This weekend saw The Better Half's mom's 92nd birthday. The big present was that she passed her driver's test (after 87, Illinois drivers have to take the actual driving exam with an instructor. Makes good sense to me.). She doesn't have the best eyesight, but she only drives to church and a couple of other civic functions that she knows how to get to. We drive her for shopping and any big trips out of town.
The 'wild celebration' consisted of dinner out at a local family-style place with just me, TBH, her mom, and her mom's boyfriend/companion, Bob. He's a relative youngster at 88 (bloody cougars!) and in many ways he's a bit more frail than she is. They still go to senior citizens' dances and functions. Bob got off the music train about 1946 and is not a big fan of recorded music and music with them noisy, newfangled guitars, so it's getting harder for them to find functions to go to. The people in their 60's these days cut their teeth on the first acts of rock n' roll on 45rpm platters, so the music and atmosphere at a lot of the places they go to are changing.
See what we all have to look forward to?
Bob is one of those types who pretty much tells the same stories every time we see him. Most of you know the type because most of you probably know someone like that or, even better, have somebody like that in the family. He's done an arseload of interesting stuff and been a lot of places in this world. The problem is that I've heard all of these stories at least half a dozen times, so it doesn't really catch my interest any more. TBH is really good at acting like it's the first time she's heard a particular story.
But what to do with someone like that? Really, the only thing you can do is let them go on. Again, we're all going where they're at, and we'll want the respect from our youngers.
He does delight in telling us that he's never applied for a job. He grew up in a time when a person could get a good job right out of high school, and he managed to become the youngest apprentice machinist at Rock Island Arsenal when the Arsenal was gearing up for WWII. He got drafted into the Navy, showed better aptitude at math and basic electronics than his instructor, and when most of his class headed off to the Fleet, he and a cadre were sent to Texas A&M University for advanced training, then he made the big time.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Radiation Laboratory, the birthplace of American radar, where projects like radar-controlled guns and proximity fuses were being developed. Big stuff. When in Boston, his group was shunted away to a nondescript downtown location. Real spy-type stuff, with secret entrances, a guard, and a warning to Keep His Mouth Shut-in the days when talking too much could earn a person a comabt assignment of the court-martial board was feeling generous, or a stretch at Leavenworth or Yerba Buena if they weren't. When there, these guys developed, built, and did manuals for the first Airborne Early Warning aircraft-Project Cadillac and Cadillac II. These were Avengers and B-17 Flying Fortresses with big, tempermental, cumbersome long-range radar sets, used to detect large kamikaze formations heading for our and our allies' ships. Those first planes were the ancestors of today's E-3 and Hawkeye AWACS craft used by our armed forces and those of our allies today.
Pretty cool, huh? Actually, it's a fascinating tale and should be put in a book. That bunch contributed in no small way to our winning WWII and are responsible for an important, no, vital, part of our air defenses today.
After the seventh or eighth time hearing this, though....well, not so interesting to me. And if I were you, gentle reader, I wouldn't laugh-for I might trundle this post out as a repeat a few dozen times. I have to hear the story, so do you! But I suspect many of you could relate a story you've heard from some older friend or relative, and relate it by heart because you've heard at every holiday or get-together. It's one of those things-you get tired of hearing those same tales, then the person dies and you say 'Remember when Uncle Dave (Aunt Sue, Grandpa Tom, whoever) used to talk about...'. I suppose out of such things mythologies are created.
And that, kids, was my weekend. Got a story you hear at every family event? Bring it on!
yankeedog out.
11 October 2010
04 October 2010
The Great Ride of '89
One of the great autumn events to be in on is the hayride-you know, get a hayrack, throw a few bales of hay on it, get your friends together, and find yourself a nice stretch of country road where you won't be in the way of traffic (and the traffic won't be in the way of you). Add a cool, crisp, clear night-and possibly some liquids to offset cool, crisp, and clear-and you have a recipe for a great evening!
In about a week, various organizations will start doing haunted hayrides, where the passengers are driven through a dark field or patch of woods and various ghosts, ghouls, maniacs, and zombies will endeavor to scare the crap out of them-or drive that girl into her date's arms, because that's one of the reasons for couples of any age to go out in that thar haunted woodlot-where people go in....but they don't come out! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Great fun.
Some places offer a more family-friendly ride, where the main attraction is simply to go out for that rustic, 'country' experience, take the kids to see some farm animals, and maybe pick up some apples, honey, and a pumpkin to carve up into a jack-o'-lantern. Those are enjoyable as well, if a bit tame.
The hayrides I've been on leaned a bit toward debauchery, such as in the Great Ride of '89.
A coworker of mine at the time lived on a farm out in the deepest reaches of Lee County, Illinois. His folks farmed nearby, so he had access to a hay wagon, no close-by neighbors, and plenty of space. I remember that it was a perfect night to be out. We loaded the guest of honor on the wagon-the keg-and then we found places among the bales and under blankets as we took off. I'd like to tell you great detail about the things we saw and about how beautiful the evening was. Truth be told, a good portion of the night was a blur. I remember belting out 'You Shook Me All Night Long', possibly better than Brian Johnson ever did in all his years with the boys from Down Under. (And, really, who DOESN'T have Back In Black in their collection of albums to party to?) We stopped at one of the two bars in the nearest town, Sublette. I believe someone was buying shots of tequila. Now, tequila is a fine fluid. You can use it to thin paint, or remove grease stains, or run a lawnmower. If it were drinkable, it would be perfect. What to do if someone's buying the shots, though? You have to drink up and pretend to like it. Several times. Fair enough. I'd consumed most of a bottle of cinnamon schnapps and apple cider before we left.
Somewhere along the way, my buddy Dave lost his glasses at one of the pee stops we made on the way back to Chuck's digs. As far as I know, those glasses are still there, lying along a gravel road or fencerow somewher between Sublette and Amboy.
Of course, men are lucky when it comes to stopping along the road to take a leak-just stand there and let fly. The ladies were forced to find cover and squat. Calls for some measure of markswomanship not to pee all over clothes and such.
By and by we got back to Chuck's. All that beer, schnapps, and tequila didn't mix well-never mix your alcohols, kids-and I think I vomited in Chuck's yard. He and his wife, Kelli, were kind enough to pour me onto a foldaway bed in the living room.
The next day, those of us that stayed all night went to a pancake breakfast at a church. I'm sure we made a good impression-hay in our clothes and hair, breath like jet fuel fumes, and headaches in the kiloton range. But the people there took our money, and we chowed down pancakes, homemade sausage, and coffee. Lots of coffee.
That's about what I remember from that hayride. We did Hayride 2: Electric Boogaloo the next year, but somehow it wasn't quite as much fun. I do remember our guy TC and one of the young ladies from the office ended up in the hayloft. Well, what happens in the hayloft stays in the hayloft. TC was in the Navy at the time. A good guy he was, but no genius, and I wouldn't have let him run a toy boat in a bathtub. The Navy made him a member of the Presidential Honor Guard, so at least he cut a fine figure in dress whites, and he couldn't hurt himself or anybody else in the middle of Washington, DC.
So when October rolls around, I think back to the simpler times back then and smile. I'm told I had a good time, so I'll take everyone's word for it.
I'll end this post with-well, you know the song we HAVE to end with!
yankeedog out.
In about a week, various organizations will start doing haunted hayrides, where the passengers are driven through a dark field or patch of woods and various ghosts, ghouls, maniacs, and zombies will endeavor to scare the crap out of them-or drive that girl into her date's arms, because that's one of the reasons for couples of any age to go out in that thar haunted woodlot-where people go in....but they don't come out! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Great fun.
Some places offer a more family-friendly ride, where the main attraction is simply to go out for that rustic, 'country' experience, take the kids to see some farm animals, and maybe pick up some apples, honey, and a pumpkin to carve up into a jack-o'-lantern. Those are enjoyable as well, if a bit tame.
The hayrides I've been on leaned a bit toward debauchery, such as in the Great Ride of '89.
A coworker of mine at the time lived on a farm out in the deepest reaches of Lee County, Illinois. His folks farmed nearby, so he had access to a hay wagon, no close-by neighbors, and plenty of space. I remember that it was a perfect night to be out. We loaded the guest of honor on the wagon-the keg-and then we found places among the bales and under blankets as we took off. I'd like to tell you great detail about the things we saw and about how beautiful the evening was. Truth be told, a good portion of the night was a blur. I remember belting out 'You Shook Me All Night Long', possibly better than Brian Johnson ever did in all his years with the boys from Down Under. (And, really, who DOESN'T have Back In Black in their collection of albums to party to?) We stopped at one of the two bars in the nearest town, Sublette. I believe someone was buying shots of tequila. Now, tequila is a fine fluid. You can use it to thin paint, or remove grease stains, or run a lawnmower. If it were drinkable, it would be perfect. What to do if someone's buying the shots, though? You have to drink up and pretend to like it. Several times. Fair enough. I'd consumed most of a bottle of cinnamon schnapps and apple cider before we left.
Somewhere along the way, my buddy Dave lost his glasses at one of the pee stops we made on the way back to Chuck's digs. As far as I know, those glasses are still there, lying along a gravel road or fencerow somewher between Sublette and Amboy.
Of course, men are lucky when it comes to stopping along the road to take a leak-just stand there and let fly. The ladies were forced to find cover and squat. Calls for some measure of markswomanship not to pee all over clothes and such.
By and by we got back to Chuck's. All that beer, schnapps, and tequila didn't mix well-never mix your alcohols, kids-and I think I vomited in Chuck's yard. He and his wife, Kelli, were kind enough to pour me onto a foldaway bed in the living room.
The next day, those of us that stayed all night went to a pancake breakfast at a church. I'm sure we made a good impression-hay in our clothes and hair, breath like jet fuel fumes, and headaches in the kiloton range. But the people there took our money, and we chowed down pancakes, homemade sausage, and coffee. Lots of coffee.
That's about what I remember from that hayride. We did Hayride 2: Electric Boogaloo the next year, but somehow it wasn't quite as much fun. I do remember our guy TC and one of the young ladies from the office ended up in the hayloft. Well, what happens in the hayloft stays in the hayloft. TC was in the Navy at the time. A good guy he was, but no genius, and I wouldn't have let him run a toy boat in a bathtub. The Navy made him a member of the Presidential Honor Guard, so at least he cut a fine figure in dress whites, and he couldn't hurt himself or anybody else in the middle of Washington, DC.
So when October rolls around, I think back to the simpler times back then and smile. I'm told I had a good time, so I'll take everyone's word for it.
I'll end this post with-well, you know the song we HAVE to end with!
yankeedog out.
30 September 2010
Here's to 50 years...
...of The Flintstones, that modern Stone Age family!
First created and aired in 1960, The Flintstones was something of an animated version of Jackie Gleason's famous mid 1950's series, The Honeymooners, set in a Neolithic version of Middle America. Although I'm sure the kids back then enjoyed the show, most of the humor was aimed at adults and looked at through the lens of history, was pretty topical, with many popular celebrities and institutions of the day immortalized in animation. The Flintstones paved the way for cartoon shows like The Simpsons, Futurama, and South Park. A couple of years later, Hanna-Barbera Studios would repeat the formula with The Jetsons, and set it in a future full of robots, rockets, and flying cars, which of course we're all still waiting for.
I remember watching The Flintstones when I was a kid, and I still enjoy the show. I like the original-don't give me Pebbles and Bam-Bam or The Flintstone Kids-some things you just get right the first time and can't improve on. And I like The Flintstones over The Jetsons, though it's fairly close. It might be like The Munsters vs The Addams Family. Each show, though similar in concept, probably has its loyal core of fans. Personally, I liked The Addams Family better. If you're a Munsters guy, well, we all have our flaws and failings and that's the way life is. Seriously...both were fun shows to watch.
Anyhow...Happy 50th to Fred, Wilma, Barney, Betty, Pebbles, Bam-Bam, and Dino!
Now I happen to like the Harvey Birdman episode, The Dabba Don, with a little different spin on Fred Flintstone-a Fred Flintstone mixed with Tony Soprano- and a different intro:
Love it!
-----------
My brother picked me up a box of stuff from an auction, which ordinarily wouldn't thrill me, but when I opened it, there were a whole bunch of ThinBooks! ThinBooks are great, because you can have a whole library of them and they take up about two feet of shelf space.
Here's one. It's called After Vanuatu, by some guy named Sheffield? Manchester? Sounds like the name of an English city-whatever, I can't remember. The plot involves a mysterious Wave that causes everyone on the island of Vanuatu to disappear. How will the world react to this vacuum? Well, I'll read it to you and we'll see:
AFTER VANUATU
The patrol vessel Ambush circled the island of Vanuatu. Nothing alive moved on the tiny speck of land.
"They appear to all be...gone, sir."
"A shame. Well, where will we build the resort?"
THE END
I dunno. Maybe expand on it and use a bigger country and you'd have something. But that's a ThinBook.
What else have we got here...let's see...The Chicago Cubs-The Championship Years. Good, I like baseball. Your Government's Guide to Fiscal Responsibility. Like to hear how the government takes care of our tax dollars. The Swiss Navy and Sea Power. Military history-awesome. Advanced Acting Techniques by Shatner. I'd like to try acting someday. Stephen King's How to Write a Short Novel. Custer's Indian Fighting Field Manual. I Was A White Guy On The Harlem Globetrotters. Abstinence And You by Bill Clinton. A rarity here-Why We Need Religious Tolerance, printed by the Iranian Government Printing Office. The Greenland Tourist Guide. The New Jersey Tourist Guide. The Ipswich Tourist Guide. Yahoo Serious-Rising Star. A Canadian Love Poem To America. How To Take Care Of Your Dodo Bird. Great Fashions of the 1970's.
These are going to give me MINUTES of great reading! Can anyone out there suggest some ThinBook titles I should be looking for?
Do svidaniya!
yankeedog out.
First created and aired in 1960, The Flintstones was something of an animated version of Jackie Gleason's famous mid 1950's series, The Honeymooners, set in a Neolithic version of Middle America. Although I'm sure the kids back then enjoyed the show, most of the humor was aimed at adults and looked at through the lens of history, was pretty topical, with many popular celebrities and institutions of the day immortalized in animation. The Flintstones paved the way for cartoon shows like The Simpsons, Futurama, and South Park. A couple of years later, Hanna-Barbera Studios would repeat the formula with The Jetsons, and set it in a future full of robots, rockets, and flying cars, which of course we're all still waiting for.
I remember watching The Flintstones when I was a kid, and I still enjoy the show. I like the original-don't give me Pebbles and Bam-Bam or The Flintstone Kids-some things you just get right the first time and can't improve on. And I like The Flintstones over The Jetsons, though it's fairly close. It might be like The Munsters vs The Addams Family. Each show, though similar in concept, probably has its loyal core of fans. Personally, I liked The Addams Family better. If you're a Munsters guy, well, we all have our flaws and failings and that's the way life is. Seriously...both were fun shows to watch.
Anyhow...Happy 50th to Fred, Wilma, Barney, Betty, Pebbles, Bam-Bam, and Dino!
Now I happen to like the Harvey Birdman episode, The Dabba Don, with a little different spin on Fred Flintstone-a Fred Flintstone mixed with Tony Soprano- and a different intro:
Love it!
-----------
My brother picked me up a box of stuff from an auction, which ordinarily wouldn't thrill me, but when I opened it, there were a whole bunch of ThinBooks! ThinBooks are great, because you can have a whole library of them and they take up about two feet of shelf space.
Here's one. It's called After Vanuatu, by some guy named Sheffield? Manchester? Sounds like the name of an English city-whatever, I can't remember. The plot involves a mysterious Wave that causes everyone on the island of Vanuatu to disappear. How will the world react to this vacuum? Well, I'll read it to you and we'll see:
AFTER VANUATU
The patrol vessel Ambush circled the island of Vanuatu. Nothing alive moved on the tiny speck of land.
"They appear to all be...gone, sir."
"A shame. Well, where will we build the resort?"
THE END
I dunno. Maybe expand on it and use a bigger country and you'd have something. But that's a ThinBook.
What else have we got here...let's see...The Chicago Cubs-The Championship Years. Good, I like baseball. Your Government's Guide to Fiscal Responsibility. Like to hear how the government takes care of our tax dollars. The Swiss Navy and Sea Power. Military history-awesome. Advanced Acting Techniques by Shatner. I'd like to try acting someday. Stephen King's How to Write a Short Novel. Custer's Indian Fighting Field Manual. I Was A White Guy On The Harlem Globetrotters. Abstinence And You by Bill Clinton. A rarity here-Why We Need Religious Tolerance, printed by the Iranian Government Printing Office. The Greenland Tourist Guide. The New Jersey Tourist Guide. The Ipswich Tourist Guide. Yahoo Serious-Rising Star. A Canadian Love Poem To America. How To Take Care Of Your Dodo Bird. Great Fashions of the 1970's.
These are going to give me MINUTES of great reading! Can anyone out there suggest some ThinBook titles I should be looking for?
Do svidaniya!
yankeedog out.
28 September 2010
Imperfect Perfect
Whoda thunk it? The only undefeated team in the National Conference of the NFL is our Chicago Bears. 3-0 after beating Green Bay 20-17. Actually, the Pack beat themselves with 18 penalties-way too many for what is supposed to be a contending team.
That the Bears are 3-0 is probably more of an indictment on the NFC being not very strong this year. In fact, I haven't seen ANY team in either conference look all that dominating. This might be a bit of a down year in the NFL. Perhaps they've accomplished the goal of parity in the league-or mediocrity.
As for the Bears themselves, there are still some of the problems from last year. The offensive line can't protect Jay Cutler. Cutler himself is still prone to trying to make a play happen that got busted at the start and tossing an interception. The tackling reminds me uncomfortably of a bunch playing school intramural flag football. They wrap around and the ball carrier bulls forward another five yards after the tackle.
On the other hand, teams that have successful seasons do get their share of breaks along the way. So we'll see. I need to see another couple of weeks before I start beating the drum big time for the Orange and Blue.
-------
Sad to hear about our Doc Yobbo having to deal with that which Lance Armstrong fought. Good luck, Doc. It's fairly easy to recover from that particular cancer, but still not great fun. First Al, then Tricia, now the Doc. No more maladies from anyone for a while! That's an order!
-------
A minor story here involves a possible pumpkin shortage here in Illinois. The weather around here was too wet for optimum pumpkin growth this summer, so the crop isn't what it has been in past years. The pumpkin, of course, is the symbol of Autumn and Halloween. Most people just buy one to carve a jack-o'-lantern for Halloween then after October 31 give it to their kids to toss in the street. Of course, most pumpkins are grown then made into pie filling (mmmm-pumpkin pie...drool). You can bake them like a squash, with brown sugar and bacon (bacon being the universal flavor enhancer), and roast the seeds for a snack.
I'll just bet as I get to the farm stands this fall, all of them have pumpkins stacked up in a great orange wall. There never really seems to be a shortage of the things, so I'll believe there's a shortage when I see it-or don't, as the case may be. It does seem to have been a good year for apples, at least so far. The orchards look to be full.
------
Finally, we finish with another episode of 'Pimp My Military Vehicle'.
This week, it's the BRDM-2, classic 4-wheel-drive Soviet built recon vehicle. It serves in a lot of the armies of the world as a scout car, anti-aircraft missile carrier, anti-tank vehicle, and (in incompetent hands) as a mobile target for your A-10 and helo jockies. For those of you not familiar, it looks like this:
Take one, strip it down to zero, give it a snappy repaint, some chrome, lights, and some tender loving funky, and you get this:
Sweet! The perfect vehicle to cruise the main drag, drive to the store or out on the town, and still robust enough to take up to Wisconsin to deer camp come hunting season! I'd have chromed the wheels as well. Maybe put in a kit to make it bounce, too.
But what about the interior, YD? Everyone knows Soviet vehicles aren't built for comfort!
Oh, yes, the inside has been redone as well.
The stock version, right out of the showroom:
You can't be representin' with some shit milspec interior! Little more chrome, some rewiring, and a DEE-luxe bucket seat-and it ends up like this:
Awesometown! We'd look great cruising around in in our whack BRDM! The owner probably put in a kickass sound system as well, with big speakers so the bass reverbs in your gut as you wheel around town-something like this blaring:
And the people in the next car over saying "I'll thump your bass, you bastard!"
yankeedog out.
That the Bears are 3-0 is probably more of an indictment on the NFC being not very strong this year. In fact, I haven't seen ANY team in either conference look all that dominating. This might be a bit of a down year in the NFL. Perhaps they've accomplished the goal of parity in the league-or mediocrity.
As for the Bears themselves, there are still some of the problems from last year. The offensive line can't protect Jay Cutler. Cutler himself is still prone to trying to make a play happen that got busted at the start and tossing an interception. The tackling reminds me uncomfortably of a bunch playing school intramural flag football. They wrap around and the ball carrier bulls forward another five yards after the tackle.
On the other hand, teams that have successful seasons do get their share of breaks along the way. So we'll see. I need to see another couple of weeks before I start beating the drum big time for the Orange and Blue.
-------
Sad to hear about our Doc Yobbo having to deal with that which Lance Armstrong fought. Good luck, Doc. It's fairly easy to recover from that particular cancer, but still not great fun. First Al, then Tricia, now the Doc. No more maladies from anyone for a while! That's an order!
-------
A minor story here involves a possible pumpkin shortage here in Illinois. The weather around here was too wet for optimum pumpkin growth this summer, so the crop isn't what it has been in past years. The pumpkin, of course, is the symbol of Autumn and Halloween. Most people just buy one to carve a jack-o'-lantern for Halloween then after October 31 give it to their kids to toss in the street. Of course, most pumpkins are grown then made into pie filling (mmmm-pumpkin pie...drool). You can bake them like a squash, with brown sugar and bacon (bacon being the universal flavor enhancer), and roast the seeds for a snack.
I'll just bet as I get to the farm stands this fall, all of them have pumpkins stacked up in a great orange wall. There never really seems to be a shortage of the things, so I'll believe there's a shortage when I see it-or don't, as the case may be. It does seem to have been a good year for apples, at least so far. The orchards look to be full.
------
Finally, we finish with another episode of 'Pimp My Military Vehicle'.
This week, it's the BRDM-2, classic 4-wheel-drive Soviet built recon vehicle. It serves in a lot of the armies of the world as a scout car, anti-aircraft missile carrier, anti-tank vehicle, and (in incompetent hands) as a mobile target for your A-10 and helo jockies. For those of you not familiar, it looks like this:
Take one, strip it down to zero, give it a snappy repaint, some chrome, lights, and some tender loving funky, and you get this:
Sweet! The perfect vehicle to cruise the main drag, drive to the store or out on the town, and still robust enough to take up to Wisconsin to deer camp come hunting season! I'd have chromed the wheels as well. Maybe put in a kit to make it bounce, too.
But what about the interior, YD? Everyone knows Soviet vehicles aren't built for comfort!
Oh, yes, the inside has been redone as well.
The stock version, right out of the showroom:
You can't be representin' with some shit milspec interior! Little more chrome, some rewiring, and a DEE-luxe bucket seat-and it ends up like this:
Awesometown! We'd look great cruising around in in our whack BRDM! The owner probably put in a kickass sound system as well, with big speakers so the bass reverbs in your gut as you wheel around town-something like this blaring:
And the people in the next car over saying "I'll thump your bass, you bastard!"
yankeedog out.
25 September 2010
Alright then...
...I see the last post went over poorly. Ah well-can't win 'em all.
Today, went to work in the morning, then spent the afternoon doing some demolishing and cleaning. Some people are good with a surgical laser, others with a watchmaker's set of screwdrivers. Me? I'm quite good with a recip saw. Not too bad for a Saturday.
Was a bit of a long day, so we grabbed a pizza to bring home. We stopped by the local Godfather's, which for a change actually had some people in it. The management was so happy by this turn of events that they didn't charge me for the Coors I had while I waited. Sometimes timing is everything.
I don't know why this Godfather's never has anyone patronizing them, because they make a pretty good pizza, for a chain place. Which brings me to the 'audience participation' part of the show.
I come to the place where you live. I want the best local pizza. Where do I go? It could be a franchise, or a locally owned establishment, or your own homemade. What's the 'best around'? Mind that I'm not really a pizza connoiseur-it's got to be truly awful before I'll turn it down.
A couple of places that are 'the pizza place of renown' around my stomping grounds aren't necessarily my favorites. They aren't 'bad', but they just aren't my favorites. In the QC's, Harris Pizza is consistently voted 'best in the area'. I can take it or leave it-every one I've ever had has been a bit lacking. I find it too conventional to be a signature effort. Again-I won't turn it down. But I won't make a trip to buy one, either.
The place back in Savanna, where I grew up, was Manny's. He makes a thin crust, which I like. It has enough grease in it to lube a car or fuel an oil lamp, which I can do without. Manny's is, hmm, renowned? for their speed. Most of you readers are Australian. If you called Manny's, ordered up, got on the plane, took the 19 hour flight to Chicago, then drove the three hours to Savanna, you'd probably only have to wait about an hour and a half after that to get your pizza. Fast ain't their strong suit. I believe the strategy is 'Come on in and order up. While you're here, have a pitcher of beer.' Nothing wrong with that. Just don't be particularly hungry.
That's our local pizza joints of note. What's yours?
Hmm. Didn't like the previous music? Well, that's all right. Maybe this tune from the summer of 1966 will sit better in your ears. I love the original, but a Boston band should be singing a song about that Dirty Water along the banks of the River Charles:
Better? Lovely.
Finally, a few vehicle pics that caught my eye:
All this juice tanker needs is an escort by Mad Max's customized Falcon. This semi is in Russia, but it'd look good cruising the interstate in Montana or out in the open spaces of New South Wales.
Speaking of Russia, this is a reproduction of a Lebednovo Tank from the WWI era. The thought was that the giant front wheels would allow the tank to easily cross trenches. What actually happened was that the powered rear wheel got stuck and the powertrain wasn't powerful enough to lift it out. Not to mention that said wheels are exposed for everyone with a rifle, grenade, or howitzer to take a shot at. It would look mighty damn cool fighting a Martian tripod, though!
I've heard it said that guns, artillery, rockets, and the like, are some sort of phallic symbol in the recesses of our psyches. If that's true, then some Soviet designer back in the 1950s had some serious issues going on. These self propelled pieces are mounting 420mm guns-or around 16 inches (!). That's the size of a battleship's main gun! A damn big piece of artillery to be trying to drive around. Story is that the nuclear weapons designers in the USSR were having a hard time trying to build a warhead small enough to fit a rocket. Hence putting a monster gun on an overloaded chassis. The vehicle would have had terrible mobility over anything other than a flat paved road, and one would think that the recoil would knock it over on its side. I believe these were later sold to Japan, where they were used in the Godzilla Campaign of 1957.
This car looks like the perfect vehicle to ride around the streets of the Manhattan Island prison, or drive headlong into a horde of zombies with, or scrounge a post-apocalyptic desert for a quart of gas, a few cans of beans, and that last issue of Playboy.
It's a tank! It's a motorcycle! It's a Kettenkrad tracked motorcycle from World War II, used by the Germans on all fronts. It has decent cross-country capability, thanks to its tracks. I'd like to ride one of these someday.
Finally, someone built this electric-powered replica of Luke Skywalker's landspeeder from Star Wars. Call me a nerd, but this would be awesome to drive around in! Think how much fun this would be if you got pulled over or stopped at a roadblock:
Officer: Do you know how fast you were going?
Driver (performs a peculiar motion with his fingers): I'm not the speeder you're looking for.
Officer (perplexed): You're not the speeder we were looking for.
Driver: We can go about our business now.
Officer: You can go about your business.
Driver: Move along.
Officer: Move along! Move along!
I bet you could get out of a lot of tickets if you had your own landspeeder.
yankeedog out.
Today, went to work in the morning, then spent the afternoon doing some demolishing and cleaning. Some people are good with a surgical laser, others with a watchmaker's set of screwdrivers. Me? I'm quite good with a recip saw. Not too bad for a Saturday.
Was a bit of a long day, so we grabbed a pizza to bring home. We stopped by the local Godfather's, which for a change actually had some people in it. The management was so happy by this turn of events that they didn't charge me for the Coors I had while I waited. Sometimes timing is everything.
I don't know why this Godfather's never has anyone patronizing them, because they make a pretty good pizza, for a chain place. Which brings me to the 'audience participation' part of the show.
I come to the place where you live. I want the best local pizza. Where do I go? It could be a franchise, or a locally owned establishment, or your own homemade. What's the 'best around'? Mind that I'm not really a pizza connoiseur-it's got to be truly awful before I'll turn it down.
A couple of places that are 'the pizza place of renown' around my stomping grounds aren't necessarily my favorites. They aren't 'bad', but they just aren't my favorites. In the QC's, Harris Pizza is consistently voted 'best in the area'. I can take it or leave it-every one I've ever had has been a bit lacking. I find it too conventional to be a signature effort. Again-I won't turn it down. But I won't make a trip to buy one, either.
The place back in Savanna, where I grew up, was Manny's. He makes a thin crust, which I like. It has enough grease in it to lube a car or fuel an oil lamp, which I can do without. Manny's is, hmm, renowned? for their speed. Most of you readers are Australian. If you called Manny's, ordered up, got on the plane, took the 19 hour flight to Chicago, then drove the three hours to Savanna, you'd probably only have to wait about an hour and a half after that to get your pizza. Fast ain't their strong suit. I believe the strategy is 'Come on in and order up. While you're here, have a pitcher of beer.' Nothing wrong with that. Just don't be particularly hungry.
That's our local pizza joints of note. What's yours?
Hmm. Didn't like the previous music? Well, that's all right. Maybe this tune from the summer of 1966 will sit better in your ears. I love the original, but a Boston band should be singing a song about that Dirty Water along the banks of the River Charles:
Better? Lovely.
Finally, a few vehicle pics that caught my eye:
All this juice tanker needs is an escort by Mad Max's customized Falcon. This semi is in Russia, but it'd look good cruising the interstate in Montana or out in the open spaces of New South Wales.
Speaking of Russia, this is a reproduction of a Lebednovo Tank from the WWI era. The thought was that the giant front wheels would allow the tank to easily cross trenches. What actually happened was that the powered rear wheel got stuck and the powertrain wasn't powerful enough to lift it out. Not to mention that said wheels are exposed for everyone with a rifle, grenade, or howitzer to take a shot at. It would look mighty damn cool fighting a Martian tripod, though!
I've heard it said that guns, artillery, rockets, and the like, are some sort of phallic symbol in the recesses of our psyches. If that's true, then some Soviet designer back in the 1950s had some serious issues going on. These self propelled pieces are mounting 420mm guns-or around 16 inches (!). That's the size of a battleship's main gun! A damn big piece of artillery to be trying to drive around. Story is that the nuclear weapons designers in the USSR were having a hard time trying to build a warhead small enough to fit a rocket. Hence putting a monster gun on an overloaded chassis. The vehicle would have had terrible mobility over anything other than a flat paved road, and one would think that the recoil would knock it over on its side. I believe these were later sold to Japan, where they were used in the Godzilla Campaign of 1957.
This car looks like the perfect vehicle to ride around the streets of the Manhattan Island prison, or drive headlong into a horde of zombies with, or scrounge a post-apocalyptic desert for a quart of gas, a few cans of beans, and that last issue of Playboy.
It's a tank! It's a motorcycle! It's a Kettenkrad tracked motorcycle from World War II, used by the Germans on all fronts. It has decent cross-country capability, thanks to its tracks. I'd like to ride one of these someday.
Finally, someone built this electric-powered replica of Luke Skywalker's landspeeder from Star Wars. Call me a nerd, but this would be awesome to drive around in! Think how much fun this would be if you got pulled over or stopped at a roadblock:
Officer: Do you know how fast you were going?
Driver (performs a peculiar motion with his fingers): I'm not the speeder you're looking for.
Officer (perplexed): You're not the speeder we were looking for.
Driver: We can go about our business now.
Officer: You can go about your business.
Driver: Move along.
Officer: Move along! Move along!
I bet you could get out of a lot of tickets if you had your own landspeeder.
yankeedog out.
23 September 2010
A load of crap for a Thursday
I'm tired tonight. Had a late night taking care of family stuff back in the old hometown (100km away). Didn't get home until 10:30ish, then up at 4:45am. I've been on the go since last Monday with various and sundry items. This weekend promises to be more of the same. Still, I think I'm going to bed early tonight.
I'm sort of wondering where the summer went. The Better Half planned and ran several church events for the children, which generally means that the Yankeedog Glorious Proletariat Labor Battalion gets drafted as well. Her aunt died in July and there was the cleanup (bureaucratic and furniture) involved with that, in addition to all the other stuff that goes along with having a passel of elderly relations. Oh, and business has picked up at work, so overtime, which I hate to pass up since it's paid OT.
It wasn't until driving up to Savanna a week or so ago and seeing the rapidly drying cornfields that it struck me-summer's over! Fall is here. The NFL will be starting Week 3. Modern Woodmen Park is all closed up, the 2010 Midwest League season ending. The trees are showing a twinge of color. There are combines in those cornfields. The apple orchards are opening for the season. Soon there'll be pumpkins for Halloween. The current crop of scoundrels are airing ads for the midterm and state elections.
But the summer just got here! What the hell?!? Time flies, and way too fast.
Now...time for YD's Musical Confession. I was listening to the radio driving down Route 84, late, when I heard John Denver's Rocky Mountain High. You know, he gets a bit of a bad rap, but I have to say I liked most of his music. He wasn't a guy you'd 'rock out' to, but he wasn't a rocker anyway. He was country/folk/regional, something of the Rockies version of Jimmy Buffett. I imagine he had that 'aw, shucks' squeaky-clean image that didn't really match his personality (he was on the fringes of the 60s rock scene, with all that entailed), and by today's standards his act is considered 'cheesy'. He WAS one of the biggest selling acts of the 1970's, though. He didn't buy up all of his own albums, so somebody out there is lying when they say 'John Denver. Hated him.'
Ah, well. You can laugh it up-but here's some music to pull up a chair by the fire and have a beer to:
To finish the trifecta, finally:
The USS Gallipoli is finished and ready for my project. Those microscopic decals are a pain but the final product looks good, in my own slightly humble opinion.
Now we're going to play 'Name My Other Models', cyberspace's favorite gameshow.
These two ships were some of the first ships created in Trek fandom, from 1975's Star Fleet Technical Manual. They were never seen in any of the series or the movies, but they're 'plausible'. I expect our Mr. Barnes will recognize these.
The three-nacelled ship on the left is a dreadnought, the heavy 'punch' ship of the Fleet. The ship on the right is a transport/tug, with two modular cargo containers. Actually makes sense-in space there's no need for streamlining.
I need names for the two. Y'all pick one for each ship. Majority wins.
Dreadnought: Federation NCC-2100, Commonwealth NCC-2117, Dominion NCC-2115
Transport/Tug: Ptolemy NCC-3801, Al Rashid NCC-3802, Hawking NCC-3805
I know. 'YD. Your geek is showing.' Like I said, tired. I ran out of gas. I, I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts. IT ISN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!!
yankeedog out.
I'm sort of wondering where the summer went. The Better Half planned and ran several church events for the children, which generally means that the Yankeedog Glorious Proletariat Labor Battalion gets drafted as well. Her aunt died in July and there was the cleanup (bureaucratic and furniture) involved with that, in addition to all the other stuff that goes along with having a passel of elderly relations. Oh, and business has picked up at work, so overtime, which I hate to pass up since it's paid OT.
It wasn't until driving up to Savanna a week or so ago and seeing the rapidly drying cornfields that it struck me-summer's over! Fall is here. The NFL will be starting Week 3. Modern Woodmen Park is all closed up, the 2010 Midwest League season ending. The trees are showing a twinge of color. There are combines in those cornfields. The apple orchards are opening for the season. Soon there'll be pumpkins for Halloween. The current crop of scoundrels are airing ads for the midterm and state elections.
But the summer just got here! What the hell?!? Time flies, and way too fast.
Now...time for YD's Musical Confession. I was listening to the radio driving down Route 84, late, when I heard John Denver's Rocky Mountain High. You know, he gets a bit of a bad rap, but I have to say I liked most of his music. He wasn't a guy you'd 'rock out' to, but he wasn't a rocker anyway. He was country/folk/regional, something of the Rockies version of Jimmy Buffett. I imagine he had that 'aw, shucks' squeaky-clean image that didn't really match his personality (he was on the fringes of the 60s rock scene, with all that entailed), and by today's standards his act is considered 'cheesy'. He WAS one of the biggest selling acts of the 1970's, though. He didn't buy up all of his own albums, so somebody out there is lying when they say 'John Denver. Hated him.'
Ah, well. You can laugh it up-but here's some music to pull up a chair by the fire and have a beer to:
To finish the trifecta, finally:
The USS Gallipoli is finished and ready for my project. Those microscopic decals are a pain but the final product looks good, in my own slightly humble opinion.
Now we're going to play 'Name My Other Models', cyberspace's favorite gameshow.
These two ships were some of the first ships created in Trek fandom, from 1975's Star Fleet Technical Manual. They were never seen in any of the series or the movies, but they're 'plausible'. I expect our Mr. Barnes will recognize these.
The three-nacelled ship on the left is a dreadnought, the heavy 'punch' ship of the Fleet. The ship on the right is a transport/tug, with two modular cargo containers. Actually makes sense-in space there's no need for streamlining.
I need names for the two. Y'all pick one for each ship. Majority wins.
Dreadnought: Federation NCC-2100, Commonwealth NCC-2117, Dominion NCC-2115
Transport/Tug: Ptolemy NCC-3801, Al Rashid NCC-3802, Hawking NCC-3805
I know. 'YD. Your geek is showing.' Like I said, tired. I ran out of gas. I, I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts. IT ISN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!!
yankeedog out.
21 September 2010
A topic I'm tired of...
...what to do with our homosexuals that want to serve in our armed forces.
The 'don't ask, don't tell' policy will stand for a while after a proposal to drop the policy (which was attached to this year's defense appropriation bill) got quashed in Congress.
I find most of the arguments against having gays openly serve in the military wearily familiar to a similar argument that raged in the defense establishment in the late 1940's, when President Truman signed the order to racially integrate the armed forces. Then, it was 'Blacks will degrade the ability of our armed forces to fight'. Now, it's 'Gays will degrade the ability of our armed forces to fight.'
Really? Based on what data?
Some of the things I hear asked or announced:
I never served with any gays and wouldn't want to!
I suspect many of our veterans have served with homosexuals and didn't know it. Not declaring your preference doesn't make it go away, it just makes it not a big topic of conversation around the barracks. Recently, the old hometown paper had an announcement of two guys who entered a 'civil union'. Both of them were Vietnam-era vets. Evidently they gave up their sexuality when they did their time and picked it up after they got out. They served with a lot of other guys and I doubt anyone they served with caught the gay from being in the same latrines or eating in the same mess hall. More power to them.
Having gays in the service will be detrimental to morale and fighting ability!
The Israeli Defense Force is regarded as pretty good, right? They've had to be, given that they're surrounded by a lot of people that don't like them. The Israelis have been very resourceful in using the abilities and talents of everyone in the country, which is why they allow gays to openly serve. Everything I've ever seen indicates that most of their troops don't think it's a big deal. I always figured that getting shot at or a missile lobbed your way kind of focused your attention toward surviving and taking care of your squadmates.
We'll have all kinds of sexual issues!
Please. I'm hetero. Not all women turn me on. Why should it be any different for gays/lesbians? Sorry, I just don't see that as an issue. Now, if we catch one of our troops raping children (homo or hetero), that is and should be grounds for a dishonorable discharge and a few years at the military Graybar Hotel. I've not seen a lot to indicate that the percentage of 'deviant' behavior is higher among homosexuals over heterosexuals.
Would you want to serve with a homosexual?
Can he/she hit center of mass with an M16? Can he/she lob the grenade where it needs to be? Can he/she call in an airstrike of get a track put back together under fire or get a hull patch welded into place or drop bombs on target? Yes? Then I'm good serving with him or her. I don't much care what they do on leave or after hours. 'Nuff said.
On the minus side, the Democrats in Congress shouldn't have thrown what is in most facets a social issue into a defense appropriation bill. Holding up funding for operations for this issue isn't the right thing to do. There will be a lot of time and place to debate this. If the Congress is serious about getting this pushed through, they should put it in the bill authorizing their OWN pay raises (overpaid as they are).
The possibility exists that I'm all wrong about this. I'm not a veteran. Maybe the dynamics really ARE different in the military. But the Armed Forces survived racial integration and performed well on numerous occasions since then. I think it would do just as well after sexual integration. Might be, 20 or 30 years from now, the military looks back and collectively says 'What the hell. That wasn't as bad as we thought.' We'll see.
yankeedog out.
The 'don't ask, don't tell' policy will stand for a while after a proposal to drop the policy (which was attached to this year's defense appropriation bill) got quashed in Congress.
I find most of the arguments against having gays openly serve in the military wearily familiar to a similar argument that raged in the defense establishment in the late 1940's, when President Truman signed the order to racially integrate the armed forces. Then, it was 'Blacks will degrade the ability of our armed forces to fight'. Now, it's 'Gays will degrade the ability of our armed forces to fight.'
Really? Based on what data?
Some of the things I hear asked or announced:
I never served with any gays and wouldn't want to!
I suspect many of our veterans have served with homosexuals and didn't know it. Not declaring your preference doesn't make it go away, it just makes it not a big topic of conversation around the barracks. Recently, the old hometown paper had an announcement of two guys who entered a 'civil union'. Both of them were Vietnam-era vets. Evidently they gave up their sexuality when they did their time and picked it up after they got out. They served with a lot of other guys and I doubt anyone they served with caught the gay from being in the same latrines or eating in the same mess hall. More power to them.
Having gays in the service will be detrimental to morale and fighting ability!
The Israeli Defense Force is regarded as pretty good, right? They've had to be, given that they're surrounded by a lot of people that don't like them. The Israelis have been very resourceful in using the abilities and talents of everyone in the country, which is why they allow gays to openly serve. Everything I've ever seen indicates that most of their troops don't think it's a big deal. I always figured that getting shot at or a missile lobbed your way kind of focused your attention toward surviving and taking care of your squadmates.
We'll have all kinds of sexual issues!
Please. I'm hetero. Not all women turn me on. Why should it be any different for gays/lesbians? Sorry, I just don't see that as an issue. Now, if we catch one of our troops raping children (homo or hetero), that is and should be grounds for a dishonorable discharge and a few years at the military Graybar Hotel. I've not seen a lot to indicate that the percentage of 'deviant' behavior is higher among homosexuals over heterosexuals.
Would you want to serve with a homosexual?
Can he/she hit center of mass with an M16? Can he/she lob the grenade where it needs to be? Can he/she call in an airstrike of get a track put back together under fire or get a hull patch welded into place or drop bombs on target? Yes? Then I'm good serving with him or her. I don't much care what they do on leave or after hours. 'Nuff said.
On the minus side, the Democrats in Congress shouldn't have thrown what is in most facets a social issue into a defense appropriation bill. Holding up funding for operations for this issue isn't the right thing to do. There will be a lot of time and place to debate this. If the Congress is serious about getting this pushed through, they should put it in the bill authorizing their OWN pay raises (overpaid as they are).
The possibility exists that I'm all wrong about this. I'm not a veteran. Maybe the dynamics really ARE different in the military. But the Armed Forces survived racial integration and performed well on numerous occasions since then. I think it would do just as well after sexual integration. Might be, 20 or 30 years from now, the military looks back and collectively says 'What the hell. That wasn't as bad as we thought.' We'll see.
yankeedog out.
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