It Just Kinda Fits Today

Well, you're drunk in the alley, baby
With your clothes all torn
And your late night friends
Leave you in the cold grey dawn
Just seemed too many flies on you
I just cant brush them off

Angels beating all their wings in time
With smiles on their faces
And a gleam right in their eyes
Thought I heard one sigh for you
Come on up, come on up, now
Come on up, now

May the good lord shine a light on you
Make every song you sing your favourite tune
May the good lord shine a light on you
Warm like the evening sun

We're not in any of the above spaces today... physically. But the tune has been going through my head... can you say "earworm?"... ever since I woke up this morning. We're kinda-sorta pondering why this is and haven't arrived at any answers yet. But we've most definitely had worse earworms in the past. This one is better than most.

Bric-a-brac

Yesterday I had another installment in my Adventures in Modern Dentistry, but this time it was kinda cool: LANAP.

After LANAP, most patients experience new root surface coating (cementum) and new connective tissues (periodontal ligament) formation (collagen) on tooth roots, preventing tooth loss. Pocket depth reduction is excellent and comparable to that achieved by conventional resective osseous or pocket reduction surgery, but without the gingival recession normally associated with osseous surgery. Significant post-operative reduction in gingival indices, gingival inflammation, and bleeding on probing are also desirable results of LANAP.

The patient experience is also generally positive. As LANAP is tissue-sparing and contrary to the old fashioned resective paradigm, patients enjoy a smile with minimal post-operative recession and attendant disfigurement or root sensitivity. Minimization of post-therapy gingival recession also reduces the future risk of root caries/dental decay of the tooth root. Through the natural analgesic biostimulatory effects of laser irradiation, patients usually have minimal post-operative discomfort. This discomfort is easily controlled through the use of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (over the counter NSAIDs) such as Ibuprofen.

Laser-assisted new attachment procedure (LANAP) is head and shoulders above the alternative treatment for gum disease… by which I mean the traditional cut 'n' stitch slash approach… most specifically in its after effects. I've had the old slash and burn bit done two or three times and it ain't fun, Gentle Reader. Oh no, not at all. Recovery from that experience is measured in weeks, not hours or days, and there are on-going after-effects (like root sensitivity) that take a year or more to resolve. My biggest issue with LANAP was waiting for the anesthetic to wear off, which took a good four hours. My second biggest issue is the fact we cancelled Happy Hour yesterday and will probably do so again today. I'm thinking cigar smoke probably isn't a good idea after surgery… even laser surgery. And me with a new shipment of Big Dirt Torpedoes, too. (Sigh)

Well, we might have a beer or two this afternoon. We'll just dispense with the cee-gars. It's been done before, albeit not often.

―:☺:―

Speaking of coolness… in both the literal and figurative sense… Here's a short video from the Discovery Channel on how ice is made… at a hockey rink. And I find the process rather fascinating. But I would, ya know.

h/t: Kukla's Korner

―:☺:―

Well… there goes the housing market here on The High Plains of New Mexico… (from the usual source of these sorts of items)

Accommodating the Buildup: As Cannon AFB, N.M., continues to grow into the Air Force Special Operations Command's second hub of operations—along with Hurlburt Field, Fla.—the desert base is expected to run out of on-base dorm rooms and housing units by around the end of the year for the new throngs of arriving airmen and their families. So reported KVII TV news of Amarillo, Tex., last week. And, according to the news station, leases for off-base housing will end in 2012 or 2013. Together, these two factors are causing the Air Force to reach out to the city commission of Clovis, N.M., which is near the base, to seek assistance in dealing with the pending housing dearth. The commission is reportedly going to mull options.

This means THPoNM might be one of the very few housing markets in America that could be considered a "sellers market." I may (or may not) have mentioned at some point in the past I've been entertaining buying another house, particularly since Cannon Airplane Patch survived BRAC and looks to live longer than I will. And it certainly looks like I missed my window of opportunity in this space. While housing prices around here won't begin to approach California levels… even in the post-real-estate-collapse market… they will escalate beyond "real" value. In other words, we shall have our own "mini-bubble." It'll happen: supply and demand. Works every time.

―:☺:―

Today's Pics, Self-Indulgent Division: Well, Hell… Virtually ALL my pics are self-indulgent in one form or another. But today I'm posting the full-sized, unedited version of the pic I use on both my Blogger and Twitter profiles, plus an outtake from the same session.

Both pics were taken at an RV park just outside Oklahoma City in the Spring of 2000 (in April, to be exact). Note the old technology… which is to say humongous… cell phone sitting on the picnic table. And speaking of old technology, both pics are first-generation digital pics... taken with my old one-megapixel Kodak point and shoot, with a quality commensurate with the age.

These pics were taken back in the day when the view from the verandah changed on a frequent basis… like every week or so… sometimes more, sometimes less. It all depended on how much fun I was having wherever I happened to be…

Cheesy Videos XI: No Scotch on the Verandah Tonite!

We had some pretty heavy weather here on The High Plains of New Mexico this evening. Here's a view of the storm moving in:



And here's a view of intense rain on my bathroom window:



And here's the aftermath, sorta:

I say "sorta" coz Ma Nature is still making a lot of noise and there's LOTS of rain to the east of us. The rainbow happened during a lull in the action. I love this stuff.

You might be reading/watching tomorrow's post today... yanno?

Heh

A friend sends this along...

Yow. That IS remarkable, innit? (Y)Ezhov is a relatively obscure Rooshian, but here's what The Wiki sez about him, in part:

Yezhov was known as a determined loyalist of Joseph Stalin, and in 1935 he wrote a paper in which he argued that political opposition must eventually lead to violence and terrorism; this became in part the ideological basis of the purges. He became People's Commissar for Internal Affairs (head of the NKVD) and a member of the Presidium Central Executive Committee on September 26, 1936, following the dismissal of Genrikh Yagoda. Under Yezhov, the purges reached their height, with roughly half of the Soviet political and military establishment being imprisoned or shot, along with hundreds of thousands of others, suspected of disloyalty or "wrecking". Yezhov also conducted a thorough purge of the security organs, both NKVD and GRU, removing and shooting many officials who had been appointed by his predecessors Yagoda and Menzhinsky, but even his own appointees as well. He maintained that it was worth having ten innocent people suffer rather than letting one spy get away. (Miscellaneous links removed)

Well, Dang! The similarity doesn't end with appearances, does it?

Here... or Hair-Ray

Google thinks I live in France. No shit:

I normally never specify a place when I create these sorts of reminders for my calendar (in this case it's a reminder to pay my credit card bill), but this time I entered "here," just for grins and giggles. The above is a screen-shot of the result. And the place is basically In The Middle Of Nowhere, France, as well... in a burg named "Here." I suppose that would be pronounced "Hair-Ray." Or some such.

Heh. Next time I'll specify "There."

Sorry...

... but I seem to be getting political again. Wazzup with that, I wonder? To answer my own question: I'm thinking the general sense of anger abroad in the land is infectious — at least I seem to have caught it, anyway. And so has C-SPAN Washington Journal caller Leah from New Hampshire, who let go with both barrels (just hit play; it's under four minutes):



I used to be a real Washington Journal junkie over the last few years, and most especially in the run-up to the election last year. But I've been off it of late... mostly because of my upside-down sleeping habits (the program begins at 0500 hrs local). That said, I also found myself hitting the mute button on a lot of callers in the recent past. Leah, on the other hand, is unlike most Journal callers in that she's organized, succinct, and above all: passionate and truthful. We're rapidly reaching a point in this country where we're ALL fed up with the gub'mint, and MOST especially our congresscritters. (Not mine, though... all three are Texas Republicans, and not one is named "Ron Paul." Or "Sheila Jackson Lee," for that matter. Nuff said?)

"Interesting times." Yes, indeedy.

h/t: Ed Morrissey at Hot Air.

―:☺:―

One more item of a political bent... General Merrill McPeak (former USAF Chief of Staff, 1990 - 1994) in yesterday's WSJ:

High-end conventional war is characterized by the clash of industrial forces. It’s armored, mechanized and increasingly air-power centric. Few are equipped by training or temperament to understand the phenomenon, especially as it concerns air warfare, a relatively recent aspect of the human experience. (In this regard, Saddam Hussein had plenty of company.) But the bottom line is that in high-end conventional war, neither our Army nor Navy can be defeated unless someone first defeats our Air Force.

For high-end conventional war we’ve built an Air Force that, for now, is virtually unbeatable. Anyone looking at our air-power capabilities knows there is little hope they can concentrate conventional forces for decisive engagement of our Army or Navy. We will track them and pick them to pieces. When Saddam Hussein tried us on for size in the early-1990s, the ground war was a four-day walkover that followed the initial 39 days of aerial combat.

So today, no one in his right mind wants to fight us in a conventional war. Many are saying this another way: that we have no “peer competitor,” that there is no threat of high-end conventional war. I wouldn’t bet the ranch on that, but, if it is so, it is a desirable condition and one that didn’t happen by accident.

[...]

The future air combat capabilities we should build are based on the F-22, a stealthy, fast, maneuverable fighter that is unmatched by any known or projected combat aircraft. But the F-22’s production run may soon come to an end at just 187 planes, well short of establishing the fleet size we need. After all, it’s expensive, and getting more so as the number contemplated has been repeatedly reduced. In an argument they seem to think makes sense, critics say the aircraft has no worthy opponent—as if we want to create forces that do have peer competitors.

It’s been more than half a century since any American soldier or Marine has been killed, or even wounded, by hostile aircraft, a period roughly coincident with the existence of the Air Force as a separate service. Even during the Korean War—the Air Force’s first engagement wearing new, blue uniforms—enemy air attack was primitive and rare. The main air battle was fought along the Yalu River, just as in Vietnam it was fought over Hanoi, and in Desert Storm, over Baghdad. Our guys on the ground had hard work to do, but when they looked up, they saw only friendly skies.

For the life of me, I can’t understand why we should wish to change this.

Way t'go, Tony! Attaboy! In one fell swoop you've nearly (but not quite) erased the world's greatest, all-time and forever "Aw Shit." I'm referring, of course, to the fact General McPeak was a national co-chair of "Obama For President." Now THAT'S an "aw shit" of epic proportions, innit? But good on him for going against The Boss and advocating for the F-22. Not that it'll change anything... I think The Fat Lady done finished singin'.

―:☺:―

Apropos of nothing... SN1 will be disapproving, if not appalled, by my familiarity in the above paragraph. Yet again. I asked him in one of our discussions Friday evening if he'd happened to catch Tony Zinni's appearance on Charlie Rose this past week... specifically, Zinni's opinions on Afghanistan and more specifically, Kandahar (to summarize Zinni: "Kandahar is the most dangerous place in Afghanistan at the moment."). All I got was a quizzical look in return and a "Who's Tony Zinni?" "Only the retired CENTCOM CinC," sez I (actually I said "former Commandant of the Marine Corps," but I was wrong. First time ever.) "OH!" sez he... "GENERAL Zinni! I'm not in the habit of calling four-stars by their first names."

Heh. I guess I've been away from the military way too long. But it has been nearly 25 years now... Still and even, I guess I was being a bit cheeky. But you know damned well that if I ever should meet General Zinni in the flesh I WILL address him as "General." Yes, Sir!

―:☺:―

Finally: On this day in 1675 – The foundation stone of the Royal Greenwich Observatory, today the basis of the Prime Meridian, was laid in Greenwich, London. How 'bout that? Rule, Britannia! (from The Wiki, of course.)

Astroturfing

We were gonna take today off (in the blogging sense) since we (a) got an incredibly late start today due to an incredibly sleepless night and (b) just coz everyone needs a day off every so often. But I just can't resist this... click for larger:

Of course, this all has to do with Madame Pelosi's comment about the insurance industry "astroturfing" all the health care town-halls and the like where real people happen to turn up with real questions. Astroturfing, my ass.

But then again... as many folks have noted in many other spaces on these here intertubes... it's a standard liberal ploy to accuse your opposition of doing just what you yourself are doing. Or have done... see the "my ass" link above. And thanks to commenter ManlyDad at Lex's place (August 9th, 2009 at 12:32 pm) for the image link.

Found...

... while checking out a link to a link in comments on that water-slide vid at Lex's place. More fake stunts, but this one is way-cool:



Now just imagine being a passenger on that train were this REAL.

Apropos of Nothing

I mentioned in comments SN1 is in town, bedding the family down before he heads out to Kandahar. We fixed the world for quite a while last evening whilst sitting on the verandah knocking back more than a few barley pops and assorted other adult beverages. Some of last night's remnants:

I'll spare you a view of the empties, Gentle Reader. And yes, I feel fine today.

A Lil Light Reading for a Friday Afternoon...

That's a screen shot from memeorandum, date/time as noted in the upper right-hand corner (click for larger). The reddish links are things I've read, the blue yet-to-be-read... but I probably won't read even half of this stuff. I'm just killing a lil bit o' time waiting for SN1 & Co. to arrive so we can begin Happy Hour... which has been seriously delayed. I'll have to counsel the boy about punctuality once he arrives. But we digress.

You'll note from the headlines in the image that it is getting VERY ugly out there. Assaults. Intimidation from union goons and thugs... and that's from our friends on the Left. Wasn't it supposed to be the conservatives who were/are the mob at these town-hall meetings? I won't be at all surprised if I read about riots in the coming days and weeks...

Ugly.

Another Stolen Bit...

Via Lex, who posted the link with the pithy post title "Math," followed with an oh-so-accurate summation: "It really is important." And that was it... all, end of report.

Heh. But that IS way-cool, no?

Further...

Remember The Smoking Hot Cigar Chick I posted the other day? Well... here's a counterpoint:



Kim is... ummm... much more like it, no? And by "it" I mean "down to earth." That's my Bud Tim on the right (I use the term "Bud" loosely, but he takes great care of me). As a matter of fact, I got off the phone with him about five minutes ago... after ordering a box of these:

They should be here on Monday, accompanied by another five of those Nica Libres. My cigar consumption rate has gone through the roof now that summer is here. Well... that's not entirely true. It's only doubled... from one to two. Sometimes three. What the Hell... life is short, and getting shorter.

Twitter Still Down?

It looks like it... at this writing... coz what you see on the right is what I see in my G-Mail box.

This was a BIG DoS attack... from a Russian hacker. From CNet News:

A Georgian blogger with accounts on Twitter, Facebook, LiveJournal, and Google's Blogger and YouTube was targeted in a denial-of-service attack that led to the sitewide outage at Twitter and problems at the other sites on Thursday, according to a Facebook executive.
The blogger, who uses the account name "Cyxymu," (the name of a town in the Republic of Georgia) had accounts on all of the different sites that were attacked at the same time, Max Kelly, chief security officer at Facebook, told CNET News.

[...]

Twitter was down for several hours beginning early Thursday morning, and it suffered periodic slowness and time-outs throughout the day.

[...]

In the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the sites, computers that have been compromised by viruses or other malware are instructed by the attacker's computer to visit the specific Web sites all at the same time and repeatedly. The barrage of connection requests overwhelms the target sites, making it so that legitimate Web traffic can't get through.
Such coordinated attacks require the efforts of tens of thousands or more of hijacked computers, which together form a botnet. Spammers send e-mails with malicious attachments or URLs to millions of people to create botnets. Criminals also can lease existing botnets for specific campaigns for as little as 5 cents to 10 cents per bot.

Facebook and YouTube were hit, too. I dunno about Facebook (I deactivated my account a couple of months ago) but I had no trouble with YouTube yesterday. I still can't log in to Twitter, though.

MUCH more at Techmeme, including how Google was impacted by the DoS attacks. There must be 50 different articles on this subject. And you thought Twitter was just a toy, didn't you? (/snark)

Update, 15 minutes later: I reloaded G-Mail and TwitterGadget came alive. Twitter was probably up all along... it's me that's the twit. Heh.

Today's Funny

I've not had any comment on the "Birther" (or lately: Nirther, whatever the Hell THAT means) phenomenon here at EIP... but I've dropped comments on the subject at the few political blogs I still read... and they (political blogs) are indeed few and far between these days. That said... I agree with folks who say Birthers ain't doin' nuthin' but making Republicans/conservatives look like a bunch of mouth-breathers without the sense God gave a pissant. Just frickin' stop it, already... there are other, bigger fish to fry.

And about political blogs, in general: at some point in time I might post a rant on this subject, but it would be hard to top... or equal... what some of my daily reads (most especially Andy, Daphne, and Alison) have said on this subject in recent days. This "same ol', same ol'" boring crap from both the left AND the right just ain't good for your health, yanno? But it seems to be worse on the right, who appear much more adept at... and prone to... flogging dead horses than I would have believed possible. I never thought I'd say that...

And that was much more than I intended to say, come to think on it. I need a beer. (insert smiley-face thingie here)

Toon credit: the same, as always.

Update, 2100 hrs: Just in from an extended after-dinner whiskey session on the verandah... and I read this in comments:

Oh, Buck, please let us not fall into the trap of applying adjectives to other people's concerns. We live in America (some of it even a free state) and have the right to voice our views on anything. As for myself, were I in the unenviable position BO is, I'd haul out that real birth certificate and end the hue and cry. Only reasons I can think of that he doesn't? 1. It is not real. 2. Creating enmity instead of friendship is a goal of some.
But I'm going for a lager. The only I don't like is an unopened one.

Well. We can agree on the beer. But as for the other? I can think of at least two other plausible reasons The One doesn't want his birth certificate made public.

(a) Suppose Mr. Obama is a legal bastard? Which is to say his mother and father weren't married when he was born... wouldn't YOU want to preserve your dead mother's dignity? Especially in America, where one can easily imagine the hue and cry about a "love child" occupying the White House. This is NOT beyond the pale.

(b) To continue to give the Lunatic Fringe enough rope to hang themselves, as if they haven't done so already. But this approach, if it is indeed the case, is simply clever politics. And it seems to be working.

Those are just two plausible reasons. But, yes, this is indeed America... where one is free to believe whatever stupid shit one chooses to believe. Cases in point: there are hundreds of thousands of Americans alive today who fervently believe the CIA was behind JFK's assassination. There are tens of thousands of Americans who believe Dubya was behind 9/11. ALL of these people are asshats, but they are asshats who are free to exercise their right under the First Amendment to believe what they want to believe and shout it from the rooftops (or their blogs) if the spirit so moves them. As are the Birthers.

And I'm free to call it as I see it, too. IMHO ALL conspiracy theorists are... in general... asshats, the Birthers included. But I repeat myself to an extraordinary degree (it's the Glenfiddich, more than anything). YMMV.

That aside... it was a most beautiful evening under the stars here on The High Plains of New Mexico. Tonight's sunset was moderately spectacular, in that there was enough dust aloft after a day of exceedingly brisk winds to cast the most remarkable pink glow across the entire visible sky. The winds subsided enough around dusk to make an extended stay outdoors (which is to say: two whiskeys rather than the usual, customary, and reasonable one) not only desirable but almost mandatory. So we listened to our Inner Drunk and complied. And we're glad we did.

Just Poured My Second Cup...

... and I spent the entire time it took to drink my first cup (after answering comments) looking around on YouTube for the studio version of this tune:



... which (1) apparently doesn't exist and (2) is apropos to at least ONE comment made to yesterday's "Odds and Ends" post.

No we can't dance together
No we can't talk at all
Please take me along when ya slide on down...

In one respect: Heh. In another: still a favorite tune, on a favorite album.

It's a Celebratory Occasion...

... over at The Haven. So why dontcha drop by and wish Daphne a Happy Birthday? Stick around while you're there to read some... or a LOT... of her stuff. She's living proof that there are indeed rational folks living in Austin. And some of 'em are hellaciously GOOD writers, too. Get thee on over there!

A Few Odds and Ends... as Usual

Government medical care that works (from today's AFA Daily Report):

(Photo as captioned here) Three Air Force aircraft, together with multiple aircrew, aeromedical evacuation teams, and agencies from around the world, came together in late July 2009 to transfer a seriously wounded British soldier from Afghanistan to Germany so that he could receive upgraded medical care. The soldier arrived at Ramstein Air Base on Aug. 2, 2009, and as of Aug. 4, 2009, was listed in critical condition in a university hospital. Here, in another scenario, airmen prepare to offload patients from a bus onto a C-17 at Ramstein for transfer to the US for further medical treatment, April 21, 2009. Air Force photo by A1C Grovert Fuentes-Contreras

Just Another Day at the Office: Two Air Force C-17s and one C-130, along with multiple aircrews, aeromedical evacuation teams, and agencies from around the world, came together in late July to help save the life of a British soldier who was seriously wounded in Afghanistan. This soldier had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen and chest. Medical personnel determined that he had to be taken to Germany for upgraded care. Immediately, Air Mobility Command officials sprang into action to coordinate the complex task of the patient's move. "Not only did we have to find a plane and crew to fly the patient out of theater, but also we had to find another plane and aircrew to get the right medical personnel and equipment into Afghanistan because we needed specialized medical teams to care for the patient in-flight," said Col. John Martins, director of operations of the 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott AFB, Ill. Despite the Herculean challenge, the patient was on a C-17 heading to Ramstein Air Base within 22 hours of the first call for help. He arrived at Ramstein on Aug. 2, and as of Aug. 4 was at a university hospital in Germany in critical condition—but alive. "When you look at the requirements we had, its awe inspiring to see how many people will come together to save one life," said MSgt. Keyser Voigt, an aeromedical evacuation mission controller in the TACC. (Scott report by Capt. Justin Brockhoff)

That's one helluva story, innit? And very typical… God Bless our medics.

―:☺:―

Late to the party… (from yesterday's AFA Daily Report)

New Reaper Unit: Air Force Special Operations Command activated the 33rd Special Operations Squadron last Friday at Cannon AFB, N.M. The Clovis News Journal reported that day that the new unit will operate the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle, which is already playing an important role in countering the Taliban in Afghanistan and insurgents in Iraq. "This unit is more than ready to answer our nation's call to duty," said Lt. Col. Michael Bruzzini, the squadron commander, at the activation ceremony. He added, "The MQ-9 is an awesome platform, but it is these individuals that will make our enemies truly fear the Reaper." Bruzzini said the squadron's members spent six months getting ready for the activation, operating out of no less than five locations to learn Reaper tactics, techniques, and procedures and mold themselves into a cohesive fighting force. AFSOC already operates the 3rd SOS, an MQ-1 Predator UAV unit, out of Cannon.

I never made it to the party, actually. That's one of the problems with being retarded retired… The Cool Kids never ask you to their parties anymore. But occasionally you get to shoot the breeze with one of 'em.

Apropos of nothing… I've yet to see either a Reaper or a Pred in the skies over P-Ville or on the ramp out at Cannon Airplane Patch. They must be stealthy lil buggers.

Really apropos of nothing… There was a C-130 droning around overhead just before I shot "The Birds" last evening, and I thought ever-so-briefly about beginning the video then (you know: there are birds and then there are BIRDS). There was just one lil problem: the groundsfolks were also droning around on their spiffy John Deere, one lot over from me. I use the term "droning" in reference to the Deere loosely… "roaring around" would be more like it. Dunno what it is about guys and riding mowers… but I used to be the same way with mine. On the straights, of course. One always slows down in the turns and around the trees. If one has half a brain.

―:☺:―

So… I was looking at a Site Meter record and the google search that drove him to EIP… some guy googled "Nica Libre cigar reviews"… and I stumbled upon Teresa, aka The Smoking Hot Cigar Chick:

Whaddaya think? Hot? Or not? I'm of the opinion that women who smoke cigars ARE hot. Before you jump to conclusions… remember what Freud said: "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."

―:☺:―

Speaking of hot — Here's another in a series of occasional conversations with Sweet Young Thangs. So, there I was… standing in a line of two at the Local Liquor Mart, me and this twenty-something chica who… from all appearances… must have been one helluva swimmer (based upon my casual observation of her obvious lung capacity). We were waiting for the clerk to ring me up. I'd run out of single-malt Monday evening and didn't feel like making the 28-mile roundtrip out to the Class VI Store, and an adolescent bottle of Glenfiddich (a sprightly 15-year old) is actually about a fin cheaper than what Balvenie of the same age costs out at Cannon. Ergo, laziness (and expedience) being the Mom of Invention… there I was. Still and even, Glenfiddich ain't cheap. The stage is set.

She: Is that whiskey?
Me: Yup.
She: Is it good?
Me: Yup… most definitely.
She: Well, it should be… for the price!
Me: (winking) Darlin, when you get to be my age you don't cut corners on what few pleasures remain.
She: (Big-Ass grin)

Two things in play here… (1) I'm afraid I'm turning into one of those irritating geezers who play the age card at every freakin' opportunity. I HATE that, but I can't seem to help myself. (2) One of these days I'm gonna follow up on these smiles I get. Read as (substituting the following for my last response above): "Would you like to come back to my place, sit on the verandah and sample a couple o' fingers of this most-excellent whiskey?" Or some such.

On the one hand, I'm probably just an approachable, kindly old grandfather type... the most-likely scenario. OTOH, "nothing ventured, nothing gained"... as it's said. On the other, other hand... I'm not in the habit of writing checks with my mouth that my ass can't cash. That girl could've HURT me, and I mean that in the best possible way.

Cheesy Videos X: Birds

So... herewith a half-assed attempt at catching the daily Flocking of the Birds that occurs every evening here at Beautiful La Hacienda Trailer Park (and the ever-present reminder: best viewed in HD):



I say "half-assed" because my attempt at capturing this daily event was less than successful. While the birds don't quite "darken the sky" each evening with their presence, it's pretty danged close. One of the better aspects of this daily avian congregation is the cacophony of birdsong one hears. It's quite the experience, and very much something that falls into the "ya hadda be there" category. Nonetheless... it's somewhat apparent in the video above.

If you watch the video you'll note I said I was gonna go back into the house and pour my second whiskey of the evening... and that's exactly what I did. I can't think of a better way to kill the requisite half-hour (or so) it takes to upload a video to YouTube.

Besides that... sunset and its immediate aftermath is quite possibly my favorite time of day. Once the sun goes down the birds go to bed (and thus cease their incessant chirping until the morning... quite another story, that) and the night is given over to the quiet hum of air conditioners and the not-so-quiet hum of traffic on US 70, which is only about 400 yards from the verandah of El Casa Móvil De Pennington. But... commerce being what it is... the traffic noises die down to a great extent as night overtakes us. It's a great time for quiet contemplation, and evenings here on The High Plains of New Mexico are oh-so-warm. Perfect, in other words. Once again: ya hadda be there (here).

Decision Tree

From the latest edition of cigar.com's monthly newsletter/magazine (click for larger):

Now I doubt I'll actually use this chart... as I have my favorite brands... but I thought it was a better decision flow-chart than most others I've seen. Why? Because these are real-world decisions that must be made... e.g., AC/DC or Rolling Stones? Mild or full-bodied single malt? Filet mignon or NY strip? Aston-Martin or Ford pickup? Well, OK... that last is a bit much. Not many of us are in the Aston-Martin class, but I'm sure most of us would like to be (is there anyone who's ever seen a James Bond movie and didn't lust after his DB5? I don't think so...). There's also one other flaw... what if you like both? Then what? Still and even: cute, eh?

By the way... I should buy the Series '68, based upon coffee, smooth, sweet and creamy ==> single malt ==> Full ==> Rolling Stones. But I would smoke Tabasco if I could dry it and roll it. I've smoked stranger stuff.

(Heh. Where's your mind? I meant things like this, of course. And worse... which is to say Turkish Askeri cigarettes, which cost five kurush per pack, back in the day. And Omigawd... the stench. Explanation: 100 kurush = one Turkish Lira; the exchange rate at that time was approximately 20 lira to the dollar. You do the math... those Askeri cigarettes were cheaper than dirt, and about as flavorful.)

Stupid Stuff

... and the title of this post refers only to the subject at hand, that being YrHmblScrb. Blog-Bud Lou has kicked off a meme, wherein you're supposed to post self-portaits taken with your camera held at arm's length. So, herewith my contributions, taken just minutes ago:

Heh. It only took one beer to get into this. Now we'll head back outside to continue as we've begun. All y'all can play along, if'n the spirit moves ya. And I hope it does.

Recommended

I've mentioned… more than a few times… that I'm a C-SPAN junkie and, more specifically, a C-SPAN2 "Book TV" junkie. When my teevee is powered up on any given Saturday or Sunday evening it's most likely tuned to C-SPAN2. I saw something definitely out of the ordinary this weekend… this woman:

Ms. Burana spoke for about an hour (44 minutes, actually) and read passages from her book "I Love a Man in Uniform." Here's the C-SPAN blurb on the program:

Lily Burana talked about her book I Love a Man in Uniform: A Memoir of Love, War, and Other Battles (Weinstein Books; April 14, 2009). A former punk rock artist and exotic dancer, Lily Burana's book deals with the challenges of her life as the wife of a Military Intelligence officer who served in Iraq, coping with his post-traumatic stress disorder, living at West Point, and making new friends. She read from her book and responded to questions from members of the audience.

So… the segment is available on-line at C-SPAN's website. Lucky you, if you go watch it. Ms. Burana is articulate, funny, touching, and honest to a fault. Her readings and comments certainly provide a rather different take on the life of a military wife and they're guaranteed to make ya smile. Ms. Burana also has a website.

As the post title sez: Recommended.

A Very Slow Sunday

We're still drinking our morning coffee as the noon hour passes... and we still have two cups to go before the pot is done. Some days I can go almost directly from the morning coffee to Happy Hour. Not all that often, mind you... just occasionally. It looks to be a near-run thing today.

So... thinkin' about Sunday Mornings Past... I found myself wishing I was here:

That would be the front door to my apartment in San Ramon, California, about seven or eight years ago. One of the better things about that apartment was its location, specifically the fact it was but a four minute (or less) walk from that door to the local Starbucks. I used to spend Sunday mornings sitting on the patio of that Starbucks with a couple o' three cups of The Daily Brew and the Sunday New York Times.

(Aside: I never did any of those frou-frou drinks, like "a Soy Caramel Macchiato with a double shot, Barista, if you please." Nope. That ain't me. But I did read a frou-frou paper on the weekends, dontcha know. This being before the WSJ started publishing weekend editions.)

Anyhoo... It took me near forever to read the paper on those sultry Sunday mornings past, coz the people watching was so good. Not up to European cafe standards, but pretty danged close. Especially the women (and this is where the "sultry" adjective comes in) -- there's a reason Brian Wilson and Mike Love wrote "I wish they all could be California Girls." The boys most certainly did have a point.

There have been other Sunday morning places that were every bit the equal of San Ramon, but let's not jog too far down Memory Lane. One should live in the present, no?

―:☺:―

I made my first-ever 911 call in the wee smalls this morning. I'm sitting at my desk around 0130 hrs, watching C-SPAN, windows open, when I hear this crash... followed by a moan and a soft "help me... somebody help me..." I look out my window and see a crumpled body near my neighbor's front door. I know the neighbor isn't home... he works nights. So, I grab my flashlight and my phone and run out the door. This guy is writhing on the ground, semi-coherent, but I make out "I'm a diabetic... I need my medicine." So I dial 911.

I'll make this short... the paramedics took the guy off to the hospital; all seemed to turn out well... here's yet another reason I love P-Ville: there was a cop car on the prem in about three minutes flat, followed by another cop two minutes later with the ambulance right behind, all this in no more than five minutes, total. That would be between the time I dialed 911 and all the arrivals. This is a Good Thing, especially for us geezers.

―:☺:―

Today's Pic: YrHmblScrb inside that apartment in San Ramon... I'm in my work clothes and getting ready to head out for work, believe it or don't. To say the dress code at my place of employment was relaxed is an understatement of massive proportions. And I was "management," too. But, Hey! San Francisco, yanno? It was pretty nice, actually... and one HELLUVA change from EDS (note the coffee mug from my previous life), which was about as uptight a company... dress-wise... as one could find in America, at the time.

I know all this about the photo coz I looked up the day/date, which was a Tuesday in 2001. Further...the pic was shot at 0459 hrs. Ya gotta love EXIF data. It remembers when you can't.

Update, Monday morning: Darryl, in comments, talked about my commute into The City, to which I replied (offline):

Actually... it was south on 680 to Dublin/Pleasanton BART and then into The City. The Montgomery BART station was in the basement of my building (44 Montgomery)... and if I wanted I could go directly from the train to my office and never hit the street, i.e., go outside.

Except on the odd Saturday or two when I went south on 680 to 580 and then west into The City. A slightly longer route but there seemed to be less traffic, thus quicker.

You piqued my curiosity... so I googled the route. And came up with a way-cool street view of 44 Monty (attached). You have NO idea how much money I dropped in this Starbucks store over the course of two-plus years, LOL!

And here's the pic I was talking about (click for larger):

I love Google's Street View! The cool thing is the pan feature in street view. You can also go to full-screen mode and look up... like this:

Heh. I'm such a freakin' geek. That said... the view of The City from the top floor of 44 Monty was just spectacular. Not as good as from the top of the Trans-America Tower, perhaps, but good enough. Speaking of "enough..." we're done with the nostalgia trip.

Right Now

Gin and Tonics (plural) under balmy New Mexico skies (with stars!)... and Talking Heads:



Well, not quite like that. More like Pandora:

"You may ask yourself... 'How did I get here?'"

Or, mo' betta: "Same as it ever was, same as it ever was..."

Ya hadda be there (here).

Today's Funny

From... yet again... the Usual Source.

I'm really out of step on this "Cash for Clunkers" thing. It seems like every pundit I read (or see on my teevee) thinks the program is just peachy... i.e., a government incentive that actually works... including most all our congresscritters on both sides of the aisle. I find the program appalling and an offense to my sensibilities. Blog-Bud Morgan put up a post on this subject... kinda-sorta, before he went off on a tangent... and for brevity's sake I'll just post the comment I left over at his house. To wit:

Clever libertarians now hot-rodding around in their ‘65 Mustangs and ‘71 Camaros are no doubt very grateful to…the taxpayers who paid the tab.

I find the very frickin’ thought of clue-free individuals abusing the public fisc in this manner to be supremely frickin’ offensive. REAL libertarians would buy their Camaros or SUVs with their own g*ddamned money. Rant against the Nanny State and then go out and shovel Nanny’s money into the trunk of your Camaro… yeah, THAT makes sense. Fucking hypocrites.

The italicized bit is a lift from Morgan's post. You'd have to RTWT to understand the full context of my comment, but suffice to say I didn't like the concept being discussed. That's putting it mildly. Now... about gub'mint health care... (insert smiley face thingie here)

Broadening Our Horizons V

The Brown Truck O' Happiness dropped these off a few minutes ago, just in time for today's Happy Hour:

Earlier this week I responded in the affirmative to an e-mail from my Good Friend Tim at cigar.com, quoted in part:

Well, here's an incentive to try this new brand. Through this email deal you can buy a box of Nica Libre in the Imperial size (6 x 54) for just $50 with free shipping to boot!

Featuring a dark, oily San Andres maduro wrapper (almost identical to the wrapper used on Padron's Anniversary Maduro), if you like maduro cigars you'll love this medium-bodied beauty

The price, as they say, was right... at about a third the cost of our usual, customary, and reasonable cigars (per stick). The packaging is certainly pleasing (with a nice brass clasp and hinges on the all-wood box); one hopes the cigars will live up to their presentation.

So. I do believe it's time to pour a beer and road test one of these puppies. And you know a nap won't be all that far behind.

Update, later that same day: I'm pleased to report the cigars are every bit as good as the packaging. Great flavor... which is to say mild-to-moderate in intensity and "feel"... great construction, easy draw, with a most-pleasing aroma, all of which make for a fine, fine smoke. These Nica Libres won't displace the cigar-of-choice here at El Casa Móvil De Pennington, but they are quite nice as a change of pace.

And now I hear the couch calling my name...

Update, Part Deux (Saturday): These Nica Libres really are quite good! I usually only have one cigar a day but I broke my "moderation" rule last evening and burned a second Nica Libre with my after-dinner whiskey. The brand might become a permanent addition to the humidor. We'll see.

More Odds and Sods

New to me, maybe not to you... Auto-Tune The News:



Politico has a good backgrounder on Michael Gregory, the guy behind Auto-Tune the News. The vid above is but one of six on Gregory's YouTube Channel. Great stuff be there!

―:☺:―

I am NOT alone! From the NYT:

Wake up, America! Fully one in three adults admit that on any typical day they take a nap, according to a national survey released Wednesday.

The proportion of self-proclaimed nappers was even higher among adults who had trouble sleeping the night before and who had exercised within the past 24 hours. It was also disproportionately higher among people who are poorer, black, men older than 50, men and women over 80 and among people who are not happy.

Well... I'm pretty much a Happy Camper but I AM over 50 and I often find myself upside down where my sleeping habits are concerned. I'm also "poorer." Or at least a lot poorer than I used to be when I was gainfully employed. But what does it for (to?) me is a couple o' three beers under the awning in 90-degree heat. That makes naps kinda automatic, yanno? Happens nearly EVERY day...

The article also claims a lot of us lie about naps, as if napping was something to be ashamed of. Not according to Churchill or Reagan... who were famous nappers (and heroes of mine, too). I'm kinda-sorta an infamous napper.

―:☺:―

The Last Word on The Beer Summit (around here, anyhoo):

But it wouldn't be a contrived Washington event without a contrived Washington protest. Already, "Citizens Against the Beer Summit at White House", a makeshift gathering spearheaded by Baltimore pastor Dr. Emmett Burns, will picket the White House today between 12 and 3 p.m. "The president's actions are sending the wrong message to our nation's youth who are becoming alcoholics at young ages," reads an announcement for the protest. "This pernicious habit is also the reason for the large number of teen motor vehicle accidents throughout the country."

Ain't that America...

Beer consumption is also the leading cause of naps among poorer white men aged 64 in and around Portales, NM. We have THAT on pretty danged good authority. But we will not be joining any sort of protest group, Gentle Reader. Oh noes, we will NOT.

―:☺:―

Today's Pic: One of our periodic gratuitous baby pictures. This one includes YrHmblScrb when he was much better looking... which, of course, is speaking strictly about ourselves and relative to where we are today... and not to Male Pulchritude, in general.

If your name is Lou, Dan, or mebbe Bob you might be thinkin' you've seen this pic before. Nope. It's different. Same people, same place (Key West), same general time (March 1998), different day, different hat on SN3, different pose. Different!

It's Not YOU... It's Me...

OK, TWC. I've thought about it for quite a while and the time has come. We've been in this downhill slide, you and me, for several years now. I'm thinking it began with your frickin' incessant re-runs of "Storm Stories," all of which I've seen six times and God Knows it could be THIRTY-six times… EACH… if I'd chosen to watch all your damned re-runs. That's just for starters.

I thought you might could change after going to work for NBC. I mean, you did get rid of that Eco-Tart and all her friends… and that was a good start. I had high hopes that we could re-establish our former happy relationship, where you concentrated on… you know… reporting the weather, both on my teevee and on the web. But noooo… you had to flaunt cheesy advertising on your website and force me to hit refresh on your radar map every six minutes or so when we're getting our ass kicked with severe weather, all while forcing me to look at those damned Obama ads. And then you went and put that insufferable boob Roker on, first thing in the morning. I refused to watch his short lil segments on NBC… and now you give him a couple of hours of his very own? Dang.

That's the last straw. And, yes… now that I think about it… it IS you and not me. And we're OVER. Get yourself and your lame-ass WeatherStar the Hell outta here. We're done.

I have a new love. She's right there on the left. And in my sidebar, too… which is a place you never could hope to aspire to being. And she's so much better than you... her "current conditions" are refreshed every four or five seconds, she has weather history and statistics at my very fingertips, and her radar display NEVER needs refreshing - it's always on and always current. But… we did have some good times in the way-back and I'll always look back on those times with a certain fondness. Too bad you changed got old and complacent, not to mention political. I just can't frickin' STAND that.