hepcat71

Hey kids .... it's been a long time. I'll get around to where I've been/ what I've been up to later, but I wanted to clue you guys and both girlz into this ESPN piece. It concerns UT's Sergio Kindle and the interviews he gave to ESPN regarding a high school teammate at Dallas' Woodrow Wilson HS. His name was Will Winters and he was my nephew. I loved him more than my life. He was the "71" from my nick. The video also shows my sisterJan and her husband, Willis. Both great people. It has been showing on ESPN at various times, but you can see it at http://espn.go.com./video/ and it should be running during tonight's pregame show. I'll try to get you a better run down on times. I'm having problems with different video id numbers, but you may be able to get thru with the just up to the "clip?id" part. Trying again, more fixes. Or if you go to ESPN.com look for the video tab. When you get to the video section, look for the search feature or bar and try "Segio Kindle's Inspiration". Sorry for the mess.

More power to ya, bro! When you are disabled/whatever, you have no idea how much it means in terms of pride to be able to contribute, especially when it's a serious chunk of of money. I still try not to buy anything , unless absolutely necessary. To think of the money I've lost (and cost) by not working the past few years ..... drives me totally freakin' crazy. I had to put it down as an issue, I can't handle it. Your brother does seem to have a serious custom chair, my compliments! (Pimp My Ride!, indeed!) Sorry you need it. They scare serious hell out of me.

I guess I'm gonna have to go buy a game system (I assume this won't work on the old N64 I never use - or will it?). I found out yesterday that one of my late nephew's best friends is starting for Texas as a freshman(!) His brother told me he was going crazy when he found out. This would be Sergio Kindle, from Woodrow Wilson in Dallas .... he was rated the the #2 player in the country on the final Rivals 100 recruiting list last year. He enrolled at Texas for the spring semester and stands a very good chance of starting at OLB, if not from Game 1, then at least by midseason. So, blitz Sergio early and often. And you can also insert Serg at RB (2500 yds. rushing/28 TDs last year). It looks like he may also be the goal-line back for the Longhorns this year, maybe more. He's a great kid, 6'-4", 240 lbs. of solid muscle, 4.51 in the 40 (and workin' like H to get into 4.4). I'm proud to know him. Give 'em H, Big Serg!

What really pisses me off is Bush, et. al., care more about a bunch of unwanted embryo-sicles than the health and welfare of all humanity. Personally, this research could lead to cures of both curses on my life - leukemia and spinal cord injury. It might well not help me, but at least it could help millions of poor bastages in the future. Of course, none of this matters .... kissing up to the hardcore Christicans, before the mid-term elections is what really counts. Idiots.

(Barf) Rush SUCKS. Period, end of story. I guess you guys must like Journey, Kansas and Styx too. (Triple-barf!) Don't even get me started on the stupidity of roto-toms.

Unfortunately, I know way too much about spinal cord injuries. But this is way over my head. Only thing that comes to mind immediately is the iBOT power wheelchair, by far the most advanced chair on the planet. It's built by Independence Technology, a division of Johnson & Johnson. Anazing piece of work. http://www.independencenow.com/home.html Still, try to help your buddy keep as much hope as he can manage. There have been cures before, and will again. The new research on stem cell transplants shows tremendous hope, if we can politicians and religious zealots out of it. Best wishes for your friend, Misfit.

Reposess the shoes until she puts out.

Hey, Club .... just tryin' to catch up with the board. I spent the last week or so fighting with Social Security over the new Medicare Part D (prescriptions). Yesterday, I got lectured by some SS about how I should be ashamed for complaining, didn't I know how money I was takin' home ($1078./mo.), most people don't get anything near that .... Geeez. I asked her how I was going to handle the co-pay for my Gleevec (leukemia drug), which would cost $1580/month with my lowest-cost drug plan. Then I asked her several more questions about how they had screwed up my application. What a bunch of maroons. It's strange when the Tailgate seems like the paragon of virtue and intelligence. :doah:

Sorority girls.

Geez. NO, I'm not DEAD yet! If I do die, my last act on earth (if at all possible) will be to post the news here at the Tailgate. With streaming video, if at all possible. Actually, I've been extremely barfy of late, the last couple of months. That, and my spine is so messed up I can't even sleep on the Temperpedic. I couldn't hardly get out of bed in the morning. I sleep in the recliner, 2-3 hours as I can get it. But thanks for noticing, I guess, Dragon.

Hate to burst your bubble, but most colored gemstones are cut in India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, etc. in the Far East. Most cutters don't make squat by U.S. standards, but do pretty well by local standards. The exception is in diamonds, where the larger stones are cut by men of Hasidic Jewish persuasion. The tiny accent stones are now cut by the same companies that do the colored stones. Got to keep labor costs down. One thing you might try is the "Jewelry Party" thing, sorta like Tupperware, lingerie, etc. Depends on how wide your circle of friends is (and their income level), how large your community is,etc. It can get dicey if you deal with total strangers, and security is definitely an issue. Not to mention the cost of buying and carrying inventory. Still, you can do pretty well if you have a good eye for merchandise, and buy from the right wholesalers at the right price. Another angle is to "invest" in the right gemstones before they rise in the marketplace. I use the quotation marks because you can have everything lined up just right, and then a huge new strike is discovered, destroying the rarity you needed to drive up the price. Still, you can make some great money if all goes well. For example, some of you might want to put some money into Tanzanite, one of the gem world's current rages ... a gorgeous deep blue stone, with a hint of purple or violet. It is a single site stone (only mined in a 1 sq. mile radius in the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro) and the mine sites are mostly depleted, turning up poorer and poorer quality. There has been a cartel formed, based on deBeers, and their mission is to drive up prices. Their new grading scale will be released to the public soon and prices should skyrocket. How much depends on who you believe. Currently, but maybe only for a few weeks, you can still buy Tanzanite of absolute top quality for $600-$800/carat on JTv (Jewelry Television, a 24 hour cable station; also at their website www.jewelrytelevision.com). But when the new grading guidelines come out, even their material will go up. Many jewelers use JTv for customers' requests for colored gemstones, as well as completed jewelry. Fantastic prices compared to your local mall. Anyway, good luck, cliaz.

Saving sucks. Poverty also sucks. I plan on dying.