Half Billon Loss Here...Half Billion Loss There...
"Liberalism/Progressivism works until you run out of other people's money to spend..."
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
End Of Vacation Blues
The Party's Almost Over...
If there is anything we haven't done that we needed to do this week here on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, I guess that we have to do it today.
That said, I think we've pretty much covered the whole spectrum of things on our list this week and anything we didn't do didn't actually need being done in light of the upcoming month I'm facing professionally.
After the usual morning trip over the the Puppy Beach yesterday morning, a line of thundershowers came through the area so everyone bedded down and took a mid-day nap and then we lounged around watching the rain and recovering from five days of intense sunlight exposure.
In the process I've spent the entire past week just on the edge of being sunburned lightly on my face and the top of my ever greying, ever balding head, so the respite from the incident solar radiation was really appreciated.
Wait a minute...
This just in...
I took a break from writing and wandered out front on the condo balcony facing the parking lot and to my amusement there was some sort of bru-ha-ha happening over across the street at the Waffle House.
It started out with women yelling and some guys talking loud, and then within about 30 seconds first one and then a total of three Police cars showed up.
This coming weekend is "Thunder Beach"--an annual motorcycle event for the past ten years or so--and we have the privilege of having the main headquarters and all of the vendor booths set up in the shopping center parking lot across the street from us each year.
The bikers have been slowly filtering into town all week and today and tomorrow I expect things to reach a crescendo...
...and as is usual with any given group there is 5% of the crowd which has to show their butts at 3 AM in the morning under the influence of fermented and/or distilled hydrocarbons.
OK, I just checked and apparently there were no arrests and the crowd has dispersed and the Cops are heading on down the beach.
So any way...a busy day today trying to enjoy the last vestiges of the time on the beach and getting laundry done and starting to haul stuff back down the elevator to the car in anticipation of an early Friday morning departure back toward the Turbo Pup Compound on the Banks of the Mighty Tennessee River.
Y'all have a LOVELY day...I insist on one myself...
If there is anything we haven't done that we needed to do this week here on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, I guess that we have to do it today.
That said, I think we've pretty much covered the whole spectrum of things on our list this week and anything we didn't do didn't actually need being done in light of the upcoming month I'm facing professionally.
After the usual morning trip over the the Puppy Beach yesterday morning, a line of thundershowers came through the area so everyone bedded down and took a mid-day nap and then we lounged around watching the rain and recovering from five days of intense sunlight exposure.
In the process I've spent the entire past week just on the edge of being sunburned lightly on my face and the top of my ever greying, ever balding head, so the respite from the incident solar radiation was really appreciated.
Wait a minute...
This just in...
I took a break from writing and wandered out front on the condo balcony facing the parking lot and to my amusement there was some sort of bru-ha-ha happening over across the street at the Waffle House.
It started out with women yelling and some guys talking loud, and then within about 30 seconds first one and then a total of three Police cars showed up.
This coming weekend is "Thunder Beach"--an annual motorcycle event for the past ten years or so--and we have the privilege of having the main headquarters and all of the vendor booths set up in the shopping center parking lot across the street from us each year.
The bikers have been slowly filtering into town all week and today and tomorrow I expect things to reach a crescendo...
...and as is usual with any given group there is 5% of the crowd which has to show their butts at 3 AM in the morning under the influence of fermented and/or distilled hydrocarbons.
OK, I just checked and apparently there were no arrests and the crowd has dispersed and the Cops are heading on down the beach.
So any way...a busy day today trying to enjoy the last vestiges of the time on the beach and getting laundry done and starting to haul stuff back down the elevator to the car in anticipation of an early Friday morning departure back toward the Turbo Pup Compound on the Banks of the Mighty Tennessee River.
Y'all have a LOVELY day...I insist on one myself...
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Beach Induced Catatonia
I'm NEVER Going Back Home...
I'm pleased to report that day five of the current ongoing Beach saga dawns this morning with us enjoying continued exceptional weather and me suffering from an ongoing inability to think seriously about much of anything except eating, mixing cocktails, and hanging out in and around the water.
I spent over two hours on the beach and five hours at the pool yesterday. For the first time since we moved to Knoxtown I actually have a nice, even, really dark suntan.
And the good news?
We plan on doing EXACTLY the same thing again today.
The Turbo Pup has been spending each morning practicing her digging and fetching skills on the beach with great success. Yesterday she found a shady spot beside our giant beach bag and dug a "dog deep" pit in the sand and then proceeded to lounge and wallow around in the moist soil making us laugh at the sand on her nose and face.
There will definitely be another bath in her future before we put her in the car to head home on Friday.
That said, it's time to do a little reading and possibly some more writing--and some paper work if I can force myself to sit still and concentrate--and in the mean time feel free to entertain yourselves.
Regards Y'all...
I'm pleased to report that day five of the current ongoing Beach saga dawns this morning with us enjoying continued exceptional weather and me suffering from an ongoing inability to think seriously about much of anything except eating, mixing cocktails, and hanging out in and around the water.
I spent over two hours on the beach and five hours at the pool yesterday. For the first time since we moved to Knoxtown I actually have a nice, even, really dark suntan.
And the good news?
We plan on doing EXACTLY the same thing again today.
The Turbo Pup has been spending each morning practicing her digging and fetching skills on the beach with great success. Yesterday she found a shady spot beside our giant beach bag and dug a "dog deep" pit in the sand and then proceeded to lounge and wallow around in the moist soil making us laugh at the sand on her nose and face.
There will definitely be another bath in her future before we put her in the car to head home on Friday.
That said, it's time to do a little reading and possibly some more writing--and some paper work if I can force myself to sit still and concentrate--and in the mean time feel free to entertain yourselves.
Regards Y'all...
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
You Just Can't Have Any More Fun ...
Than The Turbo Pup Is Having...
Needless to say our little Missy The Turbo Pup is worn out every day by dark.
I'm real tired way before then but then again I'm OLD and getting started on the beach before 7:30 AM takes a real effort on my part.
Amazingly, the new beach front pet friendly park the City has constructed is totally under-utilized. I guess that it could be because the tourists don't know about it and few locals are able to come out on week days because of their jobs.
Yesterday we were the only party sitting on the two hundred yard long stretch of beach and the Turbo Pup was the only dog running around chasing her toys.
Regardless, with the change of rules at our condo allowing pets and the new pet beach we've had a prefect beach trip with everyone getting to do what they want to do in good measure.
The surf and pier fishing has been real slow according to the locals and we walked the docks over where the charter boats are docked and all of the boats were in with few opportunities to sign up for a split trip--so I guess I probably won't go fishing this year.
The price of Diesel fuel has trips running $450 per half day (4 hours) where I'm used to paying more like $360 but it has been 10 years since I did a trip out of Panama City so I guess it's not unreasonable for inflation to raise prices.
So now an hour from now we'll load everybody up in the car and head back over to the puppy beach for a couple of hours, then home for brunch and then out to the pool and beach this afternoon.
I'll drink a drink with a little umbrella in it for you again if you want me to...and y'all have a LOVELY day...
...if you will.
Needless to say our little Missy The Turbo Pup is worn out every day by dark.
I'm real tired way before then but then again I'm OLD and getting started on the beach before 7:30 AM takes a real effort on my part.
Amazingly, the new beach front pet friendly park the City has constructed is totally under-utilized. I guess that it could be because the tourists don't know about it and few locals are able to come out on week days because of their jobs.
Yesterday we were the only party sitting on the two hundred yard long stretch of beach and the Turbo Pup was the only dog running around chasing her toys.
Regardless, with the change of rules at our condo allowing pets and the new pet beach we've had a prefect beach trip with everyone getting to do what they want to do in good measure.
The surf and pier fishing has been real slow according to the locals and we walked the docks over where the charter boats are docked and all of the boats were in with few opportunities to sign up for a split trip--so I guess I probably won't go fishing this year.
The price of Diesel fuel has trips running $450 per half day (4 hours) where I'm used to paying more like $360 but it has been 10 years since I did a trip out of Panama City so I guess it's not unreasonable for inflation to raise prices.
So now an hour from now we'll load everybody up in the car and head back over to the puppy beach for a couple of hours, then home for brunch and then out to the pool and beach this afternoon.
I'll drink a drink with a little umbrella in it for you again if you want me to...and y'all have a LOVELY day...
...if you will.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Headin' Back To The Puppy Beach This Morning
Somebody's Got To Do It I Guess...
We've learned that the new pet friendly beach down the road about five minutes from here at the new development called the Pier Park is pretty cool.
It's not just a giant long fishing pier on the Gulf of Mexico with a football field sized section of beach reserved as "Pet Friendly", but there's also an extensive outdoor "shopping mall" type complex with practically every bar and restaurant and store on the planet across the street from the beach.
The Turbo Pup has been there for a couple of hours the past two mornings and if you go at 7 AM there's only a half dozen people and one or two other dogs wandering around so we sort of ignore the "leash laws" and just let her hang around with us.
Pat's been taking her ten or twenty yards offshore in the flat water and turning her loose and letting her swim back to shore by herself. She then comes up on the beach towels and wallows all around and then runs back to the edge of the surf and they do it all over again.
I have the best beach dog in the whole world in my opinion...all 13 pounds worth loves the salt air and water and sand.
Y'all have a LOVELY week while our vacation antics continue...
We've learned that the new pet friendly beach down the road about five minutes from here at the new development called the Pier Park is pretty cool.
It's not just a giant long fishing pier on the Gulf of Mexico with a football field sized section of beach reserved as "Pet Friendly", but there's also an extensive outdoor "shopping mall" type complex with practically every bar and restaurant and store on the planet across the street from the beach.
The Turbo Pup has been there for a couple of hours the past two mornings and if you go at 7 AM there's only a half dozen people and one or two other dogs wandering around so we sort of ignore the "leash laws" and just let her hang around with us.
Pat's been taking her ten or twenty yards offshore in the flat water and turning her loose and letting her swim back to shore by herself. She then comes up on the beach towels and wallows all around and then runs back to the edge of the surf and they do it all over again.
I have the best beach dog in the whole world in my opinion...all 13 pounds worth loves the salt air and water and sand.
Y'all have a LOVELY week while our vacation antics continue...
Sunday, September 25, 2011
I've Got My "Pirate" Groove Back On
"Argggggghhh Me Maties..."
I was really beginning to be afraid that like Samson cutting his hair because of Delilah in the Biblical story, that somehow I had severed my connection with the Ocean and the Beach in the past half dozen weeks.
Remember that the long hair/pony tail disappeared last month for professional reasons, and then when I returned to my home port/childhood beach a couple of days ago the karma was just weird and I was too busy being tired and distracted to actually leave the condo and go outside.
Fortunately yesterday everything changed, and time warped and the planets re-aligned and at about 7 AM I found myself sitting on the "pet friendly" section of the locale beach with Pat and the Turbo Pup just being completely useless.
The Turbo Pup ran and ran and ran and swam until she was exhausted. I sat on a beach towel and basically did nothing...something which I have a Phd in the advancement of the art.
Then we came back to the Condo and Pat went to the Pool while I watched the Georgia Tech Football team go 4-0 for the season...beating North Carolina at home in a tightly contested game 35 to 28.
Starting out this Football Season un-ranked, and last week only being Number 25, Tech has in only four games amassed over 2100 total offensive yards and scored 210 points.
Our opponents have only scored 94 points in this process...
This means that my beloved Georgia Institute of Technology Football program is leading the nation in offense and scoring.
I don't want to jinx things or otherwise gloat, but being a GT Football fan since 1977 I have to crow a little when things go this good. This season is starting out like the 1990 season when GT split the NCAA Div I national championship with Colorado.
They still have seven more games to play including rivals Miami, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and of course the cross state rivals Georgia...but I'M FIRED UP FOR MY YELLOW JACKETS.
And meanwhile, back here on the beach...I have a date with my puppy at the puppy beach in a couple of hours, and then I'm planning on taking a nap poolside in the shade before lunch.
Regards Y'all...
I was really beginning to be afraid that like Samson cutting his hair because of Delilah in the Biblical story, that somehow I had severed my connection with the Ocean and the Beach in the past half dozen weeks.
Remember that the long hair/pony tail disappeared last month for professional reasons, and then when I returned to my home port/childhood beach a couple of days ago the karma was just weird and I was too busy being tired and distracted to actually leave the condo and go outside.
Fortunately yesterday everything changed, and time warped and the planets re-aligned and at about 7 AM I found myself sitting on the "pet friendly" section of the locale beach with Pat and the Turbo Pup just being completely useless.
The Turbo Pup ran and ran and ran and swam until she was exhausted. I sat on a beach towel and basically did nothing...something which I have a Phd in the advancement of the art.
Then we came back to the Condo and Pat went to the Pool while I watched the Georgia Tech Football team go 4-0 for the season...beating North Carolina at home in a tightly contested game 35 to 28.
Starting out this Football Season un-ranked, and last week only being Number 25, Tech has in only four games amassed over 2100 total offensive yards and scored 210 points.
Our opponents have only scored 94 points in this process...
This means that my beloved Georgia Institute of Technology Football program is leading the nation in offense and scoring.
I don't want to jinx things or otherwise gloat, but being a GT Football fan since 1977 I have to crow a little when things go this good. This season is starting out like the 1990 season when GT split the NCAA Div I national championship with Colorado.
They still have seven more games to play including rivals Miami, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and of course the cross state rivals Georgia...but I'M FIRED UP FOR MY YELLOW JACKETS.
And meanwhile, back here on the beach...I have a date with my puppy at the puppy beach in a couple of hours, and then I'm planning on taking a nap poolside in the shade before lunch.
Regards Y'all...
