I Hate Ike...

Track Ike here


Much like the first campaign slogan to lodge in my awareness, the hurricanes of my youth are etched forever in memory. Sadly, my family and friends in Texas and Louisiana are about to be visited by one of the nightmares of my youth as Hurricane Ike grows to be the largest, most powerful storm to strike the Texas/Louisiana coastline in living memory.

No shit. I predict the impacts of Ike will far exceed the damages and death toll of Katrina. This is a bad one, folks. If you are a rational, caring human, start making your contributions to the American Red Cross. If you are a misanthrope, as I tend to be, consider supporting the rescue efforts to save the animals by supporting either the ASPCA's Disaster Response Team or the Noah's Wish Disaster Response Fund, if you do not wish to support the political activities of the ASPCA (I don't).

If you are one of the misbegotten mired in religion, do pray to your deity of choice for the lives of all who find themselves in the path of Ike or it's spawn. Then show where your true faith lies and dig out your checkbook and help like a rational, caring human, simply because it is the right thing to do.

If you are in the affected area, turn off the computer and hunker down -- it's going to be a rough one.

A MUST-READ: The Pink Gorilla Suit

With a tip of the fedora in admiration of LawDog's mad story-telling skills (skilz):


And then the magnitude of the sheer depravity that local law enforcement was capable of hit Usual Suspect #3.

"... OhmyGawdohmyGawdohmyGawd," she gasped, bouncing up-and-down like a demented jack-in-the-box ...

"... Nonono,youdonunnerstand,nonono!" She took a deep breath, her expression one commonly seen upon the countenance of saints who have just beheld the vilest depths of the utter darkness of the human soul ...

"THEY."

"SKINNED."

"PINKY!!"







Image for illustrative purposes only and is the property of Buy Costumes dot Com, a great source for all of your costume needs.

Imagine...

Old Fogey Music Alert!

So you miss the songs of your youth or those of your folks? Born in the 1920's or '30's? Then you'll find this 78 RPM to MP3 music site of real interest. No Beatles here, but Guy Lombardo and George Gershwin, Rudy Vallee and early Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Waller - they're here, too. It is a treasure trove of classics and they're available here at 78 Records, the brainchild of Cliff Bolling. You can read about what inspired him to post some 3,739 titles on this page linked to mp3's, here.

Make sure to bookmark the site -- it is worth visiting again and again. A real eye-opener for our children and grandchildren offering an unexpurgated view of our musical past in the first half of the Twentieth Century.

All Washed Up?

I'm going through a dry spell while she's on fire:

Memo to Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain

Sure am glad there's people who can still write out there.

Anyone got a big towel?

Another Month

30 days gone by.

28 days without a computer,.

The hard drive in the desktop took a fatal dive some time the night of 8 July, eating the file allocation table and essentially destroying all of the data on the drive. So-called "restore disks" were useless at restoring anything and also, to add insult to injury, unable to transfer Windoze onto the replacement hard drive.

Disgusting.

Broke down, finally, and bought a new lap top. I figure that will be more useful while we're on the road than a desktop sitting at home.

Last thing I needed was to have to spend money on a new computer. But, I did. It's done.

So that is my explation as to why I haven't posted in a month. During that time, life has gone on. Weather here has been WET. Mildew and mold counts are "wicked high" as they say in the local parlance. Breath is a constant issue as a result. Definitely not swimming weather, that's for sure.

Finally fixed the phone line -- so, if you have been trying to call, no more busy signal. Yay!

The Mrs. has been having chest pains for a while now. Had a "cardiac catheterization" yesterday which reveals no blockages. Good news, indeed, but leaves the mystery of the cause of her chest pain unresolved.

I read a very interesting blog entry from a liberal experiencing the empowering strength that comes from singing the national anthem. Go over and give NZforme's thoughts a gander. I may not agree with her politics, but I have admired her writing for almost five years. I think you'll admire this entry, too.

Flying Spaghetti Monster Strikes Again: Famous Last Words

"No Thanks, My GOD will save me"

Special thanks to Rudis Muiznieks, the author/creator of "Cectic - the user manual for your brain" comic strip and his use of the Creative Commons Copyright License

Friday Fill-Ins #79

Well, here is an old favorite of mine - the Friday Fill-in! Now that I have some semblance of reliable Internet access without paying $5 a night, I might start playing these more often.


1. Holidays in the summer are _wonderful times to get together with friends_.

2. _Steaks___ are my favorite things to grill.

3. My thoughts are _swirling like a kaleidoscope_.

4. _Watermelon_ is what I'm most looking forward to this weekend!

5. My favorite book so far this summer is _yet to be determined_.

6. _Vigorous sex_ is the best way to begin a day.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to _sleep_, tomorrow my plans include _lawncare_ and Sunday, I want to _go kayaking_!

Home again, home again, jiggity jig...

We pulled in last Thursday evening late, almost seven months late, in fact.

The house was still here - mouldering away from massive roof leaks caused by the lack of heat all winter allowing ice to tear off the 30 year-old shingles all over the North side.

The lawn is no longer in evidence. Instead, a wild meadow of chest-high grasses and sedges hold sway over an understory of all the noxious weeds you can imagine.

The feral cat population was not in evidence, unless you count a gregarious tortoise shell yearling and an orange ghost that was the yearling's only kitten last fall. The other dozen either departed for warmer environs or met an automobile at an inopportune time. All of which concerned the new, gung-ho animal control officer who disturbed my Sunday nap no small amount.

The local electric monopoly refuses to provide power over to camp until a new pole is installed (+/- a grand) to replace the one snapped off at the base by winter winds. The lawn there is knee high, but so many limbs and leaves that mowing is presently impossible. The roof lost a tarp that was covering an area stripped of shingles (remember, we were going to be gone for two weeks with maybe an additional week in travel). Inside is a ruined ceiling and wall very reminiscent of the interior of many of the homes in New Orleans post-Katrina.

No job prospects. Fuel oil estimated to be over $4.00 a gallon this fall.

Heading South is looking better all the time...

Oh No, Mr. Bill ... Say It Isn't So!!!

The Air Conditioner on the trailer died this morning. Now a balmy 99 degrees - the highest our thermometer in there goes to. Outside ... it was 97° F in the shade at 3:00 PM.

Delayed Departure...

These tornadoes and severe thunderstorms sure are exciting.

Uncle had a mild MI on Friday and is in hospital as a result. Departure is delayed for the time being. Besides, it's bloody hot, mates. Wouldn't do to breakdown along the BOS-WASH corridor with temps hovering near 100 degrees F. I've had my fill of being blown off by trucks traveling at 70+ MPH on I-95 while I try to figure out what has failed this time. Sleeping in a junkyard inhabited by giant rats has lost all appeal. Fun once, but I'll pass on the repeat.

Stay cool if you can. It's 95 here, according to NOAA, and the forecast reads:

"This Afternoon: Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 98. Heat index values as high as 103."

The rumors of our deaths are greatly...

I got an email today from some broker wanting to buy the title to this blog!

Humph ... just because you don't post for a while they think you've rolled over to the grave or buffet or something.

"I'll be back" -- wasn't that the exit line from some toupee scandal on the Wide, Wide World of Sports in the '80's?

Currently in Maryland at the home of the Ancient Mariner. Expect to return to Maine about the time the forest fire threat returns to "Low" if the weather forecasts are accurate. Am busy installing electric motors on tricycles and seats in canoes. Iggy the annoying puppy is thriving and already tips the scales at over 10 pounds! He consumes most of my spare time.

Many things to relate but a lack of easy interweb access (all the wireless routers in the neighborhood are locked, damn it!) and canine-induced exhaustion results in no news from dull boys.

Suffice it to say, I may be slipping ever closer to the precipice of mortality. But I ain't tripped over the edge quite yet. Despite dodging killer tornados and aligators and land sharks with a predilection for shins and fingers.


By the way, I miss you all, too.

Wednesday Mind Hump: Movies

Rfduck announced this week's WMH in this fashion:

"Greetings! Here we are again, mind humping. Once again, I have no good theme, so we'll talk about movies."

1. What is the last movie you watched?
I watched The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising with some of the grandkids just the other night.
2. Give us a brief review and tell us how you liked it.
An American-made movie set in England and shot in Romainia, TS:TDIR is a formulaic kids film pitting good vs. evil, light vs. dark with the forces of good and light triumphing in the end. While it is eminently watchable, it is neither enlightening nor very entertaining. The writing is hackneyed and several of the performances are stilted. I'd give it a pass unless you are into things of this nature.
3. Which of the movie's actors or actresses do you like best?
Easiest on the eyes is Amelia Warner playing Maggie Barnes. Not many lines, but cute.
4. Tell us the name of a movie that you haven't seen, but really should.
I really should rent the 2006 drama thriller The Departed with Jack Nicholson and Leonardo DiCaprio.

"The Seeker" trailer on YouTube

Cohen, More Cohen & Hmmmm...

Rfduck greeted the new day thusly, "Hello everyone! I don't like today's theme, so we'll do Friday's. Friday was Vitamin C day."

1. What is your favorite band or artist whose name starts with the letter C?
Leonard Cohen
2. What is your favorite song that starts with the letter C?
Closing Time by the aforementioned L.C. as seen on Youtube
3. What is your favorite album that starts with the letter C?
My, my, this one is tough. Conservatively, I have near to a thousand albums in my collection, most on vinyl. Nope, while many have accused me of being an asshole, few (except my wife) would ever accuse me of being anal. So no, the albums are neither cataloged nor indexed and they aren't arranged alphabetically, either. Hence the dilemma - I am hard-pressed at the moment, to name even one album beginning with the letter "c".

Hmmmm...

Jump to: navigation, search

Cohen Live
Live album by Leonard Cohen
Released	1994
Recorded	1988, 1993
Genre	Folk-rock
Length	71:50
Label	Sony
Leonard Cohen chronology
The Future (1992) Cohen Live (1994) More Best of Leonard Cohen (1997)

Cohen Live is a live album by Leonard Cohen released in 1994.

The songs were recorded live in 1988 and 1993.

Track listing

1. "Dance Me to the End of Love" (Toronto, June 17, 1993)
2. "Bird on the Wire" (Toronto, June 17, 1993)
3. "Everybody Knows" (Vancouver, June 29, 1993)
4. "Joan of Arc" (Toronto, June 17, 1993)
5. "There Is a War" (Toronto, June 17, 1993)
6. "Sisters of Mercy" (Toronto, June 18, 1993)
7. "Hallelujah" (Austin, October 31, 1988)
8. "I'm Your Man" (Toronto, June 17, 1993)
9. "Who by Fire?" (Austin, October 31, 1988)
10. "One of Us Cannot Be Wrong" (San Sebastian, May 20, 1988)
11. "If It Be Your Will" (Austin, October 31, 1988)
12. "Heart With No Companion" (Amsterdam, April 19, 1988)
13. "Suzanne" (Vancouver, June 29, 1993)

All of the info above from the Wikipedia entry on the album Cohen Live.

Is that a Strat in your pants or...?

Police look for man who hid Fender Stratocaster in his pants

I've heard of getting close to your axe, but that's ridiculous.

Wal-Mart, Go Subrogate!

Subrogation: What It Is and How It Works

From CNN:

Brain-damaged woman at center of Wal-Mart suit - Mar 25, 2008
By Randi Kaye JACKSON, Missouri (CNN) -- Debbie Shank breaks down in tears every time she's told that her 18-year-old son, Jeremy, was killed in Iraq. ...

I got this in email from a very vocal opponent of the incursion of Wal-Mart into Canada so I was a wee bit skeptical. Here's what he sent me:

Hey,

I wanted to tell you about this story. I just wrote a note to the Shank family and to Wal-Mart -- please take a minute to do the same.

Debbie Shank used to stock shelves at night for Wal-Mart. Now she owes Wal-Mart almost $500,000.

The 52 year-old Missouri Wal-Mart employee was left “brain damaged, disabled and penniless” from a car accident seven years ago. But when the Shank family received a settlement from the driver at fault, Wal-Mart demanded reimbursement for every cent they had paid for Deborah’s medical bills – plus interest and legal fees.

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Debbie Shank’s case, leaving her family no choice but to pay Wal-Mart $470,000. Now her family doesn’t know how they’re going to be able to afford Debbie’s nursing home bills.

Wal-Mart’s lawyers may be following the law, but they certainly aren’t following their hearts. Tell Wal-Mart to make the moral choice and help Debbie Shank:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/DebbieShank

A few months ago, Wal-Mart Watch took up a collection fund to help the Shank family. But now that Wal-Mart is stripping Debbie Shank of her settlement, any funds we raise could end up in Wal-Mart’s hands.

The best way we can help Debbie Shank now is to make sure as many people as possible hear her story. For a company that relies on an image of happy employees, this is just the sort of story Wal-Mart wants to disappear.

As we’ve said before, the Shanks aren’t gold-diggers. They’re a family living most people’s worst nightmare – and Wal-Mart is only making it worse.

Debbie’s husband, Jim, told reporters:

"She's 52 and she's going to live a life in a nursing home. I just got a call today from the head nurse, and (Debbie) hasn't eaten in a couple days and she's talking about wanting to die," Shank said. "It makes the visits hard."

… "Be a human being; don't be a corporation," Shank said, "for the sake of one lady who is going to be miserable for the rest of her life. Take your victory. Let us pay some bills and get some quality of life."

Tell Wal-Mart that the Shank family has paid enough. Sign our petition – and forward it to your loved ones:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/DebbieShank

Thank you for helping Debbie Shank.

So, I went hunting for some background information and found this Wall Street Journal story from November, 2007 http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119551952474798582.html

Now, I am confused. On the one hand, I empathize with Mrs. Skank and her family. On the other, I understand far better what the issues were for Wal-Mart and why they felt they had to pursue subrogation. So I guess we're left with little choice but to smear a corporate giant through blog articles like this one.

UPDATE: Wal-Mart has decided that Mrs. Shank is a public relations nightmare; reverses their previous demands for repayment under the subrogation clause...

Oops - Almost Forgot

Here's the new addition. Nine weeks old, purebred Schipperkke (pronounced Skipper-key) who sometimes responds to the moniker "Ignatz McGraw" but most of the time comes (if it is convenient) to the callname of "Iggy"...



Little wonder I haven't found the time to update here lately. I need to have my head examined - there's barely enough room in this 25' aluminum tube for my wife and I and an occasional guest, let alone a hyperactive peeing and pooping machine.

Fly like an Eagle

My sincere apologies for the unexplained absence. I and my wife are fine, given our limitations and my advancing decrepitude...

My last post caused dissension in the ranks and resulted in some hurt feelings, so I've taken a blog vacation for six weeks or so. In that period, I made a trip to Maine to register the truck and get some new plates – Maine being one of the few places in the country that doesn't have a thriving business in “brokers” who do such things for you. Seems they want you to appear in person to accomplish such a task. Who'd a thunk it?

Tried to go for a camping trip down to Grand Isle, Louisiana, after I got back but had another blowout (other side) of the trailer. This time it was due to an object about an inch in diameter that blew the tire on I-310 outside New Orleans. That ate two days of beautiful weather getting new tires and having all of the wheel studs and wheel nuts replaced. Why? To restore some peace of mind and satisfy the powers that be at the Northern Maine AAA office who were making noises about dropping us due to the stripped wheel studs that were found when the local AAA wrecker came to swap out my blown tire for the spare. At least this time I managed to stop before the tire's tread turned into a strip of trailer-destroying rubber and steel mace. The camping trip was a dud due to gale force winds blowing in from the Gulf of Mexico the entire time we were there. While more-or-less temperate, beach walks were more like a walk through a sandblast booth at a shipyard. Cooking out on the grill would have resulted in Barbecued Steak Sandies... A shame, really, as it is a beautiful place and home to great surf fishing and bird watching, when they aren't being blown sideways across the beach; the birds, that is.

So, back to Baton Rouge we went and that's where I am writing from today. Hope to take off in a few days for parts East and/or South for a little camping before the return to the great frozen North. No sense in going back now when there is still about six weeks of serious winter to get through up there before Jack Frost releases his gnarly grip in favor of the sleet infested grayness we call Spring in Maine.

Oh, while I'm thinking about it, the “Eagle Cam” is back in operation for another season. Not much to see yet (as they just got 16 inches of snow and it's around zero tonight up there). That means the loon cam, also run by the same folks, shoul be going active as soon as the ice is out - say 4 to 5 weeks from now.

Other news will have to wait and there is a bit of news – there's been a new addition to our traveling band of snow bunnies. Details to follow later.

If it weren't for bad luck...

Greetings a salutations, ladies and germs. Your fetid reporter has been to the hell of the frozen north and back on a long, crowded pestilent tube with flu sufferers, cold sharing infants and someone who distinctly gave all indications that he was attempting to revive the bubonic plague (fortunately, I've had those shots).

Maine in winter sucks. This is my conclusion after a ten-day stint at home with no running water (frozen) desperately trying to satisfy the gnomes at the DMV that our paperwork was in order and that everything was legit. Took expensive days of sending forms back and forth via Fedex while I essentially counted the snowflakes in each exhalation at home, only to return the next day to discover a new requirement had popped up. To add more insults to the injuries administered my psyche by the good women at the counters and booths of my home away from home this trip, the elves and fairies at Delta Airlines decided it was going to cost five times the original cost of the round-trip ticket to change my reservation from last Saturday morning to this past Tuesday morning. "

"No way, Joselina. Just a cotton-picking minute," I blurted. She looked at me over her reading glasses, perched fetchingly on the wart at the end of her nose. Or was it a cold sore?

"Is there a problem, Sir?"

"Impending insolvency is the problem, m'dear. There's no way in Hell I can pay over a grand to change the date to a later one when the ticket only cost one fifth that amount in the first place. Please get me your supervisor."

After disappearing in back for a bit, the clerk returns with an older woman (my age) who asks me what the problem is? After explaining events that led to this point, I suggested she provide me with an override. She started to object when I asked her to punch in a 10 digit code. It was like night and day. All pretense at difficulties or non-cooperation was gone...

What really happened was I had to spend another 20 minutes arguing to get them to find me the lowest bump code fare possible. Which is how I found myself flying back to Louisiana on puddle jumpers on Valentine's day.

And that was where I left this entry - it was never finished. I'm not going to polish it up now, but thought you'd enjoy reading it.

MEME: Monday Music Mambo -- Let It Snow...

Rfduck, chief Drake at this here 'Monday Music Mambo' pond, lets fly a cold, wet one, thusly:

"Hello everyone! It's snowing where I live, so today's Mambo will be snow-themed."

1. They say every snowflake is unique. Name a musician who you think is unique and sounds like no one else.

Joe Cocker isn't going to EVER be mistaken for any one else when singing. There are some others that come close, but his unique combination of voice, inflection and phrasing makes a song his own.

2. Snowfall covers everything in sight. Tell us about a cover song you enjoy.

If you've read this blog any length of time, you should be able to predict these answers, ;) Make mine Suzanne, written by Leonard Cohen and covered by just about everybody at one time in their musical careers.

3. It snows a lot in Canada. Tell us your favorite Canadian musician.

My absolute favorite is the aforementioned Leonard Cohen, but Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell are tied for second place.

4. Watching the snow fall can be very peaceful. Name a song that brings you peace.

Lots of songs do, depending on my mood and blood pressure and glucose level...
How about Gordon Lightfoot's "Early Morning Rain"?

Speaking of rain, we've been having rainy weather here in Cajun Country, about 3" worth last week alone. The rivers, streams and bayous are all lush with moisture. There was a real toad-strangler on Saturday night that caused the horses to seek shelter next to the trailer in a little lean-to off the back of the shed where I park the "Busted Moose" at night. They were rather rambunctious in their enthusiasm to make life absolutely miserable for the usual occupant of the lean-to -- a big tom turkey the owner bought one year as a poult to fatten for Thanksgiving but then couldn't bear to kill. Seems his 60+ pound carcass was not appreciated underfoot by the horses, so they kicked at him and kicked until he lamely stood out in the rain. Poor old bird - he's all bruised up and was so bedraggled when I saw him Sunday...

I've been sick the past week with pinkeye and now what I suspect is strep throat. Damn snotty-nosed kids are walking Petri dishes and the cultures they're festering gore just love yours truly. I've been sicker since coming down here in November more than the past four years combined. To add insult to injury, the baby is over his pinkeye, while mine persists and we came down with it only a day apart.

There's been some cold weather, too, with snow falling over much of the northern half of Louisiana for a time last week. We had sleet one night here just as we were headed from the house to our trailer for the night. And we've been going through LP gas bottles at a steady clip. Fortunately, there's a good hardware store nearby that refills them.

My wife's work is decidedly unhappy that she needs more time to recover from what ails her and has put her on unpaid leave. Oh joy, we get to COBRA our health insurance for the next couple of months, to the tune of a couple of grand a month. Sadly, going without isn't an option, as I'd never be able to get full coverage insurance again, nor would she. Hell of a racket, the health industry and health insurance.

The repairs seem to be holding up, with a minor exception of a piece of trim that succumbed to the toe of my slipper the first night. Still too sick to pick up our stuff at the daughter's as her son had eye surgery in December and has a weakened immune system - so my approach with conjunctivitis onboard is a no-no. I'd really like to hit the road and see someplace that doesn't involve SNK's.* I'm tired of sitting in one place, dependent on family and subject to all these diseases.

Heard from the Pet Spa at home. The Cats are doing wonderfully, eating like the wee piglets they are and running up a tab that will require taking out a second mortgage when we get back. The phone at the house has gone berserk and is issuing a constant busy signal, but our neighbors assure us no one is at home.

Oh well, it still beats shoveling snow... Hope you enjoyed your snow, Russ.

SNK = Snotty-nosed kids