The US TOP GEAR has arrived....

... and I'm happy. Not entirely impressed but super excited for what's to come.

They tried to pull off the British humor think at first but then it seamed as if they relaxed a little and started to enjoy themselves. I think as time goes on they might actually get into a groove and pull off what's never been done before and export TOP GEAR to another country.

I don't really know the hosts all that well and to me that's fine. I still don't know the UK hosts background and I think it make for a better experience. Just three average-ish guys playing around in the world of cars. I know the one guy's a drifter and another an actor and the last a numbers guy or something with NASCAR.

I also couldn't be happier that there's a Stig! There were rumors at first that Stig wouldn't make the trip to America. But he did and was one of my favorite parts of the premier tonight! More for the reason that I can be the Stig for Halloween next year and Katrina can't say, "No one will know who you are!"

Things I don't know about.... The rehashing of things done in the original. They previewed the season and one shot was of one of the guys in a car full of water. Be done. There was something else that I saw. On the other hand it'll be interesting to see an American twist to these stunts.

Over all I'm stoked! I don't think I can make up my mind on just one episode but hopefully the next nine will blow me away like the original. Who else saw the show? What were your thoughts!?!?!

I affirm that affirmative action should be thrown out the window.

Here's something obvious. We have a black President.

Now here's something really obvious. Slavery has been eradicated from America has has been for several generations.

Here's something painfully obvious. I've never owned a slave. Wow I know hunh?

So here come the stupid question..... Why am I paying for slavery? I'm white I know this but as stated above I've never owned a slave of any kind! So why is it that perfectly qualified white people are being passed over for jobs in this country because companies (and even a lot of state jobs) need to fill their quota of minorities? Especially in this economy you'd think companies (and States) would just want do get people working not be worried about filling these quotas. In a perfect society the best qualified person for the job should get the job and unfortunately we don't live in a perfect world. But holding 'X' amount of jobs open for people of certain races is not the way to get to that perfect world.

Luckily I have a job and don't have to be searching for one in this economy. Unfortunately there are people out there who are and are having a tough go at it. It's all over the news.

Ok scenario time. Your flying across the Pacific to visit with family in Australia. Do you want your pilot flying you there the best person for that job or someone who was hired by the airline to fill a quota? I personally want the best pilot available. Same goes for the crew on the ground and working on the plane.

No I'm not racist. I just don't see the point in all this. We have a minority person holding the highest office in this country. So what's the excuse going to be? "Oh because I was born mexican/black/indian/(fill in the blanks with what ever you like) I was never given opportunities to do what I could."

First of this is the land of opportunities. You have the potential to be who ever you want to be in this great country of ours. Those that desire to be a pilot/sports star/CEO/ect........ will themselves to be that. We all can't be at the top but if you want to be successful in business/sports or what have you are only limited by themselves. So why complicate things with your not the right race to fill this position BS.

And Secondly I don't care your what your race or religious beliefs or creed is we all have one thing in common. We are Americans! Not black not mexican not irish not french not english not.......... anything else but American. Be proud of your heritage, I am. But I'm more proud to be from this country!

I've been wanting to say something for a long time but just couldn't find the words to out right say it. and then I read a solution to all of this all be it a little too far but a solution none the less.

Here's the link if you want to read it. via Aurthur's Hall
Link

I don't always agree on what's posted on this blog. But I like this post a lot.

Thoughts? Goodnight.

Phobias and Deloreans

Question....

Am I crazy?

Hey wait let me tell you why I'm questioning my sanity before you all just jump on board the yes boat.

You see I have this reoccurring fear that Doc Brown will show up throw me in his time machine and whisk me away to the past. Which would be awesome, except for one thing. I wear contacts so any time before the 19th century I'd be screwed after a month. Yeah I could take my glasses with me but I'd get outed as an outsider cause my rims are large black plastic. At random this thought pops into my head and I have a mini panic attack. It's weird I know but a legitimate fear right? Right?

Hidden Blessings Crouching Doubt.

First an update on my bettering myself project. It's hard. I've spent time with God 4 of the 7 days this week and only stuck to my exercise routine once. It's not going to be an over night change I'm aware I just need more will power.

On with the post...

In the time I do spend talking with God I've been asking God to not prove to me but show me that I'm being blessed by him. Cause I believe that if your walking according to His will he'll send you blessings.

You see(I hate talking about this cause it sucks), my parents recently got a divorce. I'm not going into any detail(cause it's a personal matter) and I hope that others won't comment with details(cause again it's a personal matter), but it wasn't a pretty one. Because of that and because of my stance on the issue(I'm against divorce but support both of my parents), I feel like I'm out of Gods plan or will and for a while was blinded to the blessings that were already there.

Now I want to share those blessings with you as encouragement for the discouraged.

First the ones that have been there for a while.

My foundation. Without my foundation in Christ I'd probably gone off the deep end by now. I praise God for bringing me into his arms and loving me no matter what.

My family. God has blessed me so much with my family. Even though the divorce took place, without those people in my life I wouldn't be who I am today and I love my family for it. Nor would I have the family that I have of my own. Katrina has been such a blessing in my life. She's my best friend and closest confidant. She's the sledge hammer to my crazy ideas and I love her for it.

Jack(yes he gets his own paragraph). He's awesome. So many people asked what we wanted to have, boy or girl. All I wanted was a health baby and God delivered. I have a happy, smart young boy and another on a way. Besides salvation kids are among the greatest blessings!

My friends. I once heard that if you could count the number of close friends on one hand you were a lucky person. Not only do I have that but I have friends that I can not talk to for weeks call them up or go for a visit and it's right back where we left off. You guys know who you are and I love you all.

With all of these blessings written down the doubt seems to back off. And yet lately there have been more!

My Motorcycle. I was given a motorcycle recently and my Father-in-law helped me get it running. A Friend painted it and recovered the seat for me for free! And my Co-worker gave me a helmet for free! A motorcycle will be a huge saving on gas compared to our truck.

A House? We put an offer on a house today at a great price for us! We'd be paying less than what we're renting and building equity. So be praying for God to bless us in this.

A Car. We're being given a car. Long story short it won't start. But I'm a mechanic and it shouldn't be too hard to fix.

There are so many more blessings and if I continued to type I'd be here all night and I have work in the morning. What are some things you consider blessings? Can you relate? Again just listing these as encouragement for myself and the discouraged. Good night.

The Twisting Road to Nowhere

Ever have that feeling like your not who your supposed to be? I've been stuck in a rut for a while with this feeling. Not like I should be someone else but more like I should be a better version of myself.

Maybe it's the guilt I have from my youth creeping in. I'm honestly not as 'on fire' for the LORD as I was in Jr. High and High school. All of that lands at my feet for not reading daily or making church or my spiritual growth a priority. I'm now taking the steps to move foreword in my spiritual walk. I'm trying to get connected within my church and need to start reading more.

Then there's my fitness. I'm so out of shape. Three years ago I was heavier but I could out run and out play myself in about any sport compared to myself today. I just have no motivation to do anything. I'm going to start running and starting this week get into a work out routine.

Lastly I'm not as personable as I used to be. At least not lately. The last thing I want to do after work is call someone up and have a conversation. I wanna get home and shut down for a while. I sometimes feel like I've neglected friends and family and honestly for a selfish reason. So if your reading this and feel like I haven't been there it's my fault and I'm sorry.

I believe that a man needs to have Soul, Body, and Family in good condition to be truly happy and satisfied with life. So prayer on my behalf would be greatly appreciated as I get my priorities strait. Thank you.

-Josh Juice Welch

A Re-introduction

So seeing that I haven't written anything in a very very long time I'd write another introduction.

My name is Josh and I'm married to my best friend Katrina. We have a sweet little boy named Jack, who just turned 1! We're also expecting another baby in the spring.

First off I'm a Christian. That's my faith and it's my relationship with Jesus that makes me a son of God and secure in my future whatever it may bring.

I work as an aircraft mechanic and most days I love what I do others not so much. I find it really neat that I can work on something and then watch it fly away.

I have too many hobbies to count. My favorites to date are facial hair, beer brewing, kite making and flying, and fixing up this old motorcycle. My most recent is pipe smoking. Once a week I pull out my pipe and relax on my back porch and say good-bye to the week and hello to the weekend. I'm sure I'll be posting about all of these hobbies in the future.

Sports! I love hockey. Hockey season comes around and Katrina doesn't claim me as her husband. I'm am a Nashville Predators fan and a Blackhawks fan. Let me explain... as a military brat my teams came from my parents. My mom is from Chicago so my Baseball team and hockey team came from there. But the first hockey game I went to was a Nashville Predators game! The Blackhawks got their's now it's time for Smashville to get the coveted Cup! Baseball not much of a baseball fan cause I'm a Cubs fan and my baseball watching season ends pretty early in the summer.... My Dad's from Cincinnati so I also mildly support the Reds but still more of a Hockey fan.

My favorite movies are Star Wars, Boonedock Saints, Planet Earth, almost every recent comic book movie and a bunch of nerdy stuff.

I'm not much of a reader but the books that have stood out to me in my life are the Bible, The Boy Called 'IT', The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, Run Silent Run Deep and Rainbow Six.

That's about it or at least all I want to share with you tonight. Not that I don't like you I just don't know you that well. I hope that give you a little insight about what I'll be bloging about and now that we've gotten re-acquainted I'm off to bed.

Goodnight.

Why Hockey Rules all.

It's no secret that Hockey is my favorite sport. I just felt like outlining why and show you all that Hockey is truly the best sport.

First reason is that it incorporates all of the best aspects of all other professional sports. You have the non-stop action of soccer and basketball. Seriously watch a game! Those players don't stop! There's the hard hitting often seen and most of the time exceeded in football. Just look at this video! As far as I can tell all of these hits are legal hits!



And unlike football these guys shake it off get back up and skate. And unlike football they allow sporadic fighting. Check this out.



Lastly it has requires the mental preparation of baseball for each game. Who's in goal? Who's on the DL? Who's on fire right now? If your a few minutes left and a delayed penalty is called and your team has the puck what do you do? (Give it to the other team get the penalty call and finish the period with a PP advantage.) All of those things will and have effected the out come of games.

Secondly besides basketball it's the only sport you can represent your team in the Olympics. Sure you have the World Baseball Classic but who (unless your a baseball fan) watches the Classic? Football plays one game a season outside the United States, one game! Yeah there's the European Football League but people in Europe follow that like we here in the States follow Major League Soccer. Yes there is an MLS in the United States in case you didn't know or care. Soccer does have the World Cup. But, like the question about the tree in the forest by itself, if nobody is watching are you really representing your country? I have a special place in my heart reserved for the hate of soccer.... And who was it that won the hearts of Americans in the 1980's Olympics? It was a Hockey team! Not curling not a ski team Hockey! Remember when we had the NBA Dream team? Jordan, Bird, Robinson, Pippen... Some of the best basketball players on the planet go and win the 92 Gold medal and yet nobody cares! Instead we write movies and books about the 1980 Olympic Hockey Team!


Lastly, like in most manly sports, there has to be a winner. There's a 5 minute over time and if there's no score within that period then there's a shootout. Soccer can end with a 0-0 and people are ok with that....? No wonder soccer is enjoyed more in third world and communistic countries where, 'everyone's a winner'. BALONEY! There are winners and losers in this world and if your a soccer fan your the later. Again I loath soccer.

So there's my reasons for why Hockey is and forever will be the best sport!

Crazy thought....

Ok I am not a fan of the birther movement but I see their point. They just don't have anybody who can logically present their argument. The people who are at the front of the movement, Glenn Beck and that lady that sounds like the villain from Duck Tales, take things way too personally and let the criticism get to them. Those are the main reasons I don't like the birther movements.

But I do see their point.

You and I have to produce a form of identification when asked by an official. Traffic stops, at the DMV, going on a flight..... I have to produce my A&P license when asked by a FAA representative. So why can't we ask our officials for their credentials? The Constitution has very specific regulations that are laid out for the executive, legislative and judicial branches. It even breaks down the different requirements for the House of Representatives and the Senate. It also has a provision written in for the Presidential office, allowing the President to be born under a foreign flag up to a certain year. (If you remember all of our founding fathers were born as British subjects so they aloud their generation and the next to run for that office.)

So why can't we get proof of Obama's birth? The easiest way to shut critics up is to show them the proof that they are asking for right? So why has his administration spent close to 200 thousand dollars keeping thing's quiet and fighting the birthers and other groups in court? Only raises more questions right?

Don't get me wrong I understand his need for a private life, but at the same time he did run for PUBLIC office. The media is still updating us on the spawn of Mr. and Mrs. Clinton and his administration ended over a decade ago. So there goes that argument.

Our REPRESENTATIVES should REPRESENT us. When we elect these people they should answer to us and we should be able to view and critique they're credentials. Call me crazy but that's what I believe.