An Older Texan Remembers

February 2012 started off DARK!! ( and foggy)

2012-02-01T06:40:00.000-06:00

Think about it a minute, All months start off DARK!! (figer it out) :-)

One of the first emails I got this morning was from my page counter of the detailed report that list visitors, their place of origin, how long they stayed , etc etc. my "page hits" are staying pretty level, with a few new visitors.Back when I had a web page I was always amazed at how many visitors I had from other countries.   Then my page was pretty heavy with Hot Air Ballooning and travel. But times change ..

Day starting off warm and according to the weather report, foggy. Can't tell yet cause it's dark out but Tiny cat can tell the temperature outside cause when it's nice she goes and sits by the back door waiting for me to open it, and that's where she is right now. at 6AM as I type ( OK, copy and paste really)
Course today is Wednesday, So set my two bags of trash out, and get my lotto ticket later.
Otherwise not sure what's on tap.
Weather out of the way before I git busy and slap ass forget it.

54.9 °F
Mist
Humidity:     87%
Wind:     1.0 mph from the SSW
Wind Gust:     3.0 mph
Visibility:     1.8 miles
Dew Point:     51 °F
Precipitation:     10% chance of precipitation
Pressure:     30.07 in (Falling)

NWS forecast: Patchy dense fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 75. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest.

Got my new calendar printed and marked up. On last months' I wrote down all my regular bills that I pay out, then totaled them up. Shoot!! I'm in better shape than I thought by a long shot!! My utilities, insurance, truck payment, that type of stuff don't come near to my income, so eventually I just blow the rest of it each month. :-) ( maybe I can hire that redheaded topless house keeper after all. :-)

Naw.. If I did that I'd need one of the Life Alert instant call buttons to wear. :-)

Neighbor the other day was off on a tear, going on and on about some buddy of his who found out the gas drilling companies had been pumping gas out for under his land and not paying for it. So the guy hired a lawyer and sued and won a bunch of money. Now neighbor had it in his head the same thing is happening out here to us. Told him to let me know and if it was true, I'd help pay for the lawyer. ( not going to hold my breath for that to come about)

Professor Hermit has some Texas history for today if you're interested. Texas secedes from the Union
Wish I'd had a history teacher like Jim when I was in school.

In yesterday’s blog I mentioned some fishing I had done in the Galveston Bay area. I fished a LOT during those days. ( I’d have to do some serious digging to find the exact dates ,but mid/late ‘70’s)   During the summer time we got off work at 4pm and there was plenty of time to throw the boat in the water and fish for a couple hours. Hardest part was cleaning the boat and putting it back in the garage. I treated that thing like my life depended on it. In some ways it did. If I broke down out in the Bay, it might be a long time till someone found me. I even had a form I filled out and left at home when I’d go out. Had all my information on it from boat make and color, the TX numbers and where I planned on being that day and when I expected to return.
Always made sure wifie knew where I was going as well.

I knew a lot of people in the area and would talk with them and we’d share our secret hot spots (sometimes) Thinking back on it I don’t remember every NOT catching fish.

I think the worst day it was 32F when we launched the boat into a small side lake off Clear Lake, Taylor Bayou .It was just too dammed cold to get out in the open Bay with the wind. Hell, spray was freezing to my windshield.
We got into some rat reds that day we found feeding up and down some shallow water near shore.

I found a few ole early type depth finders and rigged one up. I put the sender unit behind my built in gas tank, in a tube super glued to the hull. To make it work, I’d have to wet the sponge it rested in the tube, but it’d work up till I hit about 20 MPH. ( that boat would run 40 + MPH ) Think that set up cost me maybe $20.

Biggest fish I ever caught and landed?   Had to be a 3+ foot shovel head shark!
Back then there wasn’t a size limit on Speckled trout (Spotted Weakfish)    and often my huge built in fish-well/ice chest would be full!!

One of my part time fishing buds taught me how and when to catch flounder.   Fish an area real close to a water flow area. Like in a Back Bay or slough that has passage. With an incoming tide fish that side of the cut, outgoing tide, fish the other side. Worked and I caught a ton of dinner plate size flounder.

Oddest fish I ever caught was a porcupine fish (a type of puffer fish). Just cut the line and let him loose.

Caught a sea snake once , cut that sucker loose you betcha!!

Hated catching dang mud head catfish, but would on occasion hook and land a gaff top , they’re good eating.

I guess the best eating bay fish were golden croaker. Not real big but good eating for sure.

Good times back. Some day I'll try and tell ya the story bout the time wifie went with me.:-)

Mo' Coffee,, BBL..............

11AM plus. Started out the door and it's raining!!!

What that's all about? If you look close you can see the streaks of falling drops. It'll quit in a bit I betcha.

January The last! ( 31st) 2012

2012-01-31T07:24:00.004-06:00

First thing I attempted this morning was to print out my calendar to lay here on the desk. Had to give up on my ole Calendar creator program ( out of date and wanted to charge to upgrade it).So I tried out Google Documents , the free online one. It worked ok last month but this time when I tried to print , it demanded that I update Adobe reader. I hate that program and have avoided it for ever, but now you got to have it for some things. After a lot of hocus pocus and cussing finally got it to print. But that doesn't mean I like Adobe any better. :-(

But that was the second thing that gave me issues this morning. I wanted to view, save to USB the recordings my cameras system had done. Never did get that POS software to work

BTW, give you notice in case you're considering coming for breakfast. Today it's burrito with over easy egg. :-)

And I got a deal for you!! Going through my VCR tapes found one I don't remember where it came from. So if you want it. Drop me a note and maybe some mailing cost and I'll send it to you.

On my list today , nuthing pressing. so I guess I'll get out and enjoy this early spring weather!!

61.2 °F
Mostly Cloudy
Humidity:     80%
Wind:     8.0 mph from the SSW
Wind Gust:     17.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     55 °F
Rain ???    10% chance of precipitation
Pressure:     30.07 in (Steady)

NWS forecast: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. South southwest wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Rain this month/ year
This Month:     7.04 in
Season Total:     7.04 in
8 rain days in Jan.

What's with this weather? I ain't complaining mind you , just waiting for winter!

( This winter again, I prepaid my propane based on my last 5 years usage and looking like I'm gonna have bout 100 gallons excess)

9am more or less. While making up breakfast an ole memory came up. So...here ya go..

Back in the ‘70s I lived down in Seabrook Texas with close access to Galveston Bay and all it’s waters . I learned that bay area real good and always knew where I could catch fish in almost any weather. If we were planning a fish fry or feeding a bunch of people I could go out and get the spices we wanted, no problem.

So, being that I was a Speckled Trout catching fool I decided to take up fishing guide as a second job. Researched the licenses required and gave that part up real quick. Too much testing and the insurance on the boat as a professional boat were prohibitive.

So I just starting spreading the word that I would take people out as long as they paid for the gas and bait.
I actually made a few bucks PLUS I got to spend the day on the water fishing without it costing me anything.

One time I got a group of three guys down from Dallas. They were of course fresh water bass fishermen and showed up loaded down with tackle boxes and gear.
Their rods and reels were ok and we could make them work. But of course their lures were pretty much worthless. So I got them all set up and out we went to one of my “ honey holes” that I knew would have speckled trout since that was what they wanted.

I rigged them up with live shrimp below a popping cork and explained and showed them how to set the depth and how it was done. I boated a couple of fish right off. They were getting strikes but not getting the fish hooked and boated.

FINNALLY figered out what was wrong.. They were jerking the line to set the hook when they got a strike! The Specks have a real tender mouth unlike a bass and they were just tearing the hook loose. Once I finally convinced them to just reel the line in they started boating some nice fish. On occasion they’d miss one but I bet they boated 20 real nice fish each before lunch and were slap ass worn out. Promised they’d be back and they did but this time wanted to go off shore which I wasn’t comfortable doing so I put them in touch with my buddy who did off shore fishing and I got a full day fishing and a nice tip out of that deal.
Think that offshore trip was the one that someone hung a big ass shark and wanted to boat it. But we refused ( You DO NOT want a 15 ft shark live on board a 25 foot boat!) and cut it loose after he took pictures of it.

I sure enjoyed that time back then. But Hell I was 40 years younger and tough as nails then.

Near noon and I'm ahead. I went out to the barn to bag up some trash outta the big container out there. Thought I was going to have to transfer it to bags. But there was a bag already in the containor so I just smushed all the stuff down and managed to get it closed up. So, that project is finished a lot sooner than expected.

Shoot, think I'll teat myself to some lunch :-)

BBL

3:30 more or less. Just went out to the barn, experimenting with a project I had in my mind and good grief!! It's nice out !!!

I came in and cats went out. Need a revolving door.

January 30, 2012. Monday is it? OK, now that we got that straight....

2012-01-30T06:53:00.005-06:00

I actually remembered something I wanted/needed to do first thing this morning. Clean the dust bunny's and cat hair outta this laptop!! Took it in to the big ole hobby table , took the bottom off, battery out, and attacked it with the canned air. Bet I blew out bout a half pound of cat hair , fingernail clippings, dust bunny nest. Next was the cooling pad that it rest on with it's two fans. They were worst ( wish I could open it up and really clean it) .
Then I checked the temps and other information

It's staying nice and cool. Course it's cool in here this time of year. In summer it runs hotter of course.High temperatures have always been the biggest problem with computers. Remember the early ones? Big as a room and air conditioners required more electricity than the computers did?
Don't know how many fans I have replaced in the old Desktop systems. In fact Buddy Jim in Austin told me the other day he had to go replace one in his uncles machine.

I have this laptop resting on a USB powered cooling pad that seems to work OK , but in looking at it today ,I'm either going to have to figer out how to open the molded case to clean the dual fans or replace it.

How'd I get off on that ??

Nothing on the list for today. ( and yes! there is an actual list) and only thing on the white board over there is "mechanic ? " and " call new Doctor"

Mechanic is to remind me to take BOT down and talk with him about what , if anything, we can do to improve mileage. Let him go over the maintenance records and maybe clean/replace the EBP (Exhaust Back Pressure) sensor and tube, these can clog up with carbon buildup over time and cause a reduction in fuel economy. There is a guy in town who can tune these big ole engines for power or fuel economy using a "chip" replacement and exhaust work and air intake. Not sure I want to go that far. But will look into it. Also want him to check those big A disk brakes. It stops OK, Just I have never looked at the disk and rotors for wear. And lube it everywhere.
Should do all this cause it looks like I'm gonna be stuck with it so just as well make it run as good as possible.
( Sort of wish Barney, OFM were in the area cause he drives a BOT with a Chevy Diesel and has some experience along that line. )

Ok, nuther cuppa after I check weather of course.
47.8 °F
Clear
Windchill:    48 °F
Humidity:    56%
Wind:    3.0 mph from the South
Wind Gust:    11.0 mph
Visibility:    10.0 miles
Dew Point:    33 °F
Pressure:    30.23 in (Steady)

NWS forecast: Mostly sunny, with a high near 70. South southwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

BBL betcha

OK, Buddy Bob sent me an email with some oldies but goodies.
Conversations between airline pilots and controllers.

Tower: "Delta 351, you have traffic at 10 o'clock, 6 miles!"
Delta 351: "Give us another hint! We have digital watches!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tower: "TWA 2341, for noise abatement turn right 45 Degrees."
TWA 2341: "Center, we are at 35,000 feet. How much noise can
we make up here?"
Tower: "Sir, have you ever heard the noise a 747 makes when it
hits a 727?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>From an unknown aircraft waiting in a very long takeoff queue:
"I'm f....ing bored!"
Ground Traffic Control: "Last aircraft transmitting, identify yourself immediately!"
Unknown aircraft: "I said I was f...ing bored, not f....ing stupid!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
O'Hare Approach Control to a 747: "United 329 heavy, your traffic is a Fokker, one o'clock, three miles, Eastbound."
United 329: "Approach, I've always wanted to say this...
I've got the little Fokker in sight."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A student became lost during a solo cross-country flight. While attempting
to locate the aircraft on radar, ATC asked,

"What was your last known position?"
Student: "When I was number one for takeoff."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A DC-10 had come in a little hot and thus had an exceedingly long roll out after
touching down. San Jose Tower Noted:
"American 751, make a hard right turn at the end of the
runway, if you are able. If you are not able, take the
Guadeloupe exit off Highway 101, make a right at the lights
and return to the airport."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Pan Am 727 flight, waiting for start clearance in Munich , overheard the following:
Lufthansa (in German): "Ground, what is our start clearance time?"
Ground (in English): "If you want an answer you must speak in
English."
Lufthansa (in English): "I am a German, flying a German airplane, in Germany. Why must I speak English?"

Unknown voice from another plane (in a beautiful British accent):"Because you
lost the bloody war!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tower: "Eastern 702, cleared for takeoff, contact Departure on frequency 124.7"
Eastern 702: "Tower, Eastern 702 switching to Departure. By the
way, after we lifted off we saw some kind of dead animal on the far end of the runway."
Tower: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff behind Eastern 702, contact Departure on frequency 124.7. Did you copy that
report from Eastern 702?"
Continental 635: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff, roger; and yes,
we copied Eastern... We've already notified our caterers."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One day the pilot of a Cherokee 180 was told by the tower to hold short of the
active runway while a DC-8 landed. The DC-8 landed, rolled out, turned around,
and taxied back past the Cherokee. Some quick-witted comedian in the DC-8
crew got on the radio and said,

"What a cute little plane. Did you make it all by yourself?"

The Cherokee pilot, not about to let the insult go by, came back with a real zinger:

"I made it out of DC-8 parts. Another landing like yours and I'll
have enough parts for another one."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The German air controllers at Frankfurt Airport are renowned as a short-tempered
lot. They not only expect one to know one's gate parking location, but how to get
there without any assistance from them. So it was with some amusement that we
(a Pan Am 747) listened to the following exchange between Frankfurt ground
control and a British Airways 747, call sign Speedbird 206.
Speedbird 206: " Frankfurt , Speedbird 206! Clear of active runway."
Ground: "Speedbird 206. Taxi to gate Al pha One-Seven."
The BA 747 pulled onto the main taxiway and slowed to a stop.

Ground: "Speedbird, do you not know where you are going?"
Speedbird
206: "Stand by, Ground, I'm looking up our gate location now."
Ground (with quite arrogant impatience): "Speedbird 206, have you not
been to Frankfurt before?"
Speedbird 206 (coolly): "Yes, twice in 1944, but it was dark, -- And I didn't land."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While taxiing at London 's Airport, the crew of a US Air flight departing for
Ft. Lauderdale made a wrong turn and came nose to nose with a United 727.
An irate female ground controller lashed out at the US Air crew, screaming:"US Air 2771, where the hell are you going? I told you to turn right onto Charlie taxiway! You turned right on Delta! Stop right there. I
know it's difficult for you to tell the difference between C and D,
but get it right!"
Continuing her rage to the embarrassed crew, she was now shouting hysterically:
"God! Now you've screwed everything up! It'll take forever to
sort this out! You stay right there and don't move till I tell you
to! You can expect progressive taxi instructions in about half
an hour, and I want you to go exactly where I tell you, when I
tell you, and how I tell you! You got that, US Air 2771?"

"Yes, ma'am," the humbled crew responded. Naturally, the ground control communications frequency fell terribly silent after the verbal bashing of US Air
2771. Nobody wanted to chance engaging the irate ground controller in her
current state of mind. Tension in every cockpit out around Gatwick was definitely running high. Just then an unknown pilot broke the silence and keyed his
microphone, asking:

"Wasn't I married to you once?"

And finally... a clever way to keep the dammed tree rats out of your bird feeders. ( and some pretty good comic relief) Squirrel Twirler.

4PM+ Cat's circling wanting supper I guess. They been out back keeping any interlopers out of their yard. Speaking of that. Noticed today that the buzzard have returned to the area. Saw several different sets on my short run earlier. Seeing a few hawks,but not a lot yet.
Guess I better feed them, open a new can of stuff cause they sure didn't like that last choice ( ground up/pureed fish parts.

Dang Hermit Jim's comment below got me to thinking serious about taking a short trip. I may just have to take a run down to the coast to gut stuff myself at that place I mentioned before. Snoopy's Pier. Think the last time was two years ago? or has it been longer? I know Ann and I went down early one spring and like to have froze our asses off. So it may well have been over 4 years. Not sure any more . Takes me bout 5 hours to get there ( the back way, NOT the super slab)
I'll think on it .. no rush for sure.
Speaking of traveling and going places.One of my favorite places in Texas is SOUTH Padre Island. Just love that place and have for years. But after Ann passed and I took her ashes down to the beach, I haven't been back. Maybe this year?

Sunday Jan 9 , '12. Yep it's an early morning ,again.

2012-01-29T05:13:00.006-06:00

Yea, I'm up early, bout 4:30 this morning. I tried the rolling over trick and it didn't work. So just gave up and got on with it.

First off thanks for all the tips about trying to remember dreams. I dug around in a container that has some "stuff" in it and found a small Olympus Digital Recorder I had attempted to use some years ago while traveling to make notes with. Quick as I find some fresh batteries for it ( AAA) I'll play with it and then lay it beside the bed and hopefully have presents of mind enough to be able to turn it on ( one push button) and mumble into it for review later .

Watched a dang decent movie last evening. Paycheck from 2003

Paid big money by high-tech firms for working on hush-hush projects, computer ace Michael Jennings then has his memory erased for security purposes -- which explains why he can't figure out the reason his most recent employer wants to kill him.

Cast:
    Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, Uma Thurman,

Not bad, but could have done with out Uma IMHO.

Here after a bit , once they open. I'll go for my normal breakfast and news paper.
Got a question for ya ( feel free to reply via email). How many watched that dinky video I posted yesterday? AND when you watched it, does it show you my whole play list that I have uploaded? Reason I ask is, when I go to the site it shows me everything on the list but my connection is logged in as manager/owner.Where as you are a visitor. Just curious.

Go head and get weather and comics outta the way cause I know you can't get on with your day without them. :-)
29.5 °F ( 32°F here)
Clear
Windchill:     30 °F
Humidity:     76%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     0.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     23 °F
Pressure:     30.46 in (Steady)

Today: Sunny, with a high near 59. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph.

Garfield
B.C.
For Better or Worst
Shoe
Peanuts,Better known as Charlie Brown
Hargar
Ziggy
Dagwood and Blondie
Luann
Dennis
Beetle Bailey
Pluggers
And Pickles with Earl

Late comic addition. The Lockhorns    the large panel in the bottom caught my eye.

Talked with my girl at the store this morning. She is disgruntled with management/ owners. Bills not getting paid, stock not being restocked. Said she doesn't know how much longer they will be open. Latest thing is the wood delivery guy who provides the wood for their big ole cooker for the brisket , left them a note that he won't deliver any more till they pay the bill.
Would be sad to lose that long standing Texas tradition but...

Noon:30,while my soup mix ( some left over stew that I added a small bit of gumbo left over to.) is warming up I'll take a minute and update. Got a wild hair this morning and started playing with a couple of video cameras . Finally settled on the Ole stand by Canon. . Put it on the end of a mono pod and attempted to so some video from the cats point of view. I'll let you be the judge once it finishes uploading it'll be on You Tube Here.   it it don't load, wait a bit and try again. I think it's about 6 minutes long. One of these days I'm gonnas get buddy Jim up here and have him show me some of the tricks he uses to make his slide shows and videos.

Soups warm.. BBL

Saturday, 1-28-12.Had a briliant idea .. But.....

2012-01-28T08:18:00.006-06:00

My weird sleeping patterns are back and last night/early this morning (2AM) I popped wide away with a brilliant idea for a topic for today's blog .It would amaze you and make your brain shift into overdrive trying to find the answer. BUT!!, there's always a but isn't there?
When I woke up for real at 7, it's gone, all gone,not a flicker, not even a shadow of a memory. Just the time stamp remains.
I find that happens more and more lately , an idea or thought or solution pops up and unless I am sitting with pen poised over paper or fingers on keyboard it slips away. Guess I'll just write it off to the normal aging process.
Seems like , in my case anyway, I have those brain farts more often than I did as a younger man. Or maybe the memory is just jumbled and I have forgotten the ones I had when I was younger.

OH! here's one for ya. You have experienced the full body shiver?   Your mother told you " A rabbit just ran across your grave" as an answer?   Well sometimes I'll be sitting here about 7/8's into a short nab and a part of my body will JERK! Like my left arm ( or right) sometimes a leg or the other.   A really strong one will almost knock my propped up leg off the table edge . The really strange part is I know they are going to happen but the thought and then the action are so millisecond close together I can't do anything about it.
They never happen when I'm moving or doing something, just when I'm dozing. I have had them in bed at night when I first lay down and those are full body events. Scares Tiny off the bed!!!
OH!! They are not painful at all ( like a charlie horse) just don't know what they are.

Got a long email from my architect brother last night concerning an idea about my thought of putting up or having built a smaller house on this site . Of course he wants to design it for me, but his idea of smaller and mine are two radically different things. His thinking was a micro mini while mine is more along the lines of a small single wide mobile home built on site. He and wife are kicking around the idea of building a small camper on a truck bed type thing for traveling. Didn't have the heart to tell him that there is already a whole world of do it yourselvers who have done it already.

Then along that line I got another email from a bud who suggested I just move into an RV. Already kicked that idea around and honestly don't think that's a life style that I could ever settle into. Lot of people do that. Just not my cup of tea.

Dangit!!! There is some guy out here who starts up his Pick up the same time every dammed morning. It's got loud exhaust on it and he starts it up, revs it a few times to make sure everyone hears him then hauls ass out of here. I can hear him a ways down the main road even.   Hope he blows it up soon with over revving the engine before the oil has time to circulate and lube the engine so we can get some more sleep ..

( my brilliant thought hasn't returned so... )

Weather for today.
41.7 °F
Clear
Windchill:     39 °F
Humidity:     55%
Wind:     4.0 mph from the North
Wind Gust:     11.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     27 °F
Pressure:     30.41 in (Rising)

NWS forecast: Partly sunny, with a high near 53. North northeast wind between 5 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Sunrise:     7:28am
Sunset:     5:59pm

Guess I'll get another cuppa and keep moving. Got plans here after a bit to go pick up a load of food distributed ( at cost) to hold me a while. Part of the load contains several summer sausages and associated cheeses.   Gonna need more Ritz crackers huh? :-)

Mo Coffee.. BBL

Breakfast over, and even went and picked up my order.   The non profit group that provides this service is Mid America Foods and clicking that link will take you to their homepage. ( find a center in your area) They have recently reorganized but the service is still around. As I under stand the history it was started by a minister so saw a need to help people.
I was told about it I guess about 15 years ago and used their services on occasion. when times were tough. As my situation improved I would on occasion purchase an order for some one else who could use it.
Now days since they have reorganized I use it just to supplement my grocery buying.
And I intend to tell some other folks about it and in one case just purchase an order for them to go pick up.

This time I just ordered a small selection includes a package of four summer sausage logs , ( natural, no additives) and two bricks of mild cheddar cheese ( naturally aged)
And a box of boneless Chicken breast, pound of stew beef chunks. 4 center cut pork chops, pound of Italian sausage, and pound of ground beef. and I'm forgetting something.

Anyway, that's what I did today..How's by you so far?

Early Afternoon .   Dang it!! I cleaned out the old office too good. I need a full size USB cable to access another storage drive I got and there ain't a one to be found in the house. Well, there is, but it's a jumper type, male and female , that won't work. Grrrr...

So off to explore the Windows site hunting for instructions on how to do something else I USED to know how to do.

4PM Cat feeding time and wine cooler for me!!
So I realized I had not checked mail or gotten my lotto ticket. So ran up and did that, and just to go somewhere. Went to Tom Thumb and restocked my wine, picked up some Diet Lemon/lime to mix and couple other items.   When I pulled back in saw a big ole dump truck and one of Bobcat things over at my Buddy Gaspar and Rosa’s place. So of course I had to go see what they were doing. They had a load of cement mixed stones and sand put in their drive and even filled the big ole hole in the county road that the county wouldn’t fill in. It’ll make their driveway and that road smoother for sure. Video link is if you’re bored..

Early Friday ,Jan 27th, '12.Bagels, Oregon, Terlingua and old High School Memories

2012-01-27T05:58:00.007-06:00

First off I got an email from brilliant, lovely, talented daughter last evening telling me that the Chamber of Commerce had done a report from The Hood River Bagel Company, Her Place of course. So with out further ado just watch

So if you’re headed up that way. Plan to stop in and say HI.

( I'm still waiting for her to put up some videos of home life using the camera I sent them :-) )

And from a totally different part of the Country..

Where I stayed in Terlingua last trip I stayed in Big Bend Holiday Hotel The “suite I stayed in is the El Patron and now there is a link from Jim’s page ( which is under construction as we speak) , but he’s getting there so check back often for updates.

http://www.myterlingua.com/

Otherwise this morning. Weather’s looking pretty good .

36.8 °F
Clear
Windchill:     37 °F
Humidity:     81%
Wind:     2.0 mph from the NW
Wind Gust:     2.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     32 °F
Pressure:     30.02 in (Falling)

NWS forecast: Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 70. South wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west.

But I’m all PO’ed.. Dammed Geek Squad was supposed to be here yesterday but never showed up and never called after the morning recorded thing telling me they would be here.. #$%^^)*!!!!!

So, yesterday I mentioned my ole school bud. Roger. He and I did an ad lib routine in High school for some event, on stage at a talent show thing. I think first we planned on singing but ended up doing a bit about Jose Jimenez interview about the first Astronaut, I found the link to the original ( but we had it on a record album to learn it from) It’s sort of long but . Here’s Bill Dana as Jose, The First Astronaut. ( it runs about 8 minutes )

OK, I'll probably go out for something or the other today I'm sure cause I make it a point to get out of the house each and every day ( unless there' ice on the roads)

One thing I will do is take a walk out back and see how much , if any,my buried burn pile settled with the rain I had. Sure is going to speed up my mowing out there not having to dodge around that pile of limbs, brush and trash. :-)

And also going to see about maybe raising the big ole spray heads on my aerobic sewer system. When I had them installed I had them put ground level to make it easier to mow around. However I have discovered that being ground level they get grass runners in them and tend to get bound up. Ummm, brain working here. Wonder if I could put some sort of barrier around the pipe part to act as a safety thing when I raise them just in case I do bump them with the mower deck? I'll look at that and think on it some.

Mo' Coffee and gag my pills down.... BBL!!!

Forgot to post a picture I took yesterday. I had tossed the last of a cake half I had cause it got stale . The big ole crows found it. Had to take the picture through the window cause they hear me if I touch the door knob to go out. Never could get all three of them in the shot.

Crows are back in force!! And even a squirrel came over to check out the last of the cake I had tossed yesterday.

Dang near 10PM and I'm outta here. Coffee pot made up, cats in.The Geek did show up and fooled with this and that and the other. Finally called HIS Geek and figered out that my ISP "AT&T" reassigns a new IP everytime I boot. So, he loaded in a gadget that assigns me a new ip that the cameras can find all the time. It'll work great as long as I only use it here. So if I travel, simply don't run the IP reload ..
Any who it's working again.
And I'm going to bed.....................

1/26/12, Thursday,,now what? I Got no clue.

2012-01-26T07:48:00.004-06:00

I guess I should just be thankful I woke up on this side of the grass this morning. And I am of course. Don't get me wrong, I'm not feeling like I'm near the end , it's just that sometimes something or the other , or someone, some song, some news event or someone's name in the obituary column will give me a slight jolt of Hey!! I remember so and so or I know that guy ( girl ) !!! And on closer examination that memory turns out to be 50 frigging years old!!!

Tell ya what set it off yesterday ... Phone rang and caller ID showed it was my Doctors office. It was her office manager/receptionist with bad news. Doc is no longer seeing Medicare patients!!   Hell, I use her cause she is a geriatric specialist! And becsuse she is methodical and really listens when you ask her a question of tell her about some sore spot or glitch in your gitalong.

Anywho, she offered me a couple of doctors names in the area as referrals and said as soon as I picked one they would forward all my records over.
I got one picked out to call and make an appointment with to interview.
YEP, I'm going to treat him just like I was hiring him to work for me. Because he will be working for me and I want to make sure he's not just a pill pusher. You know, just in and out and "Next Patient".

So,, what else set me off this morning? :-) OH!! Hold that thought.. let's get weather out of the way first, fore I let it slip my mind.

45.3 °F
Light Rain
Windchill:     43 °F
Humidity:     85%
Wind:     4.0 mph from the WNW
Wind Gust:     10.0 mph
Visibility:     3.0 miles
Dew Point:     41 °F
Precipitation:     40% chance of precipitation
Pressure:     29.94 in (Rising)

Today: A 40 percent chance of rain, mainly before noon. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 58. North northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph.
Raining out there right now as a matter of fact, but it's not a big line of showers so it'll probably move out quick.

I got a call from an old school buddy. He lived not far from me up on the highway back when. All though HS and after, we were running buddies. We even preformed in one of the “talent” shows in school. Did a lip sink/ad lib to a Jose Jimenez bit of the first Mexican astronaut.
He was artistic and could draw anything. Also leaned to play guitar and the Hawaii steel flattop from his dad.   Could fix any car or gas powered motor.
I had forgotten and he reminded me. When it came time to graduate HS I had to help him read the final exam because he couldn’t read!! Said he took classes later and finally learned too.
Then we remembered another of our high school buddies, Owen.. He, I remembered not being able to read either. But both of those guys were great guys and did fine afterward in the real World.

He went to work at General Motors and retired from there,
Married, divorced, remarried .   Now days he is medically on disability from 3 heart attacks and surgeries. But hanging in and just above water with his bills and what not .
Dang, seems like All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down

Speaking of our/my younger days. My first NEW car was a 1966 VW BUG, loved it for several reasons but one thing I remember about it was the jack.
Didn't use a bumper jack but one on the side below the running board thing. Odd looking gadget . To raise it you insert that square part in the receiver in a hole under the running board located behind the door. Using the handle. pumped the top lever up and down .. To lower it, use the bottom one. Only problem was that if it got wet , like in a rain, it's would slide down with any weight on it. Happened to Joe and me late one night beside the road in middle of no where. Finally had to drape a poncho over me to keep it dry till we got the tire changed. That socket looking thing, one end was for lug nuts, the other for spark plugs!!

..Another thing I noticed lately that strikes me. Maybe you can explain it. Quart Milk cartons with the screw off lids located on the side of the top. What happen to simply pulling open the folder top on one side and making a simple pour spout? Kids too stoopied today to figer that out?

Got to have a screw off cap?

Lazy bunch of Fat Burger sucking weirdos

Seen any American Airline Commercials on TV lately? Me neither..

Speaking of old farts and what we remember. Here's a link you can waste some time with.
Those were the Days.. Pick a year and read some of the events that happened that year. I defaulted it to the year I was born. Change it on the left side to what ever year you want too.
Click!!

Opened the blinds and it's quit raining, in fact looks like the sun may actually come out in a bit.. So.. Mo Coffee and find some breakfast.. C'ya later I betcha.

Quick update... Went in to get mo' coffee and noticed my list on the board. Geek is due today to fix what ever I screwed up on my cameras. IF I can get him to set it up , I hope to have at least one of the 8 that you can look at on occasion.
and BTW. breakfast this morning is tamale with over easy egg on top and some Wolf Brand chile topping. Of course onion and cheese on top..Want me to make up one for you? :-)

Near Noon . I just had walked from one end of the house to the other and the thought stuck me.. Why do I need such a big house? It's just me an the two carpet sharks.. I counted 24 paces length, and 11 paces wide. Measured it and it's 65X25! I don't use the "game room area" nor the guest room, and the old office is pretty much just stuff that needs to go away. The living room a ( full width by 16) I only really use about half of. The kitchen of course I use, but it could be smaller if I had a place to put the washer and drier. In all reality I could close off ( board up) half of it and still have plenty of room. Maybe I need to do some research on one of the "tiny houses" that they put up on site? guess I could contact my architect brother an see what he knows about that ..

Don't panic.. just what popped in my mind while I was thinking, or wool gathering. :-)

OK then, 5PM, cats ate and are right now playing TAG all through the house.
And Hermit just a notice since you missed breakfast on your comment ,, Fixin to put th pizza in the over. :-)

January 25th, Weather, Rain, Flooding and places I experienced it.

2012-01-25T07:29:00.010-06:00

48.2 °F
Heavy Thunderstorm Rain
Windchill:     48 °F
Humidity:     87%
Wind:     2.0 mph from the NNW
Wind Gust:     13.0 mph
Visibility:     3.0 miles
Dew Point:     44 °F
Precipitation:     90% chance of precipitation
Pressure:     29.89 in (Falling)

Statement as of 6:02 am CST on January 25, 2012
Area Flood Advisory, Flash Flood Watch

Today: Rain and thunderstorms, mainly before noon. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Temperature falling to around 49 by 5pm. North northeast wind between 10 and 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

I'm showing 3.91" in the last 24 hours and it's still coming down.

I HAVE to start making notes!!! Last evening for example I had a flash of what I was going to dazzle you with this morning, but now? Gone, all gone.:-(

Tried to dredge it back up and the only thing that comes to mind is the floods we experienced on the farm back around ’57. But that may be because of this weather we’re having today. Back then we had just moved out to the farm, and unbeknown to us the area was about to experience flooding that would be the beginning of the end of the long drought period the area had been under for about 7 years.

Our farm sat on an iron ore uprising at the intersection of two county roads.
It started raining and it rained and rained and then rained some more. I don’t know how much but I bet Daddy recorded it in one of his journals.   Finally the dirt roads that met at the NW corner in the lowest spot, flooded way up over the roads!! All traffic stopped and even the school bus to carry me to junior high couldn’t get through. MAP OF FARM and intersection
See on the west (left side), where Calendar road meets W. Harris road?   That whole SW side of the intersection was 3 or 4 feet under water. That map doesn’t show elevations but the corner was the lowest on the farm and Daddy considered over the years putting a pond there but never did.

Of course I moved away from that area after a couple years of college and moved to the Gulf Coast area. Talk about rain!! The house I bought in Seabrook Texas was two blocks from Galveston Bay, elevation was 7ft msl I think. 1740 Capri Lane, Seabrook Texas is the address and here's a link to that House

A heavy rain of big storm in the Gulf would often raise the level of the Bay enough that rain won’t run out fast enough and that intersection would flood.
But I loved living there because fishing was soo close and my big ole boat would just fit in half the garage.

I even experience rain caused flash floods in the desert mountain area of Alpine Texas.   When a big storm would come in the water would run off real fast into the natural drainage areas, but would on occasion cause street closings for a while until it had time to run off south. And the final map of my place in Alpine Texas.

Shoot I’ve even seen long dry creeks in the Desert around the Terlingua area flood 4 and 5 feet deep. All caused by run off of water from miles away.

I guess I should have been a meteorologist or TV weather man cause it’s always held my interest.

Quick update. Finally got light enough outside I opened the door and looked out. I'll have pictures of the standing water in a bit when it get's light enough to take some.
And here ya go... Front area big ditch and my ditch with water standing/ running off.

And it's standing out in the low area by the barn.

Started moving around pretty good now at 9:30 and remembered I wanted put out my phone books with the trash. >>> Then just for helluva it, I weighted them . almost 12 pounds of crap and advertisements.
Think I'll secure them and set them on top of the trash container so the guys won't be surprised and possibly the bag breaking.

Mo coffee...

Quick 11:30 update. After I walked the trash down to set out I wandered out to the barn, just to see what .. Dang water still managed to get up high enough to run under the door and all the way through. BUT the one sunken area with sandy bottom has a few inches standing still. Don't see that happen often

Much later today , 6PM as a matter of fact. Seemed like the phone rang every time I got all comfortable and just that close to a nap. :-) The first one was the most Important, My Doctors office telling me she is no longer accepting Medicare patients,, But referred me to a doc close to her that does and also specializes in Old Farts. So I'll make an interview appointment with him and go see if I like him.
Then Jim down in Austin called telling me about all his rain ( was up almost to his garage door).
Then the electrician that had fixed my electrical issue . Just checking that everything was OK and just to chat a bit. Good Guy and I got his cards saved to pass out to people who may need his services.
Someone else but I forget who so it must not have been important.

Think it's time for some good ole warm something for suooer, once I browse the fridge and cupboard.

1/24/12 Tuesday, BOT, Rain, Solar Flares, Avaiation History

2012-01-24T07:27:00.004-06:00

BOT, in case you forgot stands for Big Ole Truck, my '99 F250 Ford. The big ole honker with the turbo Diesel sucker engine. I was/am considering that vehicle. All good ole boy Texans need a truck ( I think it's required to maintain your Texas citizenship) Well, mine sits 99% of the time. Couple of reasons. First is I don't have any thing I need hauled or towed.Secondly, It sucks that gold infused diesel fuel like a Blue Whale sucks in krill.

So I sat this morning and went through every service record I have on it. going all the way back to when the previous owner bought it in 2001. Made a list to take to my mechanic for review. What I "think" needs to happen is a through going over from the air cleaner intake,to the exhaust. There is one item mentioned on several sites concerning cleaning a part called Exhaust Back Pressure sensor and tube, these can clog up with carbon buildup over time and cause a reduction in fuel economy. Sounds like a straight forward job to remove and clean it out.   So, that's on the list for maybe today.

Weather "may" play a part in that happening.
37.2 °F
Clear
Windchill:     37 °F
Humidity:     79%
Wind:     3.0 mph from the ESE
Wind Gust:     4.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     31 °F
Pressure:     30.07 in (Steady)

Today: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61. East southeast wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

And I got to run up and get my drugs that are awaiting pick up and review the list. all with a wary eye on the radar.

Course all this is tentative, cause the Solar storm that is headed our way "may" wipe all electrical systems IF you believe the Doom Sayers on line spewing their doom and gloom. Solar Flares

Changing subjects , I remember as a kid on the farm seeing the airplanes flying over ,some from Carswell AFB and later from the Navel center north of us. ( actuality saw one crash one time)
What brought that to mind was this video of the first US Jet powered aircraft flight in 1942

Mo coffee..

Noon Thirty... Made it back from my drug pick up and store stop, beat the forecast rain anyway.

Remember the video I had done a bit back of the building wrapped in plastic? Well, it's tottally gone and they are now working removing the debris.I got a quick video and just happen to run into the City Guy who told me they were putting the creek that runs beside where it used to be , BACK to it's natural course once that area if clean. Here's a short video of that progress.

And here's one I got in an email. Dammed phone apps!!

5ISH PM,, fed the cats , once I got Tiny out from under the couch. Guess the heavy rain storm that moved through scared her. Got .59" in just a short time. Whoopie!!!!

Guess I'll warm me up some Buffalo wings and eat something cause that big ole salad I did for lunch didn't last long enough.

January 13th,12. Monday If that matters to ya

2012-01-23T07:14:00.000-06:00

Well, I did it again!! Paid a geek to come get my cameras running so's I could put them up viewable on the internet last week.
Some how, in going through the settings on the system ( trying to change the contrast) I clicked some setting or button I shouldn't have! Now they are not viewable on line any more. SO,, got to call the Geek Squad guy to come reset set what ever it was I fouled up. and make me a big note to NOT change that setting again!!! Grrrr...
( no, it doesn't do a back up of the settings)

How many phone books you got laying around at your house? I got about 30# of them I bet. They were all stuffed in one of the small cabinets where I mounted the security camera system. So, I looked at them and decided I don't need a dammed one of them!! I can google and find any phone number or address I need. They're going out in the trash pick up this week!! And if another one shows up at my PO or tossed in the driveway. IT ain't coming in my house!!!!!
With the internet now , I can find anyone or anything I need to get a phone number for.

Speaking of finding stuff, I got a usb powered storage device (1TB of storage Terabyte: A Terabyte is approximately one trillion bytes, or 1,000 Gigabytes. ) here that I got a couple years ago ( or longer) and have copied stuff to it off and on going all the way back to when I had desktop computers all over.   So I started looking at the files on it and seriously I found copies of files going all the way back that pre-date DOS!! Stuff I had saved off from my First Xerox 8080 processor.
Some of the stuff I want to save of course, but the rest can be dumped and that device taken out of service and off the table. BUT what to save it onto? CD's I don't trust for long term storage, Don't have a USB big enough, ummm. I'll have to think on this later. But I did leave it sitting here in my view so I won't forget to work on that.

What's up otherwise for today? Don't know yet. coffee hasn't really kicked in good yet.:-)

Did check the weather of course.
36.8 °F
Clear
Windchill:     37 °F
Humidity:     74%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     2.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     29 °F
Pressure:     30.08 in (Steady)

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. Calm wind becoming east southeast around 5 mph.

Look at THAT!! Not a freeze insight!!

OK, all y'all of a certain age remember the great comics of our youth, Bill Cosby , Justin Wilson, Moms Mabley, Fred Sanford, and in our college years. George Carlin.

Well , last evening I found on my Netflix player His first broadcast special..
On Location: George Carlin at USC is Irish-American comedian George Carlin's first ever HBO special, recorded during the Summer of 1977 at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

This unique taping lasted 85 minutes, and, at age 40, marked a new era in Carlin's career. He explained to the audience that before this special came about, that he never did a show for home consumption or reproduction

It is long, An hour and 25 minutes recorded 1977 at USC. It was controversial at the time because he did the famous Seven Dirty Words you can't say on TV .. Well, guess what? I found that entire bit on line, recorded from the original Home Box Office ( now just HBO) So, here it is if you got and hour to watch . I guess I should warn you about the language but if you hadn't figered that part out yet. Don't bother watching.

You can watch , I'm off for more Coffee BBL.

Sunday 1/22/12 , I see by the lack of sun over the yard arm that is DARK!!

2012-01-22T06:26:00.006-06:00

Course I've never been in the Navy so have no idea what that term really means. But back in the day we took it to mean it was late enough in the day we could have a beer.
Speaking of Navy.
Fixit Guy yesterday is a vet! 20 Years Navy Shipboard and retired. Yes, During the Vietnam era

Checked my Texas Lotto numbers of course , and well, I'm still here so you know I didn't win. :-)
What would you do if you suddenly came into an amount of cash like the lotto was for last night $16 Million Dollars? First off the top of my head thought is, buy me a big ole Rigged out Motor Home and git gone. WITH a driver for when I didn't want to, or for going through towns. I used to say I'd pay off all my bills first, but I did that. :-)

Guess I'd probably blow it and leave what's left to my daughter in all reality.
When I was younger I thought about it and considered buying something like a DC3 and hiring a pilot . Those planes will get you anywhere you want to go, just not at jet speed. And almost any airport would have a place to land it and store it.
Enough of that... Gets my brain all bumfuzzeled.

Last night I made a note to find a link to two TV Series theme music that I really like. The Music that is.. The first is Law and Order. I just love the dramatic sounds and that funky bass guitar with the clarinet playing counter part to it. LISTEN and maybe you'll hear what I do.
And another ole Cop show Theme song I really like was from 1981.. Hill Street Blues. Couldn't find as great link, But this one will do. Hill Street. That semi jazzy piano with the wailing sax filling in just always moved me.

Weather here today gonna be OK if I decide to go out for a load of restaurant seafood take a way :-)

44.0 °F
Clear
Windchill:     39 °F
Humidity:     82%
Wind:     9.0 mph from the SSE
Wind Gust:     13.0 mph
Visibility:     2.5 miles
Dew Point:     39 °F
Pressure:     29.76 in (Falling)

Today: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 75. Windy, with a south wind 15 to 20 mph becoming west southwest between 25 and 30 mph. Winds could gust as high as 45 mph.

And now I guess you want your Comics HUH? OK,   but first off a cartoon for faithful follower and blogger MsBelinda who is a huge fan of Betty Boop.

Garfield
BC
For Better or Worst
Shoe
Peanuts commonly known as Charlie Brown.
Hagar
Ziggy
Dagwood
Luann
Dennis
Beetle Bailey
Pluggers
Pickles

7:30 AM Well, that was and is something different!! Just after I hit publish at 6:43. The lights went out!!! Plumb Ass out!! Want proof? OK, here's a picture of my room at that time :-) Right over there in that box.---->

My Girl up at Cass's said a truck wiped out a power pole and I saw the work crew on the way back. So it's gonna be a couple hours I betcha. Sure is different not seeing ANY lights in the area.

Of course you know I had bought that big ole Honda generator so I got it up to the house and ran a cord in to get me power to the important things, computer, TV, Phone Internet router. So I'll live :-)

I'll survive, got my gas cook stove, generator for lights and essentials.

9:45 I've bragged on my power company before United Coop Services . In all the years I've been out here I can't think of but a couple other times that we've had a total power outage for any length of time. And those have all been caused by vehicles taking out a pole, and a couple of short ones weather related. My lights came back on at 8:17. first just a flicker and then about 30 seconds later. Full power. I waited till I ate and got pills down then reconnected everything back to house power and shut down the generator.

Tell you what !!! That heavy ( 140 lb) SOB don't roll well on the grass and dirt. The big wheels do fine, but the little swivel wheels just dig in. Like to have given me a heart attack getting it up here. Taking it back I got smarter and using John Deere I was able to loop a nylon tie down strap around the handle and slowly pull it to the barn. I left that strap on the handle so hopefully I'll remember to use it next time if I ever have to move it any distance.
The only thing that I think don't work is that my fancy ass camera system seems to have lost it's settings. Cause I can't access them on line now. Can you? ( those of you who have the link)

Now I can get last cuppa and read the paper.

And in today's paper they had a more detailed Obit for Cass Casstevens HERE
Honestly he was a kind gentle man who quietly ran his Little store and dispensed some of the best BBQ in Texas. Yep, he'll be missed in our area for sure

Sat. Jan 21-- 2012.. Holy Cow , Fix My PC Now!!

2012-01-21T07:02:00.005-06:00

No, that's not a cry for help, that's the name of the small company that a guy down in this area picked for his small business. Jack is an older fellow relative to the average age of the kids that work on computers now. Don't remember exactly how old, but think he mentioned he was in service during the Vietnam conflict or shortly afterward, Yea, another Old Fart! :-) Course I could have miss-remembered.

What is going on with my computer I should be able to correct myself. And could have a few years ago.   Something or some program has fouled up my MS Office Word link. Every time I try to open a DOC file it gives me a notice and won't open it. BUT if I open Word first and then open the file, no problems.. Something is screwed..... I'll call Jack and bet he comes tomorrow .. ( wonder if I still got the install CD?   Naw, that'd be too friggin simple) .

Ummm, Just thought of something else I could get Jack to do for me.
Set up one of those fancy ass Remote controls that does everything from turning on the TV , then the amp, then switches to what ever input I tell it to. Eliminate the 5 remotes I got laying here now. When you figer that just one remote ( Amplifier) had 25 buttons on it, and TV has 10 and VCR/DVD player has more than either, I can see that an all in one would make life simpler.
I had an all in one remote a few years ago that worked, BUT when I changed TV think it was, it never would load that remote setting. It was one of the type that you aimed the two remotes at each other and stepped through a big ole long rigmarole of button pushes. ( Shoot, if we set one up right I could lock and unlock the car from here even. LOL LOL )

While we/I am enjoying this nice ending of winter weather here in Texas. Daughter and family up in Hood River OR are in a snow situation. Sure glad I live in balmy Texas (except when we get one of those ice storms like the year the super bowl was played at Texas Statium)

38.2 °F
Overcast
Windchill:     35 °F
Humidity:     68%
Wind:     4.0 mph from the NNW
Wind Gust:     17.0 mph
Visibility:     7.0 miles
Dew Point:     29 °F
Pressure:     30.05 in (Rising)

Today: Sunny, with a high near 51. Northeast wind between 5 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

So, Wha's up for today you may ask.. Beats hell outta me!! Think I'm getting seafood hungry so "may" head to LJS for a plate. Yea, I know, but it's the best of the lot that I have to choose from around here.

OH!! We all need to start bugging Dizzy Dick to post of a video of his new RV ( Castle on Wheels ) He "said" he did some video of it with all of it opened up with the slides out and the dance floor all lite up with the spinning disco ball . But seeing is believing huh?   :-)

Ok, mo coffee, but rest assured I'll be back after later. C'ya

8AM plus some . Breakfast outta the way , shoot, even got the dishwasher running.
Watching the news this morning while working on programs and surfing the net.
The local news about the Texas Rangers ( the ball club, NOT the state police agency)
anyway they are all hopped up about the new pitcher from Japan , Yu-Darvish. My first question was, he don't speak English so how are they going to communicate with him on the field during a game. Not digging on him, just wondering.

And got a call back already from my fix-it-guy. He'll be by later ( before lunch) . Gonna spend some time with him about any other issue I can think of between now and then.

dishwasher running, last cuppa working. Guess the day is going to work out after all. :-)

Bout NOON update. Got all ambitious and cleaned out a storage cabinet here by the table/office. Found a universal remote control!! Found a page online about it and remembered why I quit using it. PITA to attempt to program , you got to line up this one in direct line with the original and let it "learn" . Horse hockey!!! Now I remember why I quit using it!!

So? Any of ya'll want it? I'll mail it to you if you pay for the postage. Serious.

Think it's bout time for lunch, what say ya?

Ran up and Checked mail and over to my Local store for lotto . Big notice on the door that Cass had died. Found the short obit on line.
Harold D. "Cass" Casstevens (1924 - 2012)

Harold D. "Cass" Casstevens, 87, passed away Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. Service: Pending. Harold was a longtime resident of Lillian and owner of Casstevens Cash and Carry in Lillian. Survivors: Wife, Sarah Casstevens; children, Sandra Carter, Joe Casstevens and Leigh Garrett.
Published in Star-Telegram on January 21, 2012

I did find out that services are Monday at the local Baptist church.
Cass was one of the most friendly, helpful, outgoing people I ever had the pleasure to meet.
Always willing to help out anyone who needed the help.

He'll be missed in this community for sure

Good Grief!! 6:30 PM? Must be Vanna's on! :-)
Almost felt sorry for my fixit guy cause he had a hellua a time getting my issue fixed. It sounded like a simple fix. Make .doc files open with MS OFFICE ( NOT MS WORKS ) .. BUT nope!! He cleaned registry,checked it for errors and pushed this and that .. Finally after about two hours found the two lines in Windows registry that cured the issue. WHEW.. I was just about to break out the hard liquor!!

But he's gone now and cats demanded supper and now it's my turn!!!

Then COPS comes on Fox.. Always good for some laughs

1/20/12 Why Fish on Friday? Is it just a Catholic Thing?

2012-01-20T06:02:00.011-06:00

Speaking of Catholic.. One time when I was doing computer fix it work for a company, I was assigned a job at some company with a name like Catholic Doohickey Services. Well when I got there I was surprised to learn it had nothing to do with the Catholic Church.
The definition of Catholic can be as simple as 1. broad or wide-ranging in tastes, interests, or the like; having sympathies with all; broad-minded; liberal.
2. universal in extent; involving all; of interest to all.
I remember as a teenage youth and under the tutelage of our Preacher , Jim Logan. There was a line in the Apostles' Creed that we recited every Sunday in Church that really bothered me .

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried;

he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead;

he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,

and life everlasting. Amen

That line about the Catholic just bugged me . He took the time to explain to me that it had nuthing to do with the Church based out of Rome that used the name Catholic. And that we were NOT paying homage to the mackerel snappers.

So I felt better after that and continued on with my life.

Sure glad we go that out of the way. :-)

Yesterday I while fooling with the truck out back , my "burn pile" of brush, old lumber and what not caught my eye. For years that has been the place to put tree limbs, whacked down bushes and general plant material and scrap wood to eventually burn.

Well, being that it's been sooo dry and under a burn ban, it hasn't been burned a a long time. So, I'm considering setting it off today. Mind you I DID NOT say I was going too. Just considering it.

See I'll have to drag out my water hose and put me a chair out there so I can sit with it and keep an eye on it so it don't get away and burn down this whole end of the county.

I'll see what the wind looks like after a bit once the sun comes up.

What I'd really like out there is dig a big ass hole and bury it all and never burn again. But I don't have tractor with a front end loader on it. So that's out ... :-)

Speaking of perfect burning weather conditions.

51.8 °F
Clear
Humidity:     82%
Wind:     5.0 mph from the South
Wind Gust:     10.0 mph
Visibility:     7.0 miles
Dew Point:     46 °F
Pressure:     29.78 in (Falling)

Today: Patchy dense fog before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 77. South southwest wind between 10 and 15 mph.

Mo Coffee.... BBL,, 6AM in case you wondered.

How bout a musical interlude while you wait for breakfast? Listen Here.

10:30ish or so . I got all busy and went out to fire off my brush pile Video. In gathering up some small stuff outta the barn to add I found a Crown Royal purple bag with a bunch of coins in it. Mixed in with them is an old Putt Putt game play coin. Wonder how old that thing is? :-)
I should go shower off since I smell like I been around a campfire on the wrong side in the smoke. :-) BBL

Back from PO and Burn Pile update... Saw a local guy out moving some dirt, filling in the old septic tanks down the street. Talked him into coming up and burying my pile.Lickety split He dug a hole and shoved it all in.. Gone!! Once it rains on it a time or two, never know it was there.. Sure will make mowing easier.

1/19/12 Is The Whole Blogging World Broke?

2012-01-19T05:32:00.008-06:00

Sure hearing of a lot of people having problems with their Blog post in the last couple of days. First is Bud Jim in Austin ( Don't think his issues are on his end ) . Miss Belinda of Terlingua Dreams is having issues. And I have noticed a couple of others that I visit on occasion are complaining. So far mine seems to be working OK ( knock wood) But sure as hell as I say that something will screw up. Should have kept my mouth shut huh?

Today My Daddy would have turned 92, Yea, I miss him.
We'll never see the likes of his kind again. The Men and Woman who fought the Great War to keep us free.

Weather today ain't bad at all.

46.7 °F
Clear
Windchill:     44 °F
Humidity:     63%
Wind:     5.0 mph from the South
Wind Gust:     11.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     35 °F
Pressure:     29.88 in (Falling)

NWS forecast: Sunny, with a high near 74. South wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west northwest.
( a year ago... 33.2 °F Clear,Windchill: 33 °F Humidity: 79% Wind: Calm)

I guess my memory is dis-remembering cause I see this time of year in my memory banks as the coldest time of our short winter. Ice storms, closed roads, cold as a whores heart, just not like we are seeing now.
Yea, I know I could find climate history and review it for particular years, but I'm too lazy. :-)
Shoot with temps in the 70's today I could get out side and do something huh? But I got nuthing planned at all, so we'll just see what comes along as the day progresses.

One thing I can and should do here inside is take the time to reset the sensitivity on my security cameras to trigger recording. I "think" the breeze , temperature change, and light changing are triggering an alarm state and setting them off. I'll fool with it now that I have a decent mouse on it and the area semi cleaned up so I can access it . :-)

But first Mo coffee and glance at the News headlines.

8ish and my stomach is telling me to quit the coffee and eat something. OK I will, got out my chorizo sausage and shredded potato and gonna whup me up some breakfast!!! Want some? Dang well better hurry!! :-)

News Flash!! Say it ain't so?!!! Kodak going out of business? So what do I do with my 35 MM film now?

Still morning officially I guess. 10:45AM

Watching the Godfather movies the last few days I was reminded of the Italian families I had been associated with. Met them down in Houston but they had all moved down from New York. Very heavy family orientated. If you (I) managed to get a date with one of their girls part of the family was always hovering around just in the back ground.

I experienced the same thing with the Jewish Girl I dated for awhile. Never a time when some of the family wasn’t around. Sort of like chaperons. Sort of Hell! They were!! Until the family of either lady accepted you as worthy of their daughters they treated you with a wary respect.

BUT if you were ever “accepted” into the Italian family you were in for the whole 9 yards.

With the Jewish family not as much acceptance (unless you converted to their religion) but you were accepted as a goy (A non-Jew, a Gentile). You would be tolerated but never fully trusted

But one good thing about it. No matter which group you were involved with you dang sure ate good!!

2PM Afternoon update. Just too dammed nice out side, had go get out in it. So moved BOT out to the barn and took my mower loading ramps out , cleaned out the bed of leaves and what not, vacuumed the inside. Wasn't energetic enough to wash it , but I can run it up to the car wash one of these days if I want too.

Shoot it's so nice out I "should" go work on bundle up the wires I left hanging from that project a few days ago... BBL

Later it is!!! I did go out ( and in) and pulled all the wires for the cameras out through the wall. Got them all straight and bundled. Pulled them back in and reconnected ( actually got them in the right ports even ) then made a stab at cleaning up or arranging really, the table where it all goes. Looks better to me anyway.

Now, Where d I leave my tea glass?

7 AM CST +/- on Wednesday January 18, 2012

2012-01-18T07:17:00.011-06:00

Didn't know what time to put up there since I first go on a while ago. But I been internet surfing and reading this and that and the other.

Go head and get this horrible weather we having out of the way. :-)

27.9 °F
Clear
Windchill:     28 °F
Humidity:     67%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     2.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     18 °F
Pressure:     30.34 in (Steady)

NWS forecast: Sunny, with a high near 55. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph.

A year ago today was low was 37 °F and the high was 57 °F with a wind 6 mph (North)

While talking with my Bud Jim down in Austin yesterday he mentioned that no one visits his blog. http://terlinguajim.blogspot.com/ and that he has just set up a web page that he will eventually use to host his photography and video work at ( not much yet but the space is set up ) http://www.terlinguadreams.com/ and he may well set up yet another spot in the future. Sure glad to see him getting into the photography again cause he does some good stuff.    I'm trying to get him to get a GoPro camera like mine and he probably will to use to take videos of hot air balloon weddings .

You ought to see his house and all the photo work he has done over the years in different areas, with a big concentration on the Big Bend region.

So, shameless plug for you to visit my buddy's site ( s) and say HI on his blog..

So, what have I got planned for today? Beats hell outa me, besides trash set out and lotto ticket nuthing comes to mind yet.

BBL

9AM, Weather update.. NOT here but up in Hood River where daughter is!!

Statement as of 5:26 am PST on January 18, 2012

Winter Storm Warning
... Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 6 PM PST this
evening for the western Columbia River gorge and the Upper Hood
River Valley...
A Winter Storm Warning for heavy snow remains in effect until
6 PM PST this evening.

Good Grief!! Sure am glad I'm in Texas. :-)

NOON:30 SON!! I done good!!! Managed to git everything on my list AND a big ole sandwich to boot!! Found me some Johnsonville Chorizo even. That store has never had it before. Cook some up in the skillet and stir in some onion and a couple eggs. THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!! I 'll dang sure try it one morning for breakfast. Shoot a little on a pizza won't hurt either I guess huh :-)

So, everything put away and even got the trash set out that I forgot his morning.

So, quick as my feet warm up gonna whup me up half of a BIG ole po-boy sandwich!!!

Later that afternoon. Just got off the phone with Jim in Austin, he's having a problem with his comments section, people can comment on it, BUT he can't reply to comments. He's looking into it but if anyone has any ideas let us know . Either here , or at his site in the comment section Here

5:30 Update... I didn't feel or hear this Earthquake in Cleburne.

All I've done , besides feed the cats is replace a mini blind in the bedroom. There is something wrong with that one window. All my others are the same size and take a 29" mini blind. But inn that that one window it comes up short ( width wise) I've learned to put a small screw in the holder to keep it from sliding out when I raise it.

Good Tuesday Morning to Ya!! Jan 17 2012 this one is.

2012-01-17T06:58:00.006-06:00

Gonna get a big ole long soaking shower first thing this morning. So if you're one of the chosen few who view my cameras here. Gonna turn two off till that project is over. :-) Just warning you so you won't panic .

And about this camera system!! Dang Chinese AH who attempted to translate the instructions into English!! Stand him up against a wall and shoot his ass!!!

All I wanted to do was install a HDD to record movement from three cameras in case of trouble here. The drive way to get a picture of the car,the front walk and door for pictures of the bad guys and the one of this whole room where I am 99% of the time.

Think it was easy ? Hell no!!! AFTER I got all the 8 video cables undone and marked AND the power and audio cables loose.. next There is no keyboard and the mouse is less than quality ( I can replace that) Finally!! got the correct time and date set on it. That was first, then formatting the HDD ( had an old one from defunct computer ) THEN trying to move from category to category. GRRRR,,
I ain't changing it now you can bet your Ass on that!!
It does make a good recording though I got to admit.

Anyway , that's done. Now I'm gonna get all hosed off and beard trimmed before the front moves in later.
60.2 °F
Clear
Humidity:    84%
Wind:    Calm
Wind Gust:    0.0 mph
Visibility:    10.0 miles
Dew Point:    55 °F
Pressure:    30.01 in (Rising)

NWS forecast: Sunny, with a temperature falling to around 45 by 5pm. Windy, with a north northwest wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to between 20 and 25 mph. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.

BBL as I'm sure I'll think of something witty to amusing and dazzle you with. :-)

8AM, breakfast scramble is cooking as we speak!! Dang, I feel lighter after that long shower and hair washing. Maybe now Tiny will even come to me :-)

While showering up I got to thinking about my water heater. ( NO it is NOT a HOT water heater, it's a water heater, you don't need to heat HOT water silly )
Going to do some research on thankless system. Since it's just one person here, one of them may well save me some energy cost not having to keep that big ole tank full of hot water. I've heard that the cost are down now. Only thing is I would want to use electric model cause switching it to propane would involve plumbing,and venting that I don't want to fool with.   IF I decide to have an estimate done,I'll let you know.

Also had to edit/update my store list. Dammed Basset tried to get a bird out the bedroom window and broke the mini blind in there.. BITCH!! It's a pretty standard size and I think I got the last ones at Big Lots near here. So I'll check there first .

Enough rambling this morning.. FOOD!!! :-)

And I did have Food!! Pizza while watching The Godfather!! Hey, it's Noon plus some now.

Also been on the phone for ever , first with my bud Jim down in Austin, having him review my camera settings on the Internet ( needed another set of eyes on it) And with bud in Cut and Shot, getting him straight on how to view them. Got that figered out. So, success so far today!! :-)
Since I'm all set on morning and since the wind is blowing hundredeleventy miles an hour,I may not even bother with the mail today.

3:30PM . I got all ambitious and decided to get the some of the new wires and cable out of the way and off the floor. Well, in the Process I answered the Question.. How to you keep an Old Fart and a Cat occupied?    Dump out the tie wraps and get them organized.

Then you bundle them by size and tie them up.

Then you have to have them Cat scanned.

And finally QC gets into the picture , "Missed One!!"

Monday, Spring Time already? 61°F out side and not even 6 AM yet?

2012-01-16T06:06:00.005-06:00

What's up with this temperature? Not complaining mind you, just that I expected it to be much colder and yucky Winter weather this time of year. Usually this time of year , with the Stock show and Rodeo in Town we are hit with ice storms, wind and generally cold weather. Shoot, one of the coldest parades I ever marched in back in HS was the Stock Show parade ( early 60's) . ( The horse plop froze on the pavement even)

I been playing with my cameras that we got set up yesterday all morning. Course nuthing to see what with it being dark out. Sunrise time is 7:32 AM and that's some time off yet. I'm debating with my self about giving you the link to the cameras cause I'm somewhat worried that it will overload my AT&T internet service and I'd get a "denial of service notice"   . But I'll check on that and if it's OK I'll allow it to be open to the world.

Right now I've sent the info to a couple of people and they have reported that it works fine. ( Wish there was a beep or something to let me know when people are watching it)
This system I got set up does not allow you to control the camera, just view any one of the 8 that I have running.

I've been fascinated with live cameras on the internet since that technology became available. I used to visit special chat rooms "back in the day" ,that we could carry on text chatting while viewing who you were talking too. BUT spammers and advertisers figured out they could mislead you to sites and there are even some that will send a script along with the video or audio feed and mess up your computer.   But I still got a long list of live cameras I can look at , all over the World, but mostly in Texas of course. BTW,here' ya a site with a big ole long list of live or semi live cameras all over the World. Cameras Link

And along that line since my big security camera that is out of service is just hanging out there on the end of the carport . Ole Buddy Tim and Margo are coming down today to take it down and load it up so he can attempt to get it running at his place or maybe his brothers place over in East Texas. I got suckered into the system by a fast talking salesman about 5 years ago and it never would do what I wanted. Was great for here in the house but that was it.

OK,, weather and Mo' coffee....
60.8 °F
Scattered Clouds
Humidity:     79%
Wind:     9.0 mph from the South
Wind Gust:     17.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     54 °F
Pressure:     30.04 in (Steady)

M.L.K. Day:   Monday A slight chance of sprinkles before noon. Cloudy, with a high near 73. South southwest wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

( What the hell is that MLK that it put up there in the forecast? Trying to abbreviate Milk? )

Bird invasion!!! Basset tore over to the window about 8:30 and was chattering and fussing. We had an invasion of Cowbirds move through. Had to video through the window cause they'd leave if I opened the door.   Got some video of the massing HERE
That was fun, now last coffee and breakfast!! Then go scrape some hairs off my face..

4PMish..   Buddy Tim came out today in his haul ass Camaro. Every since I've know him he's had a haul ass Chevy. He was one of my instructors at some classes when I worked for Canon. He had one black one that has some big ole motor in it.
Anyway, we were able to get that camera and houseing and all the related parts.cables and what not pack up. Even found him the books and a soft ware disk for it.   It hadn't worked for me since I switched to the new Windows software and couldn't find any support personal for it locally.   Bet he can get it up and running like it's supposed to. He treated local BBQ sandwiches but we both realized we is getting older since neither one could finish.
Forgot to mention that it is warm outside. Seems real warm to me for this time of year.

I ain't complaining mind you..

Cats are starting to circle and meow at me,, must be bout that time huh?

Sunday is it? 1/15/02? And I guess you're waiting for the comics huh?

2012-01-15T07:02:00.008-06:00

Ok!! Keep your skivvies on! I'm typing as fast as I can.
For some reason I feel rushed today. Shouldn't though, got a good nights sleep ( even if I did forget to turn the heater down to night time temp)

Basset thought I had over slept and came into the room in her attempt to wake me. She has one door frame she scratches on and yea, it' pretty much ruined , but why change it now? She'll just tear up the new one.

Anywho I'm up. Coffee cup in front of me, although the coffee could be warmer ( I swear I got to replace that maker!! reads 150 °F . ) And yes! I'm going out for the paper and breakfast here in a minute, Got to get all that out of the way because a real certified Geek from the Geek Squad is supposed to be here this morning some time to do the router hook up and program it and all that assorted BS so I can make my cameras available on line. I've got all the paper work laying here. Cameras are all hooked up and running. New Wireless router just waiting on him.

( BTW, the new Rat Shack battery for the portable phone charged up over night, so it's all back up and working. )

Weather is fine so far for a January day

43.8 °F
Clear
Windchill:     42 °F
Humidity:     46%
Wind:     4.0 mph from the South
Wind Gust:     6.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     24 °F
Pressure:     30.26 in (Rising)

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 64. South wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to between 15 and 20 mph. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.

And here ya go.. COMICS

Garfield
BC
For Better or Worst
Shoe
Sadly Shoe is right on target this morning.......
Peanuts
Hargar
Ziggy
Dagwood
Luann
Dennis
Beetle Bailey
Pluggers
Pickles

OFF now for my paper and breakfast, talk amongst yourselves

Paper glanced at and was reading about the cruise ship sinking and of course on TV you’ve heard over and over about the luxury liner Costa Concordia Cruise Ship that sunk. And all the stories of how the passengers had not been through an evacuation drill or instructions. When we took our cruise on the Pacific Princess north in the Pacific from Bora Bora to Hawaii, it was a much smaller ship of course. The first full day we were on board and all the passengers loaded but still tied at dock. There was a full blown ALL HANDS evacuation drill. Complete with emergency lighting, blocked passage ways and crew members directing us to where we were supposed to go. Once everyone on board was mustered ( with life jackets on) and accounted for ( 30 minutes maybe) The all clear was sounded and we were free to go about out business. At the time we found it both bothersome and somewhat needless. But on reflection later we realized we knew exactly where to go in case of emergency. The only emergency I experienced on the cruise was my favorite small bar ran out of Jack Daniels:-)

Noon plus one makes it 1PM huh?

Gotta find me some lunch. Geek just left after getting everything set up to make the cameras remote viewable. Hell, glad I didn't try it cause HE had to call HIS upper level tech.. But they're working . Now I'll send a couple of emails to chosen people and have them test it on their end. So if you don't get an email about it,you know it weren't you I that I ask to be testing them. :-)
See at ya later.. :-)

7PM OMG!~!! I made the best pizza I've had in ages!! Took my regular ole Tombstone deluxe and added my stuff, colored bell peppers, Italian sausage , onions olives etc etc and then those left over shrimp I had!! SON!!! Knock your socks off!!
Think I'll prop my feet up and try to stay awake through a movie.

1-14-12, A Saturday this one is. Now what did I have planned for today?

2012-01-14T06:24:00.009-06:00

Dag gumit!! I GOT to start making better notes to myself!!   Last evening I thought of something important ( to me anyway) that I should do today.. What the hell was it?
Replace the battery in my portable phone? possibility, this one won't talk bout about 20 minutes before it dies and cuts me off.
Wash BOT? ( big ole truck) cause it's been sitting and is dusty filthy? Don't think so
I ran a load of wash, so that ain't it.
Mow the yard? Are you NUTS? No , that ain't it,

I Remember!!! Terrorize the cats by running The Screaming Yellow Meanie and vacuuming the house!!
That thing strikes fear into Tiny and even Basset will git under the couch.

Whew!! Glad I got that figured out!!

Weather seems warm to me for this time of year. Was 38 °F when I first looked this morning. Seems to me that this time of year it's supposed to be colder , BUT, checked weather history and that's bout right.Checked the climate history and found this info.

The month of January is characterized by gradually rising daily high temperatures, with daily highs around 56°F throughout the month, exceeding 73°F or dropping below 37°F only one day in ten. Daily low temperatures are around 36°F, falling below 22°F or exceeding 49°F only one day in ten.

Of course growing up on the farm I know it was colder !! MUCH colder when I had to walk down to the Hen house/ shed and feed the animals and make sure the water wasn't frozen on the stock tank for the cows. :-)
Funny what our minds remember sometimes isn't it?

Anywho...
39.1 °F
Clear
Windchill:     39 °F
Humidity:     48%
Wind:     2.0 mph from the SW
Wind Gust:     8.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     21 °F
Pressure:     30.25 in (Steady)

NWS forecast: Sunny, with a high near 65. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south.

About breakfast here in a bit. I been racking my brain for how to incorporate the left over shrimp into a meal this early. What I think I may do is mix up some onions, chopped bell peppers and chopped shrimp and cook that up with a couple of eggs. Cooked slow so as to NOT make the shrimp tough. Think that'll work? I'll let you know. :-)

I know I have mentioned this before but a couple of breakfast meals really stand out in my memory .
One was at a Mexican place in Corpus Christi Texas with wifie #3. A plate they called Migas, soft corn tortilla strips with sunny side up eggs, spicy seasonings with onion bits. Warm corn tortillas, retried beans and sliced fresh tomato!!

Another that really stands out was waay back in my NASA days. The night before there had been a traveling party with a group of NASA people. First one place for cocktails, then another for appetizers, and another for main meal, and yet another for desert and after dinner drinks. Then we hit a local club/bar with a reserved table for us all.
It didn't end there.

Nest morning we met up at one of the condos where this one guy had gathered all the left overs and made up buffet type breakfast! Date and I managed to make it even, early that morning. I remember having a scramble of eggs with left over stuff on a muffin and to top it off Russian Caviar on toast slices with sour cream!! and of course Champagne.
Those were some fun times in the NASA area during the Apollo missions.

Bofore I forget, another food breakfast memory.
The year before Ann and I were married she got us on a snow ski trip to Utah with the local club she belonged too. We had a couple of condos in Park City Utah. We/she packed up all the seasonings and what not and the first next day after we arrived and got settled into our Condo unit with two other couples. We went to the store and got stuff from a big warm you up get you moving breakfast for a day on the mountain!!

Grilled thick pork chops on the fancy cook top, real potato pancakes, eggs just right, sliced tomato, onions and forget what else but I bet toasted English Muffins. That meal will stay with you a while sliding down the mountain!!

Most nights we gathered in one condo or the other for supper and drinks and someone cooked up spaghetti with veal chops in a marinara sauce to lay on top of the pasta and of course garlic bread with a heavy red wine.

OK, coffee cup empty, BRB... (6:30AM in case you wondered)

9AM, floor all vacuumed and stuff back in place, ( chairs, foot stools, cat scratch post etc, etc ) cats haven't reappeared yet though . It don't take long IF I do a little prep work. Move dining room chairs outta the way, put the foot stools up in the matching chairs , generally get everything outta the way so I don't have to stop and move something. I did have to dump the container twice!! Could have knitted another cat out of the hair I picked up. :-)

So.. guess I'm free to git out and moving, but do I really want to go this early? Guess I should could and get it over with hopefully before all the soccer moms get out and make the roads crazy. Sooo. I'm off first to Batteries Plus for a phone battery, then swing by one pet supply store for an item or two for the kitties :-) OH!! And get my lottery ticket ( I got a new set of numbers that'll work for me for sure!! )

See ya after later

Noon!!! Plus just a little!! Got all my running done. Dang Battery place was out of the battery I needed for portable phone, but Rat Shack right down the road had one. Deader than a doornail when we put it in, but it's charging now. Hope it works.

Stopped by Pet's Mart and found some new cat food can lids that needed replacing. They work good to keep the food fresh after opening. Last stop was going to be Long John Silvers but I was there before they opened, so Subway won out! :-)

Got home and all settled back in and clicked on PBS for my cooking shows. The fat sloppy stupid Bitch is on.. Lida. Honestly she is sloppy. Always touching this and that and sticking her hand in her mouth and NEVER washes her hands!! And chews with her mouth open!!! Disgusting! That and her phony ass Italian accent , but only when she's around another Italian. ( Yes I have complained to my local PBS but it don't go anygood)

BTW, upto 70 out side.. Cats are in and out, in and out. :-)

Later,,Whoopie!!! I found a hard drive I can have the geek put in the new camera system tomorrow. I had a couple of USB stand alone storage devices. One uses and old style hard driver, but the other uses the new style. So I just copied any important stuff from it to this computer then jerked it out for use elsewhere. :-) Save having to go buy one.

Nearly 10PM.. Got all involved with a movie I couldn't walk away from.
Cowboys and Aliens. Fun Movie some pretty good western stuff and well, Aliens!! give it a look when you get a chance.
Kitchen is clean of course , coffee set up for morning. I'm outta here....

January FRIDAY THE 13th, 2012..You know what that means huh? Yep, one day past the 12th and one day before the 14th.

2012-01-13T06:26:00.005-06:00

You superstitions?   Don't guess I am really. So Friday the thirteenth never "scared" me. And of course I had to do some research about it. This is what I found ( 'course you can do your own and drawn your own conclusions.

According to folklorists, there is no written evidence for a "Friday the 13th" superstition before the 19th century. The earliest known documented reference in English occurs in Henry Sutherland Edwards' 1869 biography of Gioachino Rossini:

    Rossini was surrounded to the last by admiring and affectionate friends; Why Friday the 13th Is Unlucky

Consequently, several theories have been proposed about the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition.

One theory states that it is a modern amalgamation of two older superstitions: that thirteen is an unlucky number and that Friday is an unlucky day.

   In numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve hours of the clock, twelve gods of Olympus, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, the 12 Descendants of Muhammad Imams, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness. There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper or a Norse myth, that having thirteen people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners.
    Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century's The Canterbury Tales, and many other professions have regarded Friday as an unlucky day to undertake journeys or begin new projects. Black Friday has been associated with stock market crashes and other disasters since the 1800s. It has also been suggested that Friday has been considered an unlucky day because, according to Christian scripture and tradition, Jesus was crucified on a Friday.
   One author, noting that references are all but nonexistent before 1907 but frequently seen thereafter, has argued that its popularity derives from the publication that year of Thomas W. Lawson's popular novel Friday, the Thirteenth, in which an unscrupulous broker takes advantage of the superstition to create a Wall Street panic on a Friday the 13th.Records of the superstition are rarely found before the 20th century, when it became extremely common.

The connection between the Friday the 13th superstition and the Knights Templar was popularized in the 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code. However, experts agree that this is a relatively recent correlation, and most likely a modern-day invention. Although according to many Freemasons, this date corresponds with the slaughtering of the Knights Templar by the Church. Many Knights Templar also escaped their persecution by fleeing to Scotland.
So there you go, what'd you find out or believe about it?

Got a nice freeze last night.
Was 28 when I walked in here . But no wind so it won't feel as bad.
28.7 °F
Clear
Windchill:     29 °F
Humidity:     60%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     1.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     17 °F
Pressure:     30.26 in (Rising)

NWS forecast: Mostly sunny, with a high near 57. Southwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Sunrise:     7:33am

First off here's a quick video I did yesterday afternoon on the way to the stores. Was going to upload it then , but got side tracked .   Here's the video link if your real bored!!
Store video. Dang near had a mufti car pile up when a small poodle came down my lane right at me. Just like he didn't have a care in the world. I stopped, guy next to me stopped and several people behind us , thankfully , stopped.    Guess we all missed him but I didn't go back and check.
OH, at the very end is a long distance shot of a building wrapped in White Plastic. Used to be a dry cleaners and I'm guessing they are taking it down and have to protect the public from possible asbestos insulation. Only thing I can think of.

If your debating on opening the video, understand it ain't nuthing fancy, just clicked on my hand held HD Cam when I felt like it. Didn't spend hours and hours editing it. You'd be surprised how much video I do here that I end up just trashing.

Gonna clean off the side table here where the new camera system is so when the geek shows up , he'll have room to work. I got a TV tray I put there for him if he needs more room. ( Hope I can remember all he tells me. Gonna have to keep a pad and pencil handy.)
When this is set up the way I want it, YOU can view it anytime you want. IF I give you the password :-) . ( no I'm not going to open it up for the whole world to view, mainly for my daughter to check and see if I'm up and moving in case she gets worried) and for me to watch outside. ( like I don't have the window blinds open most of the time anyway) HEY,, It's a toy!! You know Men and Boys and Their Toys kinda thing.. :-)

Speaking of that.. Barney posted a comment below that I agree with.
Along that line my "toys" seem to be related to cameras for some time.( 6 currently) ONE I have haven't had a chance to play with enough is a HD video system . I had even bought a big kite to suspend it below and make aerial videos. HOWEVER after my first attempt at a test, the weather has not cooperated at all. Either too windy or most cases not enough wind. I have the attachment harness all built and it is ready to fly and make videos .. just waiting on the weather. Maybe this spring?

OK, nuff of this ,, breakfast and Mo' coffee and wash a load of clothes.........

Cat feeding time @ 5PM   Sure do like having this new Discount Store so close !! Ran up and got me some shrimp to add to my left over pasta/shrimp supper. Down and back weren't 20 minutes I betcha!! AND looked through the TV Schedule for tonite and my PBS second channel has a special about William H. Bonney. Supposed to follow his life from birth up north to out in New Mexico where he was finally gunned down. Then there's another show called History Detectives   that researches articles for history , Oddly enough one of the items up tonight isa bit about

Doc Holliday's Watch, and Civil War Female Soldiers and finally the Japanese Internment Camp Art . I had just watched a big ole special about WWII and they touched on the Japanese camps.

Beats hell outa the regular TV mind numbing series that are on.

Clank, clank , clank..Windy Thursday as the wind chimes hammer out thier protest 1/12.12

2012-01-12T07:36:00.006-06:00

Don't know if it was my Cat Alarm clock or the wind chimes clanking that woke me. But I'm UP!!! Fortunately all my local "professional" weather men on TV don't know their collective Arses from a hole in the ground. Last evening they were spouting and spewing and strutting around the TV forecasting COLD!!! and WIND!! Down into the 20's with wind enough to blow a battened down hatch loose and whisk it away !!
Shoot, it's only right at 32°F here but they got the wind part right!!! North wind for sure. I ain't going out in it ( well, not till much later anyway)

31.8 °F
Clear
Windchill:     25 °F
Humidity:     45%
Wind:     8.0 mph from the NNW
Wind Gust:     14.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     13 °F
Pressure:     30.24 in (Rising)

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 46. North northwest wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Coffee sure is extra good for some reason. Maybe I miss measured last evening.

One of the first places I checked on the World Wide Web of Worthless featured a Camper made in Netherlands. Interesting and good looking thing, I would hate to have to line up close enough to have to hit those 4 little locking pins each time.Watch the video and you'll see what I mean Their site HERE ( notice they don't show anyone putting the camper back ON the truck).

ANYWAY ,The name is what caught my eye, TONKE!! First thing that popped up was the ole Tonka Toy trucks we kids had TONKA Mine was a big A Metal dump truck, what was yours?

Short update on the cat training I started yesterday. Shortly after Tiny and I got all snuggled into the warm bed I felt a gentle PLOP and Basset had joined us!! Reached for her for a head rub and she quickly bounded down. Well, that's a start anyway.

You've heard me mention my Aunt Clara in New Mexico right? Ann's Aunt that we stayed with when we first moved over there back in the early 80's. Well, a cartoon reminded me of her somewhat. Aunt Clara is the most calm, level, easy going person I think I've ever met. With ONE Exception!! DO NOT attempt to talk to her until she has had her first cup of coffee!! She'll mumble something intelligent once the caffeine kicks in. So this morning Hermit Jim's blog

Bear story reminded me of Clara and her attitude before her coffee!!

Love ya Aunt Clara!! :-)

On another note, How many remote controls you got laying around that you use? I got 6!! They are for, the TV, Stereo amplifier, VCR/DVD, Roku movie player, Security system, Monitor for said system ( I lost the one for the space heater) .

That's too many!!
Several years ago I had an all in one that you could program to control every thing. BUT parts of my system changed and couldn't get it to work anymore.
If I was to get a new one, I'd have to get some one to program it.. BS, think I'll just get a vinyl label maker and mark everything. Or how bout a chimpanzee trained to control everything:-)

OK, what's up today? Fist off I'm making biscuits and gravy,, you coming? Gonna use the left over KFC biscuits cause my frozen ones dried out , sort of like a hockey puck. NO I am NOT using the KFC gravy crap, gonna make gravy.

"Think" I'm going to have to run out for a restock. Maybe the Super Walmart, they should have every thing.

BTW, if you're bored , the big Gadget show is in Los Wages this week! This one!!

BBL. Mo' Coffee!!!

And just in case you missed it. A Texas Institution is closing!!! Dr. Pepper
Personally I haven't had it since I was a kid. But I have been by and in the plant a few times cause had family in the area. So, if you're a fan,, stock up!!

10AM ,, Joke Time.. Hey, don't blame me, I just find them, don't make hem up!

An Italian, a Scotsman and a Chinese man are hired at a construction site.
The foreman points out a huge pile of sand.
He says to the Italian guy, 'You're in charge of sweeping.'
To the Scotsman he says, 'You're in charge of shoveling.'
And to the Chinese guy, 'You're in charge of supplies.'

He then says, 'Now, I have to leave for a little while.
I expect you men to make a dent in that pile of sand.'

So when the foreman returns after being away for a couple of hours
the pile of sand is untouched.
He asks the Italian, 'Why didn't you sweep any of it?'
The Italian replies, 'I no hava no broom.
You saida to the Chinesea fella he a wasa ina charge of supplies,
but he hasa disappeared and I no coulda finda him nowhere.'
Then the foreman turns to the Scotsman and says , 'And you, I thought I told you to shovel this pile.'
The Scotsman replies, 'Aye, that ye did laddie, boot ah could nae get meself a shoovel.
Ye left th' Chinese gadgie in chairge of supplies, boot ah couldna fin' him neither.'
The foreman is really angry now.
He storms off toward the pile of sand to look for the Chinese gent.

Just then,
the Chinese man leaps out from behind the pile of sand and yells,

'SUPPLIES’;!!!

5PM update. Seems a lot of people are having problems with Blogger, or at least they think they are since they are complaining on their blogs . Only thing I have noticed new is the comments section don't show automatically like it used to. I haven't ask but I wonder what blog writing software or site they are using is the same as mine ( Google blogger) seems to be working OK.

Think I'm gonna get me a good ole wine cooler and then make me up one of my pasta with shrimp one-pot meals. They are so good, but wish they were just a little smaller cause after two meals of it, I don't really feel like the third one and sometimes end up tossing it.

Again today at the Store a lady started a conversation with me. Nice looking, well dressed. She committed on what I had in my basket ( cat food propped against the wine bottle :-) ) Ended up showing her were the potato pancakes were. She mentioned a couple times her husband during our chat. Don't know what was up. Did I miss something I should have picked up on?
Oh well. ..

Good Wednesday Morning to you, or in German.. Gute Wednesday Morning, Sie

2012-01-11T07:29:00.003-06:00

Don't know what brought that German translation thought on. But...
I checked and it really is Wednesday Jan. 11, 2012. So what you got planned today?
Yea, me neither. :-)
Oh I will get my Lotto Ticket ( y'all be laughing out the other side of your mouth when I do hit it big!! ) :-) HELL, the shock of winning will probably cause a stroke and I'll never get to spend any of it.

One thing today , I'm going to do a serous Fridge and Freezer clean out to set out with the trash!! I got some packages in there I think we could make penicillin out of !!! One thing on the counter to toss is an aloe vera plant that didn't make it. I tried to rescue it from the barn when all that crap was moved, but it must have froze and gone without water too long. It's toast now... So toss it.

Weather won't stop me today from my appointed rounds :-)
36.8 °F
Clear
Windchill:     37 °F
Humidity:     80%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     0.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     31 °F
Precipitation:     1% chance of precipitation
Pressure:     29.79 in (Steady)

7:00 AM CST on Jan. 11, 2012

NWS forecast: Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 69. South wind 10 to 15 mph becoming west northwest.

Hermit Jim this morning has a simple video in resistance and how it pays off. Git er done!!
And that of course reminded me of an OLD Frank Sinatra song.
( side bar.. I used to put a video box link to those songs, but one reader ask me to change to a simple link cause his slow internet took to long to load the graphics. What say you? any problems opening links I put in? )

And now a shameless plug for Ken Burns.

I been watching lately a Ken Burns production called the War. On my Netflix instant play. http://www.pbs.org/thewar/ it was a series that played on PBS but somehow I missed it when it first played. The series includes

EPISODE ONE: “A Necessary War”

EPISODE TWO: “When Things Get Tough”

EPISODE THREE: “A Deadly Calling”

EPISODE FOUR: “Pride of Our Nation”

EPISODE FIVE: “FUBAR”

EPISODE SIX: “The Ghost Front”

EPISODE SEVEN: “A World Without War”

Great series with battle scenes and home front scenes and interviews with some of the actual people involved. If you can’t get it on Netflix, do a search for it and I’m sure you can watch it free online, if you connection is fast enough.

Of course in the production there is some dubbed in audio. But the parts that really impressed (and surprised me) is the many scenes that were filmed in Color evidently with sound.

No holds bared on this production and it can be tough to watch at times, But if you want to see what your fathers, uncles or grandfathers experienced.. Watch it.

My Daddy wasn’t in this one because he was in a B-24 bombing Germany.

I was watching NCIS Los Angeles with Linda Hunt First time I saw her was from the 1982 movie The Year of Living Dangerously where she played a young boy, Billy Kwan.

And last night I got real PO'ed about all the commercials on broadcast TV. So I counted them and who they were for , all in an hour from 8 to 9PM

Here's who all they were for.

First half…

T-Mobile

Honda

Breathe Right

Toyota

H&R block

USAA

Humira

I-Phone-Sprint

Applebee's

several TV series promos

Second Half...

Gout info.com ( drug company)

amazon.com, , Kindle Fire

Cambell's soup

Men's Warehouse

Honda Civic

Taco Bueno

Time Warner Cable

Men's Warehouse

Lean Cuisne

Turbo Tax

Lowes'

Aflac

Academy sports & outdoors

Subway

Infiniti cars

Ikea

OK, Much More Coffee and a good breakfast cause I got on my list today to start a training program with Basset. She never has liked getting up in men' laps for some petting and loving on, she'll get up in a womans lap no problem.

So, gonna start working on her with treats,ear rubbing , lap rug, what ever till she losses her fear of what ever.

Dammed CAT!! :-)

Before that cuppa coffee. I been ask again how to make a text phrase clickable.
OK.. two links for you to read up on. IF your that one that ask. :-)
http://www.bloggertipsandtricks.com/2007/10/make-active-clickable-links-in-posts.html

or http://bloggerfordummies.blogspot.com/2006/03/how-to-make-clickable-link.html

Go head and play with it,, you can always change it, unless your using word press, then your screwed!!! :-)

Much later now!!! 4PM plus, Whew I am slap ass wore out!! Finally picked a spot to mount the last two cameras, INSIDE!! Once I tested the location,had to screw them to the wall. Then the hard part was running the wires to make them as invisible as possible which was up along the cornice. Didn't want to attempt the small nailing thingies or stables so I decided to hot glue them up.. Got almost as much on me as I did on the wall and the wires. But it is finished.. for now or untill I decide to move one. Even rearranged the leads on the back of the monitor so it makes more sense sequences wise. They switch in a more natural fashion now, you know, back, side, front, car port. etc

Basset and Tiny thought it was all good fun trying to help...
BBL, still peeling melted hot glue off my fingers. :-)

Only Tuesday? Yep, shoot I thought it was Thursday. today 1/10/12

2012-01-10T07:42:00.004-06:00

Woke up Dayfused this morning( dayfused-old farts ailment. \ˈdā\fyo͞ozd/Adjective: 1. (of a person) not knowing what day of the week it is. )

But I'm all straight now.   Tiny reminded me to check the store list for canned cat food when I got out the last can.. ( dammed smart ass cat :-) )
I did check and update the list I'll take with me today.

Think my rain has pretty much moved out of the area. Shows .87" in the last 24 hours.

41.5 °F
Overcast
Windchill:     39 °F
Humidity:     86%
Wind:     4.0 mph from the NNW
Wind Gust:     9.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     38 °F
Precipitation:     40% chance of precipitation
Pressure:     29.95 in (Steady)

Forecast: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52. Northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

The other day Dizzy Dick expounded on the inventions we have seen in our life time on his Blog Here.
Got to thinking about the advances I , and my age group have seen.

One of the first I remember was the cure for Polio, remember the sugar cube all we school kids got? The Salk vaccine...

I have a vivid memory of being on the school bus in about '60 or so and we were talking about the new digital calculators. Smaller than a book but you had to plug them in. At the time we wondered if we kids would every have one we could carry to ~~math~~ arithmetic class.

Car airconditoners.. Daddy's first one was a 1961 Chevy station wagon. But he won't use it cept on real hot days or when it rained and he had to roll the windows up.

Shoot,Whole house AC's even!! We had a window unit first but kept the swamp cooler just in case.

We actually got our own private home phone number along about 63 or so. Ma Bell finally offered a private number. No more 2 long and 2 shorts for our party line phone number. :-)

Television?   When lighting took out our small ( 14"? ) one , daddy got a HUGE cabinet type that we thought was amazing. Still had only 4 channels of B&W.
( Now my 35" color digital gets 18 regular and everyone of those has at least 2 other alternative channels)
Speaking of TV , the wired remote control. Made a loud CLICK when you pushed a button.

Cars.. disc brakes! Automatic transmissions came into general use. But no one trusted them
Seat belts became standard about 1967 or so. ( my 66 VW, they were an option)

FM radio in your car. Three channels here IF you had the big huge whip antenna to pick them up. And they weren't stereo !!

Radial tires!! Tubeless tires!!

First commercial Jet airliner ( first introduced in 1949, in service in '52)

OK, my brain hurts trying to remember all this ancient history.. You take over and add what you remember in the comments below.

Mo' coffee. BBL

OK,, I just had to do a little research. and found these.
1950 The first credit card (Diners) invented by Ralph Schneider. Got my first one about '68

1952 The first diet soft drink sold.

1953 Radial tires invented, my fist set on a car was 1977. Transistor radio invented by Texas Instruments. My first one I got in 1963

1954 Oral contraceptives invented - the pill. Ray Kroc started McDonald's and the World started gaining weight!

1956 The first computer hard disk used. Got my first one while at Xerox about 1982 and it didn't have a hard disk. They didn't come along till 1956 The first computer hard disk used.

1958 The Hula Hoop invented by Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin.

LIB.. I checked one of my regular sites just now and found this link HERE ignore the top advertising part,but the rest of it fits glove in hand with what I was thinking this morning.

Early afternoon 2PM update.. Sure do like having the Dollar General store close here. Was in and out and back home so quick the heater in the car never got really warm!
Only thing they didn't have was a onion ( no produce ) So stopped at my BBQ joint and got one off them, nice a fresh since they had just delivered. They get what produce they do carry local , so I know this one hasn't been on a truck from California, or Mexico or here ever.

I have gotten so engrossed in this Ken Burns show about WWII I find it hard to walk away from.

See at ya after..... :-)

Rain drops keeping falling on my head... B.J. Thomas. Yep!! Woke to distance thunder and RAIN this Monday AM, Jan 9, 1012

2012-01-09T06:09:00.008-06:00

"Think" I heard the rain start up just after I went to bed last night. Showing 1.08" last 24 hours. See? I did good finishing up the wire securing yesterday. For once the weather guys got it right!! I decided when I got up this morning that phooey!! I don't have to go out today,so just put on my flannel running round house pants and my flannel shirt and I'll stay warm and toasty for sure. Looking at my online radar at this site HERE , it looks like it's gonna move in from the SW all day.

43.6 °F
Rain
Windchill:     38 °F
Humidity:     86%
Wind:     11.0 mph from the NNE
Wind Gust:     12.0 mph
Visibility:     4.0 miles
Dew Point:     40 °F
Precipitation:     100% chance of precipitation
Pressure:     30.09 in (Falling)
Sunrise: 7:33am

Today: Heavy thunderstorms during the morning will give way to a steady rain with thunder this afternoon. High 48F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. 1 to 2 inches of additional rain expected. Locally heavier rainfall possible.

Local Radar is showing all these waves of rain moving in from the WSW so it should keep this up off and on all day!

BRB, gotta git mor coffee and reboot!

Did that and remembered to get out a burrito for breakfast. :-) Warm it up and lay a sunny side egg ( or two) on top and voilà! Breakfast!!!!

While perusing my normal blog offerings this morning.. Hermit Jim, AGAIN!! Hit the nail on the head..

And reading Barney's post from last evening brought back a memory.

Back in my serious fishing days (70’s) I used to fish off the Texas City Dike on occasion. If you’ve never fished it, that dike runs out into the Bay a long way (5 miles) and there is a road on top with pull offs. I had several favorite places I liked. We learned real quick to keep a wary eye to the bay because when one of the loaded ocean going ships came into the bay they put off a heck of big wave. IF you knew what to watch for , you had plenty of time to move you and your stuff UP the rocks out of the way of the approaching wave surge.

I often would not mention the approaching wave to new comers and just stand up nice and dry and watch them get splashed!! Hey! No one ever got sucked in but a few would have to scramble for their ice chest of other items they left unsecured.

Once the incoming surge passed, the returning action would cause a water level rise as well.

Fun times playing in the water fishing.

Going to do some shopping,or rather looking, online.. Need a new style hard drive to put in this fancy ass camera system so it will record detected activity from my cameras. AND I need a new Linksys wireless router so I can send live video from it to my office wi-wi hub and let it display a live camera on line for you, ( or me when I'm not home)

Almost 10AM and I finally managed to feed the new OS (outside) cameras to a program here on the computer . Made a funky , NON-professional video for ya in case you're real bored or what to see what I can see here. I put the short video up on my You Tube Account HERE it's sort of quick but you can pause it of course.

OK, that's outta the way. now some online shopping, or parts hunting really. ;-)

4PM plus a little, Just fed the lazy A cats. Ole Bud Bob ran by and dropped off ( sold me) a router just like I needed that he was going to return for refund anyway. Found out why he had not updated his blog also. Found out he hadn't updated his blog lately cause a line to his his router had a bad connection . So I saved him a trip and got me a router without having to go to town. :-) AND along that line I got a geek guy/kid coming out Sunday to get this camera system set up on line so you can view it , IF I give you the password that is. :-) Couldn't get him out before then, something about a bunch of college kids and new Christmas gift techie items set up.

Trying to decide if I want a big ole pasta with shrimp for supper or something more simple . Decisions, Decisions :-)

Y'all stay dry, loving this rain here... showing about 1/2"since morning here.

9PM plus... About those dinner choices? Changed my mind , again, like a blond at the flashing Walk, Don't Walk sign. :-) Make me up some Tuna Salad, worked out good, even added a touch of garlic powder to it cause I like garlic .

Showers moved back in after dark with some pretty good showers on an off. But it should all move out later . It Better cause I GOT to get to the store and restock some things.

Coffee pot made up,cats in.. I'm outta here.

January 8th,2012, Sunday,Day of rest?

2012-01-08T06:09:00.006-06:00

I may well not do much at all today. Last evening when I finally got set down and relaxed, First time I tried to get up, my back and legs said " Wait a Minute DA!! I'm tired" Had to ease into an upright position. That little bit of ladder work and down on my knees and up and down and up and down , took it's toll.

Not as young and flexible as I used to be for dang sure!
Guess that's all just part of gettin older, That and not getting any exercise.
So today I'll just take er easy taping over connections out side and securing cables into position. Think I'll put off making the patch cover for over the siding till I'm moving better. It's sealed OK for now with some fancy ass honest to God real duct tape! Foil backed tape that the professionals use to seal up seams in AC/Heating ducts.
That and I should get some of that spray foam stuff to seal the big ole hole, once I'm happy with the wire bundle routing.

First thing this morning , got an email from an old Buddy from back in the day. I can tell you how long ago it was, about 1967 cause it's his wedding picture and my wifie #1 ain't holding daughter. OR could be late '68 and daughter just wasn't with us,but I'm betting on 67. So Here you got, Joe,his sister,my 1st wife, Jeanne and Me.

Yes, that is an OPAL Station Wagon! :-)
BTW, this is the business Joe is in now. FLOWERS   oddly enough Ann and I had been there and bought a bunch of his bulbs years ago, but didn't know he owned it at the time.

If I am remembering correct all his Aggie Buddies at the wedding decorated MY car thinking it was his. And I think he got a ticket that day trying to outrun, lose the wedding guest trying to follow us to their secret honeymoon site.

He's on his second wife now

Weather looks good for today then it all changes...

37.6 °F
Clear
Windchill:     38 °F
Humidity:     81%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     2.0 mph
Visibility:     7.0 miles
Dew Point:     32 °F
Precipitation:     10% chance of precipitation
Pressure:     30.05 in (Steady)

Today: Cloudy, with a high near 57. North northwest wind around 5 mph.

Tonight: Rain likely, then rain and possibly a thunderstorm after midnight.

Monday: Rain and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 48. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
Oh well, we can sure use the rain so, bring it on!!

Shoot , got time enough before my store opens for paper and breakfast, here's your comics.

Garfield
BC
For Better or Worst
Shoe
Peanuts
Hargar
Ziggy
Dagwood
Luann
Dennis
Beetle Bailey
Pluggers
Pickles

Bit later and I stumbled across this that just exemplifies my "go to" philosophy everyday. KISS!!! Keep It Simple Stupid!!

A toothpaste factory had a problem: they sometimes shipped empty boxes, without the tube inside. This was due to the way the production line was set up, and people with experience in designing production lines will tell you how difficult it is to have everything happen with timings so precise that every single unit coming out of it is perfect 100% of the time. Small variations in the environment (which can't be controlled in a cost-effective fashion) mean you must have quality assurance checks smartly distributed across the line so that customers at the supermarket don't get annoyed and switch to a competing product.

Understanding how important that was, the CEO of the toothpaste factory got the top people in the company together and they decided to start a new project, in which they would hire an external engineering company to solve their empty boxes problem, as their engineering department was already too stretched to take on any extra effort. The project followed the usual process: budget and project sponsor allocated, RFP, third-parties selected, and six months (and $8 million) later they had a fantastic solution - on time, on budget, high quality and everyone in the project had a great time.

They solved the problem by using high-tech precision scales that would sound a bell and flash lights whenever a toothpaste box would weigh less than it should. The line would stop, and someone had to walk over and yank the defective box out of it, pressing another button when done to re-start the line. A while later, the CEO decides to have a look at the ROI of the project: amazing results! No empty boxes ever shipped out of the factory after the scales were put in place. Very few customer complaints, and they were gaining market share. "That's some money well spent!" - he says, before looking closely at the other statistics in the report. It turns out, the number of defects picked up by the scales was 0 after three weeks of production use. It should've been picking up at least a dozen a day, so maybe there was something wrong with the report. He filed a bug against it, and after some investigation, the engineers come back saying the report was actually correct. The scales really weren't picking up any defects, because all boxes that got to that point in the conveyor belt were good.

Puzzled, the CEO travels down to the factory, and walks up to the part of the line where the precision scales were installed. A few feet before the scale, there was a $20 desk fan, blowing the empty boxes out of the belt and into a bin. "Oh, that," says one of the workers - "one of the guys put it there 'cause he was tired of walking over..... "every time the bell rang". :-)

'round NOON . Went out and finalized securing and taping off the connections on all the cables from the camera install yesterday. You do know that when you are wrapping vinyl electrical tape around some wires, to cut it off when you got much as you need? Don't just stretch it out till it snaps in too. Reason being that stretched part won't never stick good and will come loose eventually. But you knew that..
Only thing left to finish up can wait. Outside where it comes in through the vinyl siding I need to clean up the bundle and secure the extra , then cut a piece of left over siding I got and glue it down over the hole. Then inside I got a snake pit of wires I need to tidy up.

But screw it!! I'm tired and think I need a shower real bad.
OH, and I think I can safely toss these jean as worn out. That ain't a tear, that's just plumb worn through. :-)

Gotta water the plants,, see ya...

Much later, 6PM+ Went for a big ole Double meat Whataburger for late lunch and still feel full. I may just pass on supper tonite
Been back and forth on email with an old buddy from back in the 60's. Once we get some dates and facts pinned down, I'll have some stories to relate ( no names :-) )
Think I'll make up a wine cooler and kick back with some boring show after that big ole soaking shower.

Jan, 7, 12. a full week into the New year!!

2012-01-07T06:32:00.004-06:00

Yep, a full week gone by and so far, at least here, no one has come along to screw it up...!! Probably shouldn't have mentioned that, 'cause sure nuff some one will huh?

Popped awake this morning with a clear picture of how this cabling replacement and new install is going to happen. IF I can keep it clear in my mind, I can get it done. One wire runs under the house to the front porch and I may just pull in an extra out there and add in a camera aimed in a different direction than the front door. Also going to add one out back so I can better monitor the cats when they get in the "jungle" around the tree and hide.
First step is to move the small table that holds the monitor plumb ass outta the way so I can get in behind on that wall.

Here's one of the cams and the wire bundle that has to be installed.

And there is the area where it's all going to be put once it's cleaned off

As for cutting the access hole through the wall ..   of course a pilot hole first to make sure I miss the studs, ( my walls are 6' thick so got to keep it level and straight) Then one of my fancy hole saws once from each side should do the trick. AND I can use the next size hole saw to cut a scrap piece of vinyl patch that will attach with silicone caulk! I decided to bring the wires in the side wall instead of from beneath for ease of access. ( I can't get down and under like I could when I put in the first set)
Anyone interested in these ole 4-B&W cameras and monitor?   Come get em and they're yours!! Serious.. free for nuthing, just get em gone!

So after my normal morning routine and enough coffee,, PROJECT!! ( with pictures if I remember)

Need to git er done cause weather is forecast to change first of next week.

44.4 °F
Clear
Windchill:     40 °F
Humidity:     68%
Wind:     8.0 mph from the WNW
Wind Gust:     9.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     34 °F
Pressure:     29.96 in (Rising)

Today: Sunny to partly cloudy. High 61F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Dishwasher finished ,, and Mo' coffee.. BBL

Lunch Break, noonish. Decided to work out front for a bit, cause it’s the longest cable runs AND it not as windy cold out there! That worked out good, was able to tie onto the old cable and pull in the two new ones! Added an additional camera on front. Also found out these new ones will mount on the old mounts!! Saved a bunch of putting in screws . I made a link on my Photobucket account just for this stuff. Will be updating as I complete steps but it’s up now if you want to look. But don’t forget to check back once the project is finished. That link is HERE

BBL..

4PM and I am FINISHED!!! Well, let me be real. I quit for the day:-) I got accomplished what I planned on today, got the cameras mounted and wires run in case the weather goes to hell. Posted a few new pics of the wire mess at the same spot as before HERE
Keep in mind they ain't in order.
I'll spend some time later adjusting the picture quality and all. Then one day soon I'll go get the hard drive to record to and the router so I can put them on line Probably have to get a geek to set that part up.

So, bout cat feeding time and then me.. I cheated for lunch , was tired and went to PO and then Lotto ticket so just got a chopped brisket sandwich. OH, the lady there said they placed again this year in the BBQ contest in Austin hosted by Texas Monthly

So, time to prop my feet up after I get a wine cooler.. I'm tired !!

Friday, it is, it is!! Jan, 6 2012

2012-01-06T07:28:00.005-06:00

Yea, I know it's 7ish.. So what? I been up well over an hour. Been reading install and setup instructions on my new toy!! I have had these ole cheap B&W security cameras up here at home since about the time I moved here. I did upgrade once when my first monitor failed. I have wanted to go to a color system that I could put on my big screen AND monitor online.

So I finally bit the bullet and ordered a new system. THIS ONE . I got a hard drive I can put in it and will , ONCE I get all the old cameras down and run the new ones. BUT first I got to figer out where I want to hang the new ones!! Basically I guess in the same place as the old ones, so I can monitor the cars, driveway, front door and walkway,back porch and door ( cat play area) and then I don't now what .   Figered out that I'm gonna have to get another router ( I gave away my last one when I went with AT&T high-speed cause it's gone it's own. )   But they ain't expensive. And once it's up,IF it works like I expect it too, you can monitor cameras while I'm gone and call 911 for me. :-)

But this install ain't gonna happen lickety split! Going to have to run all the new cables ( tie onto the old ones and pull in the new in some cases) I looked at wireless systems and just didn't see any I liked for a decent price. I guess the scariest part is drilling another hole to get under the house to pull up new cables.
So that's what I been doing this morning. Trying to find a printable instruction book from the manufacture web site. ( gotta run IE and I friggin hate IE )

BUT today, IF the weather holds like they saying. I'm gonna take a run at the back field/yard with BIG JOHN.. Knock down the winter grass and weeds.
52.6 °F
Mostly Cloudy
Humidity:     79%
Wind:     5.0 mph from the South
Wind Gust:     8.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     46 °F
Pressure:     30.01 in (Falling)

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. South southwest wind between 10 and 20 mph.

On another note, Buddy Bob called last evening. Eventually he had missed the post about getting rid of that millstone ( camper) and wanted to know what the hell I was doing. He had gone with me when I got that thing and was all PO'ed that I was being such a scatter brain , like a blond girlie girl he said!!   But like I tried to explain to y'all, I just made a mistake and am correcting that mistake now.

Find me one person who says he never makes mistakes and I'll show you a liar!!
I've made mssteakes over the years, we all have. I bought a car or two that I shouldn't have, sold a few that I should have kept, Turned down a job or two I should have taken and quit a couple I should have kept!

All in all looking back on it, I guess I really can't complain. Hell,I've had fun, seen a lot of places and things that as a kid I never expected to, or even considered. Met a lot of nice interesting people .

There was one mistake I made back as a Senior in High School I made that I regret to this day. I started smoking!! Absolutely the worst decision I ever made.Don't know why I did it now. Too be cool like the rest of the kids my age? I don't know, But I will tell you this for fact. Quitting is not as simple as laying them down and walking away! It is an addiction just like Heroin or Cocaine. Once you are hooked you are dependent on that Nicotine it effects your brain and gets it's claws in you like vise grips. I do know people who say they just laid them down and walked away , but I'm nor sure I totally believe that. I did quit once by accident. I was sick in bed for over a week and when I finally recovered from that I picked up my pack but decided I just didn't want one. Went 3 years without one. Then one night I lite one and that was it.. Hooked Again!!
Seriously , I've tired acupuncture, hypnotist, pills , life style changes, Nicotine gun ( works temporary but ruts you teeth) . All sorts of things.
Not advocating smoking BUT I did quit buying cigarette, I found little cigars that don't have all the additives and they really help. My Chest ex rays are clear, my smokers cough went away.   And even my BM's are changed.

Enough about that ,, open the curtains and get something to eat. Gotta go get mower gas in a bit.. OH,that reminds me ,take my stable with me when I fill the gas can .

BBL.

Opps !! Quick update . Earthquake in Dallas !!

Well, whoopee!!! 1:30ish and I not only been to the PO, got gas for the mower BUT gassed said mower and topped of the genset , THEN mowed the back !! Didn't manicure it you understand. Just knocked down the tall ugly stuff.   Gourd up a lot of leaves for mulch as well. I stopped and looked at a branch on the peach tree next door? That dang thing looks like it has ittybitty buds trying to form.. Nutzo!! It ain't the right time of year.
Time for a couple of Corney dogs and kick back , my back's tired.

6+ PM, quick note while my left over pasta's heating up. Got bored sitting here so drug out one of my new cameras and cables and controller and the Kitchen TV. Opened the book up and managed to get it hooked up and working. Inside here it had a good picture. So, Maybe tomorrow , weather permitting I'll figer out how to run the wires from inside to where I want them outside and hook them up. ( hopefully I can tie them onto the ole cables under the house and pull them that way) Thinking I am going to put one in my bedroom, I can monitor Tiny while she's in there and if I can ever figer out how, you could check on my den/office cam once I get it on line.
Smelling the pasta , must be that time!!

Long bout 9PM, finally remembered to open my Netflix envelope to see what movie had come in.

In My Humble Opinion it was the absolute best version of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol"   the 1984 version with Oscar winner George C. Scott as penny-pinching miser Ebenezer Scrooge in this critically acclaimed television adaption of Charles Dickens's holiday classic.

Honestly, if you've never seen this version of the Classic,, rent it next time. Scott is the epitome of Scrooge, Without a doubt the best Scrooge ever.

Think I'll make up the coffee pot after I put away the few dishes from lunch and supper and call it a night.   IF I can keep my gitupandgo moving tomorrow I think I'll start of running the wiring for the new cameras. Gonna have to move some stuff and most likely drill a new access hole for the cables into the house. Think I'll come in straight through the wall as opposed to under the house and up the floor like the old one is. Seal it with silicon caulk and some foam , then I can cut a patch to glue over the siding using some of the pieces I got out back.

Remeber "Thristy Thursday " at the bars? NO? Ok, never mind....

2012-01-05T08:13:00.007-06:00

I have no idea what brought that thought on.. Back in the day, say mid-to late '70's I frequented a lot of bars or clubs. Shoot, while with Xerox, most of our 8 man team meetings were held in a bar or blub that served food.! IN the Middle of the day.
Anyway most places had a catchy slogan to remind you to come in and get a "pick me up" drink to ease the tensions of the workaday doldrums ( which is a nautical term btw)
I forget the name of the local place down in the NASA area that used the term Thirsty Thursday, but I'm sure it's long gone now.
One place over SW side of Downtown Houston near the XEROX headquarters building had lingerie shows . Basically the waitress severing the drinks and free food platters were "modeling" items you could buy for your wifie or girl friend.

But, like the song says.. " That was Yesterday and yesterday's gone."

Really I woke up feeling good this morning.Once I got all untangled from the bed I actually made it all the way through the house with out having to kick a cat outta the way.

Coffee is good this morning, BUT I think a new coffee making pot is due. This one just don't keep it hot once it's finished brewing.   I had one pot I really liked but it had a design issue that they never could fix . What it was a semi normal looking drip type device that had a spigot on the bottom of the pot. Set your cup under it and drain in the coffee. Didn't have to pick up the pot!! Only problem was the spigot would drip after a time of use and nuthing you could do would fix it. They even replaced my pot with a new and improved model. Same thing, dang it!!!

I'll look next time at the big store but it ain't real high on my list.

One good thing this morning also was opening the kitchen window blind and NOT seeing that camper out back!! I can't tell you how glad I am to see that mistake gone!! One more mistake to make right and I'm set for the year. :-)   repeated part below

Weather, before I forget.
30.0 °F
Clear
Windchill:     30 °F
Humidity:     78%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     0.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     24 °F
Pressure:     30.33 in (Falling)

Today: Sunny, with a high near 66. West wind around 5 mph becoming south.

Ain't that neat looking? No freeze for the next few days. Shoot I may just gas up Big John and mow out back particularly!! Get it all cleaned up for winter so it'll look good next spring . At least till the summer heat moves in and kills it all again.

OK, another cuppa, gag down my pills and I got planned a great ole big omelet thingie for breakfast. BBL I betcha.

OH!! And FedEx is due to deliver. IF they don't get lost like normal!! AH's !!!

Nearly 10AM and I GOT to tell ya bout the Omelet I made !! I guess technically not an omelet, more of an egg scramble. Dice up some ham, got out some red and yellow bell peppers , also chopped, onion, again, chop it up!! Some cheese chunks and mushroom pieces. What I do is crack my two eggs into a cup, add in the cheese and mushrooms. In the skillet, toast the ham and onions and cook till you get good color, then cut the fire back some, reason being you don't want to cook the eggs too fast and dry them out. Anyway, stir in the eggs and keep moving them around slowly till they get to the consistory you prefer. add the seasonings you want and if you time it right the toast will be ready when the egg is. This one I choose to NOT add the red chile flakes but that's a personal choice.

And alternative to that is instead of ham, I slice up a tamale .

BTW, have I mentioned how happy I am to NOT see that camper sitting out back? Just the brown grass where it was?

Well, almost NOON, and guess who showed up?

Surprise, surprise!!! So, decision time. Do I go head and go get the car serviced or unpack the big ole box?    umm,, Car is more important and don't need an appointment, so quick lunch and head out.. BBL!!!

4:30 ish PM Made it back just fine thank you   Got the car all serviced and checked out at the price indicated on the voucher. So I'm good for a while I guess. Dang them and their Used car lot!!! They had a Ford F150 loaded , and a heck of a price. This one in your curious. I could sell my current BOT and get that one. But SON,,it has way too much fancy stuff on it and a big ole V8 engine . Looks sort of like a Cowboy Pimp mobile!! :-) Sure was good looking though. The quick talking sales kid wanted to trade me evensteven for mine. Yea, I know how that works.

Went on some ole back roads on the way out just to see the countryside. Hadn't been that way in awhile. and NO I wasn't lost.. just cruising and looking.

Quick as I feed these starving ass cats I think I'm gonna make me a Jack and 7,short one, but I hadn't had one in I don't know how long. Course make it up and then probably end up tossing most of it, but I gotta try ..

See at ya later....

9PM by the ole clock on the wall. Tossed bout half that Jack and 7. Tasted fine, just didn't want it. Will stick with my wine coolers I guess. :-)

Coffee pot set up for morning , cats counted.

Think in the morning I am going to play with my new toy , testing and the like, until it warms up enough THEN go out and attack the yard. Since I won't be manicuring the grass, not going to be an all day job. So, think I got Friday figered out.   See ya'll later I hope.

Tuesday , Jan, 4th, 2012 Don't know what's up yet..

2012-01-04T06:13:00.005-06:00

Got my normal required hours of sleep as determined by my body I guess. This going to bed early ( for me) sure makes for an early morning. How many hours of sleep do you get? I've changed my routine a little and am going to bed when I feel like it , instead of trying to stay awake and watch the news headlines at 10PM. Finding that I fall asleep straight away and 6 hours later +/- wakeing up naturally. Today for example was 4:30.
Yea, I'm sleeping enough cause I don't drag around in the morning, just get up and move .
OH well, guess that's what my body wants , so I'll go with it.

So, what's up today? Not a lot, other than PO and Lotto Ticket. Don't need anything from the store, well, nuthing worth going out for just that item ( Braum's eggs)

So far all I got done is a weather check, and that only online. Haven't heard what my local TV guy is saying.

36.6 °F
Clear
Windchill:     37 °F
Humidity:     59%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     3.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     24 °F
Pressure:     30.21 in (Steady)

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 60. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

You see that 70 degree in the forecast? Neat.. THAT maybe a good day to knock down some winter grass.

Seriously , got nuthing for you yet, well, unless you want to see some amazing underwater videos HERE

Mo' coffee. BBL

OH!! Remembered I had saved this for you to read , scratch you head and Laugh at.

The following questions were set in last year's GED examination
These are genuine answers (from 16 year olds) .... and they WILL breed.

Q. Name the four seasons
A. Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar

Q. Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink
A. Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists

Q. How is dew formed
A. The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire

Q. What causes the tides in the oceans
A. The tides are a fight between the earth and the moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins the fight

Q. What guarantees may a mortgage company insist on
A. If you are buying a house they will insist that you are well endowed

Q. In a democratic society, how important are elections
A. Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election

Q. What are steroids
A. Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs

Q.. What happens to your body as you age
A. When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental

Q. What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty
A. He says goodbye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery

Q. Name a major disease associated with cigarettes
A. Premature death

Q. What is artificial insemination
A. When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow

Q. How can you delay milk turning sour
A. Keep it in the cow

Q. How are the main 20 parts of the body categorized (e.g. The abdomen)
A. The body is consisted into 3 parts - the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels: A, E, I,O,U..

Q. What is the fibula?
A. A small lie

Q. What does 'varicose' mean?
A. Nearby

Q. What is the most common form of birth control
A. Most people prevent contraception by wearing a condominium

Q. Give the meaning of the term 'Caesarean section'
A. The caesarean section is a district in Rome

Q. What is a seizure?
A. A Roman Emperor.

Q. What is a terminal illness
A. When you are sick at the airport.

Q. Give an example of a fungus. What is a characteristic feature?
A. Mushrooms. They always grow in damp places and they look like umbrellas

Q. Use the word 'judicious' in a sentence to show you understand its meaning
A. Hands that judicious can be soft as your face.

Q. What does the word 'benign' mean?
A. Benign is what you will be after you be eight

Q. What is a turbine?
A. Something an Arab or Shreik wears on his head.

Long bout 11ish, or noon minus one. :-) Propane delivery guy just left. Tell ya what , don't take him long to pump in 157Gallons of that liquid gold. But I'm good to go for a while now. showing 80% on my big ole tank and that's bout all the liquid it'll hold safety.

1:30 ish PM had a good morning. Got a full tank of propane . and most importantly righted a mestake from last year. Yep, That dang camper is GONE!!! Every body makes em, mesteakes that is and that camper was mine last year. Got cash money for it ( lost money) but it's gone. Back yard looks better other than the brown spots left from the jack stands were.
Now I can start over and figer out what to screw up next.

LUNCH!!!

That lunch was a LOONG time ago!! 6PM+ now,full tummy ,napping cats, wine cooler , feet propped up.Yep I'm done!! After the guy left with the camper I ran up to the CU and made a deposit! :-) Then stuffed my stomach. I had a small late lunch after show and tell with the camper . and helping him load it. But have finally relaxed and settled in now. Wannta make any bets I don't make it till 9? :-)

Jan/3/12.. Tuesday . Now what to do? Lost Cat?!?!!???

2012-01-03T06:33:00.003-06:00

Fed the cats when I clicked on the coffee pot this morning, so I KNOW both of them were here. However I just found Basset's break away safety collar in the hallway. But where da hell is she!????   Have called her several times, but she's playing typical cat and not answering me . BITCH!!!

I could shake the treats bag but that would get them both and I just want her right now.
Oh well, she'll show up after a bit and I'll re-harness her then.

Sort of cold out this morning when I first looked, 25 out. But is warming pretty quick.

25.9 °F ( 31°F here) 6:27AM..
Clear
Windchill:     26 °F
Humidity:     72%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     0.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     18 °F
Pressure:     30.54 in (Steady)

Today: Sunny, with a high near 57. South wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to between 15 and 20 mph. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.

IF the wind lays later it may warm enough that I could get out and knock down some of the winter grass that has come up. IF I knock it down now, by spring time it should have made good mulch huh?
What am I thinking? !!! Gonna be so dry again this summer nuthing gonna grow anyway cause we in this serious drought!!

I went over on Google Earth, which is free btw. And looked back at what historical shots are available for my location. When you load it . Put in your address ( or any addresss). then when the imagine comes up Look down lower left corner and in small letters you see "Imagery Date xx\xx\xxxx". Click on that and a pop up window till open and you can use the slide bar and go back in time. Some of the history shots aren't great but sort of cool to look at.

One of my former addresses I did that on and up until the year I bought it, it was all totally undeveloped. I was the first resident in that particular house.!!
What I'd pay money to see next is a LIVE shot on GE!!!!   But that ain't gonna happen
cause I don't have CIA or FBI clearance. :-)

Windy Bob made a comment about my no-see-em critter picture here that I posted yesterday. That don't make sense cause I ain't go no fruit here. :-)

Oh well, just what I was thinking on this early early Tuesday morning.

Gonna get another cuppa and go do some looking to see if I can make my Credit Union reports online print me the paid out statement on my regular bills monthly for last year. Just playing around and too lazy to get out an adding machine. I never spend monthly what I take in, just want to see what I pay out each month. Guess I could use their online itemized thingie but would have to go through and set what each payment was for, food,gas, utilities, etc etc.
Can you tell I'm bored this morning. :-)

More coffee, and make a stab at straightening the kitchen. BBL

BTW, all over the news this morning about the Iowa Caucus. What the hell is a caucus and why is it sooo dammed important? A little research and turns out it ain't diddley!! And don't mean nuthing!! In fact after reading this account here, it ain't nuthing but a bunch of bored people getting together and BSing.

Taking a lead from Bob about what my flying critters may be , I did a search for fruit flies. May well be what they are, Link . there is a suggestion for a simple trap so I'm gonna set one out. Will let you know how it works.

Well, afternoon 2PM update Heard from the neighbor down the street that a crew was out filling in our old sewer plant. So I JUST had to go see. Yep sure are. Already pumped it out and in the process of filing it in.

That one on the left is the ole concrete main tanks all pumped out and empty and being filled in.
That "lake" is where the processed water drains into. They will breach the dam and let that run off into the natural creek. Eventually that whole are will be level again.
Surprisingly there is not much odor emitting from the area.

Guess I should get off, expecting a guy to come by later.

Early start to Jan 2, 12

2012-01-02T05:08:00.003-06:00

I Think I figered out what is waking me up so early. With the heater running here , my skin is of course dry and it makes my legs itch like crazy. That is what is waking me up so dang early I feel pretty sure ( 4:45AM this morning) . So I come in here and slather up with with my Lubriderm and go 'head and make the coffee. ( you know an aspirin will help with some skin itches? ) Course it drives the cats bonko that I don't feed them immediately.

Where to start?   Ok, last night is a good place. I got a phone call just after sunset from the guy that has been getting all of the stored stuff outta my barn. He and his wifie wanted to come load up the last of it. Shoot, it's late but come git it gone!!! and it is!! Got my clean barn floor back. I can even drive and turn around my JD in there now. and I am going to Keep it cleaned out!!
So starting off the year with the headache out of my hair.
After they finally got loaded and gone I finished off my left over lunch and promply got "heavy eye" and dozed off for a few minutes. ( don't know how the TV show ended.) :-(

Checked mail and answered a couple but one from Jim Boatman had a link that ended up taking up some time. IF you are a Texan or a wannabe Texan, you'll enjoy this fellow's work. He is Wyman Meinzer, and is the Texas State Photographer and he has a page you can look at some of his work capturing Wild Texas.   Pour ya a cuppa and plan of spending some time viewing his Texas scenes and shows at this link TEXAS , Wide Open Spaces. When the first one ends, Click on another link for some more of his work.
Seeing his scenes brings back memories of places in Texas I have seen and drags up the wanderlust of places I still need to see.   someday I guess.
Only thing I got planned so far today ( already paid the one small bill sittin here) is to git this DirecTV order canceled.   Would like to get that done before the installer guy shows up. Not real worried cause what I have heard they ain't real prompt on showing up when they say they will.

The 123rd Annual Tournament of Roses Parade starts at 10 AM here so gonna watch that.

Weather's OK

29.3 °F
Clear
Windchill:     29 °F
Humidity:     74%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     0.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     22 °F
Pressure:     30.65 in (Rising)

Today: Sunny, with a high near 53. North northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph.

So, guess ain't much going on yet but maybe something will pop up. So, Mo' coffee and I'll be back betcha :-)

8:30 AM, Whoopie!!! Finally got a live person on the phone about canceling the direct TV offer. The ONLY one I could get to answer is the salesman that came by. All the other numbers were either out of service or just never answered. Feel better about for sure.
So, now what I'm gonna do rest of the day, AFTER the Rose Parade that is?

Early Afternoon   And it dawned on me that we in Texas got a bunch of new laws that took effect Jan 1 You can sort through them and if you click the bill number on the left side it'll give you the option of what program you want to open it with to read the details. Anyway, Here they all are.. New Laws

7PM After supper update and What is it? Tonight again I had a little flying mini bug zipping around. Slapped him down on a sheet of paper. Then got my stationary magnifier and digital camera in an attempt to get a picture fo you. Best I can do .. What the hell is it? Can you blow it up enough to see what it is?

January First, 2012. and it starts all over again!

2012-01-01T05:16:00.007-06:00

I was just nodding off here at the table/office/desk/TV viewing platform last evening when it sounded like WWIII started!! Yep, the rednecks lite off the fireworks.I saw out my carport camera someone down in the road must have set off a whole package of firecrackers , pop and flash for what seemed like forever. Then a bit later the aerial displays started!! From what I've read, I'm sure a Vietnam firefight would have been less noisy :-)

All is quite this morning of course but bet there are some serious hangovers around here. :-)

As for us , Tiny hide under something till later last evening, Basset don't care about it at all unless it gets near her food bowl :-) And I just slept through it all.

Didja make an resolutions?   I quit even thinking about that years ago, Hell. you never keep them anyway then you just feel bad cause you didn't have the will power , so why even consider it?

Got my new monthly calendar printed out laying here , marked up with anniversary dates . I tried a new form of calendar since my ole Calendar Creator is OLD and won't load on this computer and I got tired of fooling with it. So gonna try the free one that's on with my email account through Google.    Only family event I got marked is Daddy's BD on the 19th, but of course he died a few years ago so it's just a hold over reminder.

Gotta hold off with the comics till the store opens and I have a paper in front of me, BUT I got the Forecast of course.

46.0 °F
Clear
Windchill:     44 °F
Humidity:     53%
Wind:     5.0 mph from the NNW
Wind Gust:     12.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     30 °F
Pressure:     30.36 in (Rising)

New Year's Day: Sunny, with a high near 59. North northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

We don't normally get any ice, sleet, what ever , till late this month of even next. So no biggie yet.

OK, slow moving , so I'll leave you to your own devices till we all get some more coffee.
BBL

Well, OK then,found the comics without having to have the paper in front of me. :-)

Garfield
B.C.
For Better or Worst
Shoe
Peanuts
Hagar
Ziggy
Dagwood
Luann
Dennis
Beetle Bailey
Pluggers
Pickles

OK, confession time. FIRST screw up of the year, but it is fixable!!
Had a real nice guy pull up yesterday . Salesman for Direct TV. Showed me the plans and how to get just the channels I wanted. So he was GOOD and I signed up, NO CC number involved.
Well, after thinking about it later and this morning ( and getting in 5 different emails!!) I'm calling and canceling the order and the install. Here in Texas there is a 3 day grace period to allow for buyers remorse or some such BS. So I'll get out of this and keep on with my FREE off air channels and my Netflix.

8AM What happen to the Parade?    Pulled out the TV Schedule from the paper and went looking for the Rose Parade time on TV.. DUH!!!

SAN DIEGO, Dec 31, 2011 – If you’re on auto-pilot New Year’s Day morning after having fun the night before like most of America, you will stumble over to your TV and turn it on expecting to see the dazzling floats and energetic marching bands of the 2012 Tournament of Roses Parade.
Instead, you’re going to think you forgot what day it was.
Check the calendar: no, you were right, it IS January 1. But it’s a Sunday, which means the traditional New Year’s Day schedule will wait until Monday.

The Tournament of Roses Parade never takes place on a Sunday.

The Rose Parade is never held on Sunday. Every five to 11 years when New Year’s Day falls on Sunday, the Rose Parade is held back one day until Monday, January 2. This last happened in 2006.

Want to review this last year through the eyes of CBS news? OK, This link will take you to a lot of storis that made Headlines in 2011.

Long about 10AM and there is a commercial running on TV that just bugs me. I'm afraid of heights, I get dizzy . This commercial for a Credit card is short 33sec) but watch it in a large window and see where that crazy woman is standing!! NUTZO

Almost noontime and I finaly got around to reading the paper. See I had to go out front and reattach a piece of the ABS skirting that was coming loose. Did that so no more stray or wild critters can get under the house...
ANYWAY, what I was going to point you to is a End of Year wrap up by Humorist Dave Barry. Hey, you need a chuckle today,, just read it!!

And while you do that I'm gonna see bout making up my big ole meal I got the stuff for yesterday.................

4PM ish. Cats are circling , bout that time. BTW, that lunch with the chicken cordon bleu, loaded stuff potato and black eyed peas? Well, once I loaded up my plate , it expanded!! So I got left overs for supper. But it sure is good eatin. but sure was hard to keep my eyes open afterwards. :-)

December 31, 2011 Yep, last day to enjoy this year.

2011-12-31T07:02:00.002-06:00

39 °F @ 6:50 Am
Humidity:     91%
Dew Point: 32.7°F
Barometer: 30.00 inHg
Humidity:     70 %
Visibility:     10 mi
Dewpoint:     30 °F
Wind:     CALM

Today: Sunny, with a high near 72. South wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.

Sunrise:     7:32am
Sunset:     5:35pm

I attempted to review this past year and was going to highlight it. But naw,, you already read it, so just let it go. I guess the major thing that happen this year was I lost my Mother. Today I still see things or hear something on the news or watch an ole movie and just for an instant the thought flashes across my mind to remember to tell her that next time we talk.

I guess for me physically , been OK year , once I got past that short Hospital stay early on. The good medical part was that I got the cancer removed so don't have that hanging over my head.
Didn't do any major travel this year, but will try to do better this upcoming year.

Since I been up so long to day I have reviewed my store list and will head out in a bit to get that all taken care of. IF I made resolutions ,I think it would be to eat better this year.

So, for today, gonna eat me up a burrito with over easy egg and then get all steam cleaned off , beard trimmed and get to the store.

I been kicking around changing the look of the blog, but haven't settled on anything just yet.

I know. Boreing end to the year.. ...
BBL I betcha.

Dang near noon .. Got back from the new Kroger super store and made out like a bandit!! Managed to fill my list . AND they were just putting out fresh made up Chicken Cordon Blue! So.. menu change tomorrow!!! Forget the pork chop :-) and I got a loaded stuffed baked tater to go with it. and YES I got black eyed peas ready.
And just a block down, across from the hospital is a new Subway. Sooo... yea I got lunch and supper covered today.
I think once I figer out where stuff is in that store, it may become my new go-to one. Just a bit farther than my regular ole Tom Thumb, BUT much better selection and prices are comparable. PLUS they got that big ole salad bar and a deli in store. :-)
Got the mail and only one small bill due.. Phoopey, I'll pay it next year. : -) go head and bundle up my receipts and canceled checks and put them in the folder and close out 2011.

Up and moving, in anticipation of a busy day, Friday Dec 30, 11

2011-12-30T06:16:00.007-06:00

In my mind, today sounds busy busy. The Electrician crew is due to swap out my main electric box out at the service entry pole ( pictures later) , The guy emptying the last of the stuff from the barn is due back sometime, AND I got a meeting of some people here scheduled for noon, +/-. IF every thing goes according to plan ( like that will happen) , this evening I GOT to wash a load of clothes cause I got out my last pair of my favorite clean socks!! Dam! I'm tired already. :-)

Weather sholdn't be an issue for disrupting any of all this today. ( almost sounds like a spring day)

44.6 °F
Clear
Windchill:     45 °F
Humidity:     62%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     4.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     32 °F
Pressure:     29.94 in (Rising)

Today: Sunny, with a high near 66. North northwest wind between 5 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Two news stories caught my eye.
American Airlines down the tube. FORT WORTH (AP) — American Airlines’ parent company, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month, said Thursday that its stock will be dropped from the New York Stock Exchange.

The shares will stop trading on the NYSE before the opening bell next Thursday. The delisting includes AMR common stock and some company-issued notes.

And Rat Invasion.

And some crack smoking dudes in DC want to change our calendar. Story Here.

Speaking of Crack Heads. :-) I got hooked on a Cable Show I found on my Netflix offerings. Called Breaking Bad . Basically it's about a family guy who starts making Chrystal Meth to support his Cancer Treatment. Read the Story outline HERE> It just got me hooked and I can watch an episode then come back later and watch the next one. Maybe what hooked me is that it is set and filmed in New Mexico.

Gotta keep moving, be back when I get time.

4PM, job finished, other visitors gone. Peace and quite reins again!! Well, it will as soon as I feed the cats. The electrician found right off the bat that the meter box above the panel had corrosion under the lugs and causing issues. The lugs that the employees of the electric company had assured me were fine. Anyway, Couple of hours and $250 later my issues are cured ( so far, I tested the drier and it works as does the microwave) Whole bunch of pictures HERE . Not in order , but you get the idea. In the middle of all that, the people I was meeting with showed up and spend the rest of the day getting all that issue straighten out.
So, needless to say, I'm worn ass out.. BUT I can go wash me a load of clothes cause the drier works again. :-)

PS, Forgot a video I did out at the pole, if you interested... Meter Swap

9PM, Got my clothes all washed, dried and put away so I can start in tomorrow morning getting them dirty again. Since I wasn't able to get out today like I would have liked to, tomorrow I will go fill my store list. Think I'll go back and spend some time at the new big Kroger Super Store. Main thing I want is something special for New Years day to go with my Black Eyed peas. :-) Right now I'm leaning towards a pork steak or maybe a pork loin, slow roasted with my secret rub. I do know they have made up super loaded baked potatoes and I love a loaded up tater. Course once I get to grazing over their meat market I may well change my mind. :-)

I remember one new years day back in Houston living over in the Westhimer side , my normal bowling league ,beer drinking ,weekend party group decided to all meet up New Years Day at a local $$ place that offered a huge ass buffet with champagne.. We did some serious damage that day. As I remember we finally left mid afternoon and went off to someone's place and watched football and drank more.
But all that's a couple days yet, so for now..
Nite Nite....

Thursday, Dec 29-11 year almost gone

2011-12-29T06:57:00.006-06:00

First thing I did this morning was try and find the weather history for this quickly ending year of 2011. So far haven't had much luck. Oh, I can tell you what my weather station here at the house shows, but I wanted the info for the whole area. I'll keep digging and post it once I find it. Not worried about getting any more rain this year. and do know that we are waay behind what is normal and the drought is expected to continue for some time yet. Here at the house I only show 23" for the whole year!!, I "think" that's about half of normal.
January one I'll reset the gauge and start all over. IF I can find the book and figer out how to do it. :-)

Later today gonna drag out the screaming yellow meanie ( vacuum cleaner ) and do a good clean up, then I got some dang good smellum good mist I can spritz the carpet with that leaves a slight cinnamon smell . All that for my guest tomorrow.

AND sometime today the guys are supposed to come back with an empty trailer and get the rest of the crap that was left by "renter" outta my barn. So it'll start out the new year all nice and clean and organized.

I got a set of B&W outside cameras here at the house. They monitor the carport, back and front porch and one aimed out back towards the barn. They are waaay old and never were real good. Well, this morning I found a color camera system with 8 color cameras and controller box that I can feed to my Big Screen TV and even record movement on. AND once I get it installed I can even make them available for view online.
But it's gonna be a bit till they come in and then a bit more while I run the cables and wires under the house to the mounting positions. But I'll let ya know when it's up and running. This system won't dial 911 or nuthing like that, but will allow me a much more clear view of what is happening outside.

Weather looking pretty good for today sounds like

31.7 °F
Clear
Windchill:     32 °F
Humidity:     80%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     0.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     26 °F
Pressure:     30.02 in (Steady)

Today: Sunny, with a high near 65. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south.

Looking at the weather around the Nation and it looks like it's a heck of a lot better than it was a year ago. Remember the big ass snow storm up in NE? New York was snowed in with record snow falls and shut down the city..

Well, I did find a climatology report for close to here. You can look if you care too, or open it and pick another location closer to where you are. Weather history.

Was reading MsB's blog report and how her bank screwed up her account. Glad she took the steps to get that straightened out. I had that happen years ago. But research proved it wasn't really compromised, the bank just had linked another user to my account number. Course they argured with me, but we finally got it straight.

Gotta get another cuppa and figer out breakfast. Ham and eggs maybe?
BBL

9AM, and yea, the ham and egg won out for breakfast. :-) Was watching a Fox news report on how Movie House attendance was way down . Blamed some of it on the Economy of course but a lot on the availability of movies on line. I quit going to a theater a long ass time ago. Too noisy with all the people talking and texting and what now. Last movie I saw in a theater was Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). I got it now on DVD and can watch it anytime I want. Plus I got my Netflix and other movie viewing options, so why would I want to get all dressed up, drive to a theater , stand in line and then have to sit and try to listen with all the cell phones and texting going on? BS, I got it here at home.

Finally dawned on me that since the doc switched me to a new generic of my blood pressure meds a month ago I am experiencing some differences. I have always taken my BP meds in the morning. And have to eat along with it. Lately a bit afterward I get a semi dizzy tired feeling. It clears up after a bit ,, It's Just something new , guess I better report that to my doc huh

Early afternoon report 1PM. My electrician finally got back from his holiday vacation and will be out in the morning to swap out the main disconnect out on the pole below the electric meter. IF for some off the wall reason that doesn't cure this issue in here. Don't know what will.

Wednesday already? Yea guess it is, last one of this year of course.Dec 28/11

2011-12-28T07:34:00.004-06:00

Wonder who's gonna be the first to write the wrong date on a check next week? :-) Doubt it'll be me cause I don't write many checks anymore since I switched to online banking with my Credit Union.
You got New Years Eve party plans ? Not me! I quit going out years ago. Just too dangerous out on the roads late that night.

Following a good ole southern tradition I'll have my blackeyed peas and most likely a porkchop and cornbread that day.

But that's still a few days off so you got time to finish all those things you were going to git done this year. :-)

Weather outta the way then get another cuppa.
33.1 °F
Clear
Windchill:     33 °F
Humidity:     76%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     3.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     26 °F
Pressure:     30.12 in (Steady)

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Didja watch the Kennedy Center Honors last night I always do and enjoyed the show of course.Not a fan of all of them ( Meryl Streep) but sure enjoyed the music selections. Personally I wish they'd get performers who do the honorees music like it is supposed to be done, instead of adding in their own twist to it. And of course didn't think they spend enough time on Neil Diamond. Been a fan forever and even been to a couple of his concerts back in the day. ( did an off stage intro of him at a concert down in Houston when I was in Radio and we sponsored his show a long time ago) .

So, what's up for today? Well, the guys I went and looked up yesterday may come and unload all the renters crap out of my barn. Sure want that all gone.

NO my electrical issues haven't gone away. Again, I am waiting on a call back to get the main breaker box replaced ( he's out deer hunting this week)

Guess I'll just keep moving like it's a typical hump day, mo' coffee, then lotto buying later, PO and all that.

BBL ya betcha..

9ish!! While having breakfast, I opened an internet link from the makers of my Go Pro camera. Lots of submitted videos of what some owners are using their cameras for. Trust me, You'll never catch me jumping off no Mountain!! But these brain damaged people sure do. LOOK OUT BELOW

Long bout 5PM, Cat feeding time. I been out back, Finally got hold of Lee's old land lord and he and one of his guys showed up and started loading up that stuff in the barn. Course I had to show them what is his. Man those two move like a house afire...But Gonna have to come back tomorrow afternoon to get the rest. BUT I'll get my barn back!!!!
Really got to watch 'em. They got their eye on my John Deere and my Honda Generator out there. :-)

Now what? Supper? yea, guess so, maybe a couple of corn dogs and chili for dipping huh?

Tuesday, Dec 27, '11..

2011-12-27T06:51:00.006-06:00

Too early, hadn't got my first full cuppa down yet!! Only 6:15,give me a break.
Took a bit this morning and went back rereading what BS I had posted about a year ago, just cause. Nothing exciting ever happens here so really it was pretty boring. I got that idea from fellow Blogger OFM .
He had gone back and reread his past post checking on weather.   Guess I shouldn't complain, it was colder last year than it is now and I survived it.     Maybe before I pick up my big ole book to read here in a bit, I'll go back to my blog beginning and read what BS I wrote about then. ( I wonder if our grand kids will ever discover these postings we made sometime in the future? ) I've read some old old diary entries I have stumbled across and they made history really come alive. One in particular was from a Civil war solider and his day to day description of the war.
Somewhere in all of Mothers stuff there was a letter written from one of our Uncles to his wife and family from the battlefield at Lookout Mountain in Tennessee. Having visited that site , his story added more meat to the history.
Who knows , maybe our blog entries will become living pages of history to our grandchild's kids someday in the future.

Weather, while I git Mo' coffee..
36.0 °F
Clear
Windchill:     36 °F
Humidity:     73%
Wind:     2.0 mph from the West
Wind Gust:     6.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     28 °F
Pressure:     30.15 in (Steady)

Today: Sunny, with a high near 55. Northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

9AM update,Was just getting my breakfast but had to stop and watch my local morning show for a bit. They had Ray Benson on promoting his show coming up. Called A Ride with Bob Wills I saw this show when it first came out . Small venue show sat right up front. Bob was the King of Western swing and Ray keeps him alive to this day. If you ever get a chance, go see this show..

Noon Plus one Well, when I headed out I decided to go take a look at the new Kroger super store my barber had told me about.. Good Lord Almighty!! That friggin place is huge!!! Need a map, or guide or GPS to get around in side. Course being my first trip didn't know there nuthing was. But finally found the cat food than I was looking for. They had a seafood bar making place,Sushi ( bait) , even a place in the meat area where they'll cook you a steak. FINALLY found the salad. They got this big ole bar area thing where you make up your own salad. Several different kinds of lettuce , olives,onions, cucumber, radishes pickles etc etc. Then they weight it at the register and mine cost me $3.25. Cheap as Tom Thumb and fresher for sure. So here in a bit I'm gonna slice/chop up that last piece of chicken I got to add to the ham I got on it already and shoot, may just have a small glass of wine with it. I won't bother to go to that store if I'm in a hurry but times when I got nuthing to do, I 'll go back I guess. Had to try it don't ya know.

Sun shining out and up to 60 but can't convince the lazy ass cats to move and go enjoy it. Lazy Ass cats!!

4PMish quick update

Had to run out for a minute to see a guy about a thing and on the way back came back on the back roads. Good God!! They changed them!!! The old country roads we kids used back in the 50's and 60's are level, straighten out and in some cases 4 lane divided. Some of them don't even go where they used too. And there are mini malls on what used to be farms, farms of families of kids I went to school with!! How long has it been? 40 years? Really? Yep!!!

I'm telling ya, this gettin old crap ain't for wimps!!!

Mon, 12/26/11. Xmas over. Count down to New Year on the short side

2011-12-26T06:32:00.004-06:00

So? Did you clean up all the crumbled paper and ribbon off the floor yet? When you gonna take the tree down and spend the day gittin all the pine needles off the floor?
Then hit the mall/ stores and exchange all the stuff that doesn't fit or you just don't want?
Me,I'm just glad we got rid of all the Holiday adds on the Tube and outta the paper now.

Son in Law called last night ( have I mentioned he is the most pleasant, cheerful person I have ever met? ) He just doing the Christmas check in and to tell me what I bought grand daughter. :-) Turns out it is a Cat!   A battery powered one since everyone up there thinks they are allergic to cat dander. Cute little cat though.It walks and meows as I understood them to say. ( maybe they'll do a video for me )

So, no snow on Christmas here but I didn't expect any . I honestly don't remember ever having real snow on Christmas. In Fact this area isn't known for it's snow fall, oh yea we get some but normally we get ice storms .   But those usually hold off till January. Wannta hear the next version of that? I ain't never gonna live where it gets a any of snow and cold! Yea I used to travel to go snow skiing but always came home to good ole Texas. Snow is lovely to look at but I couldn't live in it for any period of time.

Weather here just mentions some rain maybe
41.2 °F
Overcast
Windchill:     41 °F
Humidity:     79%
Wind:     3.0 mph from the NNW
Wind Gust:     6.0 mph
Visibility:     2.0 miles
Dew Point:     35 °F
Precipitation:     50% chance of precipitation
Pressure:     30.24 in (Falling)

Today: A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly before noon. Cloudy, with a high near 49. Northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Those weather conditions listed first up there come from Weather Underground. I got to wondering who they are and where they are so I did some digging at their site and found this for ya. Who is Weather Underground.

OK, more coffee and git moving. Gonna Call the electrician back out here to meet with the Power Company and figer out what is going on with my flickering lights .. I want this BS fixed even if it means a new feed line into my house. None of us can figer out what is causing this issue, but I think we are all leaning towards the main breaker box out under the meter now.

BBL

Bit Later, pill taking time. Remembered when I took my normal pill this morning I need a refill. So called that in for auto refill. Be ready for pick up later this afternoon. Hope my Doc approves it, cause it's bout time for a check up but maybe she'll let me slide . :-)

8AM plus a little.   So I got curious of when , if ever, this Fort Worth Area had ever had snow fall, on Christmas. So I emailed my favorite trusted Local weatherman, Evan Andrews at Fox 4. He replied with this link to historical weather history . yep, as I figured, actual snow on Christmas here is rare.   Weather History.
So now I can forget all that and get on with the day. :-)

Much later now, long bout 5PM,   Fed the cats and got my pizza in cooking.

Tell ya what , it don't do for me to sit around bored. After I read all I could read today I went looking for an early computer game we used to play called Doom. It's not availabe any more in the form I remember BUT I did find Links Golf!! I used to spend hours playing that.. Alone or online with brother or who ever I could find. My version won't run on Windows 7 so I got rid of it. Well, the new version looks pretty good, so I downloaded the free trial version. Gonna fool with it a couple days and may just pay for it. So far it seems to work just fine.     Shoot, with my computer hooked to my big screen TV it's almost a life size picture!!!

Pzza bout done.   see ya.

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T05:17:00.004-06:00

I Offer three songs to start your morning off.

First, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir - Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah

And Then   Oh Holy Night .

And the final offering Do You Hear What I Hear?

I'll be back, rest assured.

Weather happens no matter who's Birthday it is .
41.6 °F
Overcast
Windchill:     39 °F
Humidity:     70%
Wind:     4.0 mph from the NNW
Wind Gust:     7.0 mph
Visibility:     7.0 miles
Dew Point:     33 °F
Precipitation: chance of precipitation
Pressure:     30.40 in (Steady)

Christmas Day Forecast : A 40 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 45. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.

And of course your comics for today,

Garfield

B.C.

For Better or Worst

Shoe

Peanuts

Hagar

Ziggy

Dagwood

Wizard of ID

Luann

Dennis

Pickles

Beetle Bailey

Pluggers

Now, if you can do without me for a bit I got two Books to start on . Aunt Clara's Latest book of Poetry . And a larger format coffee table history book about my Daddy's bomber group in World War II entitled The 451st Bomb Group in World War II. Brilliant Daughter in Oregon found it and sent me a copy. It's loaded with pages and pages of photographs, and reports from the actual planes and crews . Bet my Daddy is in there somewhere,or at the very least his plane and crew.

Oh!! And my favorite neighbors and friends, The Lopez's , knowing that I like my wine, Got me a bottle of wine.
Bless their hearts, they know I like wine, but they don't know nuthing bout wines :-)

Christmas Eve Morning, 2011

2011-12-24T05:52:00.007-06:00

Woke up with a song in my head this morning, will get to that in a minute.
Weather outta the way first.

41.9 °F
Overcast
Windchill:     39 °F
Humidity:     70%
Wind:     5.0 mph from the North
Wind Gust:     6.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     33 °F
Precipitation:     50% chance of precipitation
Pressure:     30.38 in (Falling)

Today: Rain, mainly after noon. High near 40. North northeast wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Tonight: Rain and snow likely. with a low around 35. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Christmas Day: Rain likely, mainly before noon

Don't have anything planned today really, well I do need to check mail cause I didn't yesterday and Daughter sent me a note there was something in my box soo...

And of course will get my lotto ticket while I'm out . AND gotta find out if they will be open in the morning ( doubt it) . So go ahead and get my burrito for tomorrow I guess?

Now, about song in my head.   Hermit Jim beat me to it. Posted his favorite version here..

I went looking for a version of that same song ,on Harp! As it was written in the first place. Found two I feel worthy of linking .. This Instrumental
And since I couldn't find the perfect choral version to suit me, I offer this rendition by Cline Dion.

I have always wondered this time of year, When David and Mary made the walk from
Nazareth to Bethlehem how long did it take them? One thing I did learn later in doing more study , They weren't going to Pay taxes as most people think. At that time the Romans were taking a census and they were simply headed to their home town to be counted, not pay the government money.
That's that part of Religious History I wish now I had gone on to college to study more about. Not just the Christian religion but all the major religions . Where their stories came from, Who the actual players were . And then try to track down how the story gets so twisted between one religion and the next.
For example, we all know that Jesus was born a Jew , But what was the real reason that the Rabbi's at that time won't accept him as the promised one. And when did the Catholic Church come along and declare it's Pope as supreme commander of religion and belief?

ENOUGH before we get into a big ugly family fight . Not supposed to discuss Religion, politics or fiance at the table!! :-)

Later this morning. Found a weather update for tomorrow from my guy at Fox4, Evan Andrews .Wet or White? For 80% of us, it's an ez answer. WET.
Rain is spreading in today, am should be Metro west/south...becoming more widespread pm/night. Highs will stay in low 40s and lows tonight upper 30s. Areas WEST of FTW may see snowflakes mixed in and FAR western areas could see a steadier snow at some point during the storm....but most of our models (if not all) keep things liquid. It looks to end tomorrow PM, but clouds will hold in and temps will stay in the 40s. Monday may see some rain as well (mixed snow W/N) as the upper low pulls away. Finally nicer Tuesday (58), and 60 or above the rest of next week!

Good Grief!! On the way to get lotto I remembered a Christmas Classic I forgot to post. Cheech and Chong Christmas story. :-)    Toke em if you got em!! And yes, the store will be open tomorrow, an hour late, but....

Afternoon How in the World could I have forgotten!!! ?? Santa Tracker is bigger and better than ever!! Uses Goggle Earth now. TRACK the ole Fat Man as he heads your way!!

Friday, Dec 23rd, Christmas Eve , Eve. :-)

2011-12-23T07:31:00.006-06:00

Hey!! It makes sense to me. :-)
Got your turkey all primed for the oven? or you doing a ham? Personally I am tired of Turkey!! They sticking that dammed bird into everything and calling it something else. Rad the ingrediants on any processed meat.. Betcha it's got turkey in it!!
Just goes to show you that with the right chemicals they can make anything taste like anything else. OR That Turkey really don't have any taste at all . Ummm...

I will say this. If you have never eaten a wild, fresh killed Turkey, you missed something. Don't even look like the same package of stuff you get at the store.

Can't tell what the weather is like outside cause it's still dark out. Sun ain't due up till 7:27 today and as I type it ain't 7 yet.

Not planning on leaving the house today except for the PO. But one thing I am going to do is pull the air filter outta the central heater and clean it. Mine ain't paper, it's made out of some stuff that looks like horsehair cept it's blue
and stiffer.   Does a heck of a job and I can put it in the big handicap shower and get it really clean. ( summer time I take it out back and hang on the fence and wash it)
Ya know what? I should run the vacuum j before I do that.. ummmm..    naw.. screw it!!:-)

One of the "boards" discussion groups I follow today and a cute musical thingie with holiday music and a Lava Lamp.. here it is right, HERE

I know it's dated last year, so WHAT?

Weather for today ain't horrible

38.2 °F
Overcast
Windchill:     38 °F
Humidity:     70%
Wind:     3.0 mph from the North
Wind Gust:     13.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     29 °F
Pressure:     30.37 in (Rising)

Today: Cloudy, with a high near 44. North northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Saturday: A 50 percent chance of rain.
Saturday Night: Rain likely before midnight, then a chance of rain and snow.
Wantta bet on that Snow event? :-)

Reading through my normal blog offerings this morning, MsBelinda revisits a timely question that I know from experience most people don't like to even discuss.
Who's gonna know if you keel over one day?   Read her blog and maybe make some plans?
Along that same line. I carry on my keyring a USB gadget that has all my important info on it. Name, address, contacts list, DNR, organ donor info, etc etc. I marked it with 911, so that EMT's or whoever is looking at my mangled body hopefully will know to look at it and find out who I am.   I can edit the info at will. Say I am going on a trip, I can put on it my iteneary, where I'll be staying etc etc.   Here's what it looks like,closed and open, ready to be read by any computer.

It's on my person all the time.
Those things are cheap now and you can store tons on information on one.

OK, local TV ran this cute video of a dog really enjoying the snow. This is a couple years old and the owner posted a note about it. Mute the music is you want to and just watch the dog. SNOW DOG

11ish, and I got the filter cleaned. Here's what it looks like clean and reinstalled in place. it's big, 12X31

Well, made it to 9:30PM.. made up coffee pot counted cats etc,etc. Today turned out to be a movie day what with the yucky weather outside.

Watched two musicals as a matter of fact. Both with one of my favorite singers. Barbra Streisand. First was Funny Girl, a semi biography of Fanny Brice with Omar Sharif as the love interest. Liked it so much that later I watched Hello Dolly, not as good a movie but it did have the highlight of the song Hello Dolly with appearance by Louis Armstrong. I always like Barbra and have her original album The Barbra Streisand Album.

When I was working at the Radio Station we got in an album with a big fold out of a pen sketch of her. I still have the album and the poster . ( maybe a collectors item now ).

I don't agree with her politics but hell no one in the film or music industry should be taken seriously about politics .

Got a note from daughter ( who when she was younger could dress up and pass for Barbra) that there is a package at my post office. Hope they open at least till noon tomorrow. ;-)

Well,the kitchen is clean from the fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy meal tonite. coffee pot made up . so I guess I can give it up!!

Dec 22, 11. Am I really nuts?

2011-12-22T06:32:00.007-06:00

I must be loosing my mind!! Here it is just a few days before Christmas and masses of People are out grabbing last minute items and I got to get to the Store!! Poor planning on my part for sure.
Some of what I have listed I can get locally right up the street but I gonna have to venture into town.Thought first of Wal Mart,, Forget that!!! So guess it'll be worth the slight increase in cost to go to Tom Thumb cause it ain't next door to any big ass mall or toy type store.
Just stupid on my part I know.
Then it dawned on me that my normal Sunday morning routine of getting my paper and breakfast will be disrupted cause I betcha Casstevens won't be open that morning either!!
What to do, What to do? Woe is me, Woe is me. :-)

Well, guess I'll handle today first ,then worry bout tomorrow. Cause like Scarlett O'Hara so famously said, " After all, tomorrow is another day."

Weather sure doesn't sound like Dead of Winter Christmas type huh?
43.0 °F
Clear
Windchill:     43 °F
Humidity:     79%
Wind:     2.0 mph from the ESE
Wind Gust:     2.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     37 °F
Pressure:     29.93 in (Steady)

Today: Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 59. Calm wind becoming northwest between 5 and 10 mph.

Then there's this warning from the guys in the back room smoking crack!!

DALLAS - There's a chance for snow in North Texas beginning Friday night and into Saturday.
According to FOX 4 Chief Meteorologist Dan Henry, preliminary indications call for a 30 percent chance for the white stuff.
The National Weather Service reports that a mix of rain and snow is possible portions of Dallas County and most of Tarrant County.
A light dusting of snow – less than a half-inch -- is possible west of Dallas Fort-Worth, according to the NWS.

Right now I need mo' coffee and pay one small bill. BBL

Before I forget it , again.
The December solstice will occur at 05:30 UTC on December 22, 2011. ( Wed 11:30 PM here)

The December solstice is also known as the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere and the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere. marks the day of the year with the least hours of daylight. Those living or traveling north of the Arctic Circle towards the North Pole will not be able to see the sun during this time of the year.
So tomorrow has just a tad bit more daylight time than today.

With this semi warm weather now near Christmas I got to remembering past Christmas growing up on the farm. One I remember quite well had to be about the time I was 15 or so. Daddy’s brother and family were down from OK to spend the holidays, And Uncle Carver from west Texas was in at the same time.

So one morning, may have been the 24^th, we got all dressed warm and headed out to hunt!! Took me with them!! I carried the 410 Shotgun ( got it in here in the closet ) and we walked out our large front yard across the county road to a large track of undeveloped land that had a small creek and some trees and open fields in it. They were looking for quail and rabbits. I spotted a squirrel in a tree and was told to go head and shoot it. Got it and a bit later bagged a cottontail as well. Back then there weren’t any other houses, just open fields and we knew all the land owners so no worries. I guess we were out 2 or 3 hours, just walking, looking and hunting.

I honestly don’t remember what else they may have shot, but we got to eat my harvest that evening. Man I felt like a full grown up kid, hunting with the big boys!

Later in life I spend other holidays out at different hunting places, sometimes with family, sometimes just hunters I was guiding.

9AMish update. Finally found a commercial I been wanting to comment on. In this commercial , the blond actor is runing to meet her BF..Her boots don't fit!!! They big clunky looking POS, just ugly. Video

1:30 more or less. Got in and out of the store just fine. Managed to find me a big ole order of their in store chicken and mustard potato salad. Got them to keep the breast and give me couple more thighs. That works!!!

Also stopped by my hair cutting ladies place and she had time to do some whacking , so I had to take in my gimme hat a couple of notches.
All in all made a pretty productive day. Also found out there is a new Kroger super store that I made note of and will stop by one of these days. Just to see what they got.

Warm enough outside so Basset's been in and out, in and out. :-)

Near 9PM, I was going to watch a short little movie tent go to bed.. WRONG!! The movie description sounded like a simple survival story about a couple caught in a snow drift. WRONG. Horror flick.. Scared Bejebbers outta me a couple times.
Made up coffee , refilled cat dry food bowl. But it's gonna take a bit till my heart rate gets down to a normal rate , then I'll give it up.

Wednesday is it? Yea, Guess it is. Dec. 21/ 11

2011-12-21T06:14:00.002-06:00

Early morning movie matinee here this morning. The other day a phase popped into my heard. Finally remembered where I had heard it. The saying is "Hakuna Matata"! What it means in the basic form is No Worries. Kind of relates it to "Don't worry ,be Happy". I really did hear that phrase in Jamaica when we were there.

Course Hakuna Matata is from the Disney cartoon movie, The Lion King, 1994.
And yea, I woke up in the middle of the night, again, bout 3AM. Don't know why , just did. Man!! Man, does that really confuse the cats! LOL LOL.

What's up today? Besides trash day and PO?   Got a small network issue I'm looking for a fix for.Trying to add a device to my wireless home network,and dammit ,it should work. Just got to figer out what it is that is not quite set right.

Oh rest easy! That thing I was tracking to Daughter and family in OR,finally arrived! Glad , now I can quit worrying about that. :-)

Still early and I ain't come up with nuthing worth BSing about yet. But at least you know I'm up and alive. :-)

30.7 °F
Clear
Windchill:     31 °F
Humidity:     81%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     0.0 mph
Visibility:     7.0 miles
Dew Point:     26 °F
Pressure:     30.02 in (Falling)

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 55. West wind around 5 mph becoming southeast.

BBL..

10ishAM, finally got the phone hung up. Been on with first Toshiba trying to get this new Table to connect to the internet. Found out it is my Firewall. So attempted to set it to allow it access. Finally had to call AT&T and got a good tech who bumped me up to next level. Turns out that the only way they can figer out how to make it work is open all my firewalls wide open!!! NOPE,,that gives access to anyone who stumbles across my laptop. DAMMED!!!

On this issue, I'm with Dizzy this morning.. bring back simple ole DOS! ( is it too early for a hard drink? )

Gittin on t'ward cat feeding time 4PM . At least if you ask Tiny.
Tell ya what , returning something to Best Buy is a snap. Took that thingie up there with my reciept. Told the lady what it won't do and in 5 minutes I was outta there with a credit back on my CC. :-)
On the way back stopped and picked up the mail , Stack of xmas cards most from people I'm not real sure who are. Couple of course I know well. ( Wish they'd get the hint that I ain't sending out cards anymore) I did have to email one of the senders to let her know that where she is going Skiing, Mount Hood Or is where my daughter is, whom she knows. So maybe they'll get together one evening Karen and Doug and us used to ski a lot together . One year I think we skied a solid month up in and around Park City Utah. In fact that was the year they got married while we was up there. Ancient history now.

Guess after I feed these silly ass cats then see what I can scrounge up for me.

Up Early , Tuesday,12/20/11. But I've been hideing..

2011-12-20T06:55:00.001-06:00

Yep I did wake early, rested it seems , just woke up. So after the normal stuff of getting awake and moving. Sat down here with a cuppa to read my normal Blogs , check weather, etc etc. Do you find that while reading your normal blog post you on occasion get side tracked to another blog? Yea, I do it also. I find I am reading more and more sites about people who travel in their RV's . I can travel vicariously with them for nothing and let my mind wander by looking at their pictures and descriptions of what they have seen and experienced. I may read one persons log for yesterday and then dig into their past post and end up reading for an hour.

I started seriously considering an RV after Ann passed, reading , looking, reviewing all sizes and types. Class A's ( gave that idea up real quick) , Class C's, B's and the whole gambit of types and styles. I think that IF I was going to buy tomorrow and turn my World upside down and hit the road I would buy a Casitta 17 foot. Small enough to pull with all most anything yet, large enough to have everything needed for travel.
BUT, Would I really use one ?   Could I give up all my comforts here ? My security of Home and land? ( My kitties are another consideration on my part)
I don't know, not sure I can or would.
But no one's holding a gun to my head to make a decision, so I'll just keep on doing what I am doing and someday the right decision will make itself known and I'll do it.

Ain't gonna happen today. So check the weather here
49.9 °F
Clear
Windchill:     50 °F
Humidity:     84%
Wind:     3.0 mph from the SSW
Wind Gust:     9.0 mph
Visibility:     5.0 miles
Dew Point:     45 °F
Pressure:     29.87 in (Steady)

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 52. West northwest wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

I watched one of the " research" " investigation" stories the other day about Big Foot.
Of Course no one in this country has any dead on proof that they exist, no dead body, no DNA. There's a pretty good site based out of Oregon about their research if you care to look into it ,HERE
I'm sure there is something out there, but feel pretty sure that it isn't relegated to just our country. What about Russia,Asia,other countries?They all have their own legends and stories and research. We aren't the only ones . My question when I was watching the show was. Where's a dead body of one of these things? Surely someone somewhere has killed one or found one dead. Where is that proof?

Too much heavy thinking this morning.. More coffee and something to eat I guess.

UPDATE,,,
Local weather guy just reminded us that today is the last day of Fall. Winter starts tomorrow. Course here it's only bout 2 months of real cold, then in Feb it can start warming back up. Or NOT.. Hey!!! It's Texas!!

Monday , Dec 19, 2011. Rainey Day

2011-12-19T06:01:00.004-06:00

Well,, rain today IF the weather people are correct
53.0 °F
Overcast
Humidity:     65%
Wind:     5.0 mph from the SE
Wind Gust:     10.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     42 °F
Precipitation:     90% chance of precipitation
Pressure:     29.97 in (Falling)

Today: Showers and thunderstorms, mainly after noon. Some of the storms could be severe. High near 65. South southeast wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Radar is showing scattered stuff around but none of it looks real heavy, yet!

This morning, as soon as their office opens , I'm calling my Power Company again!!! I am dammed tired of this flickering light issue. I have checked and checked my side of the service. Had a Professional check it and test it. So I know it is NOT my fault that I am getting these voltage drops. I WANT THIS FIXED!!! I want a crew out here and want them to stay until they see the same voltage drops as I do. Then FIX it!!

( continued use of electrical equipment at reduced voltages can damage equipment.)

BTW, removing that little flapper thingie on the bottom of my coffee pot filter basket worked fine. Got a full pot of hot coffee.

Shoot only other thing I got going this morning is to refill my pill dispenser box for the week.
So far sounding like a boring start to the week huh?

Update!! Forgot to put up my Xmas Song Choice .. Here it is.... Rudolf.

10AM update.. Well, the power company guys showed up. He downloaded all the info from the meter/recorder they had installed and I gave him copies of my logs of what I am seeing and when.   They did a physical inspection of the transformer , again. Told me he will turn his info over to the engineer and will get back to me. He sounds sincere about wanting to find what the issue is . I really have a hard time blaming them cause over the years my service has been stable as a rock. But this thing is bugging me and we can't find any thing on my side of the service that could be causing these random flickers. Stand By..

Guess I should run to PO and my new local store cause I forgot to get cat food !! God Forbid the fat cats had to miss a meal. :-)

Checking my weather station locations I see my Aunt Clara in NM is getting some snow. 34.6 °F Light Snow Fog, over there.   That stuff is supposed to move on over this way later.

Long bout 4PM, of course it's cat feeding time silly!! :- ) Been having rain squalls move through off and on since bout noon. Temperature dropped and wind shifted to WNW. Only showing .08 of in so far, but that's gonna change real soon. Here's a radar imagine of what's going on here.

Think I'll make me up a big ole helping of Ramon Noodle with all sorts of stuff in it and this time I'm gonna use the chicken broth I got left from Thanksgiving instead of water. Should work shouldn't it?

Sunday Dec 18, 11. Only a Week left...

2011-12-18T06:27:00.006-06:00

Bet you ain't ready for it are you? Fess up!! You still got one to two items you "gotta" buy for distance Aunt Bertha ,or maybe it's her outlaw kid, Bubba Junior, who just got released from County lock up . Well Stop a minute. Hold every thing!! Where is it written that you gotta buy Xmas presents for every dang distant family member you ever heard of. And I don't remember any law that says you gotta present a something to everyone at work. Even that loud mouth gossiping, died blond haired receptionist who can't remember your name.

Get a grip!! Hold On!! You ain't got Daddy Warbucks, nor Bill Gates, nor Warren Buffets kind of cash. So just take a breath, step away from the ATM and think about what you doing!!!

Next month when the store bills start rolling in will you even remember what you sent to whom?   Betcha all those cute little things you sent to distant cousin Sally's kids will be broke or lost in a pile of other cute little things and won't no one remember that you even sent it!! How many thank you cards you wannta bet you get back after all your shopping, buying, wrapping, shipping ?   That's right!! Not a dammed one!!

So git a grip and don't fall into the hype of BUY BUY BUY because it's Christmas!!    Take care of your family first, make sure they are all fed, have a warm safe place to sleep and clean water to drink .
Then just say a simple prayer of Thanks.

That's all I got to say about that...............

Not a bad day shapping up round here, IF the weatherman is even close to being right.
47.6 °F
Overcast
Windchill:     48 °F
Humidity:     66%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     0.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     37 °F
Pressure:     30.37 in (Rising)

Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60. South southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Yea, I'll get your Sunday Funnies for ya once I get to the store and git my paper so I can cull out the ones worth presenting. ( the store ain't open yet)

Awww,Wha Da heck, found em for ya.

Garfield

B.C.

For Better or Worst , demonstrates just what I was talking about up top.

Shoe

Peanuts

Hargar

Ziggy

Dagwood

Wizard of ID

Luann

Dennis

Pickles

Beetle Bailey

Pluggers

Gittin on toward 8 AM and the World outside is waking up. At least the big ole Crows are.
Just remembered that I had typed up a piece about my time spent working with the USDA as inspector. Here's that little tidbit.

Yesterday I talked about my contract Government job as grain inspector. I was moved to a processing plant over in Dallas for a time. And one time when I pulled a sample I saw bugs in it. Weevils!! Bagged the sample, sealed it called my office. Told them what I had found. They told me to talk to So and So at the mill and shut it down. Then get the hell outta there and bring the sample to the office!! I did.. Never went back to the grain mills. But went to Swift Packing Company in Fort Worth on Exchange Avenue. It was right across the street from the Armour packing company. My job was to take samples of the oil produced and send it in for testing, same as we did with the grain from the other company.

One thing I remember vividly about that plant was how low the ceiling was. Actually the plumbing and electrical piping is what made it so low. They had special built fork trucks that would fit the clearance. It was so low at places I’d bump my hard hat. Working out there had its benefits for sure. One was I could go eat at the huge cafeteria. Plenty of fresh beef with all the fixins , Cheap!!

However on the overnight shift that was closed so the workers had developed a way to cook and heat up a meal. There were these big old vats, big as a hot tub I guess, full of hot oil being tested. They’d hang their soup cans or pots on wire down into that oil and heat if up. Before microwave folks!!

One of the guy’s brothers worked up in the cutting area and would on occasion bring down fresh cut steaks!! They had hangers to hook the meat on and lower into the oil and basically fry it!! Man we ate good!

I got to be friends with one fellow out there. Forget his last name but his first name was Kerney, Got to know him and his wife and we would hang out with them on occasion. Kerney was slimmer than I am if you can believe that. But he rode a big ole Harley!

His wife had a Honda Dream; think it was 350 CC with bags and all that stuff. Street bike. He liked to ride out to the ole gravel pits where the defunct Cats Baseball stadium used to be. He’d do hill climbing with that big ole HD. I’d follow him on his wife’s bike. That was the time I shot over the top of a hill and landed face down on the other side only to be run over by that dammed bike!! The gravel tore up my face and both hands when I landed and the bike damaged my ankle pretty good.

Every time we’d go eat at their house he would always have his own special plate, glass and utensils. Finally told me he had TB and no one else could use his utensils. Surprised he was able to work at the packing plant

Wonder what ever happen to him.

Here again that was a contact job and when it ran out I don’t remember what I did.

BTW, Both the Armour and Swift plants are gone now. One burned and the other was removed for a “beautification project” Just destroyed some Fort Worth and Texas History. That area is now a tourist place but it ain’t the same.:-(

Gittin near Noon and I think I bout decided to NOT go out for my normal store bought Sunday meal. I gots all sorts of stuff in the fridge I can whup me up a big ole plate of.

Made the mistake of opening the window blind for Basset to look out and saw that dammed Cabover camper sitting out there in the yard!!   I want that thing gone!! I'm just about to the point of putting up online for sale , "AS is , first Cash in hand buyer gets it"   . That thing is going down as the worst investment of my life.
(The AIG investment wasn't My deal. :-) )

Think I'll kill some time reading till a lunch idea strikes my fancy , then find a movie to take a nap during this afternoon. :-) Works for me.

Later that afternoon... My dammed coffee pot , the drain hole plunger thing got stopped up and didn't drain into the pot. I FIXED that issue. Took the flapper valve off or it. So it drains all the time now, not just when the pot is under it.
No biggey since I'm the only one here.   Found out that doing that , the lid closes better now also.

Did good on lunch, cleaned up the pizza and think tonight a big ole open faced loaded up beef sandwich will clean up a lot more leftover stuff.
Don't ya just hate it when you get containers of stuff that your not sure what is, and have to open them all and look?   Then decide if it's any good or not?

Saturday , 8 days till Santa. 12/17/11.

2011-12-17T06:52:00.006-06:00

You dang well better have your shopping done or at least headed out the door to finish up, You running outta time !!
Weather 'round there won't be no problem for those nutzos that are headed out to the malls and such.

31.0 °F
Clear
Windchill:     31 °F
Humidity:     80%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     1.0 mph
Visibility:     7.0 miles
Dew Point:     26 °F
Pressure:     30.45 in (Falling)
Updated: 5:01 AM CST on December 17, 2011

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 57. North northeast wind around 5 mph.

I clicked on my Yahoo account a bit ago and noticed this screwed up forecast.
Forecast from Yahoo Weather.
Tonight    Sunny
High: 58° Low: 43°

Shoot I wantta see that!!! :-)

Reading Buddy Bob's blog yesterday I learned something I didn't know or had forgotten anyway. We both worked at the same place, different times and jobs but...
That memory of that job lead me to his post

When I married first, to Daughters Mother, we were young and didn’t know nothing bout the real world. I won’t dwell on her but rather about my job (s). Back in those days ( late ‘60’s) you could lose one job that morning and by afternoon or next morning at the latest have another one no problem. The economy was going great guns what with all the war support for the Viet Nam conflict.

Our neighbor out at the farm worked for the USDA in some capacity and unbeknownst to me, he and daddy had submitted “my” bid as inspector for a contract that was opening up.

Simple job really, go to one of the companies that was producing grain products of some sort for shipment to the people of VietNam. My job was to take a measured sample of the product on a set schedule (like every hour). Tag that bagged sample and seal it. From there it was picked up each day and went to testing lab. If there was a problem with it, they knew where that whole product run was at any one time and could stop it, destroy it or what ever action was called for.

Working at Burris Feed Mills in Saginaw , NW side of Fort Worth was something to me cause I had seen the mill towers all my life in Fort Worth and that’s where they made Light Crust products. (like Bob Wills sang about “ The Light Crust Dough Boys Are on the Air!” ) Those guys.. There's an old picture of the Mill plant and grain elevators

Anyway back to the job. I had complete run of the Mill cause I was " the government guy" and on my shift 6PM to 6AM there wasn’t much going on. I could walk to the production line and BS with those big ole Black Workers who lifted and toted those huge bags of product. I could hang around with the forklift driver guy who left me drive his forklift ONCE down the circular ramp from the 4^th floor production area to the train docks.

There was of course the ramp from floor to floor you could walk and risk getting smushed by a loaded forklift OR the man lift! A continuous belt with small platforms that ran from ground floor to the top floor though a hole in the floor. It took some serious concentration and nerve to step onto that postage stamp size stand the first time. AND even more guts to step off at your floor!! But once I figured it out I was good. Rode that thing all the time.

I discovered roof access one night and would go up and look back towards the Fort Worth Skyline and right down the runway of Meacham Airport . Beautiful view of Fort Worth.

Another area I discovered was the rail yard where the grain cars got emptied into the system. They would shove one into place, big ole clamps would lift up and hook both ends of the car , the bottom dumps would be opened and then that whole dammed thing, grain car, train track and all would be lifted , tilted and rotated till all the gain was emptied out. From there it was sent by auger to the elevators.

Grain elevators are dangerous places because of the risk of explosion from the dust. As best I remember they shut down parts of the plant if a big thunderstorm moved in.

I don’t remember how much money I made at that job but for the time it seemed like a lot. BUT pay day was only once a month and it was hard on us kids to live that way.

I worked other locations and I’ll get to them next time AND tell ya bout the time I shut down a whole Plant.

Short 7:30 AM update. About the comments below from Windy Bob. I had to call him to see what he was talking about. What it is is, he's having problems viewing the pictures . BUT he's using IE!! So I found my IE and tested it. Yep, it don't load right. Sorry bout that BUT I ain't gonna change any formatting just to make it work in IE.

8 O'clock coffee and short update. Just saw a news blip about one of the cheap ass sluts being in Dallas. Who or what is this Guinea pig, Italian Slut Midget Snooki? And what makes her news worthy? Good Gawd,, When someone like that ranks as news worthy , there is something seriously wrong with our morals in this country.

NOON Plus .... Someone kick me in the butt to get my attention and then remind me. IT'S LAST WEEKEND BEFORE CHRISTMAS.. DO NOT GO TO WALMART STOOPID!!
Was sittin here editing my list and decided rather than make s few short stops, just run to Wally World and get it all. WRONG!! Dammed parking lot was packed, Store was over run with crazy people running here and there and every which way. I did manage to get my few items and get out OK, But Good Gawd!!! Won't make that mistake again!!
Anyway I made it back so gonna munch some lunch and kick back and just chill out.

Friday it is it is! Whoopie!! OH Wait!!! I don't have a job any more, why do I care?

2011-12-16T06:13:00.005-06:00

Got all confused, bumfuzzled, there for a minute!. Saw that it was Friday and had a flash back thinknig that tomorrow I didn't have to go to work!! :-) DANG!! Did I have mini stroke? or was that just a brain fart? :-)
I had this one job that the powers-that-be decided we'd work a 4 day week. Split the department into halves.One group worked Monday,Tuesday, Thursday , Friday. The other Worked Monday , Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday.
Ain't that the craziest crock of BS you ever heard? NO ONE liked it , in fact there was an uprising of bitching that came real close to a mass walk out!! Think it lasted two weeks, then back to normal.   The real bad part was that we were just part of a whole plant ( Steel Foundry) and we were the only ones on that shift.

WAY back in the 70/80's when I was with Xerox, they discussed the 4 day work week, but no way we could do it cause all our customers worked normal hours and we had to follow their routines.
Glad I don't have to fight the cooperate BS these days. The way the job market is it sounds like you don't dare leave a job unless you got another one locked up tight as Dick's Hatband or a Whore's Heart.

So my job today is simple. Give you the weather here for today and then find something to blabber about.   OH AND keep the cats happy and content. :-)
42.7 °F
Overcast
Windchill: 43 °F
Humidity:     76%
Wind:     2.0 mph from the North
Wind Gust:     6.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     36 °F
Precipitation:     10% chance of precipitation
Pressure:     30.29 in (Falling)
Updated: 5:30 AM CST on December 16, 2011

Today: A 20 percent chance of showers before noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 51. North northeast wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Gonna work on making a "how too" for some people, git another cuppa and I'll be right back.

Ok, fresh coffee, And now HOW TO PUT A CLICK ABLE LINK IN A BLOG POST OR COMMENT. Simplest way to discribe it is tell you to go read this guys page.
http://www.bloggertipsandtricks.com/2007/10/make-active-clickable-links-in-posts.html

10AM .. Product Alert!! You seen the commercials for the new Hershey's Air Delight?
What a crock!! All they did was pump in air bubbles and charge you more. You do realize you're getting less actual candy cause it's full of air pockets right?
Hell Hershey's ain't real chocolate anyway.

9PM plus. Had some big ole loaded up home cooked pizza tonite. What'd you have? :-)
Being so close to Christmas most of the TV channels I get are showing lame ass holiday specials. Hadn't seen one worth watching . Wish someone would run Scrooge , the one with George C. Scott.
Think I'll give it up, Got all showered up today and beard trimmed up bet I sleep good tonite. Think I'll go start testing that theory. :-)

Thursday , 12/15/11. It's gittin closer!!!

2011-12-15T04:34:00.006-06:00

Look at your calendar!! All those things you were gonna buy before Christmas? Well, your time is running short. Counting today you got 10 days to "wrap" it up. No pun intended.

Woke up early this morning AGAIN!! Had a coughing fit that popped me right awake. Since I don't feel bad I hit the internet to find out why it is we cough. And this is what I learned. YES,, Learned!!
Why do I cough?
Because there is excess mucus or other irritant matter from external sources – dirt, smoke, household cleaners – ( cat dander? ) lying on the surface of the respiratory tract, and your body is trying to expel them by propelling it violently upwards.

The body uses the mucous membranes as an exit route for toxins. When a bug infects you and your immune system attacks it, dead bacteria and dead immune cells can be pushed out via mucous secretions. ( so if those cells are dead when you expel them, they won't be hazardous to others? )
Also, if other eliminatory organs such as the bowel aren’t working well, then some toxins may be diverted to the respiratory tract to be offloaded through these membranes. ( ummm, go maybe to sit on the commode for awhile and your cough will be less? )

So, did we learn anything this morning?
In my case if I am lying down when the attach starts I feel like I can't breath and have to sit up! AND answer me this. IF the cough is trying to push stuff OUT why do we have to take such a deep breath IN before we cough?

Glad we got that outta the way,huh? :-)
You ever notice that Cats don't cough very often? Only time I ever see Tiny cough( or sneeze) is spring when something blooms that she must be allergic too. For about a day she'll just lay up under the couch till it clears up.

Check the weather ( got .63" of rain last 24 hours here)
57.3 °F
Overcast
Humidity:     81%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     0.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     52 °F
Precipitation:     50% chance of precipitation
Pressure:     30.04 in (Steady)
Updated: 4:30 AM CST on December 15, 2011

Thursday: A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a temperature falling to around 49 by 5pm. North northwest wind between 5 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

With that north wind blowing I'll make sure my foam insulation panels are up in my windows. Ever show you those? I'll try to remember to get you a picture of that simple project I did last winter .

But for now...   Coffee, pills and see bout feeding the cats . Hell I been up an hour guess I can manage that now.

Made it to 7:45AM, Whoopee! Walked over to open the window blinds and hear rain on the porch roof. Opened the door and YEP real heavy drizzle. Won't call it RAIN cause the drops and rate are on the small side. But it's started .   Good day to stay in and dry I guess.

BTW. speaking of sunrise. Do you remember seeing Earth Rise from the Moon? Watch again?

NOONISH! Managed to make it this far without causing any damage to self, cats, or anything here in the house. With this yucky weather I decided the mail (should there be any) will wait till tomorrow . I was actually able to get into my YTube account and delete some of the real lame ones. Otherwise just kicking back. Did talk to brother Jerry who just wanted mailing addresses to send some cards out too. Tiny actually moved from her nap place a bit ago and thought she wanted out.. She just sat back and looked out the catdoor and then back to napping. Smart Kitty!.
Nice calm boring day so far. Hard to do any damage this way. :-)

Near cat feeding time, must be cause ther're wandering around buggin me.

Thought I'd show you my simple cheap temp window insulators. I cut pieces to fit the upper and lower sections of both the north facing widows. I just slip them in place and pull the blinds down to hold them in.   Works!! Really stops the cold north wind from getting in.   The high density foam board is cheap and easy to cut with an X-ACTO blade. Here's what it looks like

That is the uncovered window up there. On the right is the bottom section in and the top ready to slip in. And finally both ready to lower the mini blind down.

Just one of those days. This one will go down in History as Dec 14, 2011

2011-12-14T05:15:00.002-06:00

You do realize that everyday you live becomes a foot note in the future History books huh?
Looks like we got a slight weather change for today. RAIN? I'll believe it when I see it..

62.4 °F
Overcast
Humidity:     81%
Wind:     7.0 mph from the SSE
Wind Gust:     16.0 mph
Visibility:     4.0 miles
Dew Point:     56 °F
Precipitation:     80% chance of precipitation
Pressure:     30.02 in (Steady)
Updated: 5:00 AM CST on December 14, 2011

Today: Showers and thunderstorms, mainly after noon. High near 69. South wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Tonight: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before midnight.

Sure would like to see a couple days rain move in , but the weather forecasters for this area have been so wrong for so long I ain't gonna believe them till I have to dump the rain water outta my boot!!
Honestly has the forecasting of weather with all the "new and improved" radars and satellite mapping really helped improve forecast? I don't think so personally. I think it's gonna worst. Here locally all our good TV weather people but one have been let go or moved to other positions. David Finfrock on our NBC station is the only "old head" good weather guy we got left.
Oh well, all I plan on going out for is to haul the trash down the drive so...

ON the Television Series front, and particularly, the CSI group of shows. One of the originals is leaving. Marg Helgenberger Leaving 'CSI' in January. I like her a lot, sorry to see her go and her character's position is being replaced by Ted Danson? Give me a break!

And now a rerun or re post if you will from yesterday. Gonna repeat this link in case you missed it. NTSB recommends full ban on use of cell phones while driving, NBC and all national news organizations are carrying it. I Hope they pass it!! LINK. I don't know who to contact to show my support for such a matter but think I'll start with my US Representatives, like it'll do any good.

So yesterday I got to thinking back to my boot scooting days and thought of a couple of songs and artist that I always liked.
Then I got to remembering , and came up with a couple more we used to boot shuffle too. Shelly West and The Bad girl at the time, Tanya Tucker.
In fact, if you want some more of Tanya, try this link right chere.
OK, barkeep,   one more long neck and some more quarters for the jukebox. :-) or maybe just another cuppa and move my wheel chair closer .

Well, here it is almost 6PM and it's been drizzle and showers all day. BUT only got .17 " of rain, just hard enough to git your head wet when you run out to the car or take the trash down.
Think I'll I whup me up something good and warm for supper, since the cats ate already and then take anti-drippy nose pill and kick back with a good ole Kevin Costor movie, The Postman, and kick back.
Y'all stay warm now. hear?

Quick before the movie, Saw a blip on the news that one of the Kardashian sluts is moving to Dallas cause she married one of the Dallas Mavericks Porch monkeys. Really? There aught to be a law.

Tuesday Dec, 13, 11. Feeling better this morning for sure

2011-12-13T07:18:00.003-06:00

Was suffering with draining sinus and a cough last night at bed time. So, Popped a Benadryial or how ever you spell it and hit the prewarmed bed . Wrapped the 'lectric blanket around my head and next thing I new it was 9 hours later. :-)
So far , feeling pretty good. You know the feeling I'm sure. Like when you've had a malady and then your fever breaks and you can breath again.   Think here after a bit gonna go by my Tom Thumb and pick up a couple of things I want/need and talk with my drug pusher here. Take some of my OTC products and make sure they haven't passed their "Good Untill " date. and restock as needed. Then next time I go looking for something I know it'll be safe to take it. ( I have started writing the date purchased on the label)

Side note, when Daddy went into the hospital from his stroke, the Doc wanted us to bring up all the drugs he was taking cause his blood chemistry was off the wall!! I loaded one of the Walmart plastic bags full of stuff. The Doc like to have had a stroke!! Said that what he was mixing together and taking too much of could well have shut down his liver and killed him. Daddy went to the Doctor but won't follow her orders. He believed every thing he read about miracle fixes and drugs that he read or saw on TV and then didn't tell any one what he was taking. Seriously he'd slip into his bathroom and down some pills and not tell anyone.. Dangerous!!!

Onto this more normal weather pattern we are in now.

51.0 °F
Overcast
Humidity:     64%
Wind:     5.0 mph from the ESE
Wind Gust:     10.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     39 °F
Pressure:     30.24 in (Falling)
Updated: 7:00 AM CST on December 13, 2011

Today: A 20 percent chance of showers before noon. Cloudy, with a high near 61. South southeast wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph

Dishwasher bout to finish up and I need mo' coffee.. BBL Hopefully.

Question for ya... Saw on the news that Bankrupt American Airlines is trying to buy a bunch of NEW Airplanes and dump a bunch of older ones. How can they do that? I thought bankruptcy meant you were broke!!

10AM note.. Again this morning I heard a few cord licks on a commercial and it reminded me of a song. A Good ole Boot Scooting dance song.   Found it!!
Somebody's Knocking.. Terri Gibbs 1981 Bet I danced a hundred miles to that one!

Evening update~~Saw a news story tonight that I can only hope gets passed. NO CELL PHONES IN CARS

Monday, December 12. 2011. Zup?

2011-12-12T06:06:00.004-06:00

Dang nose!!! Think this south wind we got it brought in some weird stuff that sure is effecting my nose. Can't decided if it wants to drain or plug up!!! Seems to change every hour. So last night when I went to bed it decided to drain some. Woke me up like every hour or so. Finally I gave up bout 4:45 and just got up.
I don't feel bad at all, just this dang thing ain't cooperating with my normal routine.
Think I had a simular problem early this year ( January) that ended up as some sort of pneumonia that took a week to clear up ( in the hospital) . NOT this year!! I refuse!!

Maybe some more coffee will help huh?
Weather is more normal for this time of year at least

46.4 °F
Overcast
Windchill:     45 °F
Humidity:     50%
Wind:     4.0 mph from the ESE
Wind Gust:     7.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     29 °F
Pressure:     30.25 in (Steady)
Updated: 6:00 AM CST on December 12, 2011

Today: Cloudy, with a high near 51. Southeast wind around 10 mph.

Looks like the week forecast is back to more normal for here.

For some off the wall reason this morning I thought about an acquaintance we had made a few years ago with a recently retired fellow who lived and traveled in his converted Bus. He had sold his construction business in Hawaii and moved here. Bought the bus in California and was living here in this area to be close to his grown son.
He was taller than I am and big!! NotFAT, just BIG!!
Anyway what brought it up was his last name. It is Shenck and is pronounced Skank, just like the urban slang word for a A whore, slut; usually a girl.
Just wondered what ever happen to him.

Then I took down an old hardback phone/address book that Ann had here and went through it. Found a lot of entries going back to the '80's. Some of the people I know are gone now , but wondered about some of the others.
Gave up on that,, too depressing.

One name with address chances I did come across was Daughter up in Oregon. That reminded me that I am awaiting her info so I can transfer some Xmas cash to her account. Guess if she don't get it to me, I'll just keep the money :-)

Need mo coffee and refill my weekly pill dispenser. . bbl.

9AM Did all that stuff up there I talked about, AND had breakfast, even swapped out the light fixture by my bed. Took down the wall mounted click on click off one and put in a goose neck one from the old office.

My Morning news, show here had Michael Martin Murphey on promoting his Xmas shows. If you're a fan , sorry. I'm not. When I was in Country Radio in New Mexico I had to interview him live on air. Came across as arrogant stuff shirt SOB. Made me so mad I wrote a song about it called " Ain't no county in New Mexico" Most fun interview I did was Roy Clark.!! Seemed to be just a good ole down home boy out having fun singing his songs. Mel Tillis and his wife was a good interview also. Friendly and open about his history. ( He don't stutter too bad when you just talking to him face to face or when he's signing)

So now, since I got the kitchen cleaned up and the plants watered, guess I can kick back.
Oh well, I'll git over it and on with something else.

Long 'bout 3PM and the professional sparky 'lectrician guy is just bout finished. So far he has found some "less" than prefect wire connections on the original trailer house plugs and switches. All have not only new switches and plugs but official approved boxes. Guess he'll finish up here next hour and then I ( and the cats) can get back to what ever passes for normal round here We still thinking that the major issue is the wiring at the main transformers that were replaced a few years ago.

Well, it must be near 5PM cause Tiny is pacing the kitchen .:-) Electrician left after he once again checked all the lugs at the main disconnect at the meter and all the breaker connections here in side. Of course everything is working perfect. Right now.

So, guess after I feed cats and get me a wine, I'll make up some supper. :-)

Sunday,Dec 11, 2011 , I'm up. Ain't that enough?

2011-12-11T06:59:00.006-06:00

One of these nights , I say again. I'm gonna stay up and see what happens here at night!
Woke wide ass awake at 1AM, thinking it must be time to get up. Course it weren't ,next thing I knew it was 6AM!!
What was it that woke me the first time? No Cats dancing on the bed,Moon wasn't shining in the window. Phone didn't ring. Beats hell outta me what it was. Think I'll drag out a couple of the digital recording cameras I got and see if I can set one of them to take a snap shot every so often. Then watch that recording and see what happens at night :-)

Once I did git moving and hit Power on the laptop it sounded like someone was trying to grind rocks in a blender!!!! Power off, Sprayed out all the dust bunnies from underneath and tried it again. It's all quite now. Wonder if that noise may have been one of the fans on the cooling deck it rest on? I would much rather have to replace that than the laptop. Just the thought of attempting to move over all the "junk" I got on this one to a new one scares me to my boots. OK, my socks!!

Guess once my heart rate settles down I'll run up for the paper and all that. THEN I can find your comics for you.
In the Meantime.. Weather's all I got.
35.7 °F
Clear

Windchill:     36 °F
Humidity:     79%
Wind:     1.0 mph from the ENE
Wind Gust:     4.0 mph
Visibility:     7.0 miles
Dew Point:     30 °F
Pressure:     30.41 in (Steady)
Updated: 7:00 AM CST on December 11, 2011

Today: A 10 percent chance of light rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 47. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Well, there is the offering by Hermit Jim this morning, IF you're up for it. Yodeling Cat!

Be Back ,off for Paper, Burrito and Mo'Coffee.

And here ya are, your Sunday Morning comics...

Garfield

B.C.

Shoe

Snoopy

Hagar

Ziggy

Blondie and Dagwood

Wizard of ID

Luann

Dennis

Pickles

Beetle Bailey

Pluggers

Forgot to show you this.. Buddy Jim down in Austin turned me onto this fancy ass model train set. Well it's more than a model train, You'll just have to watch it to get an idea .. Make it full screen for a better view. TRAINS!!
Betcha you never had a train setup like that huh? :-)

Well, OK then, 10AM plus got breakfast, pills and coffee outta the way. Read through the parts of the paper worth reading ( didn't take long). Then I clicked on CBS Sunday morning for their stories. One they had was a gadget guy with techie gift ideas . One reached out and grabbed me!! Did some research and at this point don't think I can do one, cause I don't have an I Phone thingie . But you can still watch the videos of the thing HERE. Ain't that cool? :-)

Now then , I'm going to drag out my Sharp Video camera and go back low tech for awhile. I "think" I can set it up to do the time lapse video of my bedroom at night like I'm trying to do.   The fancy digital units I got won't do an auto snapshot . But pretty sure the old one will. ( I'm pretty sure I can program it to do a very short video ,then wait and do another) What I am wanting to do is, set it up in my bedroom to see what (if anything) happens at night that is causing me to wake up at odd hours .
Heck it could just be my ole cracked brain sending random thoughts to my body causing it.

Lunch/Snack Update Decided to warm me up a couple of Corn dogs, and had some of the red sauce left over from the "On The Border" take out the other day. Just for grins I dipped my corn dogs in that instead of mustard.. SON!!! I'm talking bout tongue on face slapping good!!!

6PM ish, I'm back. Ware you been Ben? :-) Dawned on me when I got the cat food out, I was supposed to go to Braum's and get eggs. So I killed two birds with one stone. All in one parking lot I got the whole dammed bird. Braum's for eggs, across the parking lot to KFC for the chicken!!:-)

Watched a special/movie about UFO's this afternoon and remembered S. E. T.I. You remember them?   Back in the 80's guess it was you could sign up with them, load in a small program and if it saw a certain pattern in what your computer was getting a load of noise from one of the antenna's and searching it for repetitive codes. Then it would send that info back to the research center. It worked on my ole dial up even.
Anyway I heard that it was shut down. Well, it's back!! You should go take a look if you interested in that sort of thing.S. E. T. I.

Dec 10, '11. Saturday ,, now what? Cartoons?

2011-12-10T06:56:00.005-06:00

What ever happen to the good ole Saturday Morning cartoon shows we watched? Bugs Bunny and his friends, Road Runner and Willie Coyote, Twitty, Tom and Jerry, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Popeye and Brutus. You get the idea..
The ones I glimpse as I channel hop aren't the same, they seem lame compared to what "we" grew up with.
Maybe it's just me, or do some of you other "olde furts" notice the same thing?
Fortunately using my Roku player on my TV I got many choice of what to watch, IF I am sitting and watching the "one eyed monster"

And the loss of the ole cartoons leads me to this.
Growing up on the farm I remember the Dialing For Dollars program where they ran ole movies. A LOT of big production shows , hold over from the war era. Big flashy dance productions ( in Black and White of course) And that all leads up to this.

Watched a movie last night. A dancing movie. Dirty Dancing. You know it. With Patrick Swayze. Back in the day I loved dancing, first was Country, Square-dance. Then bee bop, then all the 50’s kids dances. Growing up on the farm every afternoon was the ole B&W movie reruns. Big productions of Broadway shows. I loved watching Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Red Buttons James Cagney, Donald O Connor and all those guys. I remember thinking back then. “If I could dance like that. I’d never walk anywhere”

Later I watched John Travolta in all his dancing movies, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Urban Cowboy, Michael. The man could move. I started first at C&W clubs entering contest, and won a few, placed in a lot of them. Then later I just switched to Disco!! All I had to do was change clothes and shoes. (Only one I was never great at was the Latin Hustle) Won a few of those club contest and even drove to Dallas from Houston to dance in a State wide contest I had placed in by winning down there. If you know the music and listen to the base beat, it was always the same to me.

In fact that’s how I met Ann, standing at a C&W bar one night when she asks if I could dance. Well, DUH!! Stuck my Longneck in my back pocket and off we went.

I can still hear the beat but my feet and legs won’t make the moves anymore.

Guess all us "of a certain age" remember when times were easier, more relaxed. No worries to spoil our day. I wonder at times if it was really as easy/laid-back as I think it was or am I just mis-remembering? Maybe it's like Barbra Streisand sang in the song.

"Memories light the corners of my mind Misty water color memories of the way we were Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind Smiles we gave to one another fore the way we were Can it be that it was all so simple then Or has time rewritten every line And if we had the chance to do it all again Tell me would we, could we"

Shoot, how'd I get off on all that ole history junk?

Today is where I should be huh?

38.3 °F
Haze
Windchill:     38 °F
Humidity:     84%
Wind:     Calm
Visibility:     5.0 miles
Dew Point:     34 °F
Updated: 5:46 AM CST on December 10, 2011

Today: Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 51. Northeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Looks like somewhat of a warm up for the next few days.

NOW, Mo' Coffee!!

Well, it is nearly noon and I'm back inside. Decided to run out early . Went to Lowe's for a heavy extension cord like the electrician said to get to run my little heater on. AND while there saw their new style fancy electrician measuring gadgets ( Since he had told me mine was an antique!!) . Picked me up one like this . Multimeter

Already read the instructions and went around making it go beep beep beep!! Love the non-touch live circuit thingie! Cool!
And yes I stored my ole antique one in a plastic tub with other like items for dispersal later.

So, guess I'll set out my lunch, prop my feet up and read through my copy of Archaeology!!!

9:50PM Near bed time for this OF.. Cats of course have been settled in for some time. Coffee pot is made and ready. ( gonna have to get a new one,this one ain't making real hot anymore)
Talked to Daughter, son-in-law and even granddaughter . Sounds like they doing good as normal. But silly kids went out in the wet and cold with tennis shoes and were complaining about cold feet.. Well DUH!!!! Made arrangements so I can transfer some Christmas cash up to them. ( was surprised, figered they knew how to do all that stuff)

You a UFO Buff? Yea, me too. I found one you may bet a kick out of if you can find it
UFO
(Unidentified Flying Objects: The True Story of Flying Saucers)
1956 ( you get that date? Yes, it's B&W silly)

Tapping the experiences of Washington, D.C., journalist Al Chop (Tom Towers), this part-drama, part-documentary examines sightings of unidentified flying objects -- UFOs -- in the U.S., particularly from 1947 to the early '50s. Stirring up wonder as well as fear, such incidents were genuinely feared by military personnel, with reputable witnesses coming forward such as airline pilots and radar operators.

You'll get a kick out of it, Promise!!

Froggy Friday.. Dec /9/11

2011-12-09T08:01:00.008-06:00

Yep, it's foggy, so foggy that the frogs are swimming through the dense air, thus It's Froggy outside. ;-)

Seriously I can't see well to the back of the estate nor across the street .
But it's OK I don't have to go out in it.

43.8 °F
Overcast
Windchill:     42 °F
Humidity:     81%
Wind:     4.0 mph from the South
Wind Gust:     10.0 mph
Visibility:     1.5 miles
Dew Point:     38 °F
Pressure:     30.21 in (Rising)
Updated:8:00 AM CST on December 09, 2011

Today: Widespread dense fog before 10am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 53. South southwest wind around 5 mph becoming northeast.

Slept in , so what?    Now all I gotta do is catch up! Only thing I got on my plate today is the Electrician coming out. And he BETTER show up!!

So, Gonna keep moving but I'll be back when I got more info. good or bad.
Have a safe Friday , OK?

9AM Question . I keep seeing the commericals for the new Chipmunks movie . Of course I remember the first Alvin and the Chipmunks song back in 1958. And it was cute. Then I could understand them. Today's songs and promo I can't understand a single word!!! Is it just my ole worn out ear bones or has it really changed? Can you understand what they are saying and singing?

3PM update. Well, Sparky and his crew are gone. They replaced almost every single plug and switch AND the mobile home type boxes they were in. . Well, except for a couple that I forgot to count. Reading voltages now I am seeing a steady 117.7 V on every plug. So, they may well have removed the one plug that was causing the issue, ( dropping neutral is what we all suspect) . BUT I'm going to monitor it till he comes back.   Cross your fingers. AND my space heater works with out dimming the lights. :-)

Just in case you thinkin this was just one guy here today. NOPE Three of them!!

His second in command, brother and fellow Journeyman/Master licensed Electrician.

Number two guy, Also Journeyman Electrician and the oldest of the bunch.

And the Boss/ owner himself of Wood Electric. He is a Licensed Master Electrician with 30 years experience . His company is Wood Electric,Residential/ Commercial Electrical Service. He's located not from me as a matter of fact.

Cats came out of hiding once they left..
GOTTA have a snack to hold me over till supper time.

Well, made it till 9PM and I may just give it up, Watching all that work today just wore me out. :-)

Yes I did get some supper , late, but I ate. Tomorrow I'm plan on cooking up my beef tips stuff. Make up some good ole noodles and a veggie , makes two meals easy. ( us ole farts don't eat as much as we did when we was kids) Sort of wish I had some fresh baked bread to go with it. Speaking of that I had ask the Manager at my Subway how much for a loaf of his fresh baked bread. Said they didn't have a way to do that , (something about the way the product tracking is set up) Shoot, they missing a bet cause they make some good loafs..
Oh well, guess I'll give it up. See y'all ..............

12/8/2011. Free Dinner tonite. :-)

2011-12-08T07:22:00.003-06:00

My E.R. Jones Office in Mansfield is having what they call a Holiday Open House tonight. Just means all of us that use them get a free Meal. At least this time they catered it. A local Mexican place that has pretty dang good food.
I just opened the envelope that came two days ago since I thought it was the annual Xmas card, So I guess I better call and reserve me a paper plate huh? :-) ( gotta get something off those guys)
Guess I should shave and shower up and git on something besides my flannel house stuff huh?

Weather should be almost a repeat of yesterday sounds like.

35.7 °F ( 29°F here)
Clear
Windchill:     32 °F
Humidity:     58%
Wind:     3.0 mph from the SSW
Wind Gust:     10.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     23 °F
Pressure:     30.25 in (Rising)
Updated: 7:00 AM CST on December 08, 2011

Today: Sunny, with a high near 53. South wind around 10 mph.

NOW, about that Earth Quake last evening that I reported at 4:54PM and after shock at 8:53PM. Finally found the report from a local TV station here and found the map Coordinates , turns out that center was just over there about quarter mile!!
Of Course the gas drilling companies are saying that the fraqqing or what ever that they are doing ain't the cause . I don't know, earth quakes happen waay the hell down deep and these wells are shallow by comparison.

Another news Story that really burns my ass is this one . Ain't No Christmas! I've said it before. At least we won't have to deal with those AH's when we die and go to heaven huh?

And Hermit Jim found a disgusting, disgraceful story that needs some fixing NOW!!!

Ok, mo coffee.. bbl

That coffee worked!! I was able to show you a map in Google Earth image of the location of the tremor and where I am.

You should be able to zoom that if you care too.

Dang near 4PM. Man that shower felt good . But the cats are mooching around wanting supper already.. Furgetabout it!! I own the can opener, I'll feed ya when it's time. :-)

Sittin here and noticed my vision is blurry. Dammed Migraine coming on. So I'll just take a real aspirin and get a glass of tea and wait it out. That usually clears it up pretty quick. Hope so cause I gotta leave out for that free supper here in a bit and I don't drive when I get one of these things.
And gotta find out where Tiny hide my going out in public shoes for heading out pretty soon.

'Bout that time, coming up on 9PM. The catered free meal was some good eatin, catered stuff from a local place I take people too for a good sit down meal. Talked with a bunch of ole farts. ( seems to be that most of his "clients" are my age or older) . We all shared stories of this that and the other. People drifted in and out and finally I found an opening and made my exit. YES I did remember to stop and pick up the new big bag of dry cat food. :-)

Let's see, what's on tap for tomorrow so I'll know how quick I need to get moving . OH yea, the fixit electricain is due .. Gonna be ready for him with notes, files, records and what not. WE WILL find and fix this dammed ghost electrical issue ,once and for all. His day ain't gonna be a quick in and out, he's got work to do. :-)

So yea, make up the coffee pot and click on the electric blanket... :-)

December 7th,. And if you don't remember this date, Turn in your passport!!

2011-12-07T06:44:00.006-06:00

70 Years Ago Today: December 7, 1941: The Day of Infamy - Attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Hermit Jim has a better write up on it than I could do, So I point you to his blog. Standing on the observation deck above the Tomb that was the Arizona is a very moving experience.

Otherwise , it's COLD here this morning.. 19°F here when I first checked at 6 AM. Course the "official" temperature reading place has a different reading , but you get the idea.

21.6 °F ( 19°F Here)
Clear
Windchill:    17 °F
Humidity:     72%
Wind:     Calm
Wind Gust:     0.0 mph
Visibility:     7.0 miles
Dew Point:     14 °F
30.33 in (Falling)
Updated: 5:30 AM CST on December 07, 2011

Today: Sunny, with a high near 46. North northwest wind around 5 mph becoming south.

Guess I'll break our my for real heavy coat this morning and get out later. ( once the sun is out) . There a few days each year I wish my car had remote so I could start it from here and let it warm up before I go out. :-)

Don't have a long list to take care of, After I set the trash bag out, run to PO, get my Lotto ticket, and a short stop at the new local Dollar General Store.
OH!! One other , I am taking this new space heater back for refund!! I am eliminating it from my circuits cause I suspect it in causing some of my flickering lights issue.

8:15 AM, mo' coffee, pills and breakfast. Also noticed that the tree out front has started shedding it's leaves. Not the big rain down event yet. But here's a short vid of the start of it anyway. I'll get a better one later and put it on You tube.

10ish, and I'm moving. Got the trash gathered up to set out. Got my "do" list printed out. All I got to do now is git off my butt and git gone.

OH, I did make a post up to You Tube the leaf falling event.It's still going on but I can't record the whole day. So, here's what I uploaded.   WATCH if you want, it's only just over a minute long.

See at ya later.

Well, doggies!! here it is almost 2PM and I'm back. Took the one heater back to my local Home Depot and got it refunded, Then had to drive almost into town for a different make and model. They had one unit and after we tested it I headed to the counter. She scanned it and told me a price. I ask if I shouldn't get an "display model" discount. Course she had to call a manager and she approved it. Ended up I got it cheaper than the other model I had :-) . It's sittin here running now, burning off the "new paint" smell.( and no lights flickering)
Then on the way home I had to drive right by On The Border. NO silly ,not the Mesican Border , the food eatin place. Whupped in and got me a big ole lunch sized special of the TACO salad.

OH, And the falling leaves? They Fell!!

Just heard a news blip that Harry Morgan died.

M*A*S*H" star Harry Morgan died at his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning. The character actor was 96.

He was best known for playing Colonel Sherman T. Potter on the long-running army comedy.

In a 2004 interview with the The Television Academy Foundation’s Archive of American Television, Morgan acknowledged the profound effect that the iconoclastic sitcom had on his career.

""He was firm," Morgan said. "He was a good officer and he had a good sense of humor. I think it's the best part I ever had. I loved playing Colonel Potter."

Although "M*A*S*H" made him a television icon, Morgan first came to attention for his role as Officer Bill Gannon, Joe Friday's partner on the revived version of "Dragnet," which aired on NBC from 1967-70.

Morgan's ironically gruff demeanor made him an in-demand character actor for nearly five decades.

He appeared in supporting roles in over 100 films, many of them classics such as "The Ox-Bow Incident," "High Noon," and "Inherit the Wind."

His resonant voice and irascible verve made him a natural for parts as authority figures, and he was frequently called upon to play judges, lawmen and military officers.

4:55 PM EARTHQUAKE!!! Heard the rumble like a big truck going buy ,then it got louder , Then THE HOUSE SHOOK!!!.. Called local 911 and she said she was getting reports, but no confirmation as of yet. Bet we make the news.

8:53 PM, RUMBLING AFTERSHOCK!!! The phone was laying here so I called 911 to my local SO and told them. She said " Thanks, You're the first to report it. Guess so, it had been less than 30 seconds I bet ya.
Ya know what? I never paid any attention to whether the cats reacted or not.

Guess I'll go head and make up the coffee pot, so I won't forget it later when I head to bed huh?

12/6/11 Cold, but dry today.

2011-12-06T07:12:00.006-06:00

Dang, I guess for sure it's late fall, and headed towards winter for sure now here in North Central Texas.
Slept nice and toasty last night and sure hated to crawl out to feed the cats.
BUT I did it.

TV guys are saying that up in town they got snow flurries but nuthing stuck. Course not a thing here , but it ain't gonna be a running around outside day for sure.

30.7 °F
Overcast
Windchill:     31 °F
Humidity:     67%
Wind:     3.0 mph from the NW
Wind Gust:     11.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dew Point:     21 °F
Precipitation:     10% chance of precipitation
Pressure:     30.33 in (Steady)
Updated: 6:00 AM CST on December 06, 2011

Today: A slight chance of flurries before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40. North northwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Ain't got nuthing yet,, need MORE Coffee!!

BTW, if you want to check weather at your place or any other place. Try this link Weather

Dog gone.. What time is it? Almost 10am? YEP, guess so.
Lost track of time. See what it is is, Buddy Jim down in Austin send me an email about channels you can add ( most free) to your Roku Player. He had gotten one since this cable bill jump WAY up and he dumped it. If you do watch TV and tired of the high cable bills or just want some more choices, Go take a look at this link to what's available on the Roku player. Load More Channels.
And from there you should see a MORE down at the bottom   There's a link to what's on, find it and take a look .

Shoot, now I got sumething to do today. :-)
Think I gave up even going out today, Don't have too, so not gonna

Later that day.
3:30 PM Weather report
31.5 °F
Overcast
Humidity:     64%
Wind:     2.0 mph from the WNW
Wind Gust:     13.0 mph
Visibility:     10.0 miles
Dang north wind is making the windows behind my chair real cold so I put my high density foam panels in the windows to stop the cold from seeping in.
Guess I'll have to whup me up something extra special warm for supper later. Any ideas?

Evening update

RANT ABOUT A PRODUCT..

Two years ago I bought one of the tower space heats. It just didn't seem like it was doing the job this year so I went shopping and ended up with the New and Improved model. WHAT A CROCK!! This one is failing now and it's only a month old. So Stay away from Lasko Heaters I found a different brand, a Soleus , and going to pick up a new one tomorrow . I GOT to have one to keep my legs and feet warm here at the desk/table . Cheaper to use it and kick my whole house unit back a few degrees.

... END OF RANT.....

My family style chicken noodle soup is bout hot. So I'm gonna gobble some down.

See ya.