Classic!

Good Friend Lori out in the Bay Area Soviet Socialist Republic sends along a link to this:

Room for Rent -- Inauguration Day/ObamaCon 2009

---

Date: 2008-11-11, 11:45AM EST

In a search of a room in DC so that you can spend Jan. 20 standing in the bitter winter cold with thousands of like-minded souls watching the historic transfer of power from one Harvard grad to another? Look no further.

Me: Heartless, greedy right-wing oppressive type looking to make a buck.

You: Obama's election was Christmas/your first kiss/May Day all wrapped into one. You dutifully wore his button -- which you have yet to remove -- contributed money to his campaign from your non-profit job and chanted "yes we can" as if it were the 11th commandment. A strange void now exists in your life and -- like an old hippie looking to recapture the spirit of Woodstock -- you are undertaking a pilgramage to Washington for one last gulp of the Kool-Aid.

Along with my bedroom you will have access to the house's many amenities including cable television (not that you watch much TV) for viewing Keith Olberman's latest unhinged rants and CNN in high-def. Wireless internet means that the Huffington Post and DailyKos are only a click away on your MacBook. American flags and other patriotic paraphernalia in the room can be removed upon request.

The house is located in the diverse neighborhood of Adams Morgan with people of many different skin pigmentations that will allow you to revel in your tolerance. Rest assured, however, that this diversity does not extend to ideology and that you are sure to march lock-step with the prevailing sentiment ensuring that your most strongly held beliefs remain unchallenged.

Easily accessible subway and bus stops will help ensure a minimal carbon footprint while fair trade coffee is never more than a few steps away at any number of independently-owned establishments. Nearby non-chain bookstores similarly mean that tomes such as Mao's Little Red Book, Chomsky's latest masterpiece or additional copies of The Audacity of Hope can be easily purchased either for yourself or as early holiday shopping.

Rather than state a price I am requesting that you bid on this fabulous opportunity to ensure profit maximization on my part so that I can better weather the Bush Recession.

Lanier Pl. at Ontario google map yahoo map

• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 914613135

The funny thing? I'm betting the dude/dudette is simply SWAMPED with offers.

A Tragic Loss

Via blog-bud Phlegmmy... the inimitable Bettie Page died yesterday. The vid is work-safe, unless your workplace has something against beautiful women in lingerie.



Bettie fueled the fantasies of many a man (and boys, too, one of which I cheerfully admit being) in the way-back. She also created a specific genre of erotica (OK... soft-core porn) that lives to this day.

RIP, Ms. Page. Thank you.

Pain and Piñatas

Yesterday was profoundly weird in a physical sense. I was up until all hours Wednesday night/Thursday morning as is my habit… I finally gave it up and hit the sack sometime around 0300 hrs. I felt absolutely, positively normal when I went to bed; six hours later I awoke to screaming pain in my lower back and left leg. “Screaming pain” is defined as difficult to walk or stand up straight and impossible to sit comfortably… in this particular case. Rx: two Aleves and back to bed. The Aleves took the edge off, but things weren’t “right” for the entire day and I spent 90% of said entire day flat on my back, as that was the only position I could tolerate.

This literally freaks me out when it happens but it doesn’t happen all that often, Thank God. Long-time readers may recall I’ve mentioned I had back surgery for a herniated disk ten years ago. The operation was successful but the recuperation process was lengthy (eight months or so) and certainly wasn’t pain-free, in and of itself. This was an event I’ll never forget and is the very first thing I think of when I experience ANY sort of back pain, and most particularly the type of back pain that is accompanied with pain in either leg. Freaks me right the Hell out, it does. The Good News: I got a good night’s sleep and I’m fine today. The Bad News: I have NO idea why this happened.

―:☺:―

The upshot of the above is yesterday was pretty much an “internet-free” sort of day. I spent some quality time with C-SPAN (a LOT, actually)… watching the Senate floor debate on the auto industry bridge loan and associated comment here and there. Most all y’all Gentle Readers are probably most gratified to learn the Republican filibuster held and the bridge loan failed. But I’m sure ya knew that already. Interestingly enough the Dow Jones Industrials are up…modestly… in the early going. Today will probably be a day of volatility in the markets as I’ve seen 100-point swings already. It looks as if Harry Reid was wrong (ed: what’s new about that?) about today being a market bloodbath (or words to that effect). Harry was speaking specifically of the US market when he made his statement last evening, but he might as well have been speaking about global markets. They ain't doin' so well.

“Let us pray…”

―:☺:―

Today’s Pic: I spent about two months in Brownsville, TX back in 2000. I made a weekly trip over the river to Matamoros to pick up expensive tequila cheap (hecho en México), cheap Kahula (hecho en México, también), cheap cigars (hecho somewhere entirely different but the country of origin shall remain unnamed), eat, drink, and be otherwise entertained… the last item in the foregoing being the subject of today’s pic.

I spent about 30 minutes in this piñata store, chatting with the nice saleslady and the folks that made the piñatas you see here. I was amazed that one could make a business… and an apparently successful business, at that… out of a single product as esoteric as the piñata. But then again, piñatas ain’t strange at all in México, are they?

I thought piñatas were pretty appropriate for today's post, since the US auto industry has been beat all to Hell and back in these pages... well, in comments, anyway... of late. Just sayin'.

February, 2000.

Letters… We Get Letters…

Or, more appropriately: junk mail. Political junk mail. I only check my snail-mail box once a week or so, but it appears the RNC is a little behind in their mailings. Note the dates on the two letters below:

Both letters were in my box today, and I know I checked my mail last week. That’s when all the bills arrive and I’m VERY diligent about collecting the bills and mailing out the requisite payments, which keeps me in the good graces of folks who provide me with services of one type or another.

But back to the subject at hand… I suppose I’ll be dunned with RNC mailings from now until eternity Hell freezes over, but at least I can throw them away unopened. I thought I’d avoid this sort of unpleasantness by declining to provide an e-mail address when I made my contribution to the McCain campaign earlier this Fall. And I have, sorta. At least my e-mail inbox is devoid of political spam.

Lastly… I know this is a form letter, but it’s a nice form letter. This came in about three weeks after I’d made my contribution to Johnny Mac:

Not bad, eh? I’m gonna keep it.

―:☺:―

We also get a lil bit of e-mail here at El Casa Móvil De Pennington. We received a note from Detroit recently, from an old friend who happens to be a General Motors employee. And yeah, my friend’s note had a lot to do with this:

WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday night approved an emergency plan to prevent the collapse of the nation’s domestic automobile industry, but the measure faces serious opposition in the Senate, where Republicans are revolting against a White House-brokered deal to speed $14 billion to cash-starved General Motors and Chrysler.

After battling through the weekend to reach a compromise with congressional Democrats, the White House Wednesday dispatched Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten to sell the plan to restive Republican senators. But many GOP lawmakers emerged from a combative luncheon with Bolten unconvinced the plan would compel Detroit automakers to make the painful changes necessary to restore them to profitability.

After mostly partisan debate, the House voted 237 to 170 to approve the measure. But with Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and other conservatives threatening to block consideration of the measure, even some Republican advocates of the bailout said it is unlikely to attract sufficient GOP support to win approval in the closely divided Senate.

Let me quote my friend:

As you can imagine it has been rather stressful here with recent events. Our continued employment is very much at risk. Following is some information on the bridge loan and a number to call to leave a message with your representative for support of the loan. Here is the number if you do not want to wade through the material:

Phone calls to your legislators can be facilitated by calling 1-866-927-2233 and entering your 5-digit zip code when prompted.

We would all like to see the market work as it is supposed to and to leave government out of it. But these are not normal times, as the financial sector bail out indicates. (I do not remember seeing any bankers or brokers by the way having to testify for the money given, not loaned.) These are like 1932 times. The domestic auto industry has been caught at a time when credit is tight after very major restructuring.

Many people rightly wonder why others can make money here and not the big 3. Simply put, the big three have been operating in a higher cost environment for longer. We do our research here; the transplants do it overseas with workers whose health care and retirement are covered by the government. They have not operated here for 100 years, so do not have pension checks going to hundreds of thousands of retirees and their widows. And by the way, the credit crisis has affected all manufacturers; Toyota is down by a third, and Prius sales are down 48% with cheap gas on top of that.

Big changes have been made in the last few years to costs and compensation (without specifics, be assured ours is in there as well). The question is, do we want to live in a country with a large middle class, or do we want to go towards a model more like the Great Depression or one of the countries were are competing with? Anyone want to live and work in China, or Mexico, Korea, or even Poland or Russia? These are low cost countries where transplants do their engineering or major component production. Do not believe that if you are not employed by the auto industry or live in the Rust Belt that you will not be affected by a collapse of the domestic auto industry. You will be.

I was similarly frustrated as many others were by the bailout of the financial sector, but saw the necessity for the overall economy. But the auto industry loan is a loan like what Chrysler received 30 years ago. That loan was paid back early and made a profit for taxpayers of $350,000,000.

Your help in the form of a phone call is greatly appreciated and I sincerely believe also in your own best interest. Following is some material for background as well.

Click here: GM Facts and Fiction

We need you to keep the pressure on by calling your U.S. Senators and Representatives in the next 24 hours and reminding them that a healthy U.S. auto industry is vital to our nation’s economic stability and long-term security. Please use the hot line below and let your legislators know that their support for our industry will save millions of jobs that depend on us and will strengthen our economy. Congress must hear that Federal loans will help us bridge the current global financial crisis and allow us to continue our transformation and progress. A strong American manufacturing sector and technological leadership in the global marketplace depends on their acting this year.

1-866-927-2233

I tried to make that phone call Wednesday evening, but my senators (Hutchison and Cornyn) had gone home for the day and voice mail wasn’t an option. I will be making the calls later today, rest assured of that.

Most conservatives are against the “bailout” for Detroit, mostly based on tried-and-true conservative principles of limited government and the free market. I’m all for both, but at the same time I cannot see any merit whatsoever in letting Detroit fail in the midst of the worst financial crisis of my lifetime. “Letting Detroit fail” is the best way I know of to ensure we get a full-blown, 1930s-style depression rather than a deep recession. I’m NOT being a Chicken Little here: the sky really WILL fall if we let Detroit go under. You may or may not believe this, but believe me: you DON'T want to put it to the ultimate test.

The situation is dire. My friend… the guy who wrote the e-mail I’ve quoted above… called me last evening and we spoke for the better part of an hour. And, Gentle Reader, he’s convinced me that the loans Congress is proposing are absolutely, positively necessary. GM will be out of business before the end of the year if something isn’t done.

The House did the right thing last evening by passing the auto loan bill by a vote of 237-170. But, as noted in the article above, certain senators are vowing to filibuster this relief bill. And that's NOT the "right thing" to do in this climate.

Won’t you join me in calling your senators and asking them to support the auto industry loans? Please?

Eye Candy

Vanity Fair has a photographic reprise of 2008 on its web site which is quite unlike most any other "Best of (the year in question)" articles I've ever seen. And the best shots are of a type indicated by this post's title. An example:

Captioned: "April 2008: Sarah Silverman, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler as the three graces. Photograph by Annie Leibovitz; styled by Michael Roberts and Jessica Diehl."

In the "For what it's worth and it ain't worth much" department... I've been a fan of Annie Leibovitz since she became Rolling Stone's house photographer sometime back in the '70s. The woman is simply brilliant and is perhaps the best photographer of our time. Bar none.

The Scandal du Jour...

A screenshot from memeorandum this morning:

Yeah, OK. Right. Everyone who's anyone has something to say about this brouhaha, however meaningless and mundane it might be. I mean, we're talking Illinois politics, ain't we? Which is the antithesis of "squeaky clean." But I digress. All you really need to know about this oh-so-surprising scandal (surprising if you're a third grader, or if you live under a rock somewhere) is up at Iowahawk's place, to wit:

BREAKING: Feds Seize Blagojevich eBay Account

CHICAGO - The ongoing corruption probe into Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich took a dramatic turn this evening, as federal agents working for US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald announced that they had seized the governor's eBay account. It is as yet unknown how the latest seizure will effect the outcome of the case.
IOWAHAWK EXCLUSIVE! RUSH UPDATE!

Leaked documents from latest sealed federal indictment (click to embiggen)

Heh. You really gotta see this...

I Think We'll Be Staying IN Today...

There's a light dusting of snow on the ground, too, but it's the wind that makes it Not Nice outside. Glad we don't have anywhere to go.

150 100 Things

OK… I’ve seen this meme all over the place in my Daily Reads. I wasn’t going to participate, coz it’s VERY similar to that 150 Things post in my sidebar. Yet there are some different questions on this list and the thing is only two-thirds of 150. Besides that I’ve been running kinda short on motivation and/or blog fodder of late. So, here without further ado is my “100 Things” I’ve done/not done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (Well, sorta. I was a one-time vocalist with a group of friends at a squadron picnic)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (lived there for three years, been back a few times)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (Depends on how ya define “art.” But I’ll go with it…)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (Once again: a qualified yes, but not in the “Carnival Cruise Lines” sense. Do troop ships count? Tramp steamers?)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Where the Hell would that be?)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa (A very brief port call in Algeria)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (Two-thirds of the way up, thus two-thirds bold. Apropos of nothing… is there another Eiffel Tower I’m unaware of?)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (Snorkeling)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (a corporate training video)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (is there ANY other kind, other than “speeding?”)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (assuming fish count)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (fathered three, if that counts)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone (who the Hell hasn’t?)
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

So. Add these to that list of 150.

Today’s Pics: Apropos of #42, above.

May, 2000.

Pearl Harbor Day

From the EIP Pearl Harbor Day post of 2006...which I cannot improve upon today:

It’s said — quite often and by many, many people — that 9/11/2001 “changed everything.” And it is indeed true for the current generations of Americans. But I’ll submit that 12/07/1941 “changed everything” to a degree it is impossible for us who were not alive and going about our business on that Sunday in December, 1941 to realize. Those of us whose parents were members of The Greatest Generation understand my point. A smaller subset, those of us whose parents fought in World War II, understand the point a little bit better, perhaps. We have the benefit of hearing the first-person narratives of that day in December 1941, and stories from the long, long days that followed…from the dark and despair of the war’s first year to the signing of the Japanese surrender on the decks of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay not quite four years later. And a lot in between.

They are leaving us. The Pearl Harbor Survivors Association is holding their last meeting (ed: there used to be a news item linked here; the link is dead) today.

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - With their number quickly dwindling, survivors of Pearl Harbor will gather Thursday one last time to honor those killed by the Japanese 65 years ago, and to mark a day that lives in infamy.

This will be their last visit to this watery grave to share stories, exchange smiles, find peace and salute their fallen friends. This, they say, will be their final farewell.

"This will be one to remember," said Mal Middlesworth, president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. "It's going to be something that we'll cherish forever."

The survivors have met here every five years for four decades, but they're now in their 80s or 90s and are not counting on a 70th reunion. They have made every effort to report for one final roll call.

Their last meeting. I know All Things Must Pass, but it saddens me so. We owe them so much, and our thank-yous seem inadequate compared to the sacrifices they made.

But: We shall continue, we shall honor their sacrifices, we will remember, and we shall rededicate ourselves to the task that faces this generation…the one that began on 9/11/2001. The Greatest Generation expects it from us.

The image above was taken from The Pearl Harbor Survivors Association web site (ed: this link was live last year but is "403" [prohibited] in 2008. FIXED, thanks to Cynthia [Flag Gazer] in comments!).

Stuff That Makes Ya Go Hmmmm

Seen this?

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

The ad has been running in my market for a couple of weeks now. I only have ONE question… what kind of company would hire a frickin’ convicted felon to flog financial products (which is how the gold is being marketed here)? How much credibility does G. Gordon Frickin’ Liddy have in that space? I dunno about you, Gentle Reader, but I’d NEVER consider buying anything from a company that hires felons as its flacks.

Yeah… I know: Liddy has paid his “debt to society.” But doesn’t he make enough money pandering to the right-wing fringe without having to engage in advertising?

(h/t: 23/6)

The Gub'mint We Deserve, Redux

Remember that lil “We Get The Gub'mint We Deserve...” vid I posted a couple of weeks ago? The one where Obama voters fell flat on their face when it came to basic civics knowledge? A common thought in comments to that post was something to the effect that McCain voters probably wouldn’t do much better. Well… The guy that produced that Obama-voter video has commissioned a similar study/poll of McCain voters, and the McCain folks really did do did BETTER than the O-voters. For what that’s worth.

There’s lots of detail here, including a short (five minute) video that I attempted to embed here at EIP but that Blogger won’t accept, for whatever reason (altogether now: frickin’ Blogger!). Detail such as…

• 35 % of McCain voters got 10 or more of 13 multiple choice questions correct.
• 18% of Obama voters got 10 or more of 13 questions correct.
• McCain voters knew which party controls congress by a 63-27 margin.
  Obama voters got the “congressional control” question wrong by 43-41.
• Those that got “congressional control” correct voted 56-43 for McCain.
• Those that got “congressional control” wrong voted 65-35 for Obama.

And there is lots more at the link above. The trickier question, of course, is “what does this mean?” Not a whole helluva lot, to my way of thinking, as there will always be uninformed voters on both sides of the divide. That said, it certainly looks like the McCain voters got it right more often than the O-voters.

(h/t: Lex)

New Mouse, New Guv (Eventually), New Complaint

I had to make an unscheduled shopping trip yesterday… the lil plastic rodent with the single bright red eye that controls my movements around the inter-sphere finally gave up the ghost. I’d noticed it (he? she?) was having difficulty with its fine motor control muscles lately, but being the rather… umm… cheap-ass frugal person I am, I just dealt with it. Until the point arrived yesterday where its behavior was simply unacceptable. You’ll be proud to know I resisted the impulse to fling the thing across the room in a fit of pique. Nope… I just saddled up and headed off to Wally-World and bought a new pointing device, sans drama.

(Wally-World’s selection was frickin’ dismal, but that’s another story. At least they had something acceptable: an HP optical mouse for much less than 20 bucks. That works. They also had a cordless version of the same mouse for a lil over 30 bucks. That didn’t work for me. See: “frugal,” above.)

I like the optical mouse… it’s a quantum leap over the old mechanical mouse as far as accuracy and fine granular movements are concerned and it works anywhere there’s a flat surface… mouse pad be damned. That said… there’s no fixing an optical mouse when something goes wrong. I tried everything known to man… blowing out all the orifices with canned air, q-tips and alcohol, etc. Nothing worked… the danged thing just refused to go where it was pointed. Contrast that with the old mechanical mouse… which, when things got sluggish or unresponsive, was quickly and painlessly disassembled, cleaned, blown out with canned air, reassembled and was just as good as new. I never, ever, ever had to replace a mechanical mouse in over 20 years of using them. Never.

Sometimes progress… isn’t.

(Image from icanhazcheezburger. Interestingly… do a google image search on “mouse.” Just plain ol’ “mouse,” not “computer mouse” or any other qualifier. Technology IS King.)

―:☺:―

Hey! We’re gonna get a new Guv! Let us now do the Happy Dance! Whazzat? New Mexico’s gain is the nation’s loss, you say?

The president-elect said that his nominee would be dealing with the economy, the most significant issue facing the new administration, and added that “his mixture of diplomatic experience, hands-on experience as governor (ed: OMG. We’re screwed.), experience in the cabinet, experience in Congress, means that he is going to be a key strategist on all the issues that we work on. (ed: Did I mention we’re in deep doo-doo?)”

“I think the notion that somehow commerce secretary is not going to be central to everything we do is fundamentally mistaken.”

Ooops. Well, OK… sorry. I did get a lil carried away there, for a moment. But everything will work out, I’m sure. At least I (ahem) hope so…

―:☺:―

Yet another random bitch, moan, and complaint… If you chase that Richardson link above you’ll see OurGuv standing behind the podium at yesterday’s presser announcing his appointment. Well, Hell. Just look to the left here… I’ve thoughtfully included a photo (from the NYT article linked above… cropped for effect).

And therein lays my bitch/moan/complaint: that lil sign on the podium. The one that says “The Office of the President-Elect” with that cheesy lil logo that looks like a kiddie version of the presidential seal. That sign galls me for some unknown reason, and I DO believe it’s unprecedented. I could be wrong on this, and I’ll readily stand corrected if any of you Gentle Readers can provide photographic proof of a president-elect… be it Dubya, Clinton, 41, Reagan, Carter or ANYONE… designing and implementing his very own logo and “Office of…” sign. It’s like O and his handlers/staff believe we… all of us… are too thick to grasp the fact The One is the Prez-In-Waiting. Nope… we have to be TOLD, and none too subtly, either. Or maybe he's just... ummm... rubbing it in. Could be, yanno.

I’m also open for explanations as to why this pisses me off as much as it does. The feeling seems kinda-sorta irrational to me.

Ah... Subarus

Like Panasonic in the days of yore… we’re just slightly ahead of our time here at EIP, albeit only occasionally. Remember this post from earlier this year? Where I said, in part:

Today's Question: Why does it seem like it’s always Subarus that are festooned with moonbat shit? You rarely see a Ford or Chevy so adorned, unless it’s over 20 years of age (the car, not the owner).

OK… now click on this link. I’m pleased to see MoveOn.org or People For The American Way aren’t among the four organizations Subaru will donate money to in the event you choose to buy a new Subie and festoon it with bumper stickers, moonbat or otherwise. I’m thinking Subaru has tapped into a pretty clever marketing ploy. I also predict moonbats by the thousands will soon be sporting new Subies in their driveways, or on the street in front of their lofts… whatever. Us conservatives should remember this concept when it comes time to fill the concentration camps.

Here’s a 2:02 video made by Subaru titled “Behind the Scenes of the Share the Love Shoot.” Ya might find it interesting.

I have a bumper sticker on my car, too. And here it is (re-run):

OK, so it’s not technically a bumper sticker. It’s on my wind-blocker and is only visible when my top is down. It’s also been there since February of 2004… which is why the red stripes are kinda faded.

A Stupid Question

So… it’s said “there are no stupid questions, but there are LOTS of inquisitive idiots.” It’s in that spirit that I’m wondering… (a) if we’re (supposedly) in the worst financial crisis since The Great Depression, and (b) if the credit markets have dried up and financial doom is imminent, then (c) why the Hell am I still inundated with all those damned Ditech ads on my teevee? Hasn’t everyone who is anyone already re-financed or defaulted on their mortgages? {Accompanying mental image: head scratching. Lots of it.}

It’s shit like the above that got us where we are today… in VERY large part.

Placeholder

All the Kool Kidz are doin' it...



My all-time fave Ramones tune and quite appropriate for the season. The Holidays bring out this feeling, ya know. In me. YMMV.

More of the Same. Still.

Long time readers of EIP (all three of you) know the onset of winter brings a small bit of recurring angst along with colder temps here at El Casa Móvil De Pennington. The angst is all about keeping warm, as an RV is a poorly insulated, drafty sort of accommodation. It’s not that I don’t have a good furnace… I do. It’s just that the thing tends to run longer and more often as the temperature drops. Which brings us to the angst bits: watching my propane gauge like a hawk to ensure I don’t run out of gas on these cold nights. The complicating factor is the small size of my propane tank… which weighs in at only ten gallons… and one can burn through ten gallons of propane very quickly when the temps really drop. And so it came to pass, as it usually does, that I was right on the bubble this past Wednesday where the propane supply was concerned. I had about a quarter of a tank to last me through the four day weekend, as of Wednesday afternoon. Re-supply? Or not?

I checked the WX forecast. I rolled the dice.

I lost.

Yep… we went into the Propane Red Zone late yesterday afternoon and it was chilly (our high was 41). It got even colder last evening, with a low of 31. While that’s not low enough to drive me out and across the street to the Holiday Inn Express, it most certainly was cold enough to keep my two lil auxiliary electric heaters running full-tilt boogie. They did the trick, though, and I managed to stay toasty all night.

I made a quick call to Albert at Cortez Gas first thing this morning, he popped around about an hour later, filled me up, and all is right with the world again. Until next time. Or until such time as Cortez finds an empty 100-gallon tank lying around. I’ve decided to spring for the installation of a larger tank after nearly six years of living with this ten gallon joke of a propane supply. But there are costs, and this is no trivial matter at $300.00 for the installation and initial fill. But I (finally) decided it’s worth it, simply to get rid of the angst. Mom… were she alive… would say “What took ya so long?” The only possible answer is a shrug and an “I dunno…”

―:☺:―

Weirdness… Sometime in the middle of the evening last night I decided to make myself a late-night sammidge, which isn’t all that unusual… but what happened next most definitely was… ummm… different. I go into the kitchen, open the microwave (which doubles as my breadbox), reach in to pull out the bread and was horrified by a swarm of small moths emanating from the microwave. And I mean a frickin’ swarm. There must have been 75 of the lil buggers in there. I pull the bread and assorted other contents (two packages of Hershey’s Cacao Reserve chocolates, a box of Triscuits, and a bag o’ chips) quickly out of the microwave and see there’s still a small horde of moths remaining all over the inside, clustered around a polyethylene bag of pistachios (I buy those in bulk… or used to).

So I did what any male would do… I slammed the microwave door shut, set the controls at two minutes and nuked the little bastards. I expected lotsa cool little sparks and such, accompanied by the (imagined) death cries of teeny-tiny moths as they met their moth-maker. But nope… all I got was the normal humming of the magnetron as it did its grisly work. No mini-pyrotechnics, unfortunately.

Two minutes wasn’t enough to kill all of ‘em, surprisingly. But I got 90% of the lil buggers and killed the remainder by the usual, customary, and expedient means of death by index finger… with extreme prejudice. I also had quite a mess to clean up inside the box… what with approximately 35 ~ 40 moth carcasses and a melted bag full of hot, inedible pistachios. Ten minutes later and the nuker is spotless, but I lost my appetite. All of the food (except for the pistachios) was moth-free, given as how it’s all in tightly-sealed containers, but the clean-up was pretty gross. Who knew pistachios served as a moth-culture medium? Not me…

And now you know the high points of my weekend, Gentle Reader. Well, there was some football, too. But I don’t wanna talk about it. {insert wistful smile here}

―:☺:―

Today’s Pics: Three pics taken on the grounds of the old Mission church in Abiquiu. Abiquiu is best known as the home of Georgia O’Keeffe in the later stages of her life but I think the mission church is worth the trip, all on its own. As always, click the pics for larger.

June, 2004.