Tuesday Tidbits

I went to Kindle a long time ago and can honestly say I am not one of those people who love the smell, look, or feel of a book they are reading.  To me they were shelf eaters that served no useful function taking up the space.  I never read a book twice:  life is too short and there are too many books out there unread than to pay for the same real estate twice.  Books weren't the binding, they were the knowledge or the adventure.  

But I admit to getting a bit of a tug when wandering around the St. Pete downtown book store, Haslam's last week.   Back in my kid/young adult days, for fun, I'd grab one of the Encyclopedia volumes out of the small storage area next to the living room fireplace, and start reading.  Thanks Marj and Herb for buying those.  We would even get a new volume every year detailing the previous year that would be a special event for me.  

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The Cabin in the Woods

After this winter's angst of missing out on winter, my favorite season, I am announcing that I will spend a good portion of February 2018 in Northlandia.  I just have to break the news to Kenzie, my boss.  But I'm sure I can swing it.  And if that isn't enough:  I have a ticket to Northlandia in hand.  I just hope the travel ban doesn't include over-the-hill starving artist daycare owners.  Woo hoo!

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Baseball Prospectus came out with their predictions last week.

http://bbp.cx/s?f=dc

If that link doesn't work here are the interesting points:

1.  Dodger (99) get more wins than Cubs (91), although

2.  the Cubs do win the Central again.

3.  They have the Cardinals in 4th place in the central (76 wins).

4.  Mets win the East (88).

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1.  Since I already have a million in the bank, I will begin working on my second million this year.

2.  Cheddar's, Five Guys, and Yogurtology are going to open franchises in Emerald City this year.

3.  Miss Frump, my 1963 Dodge 880 sedan is priceless.  

4.  I didn't call in a bomb threat in high school.

5.  The Wombie finally saw Hoosiers.  Plans on binging Rudy, The Greatest Game Ever Played, and Remember the Titans by noon.

6.  Neighbor Tim finally sold his Harley and bought a sleek yellow Vespa.  His matching helmet reads "Ciao" on one side and "Baby" on the other.  

7.  Danny says he's had enough of being a Cardinal's fan.     Decides to follow the San Diego Padres.  

8.  Tommy declares his undying love for squirrels.  Decides to retire and walk Lake Story throwing out peanuts to his new furry friends.  

9.  Jeff swears off beer.  Says there's nothing quite like lapping a fine Tetley after supper. 

10.  Rose claims she's never liked Elvis.  Prefers the silky voiced Al Martino.

11.  Comrade President Trump and the Republicans will win landslide elections in 2018 and 2020.

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I think most of us have seen this picture at some point or another.  It is out West somewhere but I don't know where.  It is a fairly common picture.  I'd rather ride this fast on my motorcycle than slower and hairier on the Tail of the Dragon.  Don't hate me.

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I did not know that out of 5 million cars sold in Japan every year only 15,000 are American made.  They hate our cars (too expensive and break down too often), and much prepare their own or European.  Out of those 15,000 American made vehicles the most popular is the Jeep. 

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Last week the Northeast got a foot of snow.  The Media called it a a "Monster" storm.  Hell.  Back when we were kids a foot of snow was considered a dusting.  That's probably global warming; today it doesn't snow much or often.  Secondly, the media uses those silly adjectives to boost ratings.  Shameless ratings hounds.  

I am old enough to remember when Ted Turner started a fledgling small cable channel called Cable News Netweork.  Every minute of every hour there were news anchors and the occasional sports and talking head show.  I remember Bobby Batista with weird eyes and her ted Baxter-like co-anchor and we'd pretty much ignore it except when something big happened and then everyone watched.  Today it is cardboard-cutout Wolf Blitzer and almost anything but news.  Looking at their prime time lineup and specials, you'd think it was either the Playboy or History channel.   Even when something big happens nowadays I go somewhere else if I can.  A great news outlet that lost its way.  

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Brendan, Drew and I all received drones from Santa for Christmas.  Drew wanted me to get mine out and fly for the first time this past weekend at Eagle Lake Park.  I juiced up the battery.  Put the landing gear on.  Drew didn't have any problem with his drone and began flying about as I was getting mine ready for first flight.  I put the 6 AA  batteries in the remote and the lights began blinking signalling it was powered up and ready.  I proceeded to a large grassy area next to the lake and began to fly it.  There is always a bit of a learning curve with these sorts of things and was learning the controls and flight maneuvers.  It went up and I began to gain some confidence in my ability to control its flying abilities.  Meanwhile, Drew was gaining his skill with his as well.  Pretty soon I gave my remote to him to see how my remote worked compared to his.  

Sadly, this would be the end of my flying and the beginning of my drone's final flight.  Drew took the remote and within seconds my drone began rising and rising and then over the shrubbery and trees next to the lake.  As you may have guessed, my drone flew higher and higher and then out of sight.   Like D.B. Cooper, my drone is only a legend now.  Burnished into family lore, the drone my still be flying, off somewhere over the Caribbean as Drew is amazed at how fast and how high he flew my drone.  We both received kayaking gift certificates for Christmas, too.  Maybe I should do it on my own.

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I should have posted this a couple weeks ago, but there is still time to catch Godzilla Month on Svengoolie.

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My kind of playground.  Let's test Darwin.  "C-mon Kiddies, let's all go to the monkey bars!"