Seriously stupid

In my travels

I always carry a camera, in case something catches my attention.

Hay now!

I understand leaving the halter on, but the lead rope?

Oh give me a home...

...near Garner, TX.

I almost missed it...

Must lead to Hidden Valley.

Has the whole Zombie thing gotten out of hand?

It may be too late for Hornady Z-Max.  (Note that even the stick figures are Zombies...)

Please don't tell Sienna...

...she doesn't get to play City Slickers this summer:

Trail Rated

I loved the Jeep Scrambler CJ-8.

This is the new version:



But $47,000 worth?

It was a good week

I'm feelin' it!



And here's a song that, to my knowledge, they haven't played at my church, but should:

Words of Wisdom

Occasionally, I'll be out driving around just around noon, sometimes on a Saturday, and glance at the clock to see it's nearing 12:15 - and almost instinctively reach to change the station to catch the Noon Report.

I miss Mr. Aurandt.



Henley touched on a similar theme in 1995's Garden of Allah (nothing to do with Islam), in which the devil comes to a major west coast city (Gomorrah by the Sea - LA), only to find that he has become obsolete.  The video doesn't do the song justice, but Kirk Douglas does have a cool cameo as the devil.

Yeah, it's looking like his work around here has nearly all been done...

"and the fruit is rotten, the serpent's eyes shine,
as he wraps around the vine...
In the Garden of Allah."

Fix the Toaster

While the kids were still sleeping, I was up taking the quesadilla maker apart to clean out the cheese that spilled into the inner sanctums of the machine last time I used it.

"Pay the grocer/Fix the toaster/Kiss the host goodbye
So you Break a window/Burn the soufflé/Scream a lullaby..."



In other words, Life Happens. 

Catching Up

Too busy lately to post much except videos and stuff.

• Finished my taxes over the weekend - a weight off my mind (and out of my wallet, too).
• Have mentioned previously that Daughter started riding a bike on her own over Spring Break. 
• She's already mastered the single-speed 20" bike - will start looking for a small-framed 24" mountain bike on Craigslist.
• To celebrate her achievement, on St. Patty's day her Mom brought us some Shamrock Shakes and cupcakes.
• Mmm.
• We sure have seen a lot of snakes this year.  This is one I spotted before Daughter saw it:

 

• Although I wore ties to work for 20+ years, my current job doesn't require it.
• I started wearing them again last week (though not every day).   I actually sort of like wearing a tie, but am very particular - I don't agree with the old tradition of giving one as a gift, it's a very personal choice.  If someone gave me one, chances are that I wouldn't like it.
•  Am considering ordering some shirts from Paul Fredrick's on their first-time customer special.  Two button down collar and two English tab collar with French cuffs (I have lots of cuff-links).



• Monogrammed?  Of course - they're including it in the promotion. Block letters and diamond - I don't like the script monograms.
• Undergarment trifecta last week - brand new:  t-shirts, boxer briefs (TMI, I know), and socks.
• I enjoyed the 60 Minutes special on Mike Wallace.  Though there wasn't much footage I hadn't seen in prior retrospectives, or, in some cases when they originally aired, one couldn't help but be amazed at the breadth of 20th century notables that he'd interviewed.  What a life.
• Those were the days:

• Attended a birthday party for an old friend over the weekend (if you call 79 old), complete with folks I've worked with over a 30 year period.  Seems a lot of them have moved out west - a couple of them between Azle & Boyd, one in Justin,  another in Alvord, one north of Chico, and one between Sunset & Bowie.
• Makes me want to get out of town, too.
• An old boss's wife (I think the world of both of them) asked me if I was dating.
• Um, no.  I may be a glutton for punishment, but I'm not stupid.
• Without any noise, bump, groan, clatter, grind, clunk or anything, my car's transmission stopped transmitting about a mile south of 114 on FM 51 last week, as I was driving along at about 65 mph.
• The car is now in sick bay to determine what's the matter.  Ugh.
• At least I had cellphone service - glad that didn't happen last month when I was between Vernon & Seymour - lots of places along 183 where I was out of range for 20-30 minutes or more.
• When trucks used to be made of metal:

Chase & Hawn

I had for a long time held the comedy pairing of Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase in Foul Play and Seems Like Old Times in equal esteem.



"Hot damn, I finally get a chance to chase the PO-lice!"

 
Last weekend, Daughter and I checked out Foul Play from the library - I hadn't seen it in 25+ years.

Seems Like Old Times is definitely the better film.  Neil Simon is a comedy genius.



But Foul Play isn't without its moments:



I think Dew has that same setup in his house...

If you go to Colombia...

Don't take the wrong bus to Cartagena.  (Hint: It's not going to Cartagena.)



And don't hang out with hookers.  It's hard to say which is more embarrassing - admitting you engaged a prostitute, or that you're the Secret Service detail for Barack Obama.

A hotel employee told the Associated Press the agents were drinking heavily during their stay.

If my job description included potentially stopping a bullet for this particular POTUS, I'd probably drink heavily, too.

Only 36 Hours Remaining!

Buy a Maybach 57 or 62 now, with $100,000 rebate, AND get two 2006 Kia Amantes - ABSOLUTELY FREE!

Order in the next 3 hours and we'll paint your Kia decoys to match your Maybach.

Don't delay, limited time offer!

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Hurry, don't let the clock run out!

Maybach Type 62 (but you knew that, right?)

Internet special, only three available with $100,000 rebate, tax title and license not included, offer is void if the sales manager returns from vacation early.

Death from Above - This is hunting!

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish...

Rust Rarely Sleeps

I was looking for a good version of Joanie's, preferably the definitive recording From Every Stage, but couldn't find one with good audio quality. 

I was then surprised to find a Judas Priest cover, which was pretty good, and also learned that that band took its name from a Bobby Zimmerman song title.

But I also found this outstanding version from the folk/rock band Blackmore's Night, a collaboration featuring Deep Purple/Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, and [now] wife Candice Night, who reminds one of a younger Stephanie Lynn Nicks.

It's a strange world...

• Public restrooms with 'dribble' on the toilet seat creep me out.  This is beyond that.
• No thanks - how about just a bagel?
• ...said Wang Junxing, 38. "I don't believe in all this, so I do not eat them."
• Good observation, Wang.  Just go to show that thinking with Wang not always bad.
• Like a deer in the headlights without his TelePrompter:

• What a sorry sack of - trying to play populist by referring to the Supreme Court as 'unelected'.  Uh, yeah, there's a reason for that.  And he has the chutzpah to consider himself a Constitutional Scholar?
• Meghan McCain, daughter of former Presidential aspirant John McCain, has tweeted, in response to rumours that she's lesbian, that she's "strickly d*ckly" (sic), loves sex and men.
• Well, isn't that special?  Dad must be so proud!
• The news business finds it novel that a faith-based movie does well at the box office.  Here's a clue: There are still discerning people who do not wish to dive deeper into the cesspit that is our current culture.

• There's a tanning salon in a shopping center on my drive home, featuring a bear-suited mascot with a placard: I can't bear the thought of tan lines.
• My thoughts were:
• How can you bear being in that suit at 86°?
• People do know that tanning beds are not particularly good for them, don't they?
• Wouldn't you be concerned that the perv who works there has hidden cameras that he posts to YouTube, or perv-tube or whatever?
• I'm getting old and cranky - Just call me Andy Rooney.

Tune in to the FM

Here's another stringed instrument:



And from the early [pre-Mac] years:



Nice two-part harmonies.