What I found to be so refreshing about Rory's outstanding an record breaking performance in the 2011 US Open, is that he will never repeat the mistakes made by the great one before him. Namely, Tiger Woods! Rory has his head properly set on his mighty shoulders and there is no weakness in his character which would ever allow him to stoop to the atrocities which has brought Tiger to his ruin!

Check out my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/people/Robert-James-Payne/654239439

Earl Thomas & The Kings Of Rhythm - Working Together

Watch CBS News Videos Online This 60 Minutes segment broadcast last Sunday evening sickens me as I'm sure it did the millions of other Americans who viewed it! This disaster can be attributed to one thing, GREED! The greed of Americans for oil to power their autos and the greed of BP managers to ignore damage to the Transocean Deepwater Horizon drilling rig's Blowout Prevention (BOP) equipment! BP's blatant disregard for safety is criminal and I hope that the people who are responsible will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law! They are guilty of manslaughter (11 dead crew members) and they are also guilty of 'Crimes Against Humanity'! These people must be sentenced to long terms in prison if we are going to avoid these sorts of pitfalls in the future. I wonder how long it will be before President Obama steps in and directs a team of NASA scientists and other deep water drilling experts to initiate a plan to cap it! BP has proven its incompetency in the matter and if we're depending upon them to come up with a solution, we're going to get screwed!

25 September 1978 The Worst Day in San Diego's History I remember what a beautiful morning it was, Santa Ana conditions, hot and clear! I was on my way home from work when I passed near the intersection of 32nd St & Polk. I was shocked to see the wreckage of the Cessna that collided with the PSA jetliner. A body from the Cessna had demolished the roof over the front door entrance of a house and was lying under a yellow tarp. I turned on my car radio to learn what had happened! I was shocked! Looking back on this day after more than 30 years had elapsed, I think of it as the day that my beloved San Diego had lost her virginal purity! I had witnessed death and destruction during the riots in Watts, Detroit, and other large American cities that had large ghetto neighborhoods, but San Diego was never affected by social upheavals! Death and destruction on a massive scale visited my home town that day! San Diego would never be the same!

The Crash of PSA 182: Return to Dwight and Nile from Gray Matter Entertainment on Vimeo.

I Never Thought that I Would See the Day

As I watched the A Celebration of Music From the Civil Rights Movement tonight on PBS I was moved by the fact that within my lifetime the U.S. had elected a man of African-American heritage to it's highest elective office. President Obama has faced opposition from the Republicans in Washington D.C., but none of it has been based upon his race!

Another thing that happened a little over 20 years ago that I thought would never happen was the Berlin Wall come toppling down! Which was the first tell tale chink in Soviet Russia's collapse!

With the near collapse of the U.S. economy and the huge government spending deficits threatening to bankrupt our nation, I often pause to reflect upon the idea that had the U.S. military not invaded Iraq in what was clearly an unprovoked war, and had all those billions of dollars been spent on domestic issues, would our economy still be in such bad shape as it presently is? One thing that can be said about the money squandered in Iraq, is that we wouldn't be facing such large deficits!

The loss of American and Iraqi lives and the billions upon billions of dollars being wasted even unto this very day can be blamed on one person and one person only! His name is George W. Bush, who I believe bears the full responsibility of bankrupting America! It is a tragedy that such a misguided man was able to become the president in the first place and it should be remembered that the Supreme Court enabled him to steal the election from Al Gore. I think that the U.S. would have been much better governed had Mr. Gore won the election!

During President Obama's State of the Union Address I was surprised at the Military Chiefs of Staffs non-response to the following statement he made,"This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are." After seeing them giving their Commander in Chief standing ovations whenever he made mention of the military or defense it was a sharp contrast to see them sitting on their hands when he mentioned the prospects of gay people being able to serve their country

Cherry Cake

I had never heard of a 'cherry cake' until late Friday night when I heard it mentioned by the dead cowboy's mother in "Brokeback Mountain". Then it seemed to be rather coincidental to hear 'cherry cake' mentioned again by another mother of a dead daughter and granddaughter as I watched the pilot episode of "Caprica" early Saturday morning.

I guess I should try to find a cherry cake at a bakery, or ask a bakery worker if they make cherry cakes.

Thank You for an exciting season 2009 San Diego Chargers!

I'm sure that all the Monday morning QBs will be searching for scapegoats to place the blame for the stunning play off loss to the New York Jets, however I think the team will admit that they were outplayed by a better prepared opponent. Obviously, Rivers had trouble handling the blitzes as he was unable to move the ball as he had done during the 10 victories prior. I think that the Chargers offense should have tried the "wild cat" formation a few times in order to keep the Jets defense guessing. I also think that the Chargers should have gotten the ball to LT at least 10 mores times, he was overdue to bust a big gainer! The Chargers relied too much on their passing attack and when that failed they didn't have an effective Plan B to implement. I think that the dumbfounded look on place kicker Kaeding's face after he missed his second field goal attempt explained what the whole team must have felt! Congratulations to the Jets, they were well prepared to take on the Chargers' high-powered offense, they took advantage of turnovers and penalties that the Chargers committed and won the game!

I think that President Obama is a very intelligent man! I'm sure that he has read about the history of Afghanistan! I don't understand his reasoning about sending more troops to Afghanistan. Throughout recorded history, every country that has involved itself with Afghanistan's internal affairs has come out a LOSER! Why does Obama think that he will be able to come out a WINNER! Please, Mr. Obama, do not send our troops into a unwinnable quagmire! If I were making the decisions in Washington D.C., I would get out of Afghanistan as soon as I could! The leadership is corrupt and so is the culture! I think that the best way to help Afghanistan is through foreign aid, not with military strength. Educate the masses and let them decide how they wish their country to be governed. If the Taliban should come back into power we will be able to contain their influence abroad. If the Taliban is stupid enough to provide a safe haven for Al Quaeda, send in air strikes or missiles to eliminate them. Boycott all trade with Afghanistan if the Taliban comes to power! Within 10 years the people of Afghanistan will overthrow the Taliban with their own revolution! They are the only ones who can win! Mr. Obama, yes, I agree with your idealistic hopes for Afghanistan, but the grim reality of the situation should dictate that you extract our troops from this God forsaken country!

I'm usually a very optimistic fellow and I am somewhat concerned about something that has been cropping up in my mind on an almost daily basis for the past two weeks. It is a vile thought to be sure, but it can't be denied that homo sapiens' future on our wondrous planet will come to a terrible end if he doesn't find an alternative for using carbon based fuels for his energy requirements. Not only is he dependent upon carbon based fuels but within the next 50 years, he will find himself competing with the rest of the world's population for an ever shrinking supply of fossil fuel. The only way that this can be avoided is if the number of people on earth were radically reduced.

I have a beef with San Diego Gas & Electric and I'm going to withhold paying my closing bill until I'm given some sort of satisfaction. My complaint emanates from the fact that I am no longer a customer since my new digs come with gas, electric, water and sewer services included and so I called SDG&E to have them come out and read the meters on September 1st. I talked to the man who read the meters and he assured me that the gas & electric would not be shut off. It seems that SDG&E has a policy that keeps the service on until a new tenant changes the billing information. Due to the fact that my move had to be delayed because my new place wasn't ready on the 1st, it has taken me until today, September 14th, to complete my move. Since I wasn't preparing any meals at my new place, I had kept my perishable groceries in the refrigerator at the old place. Everything was fine when I left my old place last Friday afternoon, however when I arrived there this morning I was met with the pungent smell of spoiled food in the refrigerator. Not only did I lose about $20.00 worth of groceries but I was also faced with having to clean the refrigerator and sanitize it which I'm in the process of doing as I write this. I think that SDG&E should have given me a call to let me know that they were shutting down the electricity without my knowledge in order to avoid having something like this from happening. I think that SDG&E showed no concern whatsoever for me and their actions have caused me to have to clean a nasty smelling refrigerator that could have been avoided had they called! All they care about is being paid!

Hey! I put a google map photo of my blue Miata parked in front of my house!

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Fair Night at Sycuan Casino

I went to the Sycuan Casino last night and joined a game of Texas Hold 'Em. It was $3-$6 No Limit game and I must have had at least ten hands dealt that resulted in folding after seeing my hole cards. I folded an A ♠, 4 ♥ that would have won the pot when another two aces were turned over as community cards. After seeing that I resolved to bet my hand the next time that I was dealt an A. I opened for $2.00 when I was dealt an A ♥, 9 ♥ which was raised to $5.00. I called and the next three cards were a 10, 7, 6 (off suit) which I checked to the guy who had raised. He bet $10.00, which I called. The next card was a 3 and he bet $20.00. I called and the final card was flipped. It was an 8 and he bet all the chips that I had left, which was $12.00. He turned over a pair of 10s, giving him three 10s and was ready to rake the pot. I turned over my A ♥, 9 ♥ giving me a straight (10, 9, 8, 7, 6), and he about fainted. I played one more hand and then picked up my chips and walked away from the table. When I cashed in I had exactly $135.00. Considering that I had bought in with $60.00 I made 125% profit! This was the first time that I have ever played Hold 'Em at an Indian casino and I am very pleased with the results!

I'm Fast Becoming A CraigsListaholic!

Last June I decided that it was time that I splurge a little and buy a new LCD HDTV. I checked out all the models at Frye's, CostCo, Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart and Target. There were plenty of 26" sized ones for less that $400 (which is what I wanted to spend), however, all the 32" sized ones were all above $500. I pondered my dilemma, "How to get a 32" LCD HDTV for less than $400," for a few days and then I remembered that a number of friends had highly recommended looking through the ads on CraigsList (San Diego). I am very happy that I did because I bought a 32" Envision LCD HDTV that had been purchased in March for $375!

The Sunday before last I decided to check out the "Free" stuff and found an Ikea butcher block cart that had been posted only half an hour before. The ad said that it could be picked up in Hillcrest which is only a few miles from Sherman Heights, where I live. I responded to the email link for the ad giving my name and phone number and within half an hour I got a call from the lady who was giving it away. It turned out that she lives in Golden Hills which is a few blocks away from my house. When I saw the cart standing at the location that she said that she would leave it I couldn't believe that if was free! Once I got it home I oiled it down with vegetable cooking oil and it is a valuable addition to my kitchen which has zero counter space!

Today, I was trying to locate a battery for a female friend of mine's car. Kragan didn't have that particular style, AutoZone had one for $90.00, and before I went to CostCo to see if they had one, I decided to check CraigsList (San Diego), once again. Wow! There was a brand new Energizer bought from Pep Boys which was for a Ford LTD. The pictures with the ad verified that it was the correct size. I quickly called Joe, the seller, got his address in Chula Vista and within 20 minutes the battery was mine for $50.00! He gave me the receipt along with it showing that he had paid $92.00 for it on August 29, 2008.

I'm seriously considering shelving Google and making CraigsList (San Diego) my home page!

Is the Torture of Prisoners Moral or Immoral?

I think that torture is a perverse form of cruelty whether it be used on human beings or animals. Our courts are filled with laws making cruelty to animals or persons a crime! Therefore, it stands to reason that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et.al., are guilty of "Crimes Against Humanity" because they approved the torture of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba!

Once Bush has left office I hope that International Criminal Court in The Hague brings charges against him and his cronies. Not only has Bush, single-handedly bankrupted our country far into the future, he has brought deep shame to our country!

When Bush took off he made made the following oath, "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Bush violated the following amendments when he approved the torture of prisoners at Guantanamo!

1. * Sixth Amendment: guarantees a speedy public trial for criminal offenses. It requires trial by a jury, guarantees the right to legal counsel for the accused, and guarantees that the accused may require witnesses to attend the trial and testify in the presence of the accused.
2. * Eighth Amendment: forbids excessive bail or fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.

WOW!!! I was able to purchase two tickets from Ticketbastard for the TOM WAITS concert on JUNE 18th at 8:00PM at the ORPHEUM THEATER in PHOENIX today! I've got an extra ticket and would like to take a female (over 35-yrs) to the gig! Anyone interested can email me at champayne@cox.net (include a recent pic) and I'll do likewise!