WAR

The Band War, that is.
They were at Jazz Alley, so I made reservations for dinner and the show. It was a great evening.
The food was good. Mrs A had the salmon, I had the Paella. Both were excellent.
When I mention the band most people ask "Who."
Until I mention a few of their hits. Lowrider. Cisco Kid was a Friend of Mine. Spill the wine. Slipping into darkness. Why can't we be friends. Oh yeah, they have been around.
Live they are really a kick. Very funky, humorous, exciting, great with crowd participation. They are one of the few bands that I have seen at Jazz Alley have people up and dancing in the aisles.
Unfortunately the second show was completely sold out. We really wanted to stay, but they hustled us out pretty quickly after the first set was over.
Oh well, we had a great time.

Political Science for Dummies

DEMOCRAT
You have two cows.Your neighbor has none.You feel guilty for being successful. You push for higher taxes so the government can provide cows for everyone.
REPUBLICAN
You have two cows.Your neighbor has none.So?
SOCIALIST
You have two cows.The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.
COMMUNIST
You have two cows.The government seizes both and provides you with milk.You wait in line for hours to get it.It is expensive and sour.
CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.
BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.
AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO (Initial Public Offering) on the 2nd one.You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses.Your stock goes up.
FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.You go on strike because you want three cows.You go to lunch and drink wine.Life is good.
JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains.Most are at the top of their class at cow school.
GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour.Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.
ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows but you don't know where they are.You break for lunch.Life is good.
RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.You have some vodka.You count them and learn you have five cows.You have some more vodka.You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.
TALIBAN CORPORATION
You have all the cows in Afghanistan, which are two.You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts.
You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons.
IRAQI CORPORATION
You have two cows.They go into hiding.They send radio tapes of their mooing.
POLISH CORPORATION
You have two bulls.Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.
BELGIAN CORPORATION
You have one cow.The cow is schizophrenic.Sometimes the cow thinks she's French, other times she's Flemish. The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow.The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk.The cow asks permission to be cut in half.The cow dies happy.
FLORIDA CORPORATION
You have a black cow and a brown cow.Everyone votes for the best looking one.Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one.Some people vote for both.Some people vote for neither.Some people can't figure out how to vote at all.Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the best-looking cow.
CALIFORNIA CORPORATION
You have millions of cows.They make real California cheese.Only five speak English.Most are illegal.Arnold likes the ones with the big udders.
VIETNAMES CORPORATION
You have two cows you have 300 people milking them. You claim full employment, high bovine productivity and arrest the newsman who reported the numbers.

Lake Quinault Lodge

>This weekend wa one of the ways I pay us back for the long hours and continuous days I work. I got an e-mail from the Lake Quinault Lodge offering a buy-one-get-one-free weekend. Stay one night and get a second night free.

We love the Lodge, as it is quiet and peaceful, with lots of very nice hiking trails in the area. The Logde was built in the 1920's and is a beautifully crafted structure, with a lot of exposed log beam features in the main lobby, as well as a huget stone fireplace. It is in the Quinault Rain Forrest, so if you hate rain, this would not be the place to go. There is no cell phone service. The rooms do not have phones, and most of them have no TV.

There IS a very good restaraunt with exceptional food. The cedar Plank Salmon is exceptionally good, but the crowning glory of the place is the Marrionberry Cobbler, topped with top-shelf vanilla ice cream. The also have a seafood stew that is way above par.

This was monk's first time there, so he was beside himself with excitement. He has a little problem with barking at every noise the first night. It's a good thing he is so damn cute, otherwise I would have to strangle him. By the second night, he had gotten over his initial excitement, so we all slept better.

Saturday was an exceptionally nice day, as the sun was out, the skies were blue and the temperature was moderate. After all, this is the quinault RAIN forest, which holds the record for the most rainfall over time, like an average of twelve feet per year. We took the dogs for a walk by the lake and watched the sunset. It was so still you could hear the ducks quacking clear across the lake.

What a wonderful way to recharge your batteries.

Curmudgeonly

That's how I have been feeling lately.
Part of it has to do with the time of the year. I tend to withdraw this time of year. So just leave me the hell alone, already.
Part of it has to do with being stuck on second shift. I hate second shift. It totally screws up your life. I get home at 11:30 or so, take a couple of hours to unwind, usually get to bed around 2:00. Eight hours sleep get's me up at 10:00. By the time I shower, and get breakfast, it's too late to do anything before I report to work at 2:30.
Part of it has to do with working six or seven days a week, although there has been nothing to do. I sat here both days this weekend and didn't do a blessed thing except play solitaire, surf the internet and do some statistical reports. Well. I did bid on and win a set of Dellorto DHLA 40 carbs ( I know that is greek to most of you) , but that is hardly work related.
So, you there, get off the lawn or I'll sick the dogs on you (A Shi-Tzu and a Brussels Griffon). That ought to be a hoot.

Uncle Fred II

Well, the results were a lot worse than anticipated. They had to take Uncle Fred's whole foot to the ankle. The blood flow in his lower leg was so bad that the doctors didn't feel there was enough to support healing. That's one of the worst things about diabetes. I have seen people I love slowly be decreased because of the things that get amputated. First a toe, then a second toe, then the whole foot, then the leg to the knee, then the whole leg, and finally loss of life.
I just hope that Uncle Fred will rally and take it for what it is: A severe warning that he needs to mend his ways.

Hope he rebounds quickly.

Uncle Fred

I received the news through e-mail that my Uncle Fred is in the hospital. That's him in the picture, with his sister, my Aunt Mary Rose. He had injured his big toe, and not taken care of it, and it went septic. They have had to amputate.
Uncle Fred occupies a special place in the family. He never married, and kept the farm first with my grandparents, then with my parents.
I would trust Uncle Fred with my fortune if I told him to keep it and hold it for me. I cannot say that about any other person on this Earth. He is the most honest person I have ever known, and his integrity has never been questioned.
Unfortunately he believes everyone else is just as honest as he is, and has the same integrity. This mkes him one of the worst possible businessmen on the face of the Earth. I hate to think of how many times he got screwed in a cattle deal or was sold a bad milk cow with mastitis. Or got a "Deal" on a used peoce of machinery. It never changed his attitude or his way of doing things. He was what he was in an elemental way. Easier to change the weather than change Uncle Fred.
I sure hope his recovery is quick and trouble free.

Happy New Year

2010 will not ever be my favorite year. Way too much drama. two major eye surgeries, Three dental surgeries. Drama with the kids,
New year's Day has been the kind of day I hope to repeat many times in the coming year. Slept in, late mutual shower and and all. I made Tempura for dinner for Carol and I and my cousin Lynn. A quiet evening at home. A scene I hope is repeated often in the upcoming year.
We have been together for nine years, marries for almost the same, but we have never had the time to really explore our relationship. Hopefully we will have the time to just relax and spend some time together.
L and D were driving down the freeway the day after Christmas, and the driver's side wheel and tire departed the truck and crossed six lanes of traffic without hitting a thing. We had made plans to work on his truck on New Years Day. Guess we shouldn't have delayed. The noise he was hearing wasn't brakes after all, but a wheel bearing. He managed to stop the truck without hitting anything. Damned lucky.
So I have loaned them my truck until they can get theirs repaired.
Hope everyone had a nice Holiday season. Mine turned out to be pretty good. The new grand daughter has red hair and these incredible golden eyelashes. She has a good disposition, is mostly happy, but will certainly let you know when she wants something. Nothing I love better than holding an infant in my lap.