And I bet YOU Didn't...
It’s 37 degrees Fahrenheit down here on our little island this morning, but even as winter comes upon us here in the Golden Isles, our fine feathered friends continue to amaze me with their presence and antics.
The bad news is that we lost one of our young Cardinal’s to a window strike on the front patio this week. I’m afraid that our giant panes of glass surrounding our living room on the front and rear of the condo have killed more birds than we realize over the years, particularly when our drapes are open--as we lost another little guy or gal a few weeks ago from another collision with our front window.
The good news is that we’ve had the opportunity to visit with a number of BIG birds at close range recently. Pat and I spent about five minutes last weekend sitting in the car about 50’ away watching a young Red Tailed Hawk stand in a rain puddle in our parking lot drinking his or her fill of water.
Early Sunday morning about 4 AM, while doing my nocturnal bike ride, I had an encounter with our local Great Horned Owl that I’ve been “talking to” on and off for the past couple of years.
By “talking to,” I mean having a hooting competition.
I can’t and won’t try to write the syllables of the conversation down here on the blog for you to read, but I honestly believe that the big bird responds to the noises which I make. Feel free to call the authorities and have a straight-jacket delivered if you will.
Finally, yesterday, a giant blue Heron came squawking 50 feet up in the air across our heads and landed on the roof of our building while we were standing out in our front yard, flapped and flopped around doing some personal preening, then squawked a few more times and fluttered off back to the lake adjacent to the nearby 18th hole of our golf course.
I truly LOVE living here…
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Sunday, October 22, 2006
I Got A Didgeridoo
Are They Legal Where You Live, And Am I Weird Or What?
I've been wanting one of these for a couple of years now, so I just picked one up tonight on the Internet from some hippies out in California:
I've been wanting one of these for a couple of years now, so I just picked one up tonight on the Internet from some hippies out in California:
(No Rusty, I'm gonna play music on it...not smoke it...and I have to come up with my own feathers and vegetation to wear while playing it...)
What it is is a "Didgeridoo", an instrument designed by the native Australian Aboriginal Peoples.
I've had some success in the past playing wind instruments like the trumpet and the harmonica, I know that I've had limited success with and could probably play the piano successfully in public if I bought one and put my mind to it, and I've fiddled (excuse the pun) with the violin a little but found it and the guitar to be of lessor interest and greater effort than I could muster with my scatter-brained lifestyle.
Enter the Didgeridoo, stage right...
These things are really cool sounding. They make that eerie woooommmmm waaaaawwwwww wooommmmmm waaaaaaawwww "droning" sound that you've heard in the movies and on TV.
No, I don't expect to make any money playing my Didgeridoo for throngs of cheering fans anytime in the near future, I just want to display mine in my living room and piss Pat off while she's trying to sleep entertain myself late at night when I'm tired of blogging.
Next on the acquisition list is a pair of Caribbean Style Steel Drums...something like this would do nicely:
I've got to go now...I need time to practice my circular breathing...
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Thursday, October 19, 2006
My Haunted House
Pumpkin Carving Ideas
What about this for a carving design?
Comments...Questions...Suggestions???
I'm the Pumpkin Pie King Pied Piper
More Public Art...At Private Expense
Well, the phone call came in here about 11 AM.
I have a 150 pound pumpkin, and now on October 30th I have an audience of 95 kids to watch me carve it into something as yet to be determined.
Anyone got any good Ideas?
Well, the phone call came in here about 11 AM.
I have a 150 pound pumpkin, and now on October 30th I have an audience of 95 kids to watch me carve it into something as yet to be determined.
Anyone got any good Ideas?
Where Do We Go?
And How Many People Do We Have To Slap?
Forget my head exploding...
Forget my head rotating (even at supersonic velocity)...
I'm just turning red in the face and standing up while writing this posting.
Just look at this crap:
ATTLEBORO, Mass. - Tag, you're out! Officials at an elementary school south of Boston have banned kids from playing tag, touch football and any other unsupervised chase game during recess for fear they'll get hurt and hold the school liable.
Recess is "a time when accidents can happen," said Willett Elementary School Principal Gaylene Heppe, who approved the ban.
While there is no districtwide ban on contact sports during recess, local rules have been cropping up. Several school administrators around Attleboro, a city of about 45,000 residents, took aim at dodgeball a few years ago, saying it was exclusionary and dangerous.
Elementary schools in Cheyenne, Wyo., and Spokane, Wash., also recently banned tag during recess. A suburban Charleston, S.C., school outlawed all unsupervised contact sports.
"I think that it's unfortunate that kids' lives are micromanaged and there are social skills they'll never develop on their own," said Debbie Laferriere, who has two children at Willett, about 40 miles south of Boston. "Playing tag is just part of being a kid."
Another Willett parent, Celeste D'Elia, said her son feels safer because of the rule. "I've witnessed enough near collisions," she said.
Dang it ladies and gentlemen, but I think that, instead of carving my big Pumpkin, I'll just drive up to Massachusetts and drop it on one of the school board member’s feet.
My pumpkin obviously has more brains than all of these Politically Correct Boston liberals.
IDIOTS...
Forget my head exploding...
Forget my head rotating (even at supersonic velocity)...
I'm just turning red in the face and standing up while writing this posting.
Just look at this crap:
ATTLEBORO, Mass. - Tag, you're out! Officials at an elementary school south of Boston have banned kids from playing tag, touch football and any other unsupervised chase game during recess for fear they'll get hurt and hold the school liable.
Recess is "a time when accidents can happen," said Willett Elementary School Principal Gaylene Heppe, who approved the ban.
While there is no districtwide ban on contact sports during recess, local rules have been cropping up. Several school administrators around Attleboro, a city of about 45,000 residents, took aim at dodgeball a few years ago, saying it was exclusionary and dangerous.
Elementary schools in Cheyenne, Wyo., and Spokane, Wash., also recently banned tag during recess. A suburban Charleston, S.C., school outlawed all unsupervised contact sports.
"I think that it's unfortunate that kids' lives are micromanaged and there are social skills they'll never develop on their own," said Debbie Laferriere, who has two children at Willett, about 40 miles south of Boston. "Playing tag is just part of being a kid."
Another Willett parent, Celeste D'Elia, said her son feels safer because of the rule. "I've witnessed enough near collisions," she said.
Dang it ladies and gentlemen, but I think that, instead of carving my big Pumpkin, I'll just drive up to Massachusetts and drop it on one of the school board member’s feet.
My pumpkin obviously has more brains than all of these Politically Correct Boston liberals.
IDIOTS...
So Many Lawyers...
So Few Legitimate Torts Little Time…
Would somebody please take a look atthis stupid crap this so called “news” story for a moment and explain these peoples' logic to me?
Go ahead and take your time…
I’ve got the rest of my life…
Here’s an excerpt for those of you too lazy to click on the link:
MARION, Ind. - Relatives of a university student misidentified as a classmate who was killed in highway accident have told officials they plan to sue over handling of the crash.
The so-called tort claim on behalf of survivor Whitney Cerak, her parents and sister targets the actions of Grant County Coroner Ron Mowery in identifying four Taylor University students and one employee who were killed in the April 26 crash.
Grant County officials on Monday received the tort claim, a legal step required under state law before a government agency can be sued. The claim argues Mowery was "not properly trained and educated" as a coroner and that he "failed to exercise reasonable care" to avoid the misidentification.
The claim seeks unspecified damages for emotional trauma.
So think about this with me for a minute...someone you love with all of your heart is reported to be killed in a car accident, then two weeks later you find out that they are actually still alive.
What do you do, sue the messenger?
If that were the case, the US Army would have gone out of business in WWI as a result of lawsuits over inaccurate killed/missing in action reports delivered to mothers and wives here stateside.
Two wrongs never make things right, and in this case this lawsuit appears to be totally unwarranted and totally absurd.
That's not to say that there's not a good chance that, given our current legal climate, they might not win a judgment in their favor, but will their windfall be based on additional medical costs caused by the coroner's proported negligence (and there were no costs--the young lady went straight to the hospital from the accident scene...) or our "jackpot mentality" touted by the legions of Tort Lawyers wandering late night TV commercials and printing ads on the back of your local Yellowpage Phone Books.
Some of you may remember the original story about the April 26th crash involving a tractor trailer and a College van, killing five and severely injuring four of the vehicle’s occupants.
The Cerak family’s argument and resulting lawsuit results from the fact that at first they were told that their 19 year old daughter, Whitney Cerak, was killed in the accident, and continued to believe that she was dead for a couple of weeks.
It was actually 22-year-old Laura VanRyn who was the fatally injured victim.
The VanRyn family kept vigil beside Whitney’s bedside for a couple of weeks, only realizing her true identity when she awoke from her coma and was able to speak coherently.
So why aren't the Cerak's suing the VanRyn's also, since they couldn't tell their own mutilated daughter from the Cerak's mutilated daughter?
I also like to point out that a key point of the lawsuit questions the coroner's "handling" of the accident victims.
Let's see here...the dead people were buried, and the live people were sent to the hospital, weren't they?
It's not like that the coroner sent the live girl to the morgue (thereby denying her of emergency medical treatment) or hit her in the head with a hammer to stop her from thrashing around at the accident scene--at least as far as I've heard.
So are the VanRyn's out there somewhere waiting to see the outcome of the Cerak's legal follies, in anticipation of hitting the financial jackpot themselves?
Probably, but maybe not...
My position here is that this family should be content to rejoice that Whitney actually survived her ordeal, then shut up and go sit home and in church with their recently recovered daughter, all the time counting their blessings, rather than hiring a lawyer and suing the county for a coroner’s innocent mistake.
After all, it’s common published knowledge that the girls bore a striking resemblance to each other, and in this day and time of many kids having virtually cavity free teeth, even dental records might not have provided any assistance in the identification process.
I also suspect that some member of the Cerak family was asked to do an initial identification of the body of VanRyn, and there might not have been an autopsy, but the family could possibly share some responsibility for the mistake.
Further, maybe these two young women were in the2% small minority of young women in the US that don’t have rings and studs protruding from their faces and tattoos covering their breasts and the small of their backs--making the identification process even harder.
Regardless, I think that if anyone should be the target of the lawsuit, it should be the truck driver that caused the accident and possibly the trucking company that operated the equipment.
And in a final moment of political incorrectness, I have to admit that if I were the coroner, I’d be tempted to ask if the Cerak family would drop the lawsuit if I rented a truck and finished what the other driver started.
(OK, I just felt like saying the last paragraph, but I really don't think like that, so don't be e-mailing me with your whiny complaints...)
Would somebody please take a look at
Go ahead and take your time…
I’ve got the rest of my life…
Here’s an excerpt for those of you too lazy to click on the link:
MARION, Ind. - Relatives of a university student misidentified as a classmate who was killed in highway accident have told officials they plan to sue over handling of the crash.
The so-called tort claim on behalf of survivor Whitney Cerak, her parents and sister targets the actions of Grant County Coroner Ron Mowery in identifying four Taylor University students and one employee who were killed in the April 26 crash.
Grant County officials on Monday received the tort claim, a legal step required under state law before a government agency can be sued. The claim argues Mowery was "not properly trained and educated" as a coroner and that he "failed to exercise reasonable care" to avoid the misidentification.
The claim seeks unspecified damages for emotional trauma.
So think about this with me for a minute...someone you love with all of your heart is reported to be killed in a car accident, then two weeks later you find out that they are actually still alive.
What do you do, sue the messenger?
If that were the case, the US Army would have gone out of business in WWI as a result of lawsuits over inaccurate killed/missing in action reports delivered to mothers and wives here stateside.
Two wrongs never make things right, and in this case this lawsuit appears to be totally unwarranted and totally absurd.
That's not to say that there's not a good chance that, given our current legal climate, they might not win a judgment in their favor, but will their windfall be based on additional medical costs caused by the coroner's proported negligence (and there were no costs--the young lady went straight to the hospital from the accident scene...) or our "jackpot mentality" touted by the legions of Tort Lawyers wandering late night TV commercials and printing ads on the back of your local Yellowpage Phone Books.
Some of you may remember the original story about the April 26th crash involving a tractor trailer and a College van, killing five and severely injuring four of the vehicle’s occupants.
The Cerak family’s argument and resulting lawsuit results from the fact that at first they were told that their 19 year old daughter, Whitney Cerak, was killed in the accident, and continued to believe that she was dead for a couple of weeks.
It was actually 22-year-old Laura VanRyn who was the fatally injured victim.
The VanRyn family kept vigil beside Whitney’s bedside for a couple of weeks, only realizing her true identity when she awoke from her coma and was able to speak coherently.
So why aren't the Cerak's suing the VanRyn's also, since they couldn't tell their own mutilated daughter from the Cerak's mutilated daughter?
I also like to point out that a key point of the lawsuit questions the coroner's "handling" of the accident victims.
Let's see here...the dead people were buried, and the live people were sent to the hospital, weren't they?
It's not like that the coroner sent the live girl to the morgue (thereby denying her of emergency medical treatment) or hit her in the head with a hammer to stop her from thrashing around at the accident scene--at least as far as I've heard.
So are the VanRyn's out there somewhere waiting to see the outcome of the Cerak's legal follies, in anticipation of hitting the financial jackpot themselves?
Probably, but maybe not...
My position here is that this family should be content to rejoice that Whitney actually survived her ordeal, then shut up and go sit home and in church with their recently recovered daughter, all the time counting their blessings, rather than hiring a lawyer and suing the county for a coroner’s innocent mistake.
After all, it’s common published knowledge that the girls bore a striking resemblance to each other, and in this day and time of many kids having virtually cavity free teeth, even dental records might not have provided any assistance in the identification process.
I also suspect that some member of the Cerak family was asked to do an initial identification of the body of VanRyn, and there might not have been an autopsy, but the family could possibly share some responsibility for the mistake.
Further, maybe these two young women were in the
Regardless, I think that if anyone should be the target of the lawsuit, it should be the truck driver that caused the accident and possibly the trucking company that operated the equipment.
And in a final moment of political incorrectness, I have to admit that if I were the coroner, I’d be tempted to ask if the Cerak family would drop the lawsuit if I rented a truck and finished what the other driver started.
(OK, I just felt like saying the last paragraph, but I really don't think like that, so don't be e-mailing me with your whiny complaints...)
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
It's The Great Pumpkin
Where's Charlie Brown & Linus When You Need Them?
Late this afternoon I wandered over to Harris Teeter looking for only TWO things--a newspaper and a bag of Sauerkraut to go with my Knockwurst and Bratwurst for dinner tonight.
Fifteen minutes later, I ended up coming home with THIS MONSTROSITY…
That creature would be a 30” diameter PUMPKIN that weighs about 150 pounds.
It took the efforts of myself and two bag boys to load it into the back of my Suburban, and the cargo net, bungee cords, and various blocks and shims were installed to keep it from rolling around in traffic, thereby killing me on my way home from the store.
In the back of my suburban is exactly where it’s going to stay too, at least while I cut a hole in the top of it, scoop out the seeds and extra flesh, then I hope to haul it over to one of the local elementary schools to do a pumpkin carving demonstration.
You see, I like to make my own 3-D patterns and do things that look like this two years ago…
And it looked like this in the dark…
No...that's Herman Munster, not John Kerry... And last year I found a Georgia Tech logo in a little pumpkin:
Unfortunately, today on my way home from the store with my newly purchased vegetable prize I suddenly had the grim realization that most politically correct schools don’t officially do Halloween anymore, so I may just have to lug the darn thing up the stairs and let it sit and rot outside my own front door until the end of the month.
Not to worry, because now I have my friend Keenan, the owner of Ziggy Mahoney's (the most popular dance club here on the island) checking out his kids' private school's interest in having their own Pumpkin carving.
One way or the other...it'll get carved and displayed, and finally I guess I have to ask the obvious question…
“Anyone need a couple dozen Pumpkin Pies?”
Late this afternoon I wandered over to Harris Teeter looking for only TWO things--a newspaper and a bag of Sauerkraut to go with my Knockwurst and Bratwurst for dinner tonight.
Fifteen minutes later, I ended up coming home with THIS MONSTROSITY…
That creature would be a 30” diameter PUMPKIN that weighs about 150 pounds.
It took the efforts of myself and two bag boys to load it into the back of my Suburban, and the cargo net, bungee cords, and various blocks and shims were installed to keep it from rolling around in traffic, thereby killing me on my way home from the store.
In the back of my suburban is exactly where it’s going to stay too, at least while I cut a hole in the top of it, scoop out the seeds and extra flesh, then I hope to haul it over to one of the local elementary schools to do a pumpkin carving demonstration.
You see, I like to make my own 3-D patterns and do things that look like this two years ago…
And it looked like this in the dark…
No...that's Herman Munster, not John Kerry... And last year I found a Georgia Tech logo in a little pumpkin:
Unfortunately, today on my way home from the store with my newly purchased vegetable prize I suddenly had the grim realization that most politically correct schools don’t officially do Halloween anymore, so I may just have to lug the darn thing up the stairs and let it sit and rot outside my own front door until the end of the month.
Not to worry, because now I have my friend Keenan, the owner of Ziggy Mahoney's (the most popular dance club here on the island) checking out his kids' private school's interest in having their own Pumpkin carving.
One way or the other...it'll get carved and displayed, and finally I guess I have to ask the obvious question…
“Anyone need a couple dozen Pumpkin Pies?”
Ghee Whizz
Should I Buy a Motel 6, Or A Seven-Eleven?
Anybody out there know what “Ghee” is? I’m proud to say that I do now…
“Ghee” is the Indian word for a batch of carefully clarified unsalted butter, and I had no idea until last night what the heck it was myself.
You use it in cooking Indian cuisine, and I used some of my Ghee to make a variation on this version of Chicken & Vegetable Curries.
I lightly steamed some broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and celery, then cubed up some boneless chicken breasts, and cooked up a nice batch of Basmati rice to serve everything with for dinner.
The other fun thing was that I did everything from scratch, including making my own batch of Garam Masala--the spice blend that puts the “Curry flavor” in your Indian Curry.
Garam Masala includes things like coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, black cumin seeds (shahjeera), dry ginger, black cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and crushed bay leaves.
Turmeric powder and coconut milk finishes off the sauce and gives it it’s characteristic yellow/green color.
The house still smells fabulous right now.
The only things I didn’t have on hand was the black cardamon and black cumin seeds, but the resulting flavors of my mixture--even without these two items--roasted and pounded by hand to a fine powder in my mortar/pestle, were quite acceptable.
I'm gonna try to find those two additional spices and then I’m going to repeat my efforts again next week while trying my hand at making some Indian parantha flat bread to go with it all.
In the mean time, I have some other meals planned featuring Turkish delicacies and possibly some Egyptian dishes, thereby completing my tour of cooking my way around the Mediterranean --having already completed my French, Italian, Greek, and Moroccan studies earlier this year.
Don't you wish that you were eating dinner at my house these days?
Anybody out there know what “Ghee” is? I’m proud to say that I do now…
“Ghee” is the Indian word for a batch of carefully clarified unsalted butter, and I had no idea until last night what the heck it was myself.
You use it in cooking Indian cuisine, and I used some of my Ghee to make a variation on this version of Chicken & Vegetable Curries.
I lightly steamed some broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and celery, then cubed up some boneless chicken breasts, and cooked up a nice batch of Basmati rice to serve everything with for dinner.
The other fun thing was that I did everything from scratch, including making my own batch of Garam Masala--the spice blend that puts the “Curry flavor” in your Indian Curry.
Garam Masala includes things like coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, black cumin seeds (shahjeera), dry ginger, black cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and crushed bay leaves.
Turmeric powder and coconut milk finishes off the sauce and gives it it’s characteristic yellow/green color.
The house still smells fabulous right now.
The only things I didn’t have on hand was the black cardamon and black cumin seeds, but the resulting flavors of my mixture--even without these two items--roasted and pounded by hand to a fine powder in my mortar/pestle, were quite acceptable.
I'm gonna try to find those two additional spices and then I’m going to repeat my efforts again next week while trying my hand at making some Indian parantha flat bread to go with it all.
In the mean time, I have some other meals planned featuring Turkish delicacies and possibly some Egyptian dishes, thereby completing my tour of cooking my way around the Mediterranean --having already completed my French, Italian, Greek, and Moroccan studies earlier this year.
Don't you wish that you were eating dinner at my house these days?
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Poetic Justice
Idiots In Traffic--A continuing Theme…
I was a complete bum most of the day today, after spending much of last night working on a couple of proposals for consulting and construction work and my continued efforts to get this new computer formatted and operational.
Then Pat and I did a late afternoon bike ride, covering the six mile round trip from our home on the marsh up to Fort Frederica in less than 40 minutes, but upon our return I was too tired to face an hour or so cooking my planned entree, authentic Chicken Curries.
As a result of my “Chickening out,” I was forced to drive a few miles south to the local deli to pick up a Greek salad and a Sub sandwich. In the process, I once again encountered anotherignorant arrogant asshole one of our indigenous resident’s with a severe case of self-importance.
About half way to the Deli, buzzing along at about 36 MPH in a 35 MPH zone, I looked in my rear view mirror and all I saw was a windshield and the top of a hood ornament on a late model white Mercedes coupe.
I didn’t budge a half MPH.
As I neared my destination in the shopping center, I broke one of my cardinal rules and entered the turn lane a bit early--hoping that my co-pilot would simply continue onward at his desired higher rate of speed.
I was WRONG.
Like a member of the Blue Angels stunt team, he hung right there with me a few feet off of my rear bumper, and then made the left turn into the parking lot still “flying in formation.”
What really pissed me off was that his tight formation position caused me to drift past a couple of parking spaces, and only after he dove into one of the spaces which he caused me to miss did I manage to park twenty yards down the lot on the opposite side.
The son of a bitch had the audacity to glare at me as he virtually sprinted in the door of the deli ahead of me, placing his order…fumbling for exact change, then spending the next few minutes hiding behind the potato chip rack, impatiently drumming his fingers on the top of the stainless steel counter.
I, on the other hand, being the laid back, useless beach bum that I am, calmly placed my order and wandered around out front of the shop enjoying the nice cool evening.
When I walked back inside, I arrived just in time to witness my adversary complaining because “I know I forgot to say it…but you guys know I always have whole wheat bread with my chicken salad sandwich…”
Well now...just let me issure a giagantic "Boo hoo HooooooooooOOOO" on his behalf.
Since he was in too much of a hurry to wait another three minutes for the 16 year old kid working the counter to make a replacement sandwich, he simply left the shop in a huff.
So sad....and although he deserved it, I never said a single word to him, but he did see me smirking at his delimma.
I really hope that he perceived the rest of his evening to be as shitty as the fifteen minute portion which I witnessed.
Maybe he even managed to survive the balance of his drive home without having a heart attack...but you never know.
I, personally, refuse to live here on our little Island and be in that much of a hurry and, in spite of idiots like this fellow encountered this afternoon, thus far I think that I’m definitely getting my money’s worth.
I was a complete bum most of the day today, after spending much of last night working on a couple of proposals for consulting and construction work and my continued efforts to get this new computer formatted and operational.
Then Pat and I did a late afternoon bike ride, covering the six mile round trip from our home on the marsh up to Fort Frederica in less than 40 minutes, but upon our return I was too tired to face an hour or so cooking my planned entree, authentic Chicken Curries.
As a result of my “Chickening out,” I was forced to drive a few miles south to the local deli to pick up a Greek salad and a Sub sandwich. In the process, I once again encountered another
About half way to the Deli, buzzing along at about 36 MPH in a 35 MPH zone, I looked in my rear view mirror and all I saw was a windshield and the top of a hood ornament on a late model white Mercedes coupe.
I didn’t budge a half MPH.
As I neared my destination in the shopping center, I broke one of my cardinal rules and entered the turn lane a bit early--hoping that my co-pilot would simply continue onward at his desired higher rate of speed.
I was WRONG.
Like a member of the Blue Angels stunt team, he hung right there with me a few feet off of my rear bumper, and then made the left turn into the parking lot still “flying in formation.”
What really pissed me off was that his tight formation position caused me to drift past a couple of parking spaces, and only after he dove into one of the spaces which he caused me to miss did I manage to park twenty yards down the lot on the opposite side.
The son of a bitch had the audacity to glare at me as he virtually sprinted in the door of the deli ahead of me, placing his order…fumbling for exact change, then spending the next few minutes hiding behind the potato chip rack, impatiently drumming his fingers on the top of the stainless steel counter.
I, on the other hand, being the laid back, useless beach bum that I am, calmly placed my order and wandered around out front of the shop enjoying the nice cool evening.
When I walked back inside, I arrived just in time to witness my adversary complaining because “I know I forgot to say it…but you guys know I always have whole wheat bread with my chicken salad sandwich…”
Well now...just let me issure a giagantic "Boo hoo HooooooooooOOOO" on his behalf.
Since he was in too much of a hurry to wait another three minutes for the 16 year old kid working the counter to make a replacement sandwich, he simply left the shop in a huff.
So sad....and although he deserved it, I never said a single word to him, but he did see me smirking at his delimma.
I really hope that he perceived the rest of his evening to be as shitty as the fifteen minute portion which I witnessed.
Maybe he even managed to survive the balance of his drive home without having a heart attack...but you never know.
I, personally, refuse to live here on our little Island and be in that much of a hurry and, in spite of idiots like this fellow encountered this afternoon, thus far I think that I’m definitely getting my money’s worth.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Survival Of The Fittest
More Public Stupidity
My regular readers know that two of my favorite reoccurring themes here on this blog are those of driving autos and riding bicycles or walking as a pedestrian on the public streets and in the parking lots here on our little island.
While I’ve previously issued what I think to be the definitive mandate when it comes to traffic safety, after my trip to the grocery store today I believe that a refresher course is in order…
Today I almost killed three people accidentally, and when the two events were over with, after averting disaster caused by their own STUPIDITY, I almost went ahead and killed them anyway just to get them off the streets and out of the food chain.
Be advised that IF I ever manage to strike you with a motor vehicle, that under most circumstances, I will shift into reverse to back over your quivering carcass, thereby finishing the job of ending your miserable life.
Sue me…if you will…
Today’s first circumstance revolved around a family of four riding their shiny bicycles parallel to Frederica Road, the main north/south artery here on our little island. The problem I have with groups of bicyclists is that they seem to act like they are a freight train, connected together at the front and rear bumper of their bikes--if one does something, everybody does it regardless of safety and traffic conditions.
You see, Saint Simons has an extensive network of wide sidewalks which also serve as bike trails, and perhaps as many as one out of ten people here on the island either own or rent a bike to use on a daily basis.
The problem comes when the men and enthusiastic older children ride well ahead of the women and younger child(ren), thereby causing a 100 foot long chain of potential dead humans--all because they don‘t pay attention while crossing intersections on side streets.
Today’s adventure included what appeared to be a mid-teenaged daughter and portly dad, dragging a young boy and middle aged woman along the bike path.
When the SUV two vehicles ahead of me stopped dead on Frederica before turning right onto a side street in order to avoid the daughter/father grouping, instead of stopping, the mother son group just sped up and made six or eight vehicles wait as they caught up to the balance of the biking party.
I was almost rear ended by the car behind me in the process.
Having survived that near disaster unscathed, next came the usual adventure visiting the local grocery store parking lot, a place that twenty years ago I would have already been arrested in for assault because of the stupidity that I have witnessed or otherwise been subjected to over the past 2-½ years.
This portion of my shopping trip was relatively uneventful, the checkout lines were uncluttered, but upon returning to my vehicle everything changed. As I was backing out of my parking space, with at least 50% of the Mustang sticking out into the lane and still rolling backward, some silly bitch drove down the traffic isle--blabbing on a cellphone--and cut off not only my efforts but at least two other autos over the next fifty yards of asphalt.
I call this maneuver “the parking lot slalom course”--and all of you self-important assholes out there that do it know who you are and exactly what I’m talking about.
Stop it, dang it…it pisses me off…and it’s WRONG.
If a car is already rolling backwards and is at least half way out of a parking space, STOP.
At least YIELD.
I swear, if I manage to live into my eighties, I’m going to buy an old Studebaker or possibly a Sherman Tank and I’m going to lurk around parking lots and when I see you exhibit behavior like I saw today, when you come back out of the store with your Brie and Champaign you’re going to find your Escalade or BMW sitting there in the form of about six inches of flattened metal and plastic.
Think about it…and to all of the safe, courteous drivers out there…YOU have a nice day...
My regular readers know that two of my favorite reoccurring themes here on this blog are those of driving autos and riding bicycles or walking as a pedestrian on the public streets and in the parking lots here on our little island.
While I’ve previously issued what I think to be the definitive mandate when it comes to traffic safety, after my trip to the grocery store today I believe that a refresher course is in order…
Today I almost killed three people accidentally, and when the two events were over with, after averting disaster caused by their own STUPIDITY, I almost went ahead and killed them anyway just to get them off the streets and out of the food chain.
Be advised that IF I ever manage to strike you with a motor vehicle, that under most circumstances, I will shift into reverse to back over your quivering carcass, thereby finishing the job of ending your miserable life.
Sue me…if you will…
Today’s first circumstance revolved around a family of four riding their shiny bicycles parallel to Frederica Road, the main north/south artery here on our little island. The problem I have with groups of bicyclists is that they seem to act like they are a freight train, connected together at the front and rear bumper of their bikes--if one does something, everybody does it regardless of safety and traffic conditions.
You see, Saint Simons has an extensive network of wide sidewalks which also serve as bike trails, and perhaps as many as one out of ten people here on the island either own or rent a bike to use on a daily basis.
The problem comes when the men and enthusiastic older children ride well ahead of the women and younger child(ren), thereby causing a 100 foot long chain of potential dead humans--all because they don‘t pay attention while crossing intersections on side streets.
Today’s adventure included what appeared to be a mid-teenaged daughter and portly dad, dragging a young boy and middle aged woman along the bike path.
When the SUV two vehicles ahead of me stopped dead on Frederica before turning right onto a side street in order to avoid the daughter/father grouping, instead of stopping, the mother son group just sped up and made six or eight vehicles wait as they caught up to the balance of the biking party.
I was almost rear ended by the car behind me in the process.
Having survived that near disaster unscathed, next came the usual adventure visiting the local grocery store parking lot, a place that twenty years ago I would have already been arrested in for assault because of the stupidity that I have witnessed or otherwise been subjected to over the past 2-½ years.
This portion of my shopping trip was relatively uneventful, the checkout lines were uncluttered, but upon returning to my vehicle everything changed. As I was backing out of my parking space, with at least 50% of the Mustang sticking out into the lane and still rolling backward, some silly bitch drove down the traffic isle--blabbing on a cellphone--and cut off not only my efforts but at least two other autos over the next fifty yards of asphalt.
I call this maneuver “the parking lot slalom course”--and all of you self-important assholes out there that do it know who you are and exactly what I’m talking about.
Stop it, dang it…it pisses me off…and it’s WRONG.
If a car is already rolling backwards and is at least half way out of a parking space, STOP.
At least YIELD.
I swear, if I manage to live into my eighties, I’m going to buy an old Studebaker or possibly a Sherman Tank and I’m going to lurk around parking lots and when I see you exhibit behavior like I saw today, when you come back out of the store with your Brie and Champaign you’re going to find your Escalade or BMW sitting there in the form of about six inches of flattened metal and plastic.
Think about it…and to all of the safe, courteous drivers out there…YOU have a nice day...
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Rechargable Batteries
I Take Mine For Granted These Days...
Way back about 1980 I was employed by a company that designed and built custom low humidity air handlers and "clean rooms."
Most of our customers at the time were companies involved in the manufacture of Lithium batteries for industry and medical products like pacemakers. Lithium batteries made their public debut by powering the “Lunar Rover” vehicle that the Apollo astronauts drove around in the early 1970’s on the moon.
Some of you might remember that in those days most rechargeable batteries were bulky, cumbersome contraptions that, after sitting attached to the wall outlet charging overnight, would last about fifteen minutes in your “portable power screwdriver“, after which time your “portable power screwdriver” worked better as a hammer--as that was the only way to install screws after the batteries had discharged.
Lithium batteries represented a MAJOR improvement.
Now fast forward to 2006, and most of us take rechargeable batteries for granted. Heck, today I think that most children think that long lasting rechargable batteries grow on trees.
Cell phones, portable phones, laptop computers, digital cameras…you name it, most people have a half dozen sets of rechargeable batteries in their home and/or car at any given moment.
About 2 AM this morning, standing on the cart path adjacent to 18th hole of the Sea Palms Golf Course, I found myself to be in possession of only one set of rechargeable batteries after dismounting from my bicycle.
One tripod, one bicycle, one digital camera, and…
DEAD BATTERIES.
We all missed some awesome images of a spectacular October moonrise over the marsh.
Sorry
Way back about 1980 I was employed by a company that designed and built custom low humidity air handlers and "clean rooms."
Most of our customers at the time were companies involved in the manufacture of Lithium batteries for industry and medical products like pacemakers. Lithium batteries made their public debut by powering the “Lunar Rover” vehicle that the Apollo astronauts drove around in the early 1970’s on the moon.
Some of you might remember that in those days most rechargeable batteries were bulky, cumbersome contraptions that, after sitting attached to the wall outlet charging overnight, would last about fifteen minutes in your “portable power screwdriver“, after which time your “portable power screwdriver” worked better as a hammer--as that was the only way to install screws after the batteries had discharged.
Lithium batteries represented a MAJOR improvement.
Now fast forward to 2006, and most of us take rechargeable batteries for granted. Heck, today I think that most children think that long lasting rechargable batteries grow on trees.
Cell phones, portable phones, laptop computers, digital cameras…you name it, most people have a half dozen sets of rechargeable batteries in their home and/or car at any given moment.
About 2 AM this morning, standing on the cart path adjacent to 18th hole of the Sea Palms Golf Course, I found myself to be in possession of only one set of rechargeable batteries after dismounting from my bicycle.
One tripod, one bicycle, one digital camera, and…
DEAD BATTERIES.
We all missed some awesome images of a spectacular October moonrise over the marsh.
Sorry
Saturday, October 14, 2006
If You Can’t Say Nuthin’ Nice--Don’t Say Nuthin’ At All…
The Silence Of The Lambs Pachyderms
I’m sorry, but to my regular readers I feel the need to offer my sincerest apology for the low quantity of ranting and writing recently--but I have to admit that I’ve been distracted with other matters, things like making a bit of money here and there.
Call me a capitalist…I’ll confess…
Meanwhile, there’s some really crazy stuff happening out there in the world, and I don’t believe that you need me to provide “closed captioning” or “English subtitles” to explain the insanity of the situations.
For instance, my favorite recent story is that of the young man from Pennsylvania who hired a Mariachi band and rode an elephant around the Rio Grande on the border outside of Brownsville, Texas for HOURS, and never managed to get the attention of the US border patrol in the process.
Elephants, a six-piece mariachi band and a former reality TV contestant stood at the mouth of the Rio Grande.
Don't wait for the punch line.
It's not a joke but a political stunt by Raj Bhakta, a Republican looking to unseat Democratic incumbent Allyson Schwartz in the 13th Congressional District, to prove the sad state of border security in the nation.
Bhakta, best known for being fired on “The Apprentice” in 2004, hired elephants and a mariachi band to draw attention to the lack of security along the border between the United States and Mexico on Tuesday.
“It was a shock to see that we have almost no border security. It's a joke,” Bhakta said.
“The elephant never made landfall into Mexico, but I tell you something, he could have made 15 laps back and forth, but no one showed up,” Bhakta said in Wednesday's editions of The Brownsville (Texas) Herald.
He said he and his crew were there for “at least an hour.”
Bhakta, who was in the area of the U.S.-Mexican border raising money for his campaign, said he got the idea after seeing men swim under an international bridge without getting caught.
Circus producer James Plunkett told the newspaper he was hired for the photo shoot and provided three elephants.
Think about that situation for a while while I take a little morning snooze, then I’ll stop back by to provide some additional commentary.
I’m sorry, but to my regular readers I feel the need to offer my sincerest apology for the low quantity of ranting and writing recently--but I have to admit that I’ve been distracted with other matters, things like making a bit of money here and there.
Call me a capitalist…I’ll confess…
Meanwhile, there’s some really crazy stuff happening out there in the world, and I don’t believe that you need me to provide “closed captioning” or “English subtitles” to explain the insanity of the situations.
For instance, my favorite recent story is that of the young man from Pennsylvania who hired a Mariachi band and rode an elephant around the Rio Grande on the border outside of Brownsville, Texas for HOURS, and never managed to get the attention of the US border patrol in the process.
Elephants, a six-piece mariachi band and a former reality TV contestant stood at the mouth of the Rio Grande.
Don't wait for the punch line.
It's not a joke but a political stunt by Raj Bhakta, a Republican looking to unseat Democratic incumbent Allyson Schwartz in the 13th Congressional District, to prove the sad state of border security in the nation.
Bhakta, best known for being fired on “The Apprentice” in 2004, hired elephants and a mariachi band to draw attention to the lack of security along the border between the United States and Mexico on Tuesday.
“It was a shock to see that we have almost no border security. It's a joke,” Bhakta said.
“The elephant never made landfall into Mexico, but I tell you something, he could have made 15 laps back and forth, but no one showed up,” Bhakta said in Wednesday's editions of The Brownsville (Texas) Herald.
He said he and his crew were there for “at least an hour.”
Bhakta, who was in the area of the U.S.-Mexican border raising money for his campaign, said he got the idea after seeing men swim under an international bridge without getting caught.
Circus producer James Plunkett told the newspaper he was hired for the photo shoot and provided three elephants.
Think about that situation for a while while I take a little morning snooze, then I’ll stop back by to provide some additional commentary.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Is George Steinbrenner A Supporter of Terrorism?
You Heard It Here First
Apparently a NY Yankee's pitcher went out and flew his half million dollar Cirrus airplane (in the style of JFK JR) into a mid-rise apartment building on the East River in NYC.
More hysteria to ensue...stay tuned...
MORE
Look HERE for the story of Cory Lidle's demise.
I'm just glad I live way out down herein eastern bumblef**k on the rural Georgia coast rather than in a major metropolitan area so when something like this happens we are instantly sure that the Muslims aren't responsible.
Now where's my parachute and bungee cord....
Apparently a NY Yankee's pitcher went out and flew his half million dollar Cirrus airplane (in the style of JFK JR) into a mid-rise apartment building on the East River in NYC.
More hysteria to ensue...stay tuned...
MORE
Look HERE for the story of Cory Lidle's demise.
I'm just glad I live way out down here
Now where's my parachute and bungee cord....
Credibility…Or The Lack Thereof
Taking Oneself Way, Way, WAY Too Seriously…
Have I mentioned here on the blog that my IQ has been tested to be somewhere near 140? (I don’t remember the exact number, nor does it matter in the course of this dissertation at this moment.)
Something else I need to mention is that I also happen to know more about the design and construction of industrial smokestacks than perhaps all but a few hundred people in the entire world.
Whoop teee Dooooo.. .with that and a buck...I can get a cup of coffee at the local diner...
That said, does anyone honestly believe that YOU should be arbitrarily forced to listen to anything that I have to say about politics and world events, except on a totally voluntary basis?
Don't you come here to this blog VOLUNTARILY, for FREE, and if you don't like what you hear and see you are free to leave and never come back--your only cost being the time spent with my commentary searing your retinas?
Enter, Stage Right Madam Barbara Streisand--actor, singer, and now ...
POLITICAL PONTIFICATOR (or possibly POLITICAL FORNICATOR)
Here’s my point…just because I’m really intelligent and I can design and build smokestacks, why should you be ambushed and forced to listen to me and my political rants simply because you happen to stop by my office to place an order for a 250 foot tall stack?
I say not, but…
Miss Streisand, for some reason, seems to think that if you and I decide to show up at one of her concerts that she, just like theDixie Twits Dixie Chicks, should be allowed to make uncontested political commentary to all of the unsuspecting patrons when the tickets were actually sold for the purpose of presenting a musical concert.
There was Streisand, enduring a smattering of loud jeers as she and "George Bush" — a celebrity impersonator — muddled through a skit that portrayed the president as a bumbling idiot.
Though most of the crowd offered polite applause during the slightly humorous routine, it had gone on a bit too long, especially for those who just wanted to hear Streisand sing like she had been doing for the past hour.
"Come on, be polite!" the well-known liberal implored during the sketch as she and "Bush" exchanged zingers. But one heckler wouldn't let up. And finally, Streisand let him have it.
"Shut the (expletive) up!" Streisand bellowed, drawing wild applause. "Shut up if you can't take a joke!"
With that one F-word, the jeers ended. And the message was delivered — no one gets away with trying to upstage Barbra Streisand, especially not in her hometown.
Once the outburst (which Streisand later apologized for) was over, Streisand noted that "the artist's role is to disturb," and delivered a message of tolerance before launching into a serenely beautiful rendition of "Somewhere." That put the focus back on what the audience came for — her voice, one of the greatest female instruments of her generation.
Obviously, I won’t be buying any tickets to her shows (although I like her acting and singing), but how the liberals like Miss Barbara can get all upset and start issuing profanity laced statements at their audiences while expecting Ann Coulter and other conservatives to put up with pies in the face and Columbia University students to be allowed to rush the stage at “Minute man” speeches is beyond me.
I guess that I'm just a miserable old ever greying, ever balding, old fart libertarian.
And while I’m at it, I’d like to say that Ted Turner should just take his billions home to his Wyoming ranch with a big fat bottle of Glen Livit Scotch and proceed to shut the heck up--because it seems to me that thus far he’s wasteing the good Scotch and ruining everyone else’s buzz in the process.
OK, that will be all, for now (I’m busy calculating…)
Have I mentioned here on the blog that my IQ has been tested to be somewhere near 140? (I don’t remember the exact number, nor does it matter in the course of this dissertation at this moment.)
Something else I need to mention is that I also happen to know more about the design and construction of industrial smokestacks than perhaps all but a few hundred people in the entire world.
Whoop teee Dooooo.. .with that and a buck...I can get a cup of coffee at the local diner...
That said, does anyone honestly believe that YOU should be arbitrarily forced to listen to anything that I have to say about politics and world events, except on a totally voluntary basis?
Don't you come here to this blog VOLUNTARILY, for FREE, and if you don't like what you hear and see you are free to leave and never come back--your only cost being the time spent with my commentary searing your retinas?
Enter, Stage Right Madam Barbara Streisand--actor, singer, and now ...
POLITICAL PONTIFICATOR (or possibly POLITICAL FORNICATOR)
Here’s my point…just because I’m really intelligent and I can design and build smokestacks, why should you be ambushed and forced to listen to me and my political rants simply because you happen to stop by my office to place an order for a 250 foot tall stack?
I say not, but…
Miss Streisand, for some reason, seems to think that if you and I decide to show up at one of her concerts that she, just like the
There was Streisand, enduring a smattering of loud jeers as she and "George Bush" — a celebrity impersonator — muddled through a skit that portrayed the president as a bumbling idiot.
Though most of the crowd offered polite applause during the slightly humorous routine, it had gone on a bit too long, especially for those who just wanted to hear Streisand sing like she had been doing for the past hour.
"Come on, be polite!" the well-known liberal implored during the sketch as she and "Bush" exchanged zingers. But one heckler wouldn't let up. And finally, Streisand let him have it.
"Shut the (expletive) up!" Streisand bellowed, drawing wild applause. "Shut up if you can't take a joke!"
With that one F-word, the jeers ended. And the message was delivered — no one gets away with trying to upstage Barbra Streisand, especially not in her hometown.
Once the outburst (which Streisand later apologized for) was over, Streisand noted that "the artist's role is to disturb," and delivered a message of tolerance before launching into a serenely beautiful rendition of "Somewhere." That put the focus back on what the audience came for — her voice, one of the greatest female instruments of her generation.
Obviously, I won’t be buying any tickets to her shows (although I like her acting and singing), but how the liberals like Miss Barbara can get all upset and start issuing profanity laced statements at their audiences while expecting Ann Coulter and other conservatives to put up with pies in the face and Columbia University students to be allowed to rush the stage at “Minute man” speeches is beyond me.
I guess that I'm just a miserable old ever greying, ever balding, old fart libertarian.
And while I’m at it, I’d like to say that Ted Turner should just take his billions home to his Wyoming ranch with a big fat bottle of Glen Livit Scotch and proceed to shut the heck up--because it seems to me that thus far he’s wasteing the good Scotch and ruining everyone else’s buzz in the process.
OK, that will be all, for now (I’m busy calculating…)
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
I Think That My Head Is Going To Explode...
AGAIN...(my favorite title, with a slightly different topic...)
Here, I can hardly write or speak right now after hearing about it, but I want you to click on the link and go read this story about a FEMA funded program, Project Hope, which has thus far paid about $22.6 Million of the taxpayers' money to fund "Puppet Shows and Bingo games" benefiting what are describe as Florida victims of last year’s Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma.
Last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded Florida $22.6 million for "crisis counseling" for victims of hurricanes Wilma and Katrina.
Florida's program, called Project H.O.P.E. -- Helping Our People in Emergencies -- is still in operation with about 450 workers across the state who spend much of their time leading games and performing shows for residents -- regardless of whether they're in crisis or even experienced the storms, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel has found.
I might have to remind some of you that Katrina did blow across south Florida just before crashing into Louisiana and washing all of the stains and vermin off of the New Orleans streets and doing a little "Urban Renewal" demolition, but it was hardly more than a big mass of thunderstorms when it blew across Miami. I know someone that lives there and I got a first-hand account of the proceedings at the time.
Floyd, as I recall, managed to toss around some tree limbs and wreck a little havoc on some retiree's trailers, but again I hardly could vote for extra bingo and yoga on the beach when there is already a bingo parlor and Jai-alai arena every fifty yards up and down the Florida Turnpike and US 1.
So why the hoopla and government cash infusions?
Oh, I remember now, there's a shortage of PORK in south Florida during Hurricane season...the pigs all fly north (in the style of a popular Pink Floyd album and in respectful deferrence in order to avoid any lingering persons of the Jewish persuasion that might not have the will nor the means to escape back to Kew Gardens, NY during the balmy south Florida Summer months.)
What really makes my head spin at an even higher RPM is this little detail...
In an effort to protect the “privacy” of the so-called “victims” which are supposed to be served by the program, FEMA has caused Project Hope to find their beneficiaries not by receiving addresses and phone number information from the government, but by forcing the program's employees into driving around the city asking people if they’ve been traumatized by the aforementioned storms and doing things like looking for blue tarps on the roofs of houses and apartment buildings.
Dammit all people, but I have to ask…when will the government insanity end?
And more importantly, why do they insist on using MY money to prosecute their follies?
Here, I can hardly write or speak right now after hearing about it, but I want you to click on the link and go read this story about a FEMA funded program, Project Hope, which has thus far paid about $22.6 Million of the taxpayers' money to fund "Puppet Shows and Bingo games" benefiting what are describe as Florida victims of last year’s Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma.
Last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded Florida $22.6 million for "crisis counseling" for victims of hurricanes Wilma and Katrina.
Florida's program, called Project H.O.P.E. -- Helping Our People in Emergencies -- is still in operation with about 450 workers across the state who spend much of their time leading games and performing shows for residents -- regardless of whether they're in crisis or even experienced the storms, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel has found.
I might have to remind some of you that Katrina did blow across south Florida just before crashing into Louisiana and washing all of the stains and vermin off of the New Orleans streets and doing a little "Urban Renewal" demolition, but it was hardly more than a big mass of thunderstorms when it blew across Miami. I know someone that lives there and I got a first-hand account of the proceedings at the time.
Floyd, as I recall, managed to toss around some tree limbs and wreck a little havoc on some retiree's trailers, but again I hardly could vote for extra bingo and yoga on the beach when there is already a bingo parlor and Jai-alai arena every fifty yards up and down the Florida Turnpike and US 1.
So why the hoopla and government cash infusions?
Oh, I remember now, there's a shortage of PORK in south Florida during Hurricane season...the pigs all fly north (in the style of a popular Pink Floyd album and in respectful deferrence in order to avoid any lingering persons of the Jewish persuasion that might not have the will nor the means to escape back to Kew Gardens, NY during the balmy south Florida Summer months.)
What really makes my head spin at an even higher RPM is this little detail...
In an effort to protect the “privacy” of the so-called “victims” which are supposed to be served by the program, FEMA has caused Project Hope to find their beneficiaries not by receiving addresses and phone number information from the government, but by forcing the program's employees into driving around the city asking people if they’ve been traumatized by the aforementioned storms and doing things like looking for blue tarps on the roofs of houses and apartment buildings.
Dammit all people, but I have to ask…when will the government insanity end?
And more importantly, why do they insist on using MY money to prosecute their follies?
Monday, October 09, 2006
New Computer Takes Nose Dive
Patience Wearing Thin...
My heart sank into my shoes about 1 PM today when the new HP laptop froze up and wouldn't re-boot.
I fumbled around with the F10 key and system diagnostics, and the report was not good:
Hard Drive Test Failed.
Just DAMN.
After spending five and one half days deleting all of the crappy demo software (Quicken, AOL, MSN, etc.) and installing some really big programs and getting everything configured, I was really afraid that I was looking at sending my computer back to HP for service.
In looking at the Circuit City paperwork, they confidently demand a 15% restocking charge, IF you bring the computer back within the first 14 days after purchase and IF you've opened the box.
Since I, like most people, have trouble typing on a keyboard and viewing a display through heavy cardboard, my computer's box had been opened on day one, so returning the machine to the retailer and getting a new one somewhere else was not much of an option.
As usual, I couldn't find anyone in the state of Georgia that could make a decision about replacing the machine without making me ship it back to HP, so in desperation I did something unusual...
I READ THE LITTLE THIN PAPER MANUAL THAT CAME WITH THE MACHINE.
Low and behold, I found a possible remedy. As luck would have it, on Sunday I tried a new windows feature that allows you to make a System recovery partition on the hard disk to use in the event that your Windows Boot files and sectors get corrupted.
I closed my eyes, hit the F11 key on startup, and TWO HOURS later I had a functioning computer again.
The only loss in the end of the ordeal was a few word processor files and a little Photoshop work I had done, along with all of the software that I had installed from CD's--things like Photoshop and my Cannon camera software.
I also lost all of my favorites list in Internet Explorer that I was rebuilding from scratch. Regardless of how many dozens of hours it will take to get me back to where I was this morning, anything is better than shipping the computer back to HP and waiting a couple of weeks for it to return, because...
I'm actually busy WORKING right now…
My heart sank into my shoes about 1 PM today when the new HP laptop froze up and wouldn't re-boot.
I fumbled around with the F10 key and system diagnostics, and the report was not good:
Hard Drive Test Failed.
Just DAMN.
After spending five and one half days deleting all of the crappy demo software (Quicken, AOL, MSN, etc.) and installing some really big programs and getting everything configured, I was really afraid that I was looking at sending my computer back to HP for service.
In looking at the Circuit City paperwork, they confidently demand a 15% restocking charge, IF you bring the computer back within the first 14 days after purchase and IF you've opened the box.
Since I, like most people, have trouble typing on a keyboard and viewing a display through heavy cardboard, my computer's box had been opened on day one, so returning the machine to the retailer and getting a new one somewhere else was not much of an option.
As usual, I couldn't find anyone in the state of Georgia that could make a decision about replacing the machine without making me ship it back to HP, so in desperation I did something unusual...
I READ THE LITTLE THIN PAPER MANUAL THAT CAME WITH THE MACHINE.
Low and behold, I found a possible remedy. As luck would have it, on Sunday I tried a new windows feature that allows you to make a System recovery partition on the hard disk to use in the event that your Windows Boot files and sectors get corrupted.
I closed my eyes, hit the F11 key on startup, and TWO HOURS later I had a functioning computer again.
The only loss in the end of the ordeal was a few word processor files and a little Photoshop work I had done, along with all of the software that I had installed from CD's--things like Photoshop and my Cannon camera software.
I also lost all of my favorites list in Internet Explorer that I was rebuilding from scratch. Regardless of how many dozens of hours it will take to get me back to where I was this morning, anything is better than shipping the computer back to HP and waiting a couple of weeks for it to return, because...
I'm actually busy WORKING right now…
A Nuclear North Korea?
Peacenicks And America Bashers Celebrate...
I was watching FOX News last night when the news broke about North Korea possibly doing the test of a nuclear weapon.
As usual with the "professional media", nobody really knew anything for certain as the story broke, but FOX news and CNN proceeded to spazz out and incrementally introduce details like seismograph data and comments from world leaders and the usual suspects—the so called “media experts.”.
Assuming that there really was some kind of nuclear event in Korea, or that there will be one in the near future without substantial intervention, I’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of these little historical details.
In WWII, most of the US military walked away from Europe with a divided German State, leaving the Russians free to later conquer most of south western Asia and Eastern Europe. It took until the late 1980’s to allow the resulting confederation of communist states called the USSR to self implode for economic reasons.
Then, in the early 1950’s “Korean War,” we walked away for the Goryeo Peninsula leaving a “demilitarized zone” and a major quantity of US military troops dividing communist North Korea from democratic South Korea.
Ten Presidents and over fifty years later, we’re now looking a failed North Korean economy funding an unelected government and military which chooses to starve their own people as they threaten their neighbors in the region (South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan) if not the balance of world power and stability.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il seems to be quite happy doing his "saber rattling” while being fecklessly watched by the United Nations and our domestic Democrats/Peacenicks.
Hopefully some of our elected leaders and all of you mindless anti-war idiots out there will finally get the idea that a policy of “leaving them alone” will do nothing but incubate regional aggression, terrorism, and insane rhetoric from people like thelittle troll North Korean leader.
His most recent stated reason for wanting a big Bomb?
The threat of a US nuclear attack.
Yeah, RIGHTTTTTTTT…Mr. Jong-il…
If the US wanted to, we could improve South Korea to island status by eliminating their connection through North Korea to mainland Asia-but I know that that won’t happen.
Just sit back and watch the stupidity as it develops, with Pelosi and Kerry saying we should do it “smarter”, the UN paralyzed with indecision, China and Russia twiddling their thumbs on the Security Council, and the Iranian leader issuing mindless bullshit statements and cheering Jong-il on.
I’ve got to go now, thinking about this is making my head hurt…
MORE
After thinking about this issue for a while, I find Kim Jong-il's rational for a nuclear weapons program--the threat of an attack by the US--to be even more absurd than I found it at first glance.
Does anyone believe that they could actually develop enough bombs and missiles to counter the inventory of munitions currently in the NATO and US inventories?
All Korea could possibly end up doing, besides continuing to extort concessions and economic "incentives" out of the rest of the nations of the world in return for false promices of discontinuing their atomic efforts, would be to possibly lob a few explosions in the direction of US allies like Japan (like Sadam did to Israel in the first gulf war) or to supply tools for worldwide terrorism.
And by the way, if I were in the Chinese government, I'd be EXTREMELY PISSED OFF because China has repeatedly gone to bat for the Koreans on the world stage and in the UN, supporting Korea's right to have a nuclear program for peaceful energy purposes, and now they simply look like 3 billion duplicitous idiots.
I was watching FOX News last night when the news broke about North Korea possibly doing the test of a nuclear weapon.
As usual with the "professional media", nobody really knew anything for certain as the story broke, but FOX news and CNN proceeded to spazz out and incrementally introduce details like seismograph data and comments from world leaders and the usual suspects—the so called “media experts.”.
Assuming that there really was some kind of nuclear event in Korea, or that there will be one in the near future without substantial intervention, I’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of these little historical details.
In WWII, most of the US military walked away from Europe with a divided German State, leaving the Russians free to later conquer most of south western Asia and Eastern Europe. It took until the late 1980’s to allow the resulting confederation of communist states called the USSR to self implode for economic reasons.
Then, in the early 1950’s “Korean War,” we walked away for the Goryeo Peninsula leaving a “demilitarized zone” and a major quantity of US military troops dividing communist North Korea from democratic South Korea.
Ten Presidents and over fifty years later, we’re now looking a failed North Korean economy funding an unelected government and military which chooses to starve their own people as they threaten their neighbors in the region (South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan) if not the balance of world power and stability.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il seems to be quite happy doing his "saber rattling” while being fecklessly watched by the United Nations and our domestic Democrats/Peacenicks.
Hopefully some of our elected leaders and all of you mindless anti-war idiots out there will finally get the idea that a policy of “leaving them alone” will do nothing but incubate regional aggression, terrorism, and insane rhetoric from people like the
His most recent stated reason for wanting a big Bomb?
The threat of a US nuclear attack.
Yeah, RIGHTTTTTTTT…Mr. Jong-il…
If the US wanted to, we could improve South Korea to island status by eliminating their connection through North Korea to mainland Asia-but I know that that won’t happen.
Just sit back and watch the stupidity as it develops, with Pelosi and Kerry saying we should do it “smarter”, the UN paralyzed with indecision, China and Russia twiddling their thumbs on the Security Council, and the Iranian leader issuing mindless bullshit statements and cheering Jong-il on.
I’ve got to go now, thinking about this is making my head hurt…
MORE
After thinking about this issue for a while, I find Kim Jong-il's rational for a nuclear weapons program--the threat of an attack by the US--to be even more absurd than I found it at first glance.
Does anyone believe that they could actually develop enough bombs and missiles to counter the inventory of munitions currently in the NATO and US inventories?
All Korea could possibly end up doing, besides continuing to extort concessions and economic "incentives" out of the rest of the nations of the world in return for false promices of discontinuing their atomic efforts, would be to possibly lob a few explosions in the direction of US allies like Japan (like Sadam did to Israel in the first gulf war) or to supply tools for worldwide terrorism.
And by the way, if I were in the Chinese government, I'd be EXTREMELY PISSED OFF because China has repeatedly gone to bat for the Koreans on the world stage and in the UN, supporting Korea's right to have a nuclear program for peaceful energy purposes, and now they simply look like 3 billion duplicitous idiots.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Money Can't Buy Happiness
But It Sure Comes Close...
Take a look at this little toy I ran into last week at the bicycle shop:
It's a 1951 Schwinn "Whizzer"--a gas powered bicycle.
Notice that it has pedals, and that's how you start the little gas motor.
Thousands of these were made, often from kits, between the late 1930's and early 1950's.
One thing that I noticed is that it's very heavy, weight wise. I found out when I helped the shop owner pick it up off a rack on the back of his SUV.
I would have loved to try to ride it, but since it's worth about $5,000 and the owner wasn't there to give me permission, the best I could do was give it a good going over visually and with the camera.
Speaking of bikes, it's time to go ride mine. I'm doing about five miles a day right now as I get my lungs and legs back into shape.
See y'all later...
Take a look at this little toy I ran into last week at the bicycle shop:
It's a 1951 Schwinn "Whizzer"--a gas powered bicycle.
Notice that it has pedals, and that's how you start the little gas motor.
Thousands of these were made, often from kits, between the late 1930's and early 1950's.
One thing that I noticed is that it's very heavy, weight wise. I found out when I helped the shop owner pick it up off a rack on the back of his SUV.
I would have loved to try to ride it, but since it's worth about $5,000 and the owner wasn't there to give me permission, the best I could do was give it a good going over visually and with the camera.
Speaking of bikes, it's time to go ride mine. I'm doing about five miles a day right now as I get my lungs and legs back into shape.
See y'all later...
Friday, October 06, 2006
Harvest Moon
Looking For The Great Pumpkin
I have a suggestion for your entertainment this evening.
Step outside about sunset tonight and take a gander at this year's Harvest Moon.
I'll meet you on East Beach about 7:15.
I have a suggestion for your entertainment this evening.
Step outside about sunset tonight and take a gander at this year's Harvest Moon.
I'll meet you on East Beach about 7:15.
I’m Still Multi-Tasking
Substance Over Style
I just realized that I have as yet failed to mention the current Washington DC uproar over grown men chasing young boys—apparently in public.
My reasons are twofold, but in the interest of closure---let me say THIS about THAT.
First, since Mark Foley resigned immediately after the scandal became public I believe that the issue should be relegated to a law enforcement and civil issue between the boys and their families and former representative Foley.
Second, being that it is fairly obvious that the timing of the disclosure and the ongoing hysterical witch hunt which has expanded to include Republican leader Dennis Hastert has been driven based on purely partisan ideology, I think that most people out there (other than the wild eyed liberals and the lamestream media) are tired of listening and wish that it would just go away.
Don’t worry, because on this blog you probably won’t hear or read another word on the subject.
On the home front, I’m trying to stop playing with the new computer and start actually getting some work done on it, but the DVD player keeps playing things like old episodes of The Andy Griffith Show and the movie "Lord of the Rings" and thus my eyes lock onto the screen and hours slip past in what seems like minutes.
I promise to try to do better.
In the ongoing effort to improve my physical fitness and reduce the tonnage of my ever graying, ever balding carcass, yesterday Pat and I took delivery of two of Electra’s Townie 3 bicycles from our local dealer—Monkey Wrench Bicycles. They built them to our specifications in the shop from basic bikes by adding parts and accessories, and they are really cool looking--very "sixties retro."
Actually, mine is a low keyed black 3S with a front suspension, brushed aluminum fenders, a black saddle bag and rear rack.
Pat opted for an Apple Green frame with a PINK seat, PINK saddle bag, and PINK handgrips--if you don't see HER coming you must be blind.
We rode over to the Sea Palms Country Clubhouse for dinner last night, and upon learning that the restaurant was hosting a private party, we turned around and rode another mile and one-half over to another local restaurant.
I haven’t covered that much distance on a bicycle in at least twenty years, and for all of the spastic nanny-governmet liberals out there, be advised that I'm NOT wearing a helmet because I have such a hard head.
Hah!
I just realized that I have as yet failed to mention the current Washington DC uproar over grown men chasing young boys—apparently in public.
My reasons are twofold, but in the interest of closure---let me say THIS about THAT.
First, since Mark Foley resigned immediately after the scandal became public I believe that the issue should be relegated to a law enforcement and civil issue between the boys and their families and former representative Foley.
Second, being that it is fairly obvious that the timing of the disclosure and the ongoing hysterical witch hunt which has expanded to include Republican leader Dennis Hastert has been driven based on purely partisan ideology, I think that most people out there (other than the wild eyed liberals and the lamestream media) are tired of listening and wish that it would just go away.
Don’t worry, because on this blog you probably won’t hear or read another word on the subject.
On the home front, I’m trying to stop playing with the new computer and start actually getting some work done on it, but the DVD player keeps playing things like old episodes of The Andy Griffith Show and the movie "Lord of the Rings" and thus my eyes lock onto the screen and hours slip past in what seems like minutes.
I promise to try to do better.
In the ongoing effort to improve my physical fitness and reduce the tonnage of my ever graying, ever balding carcass, yesterday Pat and I took delivery of two of Electra’s Townie 3 bicycles from our local dealer—Monkey Wrench Bicycles. They built them to our specifications in the shop from basic bikes by adding parts and accessories, and they are really cool looking--very "sixties retro."
Actually, mine is a low keyed black 3S with a front suspension, brushed aluminum fenders, a black saddle bag and rear rack.
Pat opted for an Apple Green frame with a PINK seat, PINK saddle bag, and PINK handgrips--if you don't see HER coming you must be blind.
We rode over to the Sea Palms Country Clubhouse for dinner last night, and upon learning that the restaurant was hosting a private party, we turned around and rode another mile and one-half over to another local restaurant.
I haven’t covered that much distance on a bicycle in at least twenty years, and for all of the spastic nanny-governmet liberals out there, be advised that I'm NOT wearing a helmet because I have such a hard head.
Hah!
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
New Computer
Paralized With New Hardware Features...
I walked into Circuit City Yesterday about noon with $3000 cash in my pocket and a burning desire to leave the building with one of these, an HP Pavilion dv8380us notebook PC.
I'm in heaven, still trying to comprehend features like these:
Intel dual core 1.83 Ghz processor.
Not one, but TWO 120 Gigabite hard drives
CD/DVD burner with laser litescribe label burner
TV tuner
2 MB SDRAM
17" WXGA wide screen
Two wireless remote controls for the media functions.
The sad thing was that after finding the computer on the Circuit City Web site, I almost had to beat the two employees in the computer department of the local store to make them sell me one.
The first idiot salesman which I talked to actually denyed that they carried it, and it was only after insisting that the website said that it was in stock in the Brunswick store and indicated that I had to buy it in the store to get the sale price did a second employee manage to find the SKU and find one laying on a shelf in an unopened box in the back room.
I swear, if there was another store in town I would have left and paid $100 extra for the thing, because those two ingrates acted like it was some kind of trouble for me to force them to take my $1,900 plus tax.
I guess I will never understand the mentality of some retail employees.
Any way...between setting up and copying software to the new machine and getting ready for my meeting at city hall, I was up untill 4 AM.
At 8:45 AM the Mayor's administrative assistant called me and cancelled our meeting--actually moving it to a future date to be determined.
Dang it.
I was all fired up, but I guess that I can use the extended time to do a little more work on the project plans, and I promise to get back to doing some quality blogging.
I walked into Circuit City Yesterday about noon with $3000 cash in my pocket and a burning desire to leave the building with one of these, an HP Pavilion dv8380us notebook PC.
I'm in heaven, still trying to comprehend features like these:
Intel dual core 1.83 Ghz processor.
Not one, but TWO 120 Gigabite hard drives
CD/DVD burner with laser litescribe label burner
TV tuner
2 MB SDRAM
17" WXGA wide screen
Two wireless remote controls for the media functions.
The sad thing was that after finding the computer on the Circuit City Web site, I almost had to beat the two employees in the computer department of the local store to make them sell me one.
The first idiot salesman which I talked to actually denyed that they carried it, and it was only after insisting that the website said that it was in stock in the Brunswick store and indicated that I had to buy it in the store to get the sale price did a second employee manage to find the SKU and find one laying on a shelf in an unopened box in the back room.
I swear, if there was another store in town I would have left and paid $100 extra for the thing, because those two ingrates acted like it was some kind of trouble for me to force them to take my $1,900 plus tax.
I guess I will never understand the mentality of some retail employees.
Any way...between setting up and copying software to the new machine and getting ready for my meeting at city hall, I was up untill 4 AM.
At 8:45 AM the Mayor's administrative assistant called me and cancelled our meeting--actually moving it to a future date to be determined.
Dang it.
I was all fired up, but I guess that I can use the extended time to do a little more work on the project plans, and I promise to get back to doing some quality blogging.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Busy, Busy, Busy
Pre-Occupation
Dang it all ladies and Gentlemen, but my post-vacation obligations are definitely cutting into my nap time and blogging schedule these days.
Besides having to get myself ready to meet with the Mayor and the gang down at city hall Wednesday morning on my City park planning ideas, now I'm spinning around trying to produce another technical seminar in late November up in Alberta Canada with my friend Wayne Kisrner, the guy I refer to as The Waterhammer Nerd.
Chasing engineers is a lot like trying to herd cats, but I hope to find at least 15 people in the Ft. McMurray area (way up in the northern reaches of Alberta in the oil sand mining region) that will pay us $400 each and sit still for a day while we wave our arms and present a Powerpoint presentation on Steam Waterhammer.
If you know anybody that meets this criteria, have them give me a call, and in the mean time please excuse the light blogging schedule...
Dang it all ladies and Gentlemen, but my post-vacation obligations are definitely cutting into my nap time and blogging schedule these days.
Besides having to get myself ready to meet with the Mayor and the gang down at city hall Wednesday morning on my City park planning ideas, now I'm spinning around trying to produce another technical seminar in late November up in Alberta Canada with my friend Wayne Kisrner, the guy I refer to as The Waterhammer Nerd.
Chasing engineers is a lot like trying to herd cats, but I hope to find at least 15 people in the Ft. McMurray area (way up in the northern reaches of Alberta in the oil sand mining region) that will pay us $400 each and sit still for a day while we wave our arms and present a Powerpoint presentation on Steam Waterhammer.
If you know anybody that meets this criteria, have them give me a call, and in the mean time please excuse the light blogging schedule...
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Alien Landscape
I Was There...
Now I'm looking at Western Canada and Alaska...with a side trip to Connecticut
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Beach Wildlife
Look What We Saw...
First there was this guy that washed up on the sand...
Then the next day we found this little critter...
We were so encouraged, we went here
...looking for dinosaurs and something that looks like this (my left hand covered in my Nephew's "body crayons" to look like an elephant...or possibly my hand after working on my transmission?)
All and all I'd say that we had a good beach trip...
I hope that your week was at least half as excellent
First there was this guy that washed up on the sand...
Then the next day we found this little critter...
We were so encouraged, we went here
...looking for dinosaurs and something that looks like this (my left hand covered in my Nephew's "body crayons" to look like an elephant...or possibly my hand after working on my transmission?)
All and all I'd say that we had a good beach trip...
I hope that your week was at least half as excellent
Friday, September 29, 2006
I'm Baaaaaackkkkkkk
Car Stopped...Body Still Vibrating
Having survived seven hours of driving and about 330 miles of interstate insanity, we were back on our little island in time for happy hour and dinner this afternoon.
I'm still sorting mail and restocking my traveling cooking supplies back into their proper place in the kitchen pantry.
I feel a nap coming on, possibly followed by a nice evening rant later on.
Stay tuned to this channel for futher developments...
More
Oops, I almost forgot to post this new picture of this biker dude that we hung out with all week:
Pretty rough character, huh?
Having survived seven hours of driving and about 330 miles of interstate insanity, we were back on our little island in time for happy hour and dinner this afternoon.
I'm still sorting mail and restocking my traveling cooking supplies back into their proper place in the kitchen pantry.
I feel a nap coming on, possibly followed by a nice evening rant later on.
Stay tuned to this channel for futher developments...
More
Oops, I almost forgot to post this new picture of this biker dude that we hung out with all week:
Pretty rough character, huh?
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Another Day In Paradise
Coming To You Live From The Holiday Inn Lobby
I have to admit that I'm feeling fat, lazy, and useless.
All in all a great vacation success, I'd say.
Sandy, one of my cohorts that works with me on the Prenter.net website e-mailed me and asked "why would you leave St. Simons Island to go on vacation to Panama City?"
The answer is...
THE BEACH
I've been coming here every year for most of the past 47 years, and I swear to God that even on a bad day that the 100 yards of sugar white powder sand between our condo and the Gulf of Mexico beats the heck out of 99% of the other beaches anywhere else in the world--Redneck Riveria versus snobby South Beach Miami aside.
After the cold front blew through Sunday night the Gulf waters laid down flat and the air temperatures dropped down into the low 60's at night and low 80's during the day and frankly, you couldn't ask for a better place to sit around and do nothing all day.
We fed and entertained three of our neighbors last night with a Low Country Boil consisting of Shrimp, New Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, and my soon-to-be-famous Key Lime Pie for desert. Dang it, but I forgot to put in the Cajun Saussage, but no one noticed until the last minute.
Pat and I had leftover shrimp with the saussage for dinner tonight with some Red Beans & Rice.
Since I've adopted a somewhat normal sleep schedule, I guess that it's time to head back next door and crank on FOX News and listen to PresidentBubba Clinton bitch about ABC's treatment of his lack of a hysterical historical record against fighting terrorism.
Y'all take care...
I have to admit that I'm feeling fat, lazy, and useless.
All in all a great vacation success, I'd say.
Sandy, one of my cohorts that works with me on the Prenter.net website e-mailed me and asked "why would you leave St. Simons Island to go on vacation to Panama City?"
The answer is...
THE BEACH
I've been coming here every year for most of the past 47 years, and I swear to God that even on a bad day that the 100 yards of sugar white powder sand between our condo and the Gulf of Mexico beats the heck out of 99% of the other beaches anywhere else in the world--Redneck Riveria versus snobby South Beach Miami aside.
After the cold front blew through Sunday night the Gulf waters laid down flat and the air temperatures dropped down into the low 60's at night and low 80's during the day and frankly, you couldn't ask for a better place to sit around and do nothing all day.
We fed and entertained three of our neighbors last night with a Low Country Boil consisting of Shrimp, New Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, and my soon-to-be-famous Key Lime Pie for desert. Dang it, but I forgot to put in the Cajun Saussage, but no one noticed until the last minute.
Pat and I had leftover shrimp with the saussage for dinner tonight with some Red Beans & Rice.
Since I've adopted a somewhat normal sleep schedule, I guess that it's time to head back next door and crank on FOX News and listen to President
Y'all take care...
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
One Sea Turtle...One Dolphin
...and A Shit-Load of Little Bitches And Bastards (Photos To Follow Shortly)
I'm sorry People, but I swear to God, I'm starting to believe that most kids these days deserve to be killed the exact instant that they exit their mother's crotches.
You see, I did what I consider to be, by my standards, a crappy sea turtle sculpture yesterday, and I went back by at sunset to spruce things up, and at sunrise this morning I found that it had survived the evening's minor tide and wave action.
I was excited...I thought "multiple sculptures would ensue."
Nope, not by 1:00 PM
Enter the Redneck asshole "Bob" (I'm making the name up) with his University of Alabama ballcap and his lovely stretchmarked silly bitch wife "Wanda" (again, a pseudonym).
"Bob" and "Wanda" have chirren, "Little Bob", and "Little Wanda" and further, "Little Bob" treats "Little Wanda" just like "Big Bob" acts out with "Big Wanda".
I saw him with his hands around his sister's neck.
Do you understand what I'm saying here?
My problem is that "Big Bob" and "Big Wanda" allow "Little Bob" and "Little Wanda" to slash up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and DOWN AND UP and DOWN the beach and guess what?
"Big Bob" and "Big Wanda" don't care who or what get in the way of the way of their littledeamon spawn lovely darlin's.
The kids couldn't have been a day over 5 years old.
Mr. Sea Turtle was trash by 2 PM.
But that's OK, I still carved Mr. Dolphin, and "Big Bob" and "Big Wanda" got to overhear one of my resort visitor fans tell me that thelittle undisciplined shitheads "Big Bob's" and "Big Wanda's" lovely chirren' had caused all of yesterday morning's damage.
I don't care if they're cute.
I don't care if they're young.
If you sit there on your stupid yuppy lard asses and let them trash things in public...
SOMEBODY IS GOING TO THE HOSPITAL (AND SOMEBODY MIGHT JUST BE GOING TO JAIL IN THE PROCESS)....
IF that's what it takes to restore some sense of civilty to our lives...SO BE IT
That will be all for now...
I'm sorry People, but I swear to God, I'm starting to believe that most kids these days deserve to be killed the exact instant that they exit their mother's crotches.
You see, I did what I consider to be, by my standards, a crappy sea turtle sculpture yesterday, and I went back by at sunset to spruce things up, and at sunrise this morning I found that it had survived the evening's minor tide and wave action.
I was excited...I thought "multiple sculptures would ensue."
Nope, not by 1:00 PM
Enter the Redneck asshole "Bob" (I'm making the name up) with his University of Alabama ballcap and his lovely stretchmarked silly bitch wife "Wanda" (again, a pseudonym).
"Bob" and "Wanda" have chirren, "Little Bob", and "Little Wanda" and further, "Little Bob" treats "Little Wanda" just like "Big Bob" acts out with "Big Wanda".
I saw him with his hands around his sister's neck.
Do you understand what I'm saying here?
My problem is that "Big Bob" and "Big Wanda" allow "Little Bob" and "Little Wanda" to slash up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and DOWN AND UP and DOWN the beach and guess what?
"Big Bob" and "Big Wanda" don't care who or what get in the way of the way of their little
The kids couldn't have been a day over 5 years old.
Mr. Sea Turtle was trash by 2 PM.
But that's OK, I still carved Mr. Dolphin, and "Big Bob" and "Big Wanda" got to overhear one of my resort visitor fans tell me that the
I don't care if they're cute.
I don't care if they're young.
If you sit there on your stupid yuppy lard asses and let them trash things in public...
SOMEBODY IS GOING TO THE HOSPITAL (AND SOMEBODY MIGHT JUST BE GOING TO JAIL IN THE PROCESS)....
IF that's what it takes to restore some sense of civilty to our lives...SO BE IT
That will be all for now...
Monday, September 25, 2006
Thunder Beach
We Survived...
AAAHHHHHhhhhhhh
I was appalled to find that when we arrived Saturday afternoon that theearthquake epicenter event headquarters for the "Thunder Beach" motorcycle extravaganza was located across from my Mom's condo.
I was afraid that I was going to have to spend the entire week with about 5,000bikers "motorcycle entheusists", but after roaring and reving around for two days, most had gone back to whereever they came from by last night.
Thank GOD.
I've snuck over next door to the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort and wandered into the lobby, grabbed myself a cup of free coffee, and now I'm sitting here in front of their internet terminal acting like I own the place.
I think that I just might make it this week after all.
See Y'all later...
AAAHHHHHhhhhhhh
I was appalled to find that when we arrived Saturday afternoon that the
I was afraid that I was going to have to spend the entire week with about 5,000
Thank GOD.
I've snuck over next door to the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort and wandered into the lobby, grabbed myself a cup of free coffee, and now I'm sitting here in front of their internet terminal acting like I own the place.
I think that I just might make it this week after all.
See Y'all later...
Saturday, September 23, 2006
I'm Off To See The Wizard The Beach
Massive Sandcastles Ensue
I'm gonna miss you, but please feel free to entertain yourselves while I'm gone...
I'm gonna miss you, but please feel free to entertain yourselves while I'm gone...
Friday, September 22, 2006
I Could Have Fit In Here 25 Years Ago
(With Slightly Different Lyrics)
I'm quite happy that you can still have fun in the military.
I'm quite happy that you can still have fun in the military.
The Good News Is that I'm leaving Town
The Bad News Is I'll Be Computerless
I guess that it's all a matter of perspective, but I heading out on Saturday morning to go do something that I've loved to do for about every year over the past 47 years of my life.
Go to Panama City Beach, Florida--otherwise known as "The Redneck Riveria."
I'm excited because it's been a few years since I've made the trip.
There was a time when I could claim to not have missed a single year on the gulf coast until about 2004, when I moved over here to the Atlantic Coast of Georgia.
Practically the only thing missing from this year's event will be my wonderful Father whom has been absent from this Earth for the past ten years. His last chance to watch me toss Frisbee on the beach and go fishing with me for King and Spanish Mackerel offshore was the week before Hurricane Opal pounded the Florida gulf coast in 1995.
However, we have a nice new addition to our family--my Nephew--and I intend to be a totally bad influence on him. I'll be in charge of teaching him how to deal with sand in his hair and swimsuit and how to build sandcastles andpick up chicks chase seagulls and crabs on the beach.
It looks like that the weather is going to hold out and the worst thing we have to deal with will be the occasional afternoon thunderstorm, but I may need some counciling because...
I'M NOT TAKING A COMPUTER.
Further, I've given Pat instructions to not allow me to go to any internet hot spots or otherwise shake and shutter my way into the presence of an internet connection.
Stand by...I'm already feeling faint...
I guess that it's all a matter of perspective, but I heading out on Saturday morning to go do something that I've loved to do for about every year over the past 47 years of my life.
Go to Panama City Beach, Florida--otherwise known as "The Redneck Riveria."
I'm excited because it's been a few years since I've made the trip.
There was a time when I could claim to not have missed a single year on the gulf coast until about 2004, when I moved over here to the Atlantic Coast of Georgia.
Practically the only thing missing from this year's event will be my wonderful Father whom has been absent from this Earth for the past ten years. His last chance to watch me toss Frisbee on the beach and go fishing with me for King and Spanish Mackerel offshore was the week before Hurricane Opal pounded the Florida gulf coast in 1995.
However, we have a nice new addition to our family--my Nephew--and I intend to be a totally bad influence on him. I'll be in charge of teaching him how to deal with sand in his hair and swimsuit and how to build sandcastles and
It looks like that the weather is going to hold out and the worst thing we have to deal with will be the occasional afternoon thunderstorm, but I may need some counciling because...
I'M NOT TAKING A COMPUTER.
Further, I've given Pat instructions to not allow me to go to any internet hot spots or otherwise shake and shutter my way into the presence of an internet connection.
Stand by...I'm already feeling faint...
Thursday, September 21, 2006
If The Shoe Fits…Buy Two Pair…Part TWO
Readers Comment, And I Respond
Back in June, over on my cooking blog The Redneck Gourmet, I wrote about a recipe I was developing for Moroccan chicken with Apricot Couscous & Olive Tampenade.
Here was my intro to the recipe:
I’ve always been fascinated with the Northern African country of Morocco.
Forget places like London, Paris, and Rome; if I had the time and money I’d head straight to Portugal, and then when I was through drinking all of the Port wine I could consume I would catch a commuter plane or ship and head down to Casablanca.
Then I’d hang out with all the other Bogart and Bergman fans at “Ricks” sipping Sherry & Cognac while listening to Sam’s replacement pianist “playing it again.”
Unfortunately, since Morocco is something like 97% Muslim, I think it best to keep my white Redneck butt here stateside for the time being.
Not to worry, however, because I can always cook Moroccan food here at home and pretend that I’m looking out at the Mediterranean or far side of the Atlantic. I’ve done it three times recently, and I think that I have the process down to an art now.
That said, here is a reader comment which I just got from someone that calls themselves “Karim from Morocco”:
so what if Morocco is 97% Muslim? Are you racist or anti-Muslim?
Did you know that Morocco receives every year about 2 million tourists mostly French and Spanish?
Did you that Morocco has become the 3rd favorite destination for British in 2006?
why so much racism and prejudice?
I happen to know that it is a fact that Morocco is 97% Muslim, and everything else I said about the country was positive, yet this idiot wants to bitch at me on MY BLOG because I might be concerned about bringing “my white Redneck butt” over there under the current political conditions, with the current threats of terrorism against Anglo Saxon Christian men.
Karim's Main Question: "Why so much racism and prejudice?"
THIS REDNECK's ANSWER: "Because the last time I checked, it is safer (and a good deal cheeper) to stay here at home on the Georgia coast and cook Moroccan chicken than go to Cassablanca and risk being kidnapped and beheaded on TV."
I guess that now I know how the Pope feels.
And by the way…Hey “Karim of Morocco”…I have a request...
BITE ME
Back in June, over on my cooking blog The Redneck Gourmet, I wrote about a recipe I was developing for Moroccan chicken with Apricot Couscous & Olive Tampenade.
Here was my intro to the recipe:
I’ve always been fascinated with the Northern African country of Morocco.
Forget places like London, Paris, and Rome; if I had the time and money I’d head straight to Portugal, and then when I was through drinking all of the Port wine I could consume I would catch a commuter plane or ship and head down to Casablanca.
Then I’d hang out with all the other Bogart and Bergman fans at “Ricks” sipping Sherry & Cognac while listening to Sam’s replacement pianist “playing it again.”
Unfortunately, since Morocco is something like 97% Muslim, I think it best to keep my white Redneck butt here stateside for the time being.
Not to worry, however, because I can always cook Moroccan food here at home and pretend that I’m looking out at the Mediterranean or far side of the Atlantic. I’ve done it three times recently, and I think that I have the process down to an art now.
That said, here is a reader comment which I just got from someone that calls themselves “Karim from Morocco”:
so what if Morocco is 97% Muslim? Are you racist or anti-Muslim?
Did you know that Morocco receives every year about 2 million tourists mostly French and Spanish?
Did you that Morocco has become the 3rd favorite destination for British in 2006?
why so much racism and prejudice?
I happen to know that it is a fact that Morocco is 97% Muslim, and everything else I said about the country was positive, yet this idiot wants to bitch at me on MY BLOG because I might be concerned about bringing “my white Redneck butt” over there under the current political conditions, with the current threats of terrorism against Anglo Saxon Christian men.
Karim's Main Question: "Why so much racism and prejudice?"
THIS REDNECK's ANSWER: "Because the last time I checked, it is safer (and a good deal cheeper) to stay here at home on the Georgia coast and cook Moroccan chicken than go to Cassablanca and risk being kidnapped and beheaded on TV."
I guess that now I know how the Pope feels.
And by the way…Hey “Karim of Morocco”…I have a request...
BITE ME
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Goober Peas
They're Finally Ripe...Here...Try This
Two pounds of green peanuts, a quarter cup of Kosher salt, a teaspoon of cayanne pepper, and enough water to keep them covered while they slow boil for about 12 hours.
Taste them after six hours of cooking and every hour thereafter, and don't let them boil dry, then get yourself a roll of paper towels, a bowl for the shells, a cold beer, and EAT.
That's what I'm doing about midnight tonight.
Two pounds of green peanuts, a quarter cup of Kosher salt, a teaspoon of cayanne pepper, and enough water to keep them covered while they slow boil for about 12 hours.
Taste them after six hours of cooking and every hour thereafter, and don't let them boil dry, then get yourself a roll of paper towels, a bowl for the shells, a cold beer, and EAT.
That's what I'm doing about midnight tonight.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Help Me Get A Few Things Straight Here
Hurray...It's Time For A Good Rant
OK, I've Evidently Not Been Paying Attention. So the news is that the new Pope Benedict delivered a speech in Europe and therein referenced some ancient commentary in the process?
And now things are on fire all over the Muslim world and the Pope's life has been threatened by some guy wearing what appears to be household linens on his head and in need of a nice close shave?
Here’s the Link to the story, and here’s the so-called offending words:
The New York Times wrote, "He began his speech, by quoting a 14th-century Byzantine emperor, Manuel 11 Paleologus, in a conversation with a 'learned Persian' on Christianity and Islam — 'and the truth of both.'"
“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman [emphasis mine], such as his command to spread the sword by the faith he preached,” the pope quoted the emperor, in a speech to 1,500 students and faculty.
The Times continued, "He went on to say that violent conversion to Islam was contrary to reason and thus 'contrary to God’s nature.'"
So am I missing something?
If so, will somebody jump in and 'splain it to me?
Sometime back in the 1300’s some unelected in-bred fool in Rome had a meeting and wrote something on papyrus or on a stone tablet, and the Pope referenced it 706 years later in a speech at a German University, and as a result the Muslims feel like they have the right to run out and riot in the streets and otherwise go ape shit?
“Hey…that dang Catholic Pope called us names...said that we were barbarians, so we’re gonna burn everything down and issue a fatwa on his bead jiggling ass…”
How amazingly poetic.
IF I were a lawyer (which I’m not), and IF I were trying this issue in court rather than on the liberal world stage and in the copy room of the NY times, all I would have to say is:
“I rest my case, your Honor…”
"Ye shall know the Tree by it's Fruit" or something like that comes to mind.
And while we're speaking of tin hat dictators, next I have to mention President Bush’s visit to New York and speech before the UN general assembly today.
I watched it live.
Did you?
All I have to say after viewing the President's elite audience is this:
“What a totally miserable, stupid looking bunch of ungrateful freaks.”
There...I said it...you know that I've told you I don't keep anything inside when it's the TRUTH.
Seriously, most of the assembled group of “diplomads” and other “gumerent officials” looked like they could have served as extras in the "Mos Eisley Cantina" scene from the original Star Wars Movie. You remember these guys don’t you:
I’m pretty darn sure that I saw those guys perched out there between the Israeli and the Palestinian Ambassadors, draining their spit valves and getting ready to fire up a tune at intermission.
Rather than sitting upright and paying attention to what our President was saying, it looked like most of them were asleep or otherwise rolling their eyes around the miserable heads like 8th grade students in biology class.
All most of thesealiens dang foreigners want is for the US taxpayers to send them our cash, and then get the hell out of their way in their day to day dealings with the world and their own citizens.
US subsidized rape and pillaging, courtesy of the United Nations...isn't that special?
My solution to this situation would be for the US to do the following:
A. Immediately stop paying our UN “dues”. The result would be an instant 26% reduction in their budget.
B. Place President Bush on the UN podium with his pants down around his knees, and any leader or ambassador that refuses to kiss his lily white hairy butt and apologize for their behavior today would get exactly ZERO DOLLARS in US foreign aid for the next 365 days.
Next, after the “Kissing of the President’s Butt” ceremony, I would propose that any country or little tinned hat dictator that so much as puts a little toe out of line or does any saber rattling like Iran and that little troll that runs Korea insists on doing would NEVER EVER see another dime of our taxpayer’s money.
Zero.
Zilch.
Nada.
I bet that there would be mobs with pitchforks and torches outside the statehouses of a least a couple of dozen piece-of-shit UN member countries by sometime between now and New Years Eve.
I'm sorry people, but I still say that sometimes you have to seriously think about killing them all, and then let God sort them out, because I'm really tired of all of this touchy feely political corectness crap--it makes my head hurt.
AAAAhhhhhhhh ahhhhhhhhh Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh Thunk (the sound of me falling off my chair)
That will be all for now…
OK, I've Evidently Not Been Paying Attention. So the news is that the new Pope Benedict delivered a speech in Europe and therein referenced some ancient commentary in the process?
And now things are on fire all over the Muslim world and the Pope's life has been threatened by some guy wearing what appears to be household linens on his head and in need of a nice close shave?
Here’s the Link to the story, and here’s the so-called offending words:
The New York Times wrote, "He began his speech, by quoting a 14th-century Byzantine emperor, Manuel 11 Paleologus, in a conversation with a 'learned Persian' on Christianity and Islam — 'and the truth of both.'"
“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman [emphasis mine], such as his command to spread the sword by the faith he preached,” the pope quoted the emperor, in a speech to 1,500 students and faculty.
The Times continued, "He went on to say that violent conversion to Islam was contrary to reason and thus 'contrary to God’s nature.'"
So am I missing something?
If so, will somebody jump in and 'splain it to me?
Sometime back in the 1300’s some unelected in-bred fool in Rome had a meeting and wrote something on papyrus or on a stone tablet, and the Pope referenced it 706 years later in a speech at a German University, and as a result the Muslims feel like they have the right to run out and riot in the streets and otherwise go ape shit?
“Hey…that dang Catholic Pope called us names...said that we were barbarians, so we’re gonna burn everything down and issue a fatwa on his bead jiggling ass…”
How amazingly poetic.
IF I were a lawyer (which I’m not), and IF I were trying this issue in court rather than on the liberal world stage and in the copy room of the NY times, all I would have to say is:
“I rest my case, your Honor…”
"Ye shall know the Tree by it's Fruit" or something like that comes to mind.
And while we're speaking of tin hat dictators, next I have to mention President Bush’s visit to New York and speech before the UN general assembly today.
I watched it live.
Did you?
All I have to say after viewing the President's elite audience is this:
“What a totally miserable, stupid looking bunch of ungrateful freaks.”
There...I said it...you know that I've told you I don't keep anything inside when it's the TRUTH.
Seriously, most of the assembled group of “diplomads” and other “gumerent officials” looked like they could have served as extras in the "Mos Eisley Cantina" scene from the original Star Wars Movie. You remember these guys don’t you:
I’m pretty darn sure that I saw those guys perched out there between the Israeli and the Palestinian Ambassadors, draining their spit valves and getting ready to fire up a tune at intermission.
Rather than sitting upright and paying attention to what our President was saying, it looked like most of them were asleep or otherwise rolling their eyes around the miserable heads like 8th grade students in biology class.
All most of these
US subsidized rape and pillaging, courtesy of the United Nations...isn't that special?
My solution to this situation would be for the US to do the following:
A. Immediately stop paying our UN “dues”. The result would be an instant 26% reduction in their budget.
B. Place President Bush on the UN podium with his pants down around his knees, and any leader or ambassador that refuses to kiss his lily white hairy butt and apologize for their behavior today would get exactly ZERO DOLLARS in US foreign aid for the next 365 days.
Next, after the “Kissing of the President’s Butt” ceremony, I would propose that any country or little tinned hat dictator that so much as puts a little toe out of line or does any saber rattling like Iran and that little troll that runs Korea insists on doing would NEVER EVER see another dime of our taxpayer’s money.
Zero.
Zilch.
Nada.
I bet that there would be mobs with pitchforks and torches outside the statehouses of a least a couple of dozen piece-of-shit UN member countries by sometime between now and New Years Eve.
I'm sorry people, but I still say that sometimes you have to seriously think about killing them all, and then let God sort them out, because I'm really tired of all of this touchy feely political corectness crap--it makes my head hurt.
AAAAhhhhhhhh ahhhhhhhhh Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh Thunk (the sound of me falling off my chair)
That will be all for now…
Monday, September 18, 2006
More Distractions
I'm Helping The Pope With Public Relations
Actually if it's up to me...the Pope is on his own, because I spent most of the day worrying about Nerdy stuff like this (just glance at it, else your eyes will glaze over and you'll collapse into some sort of catatonic state:
Theory of Discharge in an Orifice
The Roman engineer Frontinus, who was in charge of the water supply under Augustus, used short pipes of graduated sizes to meter water delivered to different users.
This was purely empirical, since the effects of pressure, or "head," and orifice size were not known quantitatively until Torricelli, in 1643, showed that the velocity of efflux was given by Vi = √2gh. We still calculate the velocity from Bernoulli's principle, that h + p/ρg + V2/2, is a constant along a streamline in irrotational flow, which is equivalent to the conservation of energy.
We'll consider here the case of zero initial velocity, as at the surface of a liquid in a container with an orifice in the side. We assume that a streamline starts at the surface, a distance h above the orifice, and neglect the pressure on the surface of the liquid, since it would cancel out anyway. The streamline then leads somehow to the orifice, and out into the jet that issues from it. We choose the point at which the streamlines are parallel a short distance from the orifice, and find that the velocity there is Vi = √2gh, as given by Torricelli's theorem.
A jet surrounded only by air (or another fluid of small density) is called a free jet, and is acted upon by gravity. A jet surrounded by fluid is called a submerged jet. If the fluid is the same as that of the jet, then buoyancy eliminates the effect of gravity on it. A submerged jet is also subject to much greater friction at its boundary. We shall consider here only free jets of water, and neglect the viscosity of water, which is small, but finite.
A cross section of a circular orifice of diameter Do is shown. The thickness of the wall is assumed small compared to the diameter of the orifice. Because of the convergence of the streamlines approaching the orifice, the cross section of the jet decreases slightly until the pressure is equalized over the cross-section, and the velocity profile is nearly rectangular.
This point of minimum area is called the vena contracta. Beyond the vena contracta, friction with the fluid outside the jet (air) slows it down, and the cross section increases perforce. This divergence is usually quite small, and the jet is nearly cylindrical with a constant velocity. The jet is held together by surface tension, of course, which has a stronger effect the smaller the diameter of the jet.
The area A of the vena contracta is smaller than the area Ao of the orifice because the velocity is higher there (converging streamlines). For a sharp-edged, or "ideal" circular orifice, A/Ao = Cc = π/(π + 2) = 0.611. Cc is called the coefficient of contraction. For a sharp orifice, is usually estimated to be 0.62, a figure that can be used if the exact value is not known. For an orifice that resembles a short tube, Cc = 1, but then there are turbulence losses that affect the discharge.
The average velocity V is defined so that it gives the correct rate of discharge when it is assumed constant over the vena contracta, or Q = VA. Then, we can write V = CvVi, where Cv is the coefficient of velocity. The coefficient of velocity is usually quite high, between 0.95 and 0.99. Combining the results of this paragraph and the preceding one, the discharge Q = VA = CvViCcAo = CdAoVi. Cd, the coefficient of discharge, allows us to use the ideal velocity and the orifice area in calculating the discharge.
Actually if it's up to me...the Pope is on his own, because I spent most of the day worrying about Nerdy stuff like this (just glance at it, else your eyes will glaze over and you'll collapse into some sort of catatonic state:
Theory of Discharge in an Orifice
The Roman engineer Frontinus, who was in charge of the water supply under Augustus, used short pipes of graduated sizes to meter water delivered to different users.
This was purely empirical, since the effects of pressure, or "head," and orifice size were not known quantitatively until Torricelli, in 1643, showed that the velocity of efflux was given by Vi = √2gh. We still calculate the velocity from Bernoulli's principle, that h + p/ρg + V2/2, is a constant along a streamline in irrotational flow, which is equivalent to the conservation of energy.
We'll consider here the case of zero initial velocity, as at the surface of a liquid in a container with an orifice in the side. We assume that a streamline starts at the surface, a distance h above the orifice, and neglect the pressure on the surface of the liquid, since it would cancel out anyway. The streamline then leads somehow to the orifice, and out into the jet that issues from it. We choose the point at which the streamlines are parallel a short distance from the orifice, and find that the velocity there is Vi = √2gh, as given by Torricelli's theorem.
A jet surrounded only by air (or another fluid of small density) is called a free jet, and is acted upon by gravity. A jet surrounded by fluid is called a submerged jet. If the fluid is the same as that of the jet, then buoyancy eliminates the effect of gravity on it. A submerged jet is also subject to much greater friction at its boundary. We shall consider here only free jets of water, and neglect the viscosity of water, which is small, but finite.
A cross section of a circular orifice of diameter Do is shown. The thickness of the wall is assumed small compared to the diameter of the orifice. Because of the convergence of the streamlines approaching the orifice, the cross section of the jet decreases slightly until the pressure is equalized over the cross-section, and the velocity profile is nearly rectangular.
This point of minimum area is called the vena contracta. Beyond the vena contracta, friction with the fluid outside the jet (air) slows it down, and the cross section increases perforce. This divergence is usually quite small, and the jet is nearly cylindrical with a constant velocity. The jet is held together by surface tension, of course, which has a stronger effect the smaller the diameter of the jet.
The area A of the vena contracta is smaller than the area Ao of the orifice because the velocity is higher there (converging streamlines). For a sharp-edged, or "ideal" circular orifice, A/Ao = Cc = π/(π + 2) = 0.611. Cc is called the coefficient of contraction. For a sharp orifice, is usually estimated to be 0.62, a figure that can be used if the exact value is not known. For an orifice that resembles a short tube, Cc = 1, but then there are turbulence losses that affect the discharge.
The average velocity V is defined so that it gives the correct rate of discharge when it is assumed constant over the vena contracta, or Q = VA. Then, we can write V = CvVi, where Cv is the coefficient of velocity. The coefficient of velocity is usually quite high, between 0.95 and 0.99. Combining the results of this paragraph and the preceding one, the discharge Q = VA = CvViCcAo = CdAoVi. Cd, the coefficient of discharge, allows us to use the ideal velocity and the orifice area in calculating the discharge.
Aren't you happy that I'm worring about such things so that you don't have to?
Well...You're quite welcome...
Another Golden Oldie
Hurricane Preparations
I'm stuffed and lazy this evening, and in the process of doing some blog maintenance, I ran across some things I wrote a couple of years ago that I thought were funny.
Here's one example of what I wrote in my first month of blogging back on August 14th, 2004:
Two hurricanes in one week (well, actually one hurricane and one tropical storm) certainly is a good formula to take your mind off of a number of life's frivolous distractions--particularly if you live on or near the coast of the Southeastern US during the summer months.
Don't you just love the gleam a good 145 MPH wind puts in the eyes of the local TV weather nerds and the gloating staff of "The Weather Channel?"
I personally prefer a good weather news story a great deal more than I like following the sexual antics and mis-behaviors of some overpaid athlete and their remorseful female conquest or the endless saga of some poor, photogenic wife whom has paid the ultimate price as the victim of her bad life partner choice.
The present movement of Hurricane Charley is of particular interest to me and my neighbors as it slides across the Florida pennesula this evening toward our homes on St. Simons Island, Georgia.
Current local forecasts are for winds only in the fifty to seventy MPH range. The minor storm surge is probably our biggest concern here as most of the island is two feet below the government's so called flood plain and there is only one low lying road connecting the island to the mainland.
Having been a coastal resident since only this past March, I find myself in the early stages of learning the habits and behaviors that will allow me to successfully negotiate the intricacies of storm preparation and, God forbid, evacuation in advance of an approaching storm.
I've found that many other longer time residents are in the same boat (excuse the pun.)
You see, the Georgia coast enjoys the distinction of rarely bearing the brunt of tropical weather of the type and severity that Florida and North Carolina does each year.
We are, however, tittillatted every three or four years with the possibility of the strike of a bona-fide doosie of a storm. It seems that I have arrived back home from a vacation in Chicago today just in time for such an event.
The thing that is most striking to me thus far is the reality that many if not most people absolutely lose their blankin' minds upon even the hint of the approach of a major storm.
For instance, I made a trip to the grocery store this afternoon to pick up a few last minute items--having spent several weeks out of town and arriving with the storm possibly only a half-day away. The first sign of trouble was that the grocery lot was virtually full of autos and SUV's upon my arrival.
The next obvious clue was the availablilty of only three shopping carts inside the front door of the store.
The place was an absolute madhouse filled with wildeyed senior citizens and soccer moms who were careening wildly up and down the isles, their carts each filled with bales of toilet paper, paper towels, bottled water, and on most occasions--TWO OR THREE LOAVES of bread.
The biggest personal blow was that the Peter Pan peanut butter was sold out entirely (I had to buy Jiff.)
Now I ask you, what makes normally rational people believe that they are actually going to go through two or three jars of peanut butter and three loaves of bread in the one or two days that a storm this size and path could cut us off from civilization?
If they do eat all of that peanut butter, they will be so stopped up they could never possibly use an entire case of toilet paper, could they?
In an effort to document my current experiences and assist any future coastal residents in the art of Hurricane preparedness, I would like to offer my own list of Do's and Don'ts:
Do listen to local weather broadcasts every few hours in order to stay up to date on the storm's location, forecast storm track, and any evacuation orders that may be issued.
Don't go to the local bar hours before the storm roars into your neighborhood and get shitfaced drinking kamikaze shots or a half dozen long island ice teas before heading home to tackle hanging that truck load of plywood you just bought at Home Depot over your windows and doors.
Do put together a basic hurricane supply kit including drinking water, prescription medicines, first aid kit, canned foods, flashlight and spare batteries, battery powered radio, etc.
Don't think that you're prepared when your hurricane kit simply includes a twelve-pack of warm beer, a fifth of tequilla, a couple of half burned candles from the last storm warning , an old Bic lighter, and an inflatable raft with one broken oar.
Do gas up the car or SUV and move it to high ground prior to the local roads being closed.
Don't venture out during the storm onto flooded roads in high winds at break kneck speeds in an attempt to recreate Lt. Dan's hurricane scene in the movie "Forrest Gump."
Do move your boat onto it's trailer and secure it in a safe storage area. Relocate larger boats away from docks, pileings, and other boats and double/triple anchor them in place.
Don't think you are going to weather out the storm on board your boat with your warm twelve-pack and fifth of tequilla. (You will end up dead or be seen on CNN by all of your friends and family--you'll be the one hanging by a cable underneath a Coast Guard helicopter.)
Got to go outside to check out the weather again Charley's back offshore in the Atlantic and the eye is tightening up again, more later...
I'll leave it up to you to judge if my writing style and ability has improved any in the past couple of years, but I find it nice to fall back on some old thoughts when the new ones are few and far between...
I'm stuffed and lazy this evening, and in the process of doing some blog maintenance, I ran across some things I wrote a couple of years ago that I thought were funny.
Here's one example of what I wrote in my first month of blogging back on August 14th, 2004:
Two hurricanes in one week (well, actually one hurricane and one tropical storm) certainly is a good formula to take your mind off of a number of life's frivolous distractions--particularly if you live on or near the coast of the Southeastern US during the summer months.
Don't you just love the gleam a good 145 MPH wind puts in the eyes of the local TV weather nerds and the gloating staff of "The Weather Channel?"
I personally prefer a good weather news story a great deal more than I like following the sexual antics and mis-behaviors of some overpaid athlete and their remorseful female conquest or the endless saga of some poor, photogenic wife whom has paid the ultimate price as the victim of her bad life partner choice.
The present movement of Hurricane Charley is of particular interest to me and my neighbors as it slides across the Florida pennesula this evening toward our homes on St. Simons Island, Georgia.
Current local forecasts are for winds only in the fifty to seventy MPH range. The minor storm surge is probably our biggest concern here as most of the island is two feet below the government's so called flood plain and there is only one low lying road connecting the island to the mainland.
Having been a coastal resident since only this past March, I find myself in the early stages of learning the habits and behaviors that will allow me to successfully negotiate the intricacies of storm preparation and, God forbid, evacuation in advance of an approaching storm.
I've found that many other longer time residents are in the same boat (excuse the pun.)
You see, the Georgia coast enjoys the distinction of rarely bearing the brunt of tropical weather of the type and severity that Florida and North Carolina does each year.
We are, however, tittillatted every three or four years with the possibility of the strike of a bona-fide doosie of a storm. It seems that I have arrived back home from a vacation in Chicago today just in time for such an event.
The thing that is most striking to me thus far is the reality that many if not most people absolutely lose their blankin' minds upon even the hint of the approach of a major storm.
For instance, I made a trip to the grocery store this afternoon to pick up a few last minute items--having spent several weeks out of town and arriving with the storm possibly only a half-day away. The first sign of trouble was that the grocery lot was virtually full of autos and SUV's upon my arrival.
The next obvious clue was the availablilty of only three shopping carts inside the front door of the store.
The place was an absolute madhouse filled with wildeyed senior citizens and soccer moms who were careening wildly up and down the isles, their carts each filled with bales of toilet paper, paper towels, bottled water, and on most occasions--TWO OR THREE LOAVES of bread.
The biggest personal blow was that the Peter Pan peanut butter was sold out entirely (I had to buy Jiff.)
Now I ask you, what makes normally rational people believe that they are actually going to go through two or three jars of peanut butter and three loaves of bread in the one or two days that a storm this size and path could cut us off from civilization?
If they do eat all of that peanut butter, they will be so stopped up they could never possibly use an entire case of toilet paper, could they?
In an effort to document my current experiences and assist any future coastal residents in the art of Hurricane preparedness, I would like to offer my own list of Do's and Don'ts:
Do listen to local weather broadcasts every few hours in order to stay up to date on the storm's location, forecast storm track, and any evacuation orders that may be issued.
Don't go to the local bar hours before the storm roars into your neighborhood and get shitfaced drinking kamikaze shots or a half dozen long island ice teas before heading home to tackle hanging that truck load of plywood you just bought at Home Depot over your windows and doors.
Do put together a basic hurricane supply kit including drinking water, prescription medicines, first aid kit, canned foods, flashlight and spare batteries, battery powered radio, etc.
Don't think that you're prepared when your hurricane kit simply includes a twelve-pack of warm beer, a fifth of tequilla, a couple of half burned candles from the last storm warning , an old Bic lighter, and an inflatable raft with one broken oar.
Do gas up the car or SUV and move it to high ground prior to the local roads being closed.
Don't venture out during the storm onto flooded roads in high winds at break kneck speeds in an attempt to recreate Lt. Dan's hurricane scene in the movie "Forrest Gump."
Do move your boat onto it's trailer and secure it in a safe storage area. Relocate larger boats away from docks, pileings, and other boats and double/triple anchor them in place.
Don't think you are going to weather out the storm on board your boat with your warm twelve-pack and fifth of tequilla. (You will end up dead or be seen on CNN by all of your friends and family--you'll be the one hanging by a cable underneath a Coast Guard helicopter.)
Got to go outside to check out the weather again Charley's back offshore in the Atlantic and the eye is tightening up again, more later...
I'll leave it up to you to judge if my writing style and ability has improved any in the past couple of years, but I find it nice to fall back on some old thoughts when the new ones are few and far between...
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Friday, September 15, 2006
Things Are A Changin'
My Spare Time Is Dwindling
Dang it all folks, but I have to admit that I’ve gone out and started doing a bunch of stuff that’s cutting into my blogging time and more importantly—my NAP time every day.
In addition to trying to re-learn Calculus, something that I’ve already wasted about two and one half years of the prime of my life doing back in the late 1970’s, now I’m trying to learn the C programming language working on a Unix platform and thinking about installing LINUX on a PC box here in my office in order to have my own server on our little island.
I say “Screw paying someone to host web sites.”
Did you get all of that?
Not only are those technical issues clogging up the synapses of my brain, but I just let Blogger convert me over to their Beta release of their new software which gave me a bunch of new things I can do here on this blog, so if you log in one day and all you see is alien gibberish you’ll know that the new protocol is getting the best of me.
I’m not really going to change much here on the Coastal Companion blog, but I hate the font and layout on The Redneck Gourmet (something that I did in a hurry when the original blog template got mangled a couple of winters ago) and if I’m ever going to make any money from my blog efforts— The Redneck Gourmet is where I’m going to do it.
For that reason I’d like to spruce things up a little.
Thus far I am a complete and total failure as a webmaster. I can’t even successfully log in as the administrator to the Prenter.net site. My buddy Jim’s trying to talk me through it by E-mail, but I’m embarrassed that I couldn’t even get that far by myself.
Instead of Rocket Scientist, I’m feeling more like "Miny Me, The Micro Nerd" this morning…
Dang it all folks, but I have to admit that I’ve gone out and started doing a bunch of stuff that’s cutting into my blogging time and more importantly—my NAP time every day.
In addition to trying to re-learn Calculus, something that I’ve already wasted about two and one half years of the prime of my life doing back in the late 1970’s, now I’m trying to learn the C programming language working on a Unix platform and thinking about installing LINUX on a PC box here in my office in order to have my own server on our little island.
I say “Screw paying someone to host web sites.”
Did you get all of that?
Not only are those technical issues clogging up the synapses of my brain, but I just let Blogger convert me over to their Beta release of their new software which gave me a bunch of new things I can do here on this blog, so if you log in one day and all you see is alien gibberish you’ll know that the new protocol is getting the best of me.
I’m not really going to change much here on the Coastal Companion blog, but I hate the font and layout on The Redneck Gourmet (something that I did in a hurry when the original blog template got mangled a couple of winters ago) and if I’m ever going to make any money from my blog efforts— The Redneck Gourmet is where I’m going to do it.
For that reason I’d like to spruce things up a little.
Thus far I am a complete and total failure as a webmaster. I can’t even successfully log in as the administrator to the Prenter.net site. My buddy Jim’s trying to talk me through it by E-mail, but I’m embarrassed that I couldn’t even get that far by myself.
Instead of Rocket Scientist, I’m feeling more like "Miny Me, The Micro Nerd" this morning…
Thursday, September 14, 2006
More Responsibility
And Yet No Authority…
As if keeping up with two blogs on a weekly if not daily basis wasn’t enough trouble, now I have gone out and taken on a real website with a paid domain name and paid hosting services.
Would somebody please examine my head here?
Careful…don’t get too close…because I just might bite you (can anyone diagnose Rabies?)
You see, my friend Jim that’s been running the website Prenter.net was thinking of retiring and giving up the domain name, but since my grandparents and the rest of my father’s family lived there in that tiny little West Virginia coal mining town from the 1930’s until the 1960’s, I just couldn't set by and watch it (the website, not the town) die.
For the past seven years Jim has built and grown the site, and in the process he has reconnected people like me back to the simple time and a simpler place where my father was a boy scout and flew model airplanes and rode sleds down the hills in the “hollar.”
Every two years for the past seven they have a reunion and anyone that ever lived in the town or in almost all of Boone county, West Virginia is invited. I’ve attended the past two reunions with my two Uncles and my recently deceased Grandmother, and I find it pretty cool to meet people that knew my family before WWII.
So any way, when Jim announced that he was closing up the site, I stepped forward and offered my efforts and we’re going to manage things together until I get up to speed, and then after that I will be an actual WEBMASTER.
I know that you should be impressed...
Now on your knees…I command YOU to WORSHIP me…BwaaaAAAAhhahahahahah
As if keeping up with two blogs on a weekly if not daily basis wasn’t enough trouble, now I have gone out and taken on a real website with a paid domain name and paid hosting services.
Would somebody please examine my head here?
Careful…don’t get too close…because I just might bite you (can anyone diagnose Rabies?)
You see, my friend Jim that’s been running the website Prenter.net was thinking of retiring and giving up the domain name, but since my grandparents and the rest of my father’s family lived there in that tiny little West Virginia coal mining town from the 1930’s until the 1960’s, I just couldn't set by and watch it (the website, not the town) die.
For the past seven years Jim has built and grown the site, and in the process he has reconnected people like me back to the simple time and a simpler place where my father was a boy scout and flew model airplanes and rode sleds down the hills in the “hollar.”
Every two years for the past seven they have a reunion and anyone that ever lived in the town or in almost all of Boone county, West Virginia is invited. I’ve attended the past two reunions with my two Uncles and my recently deceased Grandmother, and I find it pretty cool to meet people that knew my family before WWII.
So any way, when Jim announced that he was closing up the site, I stepped forward and offered my efforts and we’re going to manage things together until I get up to speed, and then after that I will be an actual WEBMASTER.
I know that you should be impressed...
Now on your knees…I command YOU to WORSHIP me…BwaaaAAAAhhahahahahah
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
More Blog Linkage
For All The Cooks and People Out There That Want To Cook
I’m afraid that I have to admit that I've been severely neglecting my cooking blog The Redneck Gourmet for much of this year.
Said neglect is the direct result of a couple of circumstances, the least of which being that I’ve stopped cooking.
It’s just hard to find anything new to cook sometimes. I guess that you could say that I’ve been in sort of a “cooking funk.”
Or maybe “Funky Cooking”? An old pop song comes to mind:
“Cook that funky cooking, white boy…” (a variation on some old 70’s song lyrics, perhaps…)
Any way, I just wandered over there to check out my reader stats, and I’m down about 50% since January because I HAVEN’T POSTED CRAP this year.
So sorry.
I really have been working on the cookbook version of my recipe file part time and I’ve figured out that writing a real marketable cookbook versus publishing a free blog website is HARD WORK.
I’m still trying to find my “voice” using the Redneck Gourmet concept with very detailed yet humorous instructions and things are basically going quite slow.
In the interim, I thought that as a service to my regular readers that I would point out a couple of other well done cooking blogs for your enjoyment:
First there is the very eloquent and successful Miss Clotilde Dusoulier over at Chocolate and Zucchini.com
Then there is my fellow rocket scientist: Cooking for Engineers.
Finally, there is a website that is sponsored by one of my blog parents called The Carnival of Recipes which produces an interesting collection of recipes on a weekly basis (usually published on Sundays.)
If you haven’t yet discovered the massive resource that the internet provides in research for everything from Avocado Dips to Baked Zucchini, then you’re missing out on the best 5% of the world wide web’s value.
I’m afraid that I have to admit that I've been severely neglecting my cooking blog The Redneck Gourmet for much of this year.
Said neglect is the direct result of a couple of circumstances, the least of which being that I’ve stopped cooking.
It’s just hard to find anything new to cook sometimes. I guess that you could say that I’ve been in sort of a “cooking funk.”
Or maybe “Funky Cooking”? An old pop song comes to mind:
“Cook that funky cooking, white boy…” (a variation on some old 70’s song lyrics, perhaps…)
Any way, I just wandered over there to check out my reader stats, and I’m down about 50% since January because I HAVEN’T POSTED CRAP this year.
So sorry.
I really have been working on the cookbook version of my recipe file part time and I’ve figured out that writing a real marketable cookbook versus publishing a free blog website is HARD WORK.
I’m still trying to find my “voice” using the Redneck Gourmet concept with very detailed yet humorous instructions and things are basically going quite slow.
In the interim, I thought that as a service to my regular readers that I would point out a couple of other well done cooking blogs for your enjoyment:
First there is the very eloquent and successful Miss Clotilde Dusoulier over at Chocolate and Zucchini.com
Then there is my fellow rocket scientist: Cooking for Engineers.
Finally, there is a website that is sponsored by one of my blog parents called The Carnival of Recipes which produces an interesting collection of recipes on a weekly basis (usually published on Sundays.)
If you haven’t yet discovered the massive resource that the internet provides in research for everything from Avocado Dips to Baked Zucchini, then you’re missing out on the best 5% of the world wide web’s value.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Nine Eleven
From A Nine Twelve Perspective
As my regular readers know, I didn't write anything yesterday about 9/11. I felt so inadequate that I thought that it would have been a waste of your time reading my ramblings.
However, my fellow blogger and reader James Hooker (singer and keyboardist formerly of the band "The Amazing Rhythm Aces") posted a video and recording of a new song which he's written called The Canyons I Knew Well.
If you have high speed internet, click on the link and go take a look and listen.
I'm still busy designing city parks this morning.
UPDATE:
Now Mr. Hooker has his video and sound track on Youtube--here's the link (click the button on the lower left of the screen to not leave my site):
James wrote this song and produced the photo montage in 2-1/2 days.
I'm afraid that I have to admit that I couldn't do it in two and one half years...
As my regular readers know, I didn't write anything yesterday about 9/11. I felt so inadequate that I thought that it would have been a waste of your time reading my ramblings.
However, my fellow blogger and reader James Hooker (singer and keyboardist formerly of the band "The Amazing Rhythm Aces") posted a video and recording of a new song which he's written called The Canyons I Knew Well.
If you have high speed internet, click on the link and go take a look and listen.
I'm still busy designing city parks this morning.
UPDATE:
Now Mr. Hooker has his video and sound track on Youtube--here's the link (click the button on the lower left of the screen to not leave my site):
James wrote this song and produced the photo montage in 2-1/2 days.
I'm afraid that I have to admit that I couldn't do it in two and one half years...
Monday, September 11, 2006
An Island In The City
Working For Free Finally Pays Off...
Well folks, I walked out of City Hall about 8:45 AM this morning, almost forgetting the somber national tragedy that was being recognized at that time (9/11.)
I don't have much to say that hasn't already been said so many times, in so many places. I'll never forget where I was and what I was doing when I turned on the TV that morning and saw smoke coming out of the south tower.
Taking a big breath...
The good news is that I am virtually assured of having the money for my "K-Street Tree Project," and now the city has signed on board to pursue my "Island In The City" park redevelopment project that I proposed in our meeting.
Here's a crappy black & white scan of a xerox reduction of my original color drawing:
Well folks, I walked out of City Hall about 8:45 AM this morning, almost forgetting the somber national tragedy that was being recognized at that time (9/11.)
I don't have much to say that hasn't already been said so many times, in so many places. I'll never forget where I was and what I was doing when I turned on the TV that morning and saw smoke coming out of the south tower.
Taking a big breath...
The good news is that I am virtually assured of having the money for my "K-Street Tree Project," and now the city has signed on board to pursue my "Island In The City" park redevelopment project that I proposed in our meeting.
Here's a crappy black & white scan of a xerox reduction of my original color drawing:
(click on the picture to enlarge...it looks a lot better full size and in color)We meet again on October 4th to talk about raising another quarter million bucks. I may just be famous in some small way, at least locally, after all.
Politicking With The Politicians
More Smoozing At City Hall
Posting has beenlight virtually non-existent the past couple of days because I’ve been getting my final park/tree proposal together for the City of Brunswick.
I actually slept like a normal working stiff last night, and I was up early this morning getting showered, shaved, and all polished up for an 8 AM meeting with the Mayor and the City Administrator.
I don’t know if they’re ready to throw me into jail to shut me up, but they keep calling and asking me to come back to City Hall every few months so I guess that they’re interested in something I have to say and think.
Then again, they may want to slap me for yelling at the editor and a reporter at the local paper last month on their behalf. Since I’m not holding office, I can say things that should be said without worrying about getting re-elected.
If you don’t hear from me by tonight, will somebody please call a bail bondsman?
Posting has been
I actually slept like a normal working stiff last night, and I was up early this morning getting showered, shaved, and all polished up for an 8 AM meeting with the Mayor and the City Administrator.
I don’t know if they’re ready to throw me into jail to shut me up, but they keep calling and asking me to come back to City Hall every few months so I guess that they’re interested in something I have to say and think.
Then again, they may want to slap me for yelling at the editor and a reporter at the local paper last month on their behalf. Since I’m not holding office, I can say things that should be said without worrying about getting re-elected.
If you don’t hear from me by tonight, will somebody please call a bail bondsman?
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Yes...I Didn't Write Anything Last Night
But Keep Checking Back...And In The Mean Time...
Turn up your speakers, click on the button on the lower left, and watch Chris Bliss do This:
I'll be back later...
Turn up your speakers, click on the button on the lower left, and watch Chris Bliss do This:
I'll be back later...
