Heartbreaking
The Enigmatic Misanthrope this morning directed my attention to a report in the Rocky Mountain News of the wake held by the Oglala Sioux for one of their own fallen in Iraq: Cpl. Brett Lundstrom. Read the report but do not make the mistake of missing the slide show in the "Story Tools" box. If this does not bring a tear to your eye, you have no soul.
May God bless Cpl. Lundstrom, his family and the nation of Oglala Sioux for their honor to this fallen warrior.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
And One More Thing
No, I've not become Steve Jobs. I just thought I'd post my latest home improvement project - a curved shower rod in the guest bath. While on my latest trip, I noticed that the hotel had one of these and was surprised at how much more comfortable it was. OK, I can't say that it was this particular one but that's the one I bought and just finished installing. It is remarkably easy to install, all the mounting hardware is included. I'll provide a report when I have a guest stay and give it the pH-balanced test. (I'm pretty sure my shower water is not acidic!)
Generally speaking, I have never been a fan of shower curtains. As an Adipose-American, I find shower curtains to end up stuck to me instead of to the side of the tub. As the ad copy at the link says, I am tired of "cling-ons."
No, I've not become Steve Jobs. I just thought I'd post my latest home improvement project - a curved shower rod in the guest bath. While on my latest trip, I noticed that the hotel had one of these and was surprised at how much more comfortable it was. OK, I can't say that it was this particular one but that's the one I bought and just finished installing. It is remarkably easy to install, all the mounting hardware is included. I'll provide a report when I have a guest stay and give it the pH-balanced test. (I'm pretty sure my shower water is not acidic!)
Generally speaking, I have never been a fan of shower curtains. As an Adipose-American, I find shower curtains to end up stuck to me instead of to the side of the tub. As the ad copy at the link says, I am tired of "cling-ons."
Monday, April 10, 2006
Putting the "Mental" in "Environmental"
I ordered my vegetables from Burpee's today. No thanks to anyone expressing an opinion of my damader plants, dang yees! But that's not all. I've figured out how to cover myself in both environmental glory and join the exclusive club of having something no one else has. I'm going to get a stencil and put "HYBRID" on the sides and under the badging of my six year-old Outback. Bingo. A Hybrid Outback! Genius.
Yeah, I know it won't be a hybrid but it'll drive people who see it nuts thrying to find one for themselves.
I ordered my vegetables from Burpee's today. No thanks to anyone expressing an opinion of my damader plants, dang yees! But that's not all. I've figured out how to cover myself in both environmental glory and join the exclusive club of having something no one else has. I'm going to get a stencil and put "HYBRID" on the sides and under the badging of my six year-old Outback. Bingo. A Hybrid Outback! Genius.
Yeah, I know it won't be a hybrid but it'll drive people who see it nuts thrying to find one for themselves.
Trying New Things
I am an inveterate try-er of new products. Within reason. I haven't found the opportunity to "try out," say, a Maserati Quattroporte for a reasonable price. "Hello? Maserati? My name is BlogDog and I run an auto-review website called 'Pugs of War' ... What? No. Explaining that would be a long and boring story. The purpose of my call is to ask about the delivery of a Quattroporte for a test drive sometime in the near future ... Hello? Hello? Dang."
But I have recently tried a few new things. Coke Blak for example (Flash site warning on that link). "Coke effervesence with coffee essence" to quote the Coke Flaks. Good things: cute 8oz traditional CoCola glass bottle, surprisingly creamy "mouth feel" for a carbonated soda, tastes pretty good in my estimation. Now for the downside: Price. I bought it using a steep discount with my Safeway card - $4 off a four pack. There's no way I would pay $6 for a four pack. I think it's definitely worth your giving it a try but I can't countenance Coca-Cola asking so much for what they're offering.
I tried the new Gillette Fusion razor too. Damn those Safeway discount cards! Again, the site is another Flash site with way too cute an interface. (Yeah "Cassandra" is the "director" of "Fusion labs." Oh fer insulting my intelligence!) There is no rational way I can justify the idea that a razor needs five blades on the shaving surface. Six blades if you count the singleton which is reverse-mounted to be a trimmer blade. And yet. And yet after one shave, I want to say that I got the best shave I've had in years from that damn thing. I get razor burn on the lower neck on either side of the throat. And after this shave, I can honestly say that the razor burn was not evident. I quickly caveat this by saying that one shave doth not a product recommendation make. But I am going to give this beast my full attention in future shaves. Right now, I'm inclined to spend the absurd amounts of money on cartridges for the Fusion if the shave quality continues to be this good.
Finally, a breakfast cereal - the new Grape-Nuts Trail Mix Crunch (link goes to a review at Mr. Breakfast). Not bad. Not worth seeking out but not bad. I've had better granola-ish cereals. You could close your eyes and pluck a Trader Joe's cereal off a shelf and get a better, and less expensive cereal for example. But, again, not bad. Very different from original Grape-Nuts. (Which, by the way, is one of the name brands you should always buy as every store-branded version I've ever tried comes out as dust and grit, not leetle chunks.) I was two bowls in before I realized that the flavor I was tasting was the flavor of graham crackers. A good flavor but not what I expect from something calling itself "Trail Mix Crunch."
What new products have you tried recently?
I am an inveterate try-er of new products. Within reason. I haven't found the opportunity to "try out," say, a Maserati Quattroporte for a reasonable price. "Hello? Maserati? My name is BlogDog and I run an auto-review website called 'Pugs of War' ... What? No. Explaining that would be a long and boring story. The purpose of my call is to ask about the delivery of a Quattroporte for a test drive sometime in the near future ... Hello? Hello? Dang."
But I have recently tried a few new things. Coke Blak for example (Flash site warning on that link). "Coke effervesence with coffee essence" to quote the Coke Flaks. Good things: cute 8oz traditional CoCola glass bottle, surprisingly creamy "mouth feel" for a carbonated soda, tastes pretty good in my estimation. Now for the downside: Price. I bought it using a steep discount with my Safeway card - $4 off a four pack. There's no way I would pay $6 for a four pack. I think it's definitely worth your giving it a try but I can't countenance Coca-Cola asking so much for what they're offering.
I tried the new Gillette Fusion razor too. Damn those Safeway discount cards! Again, the site is another Flash site with way too cute an interface. (Yeah "Cassandra" is the "director" of "Fusion labs." Oh fer insulting my intelligence!) There is no rational way I can justify the idea that a razor needs five blades on the shaving surface. Six blades if you count the singleton which is reverse-mounted to be a trimmer blade. And yet. And yet after one shave, I want to say that I got the best shave I've had in years from that damn thing. I get razor burn on the lower neck on either side of the throat. And after this shave, I can honestly say that the razor burn was not evident. I quickly caveat this by saying that one shave doth not a product recommendation make. But I am going to give this beast my full attention in future shaves. Right now, I'm inclined to spend the absurd amounts of money on cartridges for the Fusion if the shave quality continues to be this good.
Finally, a breakfast cereal - the new Grape-Nuts Trail Mix Crunch (link goes to a review at Mr. Breakfast). Not bad. Not worth seeking out but not bad. I've had better granola-ish cereals. You could close your eyes and pluck a Trader Joe's cereal off a shelf and get a better, and less expensive cereal for example. But, again, not bad. Very different from original Grape-Nuts. (Which, by the way, is one of the name brands you should always buy as every store-branded version I've ever tried comes out as dust and grit, not leetle chunks.) I was two bowls in before I realized that the flavor I was tasting was the flavor of graham crackers. A good flavor but not what I expect from something calling itself "Trail Mix Crunch."
What new products have you tried recently?
The Wheels On The Bike Go Round and Round
Yesterday was the start of the '06 Atlantic Cycling season and I was there in my support capacity as is my wont. The day started cold and windy. Shiveringly cold. But as the sun rose, the wind scaled back and the temp came up to the point where the afternoon was really pleasant. Maybe more pleasant for those us with the thick layer of subcutaneous insulation perhaps. I sat, while cutting oranges and making PB&Js for the riders, facing the sun and today I have a nicely pinked-up face. Less, of course, the reverse-raccoon mask from the sunglasses.
We had nearly 150 riders (actually, I think, when you add in that Committee members rode, there were a few over 150 riders but don't hold me to that) and I got cleaned out of a couple of foodstuffs at the first rest stop (in lovely Lovettsville, VA). But there were other things for riders who missed the PB&Js. Plus, it was great seeing the AtCyc folks again after so many months.
I am actually going to try to ride at least a shortened course of next month's Blackwater ride and I'm definitely shooting for the full short course (start making sense please -Ed.) at the Easton, MD ride in August. Wish me luck - my bad hip joints are going to have to come through for me for a change. And, just to throw a bitch into the bucket - my left shoulder is killing me today. Maybe I mashed the joint when I lay on my side last night but I had to put some Biofreeze on it just to fall asleep. Getting old can not suck any more if it were composed of pure vacuum.
Well. Isn't that a nice way to finish off a pleasant post about another great Atlantic Cycling experience!
Yesterday was the start of the '06 Atlantic Cycling season and I was there in my support capacity as is my wont. The day started cold and windy. Shiveringly cold. But as the sun rose, the wind scaled back and the temp came up to the point where the afternoon was really pleasant. Maybe more pleasant for those us with the thick layer of subcutaneous insulation perhaps. I sat, while cutting oranges and making PB&Js for the riders, facing the sun and today I have a nicely pinked-up face. Less, of course, the reverse-raccoon mask from the sunglasses.
We had nearly 150 riders (actually, I think, when you add in that Committee members rode, there were a few over 150 riders but don't hold me to that) and I got cleaned out of a couple of foodstuffs at the first rest stop (in lovely Lovettsville, VA). But there were other things for riders who missed the PB&Js. Plus, it was great seeing the AtCyc folks again after so many months.
I am actually going to try to ride at least a shortened course of next month's Blackwater ride and I'm definitely shooting for the full short course (start making sense please -Ed.) at the Easton, MD ride in August. Wish me luck - my bad hip joints are going to have to come through for me for a change. And, just to throw a bitch into the bucket - my left shoulder is killing me today. Maybe I mashed the joint when I lay on my side last night but I had to put some Biofreeze on it just to fall asleep. Getting old can not suck any more if it were composed of pure vacuum.
Well. Isn't that a nice way to finish off a pleasant post about another great Atlantic Cycling experience!
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
RFC
That would be "request for comment." I've pretty much decided on getting the Burpee "Red Lightning Hybrid" tomatoes for my EarthBoxen. I'd be interested to see what you, the reader, might think of my choice. Or let me know what you think is a better bet. Please.
I'm also getting Burpee peppers and cucumbers for my other plantings. Depending on how well things turn out this year, I may be setting another two boxes next year for some additional veg - greens and beans perhaps.
That would be "request for comment." I've pretty much decided on getting the Burpee "Red Lightning Hybrid" tomatoes for my EarthBoxen. I'd be interested to see what you, the reader, might think of my choice. Or let me know what you think is a better bet. Please.
I'm also getting Burpee peppers and cucumbers for my other plantings. Depending on how well things turn out this year, I may be setting another two boxes next year for some additional veg - greens and beans perhaps.
Monday, April 03, 2006
New On The 'Pod
Donald Fagen's "Morph the Cat" (see the sidebar). Oh! So smooth! It's "Two Against Nature," "Everything Must Go" jazzy and it's like liquid ease. I actually prefer the rock-ier "Kamakiriad" but, allow me to repeat this, nothing Fagen does is wrong. Not ever. It may not be as good as something else he's done in one's own estimation but it's (damn, I'm actually going to say this) all good. There is something to like in every single song. From the trumpet solo in "The Great Pagoda of Funn" to the harmonica in "What I Do" there is something that makes each song special.
I could listen to this album for the next week and I just might do that. By then I'll know all the songs well enough to sing along. Maybe I can learn to play some of those riffs on JoJo. JoJo, by the way, just came back from being cleaned, adjusted and restrung and she's even more beautiful than when she arrived. My guitar hero friend even complimented her sound after he said that the PRS Hollowbody IIs tend to have too bright a sound for his taste. JoJo is supersweet.
Donald Fagen's "Morph the Cat" (see the sidebar). Oh! So smooth! It's "Two Against Nature," "Everything Must Go" jazzy and it's like liquid ease. I actually prefer the rock-ier "Kamakiriad" but, allow me to repeat this, nothing Fagen does is wrong. Not ever. It may not be as good as something else he's done in one's own estimation but it's (damn, I'm actually going to say this) all good. There is something to like in every single song. From the trumpet solo in "The Great Pagoda of Funn" to the harmonica in "What I Do" there is something that makes each song special.
I could listen to this album for the next week and I just might do that. By then I'll know all the songs well enough to sing along. Maybe I can learn to play some of those riffs on JoJo. JoJo, by the way, just came back from being cleaned, adjusted and restrung and she's even more beautiful than when she arrived. My guitar hero friend even complimented her sound after he said that the PRS Hollowbody IIs tend to have too bright a sound for his taste. JoJo is supersweet.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Very Possibly The Hottest Picture On The Internet
It's Janet Leigh on Kim du Toit's site today. (scroll down to the bottom of the post) Whew!
I need a cool shower 'bout now.
It's Janet Leigh on Kim du Toit's site today. (scroll down to the bottom of the post) Whew!
I need a cool shower 'bout now.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Brush With Fame
Last night I met E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post. It was a good scene all around. Perhaps I'll do details later. Perhaps not.
Last night I met E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post. It was a good scene all around. Perhaps I'll do details later. Perhaps not.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
There Is Unrest In France
I'm sorry to report that there will be no end to the rioting in France (hat tip: Billy Beck for the link). Now that the French themselves are doing the rioting, there is no one to surrender to.
I'm sorry to report that there will be no end to the rioting in France (hat tip: Billy Beck for the link). Now that the French themselves are doing the rioting, there is no one to surrender to.
A Moment Of Foodblogging
I am not worthy to use the utensils of my fellow-blogger Paul when it comes to working the kitchen but every now and again I do something that I rather enjoy. Last weekend I had my friend Irving (see sidebar) over to help me with some tasks I was unable to handle myself. I mean, getting the new plasma TV onto the dresser was a two-person job I tell ya! And part of the process was having lunch eats.
I decided that the best bet was roll-your-own wraps. To that end I got the wraps themselves (square wheat breads) at Costco along with a roasted chicken. Laid out on the table, then were the following from which a hungry lad could assemble a meal: wraps, chicken, romaine lettuce leaves, hummus, olive tapenade, feta cheese, diced red onion, sliced jalapeno peppers and kalamata olives. Yum. You can make a damn fine sammich mixing and matching those ingrediments. And I have leftovers. It's going to be a week of eating wraps for lunch.
I am not worthy to use the utensils of my fellow-blogger Paul when it comes to working the kitchen but every now and again I do something that I rather enjoy. Last weekend I had my friend Irving (see sidebar) over to help me with some tasks I was unable to handle myself. I mean, getting the new plasma TV onto the dresser was a two-person job I tell ya! And part of the process was having lunch eats.
I decided that the best bet was roll-your-own wraps. To that end I got the wraps themselves (square wheat breads) at Costco along with a roasted chicken. Laid out on the table, then were the following from which a hungry lad could assemble a meal: wraps, chicken, romaine lettuce leaves, hummus, olive tapenade, feta cheese, diced red onion, sliced jalapeno peppers and kalamata olives. Yum. You can make a damn fine sammich mixing and matching those ingrediments. And I have leftovers. It's going to be a week of eating wraps for lunch.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Sweet Lego Awesomeness
A sports arena built by someone(s) with pure, unadulterated Lego GEEN-yus. The Washington Nationals should have something as good looking built in DC. Only bigger. Yeah. Bigger.
A sports arena built by someone(s) with pure, unadulterated Lego GEEN-yus. The Washington Nationals should have something as good looking built in DC. Only bigger. Yeah. Bigger.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Stuff 'N' Nonstuff
Here is a link to the Krispy Kreme-bunned burger being pushed down the well-lubricated arteries of the Gateway Grizzlies fans. With fotos! Only a thousand calories and 45 grams of fat for four bits under a fin! Buy two! That's only $9.00.
Much thanks to Denny for using my quick and dirty Photoshop of his very cherry Bimmer and throwing a link my way. And for commenting on the post below. PoW loves feedback. Almost as much as we love the feedbag. Especially if it has a few Krispy Kreme burgers in it!
Here is a link to the Krispy Kreme-bunned burger being pushed down the well-lubricated arteries of the Gateway Grizzlies fans. With fotos! Only a thousand calories and 45 grams of fat for four bits under a fin! Buy two! That's only $9.00.
Much thanks to Denny for using my quick and dirty Photoshop of his very cherry Bimmer and throwing a link my way. And for commenting on the post below. PoW loves feedback. Almost as much as we love the feedbag. Especially if it has a few Krispy Kreme burgers in it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
