The Call of the Wild by Jack London: Book Review

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What a book! Again it strikes me just how little I know about literature and how all these years later I can enjoy classics that many read as children or teenagers.

For 4 tension filled hours I prayed that Buck could survive his toil as a sled dog in Alaska. I was certain he wasn’t going to survive given all the obstacles, especially Spitz his nemesis. When he changed owners and went with the terrible trio that had no idea how to manage a team or themselves in the Alaskan wilderness I thought it was all over for him.

Jack London did a masterful job capturing a dog that is duty bound by hard work, love and discipline. Loved this book, just loved it.

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The Hunters become the Hunted in the NFL

NFL QB's new uniform.

There is no doubt the NFL is trying to cover their butts on this Saints bounty business. Pretty soon they'll be playing the game with skirts and flag football belts on. I remember back in the day when an offensive lineman jumped offside’s the defensive lineman always got a free shot at the QB and could knock him on his ass. No flag was ever thrown because it was a part of game. It was a great motivator not to jump offside’s. No more, we all have to play as nice as humanly possible today.

The players have been doing a bounty business for years and years throughout the league don't kid yourself. If I were a defender and I could win a pot by legally knocking some guy out within the rules I'd be the first to try to knock him out. Pain is fear; removing legal fear from the game is not real football. Taking shots at knees, helmet shots to the head are not cool everything else is supposed to be within the rules of the game.

I think they forget that football by its very nature is a violent warrior and predator driven game its part of the reason we love it so much. Let the players play within the rules and let the officials on the field decide if it's not.

I guess we should all become soccer fans, watch golf on TV, bad mitten something like that and just ban football all together because someone might get hurt.

I can't believe this actually happened!

I’ve been saying that since 1:30 Pacific Time yesterday and I’m still saying it today but not for the good reasons that some other Broncos Fans might be.

I was wondering what would motivate me to get started writing about this and it hit me. What inspired my blog today was when I heard what one fan repeated more than once in a video blog. He said that all of us in "Tebow Nation" needed to take a chill pill. It’s not fair and utter nonsense to group all of us who respectfully disagreed with the Manning signing into that category when for some of us it's about what the direction and the long term future of the team is going to be, not about Tebow. The “team” I’ll underscore that point, should always be the primary concern.

Dismissing smart fans isn’t right; some think that this was a quick fix and a big gamble to take as I do. Talking about Manning in the past tense is wonderful don't get me wrong. If he plays like he did in the past great but I personally doubt he's going to be the guy "Who'll takes us to the promise land" as many others have mockingly tossed around about Tebow.

Why? Because this is still the same rebuilding team that Tebow labored under, despite the criticism of how he ran the offense. He did an amazing job given he played under a very Conservative HC and OC, a young and inexperienced OL, a group inconsistent WR’s who dropped way to many balls when he did throw it to them, no clutch catching TE and a journeyman at RB who isn’t likely to give us another year like last year with no quality RB to back him up.

This isn’t excusing some of Tebow’s poor play in some of the games but given this set of circumstances and since by all rights it was his Rookie year he did more than a phenomenal job. This in part is why even though he’s still rough around the edges deserved at less one more year to see if he could improve. 

On D we need another Corner, a Safety, better Defensive Linemen and at least one if not 2 LB’s considering DJ’s age and Mays' inconsistent play in the second half of last season. I know Mays just signed a contract, maybe he gets better but he didn’t play well in the second half of the season. He had too many missed tackles and he didn’t always play well against the run or pass maybe some fans hadn’t noticed it but I did.

This is harsh criticism I know, but if you’re completely objective and honest and not being a blind homer Broncos Fan this is the reality. Let’s not forget about these pending suspensions either, what do you think that will do for the Broncos D to start 2012 season?

So now we’ve put all of eggs in Manning’s basket and will have to settle for less than’s or has been’s at the other positions through free agency. The money showered on him limits the amount of money to sign free agents or players from the upcoming draft also and thus affects who we draft. The little bit of breathing room the Broncos had for cap money is all but gone too.

The smart money would have been to go after some of the quality free agents that were available early and maybe look at drafting or trading up or down to get one of the QB’s that wasn’t likely to go early in the draft. Then, if either Tebow or said QB tanked we could look to 2013 to get someone else. At least in this scenario we’ve attempted to fill up some of the other holes on the team.

This Manning situation reminds me somewhat of the Broncos signing of Plummer. Plummer is no Manning we all know that but the same frenzy and impatience to get a QB who was really the only free agent worthy of signing became all consuming even though Plummer’s talent and resume hardly justified it. Why, because there were so few to choose from just like this year. After Manning you’ve got table scraps like Matt Flynn and a failure like David Garrard no wonder the bum rush panic was on. Since the only 2 guys who look to be sure things from the draft are Luck and RG3 the reckless chase for Manning was on.

The money and investment spent on Manning is enormous and I believe we should expect enormous results, like winning a Super Bowl, anything less and this signing was a waste of money and a failure since his window of opportunity is so small. If he’s great as everyone seems to think he is then this isn’t unreasonable to expect.

As always I’m a Broncos Fan first and last and on Sunday I’ll be rooting for Manning and the Broncos to win. If he wins a SB I’ll happily eat crow but in my view the odds are very long indeed of that dream ever happening. Hate me or love me it’s what I see from my armchair. Let’s pray he proves me wrong.

Great News Day Sleepers, listen up!!

For 5 years since I took this Postal Service run to Portland I’ve had a very difficult time getting sleep during the days I work. On the weekends I catch up some but lately it just hasn’t been enough. The insomnia I’m suffering with is nearly on the verge of turning me into a lunatic. Some of my good friends might say that I was a lunatic even before I took this job but that’s another story.

Sunshine is the enemy in the world of a Day Sleeper. 

 Answer:  Blackout EZ Window Covers

So Jenny and hired a Blinds company to come and put up new ones in our bedroom so we could cut down on the sunlight coming in since we both sleep during the day. The blinds while nice looking and expensive still haven’t done the job. And this is with expensive lined drapes behind them too.

Recently I’ve taken my lack of sleep to a whole new level so we started talking about different ideas to blot out the sun so we can be in a dark room. Putting up cardboard and aluminum foil in the windows was out because we didn’t want our bedroom to look like we were cooking meth in it. The idea of tinting the windows was investigated and I found out they can tint a window that blocks up to 95% of light… still not enough. So I searched the World Wide Web and stumbled onto this website. I hit the jackpot.

It works just like it is advertised and is easy to install. I had less than an hour invested in both windows in the bedroom. If you’re wondering about being able to get air from the outside and don’t want to pull the shade completely out use this little trick I thought up. You’ll have plenty of left over Velcro tape so just tape one 7 inch stripe to the top left and right corner of the inside of the shade and then tape one 7 inch strip to the bottom left and right corners and Bam! All you have to do is pull the bottom of the shade up and us the tape to secure it. Then open your window and Bingo!! You can open the window and let air.

That’s my public service act for the week for all you Day Sleepers out there. Trust me once you put this up not one sliver of light gets into the room. I was not paid for this endorsement but I wish I would have been. Thank you and that is all.

More Manic Manning Mayhem

Tomorrow I hope Manning signs with the Titans and then none of the following will mean squat. Until he does here's more football food for thought. Personally I think Manning is a great QB and his Colts teams have great regular season records. But the fact remains that Manning is 9-10 in playoff appearances and 1-1 in Super Bowls.

If championships are one measuring stick of greatness then Manning falls short. He has been unable to seal the deal in the post season. Some won't like this but personally I'd rather have Eli. He's a better clutch QB than Peyton; he's got 2 and has played way better in the playoffs than he has.

If the whole reason for signing him is based on his ability to win a championship then Manning is no better than Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson or any of a number of other QB's who have just 1 SB ring. Maybe it's a bad comparison but it's statistically accurate. So it follows that winning a championship with Manning is no lock given his postseason play. What it also says is that football is a team game and sometimes it's the team carrying the QB and not the other way around.

So can Manning carry this team with this roster to a SB win? Can the Broncos get off to fast start with these suspensions looming. Here's a brief rundown on our current team:

The Broncos OL is still young and inexperienced and didn't do well in pass protection. Manning's release and decision making may be quick but if he's pressured endlessly can he be effective? Add to that the loss of Kuper at G and we have that position to address.

The Broncos at this moment don't have an experienced go to WR or TE. Thomas played well at the end of the season but I'm not sold on him as a super star yet. Decker caught some TD's in games but disappeared in others and both Thomas and Decker had far too many drops to be considered elite.

We have an aging journeyman at RB that probably doesn't have many miles left with no solid back up to replace him.

We signed Safety Mike Adams but can he elevate his game in Denver? We lost Dawkins today and Champ isn't the same cover Corner. With Dawkins gone even with the signing today the other Safety position is still a weak spot on D. We need a better CB opposite Champ and another solid Safety regardless.

DJ had a nice comeback season but is getting long in the tooth and Mays and Woodyard were inconsistent in too many games. So that leaves Von Miller as the only stud LB. Dumervil is the only DL that has been consistent and effective.

Some may disagree but Von and Dumervil are the only players of quality on our D. I've left out Champ because I saw him get beat to many times last season. Given these facts does it make sense then to sign a 36 year old QB with a bad neck and a bad postseason record and expect a championship with this team?

Given the weaknesses at almost every position with no depth at just as many why would anyone honestly believe that Manning is going to be a miracle man who can win a SB in the first, second or even the third year of megabucks contract? By then he'll be 40. It's possible but the odds are stacked heavily against him. Look back at the many great QB's who have changed teams late in their careers and you can't name many who win a championship.

So when it's all is said and done we're better off without him. Let Tebow have this season, if he tanks we deal with it in 2013. Today we should focus on getting help at other positions with the money saved by not breaking the bank to sign Manning. The Broncos could carry an improved Tebow to a championship who knows.

Please Peyton sign with the Titans or the Cardinals and all this spin and speculation can end. Then our team and the fans can get on with the retooling process.

Water worth more than Gold in Astoria, Oregon

Why for the love of Pete would I have a $140.58 water bill this month when God has produced more rain in that time in Astoria than the City of Los Angeles could consume in 2 months?

They built a new waste water treatment facility which cost the City some money I know but I just can't believe 2 people could consume $140 worth of water in a single month. Part of the reason the wife and I moved to Astoria is because of the abundance of water. The Pacific Ocean and the Columbia River is a stone’s throw from us pouring zillions of gallons of water a day into the Pacific and yet water prices are higher than gold or gasoline. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if someone living in the Mojave Dessert in Southern California pays smaller water bills than ours.

Wikipedia says, "There is an average of 194 days with measurable precipitation in Astoria. The wettest year was 1950 with 113.34 inches and the driest year was 1985 with 41.58 inches. The most rainfall in one month was 36.07 inches in December 1933. The most rainfall in 24 hours was 5.56 inches on November 25, 1998."

The average precipitation per year is 66.4 inches and we’re paying these prices?

I wonder if the City plans to lower the price of water to a reasonable sum once they’ve recouped the cost of the water treatment facility. Answer, No! What a racket!! I swear I should run for City Council here if for no other reason. We’re drowning in water while the city puts a gun to our heads, it’s unbelievable.

Maybe I'm a little grumpy because it's been raining cats and dogs and yes even snowing all week and the sun is nowhere to be found, and then I get a $140 water bill. I need a vacation like nobody's business to anywhere South, NOW!! Okay now I feel better, I’ll pay my water bill and shut up.

Just say No to the Broncos Manning...Please!!

It’s time to address the unpleasant topic of Peyton Manning again Broncos Fans. I said this over a week ago and I’ll say it again. Signing Manning will be a mistake. After 14 years of football with a bad neck on a way better team than what the Broncos have Manning IS NOT going to be the same QB he was 5 or even 2 years ago.

Can he still play? Yes.

Is his primary reason for continuing to play related to $’s and ego and will he hit the jackpot lotto when he signs? Yes.

Do those 2 reasons trouble you if you’re a Broncos Fan? They do to me.

Will the astronomical price in dollars and cents be worth the gamble? No.

Will he improve a team like the Broncos chances of winning? Maybe.

Will the Broncos be a playoff team or a Super Bowl winning team with him at QB? Maybe the playoffs, but the Super Bowl, highly doubtful.

Will Manning end his career ugly if he goes to a rebuilding team like the Broncos? Odds are very good.

Isn’t it smarter to hold onto the cap money they’d spend on him and use it to look to fill all the other holes on the team with draft picks and good free agents at DB, DL, LB, RB, WR and maybe a TE? A resounding YES!!

The media hype and what I consider the ignorant short sightedness by fans who think this is what the Broncos MUST do are being set up for an epic failure. It’ll set the team back maybe 2 to five years if he tanks and the bankroll he’ll demand locks up cap money later on.

I just think this is a horrible idea even in the short term because Manning while he still has same game left in him can’t possibly at his age and with his chronic injuries carry an average or bad team to a Super Bowl win. It just won’t happen. He was a great QB but his best days are more than likely behind him and I see a horrible scenario in which the Broncos organization and worse yet the fans gets raped and robbed.

Favre was a far better athlete at his age and had a stronger arm than Manning does at this point in his career and look how Favre ended? He was on a far better team than Manning will go to also.

One more thing, this really has nothing to do with Tebow by the way but the long term future of the Broncos. While I’m not sure if he’s capable of taking the team to the next level this is still a bad strategy anyway you look at it. If Tebow lays and egg this season I have no problem looking at other options in 2013. I’m results oriented, if he can’t carry the water then it’s onto a guy who can. I like Tebow the man but winning supersedes his personal magnetism and charm. The team should stick it out one more year with Tebow to see if he pans out and spend their money elsewhere this season.

Today Manning’s supposed to make a decision about where he will go. If it does happen and he signs in Denver as always I’m a Broncos Fan first and last so I’ll root for him to succeed. I’ll root for him because he’s on my team but I won’t be happy about it because I see disastrous results in the long term. Just say NO to the Broncos Manning...please.

Fed up with The Daily Astorian Liberal Demagoguery

Have you experienced that feeling when you read the newspaper or listening to the talking heads on TV or on the radio blather on and on about something that you know isn’t the right representation of the facts and finally say enough is enough?

Well… I’m here this morning grinding my teeth after reading the column "GOP becomes the party of the 1950's" in The Daily Astorian. It’s another outrageous exercise in Liberal Demagoguery in a line long of Steve Forrester’s (Publisher of the Astorian) columns. Rather than get into all the things of what he said in his column and the countless others that I’ve disagreed with I’d like to address Steve Forrester the man instead.

First I have to say I actually have talked to him first on the phone then later met him personally over a year ago. Since then I’ve run into him 2 other times and had a brief word with him. Each time I’ve seen him I shake his hand and say that he’s doing a stalwart job with his community news sections in the Astorian but still have to civilly disagree with his liberal political columns.

The time I talked to him on the phone was when he wrote a column comparing some dink who had destroyed someone’s private property because they at one time had raised minks to Tea Party activists. I couldn’t believe he’d compare a criminal act to a group of peaceful protesters that to date have not had one single act of violence or criminal behavior. We had about a 30 minute friendly and civil conversation about his column. During that conversation not once did he ever back away from his comments or say that making that comparison was terribly wrong.

Steve is a good man but each time I’ve seen him since he seems uncomfortable, almost to the point of thinking someone like me might attack him physically or give him the plague sense he knows I don’t share his view on politics. I could see his face tighten and redden in what looked like fear doing his best to be accommodating but quickly ready to end any conversation with me.

My point here is we get bombarded with divisive and combative negative politics from both sides on the TV, Radio and the internet 24/7. Why does a small town newspaper editor feel the need to contribute to the daily diatribe we get saturated with everyday? He is entitled to his opinion but he’d be better served to tone down the over the top rhetoric and focus his op-eds to the community based issues instead of the national ones. 50% of the nation doesn’t agree with you Steve and alienation in a small town is a very tough flag to fly.