When there was no gas...

I took this on the way to work. It's an example of what Atlanta would look like as a third world country - no gas. This lasted for three weeks. It was awful.

People were getting gas at three and four in the morning. During the day people parked their cars at the gas station pumps and any available parking spaces waiting for a tanker truck to bring gas to the station. There was talk of closing schools for part of the week and not selling gas for one day a week. Steve went out twice to gas up his bike and came back on reserve. When I was low on gas, he would ride his bike to a station with gas and call me so I knew were to go and not waste gas trying to find gas.

We get ALL our gas in the Atlanta area from two pipe lines. Both of those pipe lines come from the same place. Both of these pipe lines are at risk every year from hurricanes. Hello! I would get fired if I set something up as rediculous as this.

Glory

Steve and I were sitting on the back porch when Steve looked at the sky and said that this would sure make a good picture. So I ran in and got the camera. I got these shots off just before the sun came away from the cloud.

Well worth the effort I might add.

No Fuel!

There's hardly any gas in the area I live and work in, which is mostly north and northeast of Atlanta. It's unbelieveable.

I guess there is an additive to our gas that minimizes pollution that is more difficult to get now that the hurricane has come through Texas.

This morning Ia came across a Quik Trip and stopped. Something happened that never does to me. The station was crammed with cars waiting to get gas. I pull in just as a truck backs up to leave and I pull in his spot. Awesome! Until I realize I've left my wallet at home. It took me longer to get out that it did to get in.

So after work Steve rode out on his motorcycle to find a gas station with gas. He calls me and I head over to it. Three pumps. Three lines. Prepay only. I was running low enough that I kept my engine turned off. So it's just me and the gal in front of me. She opens her car door and I hear her say, "Oh fxxx, my tank's on the other side." She pulls away with no gas. Now it's my turn. And now is when I realize I have lost my check card. Called my bank and it will be 7-10 business days before I get it. I'll be on vacation by then.

You know, it's tough bein' me.

Cats -- Part Deu

So I bought this cool cleaning stuff for countertops from Whole Foods. It did a quite nice job on my counters I should say...

But, ah ha! What do I spy? The trail of a cat on my counter as clear as day. You know why this trail is as clear as day? It is because the routine of this cat is to use the litterbox, and THEN jump up on the counters to do a little cat jig on the counters when no one is around to see.

Ewwww

I know which cat this is. And one day I will catch her doing her jig, and then... [yes you guessed it] the jig will be up!!!

heh

Hurlin' Cats

Looking carefully you can see what looks like a water spill. Technically, yes. It is water. That spilled. Out of a cat. Who, while I was out, carefully jumped up onto the coffee table and 'spilled' its cat food onto one corner of the table, and then proceeded to walk over to MY papers and 'spill' onto them.

Once again Steve is chuckling unmercifully, as he and I full well know, cats love to hurl on MY stuff.

Blech.

It's the Emmys!!!

I love love love the Emmys.

I'm really stumped with the Outstanding Drama category. I mean, Lost, Mad Men, House?! That's a hard one. I'm leaning towards Lost and House for this, but I'll say...House.

Outstanding Actor?... It's really between Hugh Laurie and Jon Hamm for me. Those are the only two shows out of the bunch that I watch anyway. I'm going with Laurie.

Outstand Actress... Basically, it's a yawn for me here. I mean, Sedgwick for OUTSTANDING actress? I watch the show all the time, and it's good. She's fun to watch, but that nasally, fakey, phony southern accent is pretty bad. As accents go, Outstanding Actress should go to Hugh Laurie.

Outstanding Supporting Actor HAS to go to Michael Emmerson. HAS to.

Okay. Those are the only ones I care about this years. The rest are not really standouts for me. Let's face it. TV shows have been the lamest this year since the strike. Getting more channels in HD is not helping this. At all.

HEH

...is this old? It might be. Think it's cool beans anyway.

Hot Pockets!

This is really funny. I could watch this video over and over. And I have. Funnee stuff...

Check it out in my Video Bar.

To Dream. Perhaps to Laugh.

I had this dream where I was watching, from some ways off, two women in a conversation. I did not recognize either of them, but I think they were working in a hair salon. One turned to the other standing beside her and made a sarcastic comment about her love for country music. The other women giggled and started singing a country song to the other women. It must have been a pretty good sarcastic comment she was got because she didn't stop there. She turned behind her to a set of drawers and started pulling out items that I couldn't see very well from my vantage point. Although I did get a glance of some large sheet music. Suddenly, she ran over to an open area, had a mic in hand, a band behind her, and started performing. It was kinda crazy, and kinda funny. It's at this point I realize my son is sitting behind me, on some large cushion or something, watching the events unfold, and laughing with me.

Not to be out done, the other women runs over to the open space next to the women who is still performing, and has a huge band with her. What they are doing is a parody of the lady performing. The band is pulling out huge pieces of sheet music entitled "Music 101" in an attempt to mock the other women's band that is still playing. Then they act out playing their instruments in an exaggerated way, comically pantomiming playing their instruments, while crawling around all over each other. The whole time this is going on, my son and I are laughing so hard we can hardly stand it. Tears are rolling down my eyes, and my stomach is hurting. The parody goes on for some time, and we never stop laughing.

Until that durn alarm clock goes off.

You know. I have dreams where I am scared, depressed, confused, lost, tired, etc. I can never, ever remember having a dream where I am laughing for a long while until I'm utterly worthless. Heh.

I will say, some of my fondest memories growing up alongside my son, were the ones where we enjoyed a good laugh. So I've decided to give my stamp of approval on this dream, and hope to meet him there again soon - once my stomach isn't so sore.

Talk about your banner days, man!!

Yesterday,the mightly Scott Sigler, author -- and one of my favorite podcasters,in all his splendor and Silerism, accepted my invite to my LinkedIn page.

OH. MY. GOSH.

That's not a smile. That's me, gritting my teeth....

This is what happened to my moment of Zen: I juiced up three organic apples and part of a beet. It was going to be awesome.

Note the hole in the side of the glass I am holding. Stirred a little too hard with my clunky tablespoon and busted out the side of the glass -- red juice spurting everywhere. You can't see what's all over the floor and the cupboards all around me.

Steve is cracking up and runs downstairs after he hears all the commotion to…help me? Naw. To take a picture. He was laughing so hard. It took me a few days to laugh at this because not only did I not get to taste this awesome juice mixture, I broke one of four cool hurricane glasses from the French Quarter, and more important, forever stained my FAVORITE T-shirt. I love love love this shirt. On the back it reads, "You can check out, but you can never leave." Steve hates that shirt. He calls it my trailer-trash shirt. I'm wearing it any way.

Prolly not in public. I don't love it THAT much.

Check out my Food News link under Cool Beans

In amongst all the valuable information on pesticide contamination for us humans, I found this:

"Dogs and cats were contaminated with 48 of 70 industrial chemicals tested, including 43 chemicals at levels higher than those typically found in people, according to our study of plastics and food packaging chemicals, heavy metals, fire retardants, and stain-proofing chemicals in pooled samples of blood and urine from 20 dogs and 37 cats collected at a Virginia veterinary clinic."

There is extensive information on this comprehensive site. People need to react to a world that has changed due to the chemicals we've alowed into it since WWII, and since the uprising of our industrialized communities since 1950.

The most annoying thing to me is that most of the people I pass along a small bit of information about understanding how our selection of foods needs to be more careful, don't care, and don't want to know. Their eyes glaze over. When you briefly mention how some of our diet today effects our children, it makes no difference to them. I hear comments like, "Oh, well, you're gonna die of something." They actually get angry.

This is even more frustrating to me because I have no patience for people who resist change simply due to the fact that it is change. I'm a quick-silver, fluid person who has always embraced change, and expected it for that matter. I think, generally speaking, not having an open mind is a bull-headed, ignorant way to live.

Have ever noticed this in movies?

1. You will never see an actor using a mouse while on a computer. Everything is done by the keyboard.

2. Parking lots and sidewalks are always, always wet.

3. Whenever the actor calls someone on the phone the person being called is usually always there to anwer the call, and does it on the first ring.

4. No one every says, "Goodbye" when they hang up on a call. It's just "click," end of conversation.

5. CSI-type shows/movies use flashlights excessively.

6. There's never any trouble finding a parking spot especially if it's right in front of the main entrance to the building.

7. Do any of the charactors ever live in a realistic, middle class home?

8. Does anybody hold down a job in some of these movies?

9. [I'll add more as I think of them...]

Came across this qualifier while searching for filtered water bottles.

"PLEASE NOTE: If you live in the state of Iowa, we are unable to sell you any water purification system due to Iowa Department of Public Health Restrictions. We apologize for any inconvenience."

EXACTLY!

I found it! I found it! [Refer to post on 7-18]

Here's that quote I liked, and thought I had lost, from one of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series books. There's so many of these dang WOT books that I NEVER would have found it. So....here....it is!!!

"If you must mount the gallows, give a jest to the crowd, a coin to the hangman, and make the drop with a smile on your face."

That's just cool beans to me. :>

Dance

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Steven Wright:

"Last night I stayed up late playing poker with Tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died.

Last night somebody broke into my apartment and replaced everything with exact duplicates... When I pointed it out to my roommate, he said, 'Do I know you?'

Last year I went fishing with Salvador Dali. He was using a dotted line. He caught every other fish.

My theory of evolution is that Darwin was adopted.

There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.

What's another word for Thesaurus?

When I woke up this morning my girlfriend asked me, 'Did you sleep good?' I said 'No, I made a few mistakes.' "

Portal - The Orange Box

Check this out. Does this not look crazy?

Vent

Okay. It's called a turn signal or an indicator. Why? It's meant to indicate that you are about to turn. You indicate this before you make the turn. Once you are in the turn lane, why bother? Once you are right at the corner of the curb, a half second before you are going to turn, why bother? The idea of the turn signal or indicator is to alert the traffic around you of your intention before you are about to turn, not when you are in the turn. If a rode a motorcycle that way I'd get run over.

Oh, and for those who are really brain dead; no, you do not stop in the middle of the road - for any reason. [Except for wandering puppies.]

Idiots.