I don't know what possessed me to take a screen-shot of the Trackpass Raceview of Kahne (who was the Fan Voted driver and the last starting position of tonight's NASCAR Sprint All-Star race), but I'm glad I did, because... wow! Talk about a come from behind win!
Here he is at the end of the pack before the race officially began, and they were at pace speed. No one behind him, as you can see.
Army of Mom... you must be beside yourself tonight!!
Here he is at the end of the pack before the race officially began, and they were at pace speed. No one behind him, as you can see.
Army of Mom... you must be beside yourself tonight!!
Got this one via email. (Posting it at the Sprint All-Star Race half-time. Go Junior! Go Kasey! <--gratz on getting the Fan Vote. Personally, I voted for Sadler, but I'm partial to the VA boys :)
Denny is hanging in there :-|
*******
These are not trick questions. They are straight questions with straight answers. (Answers below the cut)
1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score orthe leader until the contest ends.
2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?
3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?
4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?
5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?
6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters 'dw' and they are all common words. Name two of them.
7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?
8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.
9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter 'S.'
( Answers to Quiz )
Denny is hanging in there :-|
*******
These are not trick questions. They are straight questions with straight answers. (Answers below the cut)
1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score orthe leader until the contest ends.
2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?
3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?
4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?
5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?
6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters 'dw' and they are all common words. Name two of them.
7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?
8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.
9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter 'S.'
( Answers to Quiz )
I think just about everyone with Internet access has seen the YouTube video by now.
Well, National Geographic Channel turned it into an hour-long special that premiered last Sunday. Gotta say, it's worth checking out. It's amazing how they were able to digitally remaster the fuzzy original.
"Super Pride" followed, which was also very interesting.
Well, National Geographic Channel turned it into an hour-long special that premiered last Sunday. Gotta say, it's worth checking out. It's amazing how they were able to digitally remaster the fuzzy original.
"Super Pride" followed, which was also very interesting.
Gawd. Last Thursday when those tornadoes came through Stafford and P.G. County, we had times of extremely heavy downpours, and our leaky roof returned.
We had it [supposedly] repaired and then replaced the whole roof ultimately by the same company within a few months.
A few heavy rains after that (and my own repairs after numerous calls to the roofer whose employees made some visits, but we were not here so we don't know what (if anything) they did) we felt it was safe to repair the drywall.
Then last fall, it rained really hard again and the leaking recurred. Over the many months and finally a threat to report them to the BBB, the owner came out and determined where the breach was. It's not the roof per se, but the siding where the two halves meet (we have a split-level).
This should have been determined originally, of course, which is why I hold him accountable and will continue to do so.
Anyway, it's about the most frustrating and helpless feeling to see water drip from the ceiling.
And you don't know how successful any repairs are until it's put to the test, which might not be until months down the road.
The roofer said they'd take a look early this week. I'm on them like... well, I'll let your imagination fill in that blank.
I hope that North Carolina is getting this! Y'all needed it more than we did.
We had it [supposedly] repaired and then replaced the whole roof ultimately by the same company within a few months.
A few heavy rains after that (and my own repairs after numerous calls to the roofer whose employees made some visits, but we were not here so we don't know what (if anything) they did) we felt it was safe to repair the drywall.
Then last fall, it rained really hard again and the leaking recurred. Over the many months and finally a threat to report them to the BBB, the owner came out and determined where the breach was. It's not the roof per se, but the siding where the two halves meet (we have a split-level).
This should have been determined originally, of course, which is why I hold him accountable and will continue to do so.
Anyway, it's about the most frustrating and helpless feeling to see water drip from the ceiling.
And you don't know how successful any repairs are until it's put to the test, which might not be until months down the road.
The roofer said they'd take a look early this week. I'm on them like... well, I'll let your imagination fill in that blank.
I hope that North Carolina is getting this! Y'all needed it more than we did.
Happy Mother's Day to my mom and Mr. Mo's mom (may she rest in peace).
To all the mothers out there, I hope you enjoyed your special day which should be all about YOU today.
God bless you all for doing the hardest and most important job there is.
Also... thank you, birthmom, wherever you are.
To all the mothers out there, I hope you enjoyed your special day which should be all about YOU today.
God bless you all for doing the hardest and most important job there is.
Also... thank you, birthmom, wherever you are.
Wow, what a day! First of all, I was amazed the weather held up. ( I had expected a total washout based on the extended forecast and planned accordingly. I was going to stay until Monday if I had to! ) I rented a scanner and I think around lap 200 I heard one of the MRN broadcasters ask for an umbrella. Turns out it was in preparation for the threatening rain, which was about 20 miles south of us. It never materialized except for brief drizzle while we were trying to get out of the parking lot, post-race, but the Goodyear blimp bugged out about halfway through the race. I never saw it for all the cloud cover, and it might have been behind us, anyway.
To back up a bit...
We headed out of No.VA around 9:30, and were amazed at the lack of beltway and I95 traffic going south. Most of it was heading north (and the reverse was true on our return trip, though we did run into pockets of slow traffic starting around Fredericksburg to Quantico).
We were making it to my brother's house with time to spare so decided to stop off first at the nearest Cracker Barrel for lunch, then waited at my brother's place for the rest of the group to show up, which they did - right on time. Mr. Mo bid us adieu and took Pixel to spend the rest of the day with his sister and bro-in-law and our nephew and his wife, and around 1:30 the rest of us piled into the Ford F-150 with club cab. Five of us fit quite comfortably, even with all of our stuff.
We got to the track and wandered about....
Talk about your ultimate tailgatin' getup. (as usual, click a couple of times for the largest image)
Good lawd! It even had a bottle opener down by the hitch. They were having a promotional giveaway of some kind.
From the Richmond Times-Dispatch: "Plenty to see around the track before race"
...Two bagpipe players
Will Rowlette didn't have a shirt but wore a cowboy hat. Mike McCann wore a tight, black Dale Earnhardt Jr. T-shirt. The hat and the shirt didn't draw as much attention as the plaid kilts on Rowlette, from Fairfax, and McCann, from Petersburg.
They roamed through tailgating areas, breaking into a tune every few minutes. "We play for our food and beverages," Rowlette said. Lots of food, but a very limited number of beverages, Rowlette emphasized.
He and McCann are state policemen.
I actually noticed these two while walking past them in the crowd and pointed them out to our group. Would have liked to have heard 'em play.
A few of us went back to the truck once or twice to either drop off or pick up something so while we were split up, I took random pics here and there.
I'm not sure what this display was called, but there were interesting vehicles under this tent.
Strange little go-cart thingy here:
In hindsight, I should have looked into purchasing a pit pass and hospitality package because the rest of them had one, and my brother felt badly about my being left to myself (though I didn't mind-- I was going to try to locate my tailgating co-worker, or heck, I was fine just ambling about since there's so much to see), and insisted on giving up his pass. Even though he had seen it all before, it's still nice to be able to treat yourself to the buffet, be able to sit down for awhile, plenty to drink, etc. So I thanked him for his generosity. (I wasn't even hungry having had lunch just a couple of hours earlier, so didn't partake of the tempting food.)
After about an hour, we all met up again to decide next steps. A couple of them wanted to see the display I had previously meandered through, so three of us went back into the Pitstop Club just in time to see the last bit of the Q & A session with...
... hold onto yer hat, Army of Mom...
Here ya go, girl. Just for you!
I wasn't sure who the driver was going to be, but I seemed to recall that Denny Hamlin was going to be appearing at the Green Flag Zone. Imagine my surprise when it was Kasey Kahne at our hospitality area!
It was around 5:00 now, and my brother and pal decided to go to their seats in the Veranda section.
"C", her mom and I went down to the pit where I was able to get some close-up shots of the vehicles and pit crews.
My brother's favorite driver, currently:
Had to get a snap of Tony's car, too, for Blondie! Plus, Tony's with Joe Gibbs Racing so I kinda root for him by default. We won't speak of Kyle, though. He's the black sheep of JGR presently. Hope he had some body guards help him out of the venue after the race.
(And if I'd had my wits about me, I'd have taken a snap of Junior's car while I was in the pit. D'oh!)
Finally, here's Denny...
...at that coveted pole position.
Someone pointed out this Speed Channel chick (I forget her name). She looks familiar, though.
She was just finishing a report, and was hustling off to wherever she needed to go, and a crowd formed at the edge of the line-you-were-not-to-cross-over-lest-you-g
This is another Speed Channel person. Caught him as he finished up, as well.
When it was getting close to 6:00, in order to get us out quickly, they allowed us to walk on the track.
Gotta say, that was pretty cool. I'm sure the "Dummies" book goes into it -- track composition. It was interesting-looking. Apparently granite is in the mix.
Here's a shot looking towards my right at turn 4...
...and then looking to the left at turn 1.
We joined my brother and pal at their seats in the "Veranda" section. Here's a view of the track from their section A-B, which is where I was sitting last year.
Pretty sweet view of pit road.
Zoomed in:
;-)
And here's the view from my seat this time in Henrico section I, row 31, looking over at Veranda, which is just to the left of the Commonwealth Tower added a few years ago.
Here's the view of Turn 3:
I prefer this seat to Veranda, actually. Although you don't get the view of pit road, you can still see the entire track, and the noise level is incredibly lower. In fact, at the "Gentlemen, start your engines!" I could barely hear a hum. Now maybe to some that would be disappointing, but with the additional enclosed seating higher up in Veranda, it serves to "hold" the sound like being in a bowl, and intensifies it too much for my tastes. I remember last year when they only got up to 40 mph before they called it due to rain, and the rumble in my chest was a bit much. It would be pretty hard to take at top speed for 3-4 hours. On the opposite side, you can practically have a conversation with the person next to you if you wanted. You still have to read lips a little, but you can actually pull the headphone away from one ear and not have the person drowned out or your ear assaulted.
Plus, it's a perfect view of turn 3, which is where most of the action usually is. There was one spinout directly in front of us, but because it was at the wall, we couldn't see it.
We had a great view of the Big One. Pretty wild watching from the stands.
But you can't hear it the way you can in the video. There's just too much engine noise.
The fellas next to me were all very nice and well-behaved (Mr. Mo is glad to hear that, I'm sure :-) There were some rowdy ones a few rows and seats further down, though. One of them nearly got tossed out by security, but was given a warning instead.
At one point I found the perfect time to whip out the NASCAR for Dummies book (solely for effect) and everyone laughed. It proved to be good fodder for jokes throughout the evening. The guy immediately to my right was also a newbie. He was rooting for Mark Martin which was interesting, since he and Denny were 1-2 a good deal of the race.
I couldn't believe how well Denny was doing. I think he broke a record from 1979 for most lead laps at any race. It really looked like he was going to win. I was thrilled that my driver was doing so well at my first NASCAR race!
In fact, when a caution came out with around 40 laps to go, I thought this would be a good time to make my own "pit stop" before the mass exodus.
Well, a few laps later I came back to my seat, and my compadres said "Oh, I'm so sorry."
What?
What'd I miss?! I looked at the tower and.... WHERE'S ELEVEN?!?!?!
I apparently missed it all. I tuned into MRN and that's where I learned about the flat tire, the deliberate caution, the two-lap penalty.
*blink*
*blink*
I couldn't wait to get home and learn more, which I did most of yesterday and this morning, catching up on the drama that followed later.
The crowd was going wild for Dale Jr. so I thought why not? I'm happy for him, too. So I watched a few more laps and by that point, it made sense to head back to the truck since I had a fair piece to walk just to get to where my friends were seated. I said goodbye to the folks near me and made my way back to the opposite side of the track. I kept the headphones on the whole time to hear the radio broadcast, and never saw the end of it.
I got some sympathetic looks and tried not to show my disappointment.
Saw this food stand and all of a sudden the thought "I can't have Denny ["win" that is], so I can haz cheezburger instead?" popped into my head.
These guys probably wondered why I was taking their picture, and I started walking towards them after they saw that I was the owner of the camera flash, but then I veered away because I really doubt they'd get the LOL Cats reference, plus I'd feel obligated to buy one.
Enyhoo... so my brother's driver won the race! I just stood thereslack-jawed and droolin'{/Jeff Foxworthy} upon hearing it. He's a newbie NASCAR fan too, and just likes the Jack Daniels car. I shook my head in disbelief. You have to understand -- my brother is uber-competitive, esp. when we were kids. He had to win at everything we played every time, and one time I was better at him in some game we made up while playing outside, and he never wanted to do it again.
Here my driver was crushing everyone else, and then Bowyer comes from nowhere and wins it.
Unbelievable.
That damned blown tire.
Interesting article at this link: Bowyer takes checkered flag at RIR and readers' comments. Kyle Busch isn't too popular right now. He might be getting more blame than he really deserves, but let's just say I'm glad I wasn't wearing #18 attire.
We made it off the grounds without too much delay, actually. It's due to the parking pass that our "chauffeur" buys every race. She has the $$ and she likes convenience. Works for me!
Hubby picked me up from my brother's house in the wee hours, and we stayed the rest of the night with my sis-in-law. Had a late breakfast at Satterwhite's on Sunday and spent a couple of hours catching up, and then were on our way back home.
They gave me the "Race Week" section from the Richmond Times-Dispatch to start poring over [that's also when I first learned about the tragedy at the Kentucky Derby. So sad about Eight Belles :-( ]
Here are the Sprint Cup Results of the Dan Lowry 400 with driver and race statistics.
Pretty good Op/Ed piece here of the night's "issues", with lots of side story links.
Spent the rest of the late afternoon and evening Sunday doing some laundry (more to do today), catching up on some reading, downloading photos uploading video, etc.
Oh, and taking pics of one pooped pup. She never shuts her eyes completely when I'm snapping photos, esp. with the flash. I was able to get two with the flash and she never budged.
That's a lot of excitement in one weekend for an old gal!
To back up a bit...
We headed out of No.VA around 9:30, and were amazed at the lack of beltway and I95 traffic going south. Most of it was heading north (and the reverse was true on our return trip, though we did run into pockets of slow traffic starting around Fredericksburg to Quantico).
We were making it to my brother's house with time to spare so decided to stop off first at the nearest Cracker Barrel for lunch, then waited at my brother's place for the rest of the group to show up, which they did - right on time. Mr. Mo bid us adieu and took Pixel to spend the rest of the day with his sister and bro-in-law and our nephew and his wife, and around 1:30 the rest of us piled into the Ford F-150 with club cab. Five of us fit quite comfortably, even with all of our stuff.
We got to the track and wandered about....
Talk about your ultimate tailgatin' getup. (as usual, click a couple of times for the largest image)
Good lawd! It even had a bottle opener down by the hitch. They were having a promotional giveaway of some kind.
From the Richmond Times-Dispatch: "Plenty to see around the track before race"
...Two bagpipe players
Will Rowlette didn't have a shirt but wore a cowboy hat. Mike McCann wore a tight, black Dale Earnhardt Jr. T-shirt. The hat and the shirt didn't draw as much attention as the plaid kilts on Rowlette, from Fairfax, and McCann, from Petersburg.
They roamed through tailgating areas, breaking into a tune every few minutes. "We play for our food and beverages," Rowlette said. Lots of food, but a very limited number of beverages, Rowlette emphasized.
He and McCann are state policemen.
I actually noticed these two while walking past them in the crowd and pointed them out to our group. Would have liked to have heard 'em play.
A few of us went back to the truck once or twice to either drop off or pick up something so while we were split up, I took random pics here and there.
I'm not sure what this display was called, but there were interesting vehicles under this tent.
Strange little go-cart thingy here:
In hindsight, I should have looked into purchasing a pit pass and hospitality package because the rest of them had one, and my brother felt badly about my being left to myself (though I didn't mind-- I was going to try to locate my tailgating co-worker, or heck, I was fine just ambling about since there's so much to see), and insisted on giving up his pass. Even though he had seen it all before, it's still nice to be able to treat yourself to the buffet, be able to sit down for awhile, plenty to drink, etc. So I thanked him for his generosity. (I wasn't even hungry having had lunch just a couple of hours earlier, so didn't partake of the tempting food.)
After about an hour, we all met up again to decide next steps. A couple of them wanted to see the display I had previously meandered through, so three of us went back into the Pitstop Club just in time to see the last bit of the Q & A session with...
... hold onto yer hat, Army of Mom...
Here ya go, girl. Just for you!
I wasn't sure who the driver was going to be, but I seemed to recall that Denny Hamlin was going to be appearing at the Green Flag Zone. Imagine my surprise when it was Kasey Kahne at our hospitality area!
It was around 5:00 now, and my brother and pal decided to go to their seats in the Veranda section.
"C", her mom and I went down to the pit where I was able to get some close-up shots of the vehicles and pit crews.
My brother's favorite driver, currently:
Had to get a snap of Tony's car, too, for Blondie! Plus, Tony's with Joe Gibbs Racing so I kinda root for him by default. We won't speak of Kyle, though. He's the black sheep of JGR presently. Hope he had some body guards help him out of the venue after the race.
(And if I'd had my wits about me, I'd have taken a snap of Junior's car while I was in the pit. D'oh!)
Finally, here's Denny...
...at that coveted pole position.
Someone pointed out this Speed Channel chick (I forget her name). She looks familiar, though.
She was just finishing a report, and was hustling off to wherever she needed to go, and a crowd formed at the edge of the line-you-were-not-to-cross-over-lest-you-g
This is another Speed Channel person. Caught him as he finished up, as well.
When it was getting close to 6:00, in order to get us out quickly, they allowed us to walk on the track.
Gotta say, that was pretty cool. I'm sure the "Dummies" book goes into it -- track composition. It was interesting-looking. Apparently granite is in the mix.
Here's a shot looking towards my right at turn 4...
...and then looking to the left at turn 1.
We joined my brother and pal at their seats in the "Veranda" section. Here's a view of the track from their section A-B, which is where I was sitting last year.
Pretty sweet view of pit road.
Zoomed in:
;-)
And here's the view from my seat this time in Henrico section I, row 31, looking over at Veranda, which is just to the left of the Commonwealth Tower added a few years ago.
Here's the view of Turn 3:
I prefer this seat to Veranda, actually. Although you don't get the view of pit road, you can still see the entire track, and the noise level is incredibly lower. In fact, at the "Gentlemen, start your engines!" I could barely hear a hum. Now maybe to some that would be disappointing, but with the additional enclosed seating higher up in Veranda, it serves to "hold" the sound like being in a bowl, and intensifies it too much for my tastes. I remember last year when they only got up to 40 mph before they called it due to rain, and the rumble in my chest was a bit much. It would be pretty hard to take at top speed for 3-4 hours. On the opposite side, you can practically have a conversation with the person next to you if you wanted. You still have to read lips a little, but you can actually pull the headphone away from one ear and not have the person drowned out or your ear assaulted.
Plus, it's a perfect view of turn 3, which is where most of the action usually is. There was one spinout directly in front of us, but because it was at the wall, we couldn't see it.
We had a great view of the Big One. Pretty wild watching from the stands.
But you can't hear it the way you can in the video. There's just too much engine noise.
The fellas next to me were all very nice and well-behaved (Mr. Mo is glad to hear that, I'm sure :-) There were some rowdy ones a few rows and seats further down, though. One of them nearly got tossed out by security, but was given a warning instead.
At one point I found the perfect time to whip out the NASCAR for Dummies book (solely for effect) and everyone laughed. It proved to be good fodder for jokes throughout the evening. The guy immediately to my right was also a newbie. He was rooting for Mark Martin which was interesting, since he and Denny were 1-2 a good deal of the race.
I couldn't believe how well Denny was doing. I think he broke a record from 1979 for most lead laps at any race. It really looked like he was going to win. I was thrilled that my driver was doing so well at my first NASCAR race!
In fact, when a caution came out with around 40 laps to go, I thought this would be a good time to make my own "pit stop" before the mass exodus.
Well, a few laps later I came back to my seat, and my compadres said "Oh, I'm so sorry."
What?
What'd I miss?! I looked at the tower and.... WHERE'S ELEVEN?!?!?!
I apparently missed it all. I tuned into MRN and that's where I learned about the flat tire, the deliberate caution, the two-lap penalty.
*blink*
*blink*
I couldn't wait to get home and learn more, which I did most of yesterday and this morning, catching up on the drama that followed later.
The crowd was going wild for Dale Jr. so I thought why not? I'm happy for him, too. So I watched a few more laps and by that point, it made sense to head back to the truck since I had a fair piece to walk just to get to where my friends were seated. I said goodbye to the folks near me and made my way back to the opposite side of the track. I kept the headphones on the whole time to hear the radio broadcast, and never saw the end of it.
I got some sympathetic looks and tried not to show my disappointment.
Saw this food stand and all of a sudden the thought "I can't have Denny ["win" that is], so I can haz cheezburger instead?" popped into my head.
These guys probably wondered why I was taking their picture, and I started walking towards them after they saw that I was the owner of the camera flash, but then I veered away because I really doubt they'd get the LOL Cats reference, plus I'd feel obligated to buy one.
Enyhoo... so my brother's driver won the race! I just stood there
Here my driver was crushing everyone else, and then Bowyer comes from nowhere and wins it.
Unbelievable.
That damned blown tire.
Interesting article at this link: Bowyer takes checkered flag at RIR and readers' comments. Kyle Busch isn't too popular right now. He might be getting more blame than he really deserves, but let's just say I'm glad I wasn't wearing #18 attire.
We made it off the grounds without too much delay, actually. It's due to the parking pass that our "chauffeur" buys every race. She has the $$ and she likes convenience. Works for me!
Hubby picked me up from my brother's house in the wee hours, and we stayed the rest of the night with my sis-in-law. Had a late breakfast at Satterwhite's on Sunday and spent a couple of hours catching up, and then were on our way back home.
They gave me the "Race Week" section from the Richmond Times-Dispatch to start poring over [that's also when I first learned about the tragedy at the Kentucky Derby. So sad about Eight Belles :-( ]
Here are the Sprint Cup Results of the Dan Lowry 400 with driver and race statistics.
Pretty good Op/Ed piece here of the night's "issues", with lots of side story links.
Spent the rest of the late afternoon and evening Sunday doing some laundry (more to do today), catching up on some reading, downloading photos uploading video, etc.
Oh, and taking pics of one pooped pup. She never shuts her eyes completely when I'm snapping photos, esp. with the flash. I was able to get two with the flash and she never budged.
That's a lot of excitement in one weekend for an old gal!
Still having problems with Corel PhotoPaint for some weird reason (running Spybot again tonight, and cleaning up registries); hubs helped me do the same functions but with different steps via Corel Draw. Have I mentioned how much I love being married to a computer genius?
These additional skills are quite timely, as it's on the heels of some recent Visio classroom training. I only knew the very basics, self-taught, mostly flowcharts.
Here's the cap-sleeved shirt I wore to the race Saturday. Mr. Mo knows how I like "subtle", got these for me last year:
... and the jacket when it got a bit on the chilly side after the sun went down:
I couldn't remember where I'd put the #11 shirt at first, so until I D[o]ug it up, this was going to be my backup.
Didn't need to wear it as it turns out, but it would have been funny to see reactions.
Oh, and here's the NASCAR For Dummies book.
I personally think they should have called it "NASCAR Fer Dummies" --for effect-- but having said that...I'll bet there are a lot of NASCAR fans who couldn't tell you half of what's explained in this book!
Lots more tomorrow.
It's been a full weekend!
And yes.
I'm heartbroken for Denny!
:-(
These additional skills are quite timely, as it's on the heels of some recent Visio classroom training. I only knew the very basics, self-taught, mostly flowcharts.
Here's the cap-sleeved shirt I wore to the race Saturday. Mr. Mo knows how I like "subtle", got these for me last year:
... and the jacket when it got a bit on the chilly side after the sun went down:
I couldn't remember where I'd put the #11 shirt at first, so until I D[o]ug it up, this was going to be my backup.
Didn't need to wear it as it turns out, but it would have been funny to see reactions.
Oh, and here's the NASCAR For Dummies book.
I personally think they should have called it "NASCAR Fer Dummies" --for effect-- but having said that...I'll bet there are a lot of NASCAR fans who couldn't tell you half of what's explained in this book!
Lots more tomorrow.
It's been a full weekend!
And yes.
I'm heartbroken for Denny!
:-(
First of all, congrats to my driver Denny in winning the Nationwide Series!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to Mr. Mo --not a NASCAR fan-- whom I LOVE for channel surfing (how many wives kin say THAT?) cuz he informs me of shtuff I might be interested in.
So around 11:00 p.m. "You should tune in to channel 72!" (we have Directv)
I was (and still am) having trouble with my computer, and it completely slipped my mind they'd be broadcasting the Friday race.
Gawd. I'm SUCH a newbie!
So now I'm like a giggly gurl that my racer won in his hometown for the first time. Oh, he's hungry. He always is, but I'm sure he's beside himself at the prospect of winning the Crown Royal 400 tomorrow.
Welp, I'll be a-watchin' from Henrico section I, row 31, seat 30.
We're leaving in a few hours for my brother's place where several of us from last year's rainout will gather and pile into one of their trucks and head out.
I'm all by my lonesome in the stands, but I'll be crashing a co-worker's tailgatin' party, and just hanging around; bringing my "NASCAR For Dummies" book and various girly magazines, too (er... "Ladies Home Journal" kinda mags. that is! 'sides, Hubs doesn't get Maxim anymore ;-)
Gonna rent my headphones & scanner. If my 'puter was cooperating, I'd be posting pics of what I plan on wearing to the race. #11 cap, t-shirt and jacket. Ah well...later.
Weather's been really ify, but this time I'm prepared for a re-race on Sunday or Monday, thanks to my very accommodating in-laws.
Updates to come!
Thanks to Mr. Mo --not a NASCAR fan-- whom I LOVE for channel surfing (how many wives kin say THAT?) cuz he informs me of shtuff I might be interested in.
So around 11:00 p.m. "You should tune in to channel 72!" (we have Directv)
I was (and still am) having trouble with my computer, and it completely slipped my mind they'd be broadcasting the Friday race.
Gawd. I'm SUCH a newbie!
So now I'm like a giggly gurl that my racer won in his hometown for the first time. Oh, he's hungry. He always is, but I'm sure he's beside himself at the prospect of winning the Crown Royal 400 tomorrow.
Welp, I'll be a-watchin' from Henrico section I, row 31, seat 30.
We're leaving in a few hours for my brother's place where several of us from last year's rainout will gather and pile into one of their trucks and head out.
I'm all by my lonesome in the stands, but I'll be crashing a co-worker's tailgatin' party, and just hanging around; bringing my "NASCAR For Dummies" book and various girly magazines, too (er... "Ladies Home Journal" kinda mags. that is! 'sides, Hubs doesn't get Maxim anymore ;-)
Gonna rent my headphones & scanner. If my 'puter was cooperating, I'd be posting pics of what I plan on wearing to the race. #11 cap, t-shirt and jacket. Ah well...later.
Weather's been really ify, but this time I'm prepared for a re-race on Sunday or Monday, thanks to my very accommodating in-laws.
Updates to come!
Trapped in an elevator for 41 hours
Never heard of this one from 1999. (Click on the link to The New Yorker article in "Read The Story" for the details.)
Must be an idea of what solitary confinement is like. But at least you KNOW you'll be in it for awhile.
This is one of those times when being a guy is truly advantageous. Apparently, he was able to pee through the elevator doors. At least he could pry them apart. I'm sure I'd find a similar way. Looks like the doors separated quite a bit. Still. Ewww... don't wanna think about it.
I wonder how I would have handled it afterwards. I hope not like White did, but I'd be in the best shape of my life I can tell you, cuz at the least I'd never set foot in an elevator again.
H/T: Leaf Man ;-)
Never heard of this one from 1999. (Click on the link to The New Yorker article in "Read The Story" for the details.)
Must be an idea of what solitary confinement is like. But at least you KNOW you'll be in it for awhile.
This is one of those times when being a guy is truly advantageous. Apparently, he was able to pee through the elevator doors. At least he could pry them apart. I'm sure I'd find a similar way. Looks like the doors separated quite a bit. Still. Ewww... don't wanna think about it.
I wonder how I would have handled it afterwards. I hope not like White did, but I'd be in the best shape of my life I can tell you, cuz at the least I'd never set foot in an elevator again.
H/T: Leaf Man ;-)
For thousands of years, men have tried to understand the rules when dealing with women.
Finally, this merit/demerit guide will help men understand just how it works. Remember, in the world of romance, one single rule applies:
Make the woman happy.
Do something she likes and you get points. Do something she dislikes and points are subtracted. You don't get any points for doing something she expects. Sorry, that's the way the game is played.
Here is a guide to the points system:
SIMPLE DUTIES
You make the bed.....................................
You make the bed, but forget to add the decorative pillows....-1
You throw the bedspread over rumpled sheets...................-2
You leave the toilet seat up..................................-5
You replace the toilet paper roll when it is empty............+5
When the toilet paper roll is barren, you resort to Kleenex...-1
When the Kleenex runs out you use the next bathroom...........-2
You go out to buy her extra-light panty liners with wings.....+5
in the rain....................................
...but return with beer....................................
...and no pads....................................
You check out a suspicious noise at night.....................+1
You check out a suspicious noise and it is nothing............ 0
You check out a suspicious noise and it is something..........+5
You pummel it with a six iron.................................+10
It's her cat.....................................
AT THE PARTY
You stay by her side the entire party..........................0
You stay by her side for a while, then leave to chat with
a school drinking buddy...................................
Named Tiffany.................................
Tiffany is a dancer..................................
With breast implants................................
HER BIRTHDAY
You remember her birthday................................
You buy a card and flowers.................................
You take her out to dinner..................................
You take her out to dinner and it's not a sports bar..........+5
Okay, it is a sports bar.....................................
And it's all-you-can-eat night................................-30
It's a sports bar, its all-you-can-eat night, and
your face is painted the colors of your favorite team.........-20
A NIGHT OUT WITH THE BOYS
Go with a pal.....................................
The pal is happily married.................................
The pal is single..................................
He drives a Ferrari.................................
With a personalized license plate (GR8 NBED)..................-20
A NIGHT OUT WITH HER
You take her to a movie...................................
You take her to a movie she likes.............................+5
You take her to a movie you hate..............................+8
You take her to a movie you like..............................-5
It's called Death Cop III.....................................
Which features Cyborgs that eat humans........................-11
You lied and said it was a foreign film about orphans.........-15
YOUR PHYSIQUE
You develop a noticeable pot belly............................-15
You develop a noticeable pot belly & exercise to get rid of
it......................................
You develop a noticeable pot belly and resort to loose
jeans and baggy Hawaiian shirts...............................-30
You say, "It doesn't matter, yo u have one too."..............-1000
THE BIG QUESTION
She asks, "Does this dress make me look fat?"
You hesitate in responding..............................
You reply, "Where?"................................
You reply, "No, I think it's your ass"........................-100
Any other response................................
COMMUNICATION
When she wants to talk about a problem:
You listen, displaying a concerned expression..................+1
You listen, for over 30 minutes................................+5
You relate to her problem and share a similar experience.......+50
You're mind wanders to sports and you suddenly hear
her saying "well, what do you think I should do?"..............-100
You have fallen asleep..................................
ITS THAT TIME OF THE MONTH.......
You talk....................................
You don't talk....................................
You spend time with her.....................................
You don't spend time with her.................................-500
You are seen to be enjoying yourself..........................GAME OVER - YOU LOSE!!!
H/T: Jimmy The Greek
Finally, this merit/demerit guide will help men understand just how it works. Remember, in the world of romance, one single rule applies:
Make the woman happy.
Do something she likes and you get points. Do something she dislikes and points are subtracted. You don't get any points for doing something she expects. Sorry, that's the way the game is played.
Here is a guide to the points system:
SIMPLE DUTIES
You make the bed.....................................
You make the bed, but forget to add the decorative pillows....-1
You throw the bedspread over rumpled sheets...................-2
You leave the toilet seat up..................................-5
You replace the toilet paper roll when it is empty............+5
When the toilet paper roll is barren, you resort to Kleenex...-1
When the Kleenex runs out you use the next bathroom...........-2
You go out to buy her extra-light panty liners with wings.....+5
in the rain....................................
...but return with beer....................................
...and no pads....................................
You check out a suspicious noise at night.....................+1
You check out a suspicious noise and it is nothing............ 0
You check out a suspicious noise and it is something..........+5
You pummel it with a six iron.................................+10
It's her cat.....................................
AT THE PARTY
You stay by her side the entire party..........................0
You stay by her side for a while, then leave to chat with
a school drinking buddy...................................
Named Tiffany.................................
Tiffany is a dancer..................................
With breast implants................................
HER BIRTHDAY
You remember her birthday................................
You buy a card and flowers.................................
You take her out to dinner..................................
You take her out to dinner and it's not a sports bar..........+5
Okay, it is a sports bar.....................................
And it's all-you-can-eat night................................-30
It's a sports bar, its all-you-can-eat night, and
your face is painted the colors of your favorite team.........-20
A NIGHT OUT WITH THE BOYS
Go with a pal.....................................
The pal is happily married.................................
The pal is single..................................
He drives a Ferrari.................................
With a personalized license plate (GR8 NBED)..................-20
A NIGHT OUT WITH HER
You take her to a movie...................................
You take her to a movie she likes.............................+5
You take her to a movie you hate..............................+8
You take her to a movie you like..............................-5
It's called Death Cop III.....................................
Which features Cyborgs that eat humans........................-11
You lied and said it was a foreign film about orphans.........-15
YOUR PHYSIQUE
You develop a noticeable pot belly............................-15
You develop a noticeable pot belly & exercise to get rid of
it......................................
You develop a noticeable pot belly and resort to loose
jeans and baggy Hawaiian shirts...............................-30
You say, "It doesn't matter, yo u have one too."..............-1000
THE BIG QUESTION
She asks, "Does this dress make me look fat?"
You hesitate in responding..............................
You reply, "Where?"................................
You reply, "No, I think it's your ass"........................-100
Any other response................................
COMMUNICATION
When she wants to talk about a problem:
You listen, displaying a concerned expression..................+1
You listen, for over 30 minutes................................+5
You relate to her problem and share a similar experience.......+50
You're mind wanders to sports and you suddenly hear
her saying "well, what do you think I should do?"..............-100
You have fallen asleep..................................
ITS THAT TIME OF THE MONTH.......
You talk....................................
You don't talk....................................
You spend time with her.....................................
You don't spend time with her.................................-500
You are seen to be enjoying yourself..........................GAME OVER - YOU LOSE!!!
H/T: Jimmy The Greek
N.Va. Hit With Cost Of School Migration
Excerpt:
Pr. William Policies Drive Immigrants To Inner Suburbs
By Amy Gardner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 28, 2008; Page A01
Hundreds of foreign-born families have pulled their children from Prince William County public schools and enrolled them in nearby Fairfax County, Arlington County and Alexandria since the start of the school year, imposing a new financial burden on those inner suburbs in a time of lean budgets.
The school-to-school migration within Northern Virginia started just as Prince William began implementing rules to deny some services to illegal immigrants and require police to check the immigration status of crime suspects thought to be in the country illegally.
Opponents of the rules say they have had a chilling effect on Prince William's once-thriving Latino community, prompting even legal immigrants to flee a hostile environment. Supporters say the rules have done what they were supposed to by primarily pushing illegal immigrants out.
"The resolution is clearly working," said Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large), chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. "It is driving down the non-English-speaking portion of the schools and saving us millions of dollars. They're going to other jurisdictions and costing them money."
Stewart called those jurisdictions "sanctuary" cities and counties, saying illegal immigrants are welcome there. He added: "There is going to be pressure to enact similar resolutions in those neighboring cities and counties." Officials from those jurisdictions reject that assertion...
Unfortunately, I live in Fairfax County (in Gerry Connolly's district to boot! -- ugh), but I applaud Prince William Co. for taking charge and doing something about the illegal immigrant problem.
It works, people. The key is starting at the local level, especially since the feddle gummint is clearly not interested. Thank you (not!) Mr. President.
Excerpt:
Pr. William Policies Drive Immigrants To Inner Suburbs
By Amy Gardner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 28, 2008; Page A01
Hundreds of foreign-born families have pulled their children from Prince William County public schools and enrolled them in nearby Fairfax County, Arlington County and Alexandria since the start of the school year, imposing a new financial burden on those inner suburbs in a time of lean budgets.
The school-to-school migration within Northern Virginia started just as Prince William began implementing rules to deny some services to illegal immigrants and require police to check the immigration status of crime suspects thought to be in the country illegally.
Opponents of the rules say they have had a chilling effect on Prince William's once-thriving Latino community, prompting even legal immigrants to flee a hostile environment. Supporters say the rules have done what they were supposed to by primarily pushing illegal immigrants out.
"The resolution is clearly working," said Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large), chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. "It is driving down the non-English-speaking portion of the schools and saving us millions of dollars. They're going to other jurisdictions and costing them money."
Stewart called those jurisdictions "sanctuary" cities and counties, saying illegal immigrants are welcome there. He added: "There is going to be pressure to enact similar resolutions in those neighboring cities and counties." Officials from those jurisdictions reject that assertion...
Unfortunately, I live in Fairfax County (in Gerry Connolly's district to boot! -- ugh), but I applaud Prince William Co. for taking charge and doing something about the illegal immigrant problem.
It works, people. The key is starting at the local level, especially since the feddle gummint is clearly not interested. Thank you (not!) Mr. President.
Nice finish for Joe Gibbs Racing today. Junior did well, too.
Finally got Mr. Mo to watch that silly movie a few days ago with me.
I'm not a Will Ferrell fan, but the supporting cast and writing in general had me laughing,
"H'rick-ee Buhbee" French character notwithstanding.
Finally got Mr. Mo to watch that silly movie a few days ago with me.
I'm not a Will Ferrell fan, but the supporting cast and writing in general had me laughing,
"H'rick-ee Buhbee" French character notwithstanding.
President expresses hope tax rebates will boost weaker economy
Give me a break! How about a tax break? This is such a scam. Mr. Mo said it well recently via email (BTW, I've more than once said he should be the one with a blog, not me!)
It won't help, because it's already our money anyway--they just took it from us (in taxes), swirled it around, and are handing it back.
It sure as HELL isn't going to help Mo and me (in fact it's hurting us), since we're not getting a fracking stimulus check, but that didn't exempt us from having to pay slightly higher taxes so that other people could get their damn check. This is one of the most boldly socialist redistribution-of-wealth antics I have seen in a long while, and I am livid about it and have been since I heard of it. It puts me right on the verge of hating Bush, who I voted for twice.
I don't mean to sound bitter towards anyone who is getting a check. After all, none of us asked for this program, and no one in his or her right mind would refuse that check. And everyone could use a little extra cash to pay off debt or whatever. I don't begrudge anyone that. I just wish the f*cking government had let us keep our own f*cking money in the first place.
Yup.
Give me a break! How about a tax break? This is such a scam. Mr. Mo said it well recently via email (BTW, I've more than once said he should be the one with a blog, not me!)
It won't help, because it's already our money anyway--they just took it from us (in taxes), swirled it around, and are handing it back.
It sure as HELL isn't going to help Mo and me (in fact it's hurting us), since we're not getting a fracking stimulus check, but that didn't exempt us from having to pay slightly higher taxes so that other people could get their damn check. This is one of the most boldly socialist redistribution-of-wealth antics I have seen in a long while, and I am livid about it and have been since I heard of it. It puts me right on the verge of hating Bush, who I voted for twice.
I don't mean to sound bitter towards anyone who is getting a check. After all, none of us asked for this program, and no one in his or her right mind would refuse that check. And everyone could use a little extra cash to pay off debt or whatever. I don't begrudge anyone that. I just wish the f*cking government had let us keep our own f*cking money in the first place.
Yup.
Prolly best to get the men's version for hubs, though.
Chain of Command
LOL. Gotta love Jayne!
Thanks, Renae :-)
Chain of Command
LOL. Gotta love Jayne!
Thanks, Renae :-)
Ordered tix tonight.
From the Wolf Trap website:
Wolf Trap is proud to present the U.S. premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, a multimedia spectacular featuring the sweeping cinematography and stirring dialogue of Peter Jackson’s epic movie combined with a live performance of Howard Shore’s award-winning orchestral score. Enjoy this Oscar-winning movie in high definition on large screens in-house and on the lawn, and let the Filene Center Orchestra, the City Choir of Washington, and the World Children’s Choir bring Middle Earth to life.
Composer Howard Shore brought J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary imagination to vivid life with his Academy and Grammy Award-winning score to Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Shore crafted a fully-developed musical epic that related the classic tale with moving and intricately related themes for each of Middle Earth’s cultures and charted the One Ring’s journey with an exhilarating flourish.
Upon its 2001 arrival, Shore’s score, composed for large symphony orchestra, adult and boys choruses, and instrumental and vocal soloists, was proclaimed an instant classic. Now the massive composition makes an unprecedented move to the concert hall. On May 21 and 22, the Filene Center Orchestra, under the direction of Ludwig Wicki, with the City Choir of Washington and the World Children’s Choir will present the American Premiere of Shore’s entire 3-hour score to The Fellowship of the Ring live to the projected film in high definition.
"My first score for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring, was the beginning of my journey into the world of Tolkien and I will always hold a special fondness for the music and the experience."
-Howard Shore
The music of The Lord of the Rings is counted among film music’s most complex and comprehensive works. Howard Shore’s score interconnects dozens of recurring themes to create a world as rich and thoroughly realized as the story that inspired it. This unique performance sets the score to the film, but allows the music to bear the narrative weight, creating a wholly new and dramatic live concert experience.
I'm wondering if they'll do the other two in the trilogy. If they're smart, they will.
We'll go to all of them. And I'm sure I'll be crying like a wee beh-beh at the end of the last one, even more so than watching it at home.
H/T: Renae
From the Wolf Trap website:
Wolf Trap is proud to present the U.S. premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, a multimedia spectacular featuring the sweeping cinematography and stirring dialogue of Peter Jackson’s epic movie combined with a live performance of Howard Shore’s award-winning orchestral score. Enjoy this Oscar-winning movie in high definition on large screens in-house and on the lawn, and let the Filene Center Orchestra, the City Choir of Washington, and the World Children’s Choir bring Middle Earth to life.
Composer Howard Shore brought J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary imagination to vivid life with his Academy and Grammy Award-winning score to Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Shore crafted a fully-developed musical epic that related the classic tale with moving and intricately related themes for each of Middle Earth’s cultures and charted the One Ring’s journey with an exhilarating flourish.
Upon its 2001 arrival, Shore’s score, composed for large symphony orchestra, adult and boys choruses, and instrumental and vocal soloists, was proclaimed an instant classic. Now the massive composition makes an unprecedented move to the concert hall. On May 21 and 22, the Filene Center Orchestra, under the direction of Ludwig Wicki, with the City Choir of Washington and the World Children’s Choir will present the American Premiere of Shore’s entire 3-hour score to The Fellowship of the Ring live to the projected film in high definition.
"My first score for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring, was the beginning of my journey into the world of Tolkien and I will always hold a special fondness for the music and the experience."
-Howard Shore
The music of The Lord of the Rings is counted among film music’s most complex and comprehensive works. Howard Shore’s score interconnects dozens of recurring themes to create a world as rich and thoroughly realized as the story that inspired it. This unique performance sets the score to the film, but allows the music to bear the narrative weight, creating a wholly new and dramatic live concert experience.
I'm wondering if they'll do the other two in the trilogy. If they're smart, they will.
We'll go to all of them. And I'm sure I'll be crying like a wee beh-beh at the end of the last one, even more so than watching it at home.
H/T: Renae
Today's Kurmudgeon Korner entry:
American retailers ration rice in response to global food crisis
Oh for God's sake, it's a food CRISIS! now? Give me a break. Prices have gone up a little--a result of America's attempt to inflate its way out of a bad market. You'd think it was the plague of the locusts all over again, with millions dying of starvation, right here in America--well, in Mexico at least--the way the politicians and their fluffers in the media play it up.
You know why everything is a CRISIS! to these people? Because for politicians, crisis means a problem that only *I*, your benevolent ruler, can solve for you, so it's job security. (Also, as John Stossel has pointed out, it's a great opportunity for graft.) And for media types, CRISIS! sells newspapers and gets eyeballs on TV--again, job security.
No one gives a rat's butt if the price of rice goes up $0.04 a ton or some such; but call it a CRISIS! and now you have everyone's attention, and they start throwing dollars at you to fix it (if you're a politician) or to tell you how bad the poor peoples in Thailand have it (if you're a reporter) so you can jerk off to a little schadenfreude.
Look at the "mortgage crisis" we've been having to endure hearing about. Again, as John Stossel reports, as of 4Q/2007 it amounted to a whopping 2% of all mortgages in the US. Two. And many of those are from people trying to flip a house for quick profit, not some poor family tossed out in the street. Cry me a fracking river. Most of the rest belong to greedy morons who willingly took loans they knew they couldn't afford, and who deserve to get their pee-pees smacked. But no, it's got to be a CRISIS! and we've got to bail everybody out with our tax money or else the apocalypse will start.
And then there's the financial CRISIS! that has been spawned by the mortgage CRISIS! Please. Our unemployment rate is 5.1%--damn near a historical low. Recall, from your ECON 101 course, that it's impossible to have unemployment below about 3%, so we're just a little under what would be considered "full employment" if a) it weren't an election year and b) there were a Democrat in the White House. (Also please note that we've created a net 25 million new jobs in the last 15 years, which puts the few thousand jobs lost in the last few months into a little perspective, no?) Everybody's crying that we're in a recession, or even a depression. I call bullshit. You know what a depression is? 25% unemployment, circa 1933. Hell, under Jimmy Carter we had 7.5% unemployment, 12% inflation, and 20% interest rates. THAT was a recession, children. What we have now is little short of a Golden Age. But you wouldn't know that from listening to hysterical politicians and reporters. Which is why you shouldn't.
By the way, all those reports of food riots in Africa and Asia we've heard about in the last 36 hours? Bloggers and independent journalists on the ground in those places are reporting that there's no such thing, complete fabrication.
This concludes today's spontaneous rant.
~Mr. Mo
American retailers ration rice in response to global food crisis
Oh for God's sake, it's a food CRISIS! now? Give me a break. Prices have gone up a little--a result of America's attempt to inflate its way out of a bad market. You'd think it was the plague of the locusts all over again, with millions dying of starvation, right here in America--well, in Mexico at least--the way the politicians and their fluffers in the media play it up.
You know why everything is a CRISIS! to these people? Because for politicians, crisis means a problem that only *I*, your benevolent ruler, can solve for you, so it's job security. (Also, as John Stossel has pointed out, it's a great opportunity for graft.) And for media types, CRISIS! sells newspapers and gets eyeballs on TV--again, job security.
No one gives a rat's butt if the price of rice goes up $0.04 a ton or some such; but call it a CRISIS! and now you have everyone's attention, and they start throwing dollars at you to fix it (if you're a politician) or to tell you how bad the poor peoples in Thailand have it (if you're a reporter) so you can jerk off to a little schadenfreude.
Look at the "mortgage crisis" we've been having to endure hearing about. Again, as John Stossel reports, as of 4Q/2007 it amounted to a whopping 2% of all mortgages in the US. Two. And many of those are from people trying to flip a house for quick profit, not some poor family tossed out in the street. Cry me a fracking river. Most of the rest belong to greedy morons who willingly took loans they knew they couldn't afford, and who deserve to get their pee-pees smacked. But no, it's got to be a CRISIS! and we've got to bail everybody out with our tax money or else the apocalypse will start.
And then there's the financial CRISIS! that has been spawned by the mortgage CRISIS! Please. Our unemployment rate is 5.1%--damn near a historical low. Recall, from your ECON 101 course, that it's impossible to have unemployment below about 3%, so we're just a little under what would be considered "full employment" if a) it weren't an election year and b) there were a Democrat in the White House. (Also please note that we've created a net 25 million new jobs in the last 15 years, which puts the few thousand jobs lost in the last few months into a little perspective, no?) Everybody's crying that we're in a recession, or even a depression. I call bullshit. You know what a depression is? 25% unemployment, circa 1933. Hell, under Jimmy Carter we had 7.5% unemployment, 12% inflation, and 20% interest rates. THAT was a recession, children. What we have now is little short of a Golden Age. But you wouldn't know that from listening to hysterical politicians and reporters. Which is why you shouldn't.
By the way, all those reports of food riots in Africa and Asia we've heard about in the last 36 hours? Bloggers and independent journalists on the ground in those places are reporting that there's no such thing, complete fabrication.
This concludes today's spontaneous rant.
~Mr. Mo
Saw this one on Denny's site. I took the Myers-Briggs test a couple of times over many years, and I always ended up as an ISTJ or ESTJ. The "degree" is what changed.
Hmm. I get a lot of satisfaction from solving problems. Guess this "label" doesn't exclude that.
I think the quiz is pretty good (especially being free), but if anyone's interested in getting a more comprehensive profile, the full-blown M-Briggs is the way to go. It takes a lot more time to complete but then again, it provides a bigger picture.
Hmm. I get a lot of satisfaction from solving problems. Guess this "label" doesn't exclude that.
I think the quiz is pretty good (especially being free), but if anyone's interested in getting a more comprehensive profile, the full-blown M-Briggs is the way to go. It takes a lot more time to complete but then again, it provides a bigger picture.
You Belong in 1953 |
 You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in! |
Don't know what to make of that one. Guess there's not a lot TO make of it.
ENYway.... you'll have to take the quiz to see what I mean. Some of the questions had me thinking "None of the above!" I'm curious as to how Blondie scores. ;-)
I scored a Far Out
85% on theQuiz by SheGoddess: Quick Weight Loss
Wow. I need to take it again because I didn't notice until over half-way through that the "Right" or "Wrong" indicator was displayed after my selections. D'oh! That's part 'n parcel of bein' blonde I s'pose.
H/T: Naked Villainy, which I am WOEFULLY behind in reading.
Leader Maximus, I can't get yer site to work on Google Reader (it always says "title unknown") so I forget sometimes. :-(
-Bad Minion Mo
What a great way to say "Thank you"
to our military men and women, and anyone else who deserves a special acknowledgment.
H/T: Jimmy the Greek
to our military men and women, and anyone else who deserves a special acknowledgment.
H/T: Jimmy the Greek
Don't know why TCM is running a mini-marathon of Gene Wilder movies, but I'm liking it!
Stumbled upon it totally by accident while channel surfing, and saw that "Role Model:" biography was on and I tuned in about halfway through. Too bad Alec Baldwin was the interviewer, but if Wilder is being genuine (I have no reason to doubt otherwise), he wouldn't have granted the interview if it had been someone else.
Oh well. It doesn't take away from his talent, and he hasn't been one of those celebrities about whom I want to scream "Shut up and sing/act/etc."
I love his work. Tonight marks the first time I've seen the original "The Producers" in its entirety.
Next up: "Blazing Saddles" Good stuff. I love the way Brooks handles the "race" theme and stereotypes throughout. This was probably the last time Hollywood could have gotten away with the "n" word; not only A-hole characters uttered it, but throughout -- which was handled appropriately.
If you haven't realized by now (reading other posts of mine), I really hate that word.
I also hate the "C" word. I know people use it in association with Hillary, but it's just ugly, and I won't perpetuate it.
Stumbled upon it totally by accident while channel surfing, and saw that "Role Model:" biography was on and I tuned in about halfway through. Too bad Alec Baldwin was the interviewer, but if Wilder is being genuine (I have no reason to doubt otherwise), he wouldn't have granted the interview if it had been someone else.
Oh well. It doesn't take away from his talent, and he hasn't been one of those celebrities about whom I want to scream "Shut up and sing/act/etc."
I love his work. Tonight marks the first time I've seen the original "The Producers" in its entirety.
Next up: "Blazing Saddles" Good stuff. I love the way Brooks handles the "race" theme and stereotypes throughout. This was probably the last time Hollywood could have gotten away with the "n" word; not only A-hole characters uttered it, but throughout -- which was handled appropriately.
If you haven't realized by now (reading other posts of mine), I really hate that word.
I also hate the "C" word. I know people use it in association with Hillary, but it's just ugly, and I won't perpetuate it.
"SKYY Vodka Proudly Supports the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo" -- there's a product claim to warm the heart of any historian!
~Mr. Mo
***************
Heh. Well if I were a vodka drinker, I'd have to go with SKYY for other obvious reasons.
~Mr. Mo
***************
Heh. Well if I were a vodka drinker, I'd have to go with SKYY for other obvious reasons.
I know I'm perpetuating the "Women drivers! {/shaking fist}" stereotype but I gotta say, these sisters certainly made their contributions.
And I notice that the ones we can see aren't blonde thankuverymuch. ;-)
H/T: Renae
And I notice that the ones we can see aren't blonde thankuverymuch. ;-)
H/T: Renae
Interesting site HotPads
One of the features is a foreclosure heat map. Here's one of our general area:
Doesn't surprise me at all. I remember thinking, each time I would see a new neighborhood with a sign "From the $600s" or higher, "Who the hell is buying these homes?! Lawyers and doctors? Cuz who else can afford them?"
I work in the mortgage industry and have additional insight to the mess out there. It's pretty darned complex, but lots of over-leveraging and hedge funds have had much to do with why so many companies (granted, mostly mortgage brokers) have folded, so fast.
It's not isolated to subprime loans, either.
Times like these I wish I didn't have a semi-anon blog, cuz I gotta shut up now :-) Not because I'd want to say anything bad about my employer, WHICH I DON'T -- let me be clear-- QUITE the contrary; I'm downright proud to be where I am. It's just not prudent to discuss it further, could get me fired, etc.
H/T: Mr. Mo for the link
One of the features is a foreclosure heat map. Here's one of our general area:
Doesn't surprise me at all. I remember thinking, each time I would see a new neighborhood with a sign "From the $600s" or higher, "Who the hell is buying these homes?! Lawyers and doctors? Cuz who else can afford them?"
I work in the mortgage industry and have additional insight to the mess out there. It's pretty darned complex, but lots of over-leveraging and hedge funds have had much to do with why so many companies (granted, mostly mortgage brokers) have folded, so fast.
It's not isolated to subprime loans, either.
Times like these I wish I didn't have a semi-anon blog, cuz I gotta shut up now :-) Not because I'd want to say anything bad about my employer, WHICH I DON'T -- let me be clear-- QUITE the contrary; I'm downright proud to be where I am. It's just not prudent to discuss it further, could get me fired, etc.
H/T: Mr. Mo for the link
Cripes! The fact that Michael McDowell was able to walk away from this is a true testament to the safety features that go into these cars nowadays, along with the track in its ability to absorb some of the impact.
(Click on "Watch McDowell's crash" for the video)
(Click on "Watch McDowell's crash" for the video)
Well, geeze. Both of my Final Four teams lost.
Congrats to Kansas and Memphis.
Er... go Memphis, then.
I like to root for the underdog. It's one of the things I don't like about being in an office pool.
Grr!
Congrats to Kansas and Memphis.
Er... go Memphis, then.
I like to root for the underdog. It's one of the things I don't like about being in an office pool.
Grr!
Mom gets the Fayetteville Observer and sends me articles from time to time, particularly now that she knows I'm following NASCAR and Denny Hamlin is my driver.
Hamlin wins despite error
By Thomas Pope
Motor sports editor
Denny Hamlin is able to breathe a sigh of relief in victory lane after a hard-fought win.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Denny Hamlin is a racer suited to play the role of two of the Seven Dwarfs, Happy and Grumpy.
“If he runs well and wins, he’s in a good mood. If he doesn’t, he isn’t,” said J.D. Gibbs, the president of the team founded by his father, Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs.
Hamlin very nearly added Dopey to his cast of characters Sunday....
{snip}
Actually pretty interesting, with an "I coulda had a V-8" photo at the end. He looks downright relieved and surprised. As well he should! I remember listening on the scanner (on Trackpass Raceview) when his crew told him NOT to pit. Good psyche by Gordon, if that's what he was doing.
Unfortunately, already in their archives, but "Racing Rainbow" was interesting to me, too.
Excerpt:
It's easy to lose track of what your favorite driver's car looks like these days. Most sponsors aren't buying full seasons anymore, instead splitting the time with others.
By Thomas Pope
Motor sports editor
Can't tell the players without a scorecard?
These days, that might just mean you're watching a NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
Blame it on the bottom line. A full season of primary sponsorship reportedly runs as steep as $20 million, and that's a bigger bite than many corporations are willing to take....
And then a "name that driver" with pics of 12 cars and 12 drivers that you have to match up. I only got 3. I'm still a newbie, though :-)
Hamlin wins despite error
By Thomas Pope
Motor sports editor
Denny Hamlin is able to breathe a sigh of relief in victory lane after a hard-fought win.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Denny Hamlin is a racer suited to play the role of two of the Seven Dwarfs, Happy and Grumpy.
“If he runs well and wins, he’s in a good mood. If he doesn’t, he isn’t,” said J.D. Gibbs, the president of the team founded by his father, Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs.
Hamlin very nearly added Dopey to his cast of characters Sunday....
{snip}
Actually pretty interesting, with an "I coulda had a V-8" photo at the end. He looks downright relieved and surprised. As well he should! I remember listening on the scanner (on Trackpass Raceview) when his crew told him NOT to pit. Good psyche by Gordon, if that's what he was doing.
Unfortunately, already in their archives, but "Racing Rainbow" was interesting to me, too.
Excerpt:
It's easy to lose track of what your favorite driver's car looks like these days. Most sponsors aren't buying full seasons anymore, instead splitting the time with others.
By Thomas Pope
Motor sports editor
Can't tell the players without a scorecard?
These days, that might just mean you're watching a NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
Blame it on the bottom line. A full season of primary sponsorship reportedly runs as steep as $20 million, and that's a bigger bite than many corporations are willing to take....
And then a "name that driver" with pics of 12 cars and 12 drivers that you have to match up. I only got 3. I'm still a newbie, though :-)
This is one house he better steer clear of. Scumbag.
Robin is a friend of mine, lives just halfway around our block.
Hopefully the ADT security signs will scare him off. He's not going to be able to sneak into THIS house.
Bastard.
****UPDATE****
Fairfax County Crime Solvers
News Release
Release Date: April 4, 2008
Update – William Keith Smith Apprehended
During the late evening hours of Thursday, April 3, William Keith Smith was apprehended. Officers followed up on a tip they received and located Smith at the Dunn Loring Metro station [this is within walking distance of our house! Thank you, tipster! ~Mo] . He was transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center without incident.
Crime Solvers Seeks Man Wanted for Two Burglaries
Fairfax County Crime Solvers is asking for the public's assistance in locating 45-year-old William Keith Smith. Smith is currently wanted by police on two counts of burglary, two counts of credit card theft and one count of grand larceny auto. These charges stem from two residential burglaries. The first burglary occurred on Wednesday, February 6 at a home in the 8400 block of Stonewall Drive in the Vienna area. The second occurred on Friday, March 14 at a home in the 7600 block of Virginia Avenue in the Falls Church area. In each burglary, jewelry, credit cards and vehicles were taken.
Smith was developed as a suspect in both burglaries. He is 5 feet 7 inches tall and 200 pounds. He is balding and has brown hair and hazel eyes. Smith has no fixed address but is known to frequent the Vienna and Falls Church areas as well as the Johnson Hill area of Arlington County.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of William Keith Smith is asked to contact Fairfax County Crime Solvers by phone at 1-866-411-TIPS(8477), e-mail at www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or text "TIP187" plus your message to CRIMES(274637). A $100 to $1,000 cash reward will be paid for information that leads to an arrest. As always, callers never have to give their names or appear in court.
Absolutely good news! I hope he gets a long sentence. I just have this feeling he's going to be back out on the streets before we know it. With any luck, we'll be out of here by then.
Robin is a friend of mine, lives just halfway around our block.
Hopefully the ADT security signs will scare him off. He's not going to be able to sneak into THIS house.
Bastard.
****UPDATE****
Fairfax County Crime Solvers
News Release
Release Date: April 4, 2008
Update – William Keith Smith Apprehended
During the late evening hours of Thursday, April 3, William Keith Smith was apprehended. Officers followed up on a tip they received and located Smith at the Dunn Loring Metro station [this is within walking distance of our house! Thank you, tipster! ~Mo] . He was transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center without incident.
Crime Solvers Seeks Man Wanted for Two Burglaries
Fairfax County Crime Solvers is asking for the public's assistance in locating 45-year-old William Keith Smith. Smith is currently wanted by police on two counts of burglary, two counts of credit card theft and one count of grand larceny auto. These charges stem from two residential burglaries. The first burglary occurred on Wednesday, February 6 at a home in the 8400 block of Stonewall Drive in the Vienna area. The second occurred on Friday, March 14 at a home in the 7600 block of Virginia Avenue in the Falls Church area. In each burglary, jewelry, credit cards and vehicles were taken.
Smith was developed as a suspect in both burglaries. He is 5 feet 7 inches tall and 200 pounds. He is balding and has brown hair and hazel eyes. Smith has no fixed address but is known to frequent the Vienna and Falls Church areas as well as the Johnson Hill area of Arlington County.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of William Keith Smith is asked to contact Fairfax County Crime Solvers by phone at 1-866-411-TIPS(8477), e-mail at www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or text "TIP187" plus your message to CRIMES(274637). A $100 to $1,000 cash reward will be paid for information that leads to an arrest. As always, callers never have to give their names or appear in court.
Absolutely good news! I hope he gets a long sentence. I just have this feeling he's going to be back out on the streets before we know it. With any luck, we'll be out of here by then.
I was trying to decide on a title for this post. It was a toss-up of the well-known Bill Engvall phrase (which obviously has a different meaning here) vs. a slight variation of "I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar," from the character "Wash" of the beloved "Firefly" series and subsequent "Serenity" movie.
My instinct (by default for close calls) is for the most humorous. "Self-preservation" and all that, you know.
Following is Mr. Mo's account of a recent event.
I thank God for how it turned out. The thought of being a widow at this time has been weighing heavily on my mind. We are planning the next chapter of our lives right now, and I'm not ready to close the book yet!
I hope it serves as yet another example of appreciating every day on this earth, and how quickly life could be taken away.
********************
I was leaving work. The road that comes out of my office complex is called Willow Oaks Corporate Drive. It comes to a T at Gallows Road, and there's a traffic light there. I was waiting at that light, planning to turn left towards Merrifield. While I waited, a Ford Escape came down Gallows from my right and got into the left turn lane to come down Willow Oaks. In the oncoming lane on Gallows, to my left, came a Metrobus at kind of a high rate of speed.
The guy in the Escape apparently decided that he had time to make his left turn before the bus got to the intersection. He was wrong. The bus clipped his right rear quarter panel as he made his turn. Had the Escape been standing still, his whole vehicle would have been thrown onto my car and I would have probably died; as it was, he had enough of a vector that his car pirouetted past my front end, and came to rest on its side, the
undercarriage of his car facing my driver side window, about 10 feet away.
Fortunately the driver of that car (the only person inside) was protected by his air bags (and presumably seat belt too) as his car rolled over and bounced on the road. Unfortunately as his car came across the end of the
median strip, it hit a road sign that went flying through the air and into my windshield. I had the presence of mind to throw myself down behind my dashboard, at least as far as my seat belt would allow; also fortunately, the sign--which was whirling through the air like a helicopter blade--struck my windshield broadside and not end-on, so there wasn't quite enough force to send it all the way into the passenger compartment.
As a result, the passenger side of the windshield was shattered and there were some scrapes on the hood
but that was about the extent of my damage. But I didn't do the Wash, "I'm a leaf on the wind, watch how I..." imitation, so I call that a win.
The other guy's car will probably be totaled; it looked remarkably intact when it came to rest, but the frame was pretty obviously bent. Plus, his two back tires were blown out, and the spare tire which is stored
underneath the undercarriage came loose and bent some stuff down there. Both of his axles were fracked too.
The driver of the Escape, a young guy about 22 years old, was pretty emotionally shaken up. When he calmed down enough to be lucid, I told him that he was pretty lucky. I said "You're having a bad day today, but down
the road you'll look back on this and realize that the only bad thing that's going to come of this is that money will be spent. No one was maimed, no one was killed, no permanent damage is done, nothing that money can't fix. Some day you'll be recounting this story to your friends, laughing about how dumb you were to think you could make that turn. But you'll be alive to tell that story, and that's what counts." I don't know if he was in a position to appreciate that at the time, but hopefully my words will sink in, and he'll have learned a little good sense from this experience.
Meanwhile, my car is technically driveable, but not legally so, so it's just as well that I am in SF all this week. I will put it into the shop next week for repairs.
My instinct (by default for close calls) is for the most humorous. "Self-preservation" and all that, you know.
Following is Mr. Mo's account of a recent event.
I thank God for how it turned out. The thought of being a widow at this time has been weighing heavily on my mind. We are planning the next chapter of our lives right now, and I'm not ready to close the book yet!
I hope it serves as yet another example of appreciating every day on this earth, and how quickly life could be taken away.
********************
I was leaving work. The road that comes out of my office complex is called Willow Oaks Corporate Drive. It comes to a T at Gallows Road, and there's a traffic light there. I was waiting at that light, planning to turn left towards Merrifield. While I waited, a Ford Escape came down Gallows from my right and got into the left turn lane to come down Willow Oaks. In the oncoming lane on Gallows, to my left, came a Metrobus at kind of a high rate of speed.
The guy in the Escape apparently decided that he had time to make his left turn before the bus got to the intersection. He was wrong. The bus clipped his right rear quarter panel as he made his turn. Had the Escape been standing still, his whole vehicle would have been thrown onto my car and I would have probably died; as it was, he had enough of a vector that his car pirouetted past my front end, and came to rest on its side, the
undercarriage of his car facing my driver side window, about 10 feet away.
Fortunately the driver of that car (the only person inside) was protected by his air bags (and presumably seat belt too) as his car rolled over and bounced on the road. Unfortunately as his car came across the end of the
median strip, it hit a road sign that went flying through the air and into my windshield. I had the presence of mind to throw myself down behind my dashboard, at least as far as my seat belt would allow; also fortunately, the sign--which was whirling through the air like a helicopter blade--struck my windshield broadside and not end-on, so there wasn't quite enough force to send it all the way into the passenger compartment.
As a result, the passenger side of the windshield was shattered and there were some scrapes on the hood
but that was about the extent of my damage. But I didn't do the Wash, "I'm a leaf on the wind, watch how I..." imitation, so I call that a win.
The other guy's car will probably be totaled; it looked remarkably intact when it came to rest, but the frame was pretty obviously bent. Plus, his two back tires were blown out, and the spare tire which is stored
underneath the undercarriage came loose and bent some stuff down there. Both of his axles were fracked too.
The driver of the Escape, a young guy about 22 years old, was pretty emotionally shaken up. When he calmed down enough to be lucid, I told him that he was pretty lucky. I said "You're having a bad day today, but down
the road you'll look back on this and realize that the only bad thing that's going to come of this is that money will be spent. No one was maimed, no one was killed, no permanent damage is done, nothing that money can't fix. Some day you'll be recounting this story to your friends, laughing about how dumb you were to think you could make that turn. But you'll be alive to tell that story, and that's what counts." I don't know if he was in a position to appreciate that at the time, but hopefully my words will sink in, and he'll have learned a little good sense from this experience.
Meanwhile, my car is technically driveable, but not legally so, so it's just as well that I am in SF all this week. I will put it into the shop next week for repairs.
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