I had another one of those rotten days today.  It seems that they have been happening more frequently lately.  There wasn't any one incident that got me down, just a series of nagging events that seemed to string themselves together.

On top of the events of the day, I've had a cold for about about a week and a half now.  That doesn't make things any better.  The fact that I hate winter doesn't help matters either.

Oh well, at least I got that out of my system.

I have been away for a while.  Time for another entry.

I have ten more questions that I need answered.  I may have asked some of them previously, but no one has answered them to my satisfaction.

1. Why is Oprah popular?
2. Has anyone ever seen Lindsay Lohan and Frankie Muniz at the same place at the same time?  I think they are the same person.
3. Why is the typical female so devoid of any logical thought process?
4. When is Massachusetts going to apologize to the rest of the country for subjecting us to Ted Kennedy and John Kerry?
5. Why is reality TV popular?
6. Why do so many young people feel the need to get tatoos or pierce various parts of their bodies?
7. Why is rap music popular?
8. Why do some people believe that Al Gore really invented the internet?
9. Why do people camp out in front of Best Buy on Thanksgiving night so that they can be among the first ones in the store the next morning?
10. Why do some people evidently forget how to drive in snow every year?

Usually I come on here to rant about something.  Tonight, I will try something different.

My wife tells me that I am totally sarcastic and that I never say anything nice about anyone.  She is probably right.  For some reason, I find it difficult to express my positive feelings--no problem with the negative ones.  The following will not make up for my past remarks, but it is the best I can do.

Kevin, I am proud of you.  I know that I pushed you toward sports when you were younger--probably to the extent that you could never enjoy them.  I am glad that you have found something like acting that you really enjoy.  I could never do the things that you do in front of an auditorium full of people.  You are a great kid with a big heart and I don't tell you how much I love you enough.

Laura, most of what I said about KJ also applies to you.  In addition, I do not know where you find all of your energy, enthusiasm, and drive.  You work harder than I ever have and I am sure that you will be a great teacher--despite all of the b.s. that teachers have to put up with these days.  Even if you change your mind and decide to do something else, I know that you will succeed as long as you find something that interests you.

Sandy, I really don't know where to begin with you.  I have no idea why you put up with me.  You are the best thing that ever happened to me.  I love you with all my heart and plan on doing so for a long time.

Because this has been very difficult to express, it will probably be too long before I do so again.  Therefore, the next time that I say or do something outrageous, just log into this entry to remind yourself of how I feel about all of you.

I hope that you like my current musical selection.  It is in honor of many women.  Take your pick--Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein, etc.

Today, I would like to comment on a popular topic in the "Letters to the Editor" portion of the newspapers these days.  There have been recent media reports that indicate that oil companies are realizing record profits these days.  Of course the reaction has been predictable.  That evil term "price gouging" has even become popular once again.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I don't like paying $3.00 for a gallon of gasoline any more than the next guy.  But, if drilling and refining operations are shut down due to the hurricanes in the gulf coast area, what do you expect?  Lower supplies always lead to higher prices.  Now that the production has been gearing back up to near normal levels, guess what is happening.  The prices are coming down.

I have always been ticked off by people who are quick to use terms such as "obscene profits" or "price gouging".  How are these terms defined?  Who gets to define them?  Is a 10% profit margin acceptable, but 10.01% "obscene"?  It makes no sense to me.  I guess these individuals would prefer that the oil industry be in a similar situation as the airline industry.  Maybe they would be happy if the oil companies laid off thousands of workers, putting their families in welfare lines.  I don't want to live in that world.  I want every company to make money.  Companies that make money add jobs, not subtract them.

However, all of those out there who cannot stand oil companies earning profits at record levels, I have a suggestion for you.  Lobby your congressmen and senators to pass legislation that rolls back the environmental restrictions that have prevented oil companies from constructing new refineries in the US since the 1970s.  Then the oil companies will be able to take some of those record profits and invest them in new facilities.  Oh yes, I forgot.  Many of the idiots who are screaming about record profits are the same idiots who lobbied for those environmental restrictions in the first place.  These are people who don't want solutions.  They want problems to perpetuate themselves.  This way, they continue to complain, the media drools over itself reporting these complaints, and the endless cycle goes on and on.