Poor Purée

This title thang can't go on much longer, as there are very few options in this space and I may have exhausted the two available.  I'm open to suggestions, should you have any.

It's official:  I am now an IE9 kinda guy, totally.  Dude.  I was running IE on the desktop and Firefox on the laptop, but FF has this annoying habit of locking up from time to time for no apparent reason and nothing... repeat, NOTHING... seems to cure that, even a full system reboot.  So, we've shown the fiery lil fox the door.  Welcome home, Mr. Gates.

One thang that does annoy me about IE, though: no built-in spell checker.  I'm in the running for Typo King and I'll miss FF's squiggly red underline when my fingers miss the correct key.  OTOH, there may be add-ins available for IE.  We will look when motivation gets high enough.

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I've taken to leaving a large pot o' water simmering on the stove of late for to increase the relative humidity indoors; that works and works well.  I also "season" the simmering water with powdered cloves, which gives the house a nice fresh smell and serves to hide other odors that MIGHT tend to incriminate me should the landlord or his designated representative pop in.  The downside is the pot is devilishly difficult to clean, given powdered cloves leave one hellaciously tenacious residue in the pot.  It took me 20 minutes and one half of an SOS pad to get that job done this morning.  There's a price for everythang in this life, I suppose.

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No outdoor Happy Hour today.  It's warm enough but the wind she is howling.  Literally.  I documented said howls here, if'n you don't believe me or have forgotten.  It's not a pleasant experience to sit on the verandah in that sorta wind.

So... it looks like our pot is poured.  It's a slow day at El Casa Inmóvil de Pennington.

Not to Flog Dead Draft Animals...

... but there's this, from the Usual Source:

And there's more than a lil bit o' truth there, too.

Po Poury

We're just in from runnin' the day's errands and I almost put the top down for today's journey about town.  Almost, but not quite.  It was 57 degrees outside when I set out and my threshold for al fresco motoring is 65 degrees.  Close, but no cigar...

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Part o' the day's errands was to stop by the Super-Save for to re-stock the larder.  I noticed the in-house tortilla factory was in full swing when I arrived and politely inquired of the tortilla ladies if I might could snap their picture?  "Why certainly!" was the reply, after a semi-suspicious inquiry as to what I was gonna do with the photos.  I told the ladies they were gonna be blog fodder and then had to explain exactly what a blog is.  (sigh) The Younger Generation is supposed to be "with it," except when they're not.  But... herewith the Tortilla Girls:

It turned out that one photo wasn't enough, the young lady on the left insisted I take another pic of her and her co-worker... so, bein' the cooperative sort I AM... I obliged.  They wanted to see the results and exclaimed "¡Oh! ¡Qué bonita!"

Verdad.

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I've never served on a jury.  But that doesn't mean I haven't been summoned to serve and I received another such summons from the Good People of Polk County, Texas in yesterday's mail.  I made a phone call this morning to the county clerk to politely inform her I was no longer a resident of her fair county but before I could get the words out of my mouth she said to just ignore the summons seein' as how I was an Escapee.  Which is par for the course.  I've received three such summons during the past ten years and was always excused, given the fact that Escapees (the name of my RV club, headquartered in Livingston, Texas) are almost always somewhere other than Livingston.  I was somewhat wistful during our conversation when I realized this particular phone call was prolly the last item on my relocation agenda and the last remaining tie to the RV life.  Once again: sigh.

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And now I think it's time to crack a beer, head out to the verandah, and finish the cigar I lit when I set out on my errands.  It might have been too cold for top-down motoring but  it ain't too cold for beer drinkin' on the verandah.  In proper attire, of course.

I'm Glad THAT'S Over...

... but not as glad as Iowans.  I have an ol' AF buddy who lives in Iowa; he e-mailed yesterday and said he unplugged his land-line because of all the robocalls.  It ain't really over, we're just changing venues with barely a week's respite until we do it again.  But at least Red Eye is on tonight.

I'm almost resigned to Romney, btw.  Santorum is as flaky as Gingrich but without the brains.

And Now For Sumthin' Completely Different

Heh.  Yeah... what DID happen to The History Channel?

Fireworks

If you like fireworks you should LOVE this... it's SPECTACULAR in full screen, 1080p HD!

It's a funny-strange thang, but I don't recall fireworks on New Year's Eve... at least on this scale... when I lived in Ol' Blighty.  The Beeb usually put their cameras in Trafalgar Square to capture the crazies cavorting in the fountains.  The Second Mrs. Pennington and I talked about goin' down there (T-Square) on New Year's Eve and joining in but we never did pull THAT trigger.  Good sense prevailed, thank The Deity at Hand.

It's Still 2012

And speaking of the New Year... the Beeb has a short slide show of New Year's Eve pics from all over the world, these bein' my two faves:

The clocks make the photos, don't they?  I have serious trouble believing the Rooshians partied in Red Square sans wodka.  But then again, I heard alcohol was banned in Times Square,too.  What's this world comin' to?

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The holidays have been hell on blog traffic here at EIP.  Note:

Paradoxically, December was our best month ever...

I dunno what happened but we came within a tick of doubling our visits and page views compared to December 2010.  And I thank you for your patronage!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Indeed

I'm just in from running the day's errands and it's a pretty nice day outside...

December 31st?  A 70 degree forecast?  I'll take it... along with an outdoor Happy Hour.

I Love This Stuff

Ten minutes that make ya pause, think, and marvel...

I remember the historical events in the first part of this video, at least the stuff that begins about the time Sputnik was launched.  I also remember somewhat more vividly the mystique and aura surrounding our satellite reconnaissance capabilities during the '70s and the '80s, mainly because I worked on the technical side... on the periphery... of the spy business during that time.  The surveillance satellites discussed in the video played a VERY large part in putting me out of a job, actually, given the fact the ground-based monitoring systems I worked on did the same sort of work at a much higher cost and produced significantly inferior results.

The thing that REALLY blows me away, however, is the fact these satellites and their supporting infrastructure were designed and deployed in the 1950s and 1960s, without the benefits of either internet or massive computing capabilities.  Ain't that SUMTHIN'?

h/t:  This article in The Atlantic.

Potpourri

I threw out the remains of Christmas dinner today (see: left), which was about half of a three and a half pound brisket.  There wouldn't have been NEAR that much left under normal circumstances but I overcooked the damned thang to the point where it was tougher than a dog's chew toy.  My dinner guest, to her everlasting credit, said "it's fine" when I complained/apologized for the quality of the meat and she even went back for seconds.  The cook really appreciates that sorta thang, yanno?  Even if we know in our heart o' hearts the girl was stretching the truth a wee bit.

So... the brisket went, after one episode of reheated leftovers and one episode of homemade Reuben sammiches, the latter which weren't TOO bad, given I shredded the slices of brisket to near baby food consistency.  The veggie remnants (the best part o' that meal) were consumed in their entirety on Boxing Day.  With great relish.

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I've noticed there are at least two ads currently running on the Fox News Channel for devices that prevent snoring.  What I want to know is why ALL the testimonials come from MEN.  Seriously... BOTH ads feature perky women complaining about their husbands keeping them up at night until such time as they purchased the product bein' flogged, with one particularly egregious example showing the Snoring Husband bein' banished to the couch.  I suppose wimmen don't snore in teevee land, but I'm here to tell ya that ain't true in the Real World.  I've shared a bed with a couple o' wimmen in the past that would give a Weyerhaeuser mill serious competition in the noise department... so much so that I went and slept on their couch.  Willingly.  Out o' necessity.

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And then there's this in the "Not Your Father's Air Force" department:

Bod Pod Battle: The 50th Space Wing at Schriever AFB, Colo., has introduced a new twist to the age-old New Year's resolution of losing weight and getting in better shape. The wing's "Bod Pod" competition will pit squadrons against each other in a battle to cut body fat. Beginning on Jan. 1, participants will have two weeks to step into the Bod Pod at the base's health and wellness center to get their body fat measured. The machine, which resembles a giant egg from the outside, uses air displacement to calculate body density and body fat. Once measured, airmen will have until late March to tone up before entering the Bod Pod once again for final measurements to determine the winners. "We really want to encourage airmen to start the New Year on the right foot by learning exactly where their body fat numbers are," said Christopher Woodruff, Schriever's HAWC health promotions educator. He added, "Body fat, when in reference to health, plays a big roll." (Schriever report by SSgt. Patrice Clarke)

Two thangs:  First and foremost, you don't need a freakin' Bod Pod (I love THAT term) to know if you're fat or if you need to get in shape; what a tremendous waste o' money that is.  Second, it's ROLE, dammit.  Don't make me come down there...

A Miserable Excuse for a Post

Well, OK.  Only because Sunny ain't got any new stuff.

And there's this...

Coz it's that time o' year.

Pretty Cool

"Our Way of Life"

Well... yeah.  There's one very brief overhead view of an arena in this vid where 20,000 people rise to their feet as one, arms in the air, cheering, after a goal is scored.  I've been there and seen... done... that and there's damned few sights in life that compare to that spontaneous spectacle.  There are times when I sure do miss Detroit and The Joe.

h/t:  The Usual Hockey Source.

More From the In-Box

Lotsa stuff in there this "morning," most of it delete-key fodder.  Like this:

I've never had a subscription to the NYT, unless you count the four month Sunday-edition Christmas gift subscription I got from a buddy back in '96 or '97.  The NYT must really be hurtin' if they're sendin' stuff like this out.

And then there's this:

I've never bought anything from Amazon's herbs, spices, and seasonings department but I DID click on a link to 25 Tahitian Vanilla Beans in an old post by Blog-Bud Andy.  Amazon NEVER forgets... that's pretty scary, sometimes.

From my daily Townhall newsletter... there are new political cartoons at the Usual Source, this among them:

You might wanna watch Monday's video again.

The Usual USAF Source reminds me where I should be at 1430 hrs today:

Go Falcons!: The Air Force Academy Falcons host the University of Toledo Rockets Wednesday in the Military Bowl at RFK Stadium in the nation's capital. ESPN will air the football game nationally at 4:30 p.m. East Coast time. "The game is all about the men and women of our military and raising support and awareness for the USO, so having a military academy represented in the Air Force Academy versus an exciting, high-scoring Toledo Rockets team is great for our game," said Steve Beck, Military Bowl president and executive director, in a release. The Falcons, members of the Mountain West Conference, finished their regular season with a winning 7-5 record. They are making a bowl appearance for the fifth consecutive year, a school record. The Rockets, from the Mid-American Conference, finished their season with eight wins and four losses. This marks the two teams' first meeting. (See also the academy's game notes; caution, large-sized file.)

OK, it ain't a BCS bowl.  So?  

The Air Force game is only an hour from now; I just poured my second cup and haven't even begun to make the blog-rounds.  I'm upside down again, sleep-wise, and to further complicate things it's a nice day outside (55 degrees!) and there are errands to be run.  I don't see how I'm gonna get everythang I wanna do done... sumthin's gonna have to give and it might be the football game.

Update, 1430 hrs:  This:

I deleted that, too.

Another Update

I KNOW all y'all are just dying to know how the election turned out, right?  I mean I've been inundated with off-line communications asking just that question.  Well, sorta.  Well, not at ALL.  But that's beside the point, coz I'm gonna tell ya anyhoo.  Here it is:

With Sunday liquor sales approved by voters on Dec. 13, businesses serving alcoholic beverages are already in the process of turning in their applications for Sunday liquor licenses, according to Portales City Clerk Joan Martinez-Terry.

[...]

Cattle Baron Manager Richard Chambers said he believes Portales has more to offer people and this is one way of bringing more to the community.

He said the Sunday liquor sales will also bring more jobs to the community.

“Vines will be open on Sundays now, so that’s going to be a whole other day they weren’t open before and they are going to have to hire new people and I’ll have to hire new people as well,” Chambers said. “I think it’s great for Portales that people won’t be driving to Clovis to eat and have a glass of wine or beer. There aren’t a lot of eating options here, so it will be good for the community.”

That last bit is oh-so-true... we don't have a lot o' dining options.  One other thang you should know: the vote was 311-278 in favor of Sunday alcohol sales.  It was a near run thang, but P-Ville has been dragged... kicking and screaming... into the 21st century.  Well, sorta.  You still can't buy beer on Sundays at Wally-World or anywhere else (except at Cannon Airplane Patch), for that matter.  One small step...

Slow

An update... Last week I posted a lil blurb and a photo about the last military flight out of Iraq and there was some discussion in comments about the troops on that aircraft... like "did they make it home for Christmas?"  Well, one of the guys or gals on that plane dropped by EIP last evening and left this comment:

said...

You will be happy to know, though we were delayed in Kuwait for a couple days, everyone on that last flight made it safely home for Christmas. Thank you all and I hope you had a very Merry Christmas.

 Welcome home, Sir or Madam... and thank you.

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It sure is a slow week... the Usual USAF Source is taking the week off, there aren't any new political cartoons at Townhall today, the Guardian didn't publish their favorite vids last Friday, and blog traffic is down.  But there's this, which you've prolly already seen since there were over a million Facebook shares and it was on Red Eye:

I think the ending is cool... poetic justice if there ever was such a thang.

Cue Up Tevye

As in... Tradition!  Blogging tradition, that is.  This year we'll just post a link to our UCR Boxing Day post.  If you've read it, you've read it and if you haven't?  Well, do what ya think is right.  Here's a pic from the sometimes-revised story to whet yer appetite:

To quote myself: "That's SN1, The Lovely Miz Lynch, and YrHmblScrb at a world-famous pile o' rocks, the pic which just might have been taken 20 21 years ago today."  That's not entirely true, it would be more like 21 years ago the day after tomorrow.  I spent Boxing Day of 1990 partying in London.

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We wound up with a White Christmas after all.  It snowed lightly ALL day yesterday but the temp stayed stuck at 32 degrees or just slightly above until nightfall.  The upshot was we got about a one inch accumulation after sunset, with wet streets and patches of snow prior to that.  We were completely white when I got up this morning but it's melting off rapidly on its way to 40-something degrees.  Still and even: prettier than it sounds.

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I saw this Christmas Eve but didn't wanna ruin Christmas by posting political shit.  After all, Christmas IS a time of peace on earth and good will toward men, and that would include Young President Barry.  But this is pretty good...

Yeah... I've used the theme from Masterpiece Theatre to play the pompous ass myself.  Perfect!

Merry Christmas!

M E R R Y  C H R I S T M A S

God Bless Us, Every One!

Santa Update II

Santa's biggest challenge in Amsterdam might be understated.  Or flat out wrong... keeping Rudolph away from those other red lights might be right up there on the challenge list, too.  I found that to be true.  But I DID enjoy the architecture; that's why I went.  That and other cultural opportunities.

My server at The Bulldog, c. 1999.

Santa Update

I'm surprised the PLA Air Force didn't shoot him down.  Or detain and accuse him of bein' a Runnin' Dog Capitalist spy.  I guess New Capitalism does mellow ya.  Somewhat.