So here I sit almost at midway through a long holiday weekend. Where does the time go? I encountered an interesting situation this morning. Just wanted to see how many of you have run across this type of situation, and how you feel about it.

After finishing my morning bike ride (pedal type, thank you) of roughly ten miles, I hit Home Depot on the way home to see if any of my tribe had rolled out of bed yet. They have there, some chain link fence hardware parts, that are almost tailor made as a repair part for one of my boys' go-kart roll bar assemblies, with a bit of modification and fabrication work on my part (and the boys, with a bit of prodding, and threats of go-kart liquidation). Fact of the matter is that if they would treat the machines as more of a fun kid ride than Baja machines, and keep them right side up, all of the original welds would still be intact.
But I digress - this is about the retail hardware business, though a far cry these days from the mom and pop hardware store where "Earl" took care of our every need and question, but which sadly, was squeezed out of existence when H.D. and Lowes moved in to where the forest used to be. But I digress once more.

I guess it's a good thing I was wound down and mellow after my ride. I skipped the self-ckeckout line and went to the one checkout that had only one customer ahead of me. BAD MOVE! This very stately, well dressed couple (who once I would have described as African American, out of habit, before I realized you are either one or the other), (and BTW, the United States of America is a nation - Africa is a continent), was having a rather heated exchange with the associate at the register, Joann, over the price of a piece of merchandise. Seems Joann ran the skew and it rang up as two-ten, tax included rather than the one seventy nine, before tax, that they thought they were paying. They held up the line for no less that ten minutes while prices were checked and verified, and the customers were summarily dispatched by allowing them to have the merchandise at the price that they had mistakenly thought they would have to pay: $1.79 plus tax, versus the $2.10, including tax. All I can say is, Joann, you're a saint, and a paitent saint at that. I would be looking for a new job after having taken that kind of crap over a net 8-10 cents difference over a toilet paper holder.

I am usually at the front of the line over principles when challenged, but even I have had enough math classes to know when I'm throwing good money(what my time is worth) after bad (spending fifteen minutes in a pissing match with someone who has a computer and a supervisor proving her to be right).

Get a life folks - and maybe pick up some baby wipes on the way home. You are obviously easily irritated......but for Christsakes, buy generic wipes, and double check the price before you put them in the buggy. I don't want to get stuck behind your whiny a**** again in line!

Just heard on GMA that Taylor Hicks, received 63,000,000 plus votes for something or other on a talent show on television last night. What's more, the news folks on the telly, bragged that that figure was more votes than any presidential candidate has ever received.

I'm impressed........not. What does that say about this country?

Does it say that we need the Fox Network's producer running our candidates' campaigns? Nah, maybe we just need to **** can the voting machines and ballot boxes and tally votes in the next election by text messaging. Then whoever wins can just communicate with us all by keeping a running blog going on his Facebook or Myspace page. OMG, WTF if this voting method had been implemented during the election before last? The guy that invented the internet (hehe) might have won.

But then, that means we wouldn't have our current American IDLE on the job. No, that's not right. Idle implies sitting still. Methinks we are actually going in reverse.

If you had purchased $1000.00 of Nortel stock, one year later, it was worth $49.00.

*With Enron, you would have had $16.50 left of the original $1,000.00.

*With WorldCom, you would have had less than $5.00 left.

But, if you had purchased $1,000.00 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, you would have had $214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink
heavily and recycle.

It's called the 401-Keg Plan.

Got this today from a friend. Maybe some of you did too. Maybe it's an oldie - don't know, but it's the first time I've seen it, and it seemed worth sharing. Thanks Peggy.

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to
ever let you down, probably will. You will have your heart broken, probably
more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so
remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best
friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry
because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you
love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've
never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute
of happiness you'll never get back.

Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.
~anonymous~

We weren't best friends. In fact, I doubt he'd even remember me, or the fact that he still owed me money, that I gave up on seeing years ago. But I remember him. Seems like it was yesterday, I was standing at the bar waiting for my pay, listening to him sing the blues to me as he pulled a few bills out of the cash register and whined about having to pay me with bar reciepts for the stage lighting work I had done that night for the likes of John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins, Jimmy Reed, Clifton Chenier, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells..........well, I guess you might get my point if you are into blues music.

Thanks Clifford. You were a character to say the least. To Marcia, Angela, Lou Ann, and the other regulars who practically lived there when I did, sorry - I know you will miss him.

Thanks Clifford. Thanks for introducing an old Grand Funk, James Gang, Iron Butterfly hippie rocker, to the Blues and a life changing musical experience.

Antone's was walking distance from my house - about a quarter mile up the railroad tracks at the time I sat at the lighting board there on so many nights. At the time, save for a couple of legends in their own time, I didn't really realize the magnitude of the company I was keeping those smoky nights. Now I do. I never really made any money at that venture (stage lighting), but I'll have to admit that my soul was affected in a manner that you could never put a price on.
Thanks Clifford. Godspeed. Rest in peace, brother.

As an afterthought, check out the guestbook entries at the Austin Statesman obit site. It's at thirty five pages this morning. Do read some of the entries. He affected a lot of people. I see some familiar names there and I left Austin twenty six years ago!
http://www.legacy.com/state... target='_blank'>The Road Goes on Forever

Perhaps the Loon, with his knowledge of and love for horse racing, would be better suited to write on this, but I'll not let it get away without at least having a little fun with it. I'll try to refrain from ending it with the old joke about the midget horse buyer with a lisp.....

Possibly someone can explain to me, the thought behind euthanizing a three year old horse with some obviously great genetic make-up, because he isn't well enough to "go to stud". Am I missing something here? Barring something like a life threatening infection, I fail to see where a bit of a limp (not THAT kind of limp) would disqualify one from being suited for such a fate as being a stud. That almost sounds like a retribution thing, for no longer being able to race.

I read that at the time of the injury, the owner rushed from his seat (or throne) to his horse's side. Now, from my perspective, I would have done the same thing - but because my "pony" was hurt. I tend to think in terms of a pet, when thinking "my horse". I'm pretty sure this owner, while likely enamored with his Barbaro, was also hitting the speed dial to his insurance agent, vet and his accountant as he made his way to the track.........

So what's next for the horse? I read it could be months before they know if he will have to be "put down". Something tells me the horse's owner/dad is going to have his people spending some time with this horse during these months - following him around with a big jar and a freezer truck. Twixt you and me, I hope he pulls through and lives to "die in the saddle one day". He's surely earned that!

I'll end it on that note, quitting while I'm ahead as it were. Sorry, no photos, no more horse breeding stories, (including the one about possibly the worst horse job on earth - teaser mare) nor even the website I found to augment this one. Even I know where the line is...........

Well, Little League is starting to wind down. Last game for my oldest, Stephen was night before last. As I stood in the dugout watching him pitch, I was a proud dad and coach. First batter drilled a liner right back at him - ankle high and he snagged it. Second batter, he struck out swinging. Third batter, another line drive, nailed him: Stephen picked up the ball with the hand in the photo and threw the runner out at first. Three up and four down. The X-rays were negative, AND we won. Stephen sat out the rest of the game, and he is questionable for the first playoff game Saturday.

It's fun being a dad and a coach, but every now and then, I get a little de-fib by way of watching one of these little dudes hit the dirt.

Would someone else please write their congressman and see if we can get the driving age raised to 25 and the drinking age to 35?

An old dad's heart can only take so much.........

On driving:
You CAN stop a train.

Seat belts can save your life.

Not wearing your seat belt is a moving traffic violation in Texas.

Defensive driving courses are almost as bad as an insurance rate hike and a fine.

Some Houston drivers are telepathic, and most are good lip readers.

On nutrition:
In my hometown, wild dewberries and wild mushrooms grow.

The berries are nutritious and make very good cobbler and pies and topping.

The mushrooms, well I can't attest to their nutritional content, but if they turn the color of the berries when you pick them, you might want to avoid them unless you have an 8-12 hour window of free time on your hands - and a quiet place to hang out. In retrospect, a good book on wild mushrooms might help determine which are good for salads and which ones the door mouse was referring to. Careful when picking mushrooms. Some will take you where Timothy Leary went and return you back. Others will take you to where he is now. Yet others are delicious and good for you.

On nothing in particular:
There IS a boogey man, and there are certain things one might eat or drink that will make it easier for him to find you.

When socializing in a bar, say AWHQ, where words and context can become distorted, and Willie or Greezy Wheels play in the background, the words "heart and soul", can sound a lot like "hard and swole".
That's not always a bad thing....
(and yes, I know "swole" is not a word, but it fits). Try and tell that to someone with a big toe swole up so big it won't fit in their white "Seadrift Oxford" boots.

When wading in the bay, if you can't see the bottom, drag or shuffle your feet.

When flounder gigging in water of questionable clarity, don't volunteer to remove a friends flounder from the gig until the water clears. After you touch it, it's too late to change your mind when you find out he gigged a stingaree.

By using the right telephone, it's possible to call catfish - right up to the surface. (a tip:don't get on a party line with the game warden)

It's considered good manners to bait your date's hook for her.

San Franciso's baseball team may REALLY be giants.

My fortune in last night's Chinese meal said "You will touch many hearts". I figured that one out a long time ago. The important thing is to warm the hearts we touch and to not break them.

What do you think of the idea of putting National Guard troops on the Rio Grande to stem the flow of illegals? Vincente Fox doesn't appear too thrilled with the plan. He'll really start to sweat when he sees C-130s and Apaches and Chinooks and an invasion force buildup won't he?

Some in Congress are not too thrilled with the idea either. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R. Nebraska, says that is not their job, of the Guard. Hey Chas, it's N-A-T-I-O-N-A-L- Guard. Why is it not their job to guard our border?

In fact, it may actually work - or at least slow down the influx of illegals.
It certainly will cut down on some of the abuse and deaths of those attempting to cross, by having some trained soldiers there to intercept them, and provide them with a Pepsi (or Fanta), a sandwich and a ride back across the river immediately, rather than detention. Sooner or later the swimmers/deportees, will get tired of being a human yo-yo and go home and wait for the invasion and the money to come to them.

Oh, I doubt that W came up with this plan on his own. Maybe his dad did, while sitting behind home plate with Drayton and Mattress Mac at an Astro's game and watching a Guardsman throw out the first pitch.

Once again, the spotlight shines on one of the young men chosen to play a sport for one of our state schools. I'm speaking of Ramonce Taylor, the first string headliner in today's Austin Statesman. Unfortunately, as is all too often the case, it's shining on him while he is posing for a mug shot. What is it with these kids who are at the very least guaranteed an education paid for, if not a shot at becoming a professional ballplayer after college? Drugs AND weapons?

And he was excused from spring football programs, to concentrate on academics?? So much for academia, eh. How about ammunition and agricultural marketing?

Maybe he just ran into one too many big linebackers. One jolt too many, and possibly combined with the old habit of smokin' rope, could certainly lead to a little difficulty in one's schoolwork, couldn't it?

Might be that he really didn't belong in college in the first place. Seems to be a common practice - coddling borderline IQs through high school and college, with a liplock on the udder of Alumni Associations, all for the glory of the "game".

Makes you wonder how many don't get caught, particularly when some of them open their mouth in front of a microphone and we hear what comes out after four years of "college", doesn't it?

But then it's really about the money, isn't it? If you don't think so, look at the money paid to first year NBA and NFL draftees.

I'll stick with baseball - at least the players have to prove they have it and earn the big bucks, before they get adopted by Mr. Steinbrenner......

I read this morning that it's curtain time for the original Hummer. Distressing in a way, since I never got one and it seems my chances of getting one without forking over some big bucks to a stranger (maybe even stranger than I) are slim to none. I read a while back where some basketball player even got one from his momma after he was drafted for big bucks by an NBA team.

All seriousness, ahem, all kidding aside, I suppose this means that a lot of guys who regard a status vehicle as a substitute for a diminutive body part, will be stuck having to settle for a Dodge Ram that requires a ladder to mount. The NBA guys will be going back to the Escalades with the shiny wheels that turn weird and a pipe holder in the console......

I honestly didn't read far enough into the piece to see why they are discontinuing the H1. I found enough fodder for a little fun with the title and the first line in the story, and then moved on to Non Sequitur (thanks, Tim).

Really, all kidding aside, IMHO, and probably that of SWMBO, the Hummer is an eyesore in the first place, and was probably the inspiration for those other little economy "boxes" on wheels that look like you could just bury the occupants in them - since that's what they will likely need if they ever have a good wreck in one of those things. Kinda like the Hummer:

I think the pickup won.......

Okay,

What were those rules again?

There's an energy related story that got my attention in the business section today. It deals with alternative energy. The wind turbine farm planned for the coast off Padre island is definitely a good plan, assuming that it will withstand the kind of corrosion it will encounter, and an occasional cat 4 blow. In fact, I can't understand why there aren't wind generators lined up from Sabine Pass to Boca Chica.

There is a bit of a concern with this power source by one group, but isn't that always the case? Seems some environmentalists tend to have their feathers ruffled. They think that wind turbines in the migratory bird route will chop up the birds. Excuse me, but if these birds can spot a june bug or a mullet in muddy water from 1000ft up, you'd think a noisy, whirling wind turbine and attached tower, might just get their attention, wouldn't you? Besides, the few that do miss the signs and get pureed, would just be food for the new fish attracted to the man made reef below the water line.

I consider myself an environmentalist too, but I need lights to read my Outside magazine. An open flame is not going to work - too much of a risk working with black powder........just ask the fireworks manufacturers in Mexico.

Since some time has passed since my last motorcycle threw me off and jumped on me, I've been toying with the idea of perhaps buying another. at the same time, I'd like to spend some time this summer with my kids, camping canoeing, and seeing some country. I think I may have come up with a solution. I just wonder how a canoe on top might affect it's handling...........

My primary source of exercise, after being a homeowner and dad to 8 & 10 year old sons, is my bicycles - a K2 mountain bike and a Fuji road racer. I have a particular park nearby, in thousands of acres of Corps of Engineers flood control reservoir, with miles of paved and off-road trails at my disposal. On any given day, the trails are occupied by moms & dads pushing kids in strollers, rollerbabes that would rival those at Ventura Beach, bikers, runners and skaters from ages 8 - 80. This park is a welcome greenbelt in the middle of an otherwise area of busy suburbia, replete with row upon row of cookie cutter houses. Needless to say, it's an oasis to a bay rat stuck working in a daily city grind. As time has worn on, and more folks have moved out here, some of the city culture has begun to mingle with nature:
The Good-



Oops - what's this?
The Bad-


Yep, it's what you think it is, growing in numerous plots, 200 yards from the front door of a 5A high school. I wouldn't have a problem with this if it wasn't in such quantity, in a city park, and 100 feet from a trail used by kids and parents daily. Problem is those who grow it for selling, are fiercely protective of it, and sooner or later a war will start over whose it is and they will be popping caps at one another. Besides, with my physical appearance, and this stuff growing where I ride in the woods, the last thing I needed was to be riding thru it when the authorities had it staked out. I just passed on it's location to my neighbor, a police officer. Next thing I know, I'm being summoned to the woods by her and a DEA agent to lead them to the farm. Bottom line: early harvest, and they left their calling cards to discourage any more mass farming in that area. My recommendation to whoever was growing it: get a job! Grow your stuff in your back yard like we did in the sixties.
The ugly:




I shot these in the parking area of the park. Note the inset on the BMW pic, and the chunk of concrete on the front seat- high tech criminals, huh? I just leave my doors unlocked. I figure a new radar detector is a lot cheaper than a new window or windshield. I mentioned the farm to the officer investigating the four cars that were broken into. He basically said: it's not my jurisdiction, translated: (tell someone who gives a ****). I did. This is happening more often lately. Maybe it's time to move to the country.......

Read just a short piece in the Chronicle this AM, where the Prez:

seems to think his brother Jeb should have a go at his job in the future....Huh? Of course, this is precisely the type of psychobabble that has earned him the respect and approval rating he enjoys today. Seems he said that he thought little bro would make a "great one". My guess is that's how it made it off the editor's desk. In all likelihood, he said I bet Jeb'd be a "good'un". We've had two types of bush on the driver's seat so far: one "big ol' good'un, and one "good ol' big'un". I think we can do without seeing what's behind door number three(the green one)!

I started this as a comment to a blog by the Loon, but I noticed it was a yesterday morning piece by him. The way he spits out blogs, this one (the blinking red light piece), is on a pace to hit the archive bin at any moment. Since I never miss a chance to put in my two cents worth on the subject of driving, I figured I'd shamelessly take the ball and run with it here, and keep this one going a while.

The blinking, countdown to change signal, while on the surface, an effective sounding plan, which might actually work as intended in the retirement communities of say, Scottsdale, Az., or on the Florida coast, I think would have the opposite effect in the city where I drive, and a few others I have driven in. Here in H-town, green means it's LEGAL (not necessarily wise though) to proceed, yellow means make sure your insurance is paid up, and red means the next five cars are coming through anyway, at well above the posted speed (see green). I think that between the red light traffic cameras they have installed here and the aforementioned "countdown to yellow" blinking lights, that in fact, all that would change, is just more money for lawyers and Maaco. Suffice to say, I do not like red lights. They are not my friends. I talk trash to them, as though they can actually hear me. I was jealous when I read the story about the guy in Boulder who bought a bootleg opticon signal generator on eBay, which he used to switch lights from red to green. Sounds like a gas and time saving plan to me.....
Then there's always http://www.hedonistica.com/... target='_blank'>this method of dealing with red lights.

On the subject of driving in Mexico, one thing I liked about driving in Monterrey, was the apparent legality of being able to turn any direction from any lane at will, while steering with the horn ring. Oh yeah, I forgot, only about a quarter of the population even knows what a "horn ring" is anymore. How about a steering wheel spinner knob, or fender skirts or curb feelers? My wife could use those curb feelers. Currently she employs the "glancing blow" or "bank shot" method of curbside parking.......

Maybe we'll tackle the other "parking" at another time. I think I'll just leave the Papagayo red lights alone completely.

Just fishing on this one, Floyd. A blue norther, uncle Mike and Miranda, and no blimp tonight. Some will get it, most will stay in their foxholes and wait for a signal. Hello, is there anybody in there? Upcoming: a talk with a DEA agent in the woods, and schoolitis x-2(The first one was legit, the second, a page out of my book).

These two snakes are just hanging out, see. One turns to the other and asks "are we poisonous?" His buddy says "I dunno, why?" The first snake says "I bit my tongue."

I made light earlier of the protests being held nationwide today. I just finished watching some broadcasts from several locations. It does appear that the protests have been peaceful. I can't say whether they have helped or hurt the immigrants' cause. I will say that waving the Mexican flag damn sure isn't helping their cause.

I made reference to annexing Mexico or possibly invading Mexico in an earlier blog. I did it in a lighthearted manner as well, but don't think for a minute that I was not serious about that one. The world and the inhabitants of the land between the Rio Grande and the border of Colombia and Panama would all be best served by it becoming part of this country and the removal of each and every corrupt government now in place there. Just one word out of Colombia and Venezuela, and they should be next to fall. Who is going to stop us? Cuba?

Imperialism? Nope - just a matter of waiting for the right time in finishing what started with the revolution in Texas. It's simply time to squash these corrupt regimes, starting with Mexico and marching south and to redraw the world political map and to send a shock wave through the world economy and in so doing, bettering the lives of the folks to our south. Also in so doing, we'll have enough oil reserves in place to walk away from the Mideast, or at least not have to rely on them and have them calling the shots and setting the prices.

Want to do something about our trade imbalance with China? This would be a good place to start.

Gulf of Texas. That has a nice ring to it...................

Some folks who normally work the graveyard shift, may actually have a hard time sleeping without their morning serenade of Weedeaters and leaf blowers!


Wouldn't you think they'd pick a better week to pull this little one day walkout. I figure the rest of the week, as a counter protest, the rednecks will cut their own grass and finish the week with a Cinco de Mayo boycott of Taco Bell and proclamation designating it "Whitey Friday". The ones really being hit hard by these two days of protest, will be the makers of antacids. On the bright side, for a few days, the incidents of injury and deaths due to accidents while riding in pickup truck beds should decline somewhat.......I'M JOKING.....okay? Now it's time for breakfast. Last day on the job for me and several others. The boss brought in homemade Pico de Gallo, the cantina downstairs is open. The owner is a nice little Chinese lady with two cooks, two servers, and one cashier, all Mexican by birth, and all present and accounted for today. This will not be "a day without breakfast", but it may require an oatmeal "chaser".