And now for something else

Personal note: my high school graduating class held its 40th reunion a couple weeks ago. I wasn't able to attend even though messing with the past isn't usually a good idea.

But while pondering this, I thought of a couple of Rolling Stones songs that were popular while I was going to school and thought I'd share:

Under My Thumb (a geek's wet dream)

Sympathy for the Devil (my personal favorite of all Stones songs)

Enjoy my memories, won't you?

How not to improve your golf game

A local example of how not to use your golf clubs.

A man sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday for brutally attacking his girlfriend with a pair of golf clubs said he simply “snapped” during an outburst.

“It was a moment of anger. I snapped,” said Jonathan Pearson, 26, during a formal sentencing hearing. Pearson said that because he continued “to be attacked verbally,” he reached a point where, “I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Pearson admitted to brutally attacking his girlfriend, Joi Partain Mraz, with a pair of golf clubs June 14 at their northeast Ocala home. It was a beating so vicious it left Mraz, 22, on a surgery table for seven hours and led to the loss of vision in her left eye.

Bastard should have gotten lots more time.

Be careful what you ask for...in Florida

For the first time...ever...Florida lost population for the first time since WWII.

Now I'm one of the born/bred Floridians and I recall lots of us "natives" saying stuff like-it this state isn't as good as the one you left, then get the hell out.

Well, that wish has come true. Now this could be a bad thing...or a good thing. Time will tell.

But how the hell is it that Marion County INCREASED our population?!

While Florida lost residents over the past year for the first time since the end of World War II, Marion County added population from April 2008 to April 2009 - with 1,022 new residents for 330,440 total.

Just to the north, Alachua County saw the largest population growth in the state, according to the figures from the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research. The county grew by an estimated 3,844, to 256,232, from April 2008 to April 2009.

The UF agency does not have demographics to show who is coming and going and why - that won't be available for a year, said director Stan Smith - but observers say jobs may be behind the movement into Alachua, and retirees for growth in Marion.

Florida lost 58,294 residents in the 12-month period ending in April, which Smith attributed to the economic slump. If past trends are any indication, those residents moved to other Sun Belt states such as Georgia, Texas and California - or back to their home states in areas where the economy is not doing as poorly.

Ocala-the Center of the Universe (Part 3)

I've been VERY light on posting for some time. But there have been several news items pertaining to Ocala and Marion County that have affected the rest of the USA.

One of the most significant is the bankruptcy of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Company based here in Ocala. This has been a horrible failure that has severely hurt our county, but has and will have further far reaching effects in the overall financial system.

I know several who were impacted by it. Hell, I was one of them. And life still goes on. But it's pretty crappy.

What a long vacation it's been

Still around, but not posting. Working up to it but not there yet.

However, in my youth I really liked a song by Jefferson Airplane called "Volunteers" that showed "true patriotism" was questioning authority.

Remember way back then?

My how times have changed, what with the Lord Obama in charge.

But I must admit, the song now has new meaning, a fresher meaning, for me now.

Yep, Volunteers of America...gotta revolution.

Check it out.