Power outage at work today - work outage tomorrow

Quite a show. A transformer said goodbye cruel world and burned blue and white hot. We could see it from the tenth floor.  This caused the first outage, which of course shut down all the computers in the office. A few minutes later, the power came back on, abruptly, for a few minutes. The next closest transformer, a half block away, was so grieved by the loss of its neighbor that it threw in the towel as well and the power went down for an extended period.
The UPS in the server room worked perfectly. I had plenty of time to start shutting down servers gracefully.  I was near done when the power came back on, so I waited a bit to see if we'd lose power again, and started rebooting servers. They all came back up just fine.  Except for the two most important to the network, the domain controllers. Oddly, these never went down, were not shut down, nor rebooted. As an analogy, imagine all the traffic lights in your entire town defaulting to blinking red at once. Traffic comes to a grinding halt. Such is the result of a network domain controller going down.
 The power surges, in spite of surge protectors and massive UPS batteries in line, spiked the VM Ware, upon which the domain controller virtual machines reside.
This all transpired near the end of the day. I realized where the problem lay pretty quickly and called my outsource IT folks stat.  A tech arrived reasonably quickly but that's pretty much where the quick service ended.  The abridged version is that he had no effing idea how to deal with the virtual servers that his company built.
I pulled the plug on him at 9pm.
So, it's off to work at extra dark thirty in the morning to meet a different tech that knows our system better.  I'm praying for a quick resolution, otherwise I'm going to have 50 people twiddling their thumbs. Then will come the hand wringing and gnashing of teeth because there is no internet or email.
After this little crisis is resolved, I'm going to have a little church chat with my outsource folks as to why they put both the primary and secondary domain controllers on the same host server.
I've always had a thing about putting all the eggs in one basket.  IT guys seem to just love virtual servers, stacking them up on a host machine to max out the processor and available RAM.  This is efficiency in their eyes I suppose. Even with full backup images of the servers, it's a recipe for disaster in my opinion.
Today is a case in point. All the physical servers are doing just dandy.  Two of the virtual servers are virtually....dead.
So, tomorrow, I have this melt down to deal with plus a full day of meetings prepping for a major presentation to make the cut for a major project.  Said presentation occurs at the end of the day.
  Sucks to be me right now.
When I started this post, I was pretty sure it was going to be an abject four letter word fest.
Perhaps blogging is a form a therapy. Or, perhaps I'm maturing...nah, that couldn't be it.
What I'd really like to do is ream out the owner of my outsource IT company at full vocal volume.  It won't be necessary however, I have a meeting with one of his competitors a week from Friday.

Top Shot.... Blue Team Girl Gets Axed

But of course she did......  though i thought that she hit a clay pigeon in the team challenge where several of the other guys didn't hit any.

Once again, Top Shot has disappointed me.  They have the 'token girls' on the show when in fact they really should have more than just one per team.  Three per team would be better.

Or....  a Lady Top Shot show would be nice.

I'm a stickler for this because it's my firm belief that every woman needs to learn how to handle and fire a gun.  Self protection is key and the gun is the great equalizer.

I think that a show that features women shooters might provide a little encouragement for other women.

Much Needed Recoil Theraphy

Unfortunately, I don't have pics to share, but yesterday after work, I stopped off at the range and gave my precious Natasha (the Tokorev SVT-40) a little TLC.  As always she fired strong and true with the perfect amount of sass.

I shot well, so I was quite pleased but I always laugh when I go to the range on a weekday toting my rifle.  I guess it's because the good ole boys at the range aren't accustomed seeing a woman walk up with a big gun all by herself without a boyfriend or husband to hold her hand.

I got the 'what are you doing here and should we take cover?' look as I passed the group of guys who were shooting their AR15's and other shooty goodness items.  I sat down at my bench, removed Natasha from her case and once i got her loaded and ready, I fired that first shot and you would have thought that the guys were going to get whip lash!  They jerked their head around so quick and proceeded to watch me empty the first magazine.

While I was loading up again for another round of fun, one of the guys said, "whatchoo got over there?"  So I told them and they came over to have a look.

I offered to let them have a go with it, but the answers I got were... "Oh no, I'm not shooting that thing!"  (wimps)

It was a fun afternoon shooting which provided me with some much needed recoil therapy.

Script Shovel

The One and Only Son was home for part of this weekend.  Man size now he is. Lord I miss my brood.
The Lovely Belle indulges us when the Man Child is home, and keeps herself occupied with her computer while we watch Chinese Martial Arts movies, replete with subtitles.
Sonage has a real knack for finding really good foreign films.
I had a really good day.
 When a movie or television show takes a ridiculous turn that defies our suspension of belief, we have a phrase coined by Belle to bring us back to fold for the continuation of television enjoyment.
The obvious trip, the dropped gun, flying over rooftops on 5mm aircraft cable, unending shots fired from a six shooter, getting kicked in the head multiple times only to rise again with nothing more than a trickle of blood from the corner of the mouth, etc., etc, etc.
"It's in the script".
This evening, we were watching "The Good, The Bad, and The Weird".  An Asian movie, set in the 1930's, for which the script was cobbled together from "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" with a bit of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", a minor amount of martial arts and a lot of shooting along the lines of "Free Range".
It got to the point where the Man Child and I were calling out what was going to happen next based upon the aforementioned movie plots.
We were having a grand time.  Then it came.  The main character had ridden through miles of desert on a motorcycle, having nothing left in his kit whatsoever arriving at the location of the "Treasure".
He begins to dig. With a shovel.
Wait! What? Says I.  He didn't have a shovel!
Sonnage brought me back to the fold with the family meme in shorthand.
"It's a Script Shovel"
Well then.
OK.
Back to my television viewing enjoyment.

From the BJF mailbag

My Bud Billy Joe sent this in. 

 No disrespect to Whitney Houston intended whatsoever, but it frames the priorities of the American Media, and many Americans for that matter quite succinctly. 

The death of Whitney Houston is on the news several times a day. She had one of the greatest voices ever!

Then, there are these guys:Justin Allen 23, Brett Linley 29. Matthew Weikert 29. Justus Bartett 27, Dave Santos 21, Jesse Reed 26, Matthew Johnson 21, Zachary Fisher 24, Brandon King 23, Christopher Goeke 23, and Sheldon Tate 27...These are all Marines that gave their lives for us last month.There is no media for them; not even a mention of their names.

Honor THEM by sending this on.--

"If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possessthe highest seats in government, our country will stand in need ofits experienced patriots to prevent its ruin..." Samuel Adams, 1776
J.P.Midland, TX

God Bless our Service Men and Women.

That time of year again.........

Well, it's that time of year here in Houston when Rodeo season starts and Trail Riders can be seen making their way to Memorial Park where they will party all night and participate in the Downtown parade tomorrow.

Today is Go Texas day and all the little kids at school dress up in their cowboy attire and (at least when I was a kid, and I'm sure they still do it today) if a trail ride passes by the school, the bell will ring and the kids will run to the playground fence and watch the covered wagons and horses pass by.

It's a really special day here in Houston and I have very fond memories of watching trail riders pass by and by watching AND marching in the Rodeo Parade.  Marching in it with the band was fun, and challenging if your band was directly behind a trail ride.  Rules of marching in a parade.....   do NOT step out of line........    keep in step and if you see a pile of horse poop.........    march through it!

Some of you may ask, 'what the heck is a trail ride?'  Well, there are various groups of riders who ride on horseback from various parts of Texas to come to Houston for the Rodeo Parade.  Some of the riders follow old cattle drive trails.

A trail ride, depending on how far they are traveling can take up to three weeks!  In fact, there is a trail ride that comes up from south Texas, close to Mexico...    they travel roughly 350 miles to get here!

Trail riding started in 1952 when a small group (4) of men set out from Brenham, Texas and made the trek on horseback to Houston to raise awareness for the Livestock Show and Rodeo.  The next year, more than 80 joined and that trail ride became what is known today as The Salt Grass Trail Ride.  The Grandaddy of them all is what we call them.  They are huge with hundreds of riders and wagons.

So, on this day, if you are in Houston, you will most likely see a trail ride or two heading into town.  It always brings a smile to my face, and I will say that every trail rider out there enjoys a smile and wave and if you have the opportunity to stop and talk to them, they are wonderful folks.

This next one, I like because you can see the freeway off to the right providing a nice contrast of days of old to the modern modes of transporation.

Houston, is really a special place to live.  I really love my city.

Overheard at the bar.......

So last night was dart night.  It's really hilarious when someone says something that is so out of character for them.

This little woman, and I mean little, she's only 4'11" was having a real good time last night.  She's in her mid 50's and one of the sweetest and proper ladies that I know in the dart the dart world.

She was dancing, back to back with this other dart player (a guy) and this is the conversation:

lady:  i'm having so much fun!
guy:  *bumps her hips with his butt*
lady:  "oh my god, you're so HARD!
me:   "how the hell can you even tell from that angle?"
guy:  *blushing and speechless*
the rest of the bar:  *laughing their asses off*


Sheesh.  Next week is my last week for Wednesday night league.  I'm hanging it up during the week and trading darts and beer for tactical lessons at the range.

A girl has her priorities you know.

Happy Anniversary

I was reading a very wonderful article over at North's place and I suddenly realized that Monday night marked the 14th anniversary of the first date with my better half.

As I may have mentioned before, the hubby and I used to work together, which is how we met.  We didn't know each other on a personal level all that well, but we had attended parties and office happy hours and had a pretty good idea that we enjoyed conversing with one another.

What I didn't know is that at some point, he took notice of me (will let him elaborate on that some other time).

One day, me and a friend of mine in the office went to lunch and he came out of the closet to me (which I informed him that I already figured as much) and we were talking about dating and other stuff and the conversation went as follows:

Me:  I really just need to find myself a good man and settle down.
Jim:  Well what about Kx59?  He's single, handsome, smart.
Me:  Kx59??  Well, yes  he's very good looking, has a great smile, a good sense of humor, but I don't know that we have anything in common and not to mention he doesn't even know I exist.
Jim:  Well, you just never know Belle, remember his last girlfriend sat at your desk, maybe it's fate!

That very same day, Kx comes walking up to the front where I was relieving the receptionist for a break and informed me he was leaving to take his daughter to get her allergy shots.  Before he left, he asked what I was doing Friday night.  I told him that I had my daughters but might could get a sitter...  he asked me to go to the Houston Rodeo with him and that Alan Jackson was playing.

Of course, my mother wasn't one that really babysat on the weekends for me but wow, she didn't hesitate to say yes when I told her that one of the architects in the office wanted to take me to the Rodeo.  I laugh about it but I had dated with some real gems in my time so it's no surprise that she was so willing.

So it was off to the Rodeo we went.  It was a nice evening which included a trip to Papasitos where he had dinner and I, not wanting to assume it was a date, only had chips and salsa and a couple of beers since my budget was very tight at the time.

I was dressed up in my standard cowboy attire which included white Rocky Mountain jeans, boots, hat and a black and white blouse when dipped low in the back.  Apparently Kx liked that and when the performance started, he put his hand on my back and I can remember the jolt of electricity that shot through me, all the way to my toes when his hand touched my skin.

All I could do at that point was sit up straight and not make a move as I still didn't know if it was really a date and we did have to work together come Monday, and the fact that another architect and his wife were sitting right behind us and so I didn't want any rumors to start (ha).  In the middle of the performance the other couple left and then I relaxed a little and hubby still had his hand on my back and I leaned into him a bit, resting up against his shoulder.

After the show was over, we had the task of finding his jeep in the parking lot.  It was cold outside, and we held hands.  Eventually we found the Jeep and he dropped me off at my car which was still at the office.  We talked for a little bit, then said good night.  After a long look into each other's eyes, I slipped out of the passenger's seat, got into my car and made the drive home.

On the way home, this song came on the radio and I immediately thought of him with a smile on my face.


 

I knew that there had been an unbelievable amount of chemistry there and after a couple of weeks, we went out again and it proved to be true.  Before we knew it we were in a whirlwind of dating, and an emtional and physical intensity that I would have never believed to be possible.

So to my beloved Kx59, thank you for the 14 years of love and devotion.  I know that at first I did the best I could to chase you away, thanks for not running.  You have been my heart and soul and I consider myself the luckiest woman on the planet.  Simply put, I love you and Happy Anniversary even if it's a couple days late.

Top Shot Season 4

Well, Top Shot really snuck up on me this season.  I didn't realize the new season had started.  Anyway, I watched it last night and I think that I am going to like this season as there seems to be very little drama so far.

Also, apparently, the girls weren't the first to get voted to the elimination round.  In fact, last night, the blue team won the challenge, but the girl on the red team was only 11 seconds behind the guy that did the best....   this is a good thing, maybe she'll stick around.

As for now, I really don't have a favorite, or someone who I would like to see get the boot, though I will say that the girl on the blue team seems to like to talk a fair amount of smack.  We'll see how long she lasts.

From here, you can see Mexico

This is "The Window" in Big Bend State Park. It is said, that on a clear day, you can see 200 miles into Mexico.  Been there. A very memorable trip, but that's a whole nuther post, as they say.

From here, you can see something much more nefarious.  From here you can see the underlying Lie of Fast and Furious.

This is the sign, purportedly made from weapons illegally exported to Mexico from the U.S. (courtesy of the ATFB, FBI and DEA btw)

The lie your Federal Government via the main stream media told you?
"The Mexican Government knew nothing of operation fast and furious".
I don't think the Mexican peasants of Mestizo decent along the border put this sign together.
Not much you can count on these days, but at least the Mexican government is keeping their part of the bargain in Obummer and Holders's little gun grab.

Pissed had a post that made me go..hey, wait a second.  "Automatic" weapons? From the U.S.?
I could blather on, but I'll just close with the comment I left at The Feral Irishman.

Supposedly, the Mexican government knew nothing about the fast and furious operation. Holder et.al. are still trying to salvage the underlying goal of the operation, which was another "assault weapons" ban. This sign puts the lie to the Mexican government's ignorance of the operation.
As a Cartel gun buyer, why would you buy semi-auto weapons from the U.S., when you can get the full auto versions dropped by boat anywhere along the thousands of miles of Mexican coastline from the myriad of shithole countries on this planet?
This is Holder's Hail Mary pass.

The more light shed upon this, the better.

ooOOHHhh! That's where I left that damn thing...

Stupid Global Worming! It never got cold enough, for long enough to put the St. Augustine grass into dormancy. So, here I am, on a break from mowing the freaking grass in February!
The grass growth did slow down a bit, giving the weeds a solid head start on the growing season.
It's not all bad though.  I found the Rainbird battery powered irrigation timer I had misplaced...with the mower.
As The Bayonet is wont to say; Add it to the List of things caused by Global Worming.
Irrigation timers disintegrated by lawn mowers. The Harrah! 

I also found one of the garden hoses. Fortunately, not with the mower. It was just buried in the grass, and interestingly enough, slowly working it's way down into the dirt.

Ouchies and Dumb Stuff

I was really a lucky kid growing up.  I was not a child of divorce, I was blessed with good, solid parents who raised me right, and I was afforded the rare opporutnity to spend the first 7 almost 8 years of my life as not only the only child, but the only grandchild on both sides of the family.  So yes, I was a little spoiled in my early years with four grandparents, and four aunts and uncles who all thought that I hung the moon.

Recently, Kx59 posted some really dumb things that he did, or close calls that he had in childhood and adulthood that fortunately, didn't turn out devastating for him.  Today, I am and I don't know, maybe it's the weather, but I am feeling a little melancholy and when I feel that way, I tend to drift off into the past and think of better times in my life, and sometimes not so good as well.

So here are my 'close calls' and general stupid things that I did, the first two, I was too young to remember but I have been told the story many times.  All the rest, are burned into my memory.

When I was an infant, my parents were driving home and had me in an infant carrier in the backseat of the car.  Of course, this was in 1968 and there were no seatbelts in the back seat of the car.  I was apparently asleep back there and mom and dad were sitting at a red light.  The light turned green and dad proceeded into the intersection when a car ran a red light and smashed in to mom and dad's car.  My parents were briefly knocked unconcious and  when they woke, they turned to see if I was okay, but I was no where to be found.  Dad said, "where's my baby" about the same time that my mom discovered that I had been thrown from the back seat, between the bucket seats, missing the gear shift and the steering wheel and landed at my dad's feet (he was driving).  Mom said that she looked down and there I was awake, looking around like, "WTF" in my little yellow dress, yellow socks and black, patent leather shoes.  My mother started screaming which caused me to scream and cry... nothing mom did could calm me down so a woman came and took me from her, which resulted in my immediate calming.  A trip to the hospital revealed that I didn't have a scratch on me, and my grandmother swore for the rest of her life that the angels were looking out for me and placed me at my daddy's feet.  I just call it dumb luck.

I had the mumps on both sides when I was about 6 months old.  Had to be force fed and was miserable and very ill.

The first real close call that I can remember happened at the lake (I was around 3).  My dad and one of my aunts (who was 15 at the time) were out in the water, horsing around and I decided that I wanted to go to them.  I can remember walking toward them, and suddenly I came to where the bottom drops off a couple of feet and the water was immediately over my head.  I couldn't swim.  Mom was up at the top of the hill and dad and aunt were too loud to hear me splashing around.  What I remember is that I would let myself go to the bottom and then I would push off as hard as I could to the surface to get air.  I did this over and over.  At some point, mom saw me and was screaming and running toward me down the hill...    I can remember choking on water and still bobbing up and down struggling to stay alive.  I also remember getting weaker, but best of all, I remember the strong hand that grabbed me up and pulled me to him, taking me to the beach and getting the water out of my lungs.  Those hands of course were my dad's.  Interestingly enough, I love the water and love to swim so I never developed a phobia of water.

When I was about 4, I decided that I would play in my dad's truck.  I was playing school bus or some other nonsense.  So, I decided that I would pull the emergency brake, which was not a good idea since it was a column shift, standard transmission and our driveway was very steep.  The truck started to back up so I grabbed hold of the wheel and pushed down on the brake as hard as I could.  The truck rolled back faster.... oops that wasn't the brake, hind sight being 20/20 and knowing now what I didn't back then, I was pressing on the clutch.  Lucky for me, there were no cars coming as the truck backed out into the street and proceeded to run over the stop sign on the corner across the street.

When I was 5, my best friend's parents had a Gremlin in their driveway which didn't run (go figure).  Wasps had decided to move into the hood of the thing, in the grill next to the windshield.  My friend and I came up with the bright idea to get a coat hanger and unwind it, using the stretched out hanger, stick it next to the nest in the grill and rattle it around.  My friend went first... the wasps would come out and she ran away laughing.  Once the wasps settled back down, it was my turn.  I stuck the coat hanger in, and ran.....    success.  Next up was my friend who had another successful run but when it was my turn again, I no sooner got that hanger to the grill when a wasp ambushed me and stung me right on the bone next to my eye.....   my eye was swollen for days.

Speaking of swollen eyes, sometimes parents do dumb things and injure their kids on accident.  My best friend, her dad and me and my dad all went to the fair.  The dad's decided that it would be a fun thing to take us girls in the bumper cars.  On their laps we went, riding around, bumping one another and getting bumped by others.  Two dads decide that they would play chicken....  going at each other head on....   daughters laughing and giggling, until no one wanted to be the chicken and a head on collision commenced resulting in me getting a black eye and my poor friend, losing both of her front teeth......     dads were ashamed when we got home and most likely had to avoid recieving black eyes and knocked out teeth of their own from the ire of the moms that were none too happy.

When I was six, I was riding my bicycle down the same, said driveway only to realize there was a car coming.... my first instinct was to put my bare feet down and stop....  instead, I dragged my toes across the concrete losing about half of my two big toe nails.....   OUCH

I've had multiple car accidents and a few of them I wonder how I walked away safely.  One, my head was stuck in the door of the car....  another I had knocked out the back window with my head (I was driving and catapulted to the back seat, being ripped out of the seatbelt) and the last, I don't really want to talk about here.  All of them were my own fault.

I've written about motor rasslin' click to read, it's a funny story.

I guess that's really about all...   I've had more bumps and bruises as kids always do but those are the ones that stand out the most and my post has been long enough. 

Slowly winding my way back to

Books.

From grade school up until ten years ago, or so, I was a voracious reader.  Read lots of stuff about Sharks, Dinosaurs, Volcanoes, Dolphins, Whales and Indians as a kid. Read enough fiction over all those years to fill a super tanker with paperbacks.

Reading American history was not high on my list. ( it wasn't on my list actually. Well, ok, Indians are part of American History, but...sorry, fell down a rabbit hole )  In the meantime, I read auto repair manuals, transmission rebuild manuals, etc., etc. Stuff that saved me money reduced my expenses. (spending less is not saving)

Ten years ago, or so, I went dormant on reading books, as in total hibernation. Last year, a month or two prior to my 52nd Birthday, with all the shit that has been going on, I felt a small but determined tug at my soul to start reading the writings of our Founders. The first thing that popped into my head at the time was the "Federalist Papers".  So, the Lovely Southern Belle  got me a Kindle Fire for my 52nd birthday last year and I went on the hunt.

While hunting, I found a book on the "Federalist Papers" and a book on the "Anti-Federalist Papers".  Started reading both, but got sidetracked.

YeoldFurt posted about "Paul Revere's Ride" by David Hackett Fischer and gave it a one gun salute from "Bob".  So I got it and read it.  He was right. It was a good book.  Lot's more going on in Mr. Revere's story than, "one if by land, two if by sea".

Then I got sidetracked again with fiction novel, "An Act of Self Defense" by Erne Lewis. I ran across this from a post by one of the bloggers on the Gun Blog Blacklist. I can't recall who it was, otherwise I'd be sharing some linkylove. 

I'd started my slow trek back to reading books with "The Federalist Papers", which were not "speaking" to me. So, I hit the "Anti-Federalist Papers" on my Kindle Fire again.  

This I find connects. I've been highlighting passages that speak to current day events.

"...when business is unshackled, it will find out that channel which is most friendly to its course." (unlike socialism)

"Whenever men are unanimous on great public questions, whenever there is but one party, freedom ceases and despotism commences" (See much difference in the two parties these days?)

"Antifederalist No. 11: Unrestricted power over commerce should not be given the national government." (Commerce Clause?)

Late to the real American History party, but working on catching up quickly. And, reading, voraciously again.

Warning, Warning! Danger Will Robinson!

 Random thoughts and stream of consciousness post. I suggest navigating away.
It's become patently clear to me how the Television Nooz lags behind the interwebz.  Stuff I see on the national or local nooz lags by 12 to 24 hours at least. (ok, some doesn't even show up (cough Fast and Furious? cough).
Most of what I see on TVee nooz, I've already read on the interwebz the day before, except for the local rapes, murders, car jackings, house fires, fender benders delaying 60,000 people from getting to work on time, etc., etc.
Those I locate via MapQuest to see how close they are to the BAR Hacienda.
This one is not far away, egregious, and closer to a fellow Texas blogger, Teke,  I think, whom I hope to meet at Borepatch's  Texas Citizenship Commemorative Blogshoot in April, before BP heads back to the great state of Georgia. (Good lord, two older posts links to find that post, and he apologizes for his lack of posting. The man is a blogging machine)
Where was I?  Oh, yes, I'm watching the news. The basketball player Lin whateverhisasiannameis is getting his ass allickeydup by the nooz, somehow drawing parallels to Shirley McLaine and M&M Emenem MM? whatever. No, really, the local ABC affiliate actually made the comparisons.
Until Lin bounces one off the rim to...lose the game.
Look! A Sparkly Thing! (was that a squirrel?)

Well, that was random. Categories are going to be a challenge. Welcome to the Asylum.

Oh the contrast............

I have been saying for some time now what this country needs is another Ronald Reagan.  I am posting up his farewell address to the Nation and notice the contrast between him and the man that we have in the White House now.

When Reagan, close to 4 minutes in, starts talking about job creation, the word "I" does not pass his lips, it gives the credit to where it belongs....  the people.

When he speaks about things that got done through Congress, he doesn't say "I", he gives the credit to the voters who made phone calls, who demanded that Congress take action.


Yes we need another one like him. 

I miss him.

Can someone say, Marco Rubio?

Hopefully he will be on the Repulican ticket.... or run the next Presidential election.

Magical Signs

Rainy and Misty this morning. The Architects that did the remodel on our office building ground floor lobby saw fit to put polished marble on the floor, outside the entry doors from the garage. I guess they thought it would be ok, given it was under cover and enclosed.
The marble is wet this morning and on the slickish side. So building management's solution is to throw down a little rubber mat that covers 20% of the stone floor area and place a yellow rubber cone that encourages "caution, wet floor" in Spanish no less.
I saw all of this of course upon approach. So, I shortened my stride, centered my mass and still slipped. No fall and no torn ACL, but I certainly felt the stress on it.


The part of this little story that really chaps my ass follows:
I made a beeline to the guard station in the lobby and alerted the two eyeballs with a walkie talkie standing behind the desk that the marble floor outside the doors is very wet and very slick. Eyeballs responds that, "that is why we put the sign."  Momentarily dumbfounded, I told Eyeballs that I almost slipped and fell.  Eyeballs responds, "yes, that is why we put the sign."  Wow, that must be quite a magical sign. It kept me from falling on my ass.
I walked away shaking my head.  We allow these people to have drivers licenses and voter registration cards.


If they don't have a slip and fall lawsuit on their hands before noon, I will be highly surprised. I guess dry mopping the floor would require too much effort.
In lieu of a derogatory epithet incorporating the word "dumb", I'll sum up all the cuss words bouncing around in my brain pan with, "REALLY?".

Funny, I don't recall posting anything remotely like this

"star spangled flag swimsuit semi nude photo"

From the Google search in the BAR stats. A patriotic R rated perv apparently.
Really?  I mean that's an awful lot of typing in GIGGLE to find:

"PORN"

.

Study finds preemie birth risk for Latinos increases with time in U.S.

Study finds preemie birth risk for Latinos increases with time in U.S.

Well.
Then.
Go Home.

I was going to post a few comments about the news feed from the Houston Comical regarding the State Department's Traveler warning for Mexico, but it disappeared within a few minutes.  I mean, we can't have anything detrimental on the Comical news feed regarding our southern neighbor and their all out civil drug war can we?
Of course not.
So, we will replace it with an article about how being in the U.S. causes undocumented worker premature births. We is such a bad bad country.

Oh, BTW, the State Department advisory said that any place you used to go for fun in Mexico, or were considering going, for fun, is really dangerous for gringos.

Who Knew?!!

Synthetic gypsum, which is now used in about 30% of drywall, is a byproduct of coal-fired power plants.

Well, I did, cuz I'm in the biz, so to speak.  Barack Obama wants to take your drywall away from you!  And even WORSE! Did you know that gypsum is used in the process of making BEER??!!

Is there no END to which he will go?

In the spirit of full disclosure, I did not make up either one of those facts.  Hit the link and google it if you like.

Tesla Unveils a new Coal Powered SUV

And it is an all wheel drive Rocket! The amazing thing about electric motors is that they produce maximum torque at all RPMs.  We are talking acceleration from 0 to 60 in time frames of seconds. (unlike the Astro Beater Van which clocked in at minutes, yes I still have it...)



Wait. Wrong Video. My bad.
EVs don't pollute.....do they?  I mean, electricity comes from environmentally sensitive sources right? Solar?  Windmills? Well, ok I admit those require standby fossil fuel generation plants if the wind is not blowing or it's like, you know, night time.
Wait! There's nucular generated electricity..right?  Oh, never mind.  Hippies won't let us have nucular power.  That radioactive waste thing, and..the Military!.. makes armor piercing bullets from the depleted uranium!  The harrah! Can't have that. (what will they do when Thorium reactors come on line?)
Well.  Surely from a personal economics standpoint, an electric vehicle makes sense.  I mean, how could you possibly argue that point? It only costs like 9 or 10 bucks to charge up the batteries to provide the equivilant number of miles to a tank of gas in an econobox.
Good point. Hang on I'll do the math. Assume $4 a gallon gas, 15 gallon tank, 52 weeks in the year, burn this much in a week, carry the one, stick my finger in my mouth then test the wind direction...whatever.
Econobox costs $19,000.  For 40 mile range, EV (Volt! pardon I belched) costs $40,000.  For 100 mile range, EV costs $70,000.
(more actually, working in round, wet finger numbers here...)
By the time you run the home economics numbers across it's life span, the EV will cost you twice as much as a Dodge Charger. A Toyota Yaris beats it like a drum.
Oh, I forgot to mention replacing the batteries after seven years or so. Then there's the EPA recycling fee and another car note to finance the new batteries. Or, you could buy another Yaris.
We (bonified U.S. citizens) loaned Tesla close to a half billion dollars to haul their high tech yuppie asses out of bankruptcy. Don't you just feel all happy and so, so green now?
emeffers.
Build your little utopian dream on your own dime. Call Steve Jobs  Bill Gates for some capital.

War Pron

While looking for youtube tube videos of geehadists blowing themselves up, I come across this...
Now that's what I call Advertising!





I laughed. Laughed out loud. Is that wrong?
One thing that really gets me about this though. This add is from the Formerly Great Britain. One of the biggest Nannystate countries on the face of the planet. Gun? No! you can't have a Gun! When the hooligans riot you'll just have to ring up the Bobby with his night stick. And, don't you dare try to use that donner knife to protect your restaurant! I mean it! The Bobby will be right 'round to scold the rioters.
I can't think of any add remotely similar to this I've seen  here in the U.S.
Well, whatever. I'll take my gun rights over edgy TV adds any day.


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Lead Poisoning leads to Heart Attack

So says the Iranian Removal Committee Department of Health.

"This is the fifth Guard commander to die because of a heart attack or stroke in the past month."

I bet the next guy in line for promotion is just overjoyed.

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Drunks with Pointy Things??

Funny? Yes.  Smart? Water skiing with sharp pointy objects in your hands, mmmmaybe not.
Might have to get me one of them shirts though. Just cuz.


Found at Ace of Spades HQ

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La dernière mème

I figured since we are getting all kissysmackyface, I'd use a romantic language for the post title.
Belle is feeling a bit blue, so this was delegated to yours truly.  This almost feels like an Easter egg hunt right now, cuz I've seen a few of these posted for BAR and right after I'm done with this I'm going blog caroling to leave commenty thanks.  I don't mean to sound snarky, I genuinely appreciate that there are other bloggers out there that think that much of BAR.  It just pushes my buttons a bit to essentially send Valentines to the dude bloggers, I mean I like you guys and all, but not in that way.
Before the meme launch, I'd like to express our thanks to those bloggers that tagged us:
Bluesun
Maura
HossBoss
Keads
I have this bad feeling I missed someone. I'll be back to update if I did.

The Award:

The Rules:
1. Copy and paste the award on your blog
2. Link back to the blogger who gave us the award
3. Pick five favorite blogs with less than 200 followers, and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award
4. Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs.

  For the record, the blogs listed are not in order of preference, only in stream of consciousness order. Some of these are reciprocal.  I've found I cannot prioritize blogcrak, I love all of those blogrolled on BAR and the Gun Blog Black List as well. (not to mention my list of favorites at home, and the different list at work....I think I may need an intervention....)

So, here we go, launch in 3, 2, 1:

Borepatch:  Wicked Smaht. Never correct his spelling in comments. He will ignore you, and you will be humbled.

Dead Man Dance:   Early twenties going on 90. Lots and lots of posts that amuse and intrigue me. Wise beyond his years, in a steampunk, engineery, technomusik kind of way.

North:  One of the earliest commenters on BAR I think. North can find a blue innuendo in the phrase, "the bucket had a hole in it", and he will actually post it in your comments. No, really. :-)

Which led us to:  Maura who writes Eve was (Partially) Right - Clean Eating is Good Eating. And, it is.  Recipes that will make you drool on your desk, and inexplicably find your self reading labels at the grocery.

Another early commentor: Keads who writes Another Day..Another... ? Which begs the question, "what comes after the "...."?". Want to see pics of rare guns? Hit the link. Also, Keads has had his first 15 seconds of fame on a TV news spot. They caught his good side. BTW, I might be mistaken, but I think he's available ladies. (if you are into lots of shooty goodness that is)

Listen to Uncle Jay:  The Big Guy.  Bigger than real life, in real life. He has stories he's not blogged, or not blogged in a very long time. Should you meet him, ask him about the whale, or the pig truck while you present an offering of chicken fried steak.

YeOldFurt:  Old Lightening has more Texas history in his pinky than I have in my entire brain. I can see his squint every time he posts, so I pay attention.  Apparently, Belle made an impression at the first annual BAR blog shoot which led to:

HossBoss commenting on the BAR blog: Womanrunswithhorses which she shortened to HossBoss.  I check her blog every day. When she posts, it reminds me of my roots from deep east Texas.

The Feral Irishman: I'm getting older, but hey I'm male and I'm not dead yet. And, Pissed posts frequently. Although it can be a bit dicey to check at work. Thanks for the NSFW notifications you've recently added.

In juxtaposition: Belle "suggested"  That Texas Lady, which unbeknownst to me she has been reading for some time, also gets the thumbs up. So, Texas Lady gets a twofer today, blogrolled and Liebtered in the same day. 

This one I do with some trepidation :-) Tranquility Lost:  (reference "dudes / valentines" above). No, really. Hit his blog and check the pic at the top.  I jest. Grandkids, Grandpas's journal, a good joke, bacon, and an exceptional music collection on his ipod. (did I mention sling bows?)

Is that five yet? 

Throwing in the towel.  Holey Cow, hit the BAR blog roll for the rest.

In my best Forest Gump imitation," I'm pretty tired now..I'm going home"

Grandma, I mean Judy!

There's a lady that used to live across the street from my mother, who has two daughters that are close to my age.  The house where my mother still lives, we all moved in to when I was a sophomore in high school.  Having been taken away from everything that I knew and all my friends 1/2 way through high school, you could say that I was less than happy.

The two daughters welcomed me to the neighborhood, but two other girls that lived two houses down came and 'rescued me' from the other two because they were apparently uncool and their mom who was dubbed 'Old Lady Smith' was worse than uncool, she was a busy body that would tell on you if you did something wrong.

I never actively hated Mrs. Smith or her daughters, I just avoided them like the plague, lest I end up getting grounded because someone told on me for something.  I finished high school and married my high school sweetheart immediately, only to find myself and my husband back home again within 6 months because I was pregnant and we didn't have insurance and weren't about to go on Medicaid or any other kind of government assistance.  We just moved home and payed for my oldest the old fashioned way....  cash.

All that being said, when I was pregnant with my oldest, I worked in the evenings and so I was home all day.  After my daily soaps, I would go outside and see Mrs. Smith watering her yard, digging in her flower bed or doing whatever else she would always do.  She would say hello, I would say hello back (it was safe to talk to her because she couldn't tell on me for anything anymore).  Eventually, those hellos turned into us meeting in the middle of the road (we lived on a cul-de-sac) and chatting briefly, which eventually led to a nice long visit on her front porch swing.


Eventually, Mrs. Smith became Judy and our visits lasted longer and longer.  One day, my mother got home from work and walked over to ask me a question and I introduced her to Judy.  They became fast friends and soon, mom joined us every day on Judy's front porch.  What I found out about Judy is that she is one of the nicest women that I would ever meet and would do anything in the world to help someone, no questions asked.

Soon enough my daughter arrived.  Judy would dote on her just like she would her own grandchildren (her daughters were still in college at the time and didn't have any kids of their own).   As my daughter grew older and began to speak she would call out to Judy......  "Grandma!  I mean Judy!"  Yes, Judy was like a third grandma to my oldest and spoiled her rotten, too.

Judy and her husband Jerry became family to all of us.  Every family party, which always consisted of a live band and plenty of adult beverages, every special occasion, every funeral.  When my father was sick with cancer, Judy was there for my mom, she was there for all of us really and when dad died it was the same.  She was always there, always giving, always loving.

About a year and a half ago, we got the news that Judy had collapsed from an aneurysm in her brain which ruptured.   She was in a coma for a short time, but she woke up and while she had no short term memory to speak of, her long term memory was good and eventually she was able to go back home.  Her family, thankfully was able to have another year and half with her.

Yesterday my mother called me to tell me that Judy had a massive stroke and was on life support and there was nothing more that the doctors could do for her.  Today, her family took her off life support, but Judy, the fighter and tough lady that she is, is still breathing.  She's holding her own, though she's in a medical induced coma and it's only a matter of time before she passes on.

Every time Judy walked into a room, it would seem that the world would be a little brighter.  When she spoke to you it was always kind and encouraging, I don't think that I've ever, in the 24 years that I've known her, heard a harsh word come out of her mouth.  Her love and strength sustained my mother and me during some of the hardest times of our lives.  Now, that light is going out.

The only thing that I can do now is to pay her kindness forward and when the time comes, be there for her family and give them the love that she gave to us.  I pray with all of my heart that her passing is peaceful and that will somehow, someway in some time be a comfort to her family.

Judy, whereever you are right now, please know that you are loved.  Go to the light in peace and joy and with the knowledge that here on this earth, you made a difference.

God speed.

Blog Roll Addition

That Texas Lady has a really great blog with great information for lady shooters so I've added her to the roll over here.

I've found her information very useful and well written and easy to understand.  I recommend her blog to anyone out there who is new to shooting, or who has a wife (Teke) who is new to shooting.

Go give her a look-see and send her some commenty goodness while your at it.

I never really thought of it as a Full Contact Sport (or, There ought to be a Law!)

Owww! was my reaction to the very first line in the short article. 

"A 48-year-old man was nearly killed after being impaled in the groin with a golf club during a fight at a golf course..."

I was assuming this was a freak accident due to a rolled golf cart perhaps.
Yeah, not so much...
Expect Golf Club Control legislation any day now, because if that club had not been available, this tragedy never would have happened (unless of course, the golf club was obtained illegally)


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The Half Time Performance

Well, Madonna did okay for her performance, though I was way underwhelmed.  She's 53 so I really wasn't expecting much anyway.

Apparently on of the other folks that were performing with her, MIA, flipped the TV cameras off.  Really?  When are the stars going to realize that they are older than childish pranks on national TV?  Even Justin Beiber wouldn't pull such a thing.

It was a trashy thing to do, yes but it happened so fast that no one really noticed.  Well except the talk show pundits.

Superbowl commercial review

I watched the game, it was a pretty decent game and the last minute was rather exciting.  That being said, my give a crap level of the game itself was as low as ever considering that unless it's Houston in the Superbowl, I really don't care who wins it.

The only reason that I even bother having the game on my television is that I enjoy the commericals.  So I am going to give a point of view on some of my more favorite commercials.

I will say that the automotive industry really ramped up their commercials with some great humor.  Doritos was another product that had a couple of very funny commericals.

I am going in order that I saw them (as best as I can), not rating from my favorite to the worst.

First up we have an Audi commercial where a vampire is driving an Audi to a vampire gathering in the woods and the car's  headlights are so bright it's akin to daylight and suddenly the vampires start going up in smoke.  Eventually, the vampire driving ends up in the light as well and poof there he goes.  It was a great commercial.

Next up it's Doritos with a dog, who had 'gotten rid' of the family cat and bribes the man of the house with Doritos so that he will keep quiet. The music in the background is from The Barber of Seville and it's really a cute commercial.

Next up is a Pepsi commerical that gave the hubby a chuckle. This one featured Elton John as king and a singer comes in, singing he offers her a Pepsi and she throws a can at a lever and King John falls through the trap door in the dungeon.

The next funny commercial was a Hyundai commercial featuring their new Veloster turbo car, two guys and a cheetah. One guy is in the car, the cheetah in a cage and the other guy standing beside the cage. The car revs up and the guy gives the nod.. the cheetah is released and chases the car.... the cheetah knows a lost cause when it sees on, then turns around and looks at the guy by the cage and takes off after him... reminding us all that you don't have to outrun the animal that is chasing you, just outrun the guy next to you!

Now, Chevy really brought a good one. Boy is graduating high school, he walks outside and his parents have a mini fridge with a bow on it, but behind them sits a yellow Camaro. Naturally, the boy thinks the Camaro is his present he is screaming and jumping up and down.. his friends all come running up along with his girlfriend. The parents are saying, "should we tell him?" "Let's wait until he tires himself out." Turns out it's the neighbor's new car and said neighbor gets in the car and drives off. The boy says, "Mr. (can't remember the name) stole my car!"

I think that one of my favorites of the night is a Doritos commercial. Kid is playing on a swing set, teasing his baby brother and grandma with Doritos... saying.. "I have some and you don't"... baby is in a jumping bungee thing and grandma is in a wheelchair... grandma takes baby and backs up and sling shots the baby to the boy, baby grabs Doritos and grandma and baby eat Doritos. The sling shot action is done to the tune of The Drinking Song from La Travatia.

Betty White his a good commercial with the advertisement of The Voice, a new show coming on NBC. She was flirty as ever.... telling the guys to look at her eyes, not her boobs... what a firecracker.

Clint Eastwood had a commercial with Chrystler, 'It's half time America'. While my emotions are mixed about the commercial, the speech that he is giving is really beautiful. I have issues with promoting a car company who accepted a bail out. Is that our tax money that both Chevy and Chrystler used to make and pay for a spot for these ads? Hmmm....

Another great commercial was Seinfeld trying to bribe the guy who is first in line for the new Acura into giving up his spot for the new model. He offers up munchkins, an alien corpse and a bunch of other things finally getting the guy to give in by zip lining him across Manhatten. They are on a rooftop and Jay Leno shows up with a jet suit on.... the guy gives Leno the spot instead.
Also there was a spoof on Ferris Bueller's Day off for the Honda CRV that was cute.

So that's about all that was worth mentioning, or that I saw that was worth mentioning. I'm sure that there will be lots of write ups on ads that I've missed.

At any rate, football season is over, time for March madness then after that baseball!

Here is one that I just have to post because it's really hilarious.

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Gotta Love Brittish Humor

This so funny.  A little gross....  but funny!

The solution to the presidential election

I've found it!  Disappointed in the Republican field from which we have to choose? Dissatisfied with Dear Leader Barack's performance? Don't stay home and skip the vote when we have the opportunity to trade an Eeeviiil Moonbat for a...er...Moonbat.

What's on Netflix tonight?

Burn Notice. I got totally hooked on the show while my daughter was here recovering from oral surgery.  My previous TV series binge was Firefly, about which I have a question. Did Firefly only run for one season? Or, are there more?

Pigs and Pythons - I have a solution

The feral pig problem has gotten so bad that all you need is a hunting license and a gun down here.  There is no season, well there is but it runs 364 days a year (365 in a leap year). As soon as I get my kids out of college, I'm taking the 12 gage with the 42" barrel and going helicopter hunting.

Florida has a pernicious problem in the Everglades.

Pythons.  So many jackholes have released pythons into the everglades that they are rapidly becoming the dominate species and consuming the preponderance of mammals down theah. (sorry, my southern dialect leaked out)

There are rednecks in Florida. I know there are. (what am I saying? we are the most ubiquitous homo sapiens species on the face of the planet) 

Open the season on snakes. Hell, it will be a whole new cable reality show. What'ev Dude! You Noodle Catfish?  I Noodle 30 foot Pythons!

Where's my shotgun?

Some folks don't believe me when I tell them this

But... the relative humidity tonight here at the BAR is 97%...and it is not raining.
Seattle has a reputation for a lot of effing rain. It is so gray and rains so often, that Seattle's suicide rate is exceptionally high.
Has nothing to do with it. I've traveled to Northern California, Seattle, and Portland many many many (insert infinity symbol here) times over the course of my career.  They are without a doubt, some of the most beautiful places you could ever go..ever. ( did I mention EVER)
Those places also attract loons like a high cliff to lemmings.
97% humidity speaks condensation on my new rice rocket in the morning and a bad hair day.
Try 36" in three days as in tropical storm Allison. ( Three Feet..A Yard Stick..you get the point)
Take that Seattle.
I digress.
We might get some much needed rain tomorrow.
As a foot note, it you look up the meteorological data on Seattle, there are quite a number of places that get as much rain as Seattle in a given year.
BAR would be one of those, but we get it sporadically in dumptrucks. The highly Progressive City of  Seattle gets it if urinal doses.
poetic justice ne'ct pas?

Scion tC review - two weeks in

I'm about half way into the break in mileage so far, so I haven't really romped on the accelerator yet.  But, the part throttle acceleration I've done so far hints at some get up and go from that little 2.5 liter 4 cylinder.  The only detriment so far is that there are some blind spots. The rear quarter windows are small, and with the spoiler on the back, changing lanes requires some serious attention. I'm still adjusting to the low horizon and small mirrors compared to the Astro Beater Van, but I'll adjust..I'm sure :-)
With the 6 speed auto transmission, the car cruises at 70 mph at around 2100 rpm, which is highly beneficial for gas mileage. The tC is not a super gas mileage econobox, nor is it Chevy Camaro killer, but it is a really fun car to drive.
On the gas mileage, by now on my daily commute, I would have hit the gas pump three times. I've hit it twice. Now, I must qualify that because I never fill up. I usually do about ten gallons or so. Home economics is based on cash flow in, and out. Cash flow in, and out is directly related to time, and so I parse fuel purchases.
From my research prior to buying the tC, it was pigeon holed by the Car Mags as a first car you'd buy for your Son or Daughter when they first got their license. Those guys seriously need a reality check.
It's not a question of whether your newly driving teen will have an accident, but when. I have four of them. The only one that hasn't wrecked her car yet is the youngest. But, she hasn't been driving too long just yet.
I digress.
The interior is not leather, and there is no option for that but the interior fit and finish is really well done.
By today's price standards, considering what you get, this car gets a KX59 best buy award.
Right about the time my factory warranty runs out, aftermarket parts should be available for the 2012. And..then, the fun really begins. Guys that drift race these little rice rockets have jacked the horsepower up over 300 with no detriment to the stock engine internals.
Heh..mid life crisis..here I Come!

Don't know if this is authentic..........

But I sure hope so...  either way, this is full of win!

click to enlarge