...yabba...dabba...doo!

What a killer few months we have had! I had the best sales quarter in a year....man it feels good...to 'feel good again.'

Isn't that weird that we sometimes "forget" how to enjoy life? 

It often is not until something happens...like the shitty economy for us to love the feeling..... of being happy again.  Happy? Well when I was a kid I could NOT wait for Saturday morning cartoons and I loved the Flintstones...now 50 years old. 50 years old! 

I know some smart-ass young adults that might think..."man, you are old!" But you know what? I earned what I have....like Fred earned what he had in the cartoon. Nothing is "given" in this generation...you work for what you have.

The idea that something so "old" can show so much of the technology. Often the "prehistoric" analogue to a modern machine uses an animal. For example, when a character takes photographs with an instant camera, inside of the camera box, a bird carves the picture on a stone tablet with its bill. In a running gag, the animal powering such technology breaks the fourth wall, looks directly into the camera at the audience, shrugs, and remarks, "It's a living."

Other commonly seen gadgets in the series include a baby woolly mammoth used as a vacuum cleaner; an adult woolly mammoth acting as a shower by spraying water with its trunk; elevators raised and lowered by ropes around brontosauruses' necks; "automatic" windows powered by monkeys on the outside; birds acting as "car horns," sounded by the driver pulling on their tails or squeezing their bodies; an "electric" razor made from a clam shell, vibrating from a honey-bee inside; a washing machine shown by a pelican with a beak-full of soapy water; and a woodpecker whose beak is used to play a gramophone record.

The Flintstones were cool...things you might not know about them are:

---The Flintstones was originally aimed at an adult audience and the first two seasons were co-sponsored by Winston cigarettes. But by the third season it was being written for children and was sponsored by Welch’s, who produced grape juice and jellies. The show's famous theme tune, "Meet The Flintstones", was not used until the third series. The musical theme for the first two seasons was called “Rise and Shine”.

---Fred and Wilma Flintstone were the first couple to be shown in bed together on prime-time television when the show first aired on ABC between 1960 and 1966.

---Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble fronted a TV advertising campaign for Winston cigarettes - a move that would be unthinkable for children's television characters today. Can you imagine how Oregonians would react? OMG! I can hear it now, especially from (Kitzhauber for Governor)..."Can we tax that for the State?"

---Many critics believe that the show was a Stone Age parody of the 1950s US TV sitcom, The Honeymooners, which featured two newlywed couples living in New York. One of the show's creators, William Hanna, once confirmed the rumour, but his co-creator Joseph Barbera maintained that it was a myth. And, William Hanna also produced the hit children's TV shows Tom and Jerry, Scooby Doo and Yo Yogi.

---The Flintstones held the coveted title of the longest-running prime-time TV cartoon before The Simpsons took on the mantel. The 1959 unaired pilot episode was called "The Flagstones". “The Gladstones” was also mooted before The Flintstones was finally decided on.

---The series was set in the town of Bedrock, although in some early episodes it was referred to as Rockville. The furniture in the Flintstones’ house changed in almost every episode. The family's barking pet dinosaur, Dino, changed colours throughout the program. Its main colour was purple.

---The cartoon was originally aired in black and white. The Flintstones was home to several major-league sports teams. The Bedrock Giants, Bedrock Dodgers and the Green Bay Pachyderms all appeared on the show. Several popular celebrities took residence in the showbiz quarter of Bedrock - Hollyrock. Cary Granite, Alvin Brickrock and Stony Curtis were the biggest stars. Mick Jadestone and the Rolling Boulders were Fred and Barney's favorite band.

Man....the joy on those Saturday mornings were spectacular....Dad getting donuts for us as we had our eyes glued to the set. Those were happy days....and these last few months have been extremely happy as well! Sales are up and we are feeling great.

Now as long as I can stay away from the "doom and gloom" people in the world....let's see how next quarter goes!! Thanks for all the orders. Seriously...thank you.

How the heck did he blow that call?!

During last week's playoff game at the $1.5 billion dollar Yankee Stadium, Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins hit an 11th-inning fly ball down the left-field line that landed clearly fair, a foot inside the line. As millions looked on, umpire Phil Cuzzi, who was standing just 10 feet away, fixed his eyes on the spot and gave his signal: Foul.

Phil Cuzzi knows what you were thinking. He was standing right there, barely 10 feet away, with an unobstructed view. He saw the ball curve down the left-field line and bounce. He is an umpire with decades of experience, working at the highest level in his sport. How the heck did he miss that call?!

Cuzzi had called it foul, negating a leadoff double, and he spent much of the next 24 hours trying to figure out what happened. Part of it, he thinks, was playing an unnatural position - baseball only uses umpires along the outfield foul lines in the postseason and for the All-Star Game.

"We're not used to playing that far down the line,” Cuzzi said. "The instant the ball is hit, we usually start running. I think I may have been looking too closely at it. I never had a feel for where the left fielder was on the play." (In other words, he was too close to the ball to make a call).

“Phil Cuzzi saw the ball as foul, called what he saw,” said the umpire crew chief, Tim Tschida, who acknowledged that the call was wrong after seeing a replay. “There’s a guy sitting over in the umpire’s dressing room right now that feels horrible.”

Not as horrible as my mom now feels for whipping my ass back in 1972 after the Southeastern USA Regional All-Star tournament. That's when I yelled out in total disbelief (for being called out) after clearly beating a throw to first base on an attempted bunt single, “What the &*#@ is wrong with you ump... you are blind as a bat!"

(See mom...it's true...they really are blind)...I knew I was safe on that call....

Hey! Those socks are cool....

I am still surprised that the Bengals are sitting atop their division with wins over the Steelers and Ravens. That’s crazy talk. If not for that miracle reception in Week 1 by Denver, the Bengals would be the undefeated team everyone was talking about instead of the Broncos.

Speaking of Denver, the Broncos took it to overtime against New England, where Tom Brady has never lost, but the coin toss went in Denver’s favor.

I have to say that the Broncos are legit now that they have beaten two shaky but worthy opponents, the Patriots and the Cowboys. But those throwback uniforms are not legit (especially the socks).

I’m impressed with Josh McDaniels and his Hulk-scream celebration after the game while Bill Belichick looked like a lost puppy in the middle of the field, but I don’t expect this team to go undefeated much longer. They’re scraping by in too many games so far to keep it up. So let me enjoy it for awhile.

A 98-yard drive to tie the game in the fourth quarter (sure, a taunting penalty and a great offensive line helped), and then the drive in overtime to beat the Patriots and one of the all-time franchise quarterbacks, Tom Brady. But Orton was a bit lucky. He almost threw an interception on the play before the winning field goal.

The Broncos are 5-0. The last time they started like that was in 1998, and they won the Super Bowl. So Orton might have a chance to show if he's a franchise quarterback. Right now, you'd still have to say that Orton is to Cutler as Cutler was to Elway. Maybe in February Orton will show otherwise.

But those uniforms! Ah, the 1960s. Back when every color except for white, black, mustard yellow, and maroon hadn't been invented yet. When players' helmets looked like Herbie the Love Bug. When everyone looked like the original Wolverine costume. The great thing about the 1960s is that it is not the 1960s right now.

The Denver defense was fantastic, shutting down – and shutting out – the Patriots high powered offense in the second half. Although they gave up a season high 17 points in the first half, as has been the case all season, they righted the ship at half-time and took control.

The Broncos continued to surprise the skeptical pundits – This is fun!

Side effects may include...

Commercials that advertise prescription medicines on TV are my pet peeve. Doctors should be prescribing the drugs people need without the rest of the world being subjected to these irritating commercials. I’m sure many others agree with me. Chances are you've seen more prescription drug commercials than you can count — Viagra, Cymbalta, Celebrex, and Yaz are just a few that I can name from memory. Oh yeah, Yaz!

Yaz, a birth control pill may be linked to several serious side effects such as strokes, blood clots and heart attacks, has been the subject of a misleading marketing campaign. Deceptive Yaz commercials prompted the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to issue Bayer a warning letter, and the company was forced to correct its false advertising. Unfortunately, the correction came too late for many women who had believed Bayer's false Yaz promises. When I was younger, you used a rubber and guess what? No side effects.

The ads are pervasive and influential and pharmaceutical companies know that. From 1997 to 2005, drug companies tripled their spending in television ad campaigns from $1.3 billion to $4.2 billion. In 2008 that number bumped up even further to $5.6 billion.

Though the ads do inform consumers of what's available to them, health advocates say they present drugs and symptoms in very general terms and can confuse consumers into thinking they have something they don't. A national study found that one-third of all Americans have asked for a drug they saw on a commercial and of those that asked, 82 percent were given a prescription of some sort. Let's ask Michael Jackson how well that went for him...oh yeah, it KILLED him.

Only the United States and New Zealand allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise their medications directly to consumers, according to the FDA.

And don't forget. Side effects may include: Allergic skin reactions, including hives, blurred vision and vision changes, drowsiness, dry mouth, fluttery heartbeat, headache, high body temperature, mental confusion (especially in the elderly), nausea, nervousness, painful or difficult urination.

Rapid heartbeat, vertigo, vomiting, abdominal pain, chest pain, constipation, cough, diarrhea, dizziness, fatigue, flu-like symptoms, gas, heartburn, inflammation of nasal passages, muscle aching or weakness, possible involvement in formation of stomach ulcers and bleeding, rash, small amounts of blood in stool, stomach or intestinal discomfort.

Tiredness, impaired coordination, irritability, memory impairment, lightheadedness, joint pain, trouble sleeping (insomnia), anxiety, abnormal involuntary movements, decreased or increased sexual drive, depression, confusion, muscle twitching, weakness, fainting, numbness, increased or decreased salivation, stomach pain, upper respiratory tract infection, ringing in the ears, fast heartbeat, chest pain, sweating, change in appetite, weight loss or gain, menstrual disorders, sexual dysfunction, water retention, accidental injury, back pain, bone/joint pain.

Cases of life-threatening liver failure have been reported. As well as, malaise, muscle ache, pain, redness, or swelling at the injection site, signs of severe allergic reactions, ringing in the ears, difficulty breathing, and swelling of the throat. Gastrointestinal symptoms (such as abdominal cramps and bloating), breakthrough bleeding, spotting, change in menstrual flow, amenorrhea, temporary infertility after discontinuation of treatment, edema, melasma that may persist, breast changes (tenderness, enlargement, secretion),change in weight or appetite, migraine, mood changes (including depression).

Gallbladder disease, hepatic adenomas, benign liver tumor. Dizziness, flushing, headache, indigestion, runny or stuffy nose, body pain, abnormalities in thinking, decreased libido, runny nose, sore throat. Constipation, cough, vaginal itching or burning, increased vaginal discharge, stomach discomfort, cramps, skin rash, headache. abdominal cramps, bloating, breast enlargement, breast tenderness and secretions, change in amount of cervical secretion, changes in vaginal bleeding patterns, chorea (irregular, rapid, jerky movements, usually affecting the face and limbs), depression, enlargement of benign tumors, excessive hairiness.

Hair loss, inability to use contact lenses, reduced ability to tolerate carbohydrates, spotty darkening of the skin, especially around the face, skin eruptions (especially on the legs and arms) with bleeding, skin irritation, skin redness and scaling, vaginal yeast infection, yellow eyes and skin, hepatitis, light headedness, inflammation of the esophagus, burning/tingling/prickly sensation on the skin, cold/warm sensation, neck/throat/jaw pain, increased blood sugar, unusual taste in the mouth, nipple soreness , swelling of the face, extremities, eyes, lips, tongue, delirium, difficulty in swallowing or breathing, irregular and unpredictable bleeding, vaginitis (inflammation of the vagina), weight gain, acne, viral infections such as colds, sore throat, sinus infection, mood swings, pain at the site of insertion.

More serious side effects may include: coughing blood, or sudden shortness of breath (possible clot in the lung); persistent pain in the calf (possible clot in the leg); crushing chest pain or heaviness in the chest (possible heart attack); sudden severe headache or vomiting, numbness in an arm or leg (possible stroke); sudden partial or complete blindness (possible clot in the eye); yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes (jaundice), especially with fever, tiredness, loss of appetite, dark colored urine, or light colored bowel movements (possible liver problems); severe pain, swelling, or tenderness in the abdomen (possibly indicating an ectopic pregnancy, a ruptured or twisted ovarian follicle, or gallbladder or liver problems); breast lumps; difficulty sleeping, weakness, lack of energy, tiredness, or sadness (possible severe depression); heavy vaginal bleeding.

Priapism, or an erection that won't go away, is an uncommon but serious side effect . If you get an erection that lasts more than 4 hours, you should get medical help right away. If any of these events occur, seek immediate medical attention.

Can you say over-medicated?