Heh

No further comment required.  And in the same vein:

I like this Asay guy! 

Winter is REALLY Here

"Here" in the time sense and not the geographical.  We're not looking bad on The High Plains of New Mexico (45 degrees and clear as the proverbial bell)... but the East Coast is getting its collective ass kicked:

A large swath of record and dangerous December snows to reach 10 to 15 inches or more are already burying major cities in the Mid-Atlantic and will soon take aim on southeast New York and southern new England.

The heaviest snows are forecast for northern Virginia including Washington DC, Maryland including Baltimore, and the Delaware Valley including Philadelphia where one to two feet of snow are possible.

So... I've been watching The WX Channel while making the blog-rounds this morning and the weather-pundits are acting like Christmas is here a week early.  Nothing new there, of course.  Severe weather is their raison d'être, innit?  

Well... As Long As We're Doin' Videos...

There's "YouTube's 100 Greatest Hits in Four Minutes:"

Kinda cool except for the soundtrack, which I muted about 15 seconds in.  I'd already seen most of these as well, which says more about my current quality of life than I'm comfortable with.  I know, I know: "Change it, then!"  Easy for YOU to say.  OTOH... I prefer to think I'm just a well-informed, up-to-the-minute, in-touch-with-teh-teknologie kinda guy... yanno?

Heh.  Back to Happy Hour, already in progress.

I Got Nuthin'

Well, except for this (caution: lotsa F-bombs and various other unpleasantness):

Jesse Ventura might be a former SEAL and a former governor but he's also a world-class asshat.  And what prompted me to post this lil bit of unpleasantness, you may ask?  Ah, just a lil sumthin' blog-bud Morgan put up today, which fired off my synapses.  I saw an abbreviated version of the above on Red Eye a few nights ago.

You could have had a re-run, yanno?  Which might have been better'n this, at the risk of flattering myself.  Or not.

Beer me!

Wanna Guess...

... what we're doing right now (OK... a couple o' few minutes ago, anyhoo)?  Here's a clue:

Today is one of those days that make living on The High Plains of New Mexico worthwhile.  Which is to say it's a most beautiful day, indeed.  The sort of day that makes sitting outside with a cigar and a suitable libation... in this case a couple o' Fat Tires... almost mandatory.

Our windows are open wide and we're being entertained during Happy Hour by the five-cent profundities of Van Morrison, the Allman Bros, and various and sundry other rock 'n' roll philosophers.  Which, of course, brings back memories of Former Happy Days, interspersed with ruminations on the perfection of nature's architecture... made all the more evident by the skeletal form our trees have taken on in winter. 

That... and thoughts about "who are those people and where are they going?"  I don't think it's where I'm thinkin' it is or might be... coz the direction is all wrong.  But that doesn't mean the occupants of that aluminum tube streaking along in the ether so far above me can't make a connection once they arrive at LAX, does it?  I prefer to believe they ARE heading off in this direction, as it suits my fantasy at the moment:

"Sounds so sweet with the sun sinkin' low..."  Ah... an objective, to be sure.  Soon.  Very soon.

Cool. WAY-Frickin' Cool.

Sent along by a friend... Video of a German RC model SR-71, complete with jet engines, retractable landing gear and as pretty a sound from a model as you'll ever hear.

Anyone who has ever had the opportunity to watch a Blackbird take off will appreciate this video.  Hell, anyone and everyone who has even the slightest affinity for aircraft will appreciate it!  Amazing.

What Passes For Excitement These Days

I happened to see this lil event Tuesday morning on my way to the dentist's office.  From the Portales News-Tribune:

Police say an 88-year-old Portales woman was taken to Roosevelt General Hospital for observation Monday after her runaway car crashed into the state Motor Vehicle Division building and continued across several lanes of traffic.

Around 10 a.m., Minnie Fulton, 88, left the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Department on Avenue O, and her 2003 Ford Taurus possibly malfunctioned, Deputy Chief of Police Lonnie Berry said.

“It could be a malfunction with the vehicle, or it could be something that she caused, but it is not known at this time,” Berry said.

Fulton’s car brushed the motor vehicle building, Berry said.

“It was really minor damage to the building and her vehicle,” Berry said.

Berry said Fulton, still accelerating, went through the parking lot between the Bird’s Nest Sandwich Shop and Classic American Economy Inn and crossed one lane of U.S. 70, striking the median.

Her vehicle became airborne when crossing the other lane of U.S. 70 and hit the curb, stopping between U.S. 70 and the railroad track, said Berry.

If I would have been about a minute earlier the woman would have tee-boned me, as this happened about 300 yards in front of my car.  I looked on in amazement as the woman's car came blasting out of the parking lot at about 60 mph, crossed two lanes of traffic, struck the median (getting airborne in the process), continued across the highway and into the field before it came to rest after striking the railroad track embankment.  

I feel bad now that I know it was an 88-year old woman inside the car.  No one else stopped, either... and I was one of three vehicles that witnessed the event.  But... one never knows.  This easily could have been a car-jacking gone bad. 

I did manage to entertain Dr. Thompson's waiting room and staff with the description of what I witnessed, however.  It seems everyone in P-Ville needs a lil excitement once in a while.

Today's Happy Hour...

... began on the verandah, attired thusly:

My trusty A2 provided enough warmth to get through the first beer... but we only did one such outdoors before retiring to the interior warmness of El Casa Móvil De Pennington.  It was barely 60 degrees outside this afternoon and there's precious little warmth in the sun these days.  So... back inside for the second and subsequent beer(s).  We began with a Mothership Wit before we moved on to a Blue Moon.  It seems like Wit Bier is appropriate today... I dunno why.  Mayhap because it tastes good; screw the "less filling" bits.

Heh - Seasonal Edition

In the "you might have... probably have...  seen this" category:

Be sure to stick around until the very end.  Ain't technology grand?

In the "Time Marches On" Category...

Great-grandson Taurean turned two yesterday.  I received the formal second birthday portraits last evening from Mom Amanda and wowzers! ... are they ever cute!  A sample:

Dontcha love the hat?

Major cuteness is a family trait when it comes to SN2 and DIL Alisa's offspring... witness this collection of newborn Taurean snaps with Aunts Ava and Angelina.  It's hard to believe that was only two short years ago.  Time does fly, indeed.

Heh

I saw this lil clip on Fox News this evening... and sure enough, the video is available for sharing at NBC's web site.  Stay with this to the end, if you watch it.  From The Tonight Show:

Truer words never spoken.  It's GOOD to see the networks going after The One's sorry ass.  Obama may have the last laugh coz his policies are screwing us beyond belief but in the meantime...

I Let This Slide By...

Two days ago... (this piece from Examiner.com)

All across the U.S. from Arlington National Cemetery to Sacramento Valley California 350 locations will honor and remember the fallen soldiers on December 12th 2009. Richmond is no exception. Richmond National Cemetery honors the fallen soldiers by participating in Wreaths Across America. For more info on Wreaths Across America click here.

I usually remember this event... and here's what I put up back in 2007:

Wreaths Across America

A few days back this week, blog-buddy Kris posted a story (with pics!) about Wreaths Across America. Kris had a special connection with Wreaths Across America, as her Mom was at the send-off event in Harrington, Maine (Kris’ Mom was in Belfast, ME). The wreaths arrive in Washington DC tommorrow, and the placement ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery is scheduled to begin at 0900 hours this Sunday.

The Arlington wreath-laying ceremonies are scheduled to commence at 9 a.m. Dec. 15, culminating with a nationwide ceremony and moment of remembrance at 12 p.m. All Wreath Across America participants nationwide will adorn veterans' graves with remembrance wreaths concurrently with the Arlington celebration at 12 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

The Civil Air Patrol, USAF’s civilian auxiliary, is participating in this project in a big way:

12/7/2007 - MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFPN) -- Veterans' memorials and gravesites across the nation will be adorned with remembrance wreaths on Dec. 15 in stirring, solemn tributes to the courage and sacrifice of those who have guarded and preserved the nation throughout history.

Through Wreaths Across America, Civil Air Patrol members join with Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine, in remembering the nation's departed veterans. CAP units will lead 132 of the 268 observances this year, and will participate with other color and honor guards in approximately 25 additional locations.

This year, for the first time ever, members of the public sponsored placement of 16,500 wreaths on veterans' graves across the U.S., with more than 4,000 of those sponsored through CAP. These wreaths will be placed during ceremonies in all 50 states. Worcester Wreath Co. donated 15,644 wreaths, 10,000 of which will be placed at Arlington National Cemetery. In all, 32,144 wreaths will adorn cemeteries and memorials through Wreaths Across America.

After a sendoff ceremony Dec. 9, the 10,000 remembrance wreaths designated for Arlington will make a 750-mile journey from Harrington, Maine, and arrive in the D.C. area Dec. 14. The route will become perhaps the longest veterans' celebration ever as patriotic Americans, veterans groups and other local organizations plan to show their support for the project with parades and ceremonies at more than 20 stops along the way.

Kudos to everyone involved in this special project, but most especially to the Worcester Wreath Co.

Wreath photos: (U.S. Air Force photos/Master Sgt. Jim Varhegyi)

The top photo above has become iconic, and rightly so. 

―:☺:―

While we're on about Christmasy things... there's this from 2007, as well:

Dark Days

This is a hard post to write…mainly because it will be perceived by some as whinging, although it is most assuredly not that. This is also neither a “cry for sympathy” nor a plea for “I feel your pain” sorts of comments.

It simply is what it is: a statement of fact. Some of us get depressed during the holidays. A lot of us, as it turns out. Google it if you don’t believe me…you’ll get about 133,000 hits (ed: 265,000 in 2009) on the subject. The search term I’ve offered up is just one variation on many potential search terms, as Google will kindly suggest other terms that yield even MORE hits. A google blog-search, on the other hand, yields significantly less returns (approx. 11,774) and the great majority of those links have to do with the ins-and-outs of “beating” or otherwise curing the depression. Precious few accounts exist of living with it, but I only went four pages deep into the blog links. This is something we rarely discuss in the first-person, mainly because it’s uncomfortable for us (both of us: sender and recipient) to do so and, ultimately, it IS the holidays, after all. We should all be decking the halls and such. This isn’t the time to be unhappy. Quite the contrary: tis the season to be jolly!

What set me off down this lil path was reading Lex’s “tidings of comfort and joy,” which had something of an opposite effect on YrHmblScrb. On the one hand, I can SO relate to Lex’s tale of domestic bliss, the joys of tree shopping, tree-decorating, and holiday familial togetherness, because, well…I’ve had my share. But the hand I’m currently playing is completely lacking in these simple joys and I wish it were not so. Emphatically.

Christmas, to me, is all about the kids…and the grand-kids. Speaking as a father of a ten year old, it pains me greatly not to share Christmas with my youngest son as it “should be,” which is to say: as a family. I’m also reminded that, as the patriarch of what is becoming a rather large extended family, Christmas would likely as not be celebrated in my home with said extended family if things had worked out in the manner I wish(ed). But as you can well imagine, Gentle Reader, it does one absolutely no good… no good at all… to wish for things that can never be. Still and even: how do you block these thoughts, exposed as we all are to “tidings of comfort and joy” at this time of year… whether it’s in a blog post, a stroll through the mall (enduring the never-ending, sotto voce [or louder] Christmas carol Muzak), or in the messages that bombard us 7x24 on the small screen? Answer: you pretty much can’t.

So. We endure, those of us so afflicted. We smile, we wish our friends “Merry Christmas,” we go on about our lives as best we can, we conceal the sadness beneath the surface of our merry faces. And a great many of us wish nothing more than to be left alone during this time. It is a true fact (to YrHmblScrb, at least) that happiness experienced during the holidays cannot be shared unless both parties are of a like-mind. It does me no good to be wrapped in the warm embrace of another’s good cheer if I’m not feeling it. Selfish? Perhaps. But once again, Gentle Reader, it is what it IS. And no amount of effort on your or any other sentient being’s part will change it. Best just to leave it alone. Because in the end the sadness passes along with the holidays…for most of us, at least.

I’m done unburdening. I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas…and I mean it. Consider yourself blessed if you’re having happy holidays. As Lex suggested:

Another one of those moments, another of those days that I would have preserved in amber if I could, and kept someplace safe. To bring it out like the phial of Galadriel - to be a light for me in dark places, when all other lights go out.

I kinda-sorta thought I'd dodged this particular bullet this year, yet here it is... right on schedule (I put the post above up on 12/17/2007).   Once again: this too shall pass.  It always does. 

For Andy (In Seattle)

Happy Hour is GOOD today...

That's one of the the Ashtons, specifically the Number 40 Maduro.  And a 2 Below.  Thanks, Bud... you're the BEST.

What? Another Re-Run?

Yup, 'fraid so.  From right around this time three years ago, give or take four days or so.  I dunno if Dear Arianna is still flogging hybrids, but I strongly suspect that might be the case.  Anyhoo... I was sufficiently amused/incensed/outraged to pen this...

Pious. No, Excuse Me! I Meant Prius...

I fell asleep last evening as I usually do: watching the Tee Vee. I had never allowed a television in my sleeping quarters, ever, until I moved into El Casa Móvil De Pennington. As a matter of fact, there was an extended period in my life, from around 1973 until 1980, when I didn’t own a Tee Vee at all, let alone have one in the bedroom. But that was then, this is now. Now you know one of my more embarrassing little secrets. And I digress, of course.

The Tee Vee was tuned to C-SPAN2 last evening and I fell asleep watching some nerdy type give a dissertation on the brilliance of General Sherman’s Civil War strategy. A dose of Ambien or Lunesta couldn’t have put me to sleep faster. But there’s a downside to falling asleep with the Tee Vee on: you wake up with the damned thing on, too. And sometimes you wake up —this is especially true when watching C-SPAN2 on the weekends— to raving freakin’ moonbats. And such was the case this morning. A woman by the name of Eve Ensler was going on about the wonderfulness of her life-long journey of self-discovery and the most-important lessons that all the rest of us, especially if we happen to be womyn, should learn from her experience. I immediately changed the channel and set about making the coffee and doing all that other stuff I do upon awakening.

I sat down at my desk as the coffee was brewing and absentmindedly thought “Who is Eve Ensler, anyway? The name sounds familiar…I should know her.” So I googled her. Oh, yeah. That Eve Ensler, she of “Vagina Monologues” fame. Founder of V-Day, and blogger at HuffPo. Suspicions confirmed: Moonbat, First Degree. I followed one of the google links to her HuffPo blog and saw the little pic above. I clicked it, being as how it looked more interesting than Ensler’s ravings. And I laughed, coz here’s what I saw…

First, there’s Arianna herownself, going on about how it’s patriotic to drive a Japanese car, with no sense of irony at all.

Then there’s Nora Ephron and Bill (ptui!) Maher, the former who says she doesn’t really need a car (she lives on Manhattan's Upper West Side, after all) yet she bought one, anyway; and the latter who informs us in only 20 words that driving a Toyota is all about self-preservation.

And finally, Larry David makes the only honest statement on the page, although I’m certain it’s an attempt at humor:

Or a tip o’ the hat to that wonderful South Park episode on the subject: Smug Alert.

At any rate, it’s just all too, too precious, ain’t it? The whole “limousine liberal” meme is pretty tired, and most everything that should have been said on the subject has already been said at least a hundred times. Still and even, it just makes me laugh. If I were in the same financial boat as Arianna or Maher, I’d own one of these:

A rompin’, stompin’ 500-hp M5. Screw a whole bunch of Priuses Piouses.

The last sentence is still true three years on (the link above is dead... but this one works).  We tend to practice what we preach here... or we would, if we had the wherewithal... even though we drive a Japanese car.  No smart-ass remarks, please.  (insert big-ass grin here) 

Contrary To Popular Belief...

... strong men DO cry.  Click for larger.

From an LA Times photo essay. More "Photos of the Year" here.

Overdrawn and Overplayed, For Starters

I like this:

There's just one lil problem with the image: MY bank won't give me any more money if I'm overdrawn.  The gub'mint doesn't have that lil problem, tho... they can always raise the debt ceiling and print more money.  Which they're doing, to our everlasting detriment.  This is NOT a good thing.  Some pundit uttered a sentiment about our Congress recently, to the effect of "Just STOP, already.  Don't do anything else.  Just Go Home!"  I couldn't agree more.

―:☺:―

It's the time of year when the retrospective lists start coming at us from every direction... except it's worse this year, seeing as how popular misconception has it we're closing out the first decade of the 21st century (we're not; that's next year).  Yahoo! has an interesting list... if'n you're into that sorta thing... of the most popular Yahoo! search terms of the Oughties.  It's chock full of links to interesting things, as well.  Like this:

The terrorist attacks on Sept 11, 2001, left a nation stunned, mourning and looking for answers. No one will ever forget the horrific images of airplanes crashing into the World Trade Center's North and South towers, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. In the days and weeks that followed, people turned to the Web to find timelines of what happened, photos and videos of the attacks and information about who was responsible. Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida became household names.

Eventually, people began looking for sources of inspiration and healing. Images of the twin towers falling were replaced with one of ground zero's "Tribute in Light." Online memorials and dedications to the 2,976 victims became places of remembrance while people the world over searched for ways to help victims and their families. Iconic moments from "Saturday Night Live" (Lorne Michaels: "Can we be funny?" NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani: "Why start now?"), David Letterman and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" gave people a reason to smile again.

I'm not a Jon Stewart fan and I don't watch The Daily Show, preferring to get my "news" and sarcasm from other sources.  But, that said (and I had to say it, yanno?  "Never miss a chance to get a shot in at people you don't like" is my motto.) Stewart's post-9/11 soliloquy was eloquent and well-said (Dept of Redundancy Department). There's lotsa other good stuff at the article link, as well.

Yet More Petty Thievery

Stolen from Blog-Bud Morgan, who got it from Rick... Miss Alaska and the Trekkie-In-Chief (I struggled for a suitable title/honorific here) read excerpts from one another's autobiographies on The Tonight Show... which is funnier than it sounds.  Really.  Palin's appearance is a staged "surprise."

Hmmm.  This might be La Palin's best teevee appearance to date; I was impressed.  But I've seen Shatner do better in any number of different settings.  Just sayin'.

Cool

You know how some (most) commercials absolutely, positively make ya dive for the remote - objective: mute button, and right NOW?  Well, this ain't one of 'em:

I LOVE this ad... I actually turn the danged teevee UP when it comes on.  Which, of course, makes me wonder: why can't ALL ads... I'd settle for half of 'em, actually... be captivating, intriguing, or otherwise engaging?  Why must 97.2% of the damned things be obnoxious?  Making a pleasant commercial just has to be one of the hardest things to pull off in a modern society.  Obviously.

That said... I won't buy a Kindle until the price comes down by at least half.  But I like the ads.

Today's Feel-Good Moment

At the check out line in Wally-World:

"Thanks for shopping at Wal-Mart.  Merry Christmas!"

Yep.  It's good to live in fly-over country.  We got a "Merry Christmas" from one of these guys, as well... both coming and going... along with a big smile when I dropped a lil sumthin in the kettle.

And now to continue with our Feel-Good moments... Happy Hour on the verandah, for the second consecutive day.  Yes!

The Triviality of Daily Life

An Ol' Fartism:  So... it came to our attention that Lady Gaga was named Number Two on  Baba Wawa's 2009 Most Fascinating People list and being the curious sort we are we went looking for one of her songs/videos.  Turns out that "Bad Romance" is currently Numero Uno on Viral Vids top 20... the 30-day list (this link will not age well).  We watched it.  We were amused.  But... if the test is "would you pay real money for this woman's music?" my answer would be "no."  Lady Gaga kinda-sorta resembles a modern day Cyndi Lauper to these eyes, but then again... I'm not exactly into MTV any longer or most any/all pop culture phenoms.  There was a time... but its expiration date has long since passed, being something like "best by 12/15/1997." Just sayin'.

And while we're sayin'... gimmee a call if Lady Gaga ever does something like this:

Poignant, innit? Not to mention being a great tune...

―:☺:―

I placed a trouble call/complaint with our local Comcast cable teevee office (yes, there is a local number... answered by a real, live human bean who actually lives and works here in P-Ville, not in Mumbai, Bangalore, or some other exotic location) about the quality of my HD service late last Friday afternoon... or more specifically the lack of quality: the transmission freezes randomly and sometimes just quits altogether.  The Comcast tech was prompt in returning my call, leaving me a voice mail this past Monday which I didn't receive until Wednesday because I had stuffed my cell-phone in a coat pocket and forgotten I'd done so.  Getting old... with its associated memory lapses and unexplainable quirky actions... sucks, but we digress. 

So.  It seems like things were fine down at the office, but can we come out and check your cable, your cable box, and associated other stuff?  Sure, sez I... c'mon down.  The appointment was made on Wednesday afternoon for 1300 hours yesterday and The Men From Comcast, two each, spent at least an hour and a half in and around El Casa Móvil De Pennington yesterday.  The two techies identified various and sundry issues and resolved same, including swapping my cable box out for another one with a proven track record.  They were also surprised that I wasn't receiving the full complement of HD channels I'm paying for... promptly fixing that lil problem and assuring me I'll get a credit for the channels that had somehow gone missing.  And yes, I had noticed those channels had gone missing but assumed they were part of an expanded service offering, what with there being at least 15 different levels of available service, and me choosing the least expensive out of all of 'em, being the cheap-ass sort I am.  Bottom line: Stuff works fine now.  No further issues.  Yays!  Oh.  One more thing... Am I pleased with Comcast's service?  Yes, I AM.

Another revelation: the cable box also contains a DVR, which was 55% full of programs and movies recorded by its previous custodian... along with programming instructions to record the entire content of The Cartoon Channel (I exaggerate only slightly), every CSI program known to man, all Cops episodes, Family Guy, and numerous other shows... "numerous" being severe understatement.  It took me a full half hour to delete all the scheduled events and clean the DVR of previously recorded krep.  But we are now free from the tyranny of teevee schedules and can record every episode of Red Eye for viewing at a more convenient time, which means I will now be able to retire anytime before 0200 hrs.  This is a Good Thing.  Well, it will be once I figger out how to program the damned DVR... and there is no instruction manual.  But Hey!  I used to be a techie in a previous life, so I suppose this isn't a Big Deal compared to maintaining big-ass high powered radar systems.

Famous last words.