I BELIEVE!

Since I last blogged the only surviving Boston Marathon bomber has been apprehended. It seems very weird
to me that they wanted to catch him so badly so they could seek the death penalty. I don't really have a stance on the death penalty and it isn't a political statement that I think it is weird that the death penalty is being sought it's just ironic to me. I know the reason we wanted him caught alive so badly is that we are hoping to gain some information on his and his brother's motives and possible ties to terrorist cells or something but why would he tell us anything knowing that he is going to be executed anyway? No MATTer what he tells us most of us will not be able to understand why this senseless act occurred. I cannot imagine harming people randomly. I cannot understand doing something like this if it targets one person let alone an act that is meant to hurt innocent people including children and women. I am not sure why we find it worse to harm children and women but maybe that is sexist? I generally like women and children better than I like men so maybe I am just in the majority here. How many mass murderers have been women or children? Very few in comparison I am certain.

Today is Earth Day. I like Earth. I would say that it is my favorite planet. I know that isn't totally fair as I have never visited any of the other planets yet but to this point it is my favorite. Maybe that isn't the reason I love it the most. I live in DeKalb and DeKalb isn't my favorite city on Earth so why do I have to pick Earth as my favorite planet? Saturn seems pretty cool. When I say a cool planet I am not referring to average temperature on Saturn of -285 degrees Celsius. I like the rings. We should hold the Olympic Games on Saturn. They could figure out how to color the rings around Saturn. 

Is it a coincidence that Earth Day and 4/20 are the same week? If you are unaware 4/20 is the day that is like a national holiday for pot smokers. I am not gonna look it up so this is vague but it has something to do with some kids at a California high school who would get together every day at 4:20 PM to smoke pot. They called themselves (or maybe somebody else came up with the name) because they hung-out at the same wall when they torched-up. This year at a 4/20 party in Colorado three people were shot. So much for pot smokers being non-violent. Maybe they were fighting over a bag of Doritos. It makes sense that a pot festival would be held in Denver. 

I am sure we will talk about a lot of these same things when we record Dirty Laundry Podcast tomorrow night. It's difficult not to overlap from time-to-time. 

I am sure all of you, even those of you who do not live in the MIDDLEwest, are aware of the rain that and flooding we experienced this last week in the MIDDLE. Thank goodness that's over! What? It's not over? Forecasters are predicting more rain and snow coming tomorrow and Wednesday for the MIDDLEwest already. Great! The farmers obviously did the rain dances or whatever voodoo farmers do. They had a dry year last year so now they make corn husk dolls of all of us and throw us all in a giant bathtub and look what happens. I guess that means next year we should have lower food prices right? I predict that this year's food prices (veggies, meat...) as well as fuel will all be high and they we will forget about how low they used to be and they will not come back down. The other morning I was headed home form work and gas was $3.42/gallon. I had a half tank of fuel so decided to wait until the next day to top it off. The next day it was $3.75/gallon. BASTARDS! I realize even if I got 20 gallons that is only $6.60 but once a week would be $343.20 per year or about $10,296 I could pay toward my mortgage over the next thirty years. I guess that is a lot after all.

I just posted a picture that I found thought provoking on my Facebook page remarking on the gun debate and it sparked quite a heated discussion. That's why I am The Agitator I guess. I know what I believe and I respect what other people believe and I know I am probably not going to change people's minds but I like to poke the bear once in awhile. Bottom line is, and I have said it many times, nobody is saying people cannot have guns rather there should be restrictions on ammunition capacities and the whole criminal background check deal. I am not going to talk guns because you believe what you believe and I am going to believe what I believe and I wont change your mind and you won't change mine. It's just like Ohio Senator Rob Portman was against same-sex marriage... until his son announced he was gay. All of a sudden the clouds opened and his mind changed. We all have our own agenda and I am too apathetic sometimes. 

I am done. I probably made no sense to many and a lot of sense to some. I wish you well and hope everybody is nice to one another; is that really that difficult. I am a sucker most of the time I know but I like who I am and I won't change and I don't expect you to change. I believe the world, on Earth Day, is a better place because I can believe what I want to believe and you can believe what you want to believe. I BELIEVE! Thanks a lot for hanging-out, Have a great rest of your day and night. This is my Friday so I will probably blog tomorrow. TTTThen...MITM (out) SAYONARA! 

Sorry, I forgot to hit "publish" and went to the store. Salmon, potatoes and cilantro corn for dinner - needed a few things. I will publish now. TA!

Matt Van Winkle In The Middle

So, I guess it's November again. I must be Matt Van Winkle In The Middle. I slept through Spring and Summer and it was so cold that entire time that my facial hair didn't even grow. The news is still the same too. When I fell asleep back in April they were saying the same thing over-and-over about the Boston bombing and they are still saying the same nothing. I think they just want to be on the air when something is actually discovered so they can say they were the first with the news but in the meantime they will be the first with the olds instead of the news. I was just watching CBS and every little thing that hadn't been previously mentioned by another network even if as stupid as something like "he had green socks on" they try to make a big deal out of it being "breaking news" or an "exclusive" or "we are the first to report on." This is the kind of behavior we discourage in our children but there must be an expiration date on this stuff. What is the purpose? So they can make a promo that says they were better than everybody else? I think Maury Povitch and Jerry Springer may as well be newscasters these day. Maybe I am just bitter because Judge Judy is being preempted.

Red Sox game canceled. Bruins game canceled. Everyone in Boston told to stay home from school and work today. Isn't this where somebody is supposed to say something about "if we don't live our lives the terrorist win" or something? It will happen soon.

I hate when I begin writing the blog and I get blogger's-block or writer's-block or just plain blockhead. I am blocked right now and it is not the first time in the past week. This is the only time that it has involved my mind though. I am gonna take a break and probably be back with some more nonsense. While you wait please take a moment to listen to Dirty Laundry Podcast (also available free on iTunes).

Install 45 minutes here!

I am back. All I can think about is Boston and flooding here in the MIDDLEwest and the fertilizer explosion in Texas. I guess the terrorists media have won after all. I am gonna end now but may blog again tomorrow. Have a great whatever time there is until I blog again. Thanks so stopping by. TTTT...MITM (out)

The Midnight Ride of Prescott and Dawes!

William Dawes

Tonight in 1775 William Dawes made his famous ride from Boston to Lexington to warn Samuel Adams (the beer dude) and John Hancock (the signature dude) that "THE BRITISH ARE COMING, THE BRITISH ARE COMING!" to arrest them. Dawes arrived at the house about the same time as another rider who was assigned to do the same via a different route. This way if one of them had been captured they still would have had another rider sending the warning. Samuel Prescott also joined them on the ride. Long story short, Paul Revere seems to have had a better public relations firm handling his ride. Maybe Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who wrote the poem "Paul Revere's Ride," was a relative of Revere's or was paid by the family to make Paul seem like the only one to make this ride. It's all P.R. baby!

I wonder if it was raining this much in 1775? If you are not in my portion of the MIDDLEwest you may not be experiencing the very heavy rains we are getting but the weather people are saying that it goes all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and we have a lot more coming this afternoon. Last year was the drought so I guess this is making up for lost water. The farmers have to be happy right now. Our sump pump is belting out more hits than Elvis and Michael Jackson put together - keep singing baby; if you keep humming the basement is more likely to remain dry. Maybe Mother Nature was tired of hearing the news shows talking about nothing going on in Boston. I don't know why they feel they have to keep telling us what is going on when there is no new news. News is based on the word "new" but that doesn't seem to MATTer any longer. This 24-hour news cycle is crazy. I even saw where, I think it was CNN, was saying that an arrest was made and it turned out to be a complete lie. So, do they just tease with lies to keep us tuned-in or was this guy misinformed? I need to turn the news off for now - I am tired of the same stories over-and-over again.

When ducks are on a pond do you think they consider what they are doing swimming? Just a single would score two (sorry, this time of year I cannot think of ducks on the pond and not think of baseball)

I am glad we recorded Dirty Laundry Podcast two days ago. If we recorded it today we would constantly be interrupted by the sweet sound of the sump pump. If you listen to the show close enough you can usually hear the water being pumped out on occasion. Sorry if it makes you have to pee but maybe that is a good thing - wouldn't want you to get a kidney stone.

I have been working on this blog for about an hour and keep getting distracted so I will probably just end now. Hopefully, by the next time I blog (probably tomorrow), there will be some arrest(s) in connection with the Boston bombing and there will be less water flowing through the streets of Illinois. You know what Scarlett O'hara said? Did you know her first name was Katie not Scarlett? "Death and taxes and childbirth - there's never any convenient time for any of them." Oh she said something about tomorrow being another day or something too. Have a great day and I will probably blog again tomorrow maybe from Illinois Island? TTTT...MITM (out)! TA!

I BELIEVE I Will Aggravate A Lot Of You Today!

Bananas seem very family-oriented or at the very least clannish. They come in bunches and even when they are sliced and put into a bowl with grapes, blueberries and raspberries they still want to stick together no MATTer how much you stir them up. I really respect that about bananas. Maybe they are just fruitists? Maybe the berries hate bananas? I guess there are other possibilities but I like to believe bananas are nice.

Do race horses really urinate more than other horses?

My body is revolting. The new Dirty Laundry Podcast is up and we talked about my most recent body battle. Now, with that being conquered another thing has reared its ugly head. Is this all part of getting on the other side of MIDDLE? Both of these issues I have dealt with in the past and I have defeated and now I have to fight the same battles again? I wonder if the one I just beat is also the cause of this new one? Things could be a lot worse and I would much rather have things happen to me than to other people. I am one of those dudes that feels worse when others feel bad than I do when I feel bad. I know that is kinda weird but that is who I am. Oh well, whatever happens happens. If I were a used car I am afraid I would be too costly to keep at this point. Maybe Cha Cha should trade me in on a new model though I am a classic fixer-upper. It might be just one of those sentimental deals.

The weather is having fits too. We are under a flood warning and it is raining like crazy. I love the rain and lightning and thunder. I do have to go to the train station to pick up Cha Cha in a couple of hours and I think I will take the 4Runner because the Fiat might have problems if we get all the rain they are saying we will get. I have only been a certified weather spotter for about two weeks and I have been able to use my new skills three times. Fortunately, I have not needed to use the secret telephone number I have to notify NOAA or the NWS or whoever of any catastrophic anomalies. I hope I never need to make a call but I am happy that I have the capability if I need to to help save someone's life.

I usually have something on television or the radio or the iPod while I write the blog. Right now I am watching one of my favorite movies - Chaplin. I find that I have many, many favorite films. I love movies. It must come from when I was a wee lad always going to see the Walt Disney films at the theater with my mom and brother and cousins. I think we went to see every one. I remember seeing Peter Pan, Song of the South, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Pinocchio, Bambi, Dumbo... Anyway, I just learned that the woman who plays Charlie Chaplin's mum in Chaplin is Geraldine Chaplin. She is Charlie Chaplin's daughter. Maybe that was common knowledge but that just made the film even better for me. I really do love the work of Robert Downey Jr.. Chaplin was pretty darned good too. Why don't they show Song of the South anymore? It was a great story. Is it because of some of the things they discuss are insensitive by today's standards? Yet they have Br'er Rabbit and Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear at Walt Disney World. Isn't the briar patch Splash Mountain? Don't kids wonder who theses characters are? I saw the film as a child and I am one of the most anti-racist people I know so that is poppycock if they say those things could cause racism. Maybe me seeing this a child contributed to me NOT being racist? Uncle Remus rocked!

I love living in America but I am getting sick and tired of many things here. You cannot make everybody happy in a country of this size but why are there so many jerks and idiots here? I am sure many people ask the same thing about me but they are completely wrong and I am 100% correct. I am sure they don't say the same thing. I try not to be political but everything we do and say is political really isn't it? I think guns should be more closely regulated. I believe people should be able to be with whomever they wish to be with no MATTer what gender or race or nationality or religion they are. I believe people can believe in whatever god they want to believe in or not believe in any god if they don't want to believe in a god. I do not believe people should be able to hurt other people. I believe children should always be happy. I believe Russians aren't as evil as our government has convinced us and we aren't as evil as they have convinced their people that we are. I believe our government doesn't really represent us rather just serves their own selfish interests. I believe marijuana should be legalized and cigarettes should have the tar and nicotine removed or be done-away with. I believe there should be no racism or sexism. I believe the DH should be outlawed. I believe I am incorrect more times than I am correct. I believe I will never be a Belieber. I believe in a lot more but I believe I will stop because I believe I have probably already aggravated most everyone on at least one of those. I also believe that you can believe what you believe and I can believe what I believe and I believe we can still live together and be friends. Now I believe I will really stop.

I think I am done blogging for the day. Thanks a lot for stopping-in and for listening to the podcast; I really do appreciate you and hope I make you smile now and again. I know that your being here makes me smile. Have a great night and enjoy the storm - I love storms. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

SMILE!  (yes, that is a link)

There Will Always Be Idiots!

I have mixed feelings about the news agencies in this country. I worked in writing news off-and-on for several years in: newspapers, television, magazine and radio. My mix of the feelings comes from the aspect that we, the public, want to know what is going on when things like the bombings in Boston occur but you can tell that the news shows and news outlets love when things like this happens. I am as guilty as anyone in that I am currently watching CNN and I rarely watch this channel. Why do we always slow down to see a train wreck or a car accident? Is it just natural human curiosity? I have slowed down and gotten out to help people out of cars and called 911 at car accidents on a couple of occasions but I still slow down to gawk when the rescue people are already there. What is that about? I hope that, in me anyway, it is the feeling of wanting to help and making sure everything is under control before I leave and could have helped. In the case of this recent terrorism in Boston they are just telling us the same things over and over even though they tell us "we have new information for you..." but then they tell us the same old things they have been saying since yesterday. They just want us to stay tuned so they can sell more advertising - bottom line the news is a HUGE business. My heart goes out to all of the people who have lost loved ones or have suffered injuries during this attack. I know someone or some group will be caught as the culprits but then I often am not sure that we catch the correct people; sometimes I think our government just puts a face and name on our enemies so we can have closure and move on. I am not sure how I feel about that either. Now they are talking about the little eight-year-old boy, Martin, who died in the attack. I cannot imagine the sorrow that family must feel. How can people be so terrible? I am glad that there are so many more good people than bad people in the world. I am going to try to move-on with the blog with happy thoughts as usual... I really do like hearing Darth Vader's voice promoting CNN though.

One thing that I have noticed on watching this coverage really cracks me up. There have been more than just a couple of reporters that ask a question and when they are done and waiting for the person they are talking to or the person they are "throwing it back to" just begin shaking their head front and back like they are agreeing (saying yes) while looking like bobble heads when the other person hasn't even begun talking yet. How can you agree with what they are saying if they haven't said anything yet? Maybe it is a satellite uplink thing and they can hear what the person on the other end is saying before we do but sometimes they are standing next to one another. Another thing that I keep hearing is "at the end of the day..." I thought this idiotic phrase had run it's course (no Boston Marathon pun intended).

Tonight we record Dirty Laundry Podcast; I suppose we will touch on this horrible act a little - how can we not? Maybe we won't? We try to make the show so people have an hour to an hour-and-a-half to escape the miseries of everyday life. There are enough people talking about it already.

I mentioned yesterday briefly about me feeling not 100%. I now feel 120%. Isn't it funny how, when we are ailing and get better, we feel better than we have ever felt before? I wish I could remember how poorly I felt so I could use that to feel even better than great all the time. Do you think it was the codeine that helped? I will be back in a moment. I have to go get the remote control to change the channel; I am tired of hearing the same things over-and-over-and over-and-over-and-over-and -over... What ever happened to news breaks instead of show breaks? Now I am watching Tropic Thunder while finishing this blog - what a funny movie. How can it not be? Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Ben Stiller, Tom Cruise, Matthew McConaughey, Nick Nolte, Bill Hader, Christine Taylor, Jason Bateman, Alicia Silverstone, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jon Voight...

Now I heard that a major earthquake just hit Pakistan and Iran. I feel bad for the people there now too but, luckily for them, they still live in the dark ages electronically and won't have to watch 24-hours of only that. Don't worry though Iran and Pakistan the American media is surely on the way because they need tragedy to survive. I am pretty anti-news media right now it seems.

I found a funny video that just cracked me up. I will link it here if you want a giggle. It's Los Angeles Dodger Tony Gwynn Jr. dealing with a heckler during a game. I think I may add this to my Facebook page right after I get off of here too. There are always going to be idiots but it is how we handle the idiots that makes us who we are.

You may become a Tony Gwynn Jr. fan today

I think I had better get some laundry done and begin getting together some thoughts and ideas for the podcast. How come while I was down-and-out the world didn't stop too? Now am I even two days further behind than I was three days ago. I think that makes sense - it makes sense to me. I hope you have a great Tuesday afternoon and Tuesnight. Cha Cha and I may go out to eat tonight just because Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually our date nights (we are different than most in so many ways). I am thinking Tapa La Luna but we'll he what she thinks. We still have not tried the new Japanese steakhouse in town so maybe we will do that instead. If we do that before the show there will be another thing to blab about. Thanks a lot for stopping-in. Stay positive. Bad things are always going to happen. Focus on the good - it really pisses the bad off! TTTT...MITM (laundry time) TA!

Rumors of Me Being Shot are Greatly Exaggerated!

I have had three different positions with my current employer going back about four or five years. I had never missed one scheduled work shift until last night. I went in but I had to leave early. I am not going to blog about the particulars now because I am still dealing with the issue and I always like to have mystery in the blog. I will talk about it eventually. When I arrived home about 00:15 Fabio was still working on a project for school and I must have looked a mess. I have never seen Fabio look so worried about me. I guess he has that "my dad is different than everybody else and nothing could ever happen to him" thing kids always think about their fathers. I found out this morning that he thought I had been shot. I WAS NOT SHOT! I imagine, and Cha Cha brought it to my attention, that I really looked disheveled. I was gray and partially unclothed and had pain on my face because I was in pain. Maybe I looked more like an alien stripper? I am happy I was not shot and upset that I wasn't shot at the same time - at least then I would have a chance to be out of this misery that is probably gonna linger for a day or two. It makes me happy that he was so concerned. Being a sixteen-year-old it has been about a year since his teenage hormone change-thing had begun and I have noticed that he seems to be coming out of the other end of that tunnel; thank goodness. I am fine and the blog will go on for a while longer though maybe I should start selling autographed copies or allowing people the right to be blogged-about or something?

Yesterday Fabio and I went to see 42. I am not going to say much about it because I want to talk about it on Dirty Laundry Podcast this week if I live that long (just kidding though we never do know when we are gonna be done here are we?). I will say that if you get a chance before the next podcast (spoiler alert) I would go see 42!

Comedian Jim Gaffigan Tweeted something yesterday that I found funny - "Oh no! I am missing the movie awards show on the music television channel that has only reality shows." I have been saying these sentiments about the channels and the awards shows for years and years. I would love to say that he stole this idea from me but A) I imagine he doesn't follow this blog or listen to the podcast and B) now it is even more prevalent than when I started talking about it a long time ago so how could you not notice now? I am just a trend-spotter...that is one of my annoying gifts. What's next Gaffigan? Gonna start talking about all of the huge celebrity voice-over work? Just kidding. I love Jim Gaffigan and he is probably almost as creative and funny as I am for the record.

Since I wrote all of the stuff above I went to the doctor and now I have some really cool pain medicine. I also just had a turkey sandwich on pumpernickel  It's been a day-and-a-half since I ate anything and I am surprised that the sandwich didn't taste better. Now I have a very bad headache - it just gets better and better; maybe I should take one of those pills.

I am sure you have heard by now that there was a bombing in Boston earlier today at The Boston Marathon. It is also tax day and Patriot Day. Boston makes a big celebration about the battles of Lexington and Concord (Civil War). I never really thought about it but is it weird that we celebrate these huge battle days? Days like Pearl Harbor Day...? It's nice that we don't forget and I am not saying that it is weird I am just wondering out blog if it is weird. Anyway, there were two bombs that went off and a third that didn't go off. I am happy that it wasn't worse but wonder why they selected those specific times for the bombs to go off. Had they gone off earlier there would have been even more carnage. While all of the media descended on the scene I thought - what would happen if these terrorists had banked on the fact that the media circus would arrive and they had planted more bombs for their arrivals? Will someone claim responsibility for this heinous, cowardly act?  What if it was North Korean-backed? I could never understand, probably because I am at least 70% sane, why people would want to injure innocent people. Small children, old people... I am very sad when things like this happen. It had to be a group of people. There's very little chance that one person could have done this and THEY WILL BE CAUGHT. Our country will not allow someone to be held responsible; hopefully it will be the correct people. It seems like the flags in our country are half-mast more times than not in the U.S. of A. lately.

I am going to take an Elvis pill and sleep for the first time in a couple of days. Thanks a lot for stopping by and for always coming back. Tomorrow will be a better day. We record the podcast tomorrow night. It seems to come quicker and quicker.

Thank you for always stopping back here. Tomorrow night we record the new podcast; the time seems to come quicker and quicker. We will have a lot to talk about. Not like it would stop us if we didn't. Have a great rest of tonight and an even better tomorrow. TTTT...MITM (out) TA!

A Trip to the Bloggie-Hatch

I haven't blogged in four days; I think I may have been burning myself out. Back in the day, when people
read newspapers, columnists would write every day (some weekly) but they were looking for a news topic and throwing their spin on it or taking letters requesting "professional" advise and answering them... I think I need to get a focus for the blog. It took me 833 blogs to figure this out? But, that being blogged, I don't want to tie myself to one topic. Variety is the spice of blog. Any advise? That's ironic huh? Maybe an entertainment blog. I could talk about films and television shows and books and magazines and podcasts... I was a media major in college as well as your journalism so maybe that was for a reason? Imagine using my education. Or. do I just start a completely new blog for that and keep this one to psychoanalyze myself from time to time? Is this how a trip to the boobie-hatch begins?

This where my media whorishness begins. The new Dirty Laundry Podcast is ready. I think you'll enjoy it because Cha Cha is very entertaining - I guarantee she will make you laugh at least one time or double pod-listening fee back. (In case you are unaware the show is free at that link and on iTunes)

I think I am getting burned-out by life. It is only temporary and we all go through it from time-to-time but my hours and days of are really wearing me down. I will give it another couple of months and then, if nothing changes as seem that they may, I will have to make them change myself. I know this sounds very vague but I am not much of an ultimatum kind of guy and with the situation that I am blogging about I have no leverage. I don't have hand! There are too many governing bodies that have strict rules in place regarding this dictating of my misery. If, by the end of July I still feel this way, changes will be made. See, I set a precise deadline and maybe that is what I need to do. Things are so much better for so many reasons since I left my last job but humans always need to strive for more or we die. We die emotionally or spiritually or socially or economically or physically or any number of other ways and I am not ready to die in any of those ways. As long as I know how to love I know I'll stay alive. I've got all my life to live and all my love to live and I'll survive. I will survive!
Cha Cha and I are thinking about taking an improv class. Maybe will be the next Shields and Yarnell or something. It sure would give us something to podcast about wouldn't it? It is kind of costly but we are considering it. I think most people that I have known who are in community theater are weird so I don't see myself going that way but who knows? I know that I am kinda weird too so maybe? Why does weird have such a negative connotation? Weird just means different to me. Wanna take a improv class with the World's Blog's most famous podcast team?

Speaking of different...I heard that Jonathan Winters died. He was a weird dude and he always made me laugh. I doubt that he was really weird but that was his persona and the characters he played. Just looking at his phot makes me happy; that is the true sign of a great person. Just the thought or sight of them brightens your day. Didn't he play Mork and Mindy's on Mork and Mindy? He played Papa Smurf (voice) in The Smurfs and The Smurfs II comes out soon which his voice will be coming out of Papa Smurf's little blue puss again. Talk about an improv dude. Without him we probably would not have had Robin Williams' comedy. He was a guy who would seem to do almost anything for a laugh and I can relate to that. I have been that way most of my life - I think most people refer to it as immaturity. Maturity is boring. Who wants to be boring? Besides politicians.

Well, we have to start getting ready to head to dinner before I go to work. Cha Cha's cousin Dennis died and we are all getting together to celebrate Denny. The funeral was this morning and I really wanted to go but I could not make it. I really liked Denny and I think he really liked me. He was kind of a shy guy so I always felt proud that he liked me if that doesn't sound weird. He was a loner so we hadn't seen him in awhile but I will always have very good thought about Dennis Mullins. Anywho... I have to get showered and such. Thanks for letting me get a few things off my blog and if you have any counseling to offer don't be shy. I will listen and welcome and suggestions on the direction of the blog or my life. I may not take your advise but you are generally a lot smarty than I am so I will surely consider any suggestions. TTT?...MITM (out) TA!