To Yell at a Guru?

 Posted by at 11:03  rants
Feb 232015
 
Coots on a tire

Image via Wikipedia

Well for better or for worse, I have been looking at some nuts and bolts around here at the Coots site.  I have discovered in the course of events that Ralph has been writing much more than anyone else here.  Maybe he is just more dedicated or maybe he just has nothing better to do than to be an instigator.

Instigator in the dictionary of the coots should read: 1.  Ralph Carlson, see ralphcarlson.com 2.  The guy who has nothing better to do than come up with ideas for others to implement, see #1.  3.  A guy with too much time on his hands, see #1.  4.  Retired and needing to do something to stay away from his murderous-minded wife, see #1.

You have all read the origin story of the coots, from humble comment to site, comment made by, you guessed it, Ralph.  And as we grow and go forward he keeps coming up with stuff for us to do.  Maybe he has all the time he wants to sit and write for 2 blogs, his kids are grown and he doesn’t have medical issues that need major narcotics to deal with.  Or maybe he is just the Coots Guru that we need.  (see picture: Coots on a tire! which one is Ralph?)

I used to be able to keep up with him pretty good on postings and our numbers were fairly even.  Bob is so far behind that he is never going to catch up.  But now, I find myself 33 posts behind Ralph!  I know I was off for a while but good freaking grief in a kettle.  I know that numbers like that shouldn’t mean anything, my posts are far superior, well some of them at least, but just by sheer numbers I have to dub Ralph the Coots Guru.

And now, I have to decide to yell at him or not.  He is the patron saint of Cantankerousness here.  I think I will not yell today.  But I always have that option.  And now here is a real life question for you.  Is it permissible to yell at your Guru’s?  By that I certainly mean yell, but also disagree.  If you pick up a new program (much like my new stay at home dad program that will be launching soon) and you don’t agree with something in there, I would like the feedback for someone to leave me a profanity laden email cursing out generations of my family and telling me what I did wrong.

I will probably make fun of that person on Twitter but I am not opposed to the criticism.  We have the right to our own thoughts and the speech that comes from us protected under the Constitution and the First Amendment.  We also have the right, no the obligation to disagree with someone who we truly feel is wrong, see Declaration of Independence.  These are not new concepts.  These are not wild ideas that I have created.

We need to strive for the fortitude and the Cantankerousness to put out there what our minds conjure.  We need to read and understand others, to look at their ideas and programs, and then decide if they are for us or not.  And you don’t have to be mean about it, but sarcasm helps.

Have a great Thursday.

-Justin

Justin

Justin is the young Coot with a Cantankerous Soul who continues to be educated by older, more cootish Ralph and Bob. His Cantankerosity is his own.

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Should we rename us the Stumbling Old Coots?

 Posted by at 11:03  Ask A Coot!, Plain 'ol Cantankerous, rants
Feb 232015
 
Coots on a tire

Coots on a tire (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It seems that all I do on here anymore is bitch.  And it is sounding like a broken freaking record.  But it is something posted at least.  Here is the deal.  Cantakerous Old Coots is darn near a one person operation from Ralph.  I put some stuff in once in a while.  Bob has been MIA while working through his various programs and computer problems.

So some input, what should we do with the Coots?  I am sure that Ralph is getting tired of being the only Cantankerous one here, and I am not sure about his commitment to Cantankerosity after that Venice trip.  He may need some more time to revive that cantankerous attitude.

As for me, I am trying to get back in the writing saddle all over the board.  I ostensibly call myself a writer and creator of web content but I am resting on my laurels from the past.  So, if you are reading this, tell me what you would like to see from the Coots.  New content daily?  A break from Ralph?  Podcast revive?  Bob’s politics?  More News? More Hansi?

That comment section down there has been more active in the past couple of weeks than it has in a while.  Keep it up.  Let us know what the people want.  While this is far from a democracy here, we will listen to your suggestions and implement or reject as needed.  You all just have to let us know.  We will be anxiously awaiting, well more like just sitting here doing something else waiting for comments to come in and enlighten us.

You all can do it.  Just a few words down there.  In the comments.  you know at the bottom.

More to come…..

-Justin

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Justin

Justin is the young Coot with a Cantankerous Soul who continues to be educated by older, more cootish Ralph and Bob. His Cantankerosity is his own.

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When the Old overtakes Cantankerous

 Posted by at 11:03  Coot Smirk, Plain 'ol Cantankerous, principles, Reflections
Feb 232015
 

Well hello there!  I know at least 2 of our regular readers just fell off of their chairs when they saw that I had written this article and not Ralph.  It has been a long time since this site has been much of anything except Ralph’s other blog.  But fear not!  Ralph is not the only one ready to Cantankerify your brains.  I have grand plans of a series about Mother in Law’s that has taken a month to get the venom out of.  More on that to come.

Yes

Cover of Yes

So gentle readers I am back.  And here is what I have noticed.  One of the key words for this site is Old.  Yes, old.  And I am getting old.  Granted, I am almost 38 and in the grand scheme of things, that is not considered old.  These days, even Bob and Ralph are not really considered old, retired or not.  But, I am getting old.

Long time readers of any of my blogs (links here to my other blogs…..well maybe not) know that 5 years ago my 1 year old daughter ended up in kidney failure.  2 years of dialysis, a kidney transplant, and 3 years later we took her on a Make A Wish Trip to Disney World(can’t help that link it is the whole trip).  That whole experience during those 5 years aged me.  Enough to be a viable member off this blog, even if not old yet.

Life has thrown me some cement curve balls the past couple of years and I can’t catch very well.  So I have been knocked down bleeding, but I still have managed to stand back up.  But it ages me further.  So here I sit, with 4 kids growing up, a pile of bills (that could really use some help from you if you happen to be shopping at Amazon.  Just click to Amazon through my link over there in the sidebar.  Thanks.)  an attitude that is becoming more and more cantankerous, and a body that just feels old.

Ralph is always jealous of the sweet music that emanates from the kettlebells.   I still like using the things but my rapidly aging body keeps telling me to slow down.  I have finally got my elbow back to useful after 2 weeks.  And then there are the grey hairs, and the unwanted ear hair that my wife seems to find great pleasure in curling with her fingernails if I don’t get it trimmed fast enough.

(St Mary and St Barlok)Monument to Sir Ralph F...

(St Mary and St Barlok)Monument to Sir Ralph Fitzherbert,d.1483,and his wife:detail of tomb-chest. Ralph’s children are shown on the side of the tomb. first three are Richard, Thomas and John – this is John who was Ralph’s heir. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

And the need for sleep.  And it goes on and on.  And it will not end until someone is nailing shut my pine box.  One of the most disturbing things that my wife and I have been looking at over the past little while is what to do with our kids if something happens to both of us.  That is a, well necessary thing but good hell it is depressing.  And then looking at life insurance for both of us, and on the kids.  Not to mention retirement savings.

As much as I hate thinking about it, one of these days, hopefully about 65 years in the future, I will be gone.  My kids will need that life insurance to pay for the funeral or at least the dynamite to blow me up with.  And maybe they will have a bit left over at the end.  There is insurance for that as well.  Now I am bumming myself out.

We all get older.  in reality it all happens at the same rate.  There are still 365.25 days in a year and the years go by one after the other.  The adage is still true, “The only certainties in life are Death And Taxes.”  And they will tax the hell out of you when you die.  Bah.  I need to get with Ralph and have him teach me how to not feel so old.  But for now, I have kids to raise.  16 more years and the wife and I are buying a 1958 Corvette  2 seater and cruising the country….sans kids.

I had better get writing, but first some liniment and a nap…..in the middle ages I would be an old man…and most days lately, I feel like it.

What about all of you out there reading this?  How do you feel?

Anyway, here is to more blog post from someone other than Ralph, as much as we love his take on things.

-Justin

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Justin

Justin is the young Coot with a Cantankerous Soul who continues to be educated by older, more cootish Ralph and Bob. His Cantankerosity is his own.

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Coots lesson 11: Pants are optional

 Posted by at 03:54  Coot Law, Coots Lessons, Plain 'ol Cantankerous
Mar 182013
 

This lesson could be the penultimate Coot lesson.  It isn’t, but it could be.  Throughout all of these lessons so far we have been working to promote Cantankerosity.  If you have been following closely you have learned to say what you think and not dither.  You have learned to use sarcasm and the difference between being an angry old fart and a Cantankerous Old Coot.

If you have taken to heart and studied diligently then you are most definitely on you way to Cantankerousness Grasshopper.   This lesson is one way of gauging your final test of Cantankerosity.

Picture if you will the elderly gentleman in a rest home.  He is not wearing pants.  He is railing against Politicians (see this post, and this one).  He is yelling at nurses and doing his best to avoid the orderlies who are trying to cover him.  Does he care?  No!  He continues to run around and yell.

Now you may be saying this man is demented, sick in the head, a victim of Alzheimers disease.  I say No!  He is a Cantankerous Old Coot.  His Cantankerosity has been finely crafted and honed over the course of several years and now, he hides his devilish ways behind insane medical diagnosis’s.

This is our mission, to create a fine figure of Cantankerousness who is not afraid to do exactly what it is they want to.  Pants are optional.  A test of your cantankerous training will not be to parade around without pants (at least for now) but it will be to cultivate the attitude to be able to do so.

Get over your society imposed embarrassment and do something for yourself.  Say what you think.  Do what you think needs to be done.  Be yourself.  Pants are optional.

Justin

Justin is the young Coot with a Cantankerous Soul who continues to be educated by older, more cootish Ralph and Bob. His Cantankerosity is his own.

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Cantankerous Wednesday- It’s your turn to say what you like

 Posted by at 14:09  Plain 'ol Cantankerous
Feb 152013
 
polling station

Image by secretlondon123 via Flickr

jhjhj

The Second Year of Cantankerosity

When Justin started this blog, it was a wild ride. Justin set it up and I pitched in to bail him out. We had plans for Coots to be a support site for coots or all ages who were developing their own cantankerous natures. The first idea was lessons that all coots need to know which naturally led to Cantankerous Old Coots University.

Our dream was to unleash a free wheeling approach to life which didn’t ask for permission and didn’t buy conventional wisdom. We thought that it would be easy to build a community around cantankerosity.

Well it’s worked. We grown a readership that amazes us. We have regular readers who check regularly. There is a market for straight talk about life. Still, after a year, it’s time to step back and ask some questions. We don’t want to rest on our laurels. We want to take Coots to a new high platitude of success (as I remember the original Mayor Daley say when I was in college).

So today, I’m putting the challenge to our readers. Tell us what you want.

1. Do you want more Coot’s Lessons?

2. Would you like audios for those lessons?

3. Do you enjoy the themed topics where all three of us address a topic?

4. Do you want to know more about Justin’s kettlebell music?

5. Do you prefer philosophical posts or anecdotal posts?

6. Do you love a good rant?

7. Would you like an interview of Bob, of Justin, or even me?

 

They say that too many choices makes it impossible to make decisions so I’ve probably overdone it here but I just can’t control myself. I’m going to give you one question to answer today. Just pick your favorite from the above statements. Tell us which one you would like to see more of. Or just check none of the above. Be aware, however, if you select ‘none of the above’ that you have to leave your request in a comment. There is no free lunch around here, you know.

Your suggestions for Coots Year Two

  • More Rants (50%, 1 Votes)
  • Interviews (50%, 1 Votes)
  • More Coots Lessons (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Audios for Coots Lessons (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Themed Topics (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Kettlebell Music (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Philosophy over life experience (0%, 0 Votes)
  • None of the above (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 2

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Ralph

Ralph is the inspiration for Cantankerous Old Coots and is our Grand Duke of Cantankerousness

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