On this day in 2004.

Pat took his last drink.
I can honestly say that I do not miss it. It had made my life unmanageable. Today my life is still unmanageable, but its unmanageable without a hangover.
Thank God Almighty for the little things.

Thought for the day

“Life is not a journey to the grave with intentions of arriving safely in a pretty well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming ... WOW! What a ride!”

Where's Casey Anthony?

Georgia Bugs will not be missed!

Fourth Of July on the square

We found an impromptu bluegrass festival in Newnan square by the court house. Very refreshing.

Jobu's Wisdom

When you find yourself riding a dead horse, your first and best strategy is to dismount.

Full Buck Moon? Who knew?

The seventh full moon of 2011 will rise around sunset this week, and it'll offer a double treat as it appears pretty much the same when it rises Friday evening as it did on Thursday. July's full moon is known as the Full Buck Moon, because it comes at the time of year when new antlers push out from the foreheads of buck deer. The moniker dates back to the Native American tribes that once lived in the northern and eastern United States. Other names for July's full moon include the Full Thunder Moon, because thunderstorms are frequent in the summertime, and the Full Hay Moon.

Two weeks to retirement!

Well its two weeks to retirement. Retirement you say? Aren't you just 50? Well not real retirement, just retirement from the airline life. Not retirement as in going fishing, golfing, moving to blue hair country, getting a pocket watch and complaining about kids these days kind of retirement. No its more like a rebirth kind of retirement to discover new talents and new directions. The hope of a non working retirement went out the window with my pension when NWA filed bankruptcy in 2005. But my hope of finding a job I love and never working again as the saying goes, is very much alive. Here are some ideas. Truck Driving, small engine mechanic, cooking, running a concession stand, running a B&B to name a few. I am open to your ideas. I am willing to give just about anything a try if it is legal and moral. So keep your eyes open and let me know. I am all ears.

Day 211 of the world famous Banana Experiment

Well it's day 211, the final day of the world famous banana experiment. What have I learned? Well? Everything except my waistline shrinks with age and that if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own backyard; because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with.

Brought to you by CoCola!

I'm back

Well I am back after a few months off. Please stop by when you can. Sorry for the absence. There has been a lot going on. I have decided after 30 years in aviation and 15 years at Northwest/Delta Airlines, that it is time to hang up my wings and find a new profession. The airline industry, pardon the pun, has too many ups and downs. I’ve done everything I set out to do in this industry. I have been a teacher, pilot, mechanic, teacher again and a writer. It’s time to do something completely different. What you say? I don’t know for sure but cooking has always been a passion so let’s try that for a while. Meanwhile we put our Georgia residence up for sale and have a showing today so say a prayer. It is time to go home to where the climate suits our bones. Se y’all later. It's time to start my midlife crisis.

More Bad News. No wonder I don't have enough time in a day any more.

WASHINGTON — The day just got a tiny bit shorter because of Friday's giant earthquake off the coast of Japan. NASA geophysicist Richard Gross calculated that Earth's rotation sped up by 1.8 microseconds. That's because of the shift in Earth's mass caused by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake. A microsecond is one-millionth of a second. Friday's change in rotation speed is slightly more than the one caused by last year's larger Chile earthquake. But 2004's bigger Sumatra earthquake caused a 6.8-microsecond shortening of the day.

A B-DAY Present from my sister!

It is over 50 years old. We had one when we were very young. Yes I prabably stole many cookies from this jar. Thanks Cathy!

Our home made water feature.

Mulched over the front yard. Could not stand the grass any more. Lawns in Ga. need lots of TLC. I am plum out of TLC. So, Made our own water fountain. Wasn't cheap but cheaper and better made than any prefab fountain plus the pure pleasure of bragging rights.

OH Please can I have one? Please please pretty please. I have to have it!

50th B-Day Gift Ideas

Ok it's 10 more shopping days until my birthday. Here are some ideas:

1. A baker's dozen of Diet Cinnabons.
2. A Do-It-Yourself Home Liposuction kit (yes I would be willing to share it).
3. GPS coordinates to the end of the rainbow (never mind why I want it, I just want it).
4. DB Cooper's home address or phone number (I have some questions for him).
5. And finally, a law passed requiring that Grecian Formula be added to city drinking water (yeah, sure go ahead and laugh, they laughed about the fluoride thing too).

Doesn't every married couple have days like this?

My second 'Half Century Gift'

I know, I KNOW ALREADY! It's still two weeks away but really, I am way past the halfway point in my life so I can't spare another moment. I had to open it. RIGHT? OK here it is. Sick humor for the twisted soul.

THANKS DELORES! You know me well.

At Fifty years of age, here are twenty things I know so far.

1. Control, more often than not, is merely an illusion.
2. I can’t change other people.
3. Ronald Reagan made us feel like Americans again.
4. I am allergic to alcohol.
5. Everyone is nuts but most people are not aware of it.
6. I need to have my head examined (according to my mom).
7. My wife loves me.
8. When people say “It is what it is”, it usually isn’t.
9. There is a God and he is much bigger than I first thought.
10. We are more dishonest with ourselves than we are with other people.
11. I don’t want to be ordinary.
12. Sometimes choices are not either right or wrong; they are just choices.
13. I am happier with lower expectations.
14. In most cases, I would rather be happy than right.
15. Circulating blood and breathing is a full time job.
16. I like tractors and cooking.
17. Admitting error is a sign of strength and not weakness.
18. There are just as many sheep in wolf’s clothing than wolves in sheep’s clothing. I just don’t know why everyone is cross dressing.
19. Acceptance is the answer to most of my problems.
20. Fear, resentment, ego and dishonesty are my mortal enemies.

Is America Getting Meaner? (excerpt from article by By Dr. Dale Archer)

Also, we are becoming meaner as a society. A recent study from the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, looked at 72 studies that gauged empathy among 14,000 college students in the past 30 years. They found that empathy (identifying with the feelings, thoughts or pain of another) has DECREASED a staggering 40% in college students since 2000!

Reasons range from the decrease of face to face communication as a side effect of technology to the hangover effect from the boom economy which fed our narcissism to want, what we want, when we want it and screw you if you get in my way. Social networking sites are all about "look at me, me, me."

Reality shows like "Real Housewives" and "Jersey Shore" show backstabbing, rude and crass behavior on a nightly basis as a source of comedy. In sports we have a win at all costs (including cheating with performance enhancing drugs) mentality. Business is about CEO's maximizing their personal wealth at the expense of the rest of us and as for politics "All's Fair" to win an election. Is it any wonder that bullying is so prevalent in our 'only the strong survive' culture?

Banana Experiment Update

Day 63. Beginning to slowly morph into a vanilla bean. No mold or flies noted.

DAY 1 for comparison.

Brought to you by CoCola!

My First Half Century Gift

Its early I know. But I got it in the mail this morning and I thought it prudent to open now. I am almost 50 you see and life at this age can be so uncertain. I will be the envy of the most hardcore biker gangs when I sport these babies on the open road. Don't know how old they are but likely prior to the jet age. Air forces were the department of the Army until after WW II so these suckers are old. Got them from an old friend I recently reconnected with. Lawrence is kind of a hybrid, a cross between Indiana Jones and Jason Bourne, so its anybodies guess where he got them. I have pictures in my head of a huge secret government warehouse piled high with crates, with cryptic writing on them like ABOVE TOP SECRET, OPEN ONLY IN CASE OF APOCALYPSE and such. Well at the rate the government has been spending lately, they probably started garage saling some stuff. Either way, THANKS LAWRENCE!!! Too cool!

2012 The End of the World. Are you ready?

Wenger 'Giant' Swiss Army knife - A good knife and a nice set of tools are what a survivor can really use when faced with the collapse of civilization, which is why you'll want this oversized Wenger Swiss Army knife. It holds the Guinness record for most multifunctional pen-knife, thanks to its 87-tool capacity. Seriously, if MacGyver was the last man standing, he could use this to build a rocketship to Earth-like planets in other solar systems. $999.

But if I put it in my pocket...?

Bookmarks

Where were you or what were you doing when you heard that the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, 25 years ago today?  How about the Kennedy Assassination, Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, September 11^th and so on. Where were you and what were you doing?  

When you stop to think, what makes these events so different, that when asked, you can recall with pristine clarity where you were, what you were doing, who you were with, how you felt, who informed you, the weather and probably even the smells in the air at that particular moment. These are like bookmark events in our lives. Times when we fell asleep or stopped paying attention, when all of the sudden, we are startled back into complete consciousness with shocking, unexpected news and hit the event record button of our brains.

What? I didn’t know Kennedy was in Dallas! But Shuttle Missions are so routine! They are sending civilian school teachers up! Who the hell is al-Qaeda?! And so it usually goes following such events. There was nothing on our radar, no inkling something of this magnitude could happen in our days. I remember my boss at the time, looked at my shocked expression and said “People have forgotten that space travel is still Experimental, it is anything but routine. Why are they sending teachers into space?”

Another thing happens after these events. Change. Things change. You remember sometimes how things were before the event and how things have changed since the event. One steep learning curve takes place and in some way things are different afterwards.

So what can we do with that? Go to that bookmarked page today and remember, that one moment that you stood still, really paid attention and mourned a great loss. Ask someone else, where were you or what were you doing when you heard that the Challenger exploded?” I think this is God’s way of honoring the brave. He puts these “Bookmarks” in our brains lest we forget and to remind us to pay attention more.

Who me?

Kennedy- I was too young but I remember saddness and crying.

The Challenger and 9/11- I was stuck in traffic on my way to work.

The Columbia accident- I was at home when Judy my sister called. It was a cold sunny day.

Do you ever get the feeling that you are your own worst enemy?

Yep. We have met the enemy, and he is us.

Today's Update!

Today, January 27th 2010, absolutely nothing of note happened. I'll try harder to keep y'all posted.

"I love a pungent, ghastly, STINKY piece of cheese!"

The FREEZER!!!

Forget the fat lady singing, watch the fat man run. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Di138t1iSo

From another blog. So true.

1. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

2. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

3. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

4. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

5. Bad decisions make good stories.

6. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

7. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

8. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

9. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate bicyclists. 

Holiday Highlights

One of our Pit Stops. It was just so sudden! Before I knew it my bladder was empty, my tank was full and I was zipping down the freeway at 75 mph.

My niece studying for her entrance exams at Hazelden U

Christmas Day brunch at a truck stop. Its a tradition.

I came home for this crap? GOSH!

My nieces excelling at being teenagers.

Road Warrior.

No she is not smiling. She always looks like that when I'm driving. Its borderline hysteria.

That was one hell of a New Years party.

It was a slow Friday, what was a guy to do?

Yeah so I happened upon this citizenship test online and took it. I got 86 out of 96 right. I AM AN AMERICAN AFTER ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You gonna eat your tots?

OK. Who does not remember the scene where Napoleon Dynamite hoards tots. I like tots but never bought tots at the market nor eaten them in my own home. Then I had some leftover meatloaf I didnt know what to do with and came accross a meatloaf casserole recipe that was topped with tots. It was great! But then I had some leftover steak and add some soup mix, top it with tots and holy crap! 49 years old and what have I been missing? Its all so clear to me now. A whole new world of Tater Tot recipes ahead of me to try. Who Knew? So what if I use leftovers and tots to make a casserole and don't eat it all? Do I go by the expiration date of the original item cooked or the date that the leftover casserole with tots was cooked? I just can't throw away tots. It feels so wrong. Hey, I know...

 "TINA YOU FAT LARD, COME GET SOME DINNER!"

Youth ages, immaturity is outgrown, ignorance can be educated, and drunkenness sobered, but STUPID lasts forever."

A decision to ride an inflatable doll down a flood-swollen Yarra River in Australia blew up in a woman’s face yesterday when she lost her latex playmate in a rough patch. The incident prompted a warning from police that blow-up sex toys are "not recognized flotation devices’’. They were floating down the river on two inflatable dolls and had just passed the ‘‘We’ve got people busy with rescues and to have to divert resources to that sort of thing is not ideal," said Senior Constable Wayne Wilson.  Queensland in the grip of a deadly emergency and 50 rescues from flood waters around Victoria in the past week, police were not amused at the pair's "stupid" actions. The rescued pair were checked by ambulance officers but did not require medical attention. ‘‘The fate of the inflatable dolls is unknown,’’ said Senior Constable Wilson.

I am turning 50 in February. What shall I do?

This is probably the only time you will hear that I am excited about something. Mostly I just maintain an even strain. For my birthday Karen our dear friend is coming to Georgia and we will drive up to Northern Ga for the following getaway:
CULINARY GETAWAY

Enjoy cooking and learning new techniques to enhance your culinary skills?  Spend 1 1/2 - 2 hours with the Chef of Glen-Ella Springs Inn and learn inside secrets of the culinary trade. Your experience will begin with a private consultation to determine your particular areas of interest.  Based on this, the chef will then tailor your cooking class to help you achieve your overall objective. 

Package includes:

• 2 night’s lodging
• Dinner each night in Glen-Ella’s much acclaimed restaurant
• Breakfast  each morning
• Up to 2 hour cooking class with the chef of Glen-Ella Springs!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone else wanna join us?!?!

January 15, 1967, Packers win the first Super Bowl

On January 15, 1967, the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) smash the American Football League (AFL)’s Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10, in the first-ever AFL-NFL World Championship, later known as Super Bowl I, at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. The Packers’ famed quarterback, Bryan Bartlett "Bart" Starr, completed 16 of 23 passes on the night. The score at game’s end stood at 35-10, and Starr was named Most Valuable Player. Asked to comment on the match-up after the game, Green Bay Coach Vince Lombardi expressed the common opinion that even the best of the AFL--the Chiefs--"doesn’t compare with the top NFL teams."

So January 15 2011, the Packers play the Atlanta Falcons. Which will I root for? Hmm. Its hard. Well, I base most of my life choices on my favorite food of all things. I like cheese but I also like southern BBQ. Hmmmm. Well to quote the roaming gnome "I love a pungent, ghastly, STINKY piece of cheese!"

Day whatever of the World Famous Banana thingy whatever.

Note that the banana has depleted gradually over the weeks, almost to the point of complete exhaustion. Its backened hardened carcass sags lifeless. Kind of the way I feel after the holidays. Blah blah blah whatever.

Brought to you by CoCola! Its refereshing!

What was the first thing Noah did upon leaving the ark?

AP Science Writer= WASHINGTON (AP) — The earliest known winery has been uncovered in a cave in the mountains of Armenia. A vat to press the grapes, fermentation jars and even a cup and drinking bowl dating to about 6,000 years ago were discovered in the cave complex by an international team of researchers. While older evidence of wine drinking has been found, this is the earliest example of complete wine production, according to Gregory Areshian of the University of California, Los Angeles, co-director of the excavation. The findings, announced Tuesday by the National Geographic Society, are published in the online edition of the Journal of Archaeological Science. The same Armenian area was the site of the discovery of the oldest known leather shoe, dated to about 5,500 years ago. That discovery at the area known as Areni-1 was reported last summer. According to the archeologists, inside the cave was a shallow basin about 3 feet across that was positioned to drain into a deep vat. The basin could have served as a wine press where people stomped the grapes with their feet, a method Areshian noted was traditional for centuries. They also found grape seeds, remains of pressed grapes and dozens of dried vines. The seeds were from the same type of grapes — Vitis vinifera vinifera — still used to make wine.

Interesting connection no? Note the location or Ararat to Armenia.