Tonight, it's peas...

When you have a 16 month old you have to consider exactly what you want to clean up off of the floor after dinner. You have to consider splat capacity, stain longevity and doggie appeal.

Tonight, it's peas.

Splat factor is good - because of the outer shell of the pea containing the mushy goodness within on impact.


Stain longevity is good - but if you don't get them right away the mushy goodness can clot and you have to scrub.


Doggie appeal is bad - unless drowned in butter the mutt refuses them and butter throws all of the other factors in to disarray.


So tonight looks pretty good for simple clean up as long as I get them up before letting the evil out of the highchair. If not I run the risk of a 'Godzilla vs Tokyo' reenactment and all the planning is out the window.

Oh, and halfway through this post I had to get the crayola pencil from the evil as she was drawing on the kitchen wall.

16 months is an amazing time.

How Twilight should have ended...

Thanks deaddog

Putting game

Give this a whirl. It's addictive and annoying.

http://www.matchpractice.com/game/

My record so far is 5 in a row...

Ohio?

Neil Armstrong is being hailed today on the anniversary of the moon landing. He is from Ohio. The first man to orbit, John Glenn, and the first man to fly, Orville Wright, were also from Ohio.
It shows that no challenge is too great when a man is trying to get out of Ohio.

via

For The Continental Drifters?


Ideal Life

In honor of the 40th anniversary of men landing on the moon, here's the classic footage of Buzz Aldrin punching out a moon landing hoax nutjob

Cris vs the ZX2


So the battery light came on in my little commuter car. A Ford Escort ZX 2.
So I figured the battery was about dead after 4 years and replaced it.
Nope, battery light still on. So we had the charging system checked and Les Schwab said it was bad. At that point it was either send it to Ford for $300+ or get the wrenches out in 103 degree heat.

We got the wrenches. After a bit of a tussle with the belt tensioner that scared the bejeebus out of me we started wrenching in earnest.

Well.

Well, you see.

Well, I'm on medication for an awful ear infection that put me out of work for over a week and in to the E.R. for two days. Now, remember I work for a software company (dig the wife's visor for a hint) and I tend to work at home (I have the best boss in the world) so when I work I ain't digging ditches so it isn't strenuous. I only point this out to illustrate how bad the ear infection had to be to keep ME from working.

So.

So.

I'm on medication.

The medication says plainly on the side of the bottle to keep out of direct Natural or Artificial Sunlight!!!

Remember? I live in Manteca? 103 degrees?

So.

Vomiting.

Vomiting in the front yard.

The back yard, the front bathroom, the back bathroom and on the new sofa.

I tried but it was too tough coach.

Luckily I married a Gadd woman (nee' Hogan). You people who know know what I mean.

So.

SO.

Cristophi fought and defeated the ZX2 in the driveway while I puked in the house.

I love that woman.

Banned German Sprite Ad...Greg will love this ! ! ! !

Man hit by train...

Holy shit!!! This is great ! ! !

http://www.ehow.com/video_2327320_removing-serpentine-belt.html

I need to replace the alternator again on my Escort ZX2 and remember that my buddy Rich and I had issues with the tensioner or something. I also remember Gary (Dude, I miss you so much) making short work of this in my old favorite car the Lumina.

I went searching for help on the porno-net and found this video.
It's absolutely freaking perfect.

More places to visit on our trip to Oregon...

OMSI: The Oregon
Museum of Science and Industry is a really great example of the modern science museum. It is located on a former PGE property and incorporates the old power plant turbine hall. OMSI has the standard fare of OMNIMAX theater, planetarium and traveling shows as well as some really fun permanat installations. The real jewel from a geekdad perspective is the retired USS Blueback, the last active
Navy diesel submarine. Tours are available regularly and there is a monthly set of two hour technical tours as well.

Side trip: The
Portland bridges. From OMSI it is a quick walk to the downtown bridges and more than once I’ve been offered tours of the towers and inner workings just for showing interest.

Washington Park, including the Oregon Zoo, Portland Children’s Museum, World Forestry Center and hiking: This is one of those something for everyone, decide when you get there kind of outings. The zoo is great and has some wonderful new installations focusing on the Northwest.
It is also worth checking out the Elephants program. The zoo has the world’s most successful Asian elephant zoo breeding program.

Side trip: The MAX
(our light rail) station platform at Washington is 260 feet below ground and is the deepest transit station in North America. A core drill sample from the surface to the station level is displayed in the station with notes on the geologic and cultural history of the region.

Fort Vancouver
National Historic Site: The highlight is the reconstruction of the Hudson’s
Bay Company stockade. There is a tower redoubt, baking and blacksmithing demonstrations and occasional black powder cannon firings.

Willamette Locks at
Oregon City: River engineering is a big part of the economy in the region
(for good and ill) and the Willamette Locks are a great, close in, example of how the rivers are operated for commerce. My kids got to operate the locks under the supervision of the lock master – smiles from ear to ear. Make sure the locks are in operation before visiting. The Army Corps of Engineers operates the locks only when they have the budget to do so. If your kids like this trip consider a visit to Bonneville.

Arrival of the Jayhawks:
A few times a year the Coast Guard Jayhawk rescue helicopters come up from Air
Station Astoria to do a SAR demonstration. They always do a demonstration at the June Rose Festival Fleet Week but my favorite place to get up close and personal is the occasional open houses at Coast Guard Sector Portland. The demonstration is within about 100 feet of dock and you get a great view. At either of these events you can tour the USCGC Bluebell, our local buoy tender.
(I’m a Coast Guard Auxiliarist so I have a bias on this one). Photos here.

Top deck of the
Portland Airport parking structure: The terminal of the airport is between two of the main runways. On a clear day you can get a great view of the airport operations from the top deck of the airport parking structure. There are also great views of Mt. Hood and the Columbia River.



Out of town…

Columbia River
Maritime Museum: A newer facility and a great anchor for a trip to Astoria.
They have wonderful exhibits on the history, natural history and commerce of the Columbia River. As a Coastie I really enjoy the USCG lifesaving exhibits and the Lightship Columbia. Some weekends the Coast Guard cutters that dock at the adjacent dock are open for tours. Make sure to stop for fish and chips at the Bowpicker (an actual retired fishing boat) across the street from the museum.

Coast Beaches:
Go, just go…. But make sure to check the tips on beach safety.

Evergreen Aviation
Museum : Home of the Spruce Goose. If the kids are interested aviation this is trip you must take. They have wonderful collection of aircraft from the beginning of flight to WWII war birds to an SR-71 all under the longest wingspan of any aircraft ever built, Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose.

Link

An American hero dies… and hardly no one knows


Michael Jackson dies and it’s 24/7 news coverage. A real American hero dies and not a mention of it in the news.
You’re a 19-year-old kid. You’re critically wounded and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley , 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam . Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in. You’re lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you’re not getting out. Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away and you’ll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day. Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter and you look up to see an unarmed Huey, but it doesn’t seem real because no Medi-Vac markings are on it. Ed Freeman is coming for you. He’s not Medi-Vac, so it’s not his job, but he’s flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come. He’s coming anyway. And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire as they load 2 or 3 of you on board. Then he flies you up and out, through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses. And he kept coming back, 13 more times, and took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out. Medal of Honor Recipient Ed Freeman died on Wednesday, June 25th, 2009, at the age of 80, in Boise , ID.



from Bits & Pieces by Jonco

For Greg...


But with better beer of course.
Greg makes the BEST beer.

Walgreens...

Walgreen has announced that if you're willing to provide proof of unemployment and sign a form that says you lost your health benefits along with your job, you and your uninsured family members can receive free treatment at any of their 300+ in-store health clinics.

What's covered: "respiratory problems, allergies, infections and skin conditions, among other ailments."

What's not: checkups, vaccinations or other injections, and prescriptions.

The program will last through the end of 2009, and is offered every weekday between 11am and 3pm.

You can find the nearest clinic on this page.

If you need cheap meds, check out Walmart's $4 Prescriptions Program to see if your drug is on their cheap list.

"Walgreen giving free care to jobless and uninsured"

Space Shuttle reentry at night...

CycleKarting...


You can't buy a CycleKart and, even if you could, the racers wouldn't let you participate. You have to build your CycleKart. It's one of the many reasons this is a very cool hobby.


This coolest niche of karting we'd never heard of takes its inspiration from the bareknuckle Cycle Cars of the very early years of racing, which featured ultra-light construction and a goosed motorcycle engine. The hobby is sort of a revolt against high-dollar, huge horsepower racing, choosing to celebrate the camaraderie and creativity of the sport. CycleKarting clubs are invite-only, so they can keep ultra-competitive types out and make sure things stay light and fun. It's meant to be gritty and raw with the satisfaction coming not from winning, but rather tearing ass around a bumpy field in a cool little car you've built.

CycleKarts scale vintage race cars down to the minimum, with styling modeled after race cars through the late 1930's and maximum dimensions of 98" by 40" with weight no more than 200 lbs. Power comes from a 200 cc, 6.5 HP Honda motor and a CVT hanging over and driving the rear wheels. Total build price shouldn't be more than $1750. They're go-karts, but with miles of style. The specs aren't the important part of CycleKarting though, it's more in the building and good-natured fun. Add this to our ever-lengthening list of things we want to do some day.


CycleKart

From Domo...

My M.I.L. is a pretty smart bird...

Another response to my post...

This Michael Jackson thing is no longer news. It is strictly profit generating media. So sad that there is rarely any legitimate news being broadcast these days and the American public has no clue what really important things are happening. I am personally really tired of all the sensationallism!!
---------

I completely agree with Grandma on this and have been saying it for a long time. The Media's job is to sell advertising NOT to give us timely and topical news.

This thing has grown to a product placement ad for the singers, speakers, venue, and labels involved.

I just read that the cars were provided free to the family:

----

The shameless commercialization of Michael Jackson's death continues as Land Rover Encino's providing Range Rovers and Rolls Royces to the Jackson family for the day's transport. Free product placement all day.
According to paparazzi machine TMZ, the cars have been provided to the Jackson family for the entire day, free of charge. It's a case of thinly veiled product placement as family and other celebrities will use the vehicles to travel to both Forest Lawn cemetery for his funeral service and LA's Staples Center for the much-hyped memorial service. Stay tuned to every single 24 hour news network for constant updates.

Link

For Domo...

Passenger fixes faulty airliner

Holidaymakers avoided a long delay to their flight home when a passenger fixed a mechanical problem with their plane.Passengers on Thomas Cook flight TCX9641 from Menorca were told to expect an eight-hour wait while an engineer was flown out from the UK. One passenger then identified himself as a qualified aircraft engineer and offered to try to remedy the fault. He was successful, and the plane landed in Glasgow only 35 minutes late. A spokeswoman for Thomas Cook said the company followed strict procedures to ensure the man was qualified to work on the aircraft, a Boeing 757-200, during the incident on Saturday. "We checked his licence and verified he was who he said he was, and he was able to fix the problem to avoid the delay. We are very grateful that he was on the flight that day."

from Nothing To Do With Arbroath by arbroath

Wow, Rich and I were just talking about this...


Tattoo Jim said...

Regarding my last post about the Dead Michael Jackson Phenomenon...

No kidding man!! It was a train wreck... we all have to look, it's only human nature, but it's over, we're past it, get on back to the real world people!! Seriously, if we gave just 1/1000th of this... whatever you want to call it... to our service people who have died FOR this country... they are the ones who deserve all the praise and respect that's being put on "the king of pop"... it is a sick, sad world out there...

Well said Jim.

WTF, seriously, WTF!?

Michael Jackson was a singer. A perv. A pop star. Why on earth is the world freaking out?

Why in this poor economic time would LA pay for a memorial?

Is there revenue opportunity?

Did Elvis get this much coverage? John Lennon? The Pope?

I don't get it.

Can you-my reader-think of anyone else that would generate this kind of hype?

Maybe if someone shot the President.

Again, at least Abe Vigoda is hanging in there...

From Drewby...

One day, the Pope is visiting America and driving around Washington in his limo when he gets an idea.
"Driver? Can I drive for a while?"
"Sure," says the driver. How can you say no to the Pope? So the Pope takes the wheel and starts driving like a maniac all around Washington -- dodging in and out of traffic, going eighty, cutting people off. Soon, a cop pulls him over. But when the Pope rolls down the window, the cop stops dead in his tracks, and goes back to the car.
"We got somebody really important here," he says to his partner.
"Who is it? Is it a senator?"
"No. More important."
"The president?"
"No. More important."
"An ambassador? Who?"
"I don't know. But the Pope is his driver."