Sunday, November 30, 2014

There Are Some Things In Life I Don't Understand

Like this:



"Meatless" MEATballs?  What's the point?  Not to flog dead draft animals or anything, but I'll bet what are in those bags are really tasty.  (/sarc)

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Saturday: A Different Football Post

She's pretty damned good at what she does.  Yes, she.



From the "about" section at The Tube O' You:
Sam Gordon is the smallest player in her tackle football league . . . and she's a girl. But that doesn't stop Sam from fearlessly running down the football field, dodging boys left and right all the way to the end zone for a touch down!

Sam scored 15 touch downs and had 13 Yards per carry as a running back. Sam also did well on defense, registering 59 tackles, 3 interceptions, and a fumble recovery during her 2014 football season!
Impressive.  Pretty cute, too.

Friday, November 28, 2014

It's Here, For Better Or Worse

But mostly worse: this morning my inbox was filled with e-mails shouting BLACK FRIDAY DEALS!  Everyone from the GOP ("George H. W. Bush socks!") to Grassfire ("40% Off On Grassfire Christmas Gifts for all members") to Cigar dot com ("Box Bedlam") to HP ("Up to 50% off!") to... well, you get the idea.  Everyone wants my money, and yours, too.

That said, here's a rather unique Christmas gift ideer: a "Fuck you Anderson Cooper" tee shirt.  Really.  Like this:


And here's what it's all about:
Last month, Anderson Cooper dedicated a segment of his show "Anderson Cooper 360" to mocking the Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan for posing with cats on the cover of PAWS Chicago Magazine (the magazine for the no-kill animal shelter PAWS Chicago). Corgan initially came back with a pair of angry tweets, but since this is a musician beef in 2014, it's not official until someone responds by making a T-shirt about it.
That's from an article at Pitchfork, where you can see the Cooper segment on CNN that prompted the shirt.  It's actually a nice looking shirt, if you're into cats.

In other news... Ma Nature is giving those of us living on The High Plains o' New Mexico an early Christmas gift.


Isn't THAT nice!?!

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving!

For the eighth year in a row...  If the Wall Street Journal has been running the same piece since 1961 I figure I can get by with re-runs, too. I'm not quite as good as they are, though. But seriously: Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Gentle Reader. I’m going to be lazy today and re-run what I said last year (in part...there was more), mainly coz (a) it’s all true and (b) I’m fresh out of original i-deers. So…from Turkey-Day-2006:
Of all the things I’m thankful for on this day…family, friends, reasonable health… I thank God most of all for making me an American. Most all of the good things in my life begin and end with that one single fact.
You could do much worse today than read the editorial the WSJ has published every Thanksgiving since 1961.  An excerpt:
We can remind ourselves that for all our social discord we yet remain the longest enduring society of free men governing themselves without benefit of kings or dictators. Being so, we are the marvel and the mystery of the world, for that enduring liberty is no less a blessing than the abundance of the earth.
And we might remind ourselves also, that if those men setting out from Delftshaven had been daunted by the troubles they saw around them, then we could not this autumn be thankful for a fair land.
As true today as it was back in 1961.
The images come from Thanksgiving Corner, which has a great collection of Thanksgiving wallpaper (ed: the site is apparently dead now). Normally I'd only post a single topical image, but I was so taken with the second image that I had to post it. Shades of Ben Franklin, and all that.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

One Foot In the Grave

I had to journey over to The Big(ger) CityTM for a follow-up appointment with an ear, nose, and throat specialist earlier today; last month the specialist diagnosed me with a deviated septum caused by being on full time oxygen.  There was good news and bad news today; the good news is the ointment he prescribed for me resulted in "definite improvement," but... Well, here's kinda-sorta what he said (we're paraphrasing): "If you were in your 20s we could fix this surgically, but at your age..."  There was more to it than that, of course, but I had to chuckle at the age remark.

I think I'll go online and look for funerary urns.

Breakfast



One of the best things about bein' an adult is eating whatever you want, whenever you want, and that includes pumpkin pie for breakfast.  I might have seconds.

Totally unrelated, this:


Heh.  "I'm sorry, Dave..."

Monday, November 24, 2014

Weekend Update

The weekend wasn't the best o' times here at  El Casa Inmóvil De Pennington, but it was far from the worst.  Saturday was almost a complete bust, what with the Wings getting blown out in Toronto, the Irish losing yet another game they prolly should have won (and that makes four losses out of the last five games), and Florida State winning yet again in a squeaker against a scrappy Boston College team.  (I won't link the FSU game coz I hate actively dislike those prats.)  Saturday's only saving grace was near 70 degree temps, which enabled us to take an early Happy Hour on the verandah before the UCR all-day football orgy.

Sunday?  We hit our high o' 52 degrees before noon.  A miserable cold front blew in right after that and just before Happy Hour, dropping the temps into the 40s with a wind chill in the 30s.  That meant we took Happy Hour indoors, what with us being of sound mind and lacking a sufficient insulating layer o' fat to brave the verandah in that sort o' weather.  We used that time to finish off the book we were currently reading, took a short nap, and fixed dinner... consisting of leftover spaghetti and a salad... after which we watched at least four episodes of "Eat: The Story of Food" on the NatGeo channel.  The absolute BEST parts o' that show were the frequent appearances of Nigella Lawson.  Ooooh... what a hottie she is!  The second best part was the segment on beer, which you can see here (Blogger doesn't like NatGeo's embed code).  Ah, yes.  Beer is life, innit?

And then there's this...



Occasional Reader and Constant Correspondent Rob sent that along this weekend.  I suppose you have to be of a certain age to get that.  And I AM.

Onward and upward...

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack...

... which we listened to yesterday and more about that below.  But first, the tune.  "Proud Mary" is normally one of those tunes that I never want to hear again, if one only considers the original by CCR.  Is that version overplayed?  Oh, hell yes.  But I can listen to Ike and Tina cook on their version over and over and over and NEVER tire of it.



I heard this yesterday while listening to Ann Delisi's show on WDET out of Dee-troit.  We've gone on about 'DET and Ms. Delisi before here at EIP, like this:
I think I discovered Roy by listening to WDET in Dee-troit.  I'd bet money on it, actually.  Speakin' of WDET...



We're down to our emergency tee shirt supply, given the state of our laundry bag and available clean clothes.  This example happens to be well over 20 years old, what with me having acquired it back around 1987 or so.  I wear it rarely these days as it is thin beyond belief.  It's also something of a personal treasure as well, being a memento from Former Happy Days.  This tee was part of the swag one gets for supporting public radio, and I was a BIG supporter back in the day.  Read as: when public radio was worth supporting.  I was saddened to find DET has sunk in the metro Dee-troit radio ratings, but not all that surprised.  DET was a powerhouse back in the '80s and a veritable fount of new music... and Ann Delisi (a deejay and then programs director) was to die for.  But that's another story altogether.
We were quite pleased to find DET is on iTunes Radio; this means we can listen to the lovely Ann on the weekends now.  Ann had a daily show back in the day and we'd speak on the phone sometimes during the course of her show.  I also had occasion to meet and speak with her in person, albeit  briefly, during a couple of the annual cocktail parties DET threw for donors who contributed at a certain level.  We had a nice e-mail exchange after her show yesterday afternoon... which I'd publish if Blogger wasn't such a pain the ass about formatting cut 'n' pasted e-mails.  I can't get the formatting to work to save my ass, so you'll just have to take my word for it.  It's always sumthin'.

Heh. Sorta.


The 'toon is funny in one way but not so funny in another.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Saturday: The Final Frontier

I can't get enough of this stuff.  It's best viewed in full screen mode.

Astronaut - A journey to space from Guillaume JUIN on Vimeo.

What's best?  The lightning?  The northern lights?  The cities at night?  Well, all of it, actually.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Dumb Stuff We Hear On NPR

There's a LOT that might could fall in that category; this is just the latest:
And what that means is that 1 in 3 adults drinks excessively.

What counts as excessive? Less than you might think.

Women who consume eight or more drinks per week are considered excessive drinkers. And for men, excess is defined as 15 or more drinks a week. (The researchers defined a drink as just 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer or 1.5 ounces of spirits.)
Well, now.  It appears that I drink excessively, what with two beers every afternoon and a couple o' single malts or bourbons... on rare occasions more than two... after dinner.  This adds up to a grand total of about 28 drinks a week on average, nearly twice what the quoted study defines as excessive.  I'm not gonna worry my semi-pretty lil head about this, however.  According to my doctor I'm as healthy as the proverbial horse... aside from the fact I can't breathe, which has nothing to do with alcohol.  I trust my doctor one whole helluva lot more than I trust these so-called studies.


Thanksgiving Comes First

Blog-bud Jim has his annual post about Thanksgiving up and it's later than usual.  There's a reason for the late posting and... well, here's Jim:
Since I've often been all about Thanksgiving, some of you were probably wondering when I was going to write a post about it this year. If you were wondering, I thank you for thinking about it and here it is.
I made a conscious effort to NOT post about Thanksgiving. I wanted to see what was happening without being clouded by thoughts of what was happening as a result of anything here.
I still kept plugging away on Facebook (on my own personal page and at THANKSGIVING COMES FIRST, a page I manage there - https://www.facebook.com/ThanksgivingComesFirst ) and I get the feeling that there may be a tipping point being reached, one way or the other. There are boatloads of people who are fed up with the commercialization of Christmas and the incursion of store openings on Thanksgiving itself. I mean, some folks are seriously angry now. That's a good thing. And there are lots of stores specifically advertising that they will be closed on Thanksgiving, another good sign. On the other hand, stores are opening earlier than last year (when they opened earlier than the year before that) so...
We support Jim's efforts, we totally agree with him on this subject, and we hope that you do too, Gentle Reader.  Jim posted this graphic as a part of this year's post:



Now you know where to shop and where NOT to shop.  Act accordingly!

WTF?

Fords...



The full explanation and more examples of "elastic cars" are here.

Speaking of "elasticity"...



"We had our cocktails and cigarettes."  Well, yes.  We did.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

I Got Nuthin', You Get the WX

Happy Days are here again...


Yep, we're back to what passes for normal after last week's spate of sub-freezing temps.  We took Happy Hour out on the verandah yesterday... comfortably... and will do the same today.  It's back in the barrel late next week, though.  We'll work through that when we come to it.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Want!

Ooooh... shiny!



Preliminary and limited specs, from the ATS-V web page:


The car's made out of unobtainium, at least where YrHmblScrb is concerned, what with a predicted asking price around $60K.  We'll make do with The Tart and be happy about it, too.

Some People's Kids...

... are playing with much less than a full deck:



And we're glad we're not in Buffalo*, where some areas got six feet... yes, six FEET, of lake-effect snow.  So much for our recent bitching about a light dusting of the white stuff.

* There's a Buffalo newscast video at the link that I'm unable to embed.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

MOST Excellent

Keith Olbermann on Gordie Howe:



I used to hate, Hate, HATE Olbermann when he was doing politics on MSNBC.  Sports is quite another thing altogether and this video is a fitting... even elegant... tribute to the great Number Nine.  Olbermann  notes that Mr. Howe has taken a turn for the worse; The Freep has details about his condition and it doesn't look good.  Our best thoughts go out to Mr. Howe and the family.

Are You Happy?

The answer might depend on your age.  I spent about 20 minutes earlier this morning learning about the U-curve, which attempts to explain why some... most, even... people go through what's known as a midlife crisis.  The opening grafs from "The Real Roots of Midlife Crisis:"
This summer, a friend called in a state of unhappy perplexity. At age 47, after years of struggling to find security in academia, he had received tenure. Instead of feeling satisfied, however, he felt trapped. He fantasized about escape. His reaction had taken him by surprise. It made no sense. Was there something wrong with him? I gave him the best answer I know. I told him about the U-curve.

Not everyone goes through the U-curve. But many people do, and I did. In my 40s, I experienced a lot of success, objectively speaking. I was in a stable and happy relationship; I was healthy; I was financially secure, with a good career and marvelous colleagues; I published a book, wrote for top outlets, won a big journalism prize. If you had described my own career to me as someone else’s, or for that matter if you had offered it to me when I was just out of college, I would have said, “Wow, I want that!” Yet morning after morning (mornings were the worst), I would wake up feeling disappointed, my head buzzing with obsessive thoughts about my failures. I had accomplished too little professionally, had let life pass me by, needed some nameless kind of change or escape.

My dissatisfaction was whiny and irrational, as I well knew, so I kept it to myself. When I thought about it—which I did, a lot—I rejected the term midlife crisis, because I was holding a steady course and never in fact experienced a crisis: more like a constant drizzle of disappointment. What annoyed me most of all, much more than the disappointment itself, was that I felt ungrateful, the last thing in the world I was entitled to be.
Illustration from the article.

The article is relatively long but seriously interesting, none the less.  After I finished the article I sat and reflected for a while, asking myself if I went through a midlife crisis and were things better today than they were, say, ten or 20 years ago?  It's a mixed bag.  I definitely went through some difficult times following my divorce (some people would say I'm not out of those woods yet) and I experienced what author Jonathon Rauch calls a "constant drizzle of disappointment" about life in general during that time.  Yet I think I remained happy in an overall sense and went on to achieve the pinnacle of my professional career after running away from home and gallivanting all over the country for a year.  

These days, when that U-curve should be on the upswing as I approach age 70 (this coming March, if you must know), I range from ambivalent to reasonably satisfied with most things in life.  There's at least one caveat, however: I'm not a terribly introspective person.

So... midlife crisis?  Here's one answer:


Heh.  From The Shoebox blog, obviously.

Monday, November 17, 2014

Just Because

Bikes and wimmen... what's NOT to like?



We were floundering around, trying to find sumthin' suitable for posting on this too-damned-cold Monday morning (23 degrees as we speak, on its way to 41) and came across what you see above.  Which brings to mind that ol' Richard Thompson song, wherein he maintains "red hair and black leather" is his protagonist's favorite color scheme.  Or blonde.  Or brunette.  Whatever floats yer particular boat.  I'm rather partial to blondes, myself.

The Second Mrs. Pennington on my box-stock RD400, 1979.  The bike didn't stay stock for long.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Aiiieee Redux

From the study window at 1045 hrs:



I'm SO not ready for this: snow for the second time in the last three days.  The damned leaves haven't even fallen from the trees yet... and to think it was 66 degrees yesterday.

Get OFF my frickin' lawn!

Saturday, November 15, 2014

It's Our Blogoversary...

... and here we are, entering our tenth year of disseminating drivel to an uninterested world.  Our first posts:



So far: 6,379 posts, 726,193 page views (according to Blogger), and 45,951 comments; a lot of those comments are mine in response to what other folks had to say.  That said, I never thought I'd keep it up this long.  Srsly.  I'm at the point now where I only hope I can make this thing last a full ten years.

In other news... I don't believe what ol' Ben said about "early to bed," mainly coz I'm neither healthy (well, sorta), nor wealthy, nor wise.  But I AM up early, yet again.

Friday, November 14, 2014

It's Already Begun, With a Twist

I'm pretty sure I saw the first Christmas shopping ads on my teevee at least a week ago, or longer.  It's getting to the point of ridiculousness if it hasn't already passed that point.  (Minor digression: we're waiting for blog-bud Jim to kick off his annual "Thanksgiving Comes First" campaign; we don't want to jump into the fray before he does.)   That said, this week I noticed a completely new aspect to the usual Black Friday crap.  This:

Americans are exceptional at creating spectacle out of commerce. And yes, the eager-to-normalize marijuana biz is ready to behave (and benefit) like all of the others. At least one pot shop in Colorado will be marking Black Friday with legitimate “door-busting deals” that will bring many a toker to the lines that will inevitably stretch outside its doors on the weekend after Thanksgiving.

But when Denver recreational pot shop The Grass Station opens its doors for Black Friday sales at 8 a.m. Nov. 28-30, what will be their equivalent to Walmart’s dirt-cheap flat-screen TVs?

“It’ll definitely be the $50 ounces,” said Grass Station owner Ryan Fox. “Right now our cheapest ounce is $250, and some of those ounces in the $250-$325 range will be selling for $50 an ounce on that weekend.”

Celebrating Black Friday with loss-leader deals in the hopes of luring more regular customers is Fox’s way of saying that legal marijuana businesses are normal businesses.

There's no word if The Grass Station will advertise on teevee but I don't think they'll really need to do that (if Colorado law even allows pot shops on teevee).  A 50-buck bag in this day and age is advertising enough. 

Heh

Oh, this is good...



Just in case you've been under a rock for the past week or three, the vid is a parody of this "tempest in a teacup."

H/t: Cassandra.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

In Which We Become a Shill For Our Browser

I upgraded to Firefox 33.1 this morning... or rather FF upgraded me, auto-majickly.  Part and parcel of the upgrade was this short lil vid for my viewing pleasure, which is now yours*:



There's a LOT to like about Firefox from a technical and user-friendly perspective, in addition to that "independence" thingie.  I really don't understand why people still use Internet Exploder or the like.

* We couldn't have a weather report as our only post today.

Aiiieee!

The view from the study window at this moment...


I don't remember which cartoon character uttered the famous "What a revoltin' development THIS is!" (Bugs Bunny? Foghorn Leghorn?) but that was my precise thought when I opened the blinds this morning.  It's still snowing, albeit very lightly, and the NWS out of ABQ sez we'll only get "a light dusting."  Like this:


It's also colder than the proverbial witch's mammary glands*.  All in all, not a good day.

It's always sumthin'.

* I'm slightly peeved at Weather Underground coz they've eliminated P-Ville and Cannon Airplane Patch as weather station choices.  That's why you see "Melrose Gunnery Range" above.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

We haven't done a Happy Hour Soundtrack post in quite some time and that's coz on most days we've been listenin' to Not Particularly Relevant radio whilst taking our beers on the verandah.  But today?  I damned sure ain't outside for what should be obvious reasons.  So... here's Loudon Wainwright:


I can picture you there on that stool, drinking like a drunken fool.
Yeah, you're sitting there on your ass, muttering into your glass.
Paying for your lowlife thrills with wet quarters and soggy one dollar bills.

I know where you are, baby.
You're down drinking at the bar.
Heh.  There were people in my past lives who might coulda sang this song to me.  Once upon a time.  Mebbe.

Why Are These People Laughing?




Me?  I'd be praying to EVERY known Deity At Hand and mebbe even making up a few.  Watching this made my knees all watery.

In other news...  We broke the seal on the furnace last evening, given our high was only 41 degrees yesterday.  It's gonna be even colder today, like this:


At least there's no snow.  Yet.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Veterans Day 2014



Presidential Proclamation -- Veterans Day, 2014

VETERANS DAY, 2014

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Since the birth of our Nation, American patriots have stepped forward to serve our country and defend our way of life.  With honor and distinction, generations of servicemen and women have taken up arms to win our independence, preserve our Union, and secure our freedom.  From the Minutemen to our Post-9/11 Generation, these heroes have put their lives on the line so that we might live in a world that is safer, freer, and more just, and we owe them a profound debt of gratitude.  On Veterans Day, we salute the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen who have rendered the highest service any American can offer, and we rededicate ourselves to fulfilling our commitment to all those who serve in our name. 

Today, we are reminded of our solemn obligation:  to serve our veterans as well as they have served us.  As we continue our responsible drawdown from the war in Afghanistan and more members of our military return to civilian life, we must support their transition and make sure they have access to the resources and benefits they have earned.  My Administration is working to end the tragedy of homelessness among our veterans, and we are committed to providing them with quality health care, access to education, and the tools they need to find a rewarding career.  As a Nation, we must ensure that every veteran has the chance to share in the opportunity he or she has helped to defend.  Those who have served in our Armed Forces have the experience, skills, and dedication necessary to achieve success as members of our civilian workforce, and it is critical that we harness their talent.

Across our country, veterans who fought to protect our democracy around the globe are strengthening it here at home. Once leaders in the Armed Forces, they are now pioneers of industry and pillars of their communities.  Their character reflects our enduring American spirit, and in their example, we find inspiration and strength.

This day, and every day, we pay tribute to America's sons and daughters who have answered our country's call.  We recognize the sacrifice of those who have been part of the finest fighting force the world has ever known and the loved ones who stand beside them.  We will never forget the heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice and all those who have not yet returned home.  As a grateful Nation, let us show our appreciation by honoring all our veterans and working to ensure the promise of America is within the reach of all who have protected it.

With respect for and in recognition of the contributions our service members have made to the cause of peace and freedom around the world, the Congress has provided (5 U.S.C. 6103(a)) that November 11 of each year shall be set aside as a legal public holiday to honor our Nation's veterans.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim November 11, 2014, as Veterans Day.  I encourage all Americans to recognize the valor and sacrifice of our veterans through appropriate public ceremonies and private prayers.  I call upon Federal, State, and local officials to display the flag of the United States and to participate in patriotic activities in their communities. I call on all Americans, including civic and fraternal organizations, places of worship, schools, and communities to support this day with commemorative expressions and programs.


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth.

BARACK OBAMA

In the rest of the Anglosphere, which is to say the British Commonwealth, today is Remembrance Day.  This is the poster the Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs uses to publicize Remembrance Day:


To all those who wore the uniform of our country and its allies, in times of peace or times of war: thank you. 

Monday, November 10, 2014

OK, That's It... You're Outta Here

I cancelled my subscription to SiteMeter today.  Why?  This:



Zero visits and zero page views today?  I think not.  SiteMeter went belly up sometime early yesterday morning and still isn't back on line.  According to SM I only had seven visits yesterday (which knocked my traffic figures into a cocked hat) and I KNOW that's BS.  Enough is enough; Blogger stats will work well enough for me in future.

O, My Aching Ass

There are conspiracy theories and then there's this...



I think there's a better reason not to indulge in energy drinks...



"Get thee behind me, Satan!"

Sunday, November 09, 2014

So Very MODERN!

More from old car brochures... these illustrating the 1952 Lincoln.  I was struck less by the car and more by the depiction of what "modern living" meant in the early 1950s.  Uniformed servants, Eichler homes, "push button magic," tuxedo-wearing dinner guests (eating in the kitchen!), and 3,721 square inches of GLASS!  (one wonders if glass was at a premium back then) Oh, yes... how very modern.







There are four more images from this brochure here.

Saturday, November 08, 2014

Saturday: 25 Years On

Tomorrow marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.  From an AP article in the Sacramento Bee:
Germany on Sunday celebrates the 25th anniversary of the night the Berlin Wall fell, a pivotal moment in the collapse of communism and the start of the country's emergence as the major power at the heart of Europe.

A 15-kilometer (nine-mile) chain of lighted balloons along the former border will be released into the air early Sunday evening — around the time on Nov. 9, 1989 when a garbled announcement by a senior communist official set off the chain of events that brought down the Cold War's most potent symbol.
And here's a flavor of what that lighted balloon memorial looks like:

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/article3660988.html#storylink=cpy





I remember the fall of the Berlin Wall quite well; the news reports were both stunning and riveting.  That grotesque edifice had been in place all of my adult life and I'd never even dreamed about seeing it come down in my lifetime, and yet it did.  Thank God.

Friday, November 07, 2014

Just a Couple o' Few Things

I've been up since 0330 hrs this morning, which is my own stupid fault, what with retiring at very early hour o' 2130 hrs last evening.  I knew this would happen, but for some inexplicable reason I surrendered to the yawns and went down early.  A lil over six hours later and Bing! Eyes wide open.  I think nap time just might happen BEFORE Happy Hour today.

We've been in that sweet spot that comes twice a year, once in Spring and again in the Fall, said sweet spot bein' that time when we require neither AC nor heat.  I love this time o' year mainly for the comfort that's in it but also for the fact my electric bill falls by nearly half, which is a significant savings.  Well, all that is gonna come to a screeching halt by the middle o' next week.  Note:



It's been nice while it lasted.

Occasionally I'll mention the fact there are certain things I miss about city living and here's yet another item: wonderful food delivered to your door, just for the asking.  Case in point:



That's from an article titled "The Most Expensive Food You Can Order on GrubHub," which is food pr0n at its finest!  Apropos o' not much, I used to order wonderful delivery-food about once or twice a week when I lived in SFO and had a myriad of choices.  These days?  Not so much, coz the only food establishments that deliver here in P-Ville bring me either pizza or sandwiches.  Yup, I DO miss certain things about city living.

And finally... The First Mrs. Pennington turns 71 today.  SN2 is out in Sandy Eggo doin' Navy things and plans to take a couple days o' leave and drive up to the ancestral home in Lompoc to surprise TFMP on her birthday.  I'm thinkin' she'll like that... a lot.  Happy Birthday, Ramona!

Thursday, November 06, 2014

Plane Pr0n of a Different Sort

Once again, Occasional Reader and Constant Correspondent Lin sends along sumthin' really good...



Pretty cool, that.  But just because the aircraft is capable of such maneuvers doesn't necessarily mean its driver should actually DO those things.  I'd not take kindly to bein' in the back of the aircraft when or if the pilot wanted to impress someone, anyone.  "Hey Bob!  Hold my beer and watch THIS!"

No, no, NO!

Update, a couple o' few minutes later:  The vid above brought to mind another Boeing demonstration flight:



That barrel roll is world famous, as is Tex Johnston, who was the pilot that day.

It's Fun to Be an Astronaut

Pretty danged cool, this:



Well, they have to fill up their time somehow, no?  It ain't "all work and no play" up there.

Wednesday, November 05, 2014

A Good Night



Well, yes.  Or better: YES!

And then there's this:


That's GOP spam I found in my in-box this morning.  MY vote didn't have a gotdamned thing to do with the results, coz my guy, Allen Weh, lost to the Democrat incumbent senator Tom Udall by 55-45 percent.  OTOH, my county (Roosevelt) is deep, deep red.  Note:


NM is generally red, with the exception of a few poor counties and the urban areas of ABQ and Santa Fe, not unlike a lot of other states.  To quote that dumb-ass dating site... "City folks just don't get it."