Will you still be sending me a Valentine?

Another year, another birthday. This is one of those boring once a year posts that occurs on my birthday (see picture at left). You could take a look at my life and see such a complete overhaul that you'd be knocked on your ass with shock ten years ago, but even if you look at the past year, I still think you'd be [pleasantly] surprised.

What's happened? What hasn't happened would be a better question.

In December, Pop died. Pop would be my maternal grandfather, and because they lived so close (and lived with us in New York), he was the grandfather with whom I was so close. It was rather crushing, but it was more crushing knowing that my Nan was now left alone without him. Pop's only wish before his illness took over was, "I just want her to die first so she doesn't have to live alone." That wish was not to be. Up to New York in January we flew for one of two memorial services in 2008.

By February, after tests, I was diagnosed with being SEVERELY allergic to cigarette smoke. While I "can" be around cigarette smoke, I try not to be, or hold my breath as the smoke blows past. I am not, however, allergic to cigar smoke or hand-rolled tobacco cigarettes.

On March 24th, I received a phone call from my dad telling me that Nan had passed away. April was Nan's memorial service (the second of 2008). It was not looking like a good year at all.

I had started dating someone sometime in April or thereabouts. By July, that was over. I do have at least one good thing to say about that. During that time, a friend from college (Dea) had biked the Oregon coast with one of her friends. I made a decision to get into biking. Motivation also came in the form of a photo taken in January at Pop's memorial service in which I looked like a green Christmas tree ball ornament. I changed my lifestyle slightly, and by the time I hit my cousin's wedding at the end of May, I had lost considerable inches.

I started biking more regularly, and started losing weight. By the time my parents had seen me again in August, they noticed a HUGE difference. I still compare my January and my June pictures to show people the differences.

Moving onto more positive things...

We started a social club. By "we" I mean friends and friends of PoolBoys (that are now my friends as well): Beer God, Amyee, Shannon, Jennifer, PoolBoy, Amanda, and whomever else. We call it the BC-squared Social Club, and we "meet" Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. It's good fun with even better people. It gives all of us a time out of our regular lives to relax and not think about the stress that we have going on. Our Sundays' meeting's soundtrack is performed by Galen Crader (http://www.galencrader.com/), a wonderful musician and even better guy.

I was approved by one of the top 10 German Shepherd breeders in the United States (who lives here in Georgia) to obtain one of her male puppies from a future litter (won't be for awhile). They breed West German Showline German Shepherds (kind of like what Tobey was) and have a very strict, almost FCI/European-tailored breeding program.

I started building a 20G tall vivarium for Poison Dart Frogs or Red-Eyed Tree Frogs (still undecided).

I'm getting married. (ha! just kidding)

I found a used bookstore that I'm addicted to!

As you can tell, there are some things going on, and some things aren't. All in all, I would venture to guess, without counting the horrid beginning of the year, that it's been a good year. It should be "interesting" to see what the next year will hold.

"Cool Hand Luke" : Paul Newman

Paul Newman, who died Friday (Sept. 26th) of cancer at age 83, told the men he wanted to be remembered for the "Hole in the Wall" camps he helped to start across the world for children with life-threatening illnesses and to make sure that 100 percent of the profits from his popular food company, Newman's Own, would continue to benefit such camps and thousands of other charities.


Rest in Peace, Paul Newman. You will certainly be missed.

Gas - Frankly, I don't care.

Frankly, I don't care HOW much a gallon of gasoline is going to cost me. All I care about is WHERE IS THERE GASOLINE IN THE FIRST PLACE?

I lucked out Friday morning, and here we are...Monday, and none of the gas stations in, at least, a fifteen mile radius of where I live has any gas.

Oregon vs. Washington State

Oregon wins over Washington State in Football this weekend

63-14

Dehydration Hangover, but worth it.

Geez

It looks like there was a massive kick ass party at my house last night or something. Thanks to everyone who came last night and made it rockin'! And thanks also for making me pick up after your asses-lol

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Gasoline: Now this is annoying.

I've done what the news and any sane person has said to do, "get your gas as you would normally get your gas." So that's what I've done this week. I always get gas on Fridays for my car. I left for work this morning, and there wasn't any gas at the BP or RaceTrac. I figured there wouldn't be.

I thought, "I'll get gas at the Shell station."

As I was getting off my exit, the tanker truck was trying to get out of the RaceTrac parking lot, and he couldn't because of all of the cars that swarmed the pumps. I drove past and pulled into Shell - no gas. Okay - there are some others, and if anything, I guess I will have to go and wait in line at RaceTrac (1/8th of a tank left).

No gas at the Texaco, and so I head to QT. It's a good sign when you see someone walking FROM the QT with a gallon gas jug full. So I pull in.....and wait in line. Well crap, but I have to do what I have to do.

I'm waiting in line maybe 5 minutes, and it's my turn to claim the next pump from my end when I notice two empty pumps right in the middle. I pull forward do a reverse twirl move in my car, back up, and...ta da! I'm at the pump. Another woman sees the pump in front of me and pulls in as well. This is where the eavesdropping starts:

"Don't worry, man, I'm only gettin' a little."
"Give me a break, lady, I'm on my last gas can to fill up."
"Well I just came here to top off my tank with two or three gallons."
"Yeah I'll wait here at the pump until you come then when I leave, you can have my pump."

What is wrong with the above statements? First of all, if you're not in NEED of gas, don't congest the pumps getting a few gallons. Don't bring 5-6 gas cans (5 gallon containers) to fill up with gas all in one shot AND fill up your car. While you think it's nice that you're offering your friend your pump, when you drive a large Chevy truck...and you're in one of the inner pumps at the QT, and people are done behind your or in front of you and need you to move so they can leave, it's not a good idea to sit and wait there. Who's to say the station will have gas when your buddy gets there?

I'm so fed up with gas. Luckily, I only paid $3.97/gal. The Texaco up the road (that doesn't have gas) is charging $4.39/gal for regular.

Pros for the gas crap:

1) Not as much traffic on the road
2) No annoying engine revving around parking lots, etc. due to the gas it burns

Who's coming to Chattanooga with me?

My favorite restaurant in the whole wide world - Bluewater Grille in Chattanooga - sent me a coupon for a free dinner. Have to use it by Oct. 23rd - who's coming?

Puking.

Okay so not having REALLY ridden my bike in 3 weeks had an effect on me. I was all gung-ho to meet BGW (Beer God's Wife) to go biking since they live about, oh, 1/8 mile from the Silver Comet Trail. I get there, put my bike together, air up the tires, say hi to Poo (aka "Molly," the Golden Retriever), and off we go. We decide to go the hilly way to get there. DOWN the driveway we go, whip up the first little hill and DOWN the hill we go to build momentum to the hill from Hell. Bobbie, picture the Powder Springs hills, but longer...and taller. Thought I was going to die, but was determined NOT to walk it. We get to the crest and down we go again, turn right, ride on a real road, and zip down to the trail (a path that I almost busted my ass going down due to the sharp turns).

We hit the part of the trail between Mavell and Concord Road, and off we go. We bike an additional mile and turn around to come back. BGW informs me, "the hill that we walk our bikes up in the trees sucks!" We get there, and it resembles the "extremely strenuous trail" on Kennesaw Mountain. Fock.

We push our bikes up it, get to the top, and still have to bike back to the house. There is one little hill, and my body is already screaming similar to the Tide stain commercials. We make it, go halfway up the driveway, and I say, "I'm done." We walk our bikes up. Me, not having eaten all day, decides to go sit down on the patio as I am LIGHT-HEADED. I drink water, Poo says hi, and BGW comes out from the house she had gone into and sits down. "Yup...I puked."

Needless to say, we're going to have to bike A LOT more often. I was up to biking 40 miles a day - 20 out/20 in. It's amazing what happens in 3 weeks (and entirely too many beers).

Certified Lizard Trainer.

Please view my training videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/hayabusatygr

Humor and Reflection: Spinster

A spinster (or old maid) is a woman or girl of marriageable age who has been unwilling or unable to marry, therefore has no children. Socially, the term is usually applied only to women who are regarded as beyond the customary age for marriage, and is generally considered an insulting term, more degrading than the term "bachelor" for males. While men can continue to have children into their 70s or 80s, women generally become less and less able to bear children as they get older. So the term "old maid" is only applied to women who are past a child bearing age but have never married.

Damn.

One of these days...

I didn't sleep well last night. My mind was running non-stop. I think I tossed and turned and finally settled in at 4:30 this morning only to wake up at 5:45 and toss and turn before shutting my alarm off at 6:44 before it went off at 6:45. I got a text from Jugs this morning that she wouldn't be in as Ben (her son) was sick. My other co-worker is up in Gainesville filming stuff for a video for our company. It's just my boss and I in the office. I've been here for an hour, and the phone hasn't rung ONCE.

What have I successfully accomplished thus far?
1. Got out of bed. (If you knew my bed, you'd know this is a feat in itself)
2. Went to Dunkin Donuts.
3. Drove to work.
4. Ate a bagel.
5. Organized my Outlook mailbox.
6. Texted.
7. Sent one e-mail to a client.
8. Played Pup Petz on Facebook.
9. Updated an alternate blog.
10. Yawned.
11. Wished I was back in bed.
12. Typed on this blog.

*insert primitive growl here*

The Poison Dart Frog Habitat.

I told you guys some time ago that I would be creating a poison dart frog (or tropical tree frog) habitat. I thought I would update you with my progress. I'll be using the tag "PDF" for these posts so just click on this one, or any others that follow, and click "PDF," and it will show you all of the posts I made for the habitat.

What I purchased to make my vivarium:

1 x 20 G Tall glass aquarium
1 x black hood and fluorescent light
1 x brick of plantation soil (soil and coco fiber)
2 x bricks of Coco fiber
3 x GE Silicone II (black)*
3 x cans Great Stuff foam insulator
1 x roll of 3 ft x 4 ft plastic window screen
1 x egg crate louver (the cube plastic piece that goes over drop ceiling lights)
2 bags of 1/2" PVC couplers
3 x pieces of Malaysian driftwood
1 x 10 lbs bag clay unscented (el cheapo) kitty litter (to be used as a substrate)
1 x length of black plastic flexible tubing

What I could not purchase for this:
A great deal of patience
Creativity to create the habitat
Common sense for tubing, etc.

What I did first was I cleaned the inside and outside of the aquarium and dried it. Because I'll be using yellow Great Stuff as the background for the inside, I coated one back of the aquarium (inside) with the GE Silicone II black. Don't forget to buy a caulk gun and wear rubber gloves. *By the way, GE Silicone II with Bio Seal is the same formula as the original GE Silicone II. Bio Seal is in the original version as well. You might read a lot of forums that say don't use with Bio Seal. However, if you call GE, they will compare both "formulas" with you and tell you they both have the same ingredient of Bio Seal.

I also coated about 4 inches out from the back on either side of the aquarium so that when the Great Stuff expands, it is still hidden by the Silicone. I let that dry for a couple of days just to be sure. I then used my plastic egg crate and started creating a design in my head for the bottom.

I chose to do a "false bottom vivarium." What it is, the actual soil, etc. will be raised off the bottom of the vivarium. In the bottom of the vivarium will be the water return for the pond and water feature and also act as water that the plants can wick and use. I'll get into what a false bottom is a little later.

I decided I would want a piece of wood coming out of the Great Stuff wall with water running down it into a pond. NOTE: PDFs are NOT aquatic frogs. You should have rocks or a branch in your water in your tank for your frogs to be able to climb out of the water if they fall in. Sounds funny, I know, but if you look at a PDF or tree frog's feet, you'll notice they are not webbed.

I created a simple design with a pond in the middle and with "land" going behind it so the frogs can get from one side to the other. I may try to find an arched piece of ghostwood or Malaysian driftwood (both good water woods), to go over the pond for the froggies.

I digress. I cut out my egg crate (tedious work) with the help of a ruler to make sure that everything would fit. I used GE Silicone II to adhere the 1/2" couplers vertically on the bottom of the tank and measured them so that the egg crate would be secure. I then put GE Silicone II on the top of them and laid the egg crate in place.

It is now curing in my room for awhile. I won't continue with the project for several more days, but I am still designing the tubing behind the wall to run the actual pump tubing down so it's easy to maintain. I will put black flexible tubing against the back of the aquarium and cover it up with great stuff so that I can run the power cord and the pump tubing down them to keep them covered in the aquarium.

FALSE BOTTOM:

Think about this. Think about how heavy a 20 G tall glass aquarium weighs. Now think of how much it would weigh with water-saturated gravel in the bottom + substrate + soil + plants.

When you have a false bottom, it raises the gravel or clay substrate off the bottom and allows a cleaner environment.

I have pictures I will post soon of the progress.

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Life

Life is sitting outside on an almost autumn night with a great glass of wine, a good book, and a fire burning in the copper fire pit.

Sept. 19th: International Talk Like a Pirate Day

No, I'm not kidding:

http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=103262&catid=195

Taco Mac Passport Club

http://www.taco-mac.com/passport_club.htm

I HAD to post this!

Why? Because I've carried on conversations with people that had Bluetooths in! lol

Yup. This was me.

Attn : do you like your Kitten licked - m4w -

Reply to: pers-844377001@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2008-09-17, 1:08PM EDT

Attn: This is a strictly platonic section for posts. Your post, clearly, is not strictly platonic unless you're offering to lick someone's actual kitten (Felis domesticus). If that is the case then you need more professional help than mere reading comprehension. Place your ad where it belongs - "Miscellaneous Romance."

it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interestsPostingID:
844377001

Before getting a dog...

I'll be updating this list as more are brought to my attention.

List of puppy mills and backyard breeders in the State of Georgia:

1. Chickamauga Kennels www.chickamaugakennels.com
Has several HUNDRED dogs at their location. Most have some sort of health issue. All have temperament issues.

2. Heavens Gate Kennels www.heavensgatekennels.net
Breeds SEVERAL types of dogs from English Bulldogs to German Shepherds to Pitbull/Rottweilers that they register with the CKC (Continental Kennel Club.)


3. Playful Puppies www.playfulpuppies.net
Not only is this place a puppy mill, but "if you have a Home Depot card, we can work something out on payment for a puppy."

ETA: 12-07-09: My stances do not change on any of the above "breeders," and all information obtained about above "breeders" was obtained on initial publishing date of this post (September 2008.) When I passed along various [factual - pulled right from their website] details (minus the actual name of the location) on one of the above breeders and asked what others thought, here were the responses:

A. "Sounds more like a puppy mill to me."

B. "I call these people puppy producers and consider them...parasites."

C. "Puppy mill."

D. "puppy factory or a puppy mill"

E. "I was also thinking puppy mill."

F. "I'd call it a puppy mill."

G. "Puppy Mill. CKC was the give away, of course so was the rest of it." (Pulled directly from website - "she is CKC registered" and "all puppies are either AKC or CKC registered."

H. "PUPPY MILL!"

I. "Agree, puppy mill...and a pretty blatant one at that."

The Fall

Time to pull out the tent, air it out, check the seams and get ready for camping. I wish it would stay crisp and cool, but I know it won't last as long as I hope.

Yummy sleeping weather.

My Brief PSA

Petsmart and Petco do NOT sell dogs or cats. The people you see out front on Saturdays and/or Sundays with dogs are from licensed animal rescues and humane societies. They also do not "sell" animals. There are more strict rules governing the adoption of animals than there are the purchase of animals.

You cannot adopt an animal from a rescue and turn around and re-sell it when you can't care for it any longer or don't want it. That is a breach in contract and a punishable offense.

Rescues do not "sell" animals. They take in animals others don't want/can't afford, spend $$$ on its treatment, getting it healthy, training, etc. and then adopt it to a loving home for a fraction of the $ they put into it in the first place.

The animals you see outside Petsmart and Petco are not returned to plastic cages in the store at the end of each day and brought out like circus animals "for sale." They go back to the shelter or foster home from whence they came.

Sadly, there is an animal rescue for almost every single "pet" (and sometimes not pet) species of animal in the world. That should tell you something.

Spiders make me want to vomit.

I think they're "interesting," and I don't need to know their benefits to our world, but the thought of one crawling on me, feeling its little spindly, wire-like legs tip-toeing across my skin makes my throat close up and makes me want to vomit. I am NOT an arachnophiliac by any sense of the overly-complex word.

Daddy Longlegs never bothered me. I've seen a Brown Recluse up close and personal. I've seen a female Black Widow perched outside my parents' house. I've seen a Wolf Spider (often mistaken to be a Brown Recluse because it's...well...brown).

The spiders I really don't like are the Eris category of jumping spiders. They resemble little crabs. They stare at you. They're not dumb. They follow your hand as you reach for a ruler, and it freaks you out. If they had a personality, they'd say "ha HA!" as they leap towards me making me jump.

I remember going to an exotic pet store in Oakwood, Georgia. I went there and looked at the beautiful snakes (yes I said beautiful). Bright greens, yellows, even purples, etc. I walk down the back room, my eyes looking left, right, left, right, left, and when I turn right, I gasp as I'm confronted with a HUGE spider staring at me. By huge, I mean about 5 inches in diameter, perched against his container staring at me. I jump back towards the Bearded Dragons across the way. I stare at him wondering who the Hell would want him as a pet? I don't dare tap the glass, but I move my fingers towards it and wiggle it to see what he'd do (after making sure his big hairy ass wouldn't jump out and eat me). The owner comes flying around the corner.
"DON'T DO THAT!"
"Oh, I wasn't tapping its glass."
"No, I mean don't do that. Don't threaten him with any motions. When threatened they ball up and shoot out these fine fibers that are like fiberglass."

I immediately want to vomit at the thought.

"Goliath Birdeater" is the type of spider it is. It could have been one of the most heart-stopping moments of my life.

Alternative Resorts.

Because Chris (not PoolBoy) and I had this brief conversation the other night:

Differences Among "Alternative" Resorts

I didn't know exactly how to define them besides "alternative" resorts, and I am not, by any means, an expert on them. I just happened to work at one for two seasons and asked questions...and made observations. There are three main types in my opinion: clothing optional, nudist, and swingers. Of course, you would assume that all three have an underlying structure of "sex," but you might be surprised.

1. Clothing Optional: A clothing optional resort is just that. You can go around naked, or you can wear clothing. It gives you the freedom of choice to do what you want. You are not required to be naked. You will not get in trouble for being naked. This is where I worked while in college: a clothing optional resort. More often than not, the staff all wear clothing. This is in no way a "sex" resort. Often, there are strict rules and guidelines to govern the resort including no significant PDA (feeling up your partner or having sex in random places). Overly outward signs of arousal or staring a little too much is also looked down upon. For the most part, true nudists can admire the human body, but they won't jump the bones of anyone they see. Being naked is as normal as wearing clothes.

2. Nudist: A nudist resort is also self-explanatory; however, rules state you MUST be nude. There are NO clothes allowed whatsoever except maybe a towel for the pool. Staff members are also nude. "Leave your clothes at the gate" is more the mentality for nudist resorts. However, this is also in no way a "sex" resort. There are also strict rules governing composure at the resort.

3. Swingers: Wear clothes. Don't wear clothes. Have sex at the bar, have sex in the pool, go to sex parties on the beach. Whatever. This is an "anything goes" type of resort. Significant PDA? You could say that. I've not been to a Swingers resort, and frankly, I have no want of going to one. I've heard first-hand experiences from tasteful swingers from the clothing optional resort and know enough that it just doesn't appeal to me. I failed sharing in kindergarten (actually, I was a good kid, but you get the idea). I also think that people have a skewed perception of "swingers." I mean real swingers. I don't mean people that screw anything that has a pulse and calls themself a swinger for doing so. Not the same thing.

Misconceptions of nudist/clothing optional resorts (since I can't comment on "Swingers" as I haven't been):

"yeah but I bet most of the people there are old or people you wouldn't want to see naked."
Not really. I'd say about 20% of the people are in that category. There is a wide variety of age groups that go to the resorts.

"Yeah but people are going around having sex everywhere."
Please see #1 and #2 above regarding rules.

"Yeah but they want to have sex with everyone."
Negative. Being naked does not equal being a pervert.

Just thought I'd spread the word :)

Funny things...

Funny things I heard this weekend:

(While talking to Stew via cell while he was working...as a Lee County Sheriff's Deputy)
(Southern accent, appx. 2:45 a.m.) "We got an extremely intoxicated 17 year old."
Just goes to show you there is NOTHING to do in South Georgia.

"I'm from Ireland."
"Shelby went to Ireland!"
"No, I was in Scotland."
"Scotland, Ireland, can't you just walk to Ireland from Scotland?"
(my witty response I had JUST NOW: only if you're Jesus)
"No there seems to be a sea in between the two."

"Did they ever open up the Chunnel yet?"
"I don't know."
"The Chunnel? What's that?"
"The tunnel under the English Channel. There was a massive fire."
"Ah! The Chunnel. Yeah I think I saw something on the Discovery Channel when they were building it."
"I don't think so. I don't think the Discovery Channel was around when the Chunnel was being built."

Famous last words: "I don't need to eat anything. I had a ham sandwich before we left."
(Four hours later, someone was crashing in our guest room for the night)

"Damn you're a good swallower. I really like how you can swallow that."
(RE: Irish Car Bomb drinks, perverts)

(NYC accent) "Whaddaya gonna do? Gonna box me in or sumpin'?"

"Guitar God! Teach me guitar!"

"I expect those will show up on Facebook."

(This morning)
"Don't be too rough on me on Facebook for last night."
"ha...I uploaded the pictures already last night."

"I'm an incredibly expensive drunk. I would say somewhere around $500 or so."
(This was after paying a $135 bar tab)

"Brownchickenbrowncow."
(Though the best part was Galen playing 70s porn on his guitar whilst humping it)

"You look like you could use a massage, PoolBoy, and I'm the Delivery Boy."

Brownchickenbrowncow.

Also known as BG's Birthday Party.

We had it at Marlowe's in Smynings. It was good times...maybe a little too good for some. With the combination of friends, food, car bombs, and a kickass musician, who wouldn't have a good time? So five Irish Car Bombs and two ciders later...

The birthday boy, aka "Beer God" and his knife...

The Beer God and his wife, BGW:

Guess what these were? (I won...4/5 times)

A little too excited... L to R: Galen, BGW, and PoolBoy:

Dear Santa....

(or Dear Birthday Santa)...

This is what I want...

NIKEiD Shox Oregon Ducks with personalized ID

Gasoline: How dare you...

Here we go again. This seems a little all too familiar: hurricane heads towards the Gulf, gas prices sky rocket, and then no gas due to panic.

Where have I heard this before? I think it was about three years ago when this Hurricane named Katrina (maybe you've heard of it) decided to hit Louisiana and down by the oil refineries off the gulf shore.

Yesterday afternoon, my brother called to tell me my mom called him and told us both to leave work and get gas. Thinking my mom was over-reacting, I went and got gas around 3:30. "Uh oh" was what I said when I pulled up to the gas station by my work and noticed lines forming. I was lucky. I got in behind a little old lady who was pulling out. I scoffed at the $3.80/gallon as it had JUST been $3.59 in the morning. I filled up $40 in gas before the pump went dry. *insert profanities here*

After work, I drove all of five minutes or so to BG and BGW's house. When I headed home last night from their house, gas was $3.99/gallon. I got home, took a shower, got out, and Steven called and told me that the gas stations by his house (right down the road from me) were ALL out of gas. I didn't think anything of it. I thought, "phew! good thing I got gas!" and went to bed last night looking forward to Morgenstern's bridal shower.

I woke up this morning, and while I was brushing my teeth thought, "wait. I have gas to get down to Auburn and back, but what happens on Sunday? There won't be any gas on Sunday. I know, gas trucks won't deliver on Sundays. *profanity* What the *profanity* am I going to do for work next week? Oh sorry, I can't come in, I don't have gas and neither do the gas stations?" A sick feeling was building in the pit of my stomach (and it wasn't from the beer and cider last night). I called my mom.

Mom and dad were going to drive to Columbus and meet me there and then follow me to Auburn.

"I don't know about this gas shortage, ma."
"I know. There is NO gas down here at all."
"I know. I went and got gas when you told me to yesterday afternoon. I have enough to get down and back from Auburn..."
"Then what?"
"I don't know. I won't have gas on Sunday."
"I know. We were thinking the same thing."
"Do we know anyone with a private jet?"

So now, here I am, and there my mom is. We were clever. We were creative, and we got Amanda an awesome shower gift. And yet I sit here, sick to my stomach over gasoline.

Yes, let's strike fear and panic in the hearts of Americans in the Southeastern United States. Let's do THAT. Let's groom their dependency on gasoline by causing mass hysteria again, drive gas prices up, and then make it impossible to actually FIND gas anywhere. That's what's happened.

Now what? While I know the obvious answers, "find an alternate fuel," haven't we heard this time and time again? What about the people who have older cars who can't afford new cars with the ability to use alternate fuel? What about them? Is the government going to switch their old cars for them? Is the government going to swap their cars over to alternate fuel free of charge when we do find a solid alternative fuel? No.

What is more plausible is that every time we have a major storm approach the gulf coast, it will be inevitable for a government official (governor or otherwise) to cry wolf and send the Southeastern United States into a gas frenzy.

A Whirlwind...and I don't mean Ike

Wow - what a packed weekend I have!

Today:
7:30a-5p: Work
5p-6p: Commute home
6p-rest of evening: laundry, launder and remake guest bed, clean main bathroom, vacuum, eat at some point, pack, clean, prepare.

Tomorrow:
7a-10a: Drive to meet folks to have them follow me to Auburn
10a-1p: Drive to Auburn (not the whole time)
1p-5p: Amanda's bridal shower
Sometime after 5pm and helping clean: Dinner with parents at Provino's
Go to bed

Sunday:
6-7am: Wake up and head out to Atlanta
10a-1p: Meet with Bobbie (?) to sign Hard Core paperwork for adopting Silver Comet portion
2p: Return. Unpack from Auburn. Get things situated for the upcoming week.
6p: Leave to go to Marlowe's for a birthday party.
6-10p: Marlowe's for birthday party
10p-whenever: After party at Amy and Jim's house for birthday party

Monday:
6:30am: Wake up and go to work.

Whistlertips: The whistles go woooooooooop

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnzw_i4YmKk

Beer Thursday Recap - 9-11-08

Attendees:

Me
Steven
Jennifer
Jennifer's friend (I have already forgotten her name! Correct me, Jennifer!)

Steven and I got to Taco Mac early. PoolBoy couldn't make it due to other plans, Amy came home from school sick, and John ("beer god") stayed home with Amy, his wife.

We opted for the far outside patio table thinking we'd be obnoxious and would want to stay away from others. That was a fatal mistake.

Conveniently located next to our table was the gate to come in and out of the patio...the gate with the bright red bar that says, "PUSH TO OPEN...ALARM WILL SOUND." Last Thursday, the alarm was off. After moving seats because the sun was in his eyes, Steven sat next to the fire bar gate. Elbow propped up on the back of his chair, he performed a scene from Finding Nemo: when Nemo and his dad are together in the beginning, Nemo swims almost to the surface under a boat and sits there with his tiny fin raised as his father says, "don't you do it!" Nemo gives a sly grin and *poke* pokes the bottom of the boat and swims back down. Let's break this down.... Steven's sitting in the chair, his arm propped up on the back, and I see him look at the fire alarm. "It wasn't on last week" were his last words before I said, "don't," and one quick motion without taking his eyes off of me, and he smacked his elbow into the gate.

Guess what?

Alarm was on THIS week. And as the rest of the people in the patio turned and stared with rude faces and as the people sitting directly inside looked out, Steven's ears got red, and I couldn't stop laughing. Our waiter gave a begrudging look and said, "I'll get that taken care of for you."

When the manager came out with a key to shut it off he said something humorous to Steven. Steven was eyeing it again, and I, kidding around, made a big show, "DON'T YOU DARE! I WILL CUT OFF YOUR ARM! I WILL CUT OFF YOUR ARM WITH THIS BUTTER KNIFE ON THE DAMN TABLE!" There was a table of sorostitutes that looked over at us and starting talking, "like OMG - did you hear how she was talking to him!"Steven and I laughed.

Jennifer and her friend showed up around 8 or so. Jennifer informed me she got a little tipsy at lunch and laughed her ass off when her friend, Lisa, spilled water all over herself. It made me laugh, too, having met Lisa. We talked about beer and why no one else was there.

When it became time to leave (about 10 or so), we all stand up, and Steven slams into the gate expecting the alarm to go off again (since we just saw someone IN Taco Mac leaving through a door whose alarm went off). Nope. Too bad.

See you next Thursday.

Beer Thursdays...

I am so sorry I have not been adequately updating you on Beer Thursdays. Beers as follows (from 9/4 and 9/11):

Tommyknocker Ornery Amber (5.3%) - Amber Ale from Colorado
Red Brick Oktoberfest (5.9%) - Seasonal from Georgia
Widmer (4.7%) - Hefeweissen from Oregon
(sampling) Saison Dupont (6.5%) - Belgian Light Ale from Belgium
Breckenridge Autumn Ale (6.7%) - Seasonal Dark from Colorado
Session Lager (5.1% I think) - Lager from Oregon
He'Brew Rejewvenator (7.8%) - Belgian Dark Ale from Belgium

Beer Saturday - Big River Grille - Chattanooga, TN:
(The following are all brewed by Big River - owned by Gordon Biersch)

Sunset Wheat - Seasonal wheat beer
Southern Flyer - Light Lager
Big River Vienna Lager - Light Amber Lager
Sweet Magnolia American Brown Ale - Medium-body brown ale
Seven States Pilsner - German-style Pilsner
Imperial 375 Pale Ale - Light-colored, full-bodied ale
House-brand IPA - copper-colored ale
Iron-Horse Stout - black strong stout

XkCD

Silver Comet Trail Completed

A dream that began more than a decade ago has been realized with the pouring of the last yards of concrete to join sections of the Silver Comet Trail between Rockmart and Cedartown, linking Smyrna with Anniston on a 95.5 mile trail.

A grand opening will take place at the Georgia-Alabama state line on Sept. 27.

The idea for the trail began almost two decades ago. Soon after a rail line was abandoned in 1989, various advocacy groups, elected officials, and individuals developed the concept of converting the railroad through Cobb, Paulding, and Polk Counties into a biking and jogging trail.

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) purchased the right-of-way as a potential commuter rail corridor and agreed to its use as a trail. which is 17 miles longer than the next longest bike path in the country, which is in Idaho.

Definitions.

Cheeky - adj. or adv. - being a smartass but insulting people, brash. Possibly derived from the phrase, "tongue in cheek."

Emo Bands

Emo band names I came up with today:

Sour Grapes Drama

Dramatic Sour Grapes

Purple Grape Jeans (because, most Emo bands are color, noun, noun)

Memories by Within Temptation

In this world you tried,

Leaving me alone behind.

There's no other way,

I pray to the gods let him stay.

The memories cease the pain inside,

Now I know why.

All of my memories keep you near.

In silent moments,

Imagine you'd be here.

All of my memories keep you near,

In silent whispers, silent tears

Made me promise I'd try,

To find my way back in this life.

Hope there is a way,

To give me a sign you're okay.

Reminds me again it's worth it all,

So I can go home.

All of my memories keep you near.

In silent moments,

Imagine you'd be here.

All of my memories keep you near.

In silent whispers, silent tears.

Together in all these memories,

I see your smile.

All of the memories I hold dear.

Darling you know I'll love you,Til the end of time.

All of my memories keep you near

In silent moments,

Imagine you'd here.

All of my memories keep you near,

In silent whispers, silent tears.

All of my memories...

Mini Book Club

I had wanted to start one previously, but most everyone was busy or had other books. Laura and I are officially starting one.

Our first book is Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time. It's by Dava Sobel. Laura and I saw it in the required reading section at Once and Again books over on Holcomb Bridge Road. Neither one of us had heard of it, so we bought it. Apparently, Sobel also wrote a book about Galileo and his daughter.

I don't know what our reading schedule will look like. I'll have to compare notes with Laura as to what books we both have and bought from Once and Again for under $6 (shameless plug).

I'll post our discussions up on here.

Jack Johnson - Better Together

[Verse 1:]
There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard,
No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart,
Our dreams, and they are made out of real things,
Like a shoebox of photographs,
With sepiatone loving,
Love is the answer
At least for most of the questions in my heart ,
Like why are we here? And where do we go?
And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy,
And sometimes life can be deceiving,
I'll tell you one thing, its always better when we're together

[Chorus:]
MMM, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, we'll look at the stars when we're together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together

[Verse 2:]
And all of these moments
Just might find their way into my dreams tonight
But I know that they'll be gone,
When the morning light sings
And brings new things,
But tomorrow night you see
That they'll be gone too,
Too many things I have to do,
But if all of these dreams might find their way
Into my day to day scene
I'll be under the impression,
I was somewhere in-between
With only two,
Just me and you
Not so many things we got to do,
Or places we got to be
We'll sit beneath the mango tree now
Yeah, it's always better when we're together
MMM, We're somewhere in-between together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together
Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm
I believe in memories
They look so, so pretty when I sleep
Hey now, and when, and when I wake up,
You look so pretty sleeping next to me
But there is not enough time,
And there is no, no song I could sing
And there is no combination of words I could say
But I will still tell you one thing,
We're better together

Chattanooga

Here are some photos I took yesterday in Chattanooga :) Enjoy:

AWESOME idea - Pet Soup Kitchen

www.daffyspetsoupkitchen.com

The economy is not only rough for humans, it's rough for pets, too. The past year, there has been an influx of animals turned into shelters or worse, abandoned to fend for themselves due to their owners being evicted or their houses foreclosed upon. There just aren't enough homes out there for these pets, and, sadly, four-legged family members are sometimes euthanized for no fault of their own.

Located in metro Atlanta is Daffy's Pet Soup Kitchen! It was established by the SOS Club, a licensed non-profit organization in the area, and it is a brilliant idea. Not only do they offer food assistance, by they offer supplies, discounted vetting programs, and a variety of other services.

This could possibly be my next favorite charity here in Georgia. A bag of dog food is pocket change for some and expensive for others. If you have an extra $10 or so, consider donating food to the food bank or contact them for other ways to help.

Additional information can be found at their website:

www.daffyspetsoupkitchen.com

Location:
2160 Oakland Industrial Court
Suite 100
Lawrenceville, Ga. 30044
678-725-4992

Woo! Beer Thursday!

Beer Thursday: n. 1. A meeting among friends to drink beer, learn about beer, and have a great time. 2. Friends coming together to drink beer and take photos to put on blogs and facebook. 3. A weekly get together among friends to have an excuse to drink beer and take pictures.

I like this song, and I may have or may not have posted it before. It has a sad connotation to it (and was used appropriately in "P.S. I love you"), but a good song nonetheless:

"If I Ever Leave This World Alive"
Flogging Molly

If I ever leave this world alive
I'll thank for all the things you did in my life
If I ever leave this world alive
I'll come back down and sit beside your feet tonight

Wherever I am you'll always be
More than just a memory
If I ever leave this world alive

If I ever leave this world alive
I'll take on all the sadness
That I left behind
If I ever leave this world alive
The madness that you feel will soon subside

So in a word don't shed a tear
I'll be here when it all gets weird
If I ever leave this world alive
So when in doubt just call my name
Just before you go insane

If I ever leave this world
Hey I may never leave this world
But if I ever leave this world alive

She says I'm okay;
I'm alright,
Though you have gone from my life
You said that it would,
Now everything should be all right

She says I'm okay;
I'm alright,
Though you have gone from my life
You said that it would,
Now everything should be all right
Yeah should be alright

FYI

Rumors have it Kingdom Hearts might be made for the 360.

Gotta take it easy.

I gotta take it easy. I tell others to "take care of yourself," and I need to listen to my own advice. I realized today that I need to take a weekend doing something for me, something relaxing. I've been watching the weather forecast, and I see storm after storm after storm moving in from the Atlantic. Of course, who knows what they will do, but if it ends up raining and/or storming all weekend long, I'll be staying in bed. Sounds like a plan to me. I have five Harry Potters and hundreds of books.

I'm glad it's a short week this week.

Olympic Commentary...

Because Costas annoyed me with the Olympics this year...

Top nine Olympic comments made by NBC sports commentators:

1. Weight-lifting commentator: 'This is Gregorieva from Bulgaria . I saw her snatch this morning during her warm up and it was amazing.'

2. Dressage commentator: 'This is really a lovely horse and I speak from personal experience since I once mounted her mother.'

3. Paul Hamm, Gymnast: 'I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father.'

4. Boxing Analyst: 'Sure there have been injuries, and even some deaths in boxing, but none of them really that serious.'

5. Softball announcer: 'If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again.'

6. Basketball analyst: 'He dribbles a lot and the opposition doesn't like it. In fact you can see it all over their faces.'

7. At the rowing medal ceremony: 'Ah, isn't that nice, the wife of the IOC president is hugging the cox of the British crew.'

8. Soccer commentator: 'Julian Dicks is everywhere. It's like they've got eleven Dicks on the field.'

9. Tennis commentator: 'One of the reasons Andy is playing so well is that, before the final round, his wife takes out his balls and kisses them... Oh my God, what have I just said?'

(and my two additions)

A. Bob: "And here comes the Central African Republic. Now the C.A.R. is a Republic....in Central Africa."

B. Bob: "And here's Benin! This country probably won't win ANY medals, but, at least they won something. They were the first country to move into the Olympic village and raise their flag. Congrats, Benin."