If This Is Saturday...

... then it's Viral Vid Day.  Style guide tips from The Economist...

Sigh.  Nothing about my favorite: loose vs. lose.  Loosers, all of 'em.

―:☺:―

In other news... the sun came up this morning, surprisingly.  And the playoffs go on, albeit without the Beloved Wings.  I've been reading post-mortems most of the morning and they're mostly predictable... the Wings need to re-tool and/or re-build; they're finally getting old; there was a lack of depth; injuries took their toll; the Preds were younger, faster, and all that.  Yadda, yadda, yadda.  And we are now officially on Lidstrom Watch.  Will he come back?  Will he retire?  Who knows?  All will be revealed in due time.

And now it's time to watch the Bruins and the Caps.  Life goes on...

Congratulations, Nashville Predators...

... on your second-ever playoff series win.  Nashville 2, Detroit 1.  Nashville wins the series, 4-1.

Oh BOY! And Broadening, Episode XLVI

We're just back from a run down to our local Beer Emporium and lookie here:

Abita is back in stock.  O Happy Day!  We shall now broaden our horizons with a new-to-me Restoration Pale Ale.  My day just got a lil bit brighter.

Live Or Die

Tonight could be the last game of the season for both the Flightless Birds and the Beloved Wings.  But I don't think it will be... those cold-climate birds are playin' at home and still hold home ice advantage.  And they're pretty fired up after the beat-down they put on the hapless Flyers night before last... winning 10-3... which looks more like a football score than a hockey score.  And the Wings are still the Wings, even if they're playing in Nashville.  I look for both teams to survive this evening, although the odds are most definitely against them when it comes to winning the series.

The first round of these playoffs has been most interesting, what with five teams... the Sharks, Blackhawks, and Canucks, in addition to the above... digging themselves into a 3-1 hole.  Truth be told: I hope ALL of 'em lose their series, except for the Wings.  We have NO love at all for any of 'em; it's history where the 'Hawks and Sharks are concerned and just simple contempt for the Canucks.

―:☺:―

Speaking of no love at all... Small-Tee and Seattle Andy were goin' off on ESPN and the state of sports on teevee in general the other day.  I read those comments and thought I was pretty pleased with the teevee coverage of hockey.  The announcers are generally pretty good, they know their hockey, and there's little or no schmaltz involved... just informed play-by-play announcing and pertinent hockey facts.  But there ARE some things that bug the sh!t outta me about watching hockey on teevee.  In no particular order...

"Chelsea Dagger" at the United Center.  I ALWAYS mute my teevee when Chicago scores in Chicago.  I never wanna hear that fuching song again.  Ever.

That annoying electronic "chink-CHINK" sound in the Shark Tank that escalates in pitch and intensity as they announce a goal and the assists.  Mute, once again.

Watching the Avs play on Altitude.  Altitude has annoying pop-up ad banners on the lower portion of the screen during the game that are terribly distracting.  A pox on them and the bid'nizes that buy those gotdamned ads.  Altitude also has the WORST in-house announcers, by far.  Lame.

The siren at Verizon Center when the Caps score a goal.  Somebody call the cops.  Please.

EVERY gotdamned overly-dramatic rink announcer who acts like this is the very first time anyone has ever heard a player's name... dragging out the name syllable-by-syllable while using exaggerated voice inflections that would embarrass a normal human being.  Old-time shouting used car ads on teevee are/were more enjoyable than those asshats.

I'm sure there are more but these are all that come to mind right now.

Oh.  Almost forgot:  LGRW!

RIP, Levon Helm

From CNN:

A statement from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted Helm in 1994, called him the backbone of The Band.

"As a member of the one of the most influential rock and roll groups, The Band, Levon Helm produced music that was as much timeless as it was timely," it said. "In the late 1960s and early 1970s when the country was divided, The Band still projected a sense of unity and brought generations of fans together from all over the world."

Helm had a voice unlike any other in rock music: definitively Southern, soulful and gritty, an oak-barreled whiskey that sometimes went down with a fiery kick.

Levon Helm... dead at 71.

RIP, Levon... and thank you for all the good times and memories.  You are released.

Bragging Rights

From the Usual USAF Source...

Squared Away: The Air Force's honor guard won the hard-fought Joint Service Honor Guard Drill Competition at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. "I think this was one of the best performances I've seen from our guys in the last two years," said competition judge MSgt. Nathan Todd. USAF's drill team beat out honor guards from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine during the April 14 competition, an annual event. Despite breaking a drill rifle midway through the team's exhibition drill routine, "their bearing was not broken and their training propelled them to victory," added Todd. "We trained for anywhere from eight to 12 hours a day specifically for this," stressed honor guard member SrA. Christopher Martinez-Hernandez. "We put in a lot of hard work." (Washington, D.C., report by A1C Daniel Burkhardt)

So much for that tired old saw about the Air Force not being "military."  I think that captain... and the leaders of the other honor guards/drill teams... has Big Brass Ones to walk through a line tossed rifles tipped with flashing bayonets.  BIG ones.  Congratulations, USAF Honor Guard.

Photo credits: U.S. Air Force Photos/Senior Airman Perry Aston.  As always, click to embiggen.

Updated:  Video (at some small college in Loosy-Anna which supposedly has some expertise in football.  Or so I've heard.).

Pretty Cool

And literally, at that.  It looks pretty cold up there in Lapland, actually, but let us not digress.

There are more northern lights time lapses here, here, and here.

―:☺:―

We sure don't have a lot to say of late.  I'm thinkin' that might be because I'm just a tad bit too comfortable, content, and unchallenged.  Well, "unchallenged" in the sense that I don't have any real big issues or problems in my life at the moment.  I've always been challenged in other areas... like mental acuity, looks, and romance.  Minor issues, yanno?

Stick a Fork In 'Em... They're Done

It'll be an all-too-short post season for the Wings, what with dropping back-to-back games at The Joe and going down 3-1 in the series with Nashville.  The Wings have to win the next three games... two o' which will be played in Nashville... to advance.  That's pretty much Mission Impossible, unless Pekka Rinne gets struck by lightning and half of the Preds' defense corps develops terminal cerebral palsy in the next 24 hours.

Tonight's game was ALL Wings... and all Rinne... until the  third period when Nashville took a 2-1 lead on the absolute WORST defensive play I've seen the Wings make all damned year, or mebbe even in my entire freakin' LIFE.  This:

Lidstrom, White AND Hudler all chase the puck carrier and Howard seems mesmerized, gets way the Hell out of position and leaves his net wide open.  An open net, a beautiful pass to the late man... two of 'em, take your pick... and Nashville scores the game-winning goal on a seriously BAD defensive play.  Broke my frickin' heart, they did.

Broadening Our Horizons XLV

It's been nearly a month since we tried a new brew... well, except for our trip to Kansas, where we quaffed more than a few of the local Boulevard brews (and they were TASTY, indeed)... so we were intrigued when we saw sixers of this in Wally-World today:

We bought us one, as you can plainly see.  The Bros think this beer is only average; I think it's a very well-done Summer Ale: very refreshing, very dry and hoppy, but with some very slight sweetness that appeals to my palate.  I could see me knockin' back a few of these after I mowed the lawn, assuming I had a lawn to mow.  Given as how I DON'T have a lawn (and we are semi-grateful for that fact), I guess I'll have to make do by having a couple on the verandah, along with one of those tasty Cafe con Leches from Drew Estate.

Mmmm, mmmm, GOOD.

I Kinda-Sorta Agree

It's all Secret Service, all the time at the Usual Source for political 'toons and this is arguably the best of the lot...

The guy prolly wasn't spending federal funds, except indirectly... assuming you believe his (their?) salary (ies) are federal funds.  Which they are, but I really don't get what all the brouhaha is all about... we'd be in a constant state of angst if we got upset every time some gub'mint dude hired a hooker. 

―:☺:―

 
And from the Usual USAF Source...

We'll Leave the Light on For 'Ya, But: The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers claimed victory against the Air Force in its quest to free the US military of policies that it purports promote religion. This time, the atheists' group was upset over the fact that guest rooms in Air Force lodgings have a Bible, something the group contends represents "a special privilege for Christianity." The Gideons provide these Bibles. The atheists' group said it successfully pressed the Air Force to remove the requirement for a Bible from its lodging accreditation checklist. Michael Dickerson, Air Force Services Agency spokesman, confirmed to the Daily Report that, upon a legal review, the agency concluded "there is no requirement" to have a Bible included in the lodging checklist. A revised checklist will take effect in Fiscal 2013, he said. However, "the Air Force has not directed the removal of Bibles from Air Force Inns' lodging rooms at this time," said Dickerson. "We continue to review the situation and weigh our multiple First Amendment responsibilities and obligations." The atheists' group responds to what it claims are "insensitive practices that illegally promote religion over non-religion within the military or unethically discriminate against minority religions or differing beliefs." Thank God for that.

Heh.  I had no ideer there was a military atheists group.  And they're freethinkers, too!

Awesome

The pre-game festivities at The Joe yesterday...

Ah, they do it RIGHT in Dee-troit.  Too bad the Wings lost the game...

My Muse! Wherefore Art Thou?

So, we have next to nuthin' yet again.  Just one small item... it IS small indeed and prolly only of interest to a very limited audience, like ME.

We had that young lady over for dinner last night... the languid languisher of recent scribblings... and her reaction was semi-predictable, as in: "you COOK?"  Why is it that wimmen are always surprised and/or think we men are clue-free when it comes to culinary thangs, the sole exception bein' our expertise at preparing Burnt Offerings outdoors?   I should add that the lady was suitably impressed, so it's a case of "Mission Accomplished," at least as far as last night's limited objective was concerned.

The subtle campaign continues.

This Is Just Wrong.

A Wings game at 1000 hrs on a Sunday?  Seriously now... I just now poured my first cup, really.  I also set my alarm phone for 0933 hrs this morning just to make SURE I didn't oversleep.  There's sumthin' terribly wrong about watching hockey and drinkin' coffee rather than beer.  But it is what it is... and what it is is a 2-1 series lead.  I can feel it comin'.

LGRW!

Update, 1300 hrs.:  I hate Pekka Rinne.  Hate, HATE, HATE the man.  He's a helluva goalie, though.  Preds 3, Wings 2.  Shots on goal: Wings 43, Preds 22.  Sometimes it bees that way... I think this one's gonna go seven.

My EYES! (In Two Parts)

My eyes!... Part I, as in dust, if I were to go outside.  Note the wind speed and gusts.  We haven't posted a lot about the WX of late and that's because we've had a run of exceptionally great weather for this time o' year... until today.  You can see it's warm outside, but the wind she's a howling.  That WILL keep me indoors, unfortunately.

My eyes!... Part II, as in Aiiieee!

Thank The Deity At Hand those folks are fully clothed.  I thought long and hard (heh) about posting this (TMI, anyone?) but then I figgered What the Hell... why not?  This CAN be construed as a public service, if nothing else. 

The thang that intrigues me is the quoted increase in STDs among my cohort.  I've read similar stuff elsewhere (and oh-so-briefly considered moving to The Villages as a result, if only for the opportunities what's in it) but I haven't encountered any hard numbers.  Still and even a 71% increase is a LOT... unless you're talking about a baseline that begins at ten cases and increases to 17.

I Got Nuthin'

Wait.  There's this...

This is mostly about travel, which I suppose is the usual vehicle for breakin' out, right?  Would it surprise you to learn I've got most of the tee shirts in this vid... with the exception of Africa?  So if we HAVE the tee shirts, do we need to buy more of the same?  I've been struggling with this concept for about eight years now (ever since my passport expired) and haven't arrived (heh) at an answer.

And then there are all those bon mots from the famous and not-so.  I particularly liked the one from Eleanor Roosevelt... "Do something that scares you every day."  That's why I go to Wal-Mart.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack... and More Randomness

I'm just in from a run out to the base, the second in as many days.  Well, the second this week, anyhoo.  I discovered the scotch supply was nearly exhausted night before last and we killed it off in its entirety last evening.  Ergo: a resupply run.  It was a great day for it, too.

So... we pulled up to the gate at Cannon... top down, Stones blasting but quickly turned down, and cigar in hand... whereupon the gate guard took my ID and casually remarked "Now here's a man who KNOWS how to enjoy a great day!"

"Yup," sez I, "life is GOOD."

"I can see that," sez he, "enjoy the rest of your day, Sergeant Pennington."

I love it when those guys address me by my long-expired title.  But we ARE "still serving," as it's said.

―:☺:―

We were "Rolling Stoned and Beatled 'til we're blind" on our recent road-trip, to quote Paul Simon.  Which means we loaded up The Green Hornet with our complete catalog of re-mastered albums from both groups, which we listened to when we weren't doin' the NPR thang.  I loves me some NPR, with a couple of notable exceptions... the first bein' the SUPREMELY obnoxious Garrison Keillor and the second bein' the equally obnoxious (or more so) Amy Goodman and her liberal moonbattery on "Democracy Now!"  Yecch.  So... we turned to our CDs when both of those programs came on.

Which was a long-winded way o' sayin' that "Exile On Main Street" is still in our CD player, as we speak.  We put this tune on repeat for the entire 30-mile round trip out to Cannon Airplane Patch and back:

I'm the man who walks the hillside in the sweet summer sun.
I'm the man that brings you roses when you ain't got none.
Well I can run and jump and fish, but I won't fight
You if you want to push and pull with me all night.

Give me little drink from you loving cup.
Just one drink and I'll fall down drunk.

I feel so humble with you tonight,
Just sitting in front of the fire.
See your face dancing in the flame,
Feel your mouth kissing me again,
What a beautiful buzz, what a beautiful buzz,
What a beautiful buzz, what a beautiful buzz.
Oh, what a beautiful buzz, what a beautiful buzz.

Apropos o' not much... we've had this tune stuck in our head since about 2200 hrs last evening, specifically the lyrics quoted above.  That's because we spent the night in the company of a beautiful young woman who languished on my love seat until the wee smalls this morning... and I could not get those lyrics and THAT set of images out of my head.  Our beautiful evening ended when the lady said "I'd better get home, otherwise I'm gonna fall asleep right here on your couch."  Which was almost the perfect opening.

Let me say this about that: I was SO tempted to... well, you know.  But I didn't, simply because I feel it's unseemly to put a move on a woman who's young enough to be my daughter or mebbe even my granddaughter, if only technically.  I'm havin' different thoughts in the cold light o' day today... thoughts along the lines of "missed opportunities."  And "faint heart ne'er won fair lady."

Sigh.  BIG-ass sigh.  Beer me! 

Yup

Hilary Rosen: yet another dumb-ass Dim-o-crat distraction.  One of the best comments I read on this teapot tempest came from Iowahawk:

David Burge ‏ @iowahawkblog

Ann Romney: Nancy Kerrigan. Hilary Rosen: Jeff Gillooly. Barack Obama: Tonya Harding.

Again: yup.

Hero

From the Usual USAF Source:

Crawford Awarded Air Force Cross: Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz awarded Capt. Barry Crawford the Air Force Cross—the second highest honor for valor in combat—during a Pentagon ceremony Thursday. "It's not hard to be utterly impressed by his bravery and inspired by his selflessness," said Schwartz of Crawford during the ceremony, which recognized Crawford's extraordinary heroism in Afghanistan on May 4, 2010. Crawford was a special tactics officer assigned to an Army special operations unit and its Afghan partners. The commandos were operating that day in a completely denied area east of Kabul known to be sympathetic to the Taliban. Almost immediately after entering a village, the commando force came under fire from more than 100 highly trained insurgents hiding out in the mountains above. During the more than 10-hour battle, Crawford repeatedly put his life on the line to save his US and Afghan comrades. Two Afghans died and three others were severely wounded, but "given the skill and aggressiveness of this enemy," the casualties easily could have been higher, noted Schwartz in praising Crawford. Crawford said he was "deeply honored" and "extremely humbled" not only by the "magnitude of the award," but also by the overwhelming support he's received. He specifically acknowledged the handful of Army special forces soldiers who served with him that day who attended the ceremony. "This award is an individual award, but I consider it much more than that. It's our award," said Crawford. "Everyone was valiant. Everyone was heroic. Thank you so much for being my true friends, my brothers." Crawford also received a Purple Heart during the ceremony. For the full account of Crawford's heroics, read Caught in the Crossfire.

—Amy McCullough

More here and here.

The Playoffs Begin

Betcha thought I was gonna let that slide right by, dint ya?  Heh... fat chance.  So, three games last night and two out of the three teams I favor in last night's games won.  The Wings, unfortunately, weren't one of those teams.  I really do believe the officiating was a contributing factor in last night's loss.  Speakin' of...

The league's two least-penalized teams took 14 penalties last night, which is more than one usually sees in three or four playoff games.  The Preds couldn't convert on six power play opportunities (including over a minute of 5-on-3 time) and that speaks more to the efficiency of the Wings PK than anything else, in my mind.  The fact remains that penalties break up the rhythm and flow of the game and affect both teams' momentum, not that Nashville had anythang that looked even remotely like momentum after the first period... but the Wings did.  It's also an unfortunate fact of life that garbage goals and fluky goals count just the same as a goal from a well-executed play.  But that's hockey.

The thing that hurt the most last night was losing Darren Helm for the rest of the playoffs due to a freak accident in the first period, where tendons in his right arm were cut by a Nashville player's skate.  Losing Helm WILL affect Detroit's penalty kill and the power play and that sucks more than losing the game by a single goal.

So we're down 1-0.  No big deal... I liked the way the Wings played last night.  Nashville is gonna have to get a whole helluva lot better to win this series... they're not gonna be able to rely on luck and garbage for all seven games.

LGRW!

Random Notes

First of all, this:

Not me... I pay the bastards sumthin' nearly every year.  But (a) let's not flog dead draft animals and (b) I'd take the gas, were it me.

―:☺:―

This is interesting:

Longer Fifth Generation Horizon: The Air Force needs to "look hard at its timeline" for acquiring an all-fifth generation fighter fleet, and maybe accept a fourth generation-plus force for a longer period, said retired Gen. Ron Fogleman, former Chief of Staff, Wednesday. "We shouldn't give up on being a fifth generation Air Force. I think we just need to change the horizon," he said in an address sponsored by AFA's Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies in Arlington, Va. Fogleman said he's worried that the Air Force has essentially placed "all its eggs in one basket" by embracing the F-35 strike fighter "so completely." He said: "I have no doubt that someday the F-35 will be a marvelous airplane." But "I don't think our Air Force can wait" until then. He said he doesn't think the Air Force will ever buy the F-35 in the numbers it has planned (the program of record is for 1,763). "That's the first thing that nobody will admit, but it's kind of a universal truth," he said. "As soon as" F-35 unit reductions come, the aircraft's "price is going to start going crazy," asserted Fogleman. By the time it becomes obvious in about eight to 10 years that the F-35 plan won't play out, "it will be too late," and the production lines for "several pretty good legacy fighters"—the F-15, F-16, and F/A-18E/F—will be shuttered, he said. "They'll go dead about the time that we wake up," he said, noting that he'd "like to set an alarm that says we ought to wake up a little earlier." The Super Hornet should be in the potential mix even though "heaven forbid, the Air Force would ever buy a Navy airplane," said Fogleman.

—John A. Tirpak

That's from the Usual USAF Source, of course.   Gen. Fogelman is correct... one need only look at what happened to the drastically reduced F-22 buy to see what's in the cards for the F-35.  It's the same scenario but with bigger federal financial issues in play (it's the deficit, dummy!).  But Dang, General... USAF flyin' a NAVY fighter?  Have ya lost your mind?

―:☺:―

 

Remember back in February when I was whining about ruining my rather expensive stock pot?  Well, Occasional Reader Deborah said this about that:

Invest another $2 and buy a gallon of white vinegar. Pour the entire gallon into the pot and fill it the rest of the way with water (filtered water, if possible). Bring it to a boil, slap the lid on it, if it has one. Let it set for 24 hours, then try cleaning it again. The vinegar will dissolve and break up the calcification; it should come clean with a little scrubbing.

I did exactly that yesterday and the pot came clean, completely and totally, with almost no scrubbing.  This is all the more amazing since I basically quit cleaning the pot after I bought a new one... we're talkin' about two months of calcification here.  But I now have two... count 'em, two... eight quart stock pots.  Thanks, Deborah!

―:☺:―

 

It's mid-April and I still don't have a 2012 calendar on my wall.  I'm beginning to think I really don't need one... except for the fact that it bugs the Hell out o' me to see December 2011 every time I stand at the sink.  I prolly should take the old calendar down and just be done with it. 

―:☺:―

 

I cleaned house yesterday and thought seriously about breakin' out the tripod and taking a few pics o' me vacuuming, dusting, changin' the bed, yadda, yadda.  I was gonna use 'em in a new EIP feature titled "Pr0n For Wimmen" mainly because we know how wimmen are.  I still might do that.  There won't be any cross-dressing, though.