sumpthin spooky

spotted in front of our house last night

A few thoughts

Before committing myself to slumber land:

1. I am now fully committed to middle aged actions. I just got out of bed and put a sheet of plastic over my two tomato plants. Heck, it’s nearly NOVEMBER and I still have about 2 dozen green tomatoes on the plants. If I were a younger, “less responsible” adult, I would be asleep and not worrying about fresh ‘maters this time of year. But instead I tugged a drop cloth over them in order to get a few more fresh ones off the plants. Dammit, but I AM NOT going to be beaten by the cold just yet. Who knows, with global warming I might have fresh tomatoes on Thanksgiving!
2. Being 46 I am now very aware of fiber. My doctor has me looking for ways to add fiber to dammed near everything! I swear that if he could find a way, he would have me adding flaxseed to my bourbon! (Currently Basil Hayden’s 8 yr old, 2 fingers over ice). This leads to last Sunday night when I got the munchies and decided that a bowl of Kashi nut crunch sounded good, so good in fact that I had 3 large bowls (about 1/3 of the box)! Needless to say that the next day was uncomfortable to say the least. I was avoiding open flames all day Monday. You would think that I learned a lesson but tonight that demon fiber called again. (this time only one bowl though).
3. Our boys have now gone undefeated thru the month of October. Yeah, Go Colts! Next week is the big game. If you haven’t been watching the NFL you still might not have heard it but the two unbeaten teams left in the AFC will square off in Indy with all the bragging rights on the line. To listen to ESPN you would think that there is not any reason what-so-ever to even play the game. According to the in-booth voices last week, the Patriots are already so good that we might as well start voting on the Pro Bowl teams because the Lombardi trophy is headin back to Foxboro. I think Coach Dungy and Peyton might have something to say about that but as coaches innumerable have taught; that’s why we play the game.
4. Speaking of bourbons, I recently purchased a bottle of Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Bourbon. I’d have to say that this is one fine drink. One review of it says the following: Color: Golden amber, Aroma: Spice, tea, hint of peppermint, Taste: Spicy, peppery, honey, light-bodied, gentle bite, Finish: Dry, clean, brief. I heartily agree.
   
   Well folks, that’s all for now. It is 11:09 EDT and I am finishing my last few sips as the strains of “Exultate Deo” by Scarlatti ring in my headphones. What a way to finish the weekend.

This link will take you to a very nice rendition of the piece. http://youtube.com/watch?v=bCLWgDUd9GI (sorry but YouTube isn't letting me embed right now for some reason.)

What would you say if...

I told you there was a place called "J's Grille" on my way to work?

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You wouldn't be out of order in thinking it was a short order cafe, perhaps a "greasy spoon" or maybe even a little bistro in some trendy neighborhood.

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Well, you would be wrong.

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I give you J's Grille

Something tells me that the American Dental Association would not be in approval.

Where else can

A ridiculous middle aged guy dressed like the prom date from hell kiss a sexy pirate and nobody think it silly?

At Jim and Lori's annual Halloween Bash of course!

Lets add another to the roll

Blog roll that is.

Fire Mission: Hippies in the open - http://firemissionhippiesintheopen.blogspot.com/ is a new blog by Prestersean. Stop by and sample his musings.
He has one of my secret favorite jobs. You know those professions that you WOULD do if you weren't doing what you are doing now.
He runs a Hobby Shop.
Also you might want to drop by "15 Minute Lunch" - http://15minutelunch.blogspot.com/
for some inspired insanity. The guy can really write.

Whatcha been dooin Willis?...

All weekend we are repainting the bathrooms. The very same bathrooms that we refloored with a really cool terracotta porcelain tile and added new shower/tub and sink fixtures and new countertops and a new tub and three piece surround in our bedroom bath and added new light fixtures with new ceiling fans...
I'm tired and I'm going to bed. More of the same tomorrow.

Before and after pictures to follow when we are finished.

Update:
Bathroom No 1 nearly done with only minor details to finish. I hope to have pix this weekend.
Work is proceeding slowly due to lack of energy after a long day in the workplace.

UPDATE No. 2
I know you are all waiting with baited breath for the pictures. Well, last night's festivities (see the post above on Halloween parties) made any sort of work academic today.
Let's just say that the idea of doing anything other that lazing around and doing nothing just wasnt going to happen. As they said in the movie, tomorrow is another day.

I'm not a bird lover and...

Lord knows that "The Boys" would go ballistic if Snowball was at our house but this is one of the funniest things I have seen in a while.

I think he may be on to something.

(I borrowed this from "Mostly Cajun, All American and Opinionated" - http://www.mostlycajun.com/wordpress/ who also lifted it from someone else.)

There was a chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab the Prof noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back and stretching as if his back hurt.
The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country’s government and install a new communist government.
In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked, Do you know how to catch wild pigs?
The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke. You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn.
When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence.
They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs, which are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat; you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.
Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how To forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.
The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America. The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. while we continually lose our freedoms - just a little at a time. One should always remember There is no such thing as a free Lunch!
Also, You can never hire someone to provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.
Also, if you see that all of this wonderful government help is a problem confronting the future of democracy in America, you might want to send this on to your friends.
If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life then you will probably delete this email, but God help you when the gate slams shut!

Maj. R. A. Mathews USMC (Ret.)
National Parachute Test Center, Inc.
Dunnellon, FL 34432

Yes, I was there...

(Please excuse the crappy image quality but all I had handy was my Treo phone camera and that thing is only a camera in name only. )

Left to Right - Matt on Guitar, Janas harmonizing and keeping time, Dale on lead and vocals and part of PJ on the upright bass.

Ladies and Gents I give you "The Vulgar Boatmen!!!" at Local's Only on Saturday night. They were in rare form. Matt's liquid guitar was a wonderful sound and Dale was in good voice. Having Janas joining in again on vocals rounded out the mix wonderfully. The final song; "Traveling" sounded fantastic with the upright bass. You would have sworn that they had been practicing for months but according to Dale that was the first time they had played it with the acoustic bass.

A bit of Friday night entertainment from Andy Mckee - Guitar - Drifting

He is amazing,
http://www.candyrat.com

welcome to a new friend

http://nora-leona.blogspot.com/

Hello Nora.

Glad to have another voice.

sumpthin really annoyin...

OK, this is going to sound a bit petty but here goes.

My local service provider/email carrier recently upgraded to a new "beta" email server and included as part of the service upgrade is...

You guessed it!

ADVERTISEMENTS!!!

For the last 6 months, my daily home email account has featured a panel to the left of the screen which you can minimize but not turn off. From September on, they have featured an add for a Halloween costume company that almost always pops up this add.



For some reason I am having a real hard time with the picture.


I cannot tell if its the direct eye contact or what but the picture really disturbs me! It pops up and I have to minimise it or else I forget what I am doing and wonder what it is that is bothering me.

(Update) You know, perhaps it IS the direct eye contact. This photo seems waaaay too old for a child. Is it me or is there is something slightly "soft-porn" about the pose and the body language?







I can't wait for Halloween to be over so I can get back to ignoring the usual adds they post.


Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

It's too good not to post.

The YouTube title was, "Gore criticizes Bush for ignoring Iraq's ties to terrorism". Too bad it was a younger Gore critizing President Bush the Senior. It's hard to remember a time when AlGore vs. 1.0 was considered a hawk.

Lets just say that I am not surprised.

By the finding that a recent FOX News Poll shows that nearly 1 in 5 Democrats Say World Will Be Better Off if U.S. Loses War.

Frankly with the way the Senate and the House has been acting this past year I'm amazed it's not more like 3 in 5.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,299374,00.html