This video was produced by a friend of mine, Stevie Nice. It's probably as good or better than most stuff done by teenage girls.

Love Ready

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I bought a new Chevy Cruze last November and it has run great. However the air conditioning seemed very weak, then it stopped working altogether. I brought it to the dealer today and haven't heard anything yet, but from experience, this can take some time to fix. I doubt it needs refrigerant being a new car, more likely the condensor and/or compressor isn't working. The dealership gives out loaner cars, which is nice. This is the car I got, a 2007 Chevrolet HHR. It is a station wagon designed in the PT Cruiser retro style. It's not the type of car I would buy but it is fun to try it out for a day or two while my car is being repaired.

Obama gets a free pass. A conservative president making these comments would be ridiculed.

Obama: 10,000 dead from tornado in Kansas, give or take 9,98

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Obama Recalls the "bomb" that fell on Pearl Harbor

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Obama: Constitution written "20 centuries" ago

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Barack Obama thinks Austrian is a language

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I uploaded this version of Jungleland to youtube today:

Bruce Springsteen

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Tiki Barber is trying to come back into football. He was interviewed yesterday on NYC radio and the host called him a failure at his prior job on NBC's Today Show. This interview got a lot of attention in the New York media. I recorded the interview and uploaded it to youtube. I then went to one of the newspaper's website that featured the story and put a link to my youtube in the comments section of the article. A day later I have over 600 views from that as well as 23 or so comments, probably the most comments I ever got on a youtube.

WFAN - Mike Francesa vs. Tiki Barber 6/22/11

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On Sunday, a guy walked into a drugstore on Long Island to steal painkillers and he shot 4 people dead. That is terrible enough but the story is even scarier now that they arrested the guy. Apparently him and his wife had drug addictions which is presumably why he stole the pills. But the guy had no police record, he lived a middle class life and was recently married. His wife was reportedly involved and had driven the getaway car. Despite the awful crime, sometimes you can understand it if the person was crazy, or had been a career criminal, or panicked during a crime. That doesn't make it better of course but it makes it easier to comprehend. This guy went from an average life to a cold blooded executioner of four people who he could have let live. Then he went home and did yard work, as if nothing happened.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2011/06/22/2011-06-22_li_pharmacy_massacre_police_raid_home_in_connection_with_murder_of_four_at_haven.html

As of 1:16 PM today, Summertime is here.

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NBC did a video of the Pledge of Allegiance during the U.S. Open golf tournament and left out the words "under God". I think this was done on purpose and here is a call to a New York sports radio station about it:

WFAN - Mike Francesa - NBC/Pledge of Allegiance

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Friday there was a rainstorm here in NYC. I had an idea about capturing a rainstorm on camera, so I grabbed my digital camera and recorded a minute or so, and turned up the radio playing in the background. I have some people who follow me on youtube, so amazingly I even got 70 views of a recording of the rain in my backyard.

Rain' Dupp

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When I was 23 my father had a stroke during the night of Father's Day. He died a few days later. It was for all purposes the end of my childhood. It wouldn't have been any better if it happened some other day than Father's Day but that date made sure I would never forget when it happened. I thought my world as I knew it had ended and I guess it did. I had a choice of wallowing in grief or moving forward. I was numb but I moved forward. A few days later I went to a job interview and found a great new job, close to home, with a big increase in pay and it turned out to be a great opportunity.

I was still numb though and looking for something to make sense of life and death. I came across this old song by Joni Mitchell peformed by Tom Rush. It really helped me that first year afterward. "There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams."

Tom Rush - The Circle Game

Tom Rush -Circle Game Mix

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Walking is one of the underrated pleasures. I took a walk around my neighborhood this morning around 7, and I walked down some streets that I don't think I have ever walked before. I was on one deserted street and this petite Asian woman came up to me asking for directions. It was kind of weird but she was so nice and friendly that I showed her and walked a block or two with her then we wished each other a good day. A simple encounter but right now life seems like one big adventure to me.

Van Morrison - Glad Tidings - original

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I was driving this morning and there were two girls walking on the sidewalk in shorts. You couldn't help but focus on them. They looked high school age. It's a fine line whether to look or not. But they were glancing at the cars, clearly looking to see if anyone was checking them out. It would have been an insult to them not to look. It would be sending them a message that they weren't sexy. They were. I did the corner of the eye glance and locked eyes with one of them. It was a great moment.

I'm a Girl Watcher - The O'Kaysons

"I'm A Girl Watcher" The O'Kaysons 1960s

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This song was featured in an episode of The Sopranos. I uploaded this to youtube yesterday. Right now I can't listen to this enough.

Van Morrison - Glad Tidings - original

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I have worn the Skechers shape-ups a few days now and I like them. The shoe has some kind of padded sole that provides a kind of bounce when you walk, so that you can walk faster, and with less effort, than regular sneakers.

And this is a magical song about them....ever tell you about a dream...

St. Charles - Jefferson Starship

Jefferson Starship - St. Charles (promo film)

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I made this youtube of a local sports radio broadcaster announcing Joba Chamberlain's injury, with an assist from Walter Cronkite:

WFAN - Mike Francesa announces Joba injury

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There is a technique to day trading stocks, that is buying and selling a stock within one day. I bought this stock today and sold it a few hours later and pocketed about $160 after commissions. The idea is to take a profit on the intraday stock price movement, unrelated basically to the actual value of the stock. The technique is to look at some stocks that are volatile, see what the price range is for the day, try to find a trend, get in at a good price and get out quickly if you get a positive price movement.

Yesterday I got this email from paypal that looked like a scam of some sort. It said that I may be using an old browser with known security issues and wanted me to click on some links. First, I am using I.E. 9 mainly which is the latest browser. Secondly, I googled this and found many users running all kinds of browsers got the same email. On a paypal forum, somebody claiming to be an administrator said it was a legitimate email, while some others claimed that paypal said it was a scam. It looks to me like it was a real email sent by paypal but sent for a phony reason. They apparently want to install some kind of software on your computer for some unknown reason. I did not install it.

There is more to this story than is being reported. Weiner's wife Huma Abedin is the close personal assistant of Hillary Clinton and is rumored to be Hil's lover. Weiner's marriage is probably purely a political arrangement and Weiner wasn't getting any satisfaction at home.

I previously wrote that I found some information on my father's parents who died before I was born. My father (also gone) never talked about them much or what happened other than cancer/heart disease. I found online their dates of death and I ordered a copy of their death certificates which I just got today. I now know when they were born, the names of their parents ( my great-grandparents), what they died from and where they are buried. They are my ancestors and though I never met them they are part of me today. The next step, if I decide to pursue it, is to visit their graves.

My old sneakers are starting to wear out so I began looking for new ones. Skechers are a brand that I always find to fit perfectly with no discomfort, but they are not always available in stores near me. I found a pair today for under $50, and they were the Shape-ups trainers. I really wasn't looking for a training shoe but it feels super comfortable so I bought them. They have a different feel than regular sneakers but I like how they look and feel.

I uploaded my copy of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart". One of the most haunting songs ever, and I think the picture I used captures Ian Curtis very well.

Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart

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Mitt Romney is officially in the 2012 presidential race. He is not the perfect candidate but at least he is qualified as an executive in comparison to the present pretender-in-chief.

One time I was spending some quality time with a lady friend of mine and then she wanted something from the store - maybe smokes or something to drink, I don't remember. So I go to the local deli and the clerk says do you know you have lipstick on your face? Ah the hazards of kissing....

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Learning to Fly - Tom Petty

Tom Petty - Learning To Fly

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Yay!

Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)

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