Existing In BFE

The Masses are clamoring for more! My people have spoken -- "give us Existing In BFE".

Stay tuned, we'll start up again on Januray 2nd. Have a safe New Year.

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful,personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our country great and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee. By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdra...

Pabst Brewing Company, makers of Pabst Blue Ribbon, is currently owned by a charitable trust that must sell it by 2010. Forza Migliozzi and The Ad Store want to use crowdsourcing to buy the company for $300 million through their website BuyaBeerCompany.com. From this CNN article: Anyone over 21 can go to the site and pledge a minimum of $5 toward the reported $300 million sales price for Pabst. So far, would-be beer moguls have pledged more than $20 million in about a month. If the collective raises enough money, Migliozzi says contributors will get enough beer to match their pledges and ownership in the company. You can pledge $5, $25, $100, or $250,000. I pledged $25.00. Ha ha, I'm gonna buy me a brewery.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-30-most-memorable-mug-shots-of-2009

"Rear Gear comes in many designs including a disco ball, air freshener, heart, flower, biohazard, smiley face, number one ribbon, cupcake, sheriff’s badge, dice, and you can even make yours custom, so there’s a Rear Gear for everyone."

A newspaper cartoon after victory was declared after World War II. Its too bad that we have not been able to savor victory since, unless Grenada or Panama counts. Vietnam, Korea, Iraq/Afghanistan all have been specious contests. The arrival of the Queen of the Night. Stage set by Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841) for an 1815 production of Mozart's The Magic Flute. I haven't the slightest idea where this comes from. Widely seen genuine picture of what happens when you can't compete. I read that the guy who owns the house all lit up suggested this for his friend and neighbor to the right. Anyway, its pretty funny.

Spider we spotted over on Organdy Drive, Mackenzie and Drew's new address. This bad boy has red spikes and is mean as Hell looking. We discovered this is a mostly-Florida species. It is called a Spinyback Orb Weaver and harmless. This is from the rear. I didn't want to take this pic looking straight on for two reasons: 1. Some spiders can see the fear in your eyes 2. Some spiders jump This guy lives next door in the condos and everyday he takes his two dogs for a walk. One walks, the other is in a stroller. I don't know what this guy was doing with these towels on his car. Mud flaps? Drying them? Alzheimer's? Dumb ass?

1. My kid gave me a buzz cut three weeks ago. Pros: a. Easy, no combing b. Saves money c. Never get "helmet head" d. Quick cut, only takes 3 minutes e. People think you are military f. Cooler Cons: a. People think I have lice b. People mistake me for John Travolta c.Makes me look grayer 2. Watching football last Sunday made me think: a. I hate the loud, talking head boobs that say the same things each week for different teams. They act more like frat boys. Ha ha, Jimmy. Yuk yuk, Coach. Tee hee Terry. The best: Al Michaels and Tony Dungy . The rest are worthless, and don't get me going on our cuties on the sidelines. The worst: Jon Gruden . b. And the name dropping is shameless: "I had supper with Tom Brady yesterday..., I talked to Manning just before the game..., I tucked Lovie into bed last night..." c. Ever notice the hyperbole ? Every one playing in the game they are announcing is great, outstanding and an example of perfect football specimen. Lord! Add...

http://facebookfails.com/

Pulling up in the Uhaul. Living Room Kitchen Welcome to home ownership. Carport and side yard. Wednesday was a long but fun day. It's a nice house, completely re-done and basically new. Bishop has a great back yard, perfect for grilling and maybe a pool. Like all moves, not without a problem or two. The power company didn't get the electricity turned on but candles and running water made it bearable. We will start a Great Fridge Hunt today and other necessities. Next door kid introduced himself and is named Dietrich. Who the Hell names their kid Dietrich except maybe Frasier and Lillith?

Cool helmet trim. I know someone in BFE who has a yellow bike that might like this. People are still driving with their tops down. Saw these in a yard a couple weeks ago. A couple geese waddling across the road A tattoo on the leg of a woman at Three Birds Tavern.

Yesterday I got my H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine. Easiest shot I ever had. In fact I am starting to think I didn't get it. Naturally I had my head turned in a closed-eye grimace. Never confirmed I actually got it. So, if I get a shot in the office but no one feels it, did I get it? According to the bill I sure did. PS - As the midwest girds for a blizzard, I am strangely having mixed feelings. While I am glad I don't have to mess with it for the first time EVER, I feel like one of the platoon members getting R & R while the rest of the guys have to take the hill. Oh well, it'll pass. Good luck platoon, keep 'em between the white lines.

Very clever insults ... before language got down to 4-letter words. The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, "If you were my husband I'd give you poison." He said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it." A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease." "That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "whether I embrace your policies or your mistress.." "He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr "He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill "He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway). "Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." - Moses Hadas "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain "He has no e...

Just in time for Sunday's football action.

Snoop buying a nail gun, but since she is an enforcer for a drug kingpin, doesn't sound like it's for home construction. Snoops demise by a kid working for another drug organization. I thought this was a sad scene: why would she be concerned with her hair? HBO filmed this 5 year series and just google 'greatest TV show' and you'll likely come up with The Wire. I mentioned this series last year in this blog and started it off for family down here a few weeks ago. Needless to say we eagerly anticipate Wire Nights. Be warned: it is gritty, profane and real. Here is Snoop Pearson, who Stephen King called "the most terrifying female villain ever to appear in a television series." It is, on the surface, a cops vs. drug dealer drama but the focus changes from year to year to other crime situations or motifs, e.g. schools, police corruption, political corruption, the press. But always the streets: the soldiers, players, winners and losers of the drug trade. Watch ...

I have made some new friends here in Florida. The complex is teeming with pet-owners whose dogs make their way outdoors to do their business. This is Isabella who loves to see me. I wonder if that is because I have a jar filled with Snaps that I feed them? Isabella, Bella to her closest friends, is a pretty cool dog who will occasionally bark but much prefers to coo, like a pigeon. She is wearing her new Christmas outfit. Sadly, Layla no longer comes up to see me. Seems she would dart up to see me when her door opened and wouldn't take care of business. Layla's owner would then have to come up the stairs to fetch. I now drop Snaps down to her from above. Baily, a couple-month old puppy is my newest disciple.

St. Petersburg is known as the lightening capital of the US. Last night we had a storm and it lived up to its name. I used my new helmet cam to get these videos. Crank up the sound and enjoy.

A guy who writes a financial blog went out last week and spent $100 on scratch lottery tickets, something I have wanted to do for a long time. He made...are your ready?? $38.00 That's all. Well a fellow blogger wrote this as to why he only won $38.00: Why? Mathematics. The more tickets you buy, the more likely you are to come close to the mathematical odds that were set forth in the game. There are two extremes. If you buy one ticket, you either win 100% of the time, or you lose 100% of the time. That’s one extreme. If you buy all of the tickets, and if the odds of winning are 1:4.21, or 23.75%, then you’ll win 23.75% of the time. That’s the other extreme. J bought 100 tickets, and he had 20 winning tickets out of 100, or 20%. That’s not that far off from 23.75%. Had he gone all out and spent his yearly entertainment budget of $1200 (assuming $100/month), his win percentage would likely have been within a percent of the actual odds. “Well, one of those tickets could have been a big...

Time-Lapse Favs from Chad Richard on Vimeo .

One of the things on my "To Do Before I Die" list was to buy a booklet of scratch lottery tickets. I don't know how much one would cost (or even if you can get one) but logic says somewhere in that buncle may very well be a big winner. A guy, who writes a blog, thought the same thing but decided to spend $100. He ever asked his viewers to email him the amounts they thought he would win. To further this project he told his followers that he would donate any winnings to Project Hope. He even got some people to pledge additional funds or match winnings for the cause. This was announced last week and he did it on Saturday, the 21st. He wrote today on his blog of his results. I'll reveal his winnings this week sometime, or maybe next. Stay tuned.

FIRST THIS : From Galesburg Register-Mail: GALESBURG - Robert Darrell (Davis) Hardy, 84, died Thursday (Nov. 5, 2009) at Seminary Manor, Galesburg. Mr. Hardy was born Sept. 2, 1925, near Carthage. He was the son of George and Iona Davis and stepson of Clarence Hardy. He married twice. Once to Mary Carlene Schullian in 1950 and Ada Powless in 1960. Mr. Hardy was a member of Illinois Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Union for 64 years and American Legion for 65 years. Mr. Hardy was owner and operator of Hardy Farm Tiling. Mr. Hardy was raised and educated in the Bentley community. He later moved to the Golden and Colusa communities. In 1944 he entered the Navy and served in the South Pacific aboard the battleship Mississippi BB41. He was a pipe welder, steamfitter and farmer for many years before becoming owner and operator of Hardy Farm Tiling. After retiring Mr. Hardy moved to a house on the Mississippi River near Gladstone. For many years he and his wife, Ada, wintered in South Padre Island,...