"Snow Angels"

To commemorate the birth of baby Jesus each Christmas these three angels make an appearance in their controlled snow globe environment and slowly spin around while the song "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" filters through the air as the snow globe snow swirls around them. They only know this one song but never seem to tire playing it and these angels will play this song constantly when they get all wound up.

Heublein Tower Revisited

This past Thanksgiving Day I hiked up Talcott Mountain in Bloomfield, Connecticut and revisited Heublein Tower which is located at the top of the mountain and affords a panoramic view of the Farmington River Valley. In the Summer of 1974 I had a Summer job as a park patrolman at this state park. Part of the job was to inform the visitors of the history of this castle like building which was the residence of Gilbert and Louis Heublein. You may recall that Heublein was the purveyor of some famous brands such as Smirnoff Vodka, Black Velvet Whiskey, A1 Steak sauce, and that finger lickin' good fried chicken made with the secret recipe of herbs and spices by that Colonel from Kentucky. Visitors could climb this tower to an observation deck for the spectacular view. My co-workers and I would sometimes climb up even higher in the tower as there is a pull down stairway above the observation deck level so that we could go near the very top of this 165 foot tower. It is said by some that on a clear day from the top of the tower you could see Boston! Of course these same people may also say that the moon surface is made of Parmesan cheese flakes and in both instances these people are wrong; but you can see quite a distance and for sure you can see Hartford. Many people used to hang glide off the nearby cliffs and often we could see hawks soaring with the wind currents found near the cliffs.
Another part of my job that Summer was to patrol the trails through the woods either on foot or on the Honda 90 supercharged motorcycle that was provided to maintain law and order in the park. All and all not the worst place to be for a job and probably not the worst job in the world.

Thirty-five years after my Summer at the tower I noticed a few changes. The hiking trail is a lot wider than it used to be and large portions of the trail up the mountain from the base now have a small crushed stone surface whereas 35 years ago the trail was more "natural" with a bunch of rocks, boulders, and small streams of water running across the hiking trail. Yes, the trail is more "civilized" and perhaps more "wimpified" than the frontier days of the 1970's which I guess is kind of like life in general as over the years too many people probably fell and skinned their knees and thought it would be fun to sue the State for their clumsiness. There are now modern toilets at the base and summit of the trail but the view hasn't changed as far as I could see. Back in the 70's the State police and the FBI had communication antenna's up at the tower but I doubt that they still have these antennas today with the advent of cell phones.

All in all the tower and trail haven't changed too much over the years and Talcott Mountain State Park is still a fun place to take a hike.

"Larry King Tribute, I Like Pie"

As many of you know, Larry King recently finished his last show on the "TV" this past week after 25 years so for now if you watch "Larry King Live" it probably will have to be old shows also known as "Larry King Recorded". I enjoyed sometimes reading some of Larry King's newspaper columns in USA TodayI think it is as he is the master of the nonsequitur. Which reminds me, I don't think I have ever typed the word nonsequitur in my life and sometimes weeks go by between times I say the word nonsequitur.

This nonsequitur topic reminds me of this new internet service called "Twitter". Have you heard of it yet? On "Twitter" you can communicate with the Internet world, your friends, celebrities, politicians, strangers, in short, just about anyone in the world that you want to follow. What you do is express yourself in up to 140 characters (including letters, numbers,punctuation, and spaces) called "Tweets". Now I don't know why these short communications are called "Tweets" and not "Twits". Maybe because some of the people who "Tweet" on Twitter are "Twits" so it would be awkward or confusing if the "Twits" who "Tweet" had their "Tweets" called "Twits".

Back to Larry King, now that Larry isn't on" Larry King Live" will "King" be demoted to "Prince" and will "Prince" be promoted to "King" and replace "King" with a new variety interview show called the "King Prince Show"?

I can't remember, is it OK to look up at a Lunar eclipse or is it the Solar eclipse? I know one is OK and the other may blind you. I "Tweeted" this question today on "Twitter" but so far no one has helped me solve this eclipse dilemma. Maybe only the "Twits" are "Tweeting" at the present time. I like Pie. The Patriots just won this evening when Green Bay was on the field for the final play and ran out of time on 4th down and about 30 seconds to go and down by 4. I rode by "The Drummer Boy Museum" in Brewster this week in my car just as the song "The Little Drummer Boy" started playing on my car radio. Is Al Gore a good dancer? Does Al Gore have rhythm? Algorithm? Remember the Macarena? Do you like the Macarena better than the "Chicken Dance? I went to a "Yankee Swap Party" last night and 2 people I guess took presents without bringing a present so 2 people didn't get a present or even a lump of coal. Pecan pie is my favorite. Shaq was back with the Celtics today as the Celtics won their thirteenth game in a row!! I also like "Key Lime Pie" but don't really like mince pie. Sometimes nonsequiturs don't seem to make much sense. Thanks for the memories Larry King and Bob Hope.

"President BarBill"

It was interesting to see the recent press conference with President Obama and former President Clinton where President Clinton endorsed the compromise tax and unemployment framework between the House Republican leadership and President Obama. The interesting part of this is that during this press conference all of a sudden President Obama looks at his watch and says something like "OOH, Will you look at the time! I'm already thirty minutes late for a Christmas party with Michelle and you don't want to make Michelle mad. I'll leave you all in the good hands of a former president who had experience (not like me)". President Clinton says, "Please Go!", while thinking to himself, (Obama, you are the biggest fraud fairy tale excuse of a president. I still don't know how you hood-winked everybody to vote for you over Hilary.)

So, for a brief moment in time we had a two headed president: Barry and Bill, or BarBill. And everyone knows two heads are better than one. It is refreshing to see a president that has his priorities in the right order. When faced with doing his job and trying to clarify the tax and unemployment situation in America versus going to a Christmas party with his wife; President Obama chose "good times" and Christmas cheer. He must have figured that he would let someone who is older, wiser, and enjoys being the center of attention (President Clinton) take over for him (sort of like in baseball when the manager calls up the bullpen and sends in a relief pitcher). Besides, maybe President Obama needed a cigarette break and this of course would also be another excellent reason to skip out of the press conference.

Yes, "President BarBill", I won't drink to that but it is better than straight Obama. Of course, with all the partying going on in the White House, President Obama doesn't have to pick up the bar bill as the American people are stuck with the tab.

"Nuckin' Futs"

Remember the classic award winning movie "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star" where Shakespearean actor David Spade played the lead role of "Dickie" with his famous expression, "This is nuckin' futs"....?

Well this expression comes to my mind when the "loony left" is all in a tizzy over President Obama's decision to compromise with the Republican leadership on a framework to leave the current tax rates as they are for an additional two years and extend unemployment benefits for up to an additional 13 months. I was somewhat surprised that President Obama actually showed some "rational behavior and common sense" in this matter as you don't raise taxes in an economic downturn and expect that the economy will improve. The classic class warfare lame brained liberal loons are outraged over the concept of keeping the taxes as they are and call this a "tax cut for the rich". What the "redistributionist retards" believe apparently is that all income is the rightful property of the almighty "State" who then decides who gets to keep some of the earned wages of the working class after the needs of the "State" are first addressed. Keeping the current tax rates is not a tax cut but rather a rejection of a tax increase. The only proposed tax cut in this "framework proposal" as far as I can see is the reduction in the social security tax by 2 percent.

Extending the unemployment benefits from the current 99 weeks maximum for an additional 13 months will probably result in sustaining the current high unemployment rates as many people will not actively seek employment opportunities if they feel that the available job openings don't pay sufficiently more than the amount of their unemployment check. For example, if you are unemployed and see a job opening that would perhaps provide an income of approximately 60 dollars a week above your current unemployment check you may rationally decide that for the time spent at the job it isn't worth it to accept a job like this as long as the unemployment checks keep coming.

Too many people in this world seem to try to "count other people's money" and feel that if someone has more income, assets, a nicer car or house than them then these people should be compelled to give more and more of their income to the government to redistribute to the people who have less than the successful people. These same "envious" people often don't try to better their own life circumstances through hard work, more education, or learning a productive skill as they feel that "the deck is stacked against them" and that they are "entitled" to the benefits of someone else's efforts. I say they are "nuckin' futs". What say you?

Duck Kenzi

Animal Picture Book with Kenzi & Mama

Amazing Grace

Reprise Tree

This photo was taken around noon time on Thanksgiving day of the largest Sycamore tree in Connecticut located in Simsbury, Connecticut right next to the Farmington river. I posted a different photo of this tree in a previous "blog" posting and thought that I would take a more recent picture to see if this tree is still growing. This tree has a circumference of over 23 feet seven inches.

Although "trees don't grow to the sky" as the old saying goes I was surprised to see that this tree is still growing as I calculated that this tree is approximately 2.3 to 2.7 inches wider from measuring the tree from the most extreme left tip to the most extreme right tip on the branches.

I guess this tree still enjoys the almost unlimited supply of fresh water from the river in addition to the carbon emissions from all the cars that go by this tree on the way to and from the Hartford ,Connecticut area. Yes, this location is a veritable "tree paradise" as far as growing conditions are concerned. I'm sure this tree is "thankful" for this prime tree growing location. I will try to remember to measure this tree again next year to see if the tree has grown another couple of inches or so.

Trumpet Player?

Democratic Senator: FCC should shut down Fox News and MSNBC United Liberty Free Market - Individual Liberty - Limited Government I wonder if Senator Jay Rockefeller was in his high school band as a youngster as a trumpet player or perhaps a Tuba player? I wouldn't be surprised as you need a good set of lungs to play many musical instruments as he sure sounds like a "blow hard" at least in my opinion. Listen to this "wind bag" at the link above as he describes his wish that Fox News and MSNBC should be taken off the air as he feels that these stations make it difficult to do their work in congress. Hey, anyone is entitled to their opinion even if they are descendants of wealthy businessmen like Senator Rockefeller who through his lucky birth circumstances was a multi-millionaire when he was one second old. Bully for hm! We should all be so fortunate. However, it seems to me a little presumptuous that he feels that he has the right to try to stifle public discourse and the free flow of competing political ideas. Who gave him this right to assume that his opinions are of more importance than the rest of us? I know stifling political free speech was a popular technique in history such as in Nazi Germany, Maoist China, and the former Soviet Union for example; but, unless America wants to give up freedom of speech and surrender individual thought to the glory of the almighty "State" and walk down the road of socialism or national socialism and have the citizens all become mind numb automatons, then Senator Rockefeller will just have to learn to live with a climate where different points of view are welcome and tolerated.

Yes, we live in a representative republic where elected leaders are voted into office to address the issues of the day. Maybe it is just me, but I resent the elitist attitude portrayed by people such as Senator Rockefeller who don't want to hear the views of the people but relish "tooting" their own self-important horn.

"Great Pumpkins"

I inspected a house today on Cape Cod that had this display of a couple "Great Pumpkins" out in the front yard. The owner said that these pumpkins weren't the biggest he has ever raised as his greatest pumpkin weighed in at 990 pounds. He has never broken the thousand pound weight yet for a pumpkin but of course there is always next season to try again. If he succeeds in growing a thousand pound pumpkin then this pumpkin would weight half a ton.

Probably the greatest record for a fruit that I have heard about at least in song form was when "Cheech and Chong" sang about a "One Ton Tomato". Now that would be truly impressive and you could surely make quite a bit of tomato sauce out of a one ton tomato.

"I Thought Okies Liked Football"

OKC Mayor Mick Cornett says no to Lingerie Football League NewsOK.com. I thought people who lived in Oklahoma liked football. Throughout the years I have often heard of the football rivalry between Oklahoma University and the University of Texas for example. Now I see according to this article (click the link) that Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett has rejected the expansion plans of the Lingerie Football League for a franchise in his fair city. I think this is very discriminatory against the rights of hot babe supermodel types who want to play tackle football while at the same time play in the comfortable sexy attire of bra, panties, and lingerie. To me this type of outfit is more risky to the players or should I say risque; compared to the wimpy 300 pound plus men who have to put on shoulder pads, helmets, and other assorted protection. What do you think?

Why shouldn't supermodels have the right to play nearly nude football? Next thing you know this Mayor will start banning female mud wrestling and jello wrestling. Where will this discrimination end? Maybe the Mayor banned the Lingerie Football League because there don't seem to be any overweight "plain Jane" type young women in the promotional posters. Maybe the mayor banned this franchise because there aren't any men on the roster and I'm sure somewhere in America there must be some men who wouldn't mind tackling these lingerie ladies. I don't know. Maybe this Mayor thinks that this lingerie league is in bad taste but who is he to determine taste? Furthermore, if he thinks these outfits are in bad taste he could stipulate that these young women can play football as long as they play in tasteful edible clothes for example if he is so worried about taste. Maybe this Mayor thought that the lingerie football players would be wearing spiked heels while they play as they often wear this type of shoe on the fashion runway and he was concerned that playing in high heels may result in too many broken ankles not to mention players getting their eyes poked out by these heels. If the Mayor is worried that this form of football is too low class then how about letting this franchise play but insist that the players sing opera songs during time outs so that the spectators can enjoy some "high culture".

In the travel industry, the State of Oklahoma has a slogan "Oklahoma is OK" (probably a take off of the 2 digit state abbreviation). I don't know about you but when I vacation I try to look for someplace to go to that is hopefully better than just "OK". I say let them play or Oklahoma is NOT "OK". Okie Dokie?

"I Learned Something Today"

I learned something today that I never knew before when I met a 96 year old man at his home in Dennis, Mass for a routine insurance inspection. As a boy this man lived in Sudbury, Mass near the legendary baseball great Babe Ruth who at the time lived on a 100 acre farm while he played baseball with the Boston Red Sox. Back then according to this man "The Babe" used to invite his fellow baseball teammates out to his farm to hit golf balls and also practice putting. "The Babe" used to pay the neighborhood kids to retreive the golf balls and would also invite these kids to share in the food that he had on hand for his guests. Yes, "The Babe" enjoyed golf more than baseball. I did not know that.

Instead of swinging a bat in baseball "The Babe" would rather swing a golf club as well as play with his putter.

"Hold Your Tongue"

With the rampant unemployment currently present throughout the nation; it is important to respect the value of a job no matter what the job is and important not to be judgemental towards others who may be perceived as performing certain jobs that may be below their abilities but need the work and money to support themselves until perhaps a better opportunity develops for them. Yes, people should "hold their tongue" and "Judge not lest ye be judged" as "the good book" says.

For example, I remember that when I was growing up in Simsbury, Connecticut during the grammar school or junior high school days that there was a tale often told which I'm not sure was true. The story goes like this; one student would say "My father shovels ashes in a ship yard." Now, there is a big shipbuilding operation in Connecticut around the New London, Connecticut area where they build submarines so maybe this young fellow student was telling the truth. However, this student would encourage in this case to say this phrase "My father shovels ashes in a ship yard" while holding your tongue between your thumb and index finger.

As mentioned above, it is not good to criticize anyone's employment but, in this case while holding your tongue the resulting phrase was somewhat funny then and continues to be somewhat amusing to this very day. Try this yourself if you dare but not around young children unless you want them to learn some interesting language that they too can repeat in their school.

"Sunset on the Evening before the Dawn of Change"

Sunset on this November 1st evening before the dawn of a new day tomorrow. Tomorrow should be an interesting day as the voters start the process of "taking back America" from an out of control elitist power hungry group of smug career politicians. I think tomorrow could be a "day to remember". I don't remember each day of my life in full detail; hardly anyone does I suspect but for some reason November 2nd is usually a memorable day for me.

It will be interesting to see how tomorrow "plays out". It may in the end turn out to be the best thing politically for President Obama to lose control of the House of Representatives as he may have found a new group to castigate as his "enemy du jour". President Obama can't continue forever "blaming Bush" for his own horror show antics. Just like in the movie "The Dark Knight" with "Batman" and the "Joker" where the Joker said that he needed a foil, a nemesis, if you will.

Now, I don't personally see how Barak Obama at this point in time will be re-elected to a second presidential term. If the unemployment rate stays above 8% along with his poor performance with the "BP oil spill disaster; I can't see him winning another election. However, there is a lot of time until November 2012 and no one knows for sure what the future will bring between now and then and who the Republican party will nominate for president. Some people have short term memories and forget things over time.

What I forsee happening politically is that President Barak Obama will now try to emphasize a spirit of "compromise" to "get things done" with the new Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio). However , President Obama's idea of compromise will be to stubbornly cling to his notion that he knows what he is doing and what is best for America while trying to expand governmental control of the ecomomy and people's lives. President Obama will also keep up the "class warfare" argument that "the rich" are not paying their "fair share" of the tax burden. When Speaker John Boehner and the House Republicans reject President Obama's lame brained ideas; President Obama will say he "tried" to get along with the Republicans but that they just won't cooperate. Just like President Clinton rebounded in the polls and won a second term when there was Republican control in Congress; President Obama has an opportunity to regain some of his popularity. I don't think President Obama will compromise with the Republican leadership though as he has shown himself to be a man who thinks he has an almost divine destiny of his vision for America. I doubt that President Obama has the political skills of President Clinton to take advantage of the "moderating influence" of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

We shall see. What do you think?

Bet you can't do this!

Lucianne.com News Forum - Thread Interesting link to some amaaaazing feats. Bet you can't do all of these actions. I know I wouldn't attempt all of these. How about you?

Presidential Strike

Lucianne.com News Forum - Thread It was nice to see Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush tonight at the start of the World Series Game between the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers. President George W. Bush threw the first ceremonial pitch to Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan. Click the above link to see the former president throw a strike. George W. Bush definitely throws better than the current president who seems to pitch to the far left.

""The Punisher"

R, U, N, N, M, E ? .... Interesting to hear our esteemed president address the Latino audience and exhort the Hispanic populace to get out the vote to "reward their friends and punish our enemies". Are you an enemy? Well, if you believe in the rule of law; apparently you are an enemy. If you think illegal immigration is illegal; then you aren't showing true American values. It is somewhat surprising to hear a president describe people who don't support his left leaning viewpoint and world view as an "enemy". Maybe its just me, but, I thought the president was supposed to try to represent ALL of the people in the country and not just be a partisan hack who wants to reward his friends and punish his enemies. Notice how "fired up" President Obama is on the campaign trail as he flies around the nation basking in the warm glow of applause and adoration from his faithful followers. Although the number of his faithful followers is steadily decreasing as time goes by ( 37% favorable rating according to the most recent poll ) ; he seems to relish looking down from his podium and teleprompter and explain how good and smart he is and how dumb people are who don't agree with him.

It is not uncommon to compare current presidents with previous presidents. Perhaps this president is an amalgam of the worst traits of Presidents Nixon and Carter. President Obama appears to exude the thin skinned "enemies list" traits of President Nixon with the incompetence of President Carter. What do you think?

President Obama some say has a cerebral thoughtful professorial manner as he carefully weighs the issues of the nation. In school a professor has to have a class to teach his subject and students. Well, President Obama has no class. What else would you say about a president that flutters around the country with his fake folksy accent and says that Republicans have to sit "in back " . For someone who thinks he is so smart, President Obama with his nose held high up in the air; must think that he is above the common folk as he lectures his audiences on how the current state of the nation has nothing to do with anything that he did. For a supposed "smart guy" President Obama doesn't show any economic sense. You don't raise taxes during a recession and expect employment and economic activity to increase.

Don't be surprised President Obama that your party gets "punished" at the ballot box this November. As they say, "the only true poll is taken on election day". Barring extreme voter fraud by the Democratic side, a "red tide" is coming and I will "go out on a limb" and predict that Nancy Pelosi's days as Speaker of the House are numbered.

Peacock

Here's a photo of a peacock I saw today in the garage of a house I inspected in West Barnstable on Cape Cod. The owners said that this peacock likes to come around and eat the dog food that is found in a couple of dog food bowls in this garage.

That is something I don't see every day as of course usually peacocks like cat food.

Dennis Green-Republican Rally

I went to a Republican Campaign Rally this afternoon held at the Dennis Green on Rt.6A. Charlie Baker, Republican candidate for Governor, and Jeff Perry, the Republican 10th Congressional candidate were there along with the "press" and a few other candidates. In this photo Charlie Baker is speaking with a Channel 7 reporter and other media members. Charlie addressed an enthusiastic crowd and emphasized his themes of fiscal accountability, making Massachusetts a friendlier place to create new jobs, and ending the cycle of cronyism and tax increases. Only 10 days to go until the November 2nd election. I hope Charlie Baker becomes the next governor of the Commonwealth as it would be good to have a governor with some business experience who is able to try to resolve the current fiscal mess.

"The Puppetmasters"

Juan Williams: Fox News gives Juan Williams an expanded role - latimes.com The "Puppetmasters" controlling the political purity of National Public (Progressive) Radio may have stumbled "big time" when Juan Williams was fired for expressing his personal thought that he gets nervous when he boards an airplane and sees Muslim passengers dressed in "traditional Muslim" garb. A certain billionaire just gave NPR 1.8 million dollars. With friends like this billionaire it is clear that NPR no longer needs any public funding and it is time to de-fund this organization and let them compete if they can in the media marketplace without any governmental assistance (see the link from the LA Times). The progressive left of NPR apparently has no use for anyone that doesn't follow their viewpoint and agenda. These extremists have "crossed the line" regarding "free speech" with their intolerance for any view that doesn't conform to their "holier than thou politically correct" claptrap.

Let the debate begin. Do you want to live in a world of controlled speech or free speech? I think NPR "outfoxed" themselves and will be Soros (I mean sorry).

"Who's the Scariest of Them All?"

Driving home from Wellfleet, Mass after attending the 10th Annual Wellfleet Oysterfest; I came across this "scary" house on State Highway in Eastham. Lots of scary ghouls, goblins, including "Michael Jackson", a dead rock band(The Grateful Dead perhaps?), and numerous tombstones. I noticed that the traffic was "bumper to bumper" from Wellfleet up until passing this house and then the cars started going the normal speed limit of about 45 miles an hour. This photo was a "drive by shooting" on my part as I took the shot from my car while driving past this apparently somewhat haunted dwelling near sundown. I guess either many people in the cars in front of me also slowed down to take pictures or else these people were so frightened of this horrific scene that they sped up once they saw this ghoulish assemblage. These creatures I guess only seem to come out near nightfall as I didn't recall seeing them during the daylight hours when I drove up to the festival.

The "scariest" figure though was not seen at this macabre dwelling. Yes, although he and his family have vacationed nearby on Martha's Vineyard for the past two Summers, for some reason he didn't join the other assembled frightening figures this past Sunday evening. Perhaps because he himself is more frightening than all of these other scary figures combined and didn't want to share his scariness with this assembled cast of creatures.

Yes, if you believe in the free enterprise capitalist system where you get rewarded based on your efforts; Barak Hussein Sotero Obama, is the scariest of them all. Socialism and Communism can seem to be appealing as a theoretical construct with each person contributing towards the greater good of society according to their abilities and sharing equally the results of their efforts with everyone else so that all will benefit. However, this does not work well in practice as forced expropriation to "spread the wealth around" destroys the incentive to work hard and is basically theft from the productive members of society.

It is one thing to help the "truly needy" who have physical or mental handicaps and are not able to support themselves. Many churches and charity organizations exist to help the disadvantaged among us and many people freely of their own volition contribute to these worthy causes as well as directly helping out friends and family.

It is another thing to have a society which demonises business and entrepreneurship during a time of rising unemployment and trillion dollar federal governmental budget deficits and then expects these same businesses to try to expand their business during a time of great economic uncertainty caused by the inept governmental policies of passing the TARP stimulus bill along the biggest boondoggle of all time; the Healthcare "reform" Act. Combine these actions with letting the Bush tax cuts expire as they probably will as Congress skipped out of town without even addressing this situation.

"Who's the scariest of them all?" For me, President Barak Obama is the scariest as he can create fiscal nightmares all throughout the year for our country and its freedom, individual liberty, and free market system; not just during the Halloween season.

"Neighborhood Turkeys"

While inspecting a home in South Yarmouth on Cape Cod today I came across a group of wild turkeys in the back yard of a developed residential neighborhood. Apparently this gang of turkeys roams the neighborhood and eats bird seed from the bird feeders. I was surprised that these birds weren't startled by my presence at all and didn't mind being photographed. There were a baker's dozen of big birds who sleep in the neighborhood trees at night so that the foxes and coyotes don't eat them. That seems like a smart idea for a type of bird that has a reputation of being on the dumb side. Yes these neighborhood turkeys seem almost as domesticated as a pet. I did promise these turkeys I would give them copies of my photographs so I'll just have to scan the trees tonight in this neighborhood to see where they are spending the night.

"Oyster Cake"

Here's a photo of the "Oyster Cake" from the 2010 Wellfleet Oysterfest. This giant oyster cake was cut up and distributed throughout the crowd.

The cake was quite tasty and didn't taste like oysters at all! Near the end of the cake cutting the cake distributers were probably tired of cutting and lifting all the cake so the last dozen or so remaining pieces of cake were extremely large in size being about a foot long and about six inches high. It was fun to watch people eat these giant pieces of cake. Growing up we were often told to finish out meals at home as there were many people in China and other places that were starving. Of course, in the present time that is probably no longer true as China seems to have a fairly robust economy while America has over 42 million people on food stamps.

I wonder if Chinese parents tell their children to eat up all their food as there are many Americans on food stamps; probably not yet but I wouldn't be surprised if this happens in the future.

"Aw Shucks"

These oysters were all in the same boat this weekend at the Wellfleet Oyster Festival. How would you feel if someone invaded your home and tore it in half; then placed you on a cold bed of ice exposed to the elements, then someone comes along and lifts you up and puts you on a plate and squeezes lemon juice on your insides , covers you with cold red cocktail sauce and horse radish and then swallows you while you are still alive? Such is the fate of the oyster and thousands of oysters were swallowed over this weekend festival. "Aw shucks", what a way to go. Lucky oysters don't talk much or the screams of these slaughtered oysters would be deafening!

Wellfleet Oysterfest "Incredible Casuals" 10/17/10

Just returned from the 10th annual "Wellfleet Oysterfest" held in downtown Wellfleet. "The Incredible Casuals" were the last musical act. There were tons of oysters of course as well as some "Chowdah's", Sam Adam's "Oyster Stout" beer and lots of craft and food booths.

Wild Turkey in the Straw

Here's a photo of some wild turkeys taken today just before sundown in Harwich on Cape Cod. There were about 18 wild turkeys that leisurely walked right in front of my car but it took a few seconds for me to reach over to my passenger seat and grab my camera. During those few seconds the turkeys crossed the road. I don't know why they crossed the road exactly but probably to get to the other side as I do know that is why chickens cross the street. Hey hey, wild turkeys in the straw.

"Semi-Refreshing Barf"

I'm sure most of you have "thrown up, puked, regurgitated, barfed, and upchucked" in your life as well as I and I don't know about you but generally this experience is not "one of my favorite things" as Julie Andrews would say as she would sing about "raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens",and something about mittens. "Puking" of course is your body's defense mechanism sometimes on expelling from your system things that aren't good for you. I guess it is better to "throw up" the bad stuff than keep this "stuff" in your body.

For example, I used to like to buy smoked oysters in a tin can from Thailand. One time though for some reason, I ate a whole can of smoked oysters and also had a cup of yogurt after eating these oysters. I then went to work at my seasonal job at The Soundings motel on Cape Cod. I was working with my brother Scott that night and all of a sudden started to feel a bit "queesey" and started to shiver uncontrollably even though it was probably about 80 degrees outside being during the Summer season. In addition to the shivering I guess I was experiencing "vertigo" as the walls of the office started to slant at non 90 degree angles. After a while, I guess my body decided for me, "enough of this" as I rushed to the bathroom and got rid of the oysters and yogurt from my system. After that I felt a lot better, the shivering stopped,the office walls resumed their proper angle, but was left with that "sour taste" in my mouth.

One time in my life though, I do remember a "semi-refreshing barf". I don't remember all the details of this barf as to what I ate before this stomach eruption; however, I do know that I drank quite a bit of orange juice right before puking. I remember upchucking and thinking to myself,"That wasn't bad in fact that was rather refreshing." I think that maybe the citric acid found in the orange juice counteracted some of the stomach acids that cause the sourness of most pukes and the fact that I drank the cold orange juice right before throwing up probably helped in making that regurgitation experience almost pleasant.

I guess if I had my druthers, give me an almost refreshing orange juice barf any time over a typical sour mouthed or "dry heave" experience. Of course, usually I for one would prefer not to puke at all. But, as in most things in life, there are different grades of human experience and a semi-pleasant barf experience isn't "half bad".

Memorable Guests

Working at the front desk of a seasonal oceanfront motel on Cape Cod you get to meet all sorts of people from all over the world. Some people are more memorable than others. Today I will attempt to describe one such memorable couple of people who came back year after year.

Their names are Robert and Earline Vanderland, (not their real names but pretty close). Robert was probably around sixty to middle sixty in age and Earline was a couple of years older or younger but basically the same general age. Robert had thinning hair, glasses and ears that stood out from his head. In this description the intent is not to critique their appearance but to describe them. Earline would tell us that she had to help Robert with his "ear wax" build-up and sometimes Robert wouldn't hear too well unless his ears were cleaned out. Earline was of average height with small round glasses, a roundish face, and a high pitched voice. Robert had a deeper voice and a somewhat nervous sounding speech pattern.

For example, Earline and Robert would come to the front desk and speak with us, Earline cooing " We're going to out favorite restaurant across the street, Yum!, Yum!"; while rubbing her hand in a circular motion across her belly. Robert chimed in with his deep voiced mumbling style, "Yeah, huh, huh, its really good huh, huh, I like it huh, huh, its yummy huh huh".

One of their quirks over the years was to march up and down the rows of the parking lot I guess for exercise. I don't know if they were looking for some pennies, nickels, and assorted change or they just liked the feel of melting asphalt on their sneakers. Other guests liked to walk on the oceanfront beach but this couple preferred the parking lot.

The Vanderlands also preferred "Room 2" for some reason even though this room had a partially obstructed view of the ocean from their room and patio. One year they were moved to another room with a better view and they came up to the desk lamenting this and how they preferred "Room 2".

People at the front desk would speculate on how this couple of people met each other and comment on how well they got along with each other. Year after year they would come back to the hotel. The most memorable fact came to light one year when I learned that Robert and Earline were not married to each other. Everyone always assumed that they were a quirky but happily married couple. No, these people weren't having "an affair" or "living together in sin". They are brother and sister.

A memorable reflection about two memorable guests.

Cranberry Harvest

Yes, Fall is once again upon us and on Cape Cod that means Cranberry Harvest time. Today I noticed that the cranberry growers were harvesting a bog right up the street from my home just a few hundred yards away.

These harvesting machines are kind of interesting as they roll across the cranberry bog chopping off the cranberries from the vines after the bog is flooded. The cranberries then float in the water where they are corralled into the ends of the bog and later loaded up into trucks and carted away to make all sorts of delicious drinks, sauces and jams.

Although these cranberry harvesting machines aren't built for speed they do go quite fast. Why, when I was watching these men work; I swear that one of the machines must have been speeding along at maybe 3 or even up to 4 miles an hour! These very dangerous speeds require that the machine operators take extensive training courses before they are licenced to operate this equipment. I couldn't help but wonder why these daredevils weren't wearing some sort of crash helmets. Oh well, I guess they know what they are doing and just like the danger and excitement of their work.

Truro Bay Beach Path

Up in Truro today. Wandered down this rustic board path over the dune and down to the beach. The sand is increasing here over the years and the owner of the cottage I inspected said that they are considering raising their cottage a few feet to reclaim their panoramic water view.

"Kinda Like Revenge of the Ants"

Las Vegas hotel 'death ray' leaves guests with severe burns Mail Online Interesting article about the new "Vdara" Hotel in Las Vegas that apparently produces roving "death rays" due to the shape of the windows and the strong Sun. In the pool area there is a band of extreme Sun rays that follows the Sun throughout the day. There is no confirmation that this building was designed by a group of super intelligent ant architects out to exact revenge on all the humans, particularly pre-teen boys who used to use a magnifying glass to fry ants on a hot sunny Summer day. It is a fact though that there are many ants in Las Vegas as well as quite a bit of the rest of the land on earth and ants are known to construct elaborate tunnels. Compared with "ant farms" and other ant colonies; designing a hotel shouldn't be that big of a deal. Plus, compared with humans ants for their size have "super human strength" as they can lift objects many times their size and weight.

Somewhere out there maybe colonies of ants are rejoicing as the "ants strike back".

"Cold Beer"

I'm psyched! I just went to the local liquor store here on Cape Cod and saw that they had some bottles of "Coors" Banquet Style beer available for sale. I remember during the 1970's when I was in high school and college you couldn't get "Coors" beer East of the Mississippi River. There were always a few high school and college friends who would go out to Colorado for a ski trip and they would bring back a few six packs of "Coors".

Wow!, Now it seems all I have to do is walk or drive to my package store and there it is; the legendary "Coors" beer right here in Massachusetts! Now, I don't know if my local liquor store has a special connection with the Coors brewery or if they make a special trip to Colorado to pick up the beer and drive it back to their store. What I do know is now I can buy Coors beer without having to rely on somebody bringing the beer back from the "Rockies". Now, I can savor the delicious refreshing crisp taste of the Rocky mountain water of this legendary brew right here on old Cape Cod. I don't know if your town has any access to "Coors" but if you are near Cape Cod you can now buy "Coors" beer. Just think, you can now save the cost of an airplane fare or a long distance road trip!

I don't know about the beer you drink; but this beer even tells you when it is cold enough to drink because the mountains on the beer bottle turn blue! Wow, what will they think of next?

Maybe they will come up with a devise for blind beer drinkers when the bottle will talk and say,"I'm cold enough to drink now". Or, "Get your cold beer, cold beer here."

"Send In the Clowns"

YouTube - Stephen Colbert, Corn Packer As America descends further into decline as all former great nations do over time such as the decline of the Roman Empire with its "Bread and Circuses", gladiators and feeding Christians to the lions, Stephen Colbert of the television show "The Colbert Report" recently testified before a Congressional Committee investigating the role of the migrant farm worker. In this "You Tube" video, Colbert described himself as a "corn packer" as he worked for a day on a corn farm packing up crates of corn. He hopes that no one is offended by the term "corn packer" which he said is another name for a "Gay Iowan".

It is good to see a little levity in the halls of Congress, don't you think? After all, under the able leadership of President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid;some say the governmental budget is balanced and may even show a surplus, unemployment is no longer a problem with many employers having trouble finding workers for their job openings, house prices are skyrocketing, just to name a few of the great things currently happening in this country. Of course, these people are mostly found in insane asylums.

The irony of "expert witness" Steven Colbert testifying is that he seems to fit right in with all the other clowns and jokers who are already currently members of our ruling class.

After his work as a "corn packer" there has been no confirmation as yet that Steven Colbert has plans to work a day at a candy factory and try his hand at being a "fudge packer".

"Pondering Their Future"

I saw these two birds yesterday at the end of a dock on Dinah's Pond in Yarmouth on Cape Cod. Being one of the first days of the Fall season; I imagine that they are pondering their future as they look over the water and up towards the sky. Yes, I'm sure they have a lot to think about such as whether to stay on Cape Cod for the upcoming Winter season or fly down South for some warmer weather. Of more immediate concern these birds are probably wondering what they are going to eat today and whether they will have good luck in catching some little fish or some tasty bugs, (Yum Yum).

Of course, maybe these birds are just enjoying the warm temperatures of the day. Maybe however, they are discussing the judges announced for "American Idol" and are wondering how Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler will work out. One thing for sure I know that they wish Steven Tyler all the best and hope that his chair is not too close to the end of the elevated stage. These birds don't want Steven Tyler falling of the stage again. You see, when birds jump off an elevated platform whether a dock or a stage ; they can flap their wings and fly away. However, when Steven Tyler jumps off a stage he ends up falling down and hurting himself; even if he falls off the stage while singing "I Believe I Can Fly."

"Musical Math"

YouTube - The Fibonacci in Lateralus Here is an interesting You Tube video of the song "Lateralus" by the Los Angeles based band "Tool" that holds for the premise that this song was deliberately written incorporating the "Fibonacci" number sequence. Fibonacci numbers are used by some investment traders in the stock market and are also said to frequently occur in nature such as the arrangement of some plant leaves and the chambered nautilus of the sea.

I personally find the group "Tool" to be one of the most creative and innovative rock bands of the current rock scene. I have seen "Tool" live at least four times. They incorporate an elaborate light show with videos developed by lead guitarist Adam Jones. Drummer Danny Carey, in my opinion is one of the best if not THE best rock drummer. "Tool" songs are noted for their intricate rhythms and tempo shifts.

I recall one of the shows at the "Great Woods, Tweeter Center, Comcast Center" in Mansfield, Massachusetts as this venue has undergone a few name changes over the years. I was in the eleventh row that night for the "Tool" concert and we were in front of a wall of music speakers that were primarily used by bass player Justin Chancellor. I can still reflect on the "power" of the bass music as you of course could hear the music but also I could "feel" the music right in my sternum area of my chest.

Maynard James Keenan is the singer in "Tool" as well as the band "A Perfect Circle" is somewhat unique as although he is the singer he doesn't stand out front on the stage but rather remains in the shadows to the left of drummer Danny Carey and in front of the massive video screens which are in back of the band.

Yes I think the band "Tool" is cool and definitely more musically and artistically talented than your typical pop or rap group while using things like mathematical concepts such as the "Fibonacci" number series in their songs.

Chicken or Egg ?

Here's a photo of about 25 chickens that I saw today while inspecting a home in Barnstable. There are some "Rhode Island Red" chickens shown here as well as some other chickens.

The age old question is "Which came first the chicken or the egg ?" In this case the chicken came first as I asked the owner this question. He replied,"Well Rick. I built this chicken coop about eight months ago but for some reason I wasn't getting any eggs. Then, I decided to bring in about 25 chickens and all of a sudden eggs started appearing daily after the chickens were in this coop. So, I definitely think the chicken came before the egg at least here at my home."

What is your opinion? Chicken or Egg? Which came first?

"Four Frog Day"

See if you can find the frogs in this picture. Believe it or not there are four visible frogs and I don't know how many other frogs are in the water. I was inspecting a home in Barnstable on Cape Cod this morning and found these frogs. One hint, the frogs are found somewhat in a straight line and look like maybe they were getting ready for a "frog Olympic" swimming event. I was somewhat amazed that these frogs didn't move to jump in the small man made pond in front of them or make any noise. Then I remembered where I was as this house is located on a parcel of land that fronts a golf course putting green. Everyone knows that golfers require extreme quiet as they line up their puts so maybe these frogs were just maintaining good golf course etiquette as they didn't "croak" once or even whisper or murmur to each other while the golfers were putting. The former owner of this home was a lady from England so maybe this lady taught the frogs "English manners". Another thought, maybe in the past these frogs noticed an opossum who stood perfectly still when people or other animals were around and picked up this behavior as these frogs appeared to me to be like "frog statues". In any event, you probably don't see four frogs in a row every day; at least I don't. Yes this was a glorious later Summer day on Cape Cod; "A Four Frog Day" if you will which I personally prefer to a chilly Winter "Three Dog Night."

Drunken Baboon Winos

Drunk baboons plague Cape Town's exclusive suburbs - Telegraph Interesting article about the drunken baboon problem in some of the swanky sections of South Africa. Some of these baboons can't hold their liquor it seems as they consume fallen fermented grapes from some of the old South African vineyards. Apparently, these brazen baboons were watching all the humans take the winery tours and probably heard all the laughter and good times these tourists had while sampling the various local wines. These baboons decided that they wanted to have some fun too so they started copying this humanoid behavior just like the old expression which you have probably heard; "Baboon see Baboon do."

What would you do if your house was raided by a bunch of drunk, rowdy, unwashed, baboons who started throwing fruit and other objects at you? What would you think if you came across these baboons raiding your refrigerator and kitchen cabinets?

This drunken baboon behavior has to stop! How can these baboons perform their normal jobs such as picking bugs off each other if they are drunk all the time? These wino baboons will probably fall out of their tree homes more frequently if they persist in their alcoholic stupor for days on end. Next thing you know these lazy simians will forget how to forage and will have to rely on the government for food and housing like so many of their human counterparts.

Earl's Duke

YouTube - Gene Chandler Duke of Earl "Hurricane Earl" left Cape Cod this morning without much of a punch. Before "Earl" approached New England and was a category 4 hurricane I was telling people that I saw that I thought and hoped that when "Earl" passed close to Cape Cod that the winds would top out at around 50 miles per hour . And by golly, this here hurricane "Earl" ended up being a rainy tropical storm. Although Cape Cod was declared an emergency area prior to the storm's arrival; at least in my local area of Dennis Port there weren't even any downed tree limbs or fallen leaves from the trees. Yes, "Earl's dukes" were rather ineffective. Check out the You Tube video to see Gene Chandler sing a about the power of the real "Duke of Earl". Earl's near miss makes for a quieter Labor Day weekend but I'm glad Earl's dukes missed instead of landing a knockout punch.

"Cuttin' The Cheese"

Who cut the cheese? I cut the cheese. Today I opened a package of Cabot Horseradish cheese and cut off a few slices. I also had some pumpernickel bread and pinched a loaf before I sliced off a couple pieces.

As I reflect on cheese today to me it is amazing the number of types of cheese that are available in the marketplace. In most major supermarkets there is a huge selection to choose from with cheeses from all over the world. What is your favorite type of cheese? Do you cut the cheese with a regular knife or a custom cheese knife or do you just bite off a hunk of cheese with your teeth?

I really like this Cabot brand Horseradish cheese. It has a lot of flavor. Speaking of horseradish, I remember one time about four years ago I went to Foxwoods Casino and the Pequot Nation which is surrounded by the State of Connecticut with three friends from Ireland who were working on Cape Cod for the Summer season. They had never been to a casino before . We had dinner at the Festival Marketplace buffet that evening.

At the buffet there was one station where one of the chefs was hand carving a roast beef for the diners. Next to the roast beef there was a large container of horseradish that you could serve yourself as a compliment to the roast beef. One Irish friend named Claudaugh, came back to the table with her roast beef and a large mound of white substance on her plate. She took a large helping of this white mound and put it into her mouth. Apparently she thought she was helping herself to mashed potato but in fact she had loaded her plate up with a big mound of horseradish. The look on her face was "priceless" as she ate a mouthful of pure horseradish. Hot stuff!

I like horseradish and cheese and horseradish cheese but have never personally been fond of eating mouthfuls of pure horseradish. Maybe that is an Irish custom.

Patience Is A Virtue

China Traffic Jam Could Last Into September - WSJ.com I don't know if you saw this story about the 60 mile traffic jam in China that may take weeks to clear up. I don't know about you but I get annoyed somewhat with traffic jams in America around cities such as Boston, Hartford, and/or Providence when I get caught in them and get delayed for a half hour or so. Can you imagine a traffic jam lasting for weeks? What would you do if you felt thirsty and wanted a drink of water over those weeks or if you had to use the "restroom" during that time? What if you wanted something to eat while you were waiting? Imagine sleeping in your car and wearing the same clothes for weeks on end?

The article found on the "Drudge Report" states the the traffic inched forward approximately one third of a mile per day. Now, I'm not an Olympic athlete, but I know I could walk or crawl faster than that. Also, if you notice in the picture of the traffic jam in the article the other side of the road appears to be "wide open" with just a couple of cars going the other direction. Gee, I wonder if it would have been a good idea to divert some of the traffic to the other side of the road to alleviate this traffic jam? Sixty miles is equivalent to a traffic jam from approximately Hyannis Massachusetts to Boston. On Labor Day on Cape Cod there are often reports of the traffic leaving the Cape being backed up from the Sagamore Bridge to the Orleans rotary. This distance is approximately 35 miles and takes maybe a few hours to clear up not a week or two. Apparently there have been more cars recently sold in China than the amount of road capacity to handle all the cars and trucks. The Chinese culture has a long history and generally they have learned the value of patience and long term planning such as building the "Great Wall" which surely wasn't built in a day and from what I understand is one of the only and perhaps the only man made structure identifiable from Space. We Americans tend to get impatient if you are stopped at a traffic light and there is more than a second delay before the car ahead of you reacts to the green light. We have places to go, things to do.

I guess the only way to survive a traffic jam such as the Chinese 60 mile weeks on end mess would be if you had an air conditioned mobile home or custom motor coach with a kitchen, satellite television and Internet connection, a full wardrobe of clothes, full bathroom, a few kegs of beer and cheese nips, and maybe a grill to cook up some steaks and hamburgers. A few weeks worth of clean towels or course would also be required. Although this would still be "roughing it"; without these items the wait would just be too inconvenient, uncomfortable, and frankly slightly boring. "Are we there yet? No, my son we just went a third of a mile today and we have sixty more miles until the traffic lets up."

I guess we Americans just don't have the patience to sit through a minor multi-week traffic jam.

The Dreaded 8/20

Some people believe that certain days are lucky or unlucky such as March 17th, St. Patrick's Day and the "luck of the Irish" with four leaf clovers and gold found at the end of the rainbow and Leprechauns. Unlucky days for some are Friday the 13th, "The Ides of March, and the Ides of April (tax day deadline).

For me, over the past two years, August 20th has been my "unlucky" day. Last year I fractured my wrist while playing volleyball as I dove into a wall while chasing the ball. For some reason when I put out my hand to stop my momentum, the wall didn't give but my wrist did! SNAPPP!! OUCH!!

So today I am commemorating the unhappy anniversary of my wrist fracture. I had a couple insurance inspections to do today and drove to them in my new to me car. As I finished my second inspection in Harwichport I was driving back to my house to download the pictures into my computer. While driving I was listening to the album "10,000 Days" by the Los Angeles based group "Tool." My new 6 CD car music system has a lot of bass (not a fish) but I heard what I though was a "rumbling" toward the back of my car. When I arrived at my house I saw that I had a flat tire on the right back side. I have an air compressor in my car in case I need to inflate the tires as my former car for some reason had tires that needed frequent inflating; plus President Obama said that we all should drive our cars with properly inflated tires. In this area I agree with the president and he should know, as GM (Government Motors) is basically under his control so he must know something about cars.

So the "dreaded August 20th" struck me again. Last year a broken wrist, this year a broken tire. Although both events aren't too much fun it does appear that the effect of August 20th is weakening this year compared with last year as I would definitely choose a flat tire over a broken wrist. If I'm lucky maybe next year my "bad luck" hopefully will be something even more minor such as accidentally breaking off part of my sneaker shoelace. Yes, 820 very unlucky for me. I wonder if some people have problems with April 20 (420 man) which as we all know happens to be Adolph Hitler's birthday.

Black Car

I bought a new to me car yesterday a 2007 Mercury Milan pictured here on a cloudy morning. My other car, a 1999 Mercury Mystique was starting to rust, the transmission was starting to go I think as the car engine would "race and buck" while driving but the "last straw" so to speak for the Mystique was a leak in the brake line so I didn't have working brakes. I had to put the brake pedal to the floor to get the car to stop.When I would fill the car up with brake fluid the fluid would empty out within a mile or two so I didn't want to have to stop every mile I drove that car and refill the brake fluid as it would be quicker almost to walk.

My new car only had a little over 6,000 miles on it when I bought it. My last car I had for a little over 10 years so I probably got my money's worth out of it. I guess this is another example of "nothing lasts forever" and I could have decided to get the transmission fixed and new brake lines but as they say there comes a time when you have to decide whether to keep the car or "move on" and whether to spend "good money' on an ageing car or get a car built in the current century.

Since I didn't have a "working car" I was somewhat "over a barrel" when I went to the car dealership. At first the dealership literally offered me zero dollars for the Mystique and I said, "You know I just put over $30 worth of gas in the car and the catalytic converter is worth something." I have heard that car dealers often try to "steal" cars but zero dollars is nothing. So, I received a very minor trade in allowance but at least it was "better than nothing."

I was almost trying to beat the world's record for buying a car in the quickest time possible as I spent less than two hours at the dealership before I drove out with my new to me car.

I think the picture I took came out pretty well as it was not taken on a bright sunny day where the glare of the Sun sometimes would cause a not so good picture. I have heard that "black cars look better in the shade." "Black cars look better in the shade" I think would make a good title for a song. "Oh wait, I think there already is a song called that. Have you heard it? Do you know what a "black car" is?

One thing I know for sure; a black car in the shade should be a little cooler than a black car in the sun.

Willow Street Windmill

Here is a photo of the Willow Street windmill located on Bass River in Yarmouth on Cape Cod originally built in 1791.

This windmill had blades which turned round and round with the wind to probably grind grain into flour.

Today, there is a renewed interest in wind power on the Cape although some people don't like the thought of having windmills near their property.

"What goes around comes around", I guess.

"Into MY Belly"

Here's a photo of the fish and chips lunch I had yesterday while eating with Mayor John at "The Sailing Cow" restaurant in Dennis Port across the street from the Glendon Road Beach. I met John at the house he and his family rented and for fun I checked "Google Maps" for directions, distance and estimated time from the house to the restaurant. The "Google Map" said that the restaurant was .1 mile away with an estimated time of 53 seconds to travel the distance.

We decided to walk as although we are all getting a day older each day; a one tenth mile walk is still well within our walking range and we probably could have even crawled there if we couldn't walk. It was windy down by the beach so instead of 53 seconds it took us 57 seconds to walk to the restaurant and that long walk sure built up our appetite!!

I recall a while ago that I saw on the Internet somewhere that someone had a web site called "Into my belly" or something like that where they took a picture of each meal they ate and put the photo on their web page. This concept made me reflect, " I wonder how much food I have eaten in my life so far and how much milk, beer, water, orange juice, Diet Coke, Tang, and other beverages I have consumed to date?" When I visited the Canadian Horseshoe Falls just North of Buffalo, New York a long time ago; the guide there said that there has been more Coca Cola consumed than the amount of water that falls over the Canadian Falls in a day! And let me tell you that is quite a bit of water!

It would be interesting to see, (at least to me), if at the end of your lifetime you could be given a visualization of all the above mentioned foods and drinks in one spot so you could get an idea of the quantity and type of food that comprised your lifetime. You could then compare and contrast with other souls up in Heaven as this would provide many hours of conversation. For example, if you ran into a Hindu soul you could say, "Hi, Hindu Soul Brother! Did you know that in my most recent lifetime I consumed 13,154.27 pounds of steaks, hamburger, and other assorted cow parts? How about you? Oops! my bad, You guys don't eat cows! Sorry!"

Or, say a Korean soul originally from Seoul came up to you in Heaven and said,"Boy, I sure loved eating dog during my last earthly existence. Very, very tasty! My meal scorecard shows that I ate 4,168 dogs when I lived in Seoul." You could reply "Yuck, that's sick!!! The only dogs I ate were "hot dogs" as I ate 7,103 of them including 449 of them in total while attending baseball games of which I attended 247 baseball games over my past lifetime. Most of the "hot dogs" I ate were "all beef". This comment made the Hindu soul turn green.

Capital One credit cards has a commercial with the tag line; "What's in your wallet?" In regards to food the question to reflect upon is "What's in your belly? and What has been in your belly? and What will be in your belly in the future?" Yesterday for me fish and chips, cole slaw,french fries, catsup,and tartar sauce for lunch with two Diet Cokes with a slice of lemon and ice cubes. I have the picture to prove it!

Food for thought.

"Weiner Acting Like A Hotdog!!"

Breitbart.tv » Rep. Anthony Weiner Loses it on House Floor Rep. Anthony Weiner recently "blew a gasket" on the House of Representative's floor and did his best impression of Al Pacino in the movie "Dog Day Afternoon" when Al's character screamed in the courtroom scene "YOU'RE OUT OF ORDER!, YOU'RE OUT OF ORDER!". In typical democratic fashion Rep. Weiner blames the congressional Republicans for the failure to pass a congressional measure when the Democratic party is in the majority but apparently didn't support this proposal.

In these modern times it is hard to break through the multitude of news stories and try to get your viewpoint publicised to the masses without doing something out of the ordinary. In reflecting on Rep. Weiner's outburst on the House floor; Mr. Weiner probably felt that to gain attention he had to "lose it". So, by acting like a "hot dog"on a hot Summer day, Weiner was "cookin" and was able to garner a little attention.

"Ahoy! Koi"

I took this picture last night at brother Scott's Koi pond as I was over there to enjoy a lobster and corn dinner to commemorate my Dad's birthday. We had sweet potato pie and pecan pie for dessert. I like pecan pie.

These Koi fish are in the pond year round and somehow survive the Winter when the pond almost freezes to solid ice.

Ahoy Koi! Enjoy the Summer while you can.

"I'm Confused!"

I received an e-mail today from some friends of mine, let me call the "Tom and Faye" which are not necessarily their real names. They were over in the United Kingdom for a short vacation and were mugged in the park of a hotel they were staying at and lost all of their money and credit cards but fortunately they still had their passports. They checked with the US Embassy over there in England but I guess they weren't too helpful. They were supposed to fly back today but they were having problems settling their hotel bill as the hotel manager wouldn't let them leave until the bill was settled."Tom and Faye" requested my help if I could lend them some money so they could leave Britain and they promised that they would pay me back as soon as they get back to America.

I felt badly for my friends as I'm sure it is no fun to be stuck in a foreign country without any money or credit cards. At least it sounds like they didn't try to fight these muggers as the muggers probably had a big knife or perhaps a gun so I'm sure they used the proper judgement and escaped without bodily harm.

I wanted to help my friends in their hour or need because as the old saying goes; "A friend in need is a friend indeed!" I was confused however about their situation over in the United Kingdom because who in their right mind would leave Cape Cod during the Summer season to go over to England what with the reputation of "foggy London town " and rainy weather to boot?

I know where "Tom" works so I thought I would call and see if they had any updates on poor "Tom" and his family and their difficult predicament. The person who answered the phone said that "Tom wasn't there but would be back in the office in an hour or so. I thought "Great!" somehow "Tom" was able to fly back from England and he probably wanted to get right back to work after his traumatic ordeal. Then I thought, "Gee!, Maybe "Tom" and his family never even went to the United Kingdom and were on Cape Cod the whole time. Then I thought maybe "Tom" is in England but told the people in the office to say "Oh, you just missed "Tom" but he should be back shortly" to cover his quick visit to England. SO CONFUSING! But how could "Tom" and his family not be in the United Kingdom if I received an e-mail from them requesting my help? After all, if you receive an e-mail it must be true, right?

I still don't know for sure whether "Tom" and his family were over in England and if so were they able to make their flight back to America? A very confusing situation. I was so confused over this situation that I forgot to send them some money. The weather has been good on the Cape so maybe I'm just a "fair weather friend" and not a "friend in need" INDEED!.

Inception

I saw the new movie "Inception" last evening on its first day of general release. I guess you could say I saw "Inception" at its inception. This is a "Titanic" movie that many film critics are calling the best movie of the 21st century so catch it if you can. This movie is no day at the beach and is a sci-fi psychological thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, and many other fine actors who become involved in multi-layered dream worlds with spectacular special effects as the characters depart the everyday conscious world like an aviator and project themselves through different dream realities as they are hired to try to plant an idea into the head of the heir of a multi-billionaire.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, who also directed "The Dark Knight" and "Memento"; "Inception" is a fast paced roller coaster ride of a movie that is somewhat similar to "The Matrix". The dream within a dream within a dream action make you wonder at times what actions are real and what actions take place in the dream worlds right up to the end of the movie where the audience is left with a scene that can be interpreted in a couple of ways. Check this movie out and see if you agree with some of the critics who have called "Inception" the front runner for "Best Picture".

"Bite ME"

'Twilight' Effect: Are Teens Biting Each Other Because of Vampire Fascination? - ABC News Some people are copying the current rage of "Vampire" movies like the "Twilight Series" and television shows like HBO's "True Blood". How about you? Are you a blood sucker? Do you say "bite me" to people in your life and hope that they will?; or do you say "bite me" to someone when you are angry at these people?

I like drinking roast beef blood (hot cooked dead cow meat blood) but I draw the line at biting live humans and drinking their blood. I rarely eat live creatures with the exception of raw clams and oysters on occasion and a few insects by accident if I'm riding my road bike with my mouth open.

I enjoy the vampire shows like "True Blood" but if some vampire wanna be approached me I'd probably say something like "Get lost you wacko!, You Suck!, Bite Me!" (not).

"GO ALVIN GREENE GO"

Wonkette : South Carolina Democratic Party’s Rising Star Faces Challenge To His Glorious Primary Result It looks to me that the Democratic Party in the great state of South Carolina may have found "rising star" who some people say could be the next candidate for even higher national office after Alvin Greene recently won the democratic primary for the right to challenge the incumbent Republican Senator Jim DeMint. According to the linked article above, Mr. Greene's primary opponent Vic Rawl, accused voting machines of voting for Mr. Greene on their own without humans helping vote. These machines just voted by themselves.

Apparently, Alvin Greene, won this primary election without campaigning, without a staff, and without taking positions on issues and all the while living at his Dad's home and being unemployed. It seems to me that Mr. Greene's lack of effort in winning this election was due to his sense of "fair play" and not wanting to humiliate his opponent by doing things like meeting the voters and campaigning because if he did these things he probably would have received almost 100% of the votes. Somehow, Mr. Greene, is a "natural" when it comes to winning elections and the voters in their infinite wisdom are aware of this and that Alvin Greene is the best available candidate to be the next senator from South Carolina. Maybe, Alvin Greene has superior mental powers of telepathy and he reached the people that voted for him through their collective subconscious or maybe the voters thought that Alvin Greene was the singer Al Green and everyone remembered what a good singer Al Green is so they figured he would be good in the political arena as well. Maybe Alvin Greene won because he was listed first alphabetically on the ballot because "G" comes before "R" . Maybe, the voters wanted a candidate that has no political experience as they are fed up with the current crop of slick politicians who endlessly campaign and prefer someone like Alvin Greene who didn't waste their time by calling them on the phone, sending them campaign literature, or showing endless television advertisements.

Whatever the reason, I for one respect the will of the voters and admire a candidate who can win without really even trying to win. A true political talent like Alvin Greene doesn't come along that frequently and I think the Democrats have picked a "winner" in Alvin Greene. "GO ALVIN GREENE GO!" After you win the Senate seat maybe you can immediately set your sights on being president just as our current president did after he was elected as a senator.