a few years back.
Our Daughters E and D or D and E one or the other.
That is still me but a bit more salt color in my hair now.


When Jackie got Teacher of the Year a couple of years ago.
The Girls just had to be in the picture with her.

So that is the family and hope you all have a better Idea of who you are reading from and chatting with.

Hope you have a Good Day!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Dan's Rules 1-10 of ???

Today I am going to put my top ten personal rules up on Anything at Anytime.



Dan's Rules



  1. Try and keep life simple.  Don't make life difficult, or K.I.S.S. = Keep It Simple Stupid!
  2. Tell the Truth no matter the cost - It's always better than getting caught in a lie.
  3. Stand up for what you Know is Right!
  4. Be an Asshole when needed.
  5. Always defend someone weaker than you.
  6. Anything is Fair in a Fight.
  7. Give a shoulder when it is needed
  8. Don't give away anything you don't have too.
  9. BE KIND you Never Know when you might need it.
  10. Everyone is the same, Just different.



Just a few of my personal rules that I have come up with over the years.  I have a pretty long list and if any conflict with each other I follow the higher order.  Very rarely do I have that conflict as a couple different rules will work hand in hand.

I would love to hear some of your personal rules (one or two would be nice).

Have a Great Day!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

A Return to Space

Anything at Anytime has not done a Space post in awhile so I figured today would be a good day for it.

All of the pictures I get are from NASA from their Multimedia gallery.  


Now if I were to get the chance to be in Space
I think this is how I would like it!



This following picture was taken by a higher satellite of the
earth when it's magnetic field caught the recent solar flare.



This next is one that if you have a good telescope and high 
enough powered lenses you can see similar images 
 on you own in the Orion Nebula.




Next is an awesome shot of a spiral galaxy almost straight on.




This last one is of a very faint Nebula and has some interesting features.
If you notice in the picture at the top of the faint cloud there is 
what appears to be a bright upside down "V" and what has caused
it is still unknown.  Looking in the dust cloud itself you can see all
kinds of images and imagine a wide variety of things.




Always remember there is more out there than what we can see with our own eyes.
Some we can imagine and others we can't.

From time to time I will try and bring other Awe inspiring images from Space as I find them.

I Hope you ALL have a Great Day!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

El Paso City and County Screw Ups! or Where are their heads?

I have tried to avoid to much politics on Anything at Anytime; however, I can not help but put this out there about what our city and county leaders are doing here in El Paso.

El Paso is and has been for a long time one of the safer cities in the United States, even with a long running War between the Mexican Government and the Drug Cartels just across the Border from us.  The Police force and Border Patrol have done a GREAT Job keeping it from spreading over here.

Now, Our city has and is experiencing the economic monster budget crunches just as any other in the country.  Recently Our city Council, Mayor, and City Manager all thought up this fantastic idea that Our Police Force here in El Paso needs to donate 3 days a month WITHOUT pay.

WITHOUT PAY, can you believe that?

We have a City Council and a Mayor, a few years back they decided we needed a City Manager.  She is only getting paid a couple of Hundred thousands of dollars and has a staff to boot.  What need do we need for a City Manager when we Have a Mayor and City Council?  Is it not their JOB?  Isn't that the Reason they were all elected in the first place, to take care of our City?

Why turn their backs on the Police Force that has done a Fantastic job protecting this community?  Before turning our Police Force into a grumbling bunch, Why not let the City Manager and her Staff go and keep that money to help make up the difference?  Pretty sure that bit of budget going to her office has seen no cuts!
Get rid of the City Manager and her staff and ask the Police Force to limit overtime so that it does not overwhelm the budget.

That is a City Issue.

Now, El Paso County Issue.

Foster care here in El Paso County just took a big hit.  Our County Commissioners decided to cut the Child Welfare Board and the One employee that was on the County payroll.  The problem with that is that that Department was funding reimbursements to Foster Parents for buying Clothing for the Foster Kids.  When they Closed the Department they saved about $153,000.  By making that move they eliminated the funding to assist foster care providers.  I know what it is like trying to clothe my own children on a tight budget and I can only imagine what it is like for Foster Parents with more than 2 kids.

Out of that $153,000 was county funds of about $86,000 that was matched by the federal government at a rate of 67 cents to $1.00 which gives you a total of around $140,000+.  So Foster Parents here in El Paso County will not receive any clothing reimbursements.  Basically what the County Commissioners are saying is:  (My Opinion) That they don't give a Damn about Foster Children in the County!  

I think there are many different areas that El Paso County Commissioners could cut $100 here or $1000 there and save the Child Welfare Board.  One suggestion would be for the El Paso County Commissioners to take a small pay cut and shave a small amount off of other department budgets.  Another, Why treat Criminals better than kids (that can't fend for themselves) and the People willing to take care of them?   Sorry but Cut the budget to the County Jail.  What they need more New Basketballs and New Weight sets?  They are adults and got themselves there!  The Kids didn't do it to themselves!!!

Our City and County Representatives have really got their priorities WRONG!  It is Bad enough that we have to deal with a Federal Government that has Issues, Now We have to Deal with IDIOTS in our local government!

Monday, August 16, 2010

A Well Deserved Thank You!

Anything at Anytime says Thank You!

Today's post may be short, or it may be long just depends on how much I can think of to Thank Many Hard working individuals.

As today is the first day back to work for my wife today - without students (that is next Monday), I would like to Thank Teachers.

Please understand this is for those Teachers that take an active interest in their students and their job.  There are some out there that just take the job as a job and don't try and don't care for anything but the paycheck.  I have seen them on my own and witnessed them walking down school halls.  Believe me when I say this - Students and People in general can tell a Teacher from a teacher.

For the Teachers out there that Really care for their students and are proud of their profession, I THANK YOU!

Thank You for:

  1. watching our kids day in and day out.
  2. making sure our kids have a safe place to go if they feel things aren't right or safe.
  3. Educating our children with all of the restrictions placed on you by state and federal regulations.
  4. Showing up to work every single day even though you feel like "crap".
  5. Dealing with those kids that just don't want to be away from "mommy" or "daddy".
  6. Having to put up with runny noses and scrapped knees.
  7. Making sure our children understand that with an education there are better things out there for us all.
  8. Putting up with those of us that are a challenge at times.
  9. and along with #8 having the Patients of Job
  10. Those Teachers that take their own money to ensure that those one or two students that don't have,  Have mysteriously.  
  11. The Teachers that see a student not as a kid that they have to suffer with day in and day out but sees the child as a person that has human issues outside of school.
  12. finding whatever way it takes to get the student(s) too understand.  (even though I personally have always had issues with "to" and "too" :) )
  13. Standing up for and Noticing that it is not always One child's fault.
  14. Encouraging our children to try to do their best.
  15. helping our children realize they have more Potential than they think.
  16. finding that thing that makes each kid tick and helping them understand how what you are teaching applies to that - example: a kid likes rockets but is having difficulty in science, once the kid knows that science got the rocket going he/she pushes harder to learn more.
  17. opening the minds of our children.
  18. dealing with sore feet because of walking around the classroom all day.
  19. doing extra work at home in order to be prepared for the next day
  20. and Most Important of All:   Being a TEACHER that CARES.


If you see yourself in this List - Thanks from a father and a former student
If you don't see yourself on this list and want to be there find a Teacher at your school and ask them how you might be better.  Personally, my first suggestion would be to realize that you might learn something from your kids.  Education is a two way street.

If you are not a Teacher, but can think of a few send this to them or mention their names here.

Personally I have several:

My wife Jacqueline, Coach and American History Teacher Mike Graham,
Coach and Physics Brenda Raley, Coach and World History Tim Knowles,
English and GT Jacquita Lewter, Speech and Spanish Janet Hayes,
Coach and Phys Ed. Jimmy Arendt, Texas History and then Elementary Principle Charles Brown,
This list could go on and on because I was one of the Lucky ones that landed in a school district full of fabulous Teachers and got one Hell of an Education.

Again  THANK YOU !!!!  TEACHERS

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Dilemma - What do I DO?

A dilemma for Anything at Anytime (Me)

The medication I have been taking makes me tired all the time.  Basically what I told the Dr. is that I wanted to be knocked out or zoned out for the next few weeks before school starts for the kids.
Less time awake means less time to do things that are shall we say definitely detrimental to my health.

It is Working but now here is my dilemma:

  1. I really Love 3 Musketeers candy bars 
  2. I really Love Milky Way candy bars
  3. I love Cinnamon hard candy 
  4. and last but not least I love my Butterscotch hard candies.
Now what do I do?

Surrounded by Candies to supplement my desires.

My belly might grow.
My waist expand.
My neck disappear.

I will have to get all new clothes to fit a larger frame.  Hell, right now I can still wear clothes from High School and that was over 20 years ago.

Damn, What do I DO?

Maybe I could mix them all together into a big bowl labeled as "Dad's Mix!"

Well,  for now I will just have to wait and see what you all suggest.

But Right now,  I am going to go get me a few Mini 3 Musketeers.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

A Trip - Carlsbad Caverns

I was looking at some old pictures of ours and came across a few of a trip to Carlsbad Caverns.  Just a few hours down the road from us and has more to explore than one day will allow.  We made the most of our one day and had a blast.

*This Trip was about 6 or 7 years ago and the first pictures my wife and I have put on the Internet of the girls.*

So I get Lucky to add their Pictures on Anything at Anytime.

My Wife, Mother-in-Law, and girls
getting ready for the descent.

As you can see a very long and back and forth zig-zag going down


Now, I am not the best or the worst using a camera.  I have made some fantastic shots and some really "How did you do that shots?".  But down in the caverns themselves for some reason the flash was not working all that great but I will show you a few from inside.
Same Column but of course
a closeup.
                                                
Last of the Sun Light
A little ways in thought the
column on the right was interesting.
  
I Really wish this picture had come out better there were
three or four different colors and was just awesome.
The Girls a few yards ahead of Mom and Dad 
  
The next part is what you get to see if you stick around till later in the day or early evening.  Carlsbad Caverns is full of bats deep into the caverns that people are not allowed to walk.  

Everyone getting in place to see the bats.

Bats coming out in the upper right hand corner.
They do a spiral coming out of the cave and you can actually hear them coming.
If you have ever seen a mass flocking of birds it looks very similar.

The circle on the right was the first wave.
The middle was the second wave.
You can see stragglers  moving in from the left.

Of Course we had to stop by the gift shop afterwards so that the girls could adopt a bat and even to this day when they see a bat flying around in our block they Wonder aloud "Is that our bat come to pay a visit?"

If you ever find yourself traveling far West Texas, the Texas Panhandle or even New Mexico try and figure a day to stop by and see what is in those caverns.  A completely Beautiful and Awesome site.

Please be safe and have a good day.
Dan

Friday, August 13, 2010

A couple of Rants. No, not Ants, RANTS!

Anything at Anytime goes on a Rant Day!

One of those What the? Days!

Today I went to go get my car inspected.

So the first stop was to get new Wiper Blades.  What the Hell is up with that crap.  You used to be able to buy two blades in on package for about 5 or 6 dollars AND IT WAS A "PAIR" OF THEM.  But NO Sir 9-18 dollars for One...... ONE.......... ONE DAMN BLADE.  I bought the Two $9 ones as I am on a tight budget but really something that can easily be made with minimal cost with recycled metals and tires.
Get REAL!                  

                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                            

The one directly above said this would work because it covered the general same amount of Windshield.


The on one the right here was priceless.  If you notice it has 3 recommended blades for the car.  The sales rep informed me that I was mistaken and that "According to all their info there is a Third wiper blade needed."  At that point I asked for the manager and he came up and gave the same spiel as the sales rep.  I then asked them to follow me to the car and took them to the back of the car and showed them this is a spectra right? then showed them the sales slip for the car saying it was an 05 right?  They both agreed.  I said now look over this car and tell me where a Third wiper blade is going to go?  UP MY A$*!?!?  They gave me the second set down for the 24" and the 16" for $18.00 plus tax.
Can you imagine the person they got to buy the third one?
"OH, I guess I can make this a snow scrapper for winter..........."

Next I went to The Pit Stop I have gone to for the last 14 years as their owner was one of my first customers I made a Sale too.  We still laugh at that as the first order he made lasted him almost a Year.  If you are ever in El Paso and need a quick oil change.  These are the guys.  They are up on Viscount Blvd behind Wendy's.

Now this Rant is not at them but at the State of Texas and the extra charge we have to pay for the Emissions test, here in El Paso County.  See several counties in the state have to go with this Emissions test because of their populace: Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio,  in all there are about 16 counties that pay extra for the emissions test and inspection sticker.  Here in El Paso County our population is not near as large as any of the other counties so fewer American cars.  Here is the catch.  We are within spitting distance of Juarez Mexico and Mexico just so happens to have NO Emission Controls over there.  So we here in El Paso County have to suck up an extra cost that other counties our size don't have too.

Today just was a yuck day because I had to be out in this heat waiting on getting the car all done and it was a royal pain in the &%$^%#$^&*(imagine a bleep or Honk and I think you get the idea.)

You all have a good day now.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Ingredients & Meds

Anything at Anytime has missed a couple of days and I am sorry about that.  Hopefully you will understand why after this post.

A few days ago I told you all I might get off of schedule a tad bit and that I might come up with some really out there things if the situation was right.

Well that didn't happen (at least not yet).  No, something totally unexpected happened.

I am on of those people that when I get a prescription I read the print out the pharmacy gives you.  You know the one that says:  This medicine is for blah blah blah.  Really, I read the whole damn thing.  That way I know what to look for if one of the kids or my wife have taken to much.

One of my meds just so happened to be one my wife has taken before and on the way home she made the comment "Oh, you can't drink any of your grapefruit juice with that it has some sort of reaction."  When we got home I read the prescription description (haha, made a funny with out trying.  Prescription description... Well, anyway back to the story).  I turns out that grapefruit somehow INCREASES the medicine in your blood stream.

So, Bummer none of my Ruby Red Grapefruit juice for me.

Still have my Sunny D.

Now this happened two days ago, just so you all understand.

I got up and helped the wife and girls get ready to go to school.  No, they haven't started yet but my wife is part of the PTA for the school the girls go to and they (the PTA) are trying to get memberships and donations during registrations.  I see them off and decide that I am going to go get me a Big Cold Glass of Sunny D.

Yup, Sunny D sounds good about that time.  Pour the Glass and then up and down the glass that fast.  Damn, I forgot to take my meds so I pour myself another glass of Sunny D and go get my meds and take them all and finish off my 2nd Glass of my precious Sunny D.

As I went back to the kitchen to put my glass in the sink, I noticed that I had forgotten to put the Sunny D back in the refrigerator.  So I grab it with the ingredients label facing me.  You know I have like Sunny D so much I never bothered to read the ingredients before.  I Read the entire first line and you know how your vision sort of allows you to see more than just the line you are reading?  I Stood there shocked and "OH, MY GOD!!!!!"  Right there at the end of the Second line "GRAPEFRUIT JUICES".

It didn't kill me or I wouldn't be here typing this today, but then again, None of you have ever seen my face or spoken to me in person.  So who knows?

All I can say is:  When on strong meds that tell you to avoid certain foods, Avoid them!  Read all ingredient labels and make sure your not getting it from a source you weren't thinking of.

Luckily for me it just made me so Damn Tired, I can hardly remember the last two days.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Strangers & You

A picture of how my mind feels


To my Readers, frequent and infrequent alike, the more these meds get hold of my head the harder I find to focus on a topic and be able to put something coherent out here for you to read.

So what I will try and do is put something short out that will hopefully make you think and maybe sometimes take action.

SOOOoooooo  Today's bit:  Have you done something for a stranger today? 

                                                 Or

                                              Did a stranger do something for you today?


And if its not to personal -- Let us all know here.

Well?

Saturday, August 7, 2010

One Day - Two weeks apart

With the Cocktail of drugs that I am taking I am  sleepy all of the time right now and at times it is hard to keep a topic on my mind to write about it.

So on days like today where I can not focus I will leave you all with something to ponder and decide what you would do:


A few years ago (before I got sick) I used to travel a lot.  I had a flat in a "bums" part of town.  This one guy comes up and gives me a hand getting everything changed and got me back on the road.  I didn't have anything at the time to give him other than my thanks.
Two weeks later I was back in that same (was not looking for this guy) and saw him off on the side of the road.  So I pulled over and asked if he remembered helping me.  I had just gotten out cash for the next days travels but gave it to him.  He looked at it and asked what it was for - I told him it was simple. He helped me that night and I got home to my wife and kids and my bed and I wanted him to go get a bed for the Night.

Now this was not your "bum" that stands at a cross section and then catches a bus to their home.  This guy lived in the cardboard box right next to him with what little he had and a skimpy sleeping roll.

What would/will you do if in a similar situation?

Friday, August 6, 2010

Insurance Rant and me

I have been finding it hard to focus on a topic.  Last night and this morning I have sat in front of this screen looking and wondering what I might right about but it stays blank.

Not fair to you that read me regularly and not fair to me.

It is not like I don't still have plenty running around in this head of mine, it is just that I can not focus on them.

I will get on this rant about insurances.  Not just our insurance but all insurances that I have had over the last 10-15 years.

Over the last 10 -15 years I have had several insurances due to changing jobs or the jobs changing our insurance carriers.  The Problem I have here is that I have tried to stop this before but each time I have gotten a Dr to give me a prescription for the newest and best drugs to "help" me Quit, Insurance will deny any claim for them to pay for the drugs as it is an "Elective Drug".

The Insurance Companies would sooner Pay for all the Cancer and Emphysema and other Lung Problems than pay out for Medication that would help all of us that Want to Quit and Lengthen our Lives.

What the Hell are they thinking?

What "Bean Counter" are they listening to that tells them it is cheaper not to pay for the drugs.  It will be cheaper paying for the Oxygen equipment, possible surgeries,  All the X-rays, MRIs, etc. etc.........

Government Insurance sure as Hell isn't the answer either. But that is for another day.

Getting all the Insurances to understand that they would save money by letting the People get the drugs the Doctors prescribe for them in order to help quit something or to ease them through something.  Rather than We can't do this or We can't do that because, Well Just Because.

Then you have to fight most of them to pay their share and get it all taken care of.  Jump this hoop then jump that one and the next one and then we might be able to do something for you.

Insurance rates go up and up and pay out less and less.  Our Government should not have added this mandatory Insurance but should have Put together an oversight like the FDA, FAA, or OSHA (those are just a few off of the top of my head.

With oversight from a government stand point you might see less BS making claims and getting access to drugs that could really do people a difference.

I have tried off and on over the last 15 years to Quit.  I was never able to afford the drugs to get started $400.00 out of pocket, at the time that was a car payment and part of our rent.  And we all know how those two would have reacted if I said "Oh, I needed my meds last month can you wait Please?"  Yeah, right.

If I had been able to get the meds back then - maybe it would have helped - maybe not.  It would have given me  a much better shot and not sitting here now wondering............

Don't think I hold the insurances Companies all at fault.  I Don't.  I am the one that did this to myself for so long.  I made the choice.  I can honestly say I have done plenty of other things that could have been as addictive or "troublesome" as cigarettes but those were easy to stop.  I have found the hardest Damn thing to quit has been cigarettes.

You know whats so bad about that -  I know they are what is killing me -  That is why I am on three heavy duty Anti-Deps. to keep me "mellowed out" for awhile.

Now again while I am in this state -- Come on folks feed me some ideas you would like me to "Focus" on?

P.S.  Put pressure on you insurance companies to start paying for this kind of stuff for smokers.  In the long run it could save you all money because the insurance companies will not be paying out as much as they do when it is to late.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Emphysema, Cigarettes OR Me?

Anything at Anytime goes in a totally out there mode.

I am going to beat Emphysema and Nicotine!

As you read this I am at least 12 hours into a triple Anti-Depressant regime my Dr. and I came up with to help me stop the thing that has slowly been Killing me for 20+ years.  It (they) will Kill me sooner rather than later if I don't Stop.  So We are trying something a tad different than the usual take this drug and see what it does and we will go from there.

You wonder or ask where I am going with this, I don't know either.  All I will ask is to just keep an eye out for what I write because if I can come up with some of the things I have with no influence...... Just Imagine what might come out with being "Doped" up.

I will do my best to try and provide good stuff for you all to read.

No matter what happens in life everyone is faced with a do or do not decision to make somewhere along the line at least once.  I have had a few.  This one wasn't even a contest.

Take the drugs and see if it helps or continue on my path of self destruction.  I will put even money that Most people will make the same choice I am.

I started my first few pills about 1 1/2 ago (as I am typing) and already I can see it is making my mind muddle a little and this all seems to make a repetitive statement over and over.

I will do whatever I have too, whenever I have too.

So wish me luck and Now might be a good time to throw ideas out for me to think about and see what this drug induced haze might bring out.  Some of it could be a blast and really get interesting.  Get the ideas out here and let us all see How Crazy I can get.

Thanks for your Patience and Understanding.

DanWins2007 (and I WILL Win)

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Twenty (20) Things I LOVE!

Another part of Anything at Anytime's  What I lable that goes with I Like and I Believe.

Things I LOVE!

     1.  My Wife -  The One thing in Life that completes me.

     2. & 3.  My Daughters - So neither can say that they are my Favorite, because They BOTH ARE!!

     4.  Snuggles (family dog) - As she is always there and always "Listens" and NEVER talks back.

     5.  My Nebraska Cornhuskers - If you have been reading me for awhile you knew I was going to get them in here.

     6.  Dragons - I Loves Me some Dragons!

     7.  Heartfelt - The first, and only, expensive Dragon my wife has bought me.  He has a row of what appears to be hearts down his chest.  Cool because you know that was not the intended design but looks Great!

     8.  Watching the stars at night, but city lights make it difficult at times.

     9.  Challenging my Girls to Beat me at Anything.

    10.  Learning something New Every Day.

    11.  Smell of the Ocean Spray as it crashes to shore.

    12.  Actually Writing this Blog.

    13.  Finding that $1.00 or $2.00 I forgot I had.

    14.  A Good Book or Series of Books.

    15.  A Good Banana Split.

For the Adults - If you are under 18 close your eyes and pretend you read:

    16.  That "Crook" of the finger that says "You're Coming to BED NOW!" and what follows.

    17.  Trying to get my wife "FLUSTERED" at the most inappropriate TIMES!

    18.  Heels and Stockings on Legs that "Just Don't Quit!"

    19.  Those Quiet times when I am the Only One that can console her or Vice Versa.

    20.  GOOD LOVIN (When everything is JUST Right.)

Please feel free to leave comments about what You Love - Not a whole list unless you want - but tell me/us something You Love?

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Read any Orson Scott Card lately? What IF?

Have you ever read a book or series of books and years later events happen that remind you of it?

I am a Sci-Fi/Fantasy fanatic.  If the author grabs me in the first book I read of theirs, I am out hunting for all I can find of theirs.  Sometimes I might finds some of their things I don't like and I can see when they have gotten tired of what they are writing.  Anyway I am getting off topic.

Have you ever seen or heard things that reminded you of something you read years earlier?  Sometimes MANY years later?

Well, it has happened to me.  Plenty of times.  Book facts stick in my mind.  Don't get me wrong, I don't remember everything about all the books I have read but the pertinent facts or generally what happened in a book even years later.

And if you haven't guessed by now,  Anything at Anytime is going there.

Around 1998 or 99 I was short on books and needed something to read and found myself in the Sci-Fi section at a bookstore.  Orson Scott Card's name stood out on a book.  I had never read anything of his before, but for some reason the title Ender's Game grabbed my attention.  So that is where this begins.

Now, I am not going to give you the whole story and by no means ruin the book.  I am just going to make some comments about the book and how certain things today fit the mold that Orson Scott Card used for this story/series.
Ender's Game concept revolves around a future where some "qualified" kids are removed from their families in order to educate the best in physical and mental abilities revolving about a military format.  Earth's military is "preparing" the Next Commanders for the World's defense.

The Education process takes place in Space in an orbiting space station.  Trials include things from being able to protect themselves (as it is a dog eat dog, top dog takes all), top in their classes and applying what has been taught to scenarios presented to them, and last but not least training on Video games.  Just a teaser here but it totally goes with this topic:  The catch is where the Video games take place, when you find out you will trip.

By now you are wondering where this is headed.  I haven't left you all hanging yet, so why would I now?

The other night I was laying in bed with my wife and watching TV and two commercials came on.  No, biggy there right?  Well, the oddity was that it was for two new computer games and they came on back to back.  One of them in a set probably wouldn't have made me think of anything.  Both of them, one after the other, for some reason triggered my mind to recall a few things:  One was Ender's Game, the other was something I read about New types of Training the US Army is expanding.

The US Army started training some specialty fields using Video game type set-ups years and years ago in order to save money.  Having games set up to be as close to the real thing as you can get in Videos and materials used to be interactive with them.  I was lucky enough to get the benefit of some of that kind of training.  Well, the Army is expanding that to all troops.  They even have their own Free online game that is a one man shooter type of game.


The games that were advertised on the TV were the new games Starcraft II and Halo Reach.  Games like
Halo Reach and Starcraft II are based on combat as a first person (as in Halo Reach) and as overall command (as in Starcraft II).  You can play both games in solo mode on your computer with no outside connections.  Then if you have Internet capabilities you can step beyond and go out and play on the Internet and become a part of a unit or group.

Now, I am not going to connect all of the dots.  I am going to leave you a puzzle to figure out for yourself.
I will leave you with this:
What if Orson Scott Card had it right in Ender's Game?  He just had the place it all took place wrong.  What if there is another reality that many of us around the world participate in and just don't know it?  If you haven't read it, check it out and see what you think.

It is worth the read and is the first in a series.

Don't blame me if you get hooked.

Monday, August 2, 2010

It Starts with ONE!

No matter what it is, it must have a start.

The start could be a first person to do something.  A thought, an action, a reaction; first there is one and then another and another.  Before you know it, something has begun to take on a life of its own.

Take for example this blog - Anything at Anytime.
Anything at Anytime started on May 23rd 2010 with me.  My lonesome, single self (family: wife and kids don't count).  Talking, chatting, being active with others and a little over two months later and I have 63 Public Followers, plus a few via networked blogs and, the surprising one to me, I have 75 following with feed burner (RSS Feeds).  I know several of those are from the regular and networked followers, but if my figures are right, I have around 110 different followers.  Two Months ago 10 followers would have been big.

One person having an idea, a thought, sharing that thought or idea with others and those others share with others.  Some "bump" into it by accident but the idea or thought sticks, and they share it.  Before you know it, it starts to grow.  Sometimes the idea or thought grows quickly and other times slowly.

Personally, I like it when they have a quick start to jump start it and give it legs, then slowdown to let everything "fill out" and catch up.
Anything at Anytime is taking that route.
Where does it go from here?  Only we can tell.  Yes, WE - I write, you read and then comment to open discussion.  Maybe I put up a Post you really like or are Passionate about.  Make your Comments. Pass it on to People you think would have an interest in it.  Encourage them to comment.

We, You and I, do not know what comments might elicit a response or a moment of learning or reflection.  We could all pick something up out of others experiences.

I know the traffic is here.  I know you all comeback to see what is new and where I have "Gone" with my Posts.  Currently Anything at Anytime sees roughly 25 - 30 visits a day (some days more and some days less).
Comment, let me know somethings you would like to see discussed or ideas you want me to try and get discussions going.  The more participation, the more We ALL get out of this.

It ALL starts with One!  IT Grows with MANY!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Today's Randomness

Sometimes when I sit down to write I have a specific idea in mind, sometimes I don't.

Today there is no specific idea but just to write and see what comes of it.

I look at this site - Anything at Anytime - as a means of self help.  Self Therapy if you will.  A means for me to get some of the junk out of my head so that I am not in a continuous Funk.

I took far to long to get this thing started.  I should have started it or something very like it last year when I was at my worst.  I can now only imagine some of the dark things that may have come out.
Things like self doubt, fear, anger.  Questions of "why", "what did I do", "where will this leave my family" were plaguing my mind.  They still do and I still have thoughts of the fears and angers; however, they are a shadow of their former selves.

In a former post I mentioned that I was at the edge of an abyss.  Yes, it felt like it completely.  I felt like I had been abandoned by myself and by God.  I wanted to strike out at times and looking back at it all a year later, if I had had this going then it would have been perfect for that release.  Everyone always says Hindsight is 20/20 and IT is!

I am going to back track here just a little bit so that I can Clarify.  When I wrote, I felt like I had been abandoned by myself and by God, I am talking about the feelings and thoughts running around in my head.  The feeling of being abandoned by myself, is how could my body be letting me down and falling apart as it is?
Well, easy answer after looking back - my body didn't let me down, I let my body down.  My own actions and choices lead me to this point.  Abandoned by God - those feelings came via the self pity and wondering why He could have let this happen to me.  I am a Christian but not your run of the mill type.  He didn't let it happen but He let me make the choices.

I know all of this is coming out discombobulated and you are trying to figure out where I am going.  Hell, I don't know where I am going with this. Just writing what I am thinking about as I sit here and type.  Sort of what our minds do, they sometimes randomly jump from thing to thing on whatever topic our minds roam over.  

The wonder of the mind.  The mind can take random bits of information and put it all together and make since of it.  Our minds can bounce from subject to subject and still keep us functioning.

Where am I going with this?  Honestly, I have no clue whatsoever.  Today appears to be a venting of junk in the head that is blocking any good coherent things I can put out here.  So rather than subject you to random rants, vents and who the hell knows whats.... I will close with this:

Every Now and then, when you are just sitting back and relaxing, try and See, Look at what you are thinking about and notice how your mind and emotions bounce around.  You might be surprised.

P.S. I told you all yesterday that I was going to start on a College Sports blog.  Blogger makes it so easy and the subject was on my mind so I already have it up and running.  There is still plenty to do to it but I think I have it running in the right direction.  So, if you have the time and are inclined to see what another fan thinks for the upcoming College Football season?  Please visit : On Any Day - College Sports.  I currently have My Preseason Top 25 and also have a page up for Up Coming Games to Watch.

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