That Was A FAST Weekend

This past weekend was busy from Friday night to Sunday night. I had just enough time to throw up a post Saturday morning, but otherwise I was busy following somebody else's direction. Not to say that I didn't have fun.

Friday night we were invited to my brother's house for a game night; me and all my boys. We had a great time. Eating pizza, drinking beer (some of us) and playing some non-traditional games. We had a great group of folks; that always makes a difference.

And then came Saturday afternoon.

The Young'un was involved in a, well, as she described it, a 'Career Move'. The local Aquarium  was filming a commercial, and needed 20 kids. The Young'un requested to be included, and was selected. Well, it wasn't as easy as that sounded.

We were supposed to be notified by March 3 if she was to be included or not. It snowed March 3, so school was closed. I took advantage of the weather, and worked from home. Every few minutes a small blonde head would poke itself around the corner and ask me I had had an email yet. In all cases the answer was no. At 5:30 I explained that if we hadn't heard anything by this time, she probably wasn't selected.

A few minutes later my son caught he in the living room, working a stress ball like there was no tomorrow.

"What's wrong", he asked.

"I'm stressed!" she responded.

"Stressed? what do you have to be stressed about?"

"Because my career is going nowhere!" she said, still working the stress ball.

I have mentioned that she is NINE?

It was Tuesday morning when I got the email that she had been selected. I thought we were swamped in drama when she hadn't been selected. But I was wrong. That was nothing compared the 'I-have-nothing-to-wear' drama. Basically because Grandma joined in.

I spent most of Saturday on the road, hitting every store we could think of to find her some appropriate clothes. It took all day, be we found 3 outfits that worked.

And then Sunday we had the MAD DASH that started about 8:00. Getting ready, finding out we had missed some important accoutrement for the outfits and then hitting the venue in time for the filming.

And then cooling our heels for the next 4 and a half hours while they filmed a 30 second TV spot. Yee-Hah.

And then we had to deal with the time change as well. Another Yee-Hah.

Final product should be on the air in a week or ten days, and we can see how much of her performance wound up on the cutting room floor.

Based on her desire to do it again, I hope I haven't created a monster!

The Calm Before the Storm

Saturday Morning; Ahhhhhh....

Sometimes I think I work all week just for Saturday Morning.  The rest of the week is scheduled by somebody else, not me. Occasionally my Saturdays follow someone else's schedule, but not very often. The whole family knows this is my time.

It's not that I sleep in; very rarely am I still in bed at 7:00. For some reason 5 days a week it is a struggle to drag myself out and kick start my day at 6:30-6:35-6:40/5...

But on Saturday I tend to get up easily around 6:30. Maybe its because I know I will not spend the next 2 hours rushing through a morning a morning procedure to be at my desk by 8:30. On Saturday I know That as soon as the tea is hot I'll will be relaxing with a hot cuppa at my desk at home. Reading the comics instead of emails; surfing the net for something interesting, not searching the database for an answer to some question. Or I can fire up Netflix and watch a show or two. My choice.

The other part of Saturday morning I enjoy is the solitude. I am just about the only person in the house who doesn't think sleeping in is the way to start a Saturday. Occasionally there is a straggler, escaping over the wall from Slumberland to meet a commitment, like work, or I will get a visitor from Sleepytown on an errand for personal business, before they return to the comfort of their beds.

But for the most part is is just me and the dogs, and even they are usually slumbering; taking advantage of me being up to slack off on their duty to keep us and the house safe, and taking advantage of the quiet to relax a little more deeply than usual.

Today we are starting to get hints of the future; days in which I abandon the desk and computer for the porch swing. I don't know who invented the porch swing, but I sure hope they were properly rewarded. He (or she) was probably an early riser too. It's hard to imagine that the porch swing wasn't invented for Saturday morning. Especially one in Spring.

Sitting out there with a hot cuppa tea, slowly swinging back and forth, seeing and hearing the world come awake around you, as you are beginning to gather your thoughts and collect your senses, preparing for when the world is awake and assaulting you from every angle.

The sights vary with the countdown to summer; trees starting to bud out in leaf; the daffodils first poking up a thin green shoot and to suddenly burst into flower. the grass turning greener almost by the minute.

The sounds vary as well, but less so. There is always the bird noise twittering and calling as they start their daily chores. And there is always the sound of a distant screen door, banging back into it's frame, followed by a car starting and then the crunch of gravel as some neighbor starts there Saturday differently than I do mine.

But that is the future. Today I enjoy the quiet of the household. A silence so deafening I can hear the ticking of the clock in the living room. A quietude broken only occasionally by the creak of a bed as the occupant stirs, or the snort of snore from a sleeping dog, or the regular quarter hour chiming of the living room clock. And, of course, the rhythmic clicking of my keyboard.

But then above me a floorboard groans, protesting being rudely awakened, and then the stairs join in the chorus, each adding its own note to the sudden symphony of sound of a slumbering house slowly but surely coming to life.

The solitude is over. Life begins again and I am forced to join in.

And wait seven more days for Saturday morning.

Planning a Grand Vacation

I did not leave the house yesterday.

And, if I am lucky, I won't leave the house today either. Part of it is the weather; cold and snowy. And part of it is me being me; I have said many times that my idea of a perfect vacation is not leaving my property, unless I run out of beer.

Yes; I am the consummate homebody, bordering on the agoraphobic.

My wife, on the other hand, spends all week at home, and on Saturday and Sunday needs to get out of the house. If I spent all week inside these walls maybe I would feel the same. But I doubt it.

I have never been one of those people who needs to see and do. I find no attraction in beaches, resorts or theme parks. Yes, I do think there are interesting things in the world to visit, but most of them aren't worth the cost of the visit. Take the Statue of Liberty. I would love to visit the Monument, but that would mean going to New York City.

And that ain't gonna happen. When I can land a float plane next to Bedloe's Island step ashore and see the place and then back into my plane and head for home, I'll go. But if visiting the Statue means setting foot in the miserable mess they call New York City, I'll be content with pictures. The cost does not equal the value of the visit.

To me anyway. I am not a people person, and NYC equals people. Lots and lots and loads of people. Strange people, who are also strangers. Who talk funny.

It's not that I hate people. In the abstract anyway. I like the concept that there are 3 billion of us in this world and each of us is different.

Just don't put me in a room with any of those 3 billion.

And God Forbid that any one of those 3 billion show up at my place and ruin my vacation.

Yesterday Was My Birthday

And I spent it well.

First my boys took me out to Frisch's for the breakfast bar. I may have to deny the next sentence when I next see my doctor, but I had half a plate full of eggs with green peppers, onions and cheese; a half dozen link sausages, about 10 strips of bacon, a big bowl of fried potatoes with sausage gravy, a big slice of ham and a dozen big hunks of pineapple and melon. A couple of glasses of ice-tea. Other that the pineapple and melon, I don't anything I ate was on my official diet.

Then we went to get measured for Tuxes for my son's wedding in March. Always fun. Especially when the cute young thing doing measurements asks if you wear your pants on you belly or below it. But then, when it came time to fit a jacket, their sizes must run small. Every jacket I tried on was way too tight. My upper arms were straining the fabric and I couldn't move my shoulders at all. We finally went to a jacket that my fitter claimed would have room at the waist, but finally fit my shoulders, barely.

And we had to fit the Young'un for her bridesmaid dress. Yikes! David's Bridal was a flippin' madhouse. and the prices! between the tuxes and the dresses, the rehearsal dinner and all, I am really gonna have to make a big dent in the open bar just to break even. But I think I can manage.

Then came the fun part of the morning; out to the junkyard. I am still looking for a transmission for my BMW (the damn thing only lasted 250,000 miles; it should have still been under warranty) and I was hoping they would have one. The car I have been waiting 3 weeks to hit yard finally did, but someone had already pulled the tranny. It looks like I am going to have to breakdown and spend some real money on one. I did get a few other pieces that I have been needing but couldn't find, so that was a birthday wish come true anyway. I still can't drive it, but when I do, it will function a little better.

And then I spent about an hour with the grandsons. Always brings a smile to my face. They are truly one of the things that gets me out of bed some winter mornings. Everytime I see them they have gotten a little older, gotten a little smarter and just a bit cuter.

Then it was off to a gaming party with my brothers and a few others. I didn't win anything, but it was fun anyway. I love the games my youngest brother finds. No Monopoly or board games for us on these occasions; Bang, Pit, Citadels, Settlers and the like. Strategy games, with a smattering of luck thrown in just to confuse you. We spent about 6 hours at the gaming table, eating pizza rolls all the while. Another sentence I will need to deny at my next doctor's visit.

Then home, where a 12 pack of Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest was on ice. My youngest son and I popped Smokey and the Bandit into the DVD player and sat and played 500 Rum and watched one of my old favorites. When that ended I had him pick out another movie, and his choice was El Dorado; an old John Wayne Western.

It was a great day; no cake or party (that is today), but I was able to do what I wanted to do and enjoyed every minute.

I can't wait for my next birthday.

Well, maybe that is a bit of a stretch.

Day of Rest

Today was a Day of Rest. Serious Rest.

I slept until 8:30, climbed back into bed at 9:00 and climbed back out at 12:30. It's 6:30 and I am ready to climb back in again.

Do you want to know why?

My last day of work was December 19th. Since then I have had parties that lasted 4 hours or more on December 21st; 23rd; 24th; 25th; 27th and 29th. And I have parties scheduled for the 31st and January 1st (technically the one on the First is still tentative). And I go back to work on the Second.

It has been a busy holiday season. I am almost looking forward to going back to work.

Almost.

Countdown to Christmas; C-Day-2

Last night was the company Christmas Party. As always a stellar event. Dinner on the top floor of a local hotel in a private club with a view of the area that spanned 360 degrees. The night was clear and we could see for miles. The meal was exquisite- Filet Mignon for me- followed by a mix of desserts and a few bourbons.

And lots of conversation. Our firm is spread out in 3 buildings locally, so some folks I have worked with for years I don't get to see on a regular basis; last night was catch-up time. Exchanging old stories and sharing new ones; hearing of new additions and old passings; just having a few hours to talk to folks without the pressure of a deadline.

It was also probably the last day of relaxation before the storm of Christmas busy hits. Like today. I should be wrapping presents, but am taking a few minutes to post to the blog. Yeah; it's procrastination. Not that I mind wrapping presents usually; I like the creating of secrets. But usually I store shop for gifts and part of the selection process is the box the present comes in. That is a dirty little secret I am sharing for the first time; the easier a package is to wrap the more likely you are to receive it as a gift.

But this year I did a lot of shopping on-line. The packages these things came in suck. All curves and odd angles and soft corners. What ever happened to a good old-fashioned 6-sided box? I do have one present that is a 6-sided box; 4 inches square and 4 feet long; yeah, that'll wrap well.

I also need to decided what will be the background. Christmas Carols? A Christmas movie? or maybe a few old Christmas Specials we have on DVD? Something to help put me in the mood to fight thin paper, sticky tape and sharp edged, oddly shaped packaging.

But if I bring presents I get ham.

Yeah; it's worth it. Now I need to find the DVD for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer....

Christmas Prep is Done!

I am determined to do only Happy Posts between now and Christmas. I don't know how, but that is my goal.

See how hard it's going to be? I've gone negative already.

The plans are all in place; parties on Friday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday; Sunday and Tuesday will probably be all day affairs. Gifts to exchange; food to eat- including 3 hams- beer and eggnog to drink, cookies and candy are far as the eye can see in any direction. And probably a pumpkin roll or two.

Family everywhere, except tonight. Tonight is the work family. A good meal; good company and a few mellowers. But no ham.

The shopping is done, as of a few minutes ago. I just have the nail-biting wait for the delivery on one more thing and all will be wrapped and ready to go.

As you can tell, I am looking forward to the Christmas celebrations, despite yesterday's post. I still don't have the traditional Christmas Spirit, but maybe it will come, now that the stress of the season is over and the fun part is beginning.

And now that the parties are starting I can start hitting the Christmas Spirits; that always helps.

We took a couple of hours yesterday and went to visit the Train Display at the Cincinnati Museum Center; Just the wife and I and the Young'un. She isn't as appreciative of the trains as her brothers. She couldn't wait to get out of there and hit the Children's Museum. She had a good time and we left after a couple of hours. The place was not as crowded as I feared it would be, but I guess most of the area schools were still in session; her's let out on Wednesday.

And we have snow. Not much, less than a dusting, but still snow. as long as it's still on the ground come Tuesday we can say we had a White-ish Christmas.

Lets the celebrating begin!

More Beer

This article really demonstrates part of what I have been saying for years; nobody really liked most of the corporate beers. They just didn't have any alternatives.

Now; we have alternatives. Like we talked about in this post about Beer, people have wanted better beer for years. Now we can get it.

The one interesting point is about Michelob. Back when getting a Guinness was a pipe dream, beer aficionados drank a lot of Michelob. It was a better beer than the normal brews.

And then we were able to get Guinness.

So what happened to Michelob? Was it the ability to get better beers that has caused its slide (Sales loss (2006-2011): 72.0%, according to the article), or was it the cheapening of the Michelob brand that caused it? Beers like Michelob Ultra.

But they also produced some better beers, like Amber Bock that I really enjoyed and a very drinkable Porter.

Could be one or the other or both. It wouldn't be the first time a good product was squeezed from both sides. It was more or less a niche beer that has had its niche disappear.

It was a good domestic large beer. Now if you want a good beer, you go microbrew; if you want a large beer you go (hold on while I pause for an involuntary shudder) Bud Light.

I find it interesting also that the  'cheap crap' beers have also lost sales. Old Milwaukee; Milwaukee's Best and Amstel have all lost between 35% and 58% of their sales. Is that a reflection of increased taste among beer drinkers for better beer, or a loss in sales to cheaper drunks, as cash strapped budgets looked for cheaper alternatives? Hard to say.

But this article from 2010 basically says that the loss in top shelf booze is more than made up for in the increased sales in lower priced stuff. Is there enough room in there for a few former beer drinkers?

My guess is yes.

Bud Light is sort of an anomaly in this report, with 39.15 million barrels sold last year it is the undisputed king of the hill in Beer sales.

Its not really hard to figure out why. Most sports stadiums and arenas sell it almost exclusively. If you want to drink beer, you (please allow a short break while I pause for another involuntary shudder) drink Bud Light.

I'm sorry; I just don't under stand how anyone with a single functioning taste bud can drink that swill. I seriously would rather drink dishwater than Bud Light. That's not a recent opinion; I have never liked Budweiser or Bud Light.

I guess it has something to do with having an edjamikated beer palate.

I was, you may recall, raised on Weidemann.

Way Too Much Time On His Hands

Just when you think you've seen it all, you see something that makes you wonder.

Take a look at this machine. First; who figured they needed this: second, who figured out HOW to build it, and Third; who ever built it did one hell of a job.

But they all had way too much time on their hands.

I found the video put perusing a site I usually use to figure out home repairs; There; I Fixed It.

Lots of good fun over there for a Redneck.

BEER!

I'm not sure how to take this article. Part of it is fact; part is conjecture, part I know to be false and part is He Said WHAT?

And I tend to see a bit of anti-business bias; well, the author does write for the Atlantic and lives in New York. I am assuming City, otherwise they would have said State. I have never heard of the Washington Monthly before, and some of its other promoted articles seem to have a bit of a leftward tilt. At one point our author refers to the 'Reagan regime'; that right there sounds like a commie buzzword to me.

But still, the article is worthy of review; if for nothing else the brief history of corporate brewing shenanigans. He does give a fairly complete history of who bought who and who joined who to bring us to our current sorry state of national brewing.

Oh, and I disagree with almost every one of his conclusions.

Basically, the author, a Mr. Tim Heffernan, seems to believe that the entire world is about to become alcoholics because of a flood of cheap beer, and uses England in the 1980's as an example. Well, I was in England in the 1980's, and my experience was completely different than the facts stated in the article.

Mr. Heffernan talks about cheap beer in the supermarkets. If there was, it was after I left. Nothing was more expensive that a 6 pack of English beer. A pint of almost anything in the pub was a Pound/Pound and a quarter; around 2 bucks, depending on the exchange rate. At the off-sale a 6 pack was about 8 Pounds; 16 bucks. A case of Michelob on base was about $9.00; a case of PBR (cans) was $5.00.

Maybe things changed after I left; I don't know. For some reason I lost interest in the cost of British beer when I quit drinking it.

And then our author drifts into the use of law to control alcohol, and fondly looks back on Prohibition (pardon while I pause for an involuntary shudder) as the only reason, almost 80 years after its repeal, that the entire country isn't full of drunken stumble-bums.

He also seems to believe that every law passed to control the use of alcohol has been co-opted by the brewing industry, so that its final result is nowhere near the intent of the law's design. Never mind that very few laws actually do exactly what they were intended to do, right? Well, except for the law of Unintended Consequences.

According to the author's conclusions, Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors control about 94% of the beer market, by owning or controlling the distribution of every beer but Sam Adams and local brew-pub down the block. And it is this control that will allow them to turn us all into drunks, by selling us cheap beer. For the record, I have been known to turn down even free Budweiser. Pay me 6 bucks a can and I might be tempted to have one or two, but only if I am allowed a couple of Dunkels in between to cleanse my palette.

But I digress.

Our author also attacks the English system of brewery owned pubs. When I was there a few years ago (early 80's if you must be specific) there were three types of pubs; Brewery owned; Brewery affiliated and Free Houses, that could sell any brand of beer. The pub would include that information on it's sign; 'The White Hart- Green King' or 'The Bird in Hand- Free House' Some of the Brewery owned places I remember visiting were just stores for the beer; brightly lit, antiseptic, uncomfortable places to drink beer. Usually a newer building, they were the corporate interpretation of a pub.

The affiliated pubs were nicer. Usually older- in a country where old is a thousand years- and well-kept, they were great places to have a pint. As long as you enjoyed the products of that brewery. Green King was a big East Anglican brewer, and a lot of the locals were Green King at the time. I recall liking a pint or two of their Light and Bitter, a mix of a light lager and a darker Bitters beer. But ask for a Carlsberg and you're out of luck.

The Free Houses were a mixed lot. Usually they were less well kept; one; because of the lack of brewery support adding to the profit margins, and two; because they usually attracted a younger, more raucous crowd.

Personally, I think there a lot to be said for the practice of a vertical monopoly. Each step in the distribution chain takes a little profit out of the process; if all steps are owned by the same entity, then that little bit of profit is rolled into one bit of profit. For instance; assume Coors brews a beer, and makes a penny on each can they sell to a distributor, who makes a penny on each can they sell to a bar, who makes a penny on each can they sell to a customer; total of 3 cents added to each can. If Coors sold the beer to the customer, they could still make their penny, and the customer saves two cents.

Face it; there are two trains of thought in this country; One; you are an irresponsible lout, and the only thing keeping you from a life of intolerable errors is the government controlling every aspect of your life. The other side of the coin says we will make all sorts of things available to you; your use or abuse of those things is your responsibility. Personally I am a member of Camp B.

Our author is most definitely a Camp A person. I would think that a flood of cheap beer would be a plus for the country; especially since we are facing a second Obama Administ.... 'Regime' (hey; sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, right?), where as he seems to believe we couldn't handle cheap beer without sinking into alcoholism.

Remember how I said I disagreed with almost all of his conclusions? Well, I do agree with his conclusion that having only 2 entities controlling the entire brewing industry could be a bad thing. Which is why I drink local craft beers every chance I get. To much control in too few hands is always an issue. And what if MillerCoors fails somehow; maybe though a Union strike?

I might have to quit drinking beer.

FRRIIIDDDAAAYYYYY!!!!!!!

It has been a day. I just now was able to sit down for a few minutes. Nothing earth shattering; just general busy.

But I hate a busy Friday. Especially a busy Friday night. Friday night is the night I like to vegetate. And I usually like to start vegetating at 6:00, not 7:30.

I am working on big post for tomorrow- involving beer!- but tonight will be a short one.

I started a special project at work yesterday, that I had to restart 3 or 4 times in order to get the entire thing right. Not a big deal, but it will take some time. One of those time consuming, tedious things. But very important, and requiring a person of experience, requiring a decision on each part of the process that will affect the clients and our work in the future.

I hate projects like that. A PITA to do, but can't be delegated.

That was one of the reasons I was looking forward to quitting time.

Another reason was that my local favorite liquor store has recently expanded, and as part of the expansion has added 24 beer taps to sell craft beers draft. I picked up a couple of growlers (half gallon jugs, like pictured above) of a pre-prohibition style lager that is going down quite well.

I can already feel the tight muscles in my neck and back starting to uncoil and my mind starting to clear of a million mundane details.

Ahhhhhh....

Friday Night. Two whole mornings before the grind begins again.

ReStore Score

The Cincinnati Chapter of Habitat for Humanity has a series of stores that sell home goods and building supplies they call the ReStore. Some are new, others used or antique. They also have appliances, both new and used. Until today all of the stores were on the Ohio side of the river, and since the only thing I buy up there is Yuegling Beer, I never had the opportunity to visit.

Today they opened a store on the good side of the river out on US 42, on left just past Mall Road. If you're local, those are enough directions. If your not local, what the Hell do you care where it's located? Since I was out in the Florence area anyway dropping in to see the grandsons I decided to stop by.

I probably shouldn't have. I could have spent $500 in there today. As it was, I spent just over $100. But what a deal! I also agree with the premise; donate the used stuff that still has life in to save space n the landfills and to allow cheapskates like me access to inexpensive, quality goods. Plus, whoever does the donating gets to cheat Obama out of a few bucks. Win-Win- WIN!!!!!

I have been needing a new garage door. The old one is still serviceable. Meaning it does go up and down, and does at least block the hole when its down. Somewhat. More or less. Its an old wood door, probably from the late 1960's, so it has done its duty and ready to retire.

But I was having issues buying a new one. $250 for a cheap one; $5-600 for a decent one. Chunk of change, to replace one that still worked. Somewhat. More or less.

Then today walking around the ReStore between the $15 ceiling fans and the $5 fluorescent light fixtures are new garage doors. Brand and style aren't important, but the doors that I have been seeing at Lowes and Home Depot in the $600 range are here for $145.00. Now that's a deal!

But wait! There's MORE!!!

Because this is the inaugural weekend, they are giving you, GIVING you I say, another 20% off of that price! Okay; I thought I had a deal before, but now's it's REALLY a DEAL!!!!

But wait; there's MORE!

IF you donate a can good too the Freestore Foodbank, they will take off another 10%!!!!

So I grabbed a garage door and two cans of green beans from the trunk, called my son- who lives close and has a minivan, and purchased myself a $600 garage door for.....

$107.00, tax title and warranty; out the door. I also couldn't resist, and bought 2 fluorescent light fixtures, complete with 4 bulbs, for $7.42. 8 bulbs would cost twice that at Home Depot.

Plus they were giving away free hot dogs, metts and brauts, so I was able to chow down on a hot dog and a couple of brauts while I was at it. No sauerkraut or horseradish, but still, for that price, who am I to complain?

So to recap: I got a $600 garage door and $80 worth of light fixtures for less than $120 bucks, plus a free lunch, and I helped out a charity that actually does good work that I support all in one afternoon.

I am hoping you stopped reading a few paragraphs ago and have already grabbed you keys.

If you haven't, then you must have more money than Romney.

If It Says Lite, It Ain't Beer

Okay; I had to share my thoughts on this post at Hot Air.

We can take this one of two ways; either Republicans are finally growing a pair (figuratively ladies) or we have an influx of new folks with a pair who are now identifying themselves as Republican.

I think we are looking at an influx of new Republicans, and we starting to out number the namby-pamby Republicans.

Me? Sam Adams is one of my lighter beers, and I ain't touching any beer with a fruit flavor. If I want a fruit flavor, I'll drink Kool-Aid.

As usual, the comments are worth reading.

One comment I had to agree with whole heartedly, from a commenter called coldwarrior:

Next week at this time I’ll be in an antiseptic environment surrounded by all sorts of folks who will be looking to examine, cut out/off body parts, radiate and flush chemicals all through me…and I think I finally figured out why.

That whole frat years, college days, early Army beer drinking, womanizing, day-old pizza eating lifestyle.

But…was it worth it?

Ohh, yeah….sure was.


It's like I always say: After all the fun I've shown this body through the years, why is it betraying me now?

Sunday Will Be a Day of Rest

Because Saturday sure wasn't.

We hit the road yesterday around 1:00 and didn't get home until 10:00 last night.

In between we drove almost an hour to hit a going-away party for a family member leaving for Army National Guard training, drove another hour to Mom's house for a family get together, and then left there to hit a fireworks display.

Which we had to leave early because we had the Young'un with us, and she suddenly announced that she 'had to good to the bathroom real, real bad', and refused to use anything but the bathroom at home.

The fireworks display was probably a once in a lifetime thing. and what we saw was spectacular. I tried to get a few photos, but things were too dark for my camera. I did manage to get one shot (yeah, that's from my phone camera), and you can see the Ohio River in the foreground. The colors were phenomenal. Some of the displays had an almost LED brilliance and color tone. Others were Gold and Orange; colors unusual in pyrotechnics, to me anyway.

We didn't go to Coney to watch the show; why pay to stand close to something you can see from across the river? For those who don't know, Coney Island is one of America's oldest Amusement Parks. Started as a picnic grove in the 1860's, by the 1950's Walt Disney was using Coney Island as a prototype for the original Disneyland. Located in a bend of the Ohio River, it is possible to stand on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River and watch the displays. I figured we would be pretty much alone watching the fireworks.

Boy was I wrong. An hour before showtime the spot we picked was filling up. By the time we left- just about halfway through the show- cars and people were lined up for miles in either direction. And it wasn't just the road and the railroad right of way that was crowded; the river was so full of boats I almost think I could have walked to the other side.

And that was only part of the drama. During a break in the show we all heard a loud 'THUMP'; a noise that brought a police response a few minutes later. Rumor was a plane had crashed just up the road. I found out this morning that those rumors were true.

I have been searching the news all morning, trying to find some video of the show, and to find out who won, but no luck.

 I'm rooting for whichever country had the gold colored shots; they were incredible.

If they hold this competition here again next year, I'm there. 

A Busy Saturday Morning

This morning I am sitting on my back porch, listening to the rain hit the roof. I like sitting on the porch in the mornings, drinking my first cup of tea and enjoying the waking world. Usually I can watch the birds flitting about on their birdy business, and watch the squirrels run along the trees.

But today the weather has kept them indoors, or at least they're not playing out in the rain.

The weather almost kept me in as well. It is about 60 degrees, and when the breeze blows it feels a little chilly. But I have my tea to keep me warm. And the battery from my laptop.

I like a covered porch. Like this morning, I can be sitting on the porch swing, watch the breeze shift the tops of the trees and see the rain hit each leaf as the drops head to the ground; feel the cool damp air and feel like I am a part of nature.

While being dry and comfortable. Better than camping out.

It took me all summer, but I finally have Morning Glory blooms. I don't see them most mornings; I'm always in a rush to get to work by the time I leave the house. No time to stop and see the Glories. There is most likely a metaphor there, but if there is I'll let you work it out.

But this morning the rain has dampen their spirits some. each bloom is hanging down, and not stretching out to reach the morning sun.

I planted them late, around Memorial Day, which explains why I didn't get my first blooms until almost Labor Day. I also must have been mistaken, or planted the wrong variety. I believe my Dad had some Morning Glories planted on the sunset side of the house, and they would open in he evenings, when the full sun hit them. Mine are on the sunset side of the house. I was hoping to have a grand display of blooms every evening, while I was rocking on the porch with a cigar, and enjoying the end of the day. But, it didn't work out this year.

Really, otherwise, why plant a flower you can only enjoy 2 days a week?

Free Tickets to the Ballet! Want 'em?

Certain people enjoy certain things, and will not enjoy certain other things.

Take for instance Opera. I enjoy Classical music, but cannot stand Opera. Maybe because it sounds so much like a bunch of furriners shouting at each other. But that's not my point.

If you did a VENN diagram of the folks who liked Opera overlapped with the folks who liked, say... NASCAR, there would be a very small overlap. I haven't done a study obviously, but the basics are there. Opera represents the highest of culture to most folks. It is the purview of the upper- crust. Along with Ballet, they are considered the highest of performing arts.

And anybody who would consider a Sunday afternoon watching 30 cars speed around a 2 mile track for 500 miles in the broiling heat not just Heaven, but a Heaven he would pay to attend, would also consider 2 hours at the Ballet a torture he (or she) would pay to avoid.

The question then becomes: Nature or Nurture? Are we genetically predisposed to enjoy one or the other, or are we raised that way?

Sports are similar. There are guys who will sleep eat and talk baseball for 12 months out of the year, and not even know what Wimbledon is. Or the Olympics. Is that also a high-brow/low-brow split do you think?

There are always outliers. There will always be the one individual who can discuss tennis as easily as he can football, baseball or soccer. and there will always be the the individual who knows as many stats about NASCAR as he does the various steps in Ballet.

Nature, or Nurture? Or, for the folks with a foot in both worlds, does their Nature pull them one way, and their Nurture push them in another?

Looking Forward to a Rainy Saturday

While I was out on the Internets Sunday I watched the video from the Washington Post on the new Chevy Volt from the article I linked to earlier today.

As soon as the Chevy video stopped another one started, linking to this article. Who knew I was an early adopter?

My brother introduced me to Settlers of Catan probably 10 years ago. If I've ever won a game I can't recall. I really don't think I have. I think my brother just plays against me and the rest of his brothers so he has somebody to beat.

In some respects the game is like Chinese Checkers; very simple rules, multiple players each working for possession of a portion of the board, all working at the same time and using one another to eke out a victory.

Except you don't roll the dice in Chinese Checkers; although that would add an interesting dimension. But, I digress.

The game play is easy in theory, difficult in practice. There are 5 resources and who gets how much of each resource is determined by a roll of the dice. Each game is different. In one game a 6 may get you 2 sheep; in the next you'll get one wheat. Some games sheep are scare; the next its wood. and you need various quantities and combinations of the resources to move ahead.

Some assets remain hidden, so dealing with your opponents becomes like poker game. You need to be able to read the 'tells' of when somebody has a strong position or a weak position and use that information to your benefit.

The sets are well made and set up and tear down easily. you do need a solid playing surface, so the game board won't move when somebody sets down their beer, but otherwise its a play anywhere game; no TV or electricity required.

A great way to spend an hour or so on rainy Saturday.

And I guarantee everybody will laugh the first time a player says "I've got wood for sheep".

A Fast Weekend

This weekend was a fast one. I relly have no idea where it all went, but I do have some clues.

I bought 2 6 packs of Hofbraus Haus beer on Friday; both of them are gone.

The piece of trim that fell of the right rear door of my car is back on, and the rust spots that had developed over the last year are gone too.

All of the flower beds are weeded, and, although I can see them, I know there are some new seeds planted that I was permitted to help the Young'Un plant. Basically that means I was the one who cleaned up the tools and got in trouble for her being muddy.

There is a new pull rope on the weedeater, so it runs now. All the sidewalk cracks have been sprayed with roundup and the concete swept.

And the balky lock on the tool shed is fixed.

I also found a new ceiling fan in the living room this morning.

And apparently at some point I got my haircut.

No wonder I felt like hell this morning!

Will This Work?

I have had some complaints about the aesthetics of my previous post, and calls for something a little more photogenic.

I hope this helps.

I also will say when I opened up the blog on my iPhone last night and that picture popped up I thought something hairy had eaten my phone, so I'm more than happy to oblige.

This picture is one of mine, taken last spring of one of the peonys in my front yard.

Guess Where I Was Today?

The Wife and I took the Granddaughter over to the Cincinnati Museum Center today. I figured it would be a good time. It was a weekday and I was on vacation, so it should have been fun.

After all, it was just us. And what felt like a half million of our closest friends.

Seriously, the place was so crowded you could not walk anywhere in the Children's Museum. The Ball Room was 3 deep at every device, the Play City was overrun completely and the Building Zone was full as well. There is a place where you stack some foam blocks to build an arch. Two kids were playing with half the blocks, so we couldn't build it; a fact we didn't discover until half of the arch was up. And the punk kids' parents didn't say a word about it.

Over at the building panels area the Young'un searched for 5 minutes for a hammer so she could play with the nails and panels. She finally found one and was just ready to start banging away when a little boy came over to where she had picked up the hammer with a hand full of parts. He started looking around and asked his brother- Where's my Hammer?. Without prompting the Young'un promptly handed it back to him. She knew who's hammer it was.

It was like that everywhere in that place. We finally left and went to the other Museums, which were almost as bad.

The picture is from the main rotunda showing one half of the mural that spans the half dome, showing the progress from early settlers to the modern (1933) day. Done as a fresco with tile as accents these were only the largest of the murals done by Reinhold Weiss. Back in the concourse- where the train gates were- there were a series of murals depicting various 1933 Cincinnati manufacturing processes. When the concourse was torn down in the 1970's all of the murals were moved to the Greater Cincinnati airport. Unfortunately modern travel restrictions mean they are almost as viewable as if they had disappeared with the concourse.

One interesting display that is new since the last time I was there was down in the Museum of Natural History. There was a Dinosaur skeleton- an Allosauraus, if I remember correctly- that was compared to a modern Chicken.

Yep, a chicken. Apparently modern science now believes that dinosaurs aren't extinct; they survive as modern birds. Which is something I have been saying for years. Anybody has ever seen the claw of a rooster will have no trouble believing chickens are actually dinosaurs.

But just imagine a T-Rex with feathers.