For the full size image, click on this image. Pan from one end to the other and notice the side streets.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Look at all those racists!
For the full size image, click on this image. Pan from one end to the other and notice the side streets.
It needed biting
Our Aussie, Pete, likes to bite the rain as it cascades off of the roof, concentrated by a valley in the roof.
Just for the record…
Jimmy Carter’s deranged jabbering notwithstanding, I am not a racist.
I would hate Obama and his minions for what they are doing to my country no matter what their DNA.
And I am not troubled with “white guilt.” I walked the picket line, protesting George Wallace’s appearance at Indiana State University, back in the ‘60s and took shit from my fraternity brothers for it.
Nobody has the right to oppress anyone else in this country. That sword cuts both ways.
Recession?
JONESBORO, Ark. – The top photo is the facade of the new Best Buy store in the Mall at Turtle Creek. The bottom shot is the new Olive Garden restaurant under construction just south of the mall.
Not the sort of thing you’d expect in a recession, is it? Northeast Arkansas is proving recession-resistant.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Slaves to fashion
This is the official purse/handbag/tote of Arkansas women.
You can’t swing a dead cat at the mall without hitting one of these.
Coming soon: Motorcycle Video
Charlie and I talked each other into buying a GoPro Hero video/still camera to mount on our bikes or helmets. The list price is $189.99, but we got them for the special MotoGP price of $150.
I was unable to get mine to work while I was in Colorado, which would have been the ideal place to start a video record of interesting rides.
I read the instructions and discovered the manufacturer warns against using regular alkaline AAA batteries (it takes two), and recommends instead rechargeable NiCad or Lithium AAAs. So I borrowed a couple of NiCads from Tim Balough, but couldn’t get it to work.
I packed the camera and accessories away and sent an email to GoPro customer support. That was on the eve of the Labor Day holiday. I didn’t get an answer until I was on my way home and too busy with riding to fiddle with it.
So yesterday I bought a four-pack of Lithium AAAs and a new high-speed 2GB SD card. I installed them, pushed the on/off button and, wonder of wonders, it started up.
My only initial complaint is that the LCD display on the front is so small that the icons describing the various functions are almost microscopic. I’m going to need a magnifying glass to overcome my presbyopia.
Now I have to wait for decent weather to take it out on the bike and see what I can do with it. It was raining yesterday afternoon and it rained like a mofo much of today. But as soon as the weather improves, I plan to mount it on my old Schuberth helmet and take a ride up Crowley’s Ridge Parkway. With any luck, I’ll post the results here in the next few days.
Here’s the specs, from goprocamera.com:
The world's smallest, wireless helmet and gear-mountable video camera for outdoor sports.
The Helmet HERO Wide quick-release attaches to vented and non-vented helmets, bikes, kayaks, skis, snowboards, and even includes a head strap for wearing like a headlamp. Features the industry's widest 170º wide angle lens and 5 megapixel sensor for the most immersive point of view video and photos possible from a wearable sports camera, period.
Shoot 56 minutes of high-resolution video and 5 megapixel photos automatically in "photo every 2 seconds" mode. Use as a hand held camera, too. Shockproof and waterproof to 100 feet/30 meters. Sets up in seconds and is easily moved between different mount locations.
Based on the best selling original Helmet HERO camera, this updated 5MP Helmet HERO Wide camera features improved video, photo, audio, and low light performance. Reliability in ultra-high vibration environments has been improved with an entirely new internal circuit design. Battery life is improved to 3 hours of video record time when using Lithium batteries and 2 hours when using NiMH rechargeable batteries.
Four quick-release adhesive mounts, a suction cup mount and associated accessories are included. Adhesive mounts are removable but require purposeful removal by user. Safe on painted surface.
Additional expansion mounts available separately, including handlebar/seatpost, chest harness, roll bar, and surfboard mounts. More mounts are always being developed for your convenience.
Works with a 2GB max SD card. 4GB SD card compatibility, allowing for 1 hour 52 minutes of continuous video recording, will be available soon via free downloadable software upgrade from GoPro.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Rickyisms
* "Lucy is banging cops which is no big deal I guess. I don't run Lucy she's for to be her own woman" (free to be)
* "Lucy might have a problem, but what Lucy doesn't know won't learn her." (hurt)
* "Get me two bags of chips Dressed All Over and Zesty Mordant". (All Dressed and Zesty, Mordant is French for Zesty and is a mix-up of reading both languages on the bilingual packaging in Canada)
* "Yeah get me some jalapano chips" [pronounced ja-LAP-ano] (jalapeño)
* "Worst case Ontario..." (scenario)
* "Supply and Command..." (demand)
* "Denial and Error..." (trial)
* "Make my words" (Mark)
* "Hey Bubs are you watching that documentary on Saskatchewans?" (Sasquatches)
* "(While addressing the Judge in court) Thank you your Majesty." (Honour)
* "She's just going through a phrase...." (phase)
* "Make like a tree.....and fuck off." ("leave")
* "I toadaso, I ****ing toadaso." ("told you so")
* "It was golfing flames, flames golfing out the side." ("engulfed in")
* "It's a Catch 23 situation." ("Catch 22")
* "(To Alex Lifeson of Rush) Well play that Diane Sawyer song then." (Tom Sawyer)
* "This Trailer Park looks like a tropical earthquake blew through here Lahey." (storm)
* "We can get 2 birds stoned at once." (with one stone)
* "Why do you look like Indianapolis Jones? (Indiana)
* "He passed with flying carpets." (colours)
* "It doesn't take rocket appliances." (science)
* "Rocket surgery" (Brain surgery)
* "Trinity's at the age where it's gorilla see gorilla do." (monkey)
* "Do you got a search warranty for that." (warrant)
* "I must be fire retarded or something." (retardant)
* "I'm not a pezmist, I'm an optometrist. (Pessimist, Optimist)
* "What goes around "is all around" ("comes around")
* (From Ricky's dad Ray, the shit apple doesn't fall far from the tree). "These plates got me from Tuscany, Arizona to Kentville, Nova Scotia." (Tucson)
* "I'll drive you back to the park Lucy, but there is probably a pretty good chance that it might be over between us" (Ricky uses a triple conditional, just one would be sufficient)
* "If my dad and Julian and Bubbles hadn't had been out all night getting lap-dances and getting drunk, the whole thing could have been preventative". (prevented)
* "To be honest with you I fucking hate bagmitten. I mean I played it in jail but thats because you can't smoke which is fucked. So to take your mind off the cigarettes you play sports." (badminton)
* "Breaker, Breaker come in earth. This is Rocketship 27, some aliens fucked over the carbinator in engine number four, we are going to try to refuckulate it and land on Juniper". (carburator, repair, Jupiter)
* "That's not a ladybug. That's a "cannerpillar". ("caterpillar")
* How to get "Bhurbon" stains out of "Kahiki pants" ("Bourbon", "Khaki pants")
* "One man's garbage is another man person's good ungarbage". ("One man's trash is another man's treasure")
* "Au gratin" (gratis, free; au gratin is with cheese)
* "I surance" (Insurance)
* "Swallow my prize" (pride)
* "Neither here, there, and everywhere" (neither here nor there)
* "Boys, let's make toast" (Let's toast)
* "There's no Lurches in there Bubbles is there?" (leeches)
* "I know what you're doing, Lahey, you're trying to fill my feet." (Fill my shoes)
* "Lahey was my mother's mating name and they called me Randy at school no big deal." (maiden)
* "You gotta remember, every kid goes through phrases." (phases)
* "It doesn't take a rocket appliance."(scientist)
* "What Julian don't grow won't burn him". (Know, Hurt)
Sooner than I expected
I dismissed the iPod Touch as inadequate because Apple couldn’t offer one with the capacity of my 60GB iPod Classic.
(I really like having my entire music collection of 10,000+ songs at my fingertips.)
Meet the 64GB iPod Touch.
I knew it was just a matter of time before flash memory caught up with, and passed, the hard-drive iPods. I just never expected it to happen so soon.
Now my stopper is the price: $399.
My 4-year-old iPod Classic’s battery isn’t holding a charge like it used to, but I figure I can make it last another year or so, during which time the price of iPod flash memory will continue to drop.
That’s what we get for watching this crap on TV
"Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'll let you finish, but Beyoncé has one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!," he said as Beyoncé winced in embarrassment and everyone else stared in disbelief.
Swift, her big moment shattered, was hustled off of the stage.
You may or may not remember that this was the same no-talent jackass who announced in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."
West, it would seem, doesn’t care much about little white girls.
No surprise that Pink reacted, saying, “Kanye West is the biggest piece of shit on earth. Quote me.
“My heart goes out to Taylor Swift. She is a sweet and talented girl and deserved her moment. She should know we all love her. Beyonce is a classy lady. I feel for her, too. It’s not her fault at all, and her and Taylor did their thing. And douche bag got kicked out.”
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Pete is famous
He's sooooo photogenic.
A pleasant surprise
JONESBORO, Ark. – I’ve been struggling for the past half-hour or more to get my Palm Treo 700p to work as a modem for my Mini 9.
It refused to connect a couple of days ago and I still can’t make it happen. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the Sprint software, tried disabling the Windows XP firewall and turning off the antivirus, all to no avail.
Since I’m at Barnes & Noble, I checked to see if my netbook can see the AT&T Wifi here, which has always been a pay system. Since I’m not going to be here long, I didn’t plan to buy a 2-hour chunk of time.
But I found, to my amazement, that the Wifi here is now free. FREE!
Way cool. Now I have Wifi access here, Hastings, Books-A-Million or in the mall food court.
But I still need to sort out my Sprint tethering issues.
Read and heed, please. I don't want to have to tell you again.
Two common mistakes I see online and elsewhere:
- Forget that rule you learned in typing class about putting a double-space after each period. That only pertains to typewriters. When you're writing something that will be set in type - electronic or otherwise - just put one space after a period.
- When you have close-quote marks at the end of a sentence, they go after the period, not before: As in, "Don't do that." not "For God's sake, never do this".
How to run a deli
From the Wal-Mart Associates' Journal:
A week or so ago I watched the film Defiance, starring Daniel Craig. In it he plays one of the Bielski brothers who ultimately saved 1,200 Russian Jews during WWII by building a small village in the forest and stealing shit from the Nazis. (There's a good bit more to the film than that, and it was actually quite good.) Anyway, there's a scene in it where Daniel Craig's character falls ill...bad fever, the whole nine yards. As he is resting in bed recovering, an upstart greedy asshole decides that the men should eat before the women and children because they gathered the food.
Daniel Craig staggers out of his shack.
"What's the commotion?"
"We're going to eat before the women, yada yada yada..."
"No, I told you...we are all equals here, we all eat together."
The asshole says, "Oh, nobody told you. You're not in charge anymore."
Daniel Craig sighs as if too tired to fight and turns as if to return to his shack. He suddenly whips around and shoots the asshole, killing him dead in his tracks.
He looks around to see if anybody else has any questions about his authority.
I actually clapped at that scene and thought to myself.....Oh man, if only they'd let me run my fucking deli like that.
St. Louis woman demands an explanation and gets it
The original email was sent to Sheriff Glenn Boyer on Thursday, August 27. Below is the citizen's email followed by Sheriff Boyer's response. The "dirty, nasty, renegade" motorcycle men she references are members of the Patriot Guard Riders, an organization of motorcyclists originally created to shield families of fallen warriors from lunatic protesters. I am proud to say I am a member of the PGR and have ridden in processions like the one referenced here.
I tried to call you earlier this morning, but was unable to obtain your extension from the voice mail system as I was not sure of your first name or correct spelling of your last.
I was inadvertently in this procession as I was leaving work on 270 from Creve Coeur and proceeding on Hwy. 30 West. I have some issues and complaints. I called the Sheriff's office last night, but the officer in charge would not speak with me. His name was Corp. Curtis. I am in no way complaining about your officers. I, however, was not treated very fairly when I called last evening because I wanted a ticket/complaint/or at least a slap on wrist for the people involved. Let me explain:
1) This procession should never have been held during rush hour traffic! Hwy. 270 is dangerous and people drive way too fast and there is too much traffic. This soldier's certainly would not have want his family hurt on the interstate taking him to Cedar Hill. People were dead-stopping on the interstate even though the procession was in the far right lane, the other three lanes just stopped. There were many near accidents and possibly were after I drove through. I was in the 2nd to left lane, no way obstructing the funeral procession.
2) I exited off on Gravois (30 W), far right lane. Your police officers went in the left lane to stop any additional on-coming traffic so the procession could exit off 270 into the LEFT lane of 30. Again, I was in the right lane. The St. Louis County officer stopped and turned around at Weber Hill to return on 270 after the procession passed.
3) The road was not closed. (Only for president as far as I know.) Again, the road was not closed. Your officers only had the left lane blocked/closed for the funeral. All other traffic by MO law can proceed as long as they do not interfere (weave in and out )with funeral procession.
Let me say, that I did not know what was happening. I knew the did not have Kennedy coming to STL, at least not yesterday. I was at work all day. No news. Nothing reported on the traffic on the radio driving home.
Anyway, two of these dirty, nasty, renegade, who knows what motorcycle men that were escorting the procession proceeded to stop in front of me in the right lane on Gravois. I had to stop in the middle of an intersection. They proceeded to scream and yell at me about respecting this soldier, etc. One of them climbed off his motorcycle and came over to me and stuck his head in my car continuing to scream at me. I asked him what this was for and he told me I needed to stop as the officers had the road blocked and show some dang respect. #1, the road was not blocked, the funeral was in the other lane. #2, I am proud of our country and sorry for the family, but they had no idea where I was going or anything else. I could have a child at day-care, I could have been sick and racing to the bathroom, I could have a sick parent waiting for me, etc., etc.
#3, They are not law enforcement and had no right to stop in the lane on Gravois and they had no right to scream at me and intimidate and threaten me. If I would have had my pepper spray, I would have used it on this nasty man! He is just a big hoo ha that is not even related to this soldier. The other man did not get off his scooter, but was along side of my passenger window screaming.
I left an abusive husband 1 1/2 years ago and I did not need this intimidation. I was livid and shaking!!
My son is a deputy sheriff in another MO county. I respect police officers. It was not their fault as they were busy with traffic, but I called to make them aware of what was going on during this thing. The St. Louis County officer saw it but of course he was out of jurisdiction.
However, I called last night and your office asked me if I knew about this soldier. Again, I am sorry about him, but I am a taxpayer. I got a speeding ticket a few months ago and paid the fine. I do not deserve to be treated like this. I wanted to let the officer know how these men were acting. Also, they were driving into the turnarounds on Hwy. 30 and then back onto the road. the funeral was much further ahead. One of them nearly got hit by me and other people almost hit him and another as well. I wanted to lodge a complaint about them why they were still there, but no one in your office would take any information or do anything.
This was not a military funeral, even though it was a soldier. There were not military vehicles. It was a funeral and the road was not closed, the lane was closed, I was in the other lane and again, these nasty men had no right to do this and I would have liked them to get a ticket!
I am sorry for the soldier and his family but you cannot let these motorcycle renegades do this. They could have caused several accidents and I really wanted them arrested. If they had any respect for the soldier they would have dressed better and not looked and acted so scuzzy.
Thank you.
Sheriff Boyer's response:
Dear XXXXX:
Yes, you do deserve a response and I am willing to give you one.
I would like to say that I am sorry for the inconvenience we caused you during the funeral procession of Sergeant 1st Class William B. Woods, but I cannot do so. I would ask instead that you take a moment of your time to take into consideration the scope of the event. Your very right to complain was the reason Sgt. Woods fought for his country and ultimately gave his life; thus making the ultimate sacrifice for you and your family.
Let me introduce you to him. After high school, Sergeant Woods entered the Marine Corps. After his contract was up, he joined the Army, where he became a Green Beret. He comes from a long line of military members in his family. His Uncle is a Vietnam Veteran and two of his grandfathers were World War II Veterans. His job in the Army was one of the most dangerous jobs - he was a sniper looking for the bad guys to stop before they killed or injured one of our soldiers. He has numerous decorations to include the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
He grew up in Catawissa and was best known by his middle name, Brian. He enjoyed the outdoors, playing sports, and skydiving. He had a wife, Elizabeth, and two daughters, whom he loved dearly. He was a soft-spoken, level-headed young man who was proud to serve his country no matter what the risk. Now, I did not know him, but I wish I did. I am quoting from newspaper articles written about him.
At the young age of 31, he was shot during an engagement with Taliban forces in Ghanzi , Afghanistan . He died of his wounds in Germany on August 16, with his family by his side. He did not choose the time of his death, nor did he choose the time his remains would be brought back to his home in Catawissa. He just did his duty. He was quite a young man.
While you were being inconvenienced in your car on your way home, there were soldiers just like Sergeant Woods carrying 100+ pounds of equipment in 120 degree heat, up some mountain or in the middle of some desert. They will shower out of a helmet liner if they get the chance. They will eat a cold meal of MRE's; something most people would consider garbage. They cannot text their family or friends, or go to McDonalds, or watch TV. They can only continue the mission and look out after the guy to the left and right of them. They don't complain because they know they volunteered. The only thing they ask is that we do not forget the sacrifices they have made.
One of the dirty "big hoo ha" bikers, as you call them, was Brian's uncle, a Vietnam Veteran, like myself. We were not treated with a homecoming. We were spit on and called baby killers by a misguided public. Brian's uncle was giving him the respect that he, himself, never received when he came back and I, for one, am proud of him for doing so.
You say that your son is a deputy in another Missouri county. I am sure he would be proud to escort the casket of a fallen solder, the same as he would that of a fallen officer. I am also sure he would not agree with your complaint about being inconvenienced.
My mother recently passed away. She was a World War II Veteran, serving the U.S. Army. She would say, maybe you should pick up Sergeant Woods' ruck sack and carry on where he left off. Then you could see first hand what it really is to be inconvenienced.
Per your request, I will forward your complaint to the Prosecuting Attorney's Office for his review. It is my personal opinion that your complaint is self-serving and without merit.
Sheriff Oliver "Glenn" Boyer
Friday, September 11, 2009
It's the person, not the degree
Most of the really smart, successful people I know, don't have a college degree.
Conversely, I know a lot - really a lot - of degreed morons.
Like the President and most of Congress, for instance.
And, BTW, John Stossel is leaving ABC New for the Fox Business Network. I'm sure he will be much more comfortable once he gets out of Moonbat Central.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Oxygen – you gotta love it!
The scenery at 10,640 feet at Chateau Balough is fabulous, but the air is way too thin for my respiratory system. My nasal passages were dry to the point of giving me nosebleeds and I’d wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air.
Now that I’m back to my natural habitat at 330 feet above sea level, I can breathe easy. Of course, there is that problem with humidity.
I thought the right rear tire on my del Sol looked a little low when I got home this afternoon. It was: 6 psi instead of its normal 29 psi. I dragged out the compressor and made sure all four tires were up to spec before driving in to town for my 20 ounce Rio Azul coffee at Hastings.
There’s a stack of mail, mostly bills, waiting for me on the kitchen table. I’m still on vacation today. I’ll look at them tomorrow.
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