Flashback Friday

Just like the white winged dove . . .

File Under: WTF?

Police: Man Steals 35 Cellphones

A Louisville man is facing theft charges after police said he took 35 cellphones from a car.

Police said 42-year-old Darryl W. Collier stole the cellphones from a car parked at a gas station in the 3300 block of Algonquin Parkway on Sept. 5.

According to arrest records, the theft was captured on surveillance video.

A witness to the incident picked Collier out of a photo pack, police said.

The cellphones were valued at $4,500, according to arrest records.

Collier is charged with theft.

I'm having a hard time believing that the police didn't question the alleged "victim" to find out why he had 35 cell phones in his car to begin with? 

Quote Of The Year

"Well, you've been through a lot."

Nuff said.

Good News . . . Not So Good News

Yesterday morning I had I could stand with my computer and the blue screen of death issues with the video card, so I yanked all of the cords out and took it back to the shop where I bought it [for the second time with the same problem].  Lo and behold they called me this afternoon saying it was ready. 

Meanwhile, I had bigger problems.  The BMW has had major issues, and the battery hasn't been holding a charge.  So today I drove it to work and this afternoon called AAA to come test the battery that they installed two years ago (it has a 3 year warranty, thank goodness).  The guy came and checked everything out and said that the battery cells were OK but the battery was just zapped and needed to be charged, and that something in the car was causing the battery to drain.  Great. He also said there was a 50-50 chance that the card would start when I left work. 

The fates were with me because the BMW started, albeit reluctantly.  And then it was on to the computer shop to pick up my computer.  I pulled into a parking spot directly in front of the door to the shop, and did the only thing I could do -- I left the car running.  I was only inside less than five minutes and thank goodness nobody hopped in the car and stole it. 

So fast forward to tonight.  As I type this, I have the battery charger on the BMW, and will leave it on overnight.  In the next day or two, a friend is going to test all of the fuses and relays to see if they're the cause for running down the battery.  I'm hoping that will be the culprit.  If not, then I'll find a shop that specializes in electrical stuff on cars. 

Some probably ask "Puddin, why don't you just ditch those two old cars and get one new one?"  The answer is simple:  I don't want a car payment.  I've just now gotten myself out of debt, with the exception of my student loan, and I don't want to tackle a car loan for another year or two.  I have one credit card, and it's paid off, and I just dont' want to get more debt with the economy being so effed up.  My Blazer is running as fine as any 2011 or even 2012 car now, and I don't want to get rid of it.  I don't really need the BMW right now, so getting it fixed is not really a top priority. 

As always, I'll keep you posted on the issues with the BMW.  And for the first time in ages, I'm not stressing over it.

I Squeaked By Again . . . Sorta . . . Not Really

Today was the day of my annual eye exam and to be honest I was dreading it. I was sure I wasn't going to be able to squeak by one more year without having to get bifocals.  But lo and behold, I squeaked by another year. Sorta.

The results of my eye exam showed that my vision hadn't changed any since year's exam, so they wouldn't have to change the strength in my contacts or glasses, thank goodness.  That was great news for me. But I was having some "issues" reading the little card they had me hold about 87 feet away, and then the doctor said the "B" word.  Yep, bifocals.  But my beloved Dr. P said that since I only wear my glasses a day or two a month (just to give my eyes a break from the contacts) she said that there was no real need to spend the money to get a new pair with the bifocal prescription in them.  That was even better news.  Then I asked her what about my contacts - would she have to give me bifocal contacts now?  Dr. P looked at me and gave me a sly little smile and said "What do you you've been wearing for the past year?"  We both laughed and she explained that she changed the prescription last year and that either I didn't pay any attention to what she told me or else I hadn't had any problems with the bifocal contacts.  I'm thinking it was both reasons. She did change up my contacts again.  She wants me to try some new lens that are "breathable" and let in six times more oxygen than regular contacts due to something weird going on with the blood vessels in my eyes.  She said it wasn't anything to be alarmed about; just something that happens to long-time contact lens wearers like me and that the new breathable contacts should fix it.

So technically, I squeaked by another year by not having to get bifocal glasses, but last year's squeaking-by was not really a squeak after all.

Link Of The Week

You probably don't know this about me, but I have a thing for goats; I think they're hilarious.  In fact, a goat plays a big role in one of my favorite cable TV series.  And whenever I go to Memphis, I always make a trip to Silky O'Sullivan's on Beale Street to see the goats out in back of the bar.  So you can imagine when my friend/coworker./faithful reader SH sent me a link to an article about some pretty special goats, I was very excited and knew I had to share it with you, faithful readers. 

As I said, these aren't just any goats; these goats climb trees.  Yes, you heard that right - they climb trees.  And there's photographic and video proof, in case you were thinking the pictures were Photo-Shopped.  I laughed for 10 minutes after seeing the pictures and in fact, I'm laughing now as I write about them.  See for yourself at http://webecoist.com/2008/08/19/the-incredible-tree-climbing-goats-of-morocco/.

The Party Continues

It's the day after Mom's birthday, and we're still partying here at The Compound.  We had some friends over this morning for a birthday breakfast, and those festivities lasted until after lunchtime.  There was a lull in the partying while we cleaned up the kitchen and rested, but we're getting ready to party some more this evening.  I'm getting ready to go with Mom to a reunion with coworkers from B&W.  This will be the fourth or fifth time I've gone with her and I think I enjoy it as much as she does.  I get a kick out of seeing her friends from her B&W factory days; I'm surprised that I still remember a lot of them, and I didn't even work with them.

Tomorrow, the parties will be over with, and with rain in the forecast I'm sure we will all three be taking a much needed nap tomorrow afternoon.  I'll keep you posted.

Happy Birthday, Mom

We interrupt the regularly scheduled Flashback Friday to with my Mom a very happy birthday today.  We've been celebrating since 7:30 this morning.  I got up and ran out in the pouring rain to get her some fresh glazed donuts - something she requested for her birthday.  Being a diabetic, she allows herself to eat a glazed donut maybe 5 times a year.  So I was only happy to oblidge.  Then for lunch we had some turkey sandwiches while we watched the last episode of "All My Children." Now we're going to all get settled in our respective chairs and places for a nice nap before the partying will start up again.

For Once, I'm Speechless

I just got home from week two in a seven-week Bible study with the women's group from church, and I'm still sitting here at the computer shaking my head over something that happened.  One of the women at the study was a young woman from Germany, who felt the call of the Lord to come to the United States to do missionary work.  Yes, that's usually the opposite of what we normally hear about people becoming missionaries - we hear of them leaving the United States and going to some remote country.  But I digress.  After the study was over and before we all left to go home, we had a time of prayer, and the leader asked for anyone that felt led to say a sentence or two prayer about something that was on their hearts and minds tonight.  A few people prayed, and then the young German woman prayed.  And when she prayed, I honestly don't know if she was speaking in some form of of German or if she was actually speaking in tongues. After what seemed like an hour but was probably only a couple of minutes, she finished and the leader quickly closed the prayer.  I'm not even sure I could have spoken if I'd had something I wanted to pray about - I was speechless, and that doesn't happen often.  During the German woman's prayer,  I wanted to open my eyes and look around the room to see if anyone else was as blown away as I was. But I kept my eyes closed.  I think that some of the women were in deed as blown away as I was, because nobody lingered around to visit; everybody thanked our leader/hostess and headed for our cars.  I wanted to ask if any of the other women understood what the German woman was saying - because the Bible tells that when someone is genuinely speaking in tongues, there will be someone else there to interpret.

Be Very, Very Quiet . . .

. . . . we're hunting ground hog.

Yep, it's ground hog season here at The Compound.  I'm happy to report that Dad spent most of this afternoon hidden behind the barn waiting for the ground hog to come out so he could try out our new pump-action Mossburg that has yet to be shot.

This ground hog is very smart and has an extremely keen sense of hearing. Dad has to pump the shotgun inside of the house and then go out through the front door and sneak around through the neighbor's yard, all with the stealth of a ninja.

But we're optimistic here at The Compound, and we know that this ground hog will slip up just like the ones before him did, and when he does, Dad will get him. 

Top Ten Email Subject Lines From My Spam Folder

1.  Get Rid Of Your Pet's Bad Breath
2.  Win A Chance To Meet Betty White
3.  Salmonella Illness Recall Info
4.  Repair Your Hair Overnight
5.  Flirty, Fun, Fashionable Legs Overnight
6.  Learn To Cook Like A Chef
7.  Slice Veggies Thick Or Thin WIth The Tap Of A Handle
8.  Grow Grass Anywhere
9.  Are You A Senior Needing Care?
10.Best Bra, Better Price

Vehicle Update

It's been a while since we've had to have a Vehicle Update.  But here it is.  I'm the first to admit that I've neglected my BMW for the past year, only driving it on an errand ever week or two.  But a few weeks ago, I finaly realized that a car like that needs to be driven more than once every few weeks. 

After an afternoon of drama in getting the battery charged up enough to start, I vow that I will drive the BMW to work every other day from now on until the wheels fall off of the car.  On the way to work in the BMW this morning, I reminisced back to all of the fun drives I had in the car, and realized there are many more fun drives ahead in its life.

So from now on until whenever, I promise that I will drive the BMW to work every other day. That way I can keep it and the Blazer happy.  I just hope that they both pay me back by getting me to work and wherever I need to go.

Link Of The Week

Hurricane Irene came inland a few weeks ago and wreaked all kinds of havoc, destruction and disruption on the east side of the country. Some were prepared, and some were not.

This week, I bring a link to a very helpful article that is for all of us - not just those in hurricane-prone areas.  It's simply a list of 31 items that we all need to have in a first aid kit for any type of emergency. Visit http://survival.outdoorlife.com/blogs/survivalist/2011/08/survival-gear-31-items-keep-your-urban-first-aid-kit?cmpid=enews082611 and get your kit together today.  You'll be glad you did.

Saturday Updates

It's been a very frustrating Saturday for me.  I've been to 10 different stores trying to find some hair curlers that Mom wants.  I don't even have to say that I would go wherever I needed to in order to get something that Mom wanted.  But I will say that her request today was the hardest one I've had.  But being the persistant person that I am, I finally found a package of the right sized hair curlers that she wanted.  Her birthday is next week, and today is the official start of her Birthday Week Celebration, so suffice to say I would have traveled to probably 10 more stores to find her curlers. 

On a related noted, my goal for next Saturday is to stay home and not have to run any errands.  As always, I'll keep you posted.

Flashback Friday

The other day during lunch, a coworker was talking about when he grounded one of his sons for staying out late past his curfew on a weekend night.  My friend, faithful reader and coworker SH said that wouldn't have happened to me or her, because we would have never even been out late on a Friday or Saturday night because we wanted to stay home and stay up late watching the cool TV shows. 

On Friday night, if I could stay awake, I would stay up and watch "Midnight Special."  Each week, a different popular singer would host the show, and basically the show would be other popular singers and bands lip-syncing their songs.  But this was the late 70's and we didn't mind. This was also I think the first TV show to air music videos.  One of the first ones I remember watching was a video from Heart for "Even It Up."

Then on Saturday night, after Saturday Night Live, was the awesome "Don Kirschner's Rock Concert". As a twist to the "Midnight Special" shows, Don Kirschner's show featured singers and groups actually performing live.  And once again, if I managed to stay up past "Saturday Night Live", I would watch it.  Normally, I would check the TV schedule and only stay up and watch it if Heart or Pat Benetar was on it.

Now, I'm lucky to stay awake long enough to wait for the Hoosier Lotto numbers to be posted online at 11:15.

Thursday Updates

The long soak in the bathtub last night must have helped, because when I woke up this morning, I had no aches like I did yesterday morning.  And last night was one of the best night's sleep I've had in weeks, too. 
I think I slept great last night because it was cool.  When I was getting ready for work this morning it was a chilly 51 degrees.  Even I put on a light jacket this morning.  It's been very nice and cooler all week long. The 'Rents spent most of this week clearing out the garden.  It was bittersweet, but we're so thankful for our basement shelves full jars of green beans, tomatoes, banana peppers, etc.   We've still got some tomatoes on the vine, so they kept those up. One year, we had tomatoes fresh from the vine on Halloween. Maybe they can break that record this year. I'll keep you posted.

Weird Wednesday

I woke up this morning very sore and achy all over.  I thought it would wear off as the day went on but for some reason the achiness and soreness felt stronger and stronger.  I've got a lot going on inside my head tonight , so I think I'm going to hook my awesome Dr. Scholl's Whirlpool thing over the side of the bathtub and relax in my whirlpool tub for about an hour.  I'll be sure to have Mom check on me every 15 minutes or so to make sure my head is still above water.  As always, I'll keep you posted. 

Let Sherman-geddon Begin!!

On Friday afternoon, life as we know it in Louisville changed.  The Indiana and Kentucky Departments of Transportation shut down the Sherman Minton Bridge.  This is also known as the I-64 bridge.  They found a gargantuan crack in one of the steel support beams and shut the bridge down in a heartbeat.  Of course this has caused major major major traffic problems for Southern Indiana and Louisville.  Commutes that would have taken people 20 or 30 minutes is now taking them two hours. 

The DOTs say it will be 3-4 weeks before they can get a full assessment of the damage and repair, so until then people will have to just be patient and make the best of it.  Yeah right.  Some are saying it will take at least six months to fix the cracks; others aren't being as optimistic, and say that the bridge will need to be rebuilt. 

The bridge shutdown happened Friday night, and on Saturday afternoon, restaurant and store owners in New Albany were already complaining of losing money.  I don't even want to think of what the Horseshoe Casino boat will be saying in a few days.  But it wouldn't surprise me one bit if they don't come up with some type of ferry to get people to and from the casino boat. 

At any rate, this is one of the biggest things to happen to my generation here in Louisville.  It's most definitely the most disrupting.  All I can do is hope for the best - that will only involve repairs and not a total rebuild.  As always, I'll keep you posted.

Monday Updates

We just had an incident here at The Compound.  There was a major infestation of little black ants inside one of the double pane windows here in the back bedroom.  After an hour of Mom and Dad cleaning and hosing them off with the pressure washer, they seem to be gone for now.  I had to clear out of the back bedroom for a bit while they cleaned the windows inside and out.  It just gives me the creeps. 

Link Of The Week

As I've said before repeatedly, I don't cook. But I love watching cooking shows and reading recipe magazines and all. This week, someone sent me a link to a site that is awesome cooks, wannabe cooks, or anyone that likes food.  It's called The Cook's Thesaurus. As the site says, The Cook's Thesaurus is a cooking encyclopedia that covers thousands of ingredients and kitchen tools.  Entries include pictures, descriptions, synonyms, pronunciations, and suggested substitutions.  Check it out at http://www.foodsubs.com/.

Saturday Observations

As we are on the eve of the ten-year "anniversary" of 9/11, I can't help but ponder a few things.  First of all, I cringe at the ones that are calling it an "anniversary."  An anniversary is something that you celebrate.  This surely is not a celebration.  It is a remembrance on the thousands that lost their lives that day, and the millions and millions that were affected by that horrific attack. 

There's not much else I could really say about that.  I just ask that if you are one that prays, to please pray for all of the families affected by the events of 9/11.  Pray that they will have peace and closure.  If you are not one that prays, just remember all of the lives that have been affected by the events of 9/11.  And you one of those. We all are.  Our lives will never be the same since that morning on 9/11.  We can just hope for peace, safety, security and a continuance of our everyday lives.

Flashback Friday

Happy Birthday, Patsy Cline

On this day back in 1932, in my opinion, the woman that has the best voice in the history of recorded music was born.  Virginia Patterson Hensley was born on this day in Gore, Virginia.  She would go on to change her name to Patsy Cline.

As I said, in my humble opinion, Patsy Cline has the best voice ever in the history of recorded music.  I'm sure many will disagree with me, but this is my blog and I can say what I want.

In all of my 48+ years, I've never heard a voice that can make you actually feel the pain and emotions that the singer was singing.  Well, for the record, there are a few others.  I will say that Ann Wilson, Linda Ronstadt and Trisha Yearwood come extremly close. And in my record books, they fall in line in the 2, 3 and 4 positions behind Patsy.  Not a shabby crowd to be associated with if you ask me.

I'll just close by saying that when Patsy sang "I fall to pieces each time I see you again", her voice and delivery can make you fall to pieces.

There will never ever be another voice that can come close to Patsy's. Never. It if were up to me, I would tell all of the thousands and thousands of little blonde cookie-cutter singers in Nashville to just stay home.  Because you will never ever be another Patsy Cline.

Broken Records

There's no sense in stopping now that I've been on the weather and heat wave kick for the past few days. 

On Saturday September 3, we broke a 57 year old record for high temperatures.  On Saturday, the official temperature was 102 degrees.  As I said yesterday, the front moved through on Sunday, and on September 6, the high was 66, breaking the old record of 68 set way back in 1877.  And every day this week we've broken records for the high temperatures being so low. 

With the remnants of Lee still lingering, they're now worried about Maria, which they predict will follow the same pattern as Lee.  All I will say is I hope to goodness that we will not have another 102 degree day this year.

File Under: WTF?

I debated on the title for this post, but after thinking it through, "WTF?" is the only appropriate title.  On the way to work this a.m, the temp was 59 degrees.  On the trek down Cane Run Road, I spotted not one, not two, but three down-filled parkas at various bus stops on the road.  Hand to heaven they were there.  All I can say about that is WTF?  

Give me a break, people - From Wednesday to Saturday, the tempterature was over 100 degrees.  The front moved through on Sunday, bringing the temps down in the low 70's.  Yesterday was a bit cooler and windy, and today's high was only in the mid 60's, but today was no reason to get out the effin winter parkas.  All I can say is what in heaven's name are you going to do when it really gets cold later on?????

Heatwave 2011 Update

I'm almost speechless on what to report for Heatwae 2011 Update.  On Saturday, it was 102 degrees.  The cold front moved through yesterday, bringing us about 30 seconds of rain here at The Compound, and today the high was in the upper 60's and windy.  It was so cool that before I went to the Bats game this afternoon, I had to make a wardrobe change from my khaki shorts and a t-shirt to long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and a light jacket.  The highs all week are supposed to be in the low 70's.  Which means after this week of nice, comfortable temperatures, the following week will either be rainy or back in the 90's.  Stay tuned.  I'll keep you posted.

Link Of The Week

You know by now that I love a good deal, and I'm all about using coupons.  I'm not militant or radical about it, like some people out there.  But I always look online or in the Sunday sale papers to see if there's a coupon for something I want. 

If you like V8 Juice or their new V8 Fusion, than this week's Link is just for you.  Visit http://www.v8juice.com/coupons.aspx and you can print out $10 worth of V8 coupons.  There's nothing to download or sign up for like some of the other coupon printing sites - just click on what coupons you want and print it. 

Heatwave 2011 Continues

As I type this, it's 2:00 in the afternoon and it's 100 degrees.  This makes the third day in a row that we've had highs of 100 or more.  And there's one more day of this in the forecast.  I ran my errands earlier and the only time I was hotter than I was while walking across the shopping center parking lot was in summer of 2002 when I was in Las Vegas and walking on The Strip headed to Luxor, the Egyptian-themed hotel and casino. That day it felt hotter than damned Egypt.

Flashback Friday

The state fair ended last Sunday, but for the past couple of weeks, I couldn't help but reminisce about our family trips to the fair when I was a kid. 

The 'Rents and I would always go to the fair on the first Saturday.  We would get up early and leave as soon as we ate breakfast and be one of the first cars in the parking lot.  Our first stop would always be to get a corn dog and a lemon shake-up, regardless of the fact that we had breakfast an hour ago.  Then we would move on to the West Wing where we would look at all of the animals on exhibit -- the cows, pigs, goats, sheep, and every other animal they would fit in.  Then we would walk around back to the barns underneath Cardinal Stadium.  We'd look at the mules, rabbits and roosters on display. 

By this time, we'd be ready for lunch, where we would eat at the Great Kentucky Cookout Tent and have an awesome ribeye or pork chop sandwich.  After we'd eaten, we'd then over to the East Wing.  We would spend a lot of time visiting all of the exhibitors booths and get any kind of freebies they would be giving out.  You could always count on a couple of yardsticks, some emery boards and pencils.  Also, we would have to buy a package of awesome Archway cookies; never mind we could buy them in the store.

After sitting down and resting for awhile, it would be time to head out to the midway.  Let me preface by saying even as a young kid,  I didn't find anything amusing about amusement parks.  The only ride I wanted to ride was the pony rides.  The 'Rents would let me ride it 4 or 5 times in a row.  Then I would be tired of the pony and want to go and try to win something on the midway.  Once I was tired of trying to win prizes, we would usually stop at the Frisch's Big Boy booth on the midway for a Big Boy and a cherry Coke, while once again we rested and regrouped.

By now it was well after supper time, and time for the biggest thrill of the day, the rodeo.  Believe me when I tell you my family and I lived for the rodeo.  We had a horse, and Dad participated in horse shows throughout the year, and our family was in the big horse scene.  But it wasn't just all horses and cowboys and cowgirls.  Each year, they would have some very big named country start perform during the intermission of the rodeo.  I had the privilege of seeing Dolly Parton, Crystal Gayle, Lynn Anderson and many others during our rodeos over the years.

After the rodeo was over, we'd hike back to the car and head home, where we would fall fast asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.  And the 'Rents and I would always sleep in the next morning.  In fact, it was the only Sunday morning that we didn't go to church during the year.

Heatwave 2011 Continues

It's hard to believe that today is the first of September. And it's supposed to be cooler in September, right?  Wrong.  Today, it was 100 degrees here in Louisville.  According to the weatherazzi and their statistics, we broke a 57 year old record today for our 100 degree day.  Yay.  And they're calling for even hotter days tomorrow and Saturday.  Yay again.