Top Ten Favorite Halloween Candy

1.  Smarties

2.  Miniature Milky Way

3.  Nerds

4.  Reese Cups

5.  Miniature Three Musketeers

6.  Dots

7.  Sweet Tarts

8.  Cheap orange and black wax paper wrapped peanut butter chews

9.  Candy corn

10. Twizzlers

Farewell, Porter Wagoner

                                              

TWIT is sad to report that country music legend Porter Wagoner has died.  He lost his battle with lung cancer on Sunday.  He was 80 years old.  The entertainer was known for his flashy rhinestone and sequin suits and his pompadour, and was a regular performer at the Grand Ole Opry.  Porter signed with RCA records in 1955, and joined the Opry two years later.  By 1960, he had his own syndicated TV show, "The Porter Wagoner Show."  The show ran for an impressive 21 years.  It was one of the first syndicated shows to come out of Nashville, and set the pattern for many other shows. 

To many country music fans, Porter Wagoner was best known as the man who launched the career of Dolly Parton.  He hired the 21 year old singer as his duet partner in 1967.  Dolly joined "The Porter Wagoner Show" where she sang her own songs and duets with Porter.  Porter and Dolly went on to win the Country Music Association's duo of the yer in 1970 and 1971.  One of their duets, "Just Someone I Used To Know" is one of my all time favorite country songs.  Dolly left his show in 1974, and went on to mega-stardom, and Porter sued her for $3 million in assets.  They settled out of court in 1980, and the pair said that they had always remained friendly.  Dolly was at Porter's bedside the afternoon before he died, and sang for him and prayed with him. 

Porter's TV show was also one of my favorites.  The whole family watched it.  It featured Porter's band, The Wagonmasters.  As a kid, I was impressed with his band because they all wore identical flashy suits and cowboy boots like Porter. The show also featured country comedian Speck Rhodes, who was always on the phone talking to his girlfriend Sadie.  During Porter's show and other country music shows, they would show one of my all time favorite commercials, starring none other than Porter and Dolly.  The commercials were for Duz laundry detergent and emphasized the freebies that came in the box of detergent.  At first there were drinking glasses, but then Duz pulled out all of the stops and had dish towels with flowers on them.  Here's the script for the best Duz commercial starring Porter and Dolly:

Dolly: Are they here yet, Porter?
Porter:  Are what here, Dolly?
Dolly: The brand new towels in each box of Duz detergent!
Porter: Well, just wait . . .
Dolly: But I can't wait!!

I had the priviledge of attending the Grand Ole Opry two times, and each time I got to see Porter Wagoner host the show and perform.  He loved his fans, and treated them very kindly.  When he was on stage at the Opry, he would walk to the front of the stage and open his suit jacket to show that it was just as flashy on the inside as it was on the outside, or he would pull up the leg of his pants to show his decorated cowboy boots, and you would see an explosion of camera flashes as dozens of people would gather around the stage to take pictures of him.   You can't compare him to a George Strait or Tim McGraw, but he was unique, and was quite the entertainer and showman, and set the standard for country entertainers today.  You'll be missed, Porter Wagoner, and the Opry will never be the same. 

Way To Go, Red Sox

                           

TWIT would like to congratulate the Boston Red Sox on winning the 2007 World Series.  The Red Sox swept the series against the Colorado Rockies to win their second title in just four years.  It seems just like yesterday when the Sox won the title in 2004 and ended their 86 year championship drought.  The Bo Sox were definitely on a roll - after trailing Cleveland 3 games to 1 in the AL championship series, the Red Sox won seven straight games and captured their seventh World Series crown.

It was a short but exciting World Series.  The Red Sox had 18 doubles in the four games - one shy of the record; there were 8 alone in game 2.  If that's not excitement, I don't know what is.  With this World Series only lasting 4 games, it meant that we only got to hear 4 versions of the National Anthem.  For the record, I will say that Trisha Yearwood's version at last night's game was the best version I think I've ever heard.

Congratulations, Red Sox.  You've made Boston and the rest of the country proud.

Link Of The Week

I've always loved trivia.  I bought a trivia book when I was 9 or 10, and I read it so many times I practically had it memorized.  I was able to remember figures and amounts, and that skill came in very handy during my college years.  This week, I found a website that is full of very interesting figures - it's called Worldometer.  It lists world statistics updated in real time.  Check it out at http://www.worldometers.info/.  It's fascinating, and at the same time a bit freaky. 

Chilvary Is Not Dead

I had alot of running around to do this morning, and in between stops, I noticed that "low beam" came up on the display on my dashboard.  At first, I thought it meant that I had my low beam lights on, but after consulting the one-inch thick owners manual for the BMW, I discovered that it meant that one of my low beam headlights was out.  Not a problem - what's one more stop today?  So I pulled in one of the many local auto parts stores and picked up a replacement bulb.  It only set me back ten bucks - quite the bargain for a replacement part for a BMW, let me tell you. 

I left the store and popped the hood on the car, and thought I would be able to take the old bulb out and put the new one in without too much trouble.  Well, as soon as I opened the hood on the car, it must have emitted some fragrance to attract the men.  I looked up and there were 3 men around the BMW, asking if they could help me.  Granted, I did look cute today, and wasn't wearing my normal Saturday sweat suit, and I was also wearing my beloved Obsession cologne, so maybe that had a hand in it.  At first, they were in awe of the twelve cylindar engine, and after looking at it for a few seconds, one asked if he could help.  I said "Sure" and handed him the new bulb.  In just a minute, my knight in shining armor had reached and stretched his arm in and changed the bulb for me.  Let me say that the other two guys were looking over his shoulder, ready to take over the task if he was having trouble.  And who says chivalry is dead?  Maybe it had too do with the slate blue suede blouse I was wearing that made my piercing blue eyes stand out.  Or maybe it was because the blouse showed some cleavage.  I'll never know.  All I know is a very nice guy helped me out today.  I know his mother would be proud that she raised such a kind boy.

Flashback Friday

 

                     

Halloween is just a few days away.  To kids, that means just a few more days and then they can go out and collect free candy.  To adults, that means just a few more days to get out to the store to buy candy to give out to the kids.  But I digress.  Halloween used to be a time to dress up with homemade costumes and go door-to-door, or go to neighborhood or school parties, and it was a time to scare each other.  Today, Halloween is second only to Christmas in terms of commercialism.  Now you have to pay to get scared at one of the many professional haunted houses or other haunted attractions.  Or you can get scared for free every other week like I do, when I go to the bank and see my checkbook balance.  Back in the day, you could get scared on a weekly basis by watching the awesome "Fright Night" or "Twilight Zone", and if you were home during the day, you could even get scared on a daily basis by watching the scarey soap "Dark Shadows."  But those days are gone.  Now, the scariest TV series are on Fox News. 

"Fright Night" was a local show that came on every Saturday night in the early 70's.  It was hosted by the very scary "Fearmonger."  The Fearmonger would introduce the movies, which was a double feature, and during some of the commercial breaks, he would tell very bad jokes.  But he was scary.  During this time period, a show like this on an independant TV channel was almost guaranteed to fail; it was competing with "All In The Family."  But in Louisville, the show ran for five seasons.  My favorite movie from "Fright Night" was without a doubt "Cape Canaveral Monsters."  To this day, I still get creeped out when I remember how the aliens looked in that movie. 

"Dark Shadows" was another good show, even though I couldn't watch it because I was in school.  And on days when I was home, I had to watch "Days Of Our Lives" with Grandma and couldn't watch "Dark Shadows."  But now, thanks to cable TV and video, I can watch it any time I want.  The star of the show was a vampire named Barnabas Collins.  I have to say he was probably the scariest vampire I've seen.

 

Thank Goodness I Forgot My Coffee

For the past three weeks, I've been going to work an hour early almost every day of the week for new computer system training.  I have clothes laid and I usually try to have my lunch packed the night before so I'm not scrambling at 6:30 in the morning trying to put something together, so all I really have to do is get dressed and grab my lunch bag and my coffee and head out the door.  This morning as I was getting ready for work, the 'Rents were both up early, and they threw me off kilter. They weren't in my way or anything, it was just that it wasn't my normal morning routine.  I left for work and got to the end of the driveway and realized I didn't have my coffee.  So I just put the Blazer in reverse and backed down the driveway and ran back in for my beloved green Tupperware glass I use as my travel mug and then I headed off to work again.

I was travelling on the Greenbelt Highway and was only about a mile from home when the cars in front of me crashed.  Thanks to my quick reflexes and the fact that I wasn't tailgating, I was able to use the shoulder of the road to get around the cars as they were crashing.  The wreck was pretty bad, from what I could see in the dark, and if I'd been going through that intersection thirty seconds earlier, I would have been one of the four cars involved in the wreck.  I sure am glad I was forgetful this morning and had to go back in the house for my coffee.  I'm a firm believer that there's no such thing as coincidence.  

He's Mr. Heat Miser

                          

As I mentioned yesterday, the monsoon season is here and with it are cooler temperatures.  As I type this, it's very windy and the temperature is in the low 50's.  So compared to the hot weather we've had, I'll go on record and say it's cool.  Note I didn't say it's cold; there's a difference.  Ask the 'Rents or our neighbors the L family, and they'd all say it's cold.  In fact, when the L family came down for supper with us tonight, Dad had a fire going in the fireplace. (Yes, I know that's redundant; In all homes, the ideal place for a fire is in the fireplace.) 

At work today, it was like summer and winter combined.  One minute you could feel cool air coming out of the vents in our cube ceiling, and an hour later you'd feel the heat cranking out of the vents.  So all day long, we didn't know whether to be hot or cold.  It's always like that at the changing of the seasons, and when they finally flip the heat on, it will be so warm in there people will be wearing the same short-sleeved shirts that they wore in the summer.  I'm not exaggerating on this, either; my co-workers will back me up on that. 

It's my guess that the furnace will be turned on here at home either later tonight or tomorrow morning while I'm at work.  In anticipation and preparation, I closed the vents in my bedroom just in case the switch gets flipped from cool to heat tomorrow while I'm at work.  I'll keep you posted.

Let's Hear It For The Rain

The drought is finally over here in the Ohio Valley.  It started raining at noon yesterday and hasn't stopped since.  In the 30+ hours that it's been raining here in the 'Ville, we've had over 5 inches of rain, and a few more inches is in the forecast before this is over with.  All I can say is thank the Lord for the rain and MSD for our sewers. 

The relief from the drought in our area comes with a price, in the form of crazy drivers.  Driving home today was like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.  As if water over the roadways wasn't bad enough, we had to put up with crazy drivers who've forgotten how to drive in the rain.  I saw more near-miss wrecks on my way home today than I could count.  I just kept my foot on the gas and kept on praying that I would make it home safe to The Compound. 

And would believe that the 'Rents were out in this mess today, willingly?  Keep in mind the rain started yesterday at about noon.  Last night after supper, Mom said that she felt like a caged tiger, not being able to get outside.  So this morning, not even after a full day of rain, they put on their raincoats and went out shopping just to get out of the house.  God love them.  I wish I had half that much energy when it's cool and rainy. 

What Happened To The Seasons?

On the opening night of the Bats baseball season this past April, it was so cold that I wore my heavy winter coat over my regular clothes on top of wearing my thermal long johns.  Yes, it was that cold.  And now, we just finished up with temperatures in the mid-90's in the middle of October.  So it sure looks like the weather has forgotten all about the seasons, and if you ask me, sports has, too.  This weekend, you could have watched: MLB (major league baseball), college football, NFL, NHL, NBA, college basketball scrimmages, and college volleyball.  I'm sure I probably missed another sport or two, but these are ones I actually saw for myself while flipping the channels.  What happened to baseball being in the late spring and summer, football in fall, and basketball in the winter?

I heard an interesting fact on the news years ago, but it sure isn't true today.  I can't remember when it was but it was in the spring, and the newcaster giving the sports report didn't have very much today say because that day was I think the only day of the year that didn't have some type of well known college or professional sports going on.  That sure isn't the case today.  We've got horse racing in the spring, summer and fall, and we've got the NBA season that lasts for almost the entire year.  When did the sports seasons become less defined?  I'm guessing the answer is when bigger money got involved.  If it were up to the sponsors and advertisers, we'd have the NFL going on every Sunday instead of just a few months.  And I know if it were up to the college basketball fans, we'd have NCAA games all year long, too.  But just like we can't tell the seasons by the temperatures these days, we can't tell the sports seasons, either.  I just hope everybody keeps track of the days and months on their calendars or we'll be in trouble.

Link Of The Week

Everyone likes to improve their vocabulary - or, at least they should.  Some people use those cool word-of-the-day calendars, or just take the initiative to look in the dictionary and find new words to use.  We also like to take quizzes to show how smart we are.  I found a website this week that will let us do both, in addition to helping out those less fortunate then us.  Visit http://www.freerice.com and help out.  They'll give a word, and you have choose between four words that you think best defines the word. For every word that you get correct, ten grains of rice will be donated to help fight world hunger.  You might not think ten grains of rice is much, but if you get hooked on it like I did, they will add up pretty quick.  And if you want to, you can even cheat a bit and make it a game of speed to see how fast you can look up the word at an online dictionary.  It really doesn't matter if you look up the words or not - we're helping out those who really need it. 

VFW Fall Conference Review

It seems just yesterday that I attended the VFW and Ladies Auxiliary summer conference.  It's hard to believe the time had come for the fall conference. To be very honest, I was dreading it, like I dread most of the other conferences.  Let me rephrase that - it's just the politics, BS, and bragging that I dread; I get a kick out of seeing the state color guard march in with the flags, and I feel proud when I see the VFW members salute their Commander.  The Auxliary doesn't to much marching, and they do no saluting, so our meetings are where the politics, BS, and bragging comes in.  That having been said, today was the fall conference, and as an officer, I'm supposed to attend these things.  I signed in and gathered my Auxiliary members and we headed in for the joint session with the VFW and Auxiliary.  I have to say this was probably the coolest one I've attended so far. 

The highlight of the session was listening to Col. Peter Bayer - the Deputy Commander at Ft. Knox. When the State Commander introduced Col. Bayer, I'm sure some probably thought he was going to be all pro-war during his few minutes at the podium.  That was not the case at all; he was pro-support.  He reminded us all that we currently have an all-volunteer military, and he assured us that the Army has never had better trained military personnel than today.  He gave some staggering statistics during his breif but moving talk.  He said that currently, 73% of men ages 17-24 do not meet the mental, physical, and moral requirements to join the military.  Makes perfect sense to me, given the fact that the marjority of the homicide victims today fall in that demographic category. 

The Colonel thanked the VFW and Auxiliary for supporting the veterans, active troops, and their families.  And before he left, he lifted up his hand to show that he was wearing one of the "I Support The Troops" red wristbands from the VFW, and urged us all to continue our support work, and do everything we can to help the young people of today, because they'll be the ones fighting for us tomorrow.

Friday Updates

I know that I'm deviating from our regularly scheduled Flashback Friday, but I've got some housekeeping to do, and it's my blog, so I can say what I want to.

First of all, I'd like to give a big shout out to one of my most faithful readers, Big Mama.  For the record, let me just say that her screen name is not actually Big Mama -- it's BLG Mama, but in different fonts, it looks like Big Mama, so that's what I call her, and she doesn't mind one bit, as long as she gets notoriety. Big Mama sent me a very cool golf shirt today, and I'd like to publicly tell her thank you very much.  I will wear it with pride, and will think of Big Mama every time I wear it.  Big Mama lives about two hours due west of The Compound, and even though that's not a very long distance, unfortunately I only get to see her in December at the company Christmas parties.  But I always make sure I sit at her table at the party so I can visit with her and her equally cool husband.  I'll give her more props and say she's one of the coolest ladies I know. Mercy.

Second, I'd like to give another big shout out to my boss BP.  Two weeks ago tomorrow, she fell on the steps going out into her garage, and broke her ankle and a bone in her leg.  It was a terrible break, and earlier this week, she had surgery to put a 6" plate going from her ankle upward.  I spoke with her today, and ever the optimist, she said she hopes to be back to work the first week in November.  We miss her bigtime, and pray that she has a quick and complete healing.

Third, an update on Pancho and Pedro.  I've had a couple of emails from faithful readers, asking how Pancho and Pedro are doing in their new home.  They're doing fine.  They've made two new friends so far - a goat and a mule.  And they have lots of grass to eat and are content down in Hardin county.  We miss them, but are glad they've adjusted to their new home and new family.

 

Mad Daycare Owner Update

You'll be very happy to know, as I am, that it's been over two days since I've heard anything from the mad daycare owner about her pump and toilet situation.  I spoke to the plumber Tuesday night, and he dropped off the big tank with the previously mentioned note, and as of tonight, neither one of us have heard a word from her.  I do hope she makes one more call to me, though.  She still owes me $69 and I plan to collect it.  If she hasn't called me by Monday afternoon, I'm taking my posse (aka the Rents) over to the daycare after work and will collect my money in person.  I'll keep you posted.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

                    

Here's a picture of the official pink Breast Cancer Awareness dolphin.  It's good to know that our friends in the sea recognize October as Breast Cancer Awareness month.

The Week From Hell, And It's Only Tuesday

The past two days have been without a doubt the worst days I've had all year; maybe even the past few years.  I've been in the middle of an ugly, ugly mess that is not going to be resolved any time soon.  A few weeks ago, the 'Rents were shopping at Lowes and ran into an old friend that they used to work with at B&W back in the day. She told them that she was there looking for a pump for the basement of her daycare, and the 'Rents told her that their daughter happened to work for a pump company, and probably wouldn't mind helping out.  So the next day, I stopped by the daycare on my way home from work, and looked at the existing pump, and told her we had one that was almost identical and would work fine in that application.  She needed a plumber, so we gave her the name of the family plumber (who also did all of the plumbing work at Fourth Avenue Baptist Church). I told her to call the plumber and then call me back. Two weeks went by, and I was on my vacation just a couple of weeks ago (two weeks, to be exact) when the lady called wanting to know where her pump was.  This should have been my first red flag.  I told her that neither she nor the plumber had gotten back in touch with me.  I stopped what I was doing and on my vacation day, went into work to pick up the pump (which she bought for exactly what it cost me under our employee sale discount) and deliver it.  The plumber was there when I got back with the pump, and I dropped it off and went back home to continue my vacation.

Flash forward to yesterday, exactly two weeks from when I delivered the pump and it was installed.  The owner of the daycare (the 'Rents' old co-worker and alleged friend) called me and proceded to rip me a new one because the "pump has been leaking all over the place."  My first response was "You waited two weeks to call me?"  She continued to rant and rave and rip me a second new one, even though I did nothing wrong; I was guilty of only trying to help her out.   I then called the plumber, and got his side of the story.  To make the long story short, I told him and the lady I'd get her a new tank for the pump to go in, and then everything would be fine.  Well, it couldn't be that simple, now, could it?  The plumber came to work early this a.m. and got the tank, and went over to the daycare to get everything hooked up.  Let me interject that at this point, he was sick of dealing with this woman and was not going to charge her any more money for all of this.  Flash forward again to lunchtime when the plumber calls me, and all I can hear is the daycare owner screaming in the background.  To make the long he-said-she-said story short, apparently he didn't hook things up quite like she told him to, so what do they do?  Of course - they call me; the one who is not a plumbing expert nor plumbing contractor.  So to calm both of them down, I told the plumber to come back to work and I'd get him a 2nd tank.  He picked it up, and told me he was going to go and deliver it after the daycare closed, and was simply going to drop it off on the doorstep with a note telling her that she had ranted and raved so much, that it raised his blood pressure and affected his nerves so much that he can't deal with her any more, and for her to get the phonebook out and find another plumber. 

Now do you see why I've been stressed to the max the past two days?  I can kinda see her side, and I can see the plumber's side.  But the both of them are not seeing MY side.  And to be honest, I don't actually have a side in this - all I was doing was helping a family friend out by getting her a pump for what it would cost me.  Now I'm in the middle of World War III.  It's almost 7:00, and the daycare is closed, and it's a good sign that the lady hasn't called me yet wanting to know when the plumber was bringing her tank.  Maybe, just maybe, the plumbing gods will show favor on me and she won't call me tomorrow raising hell abou the tank that was left on her doorstep.  Yep, you believe that too, don't you.

The Streak Has Ended

Up until yesterday evening, I could proudly say that I was undefeated in our fantasy football league at work.  I was 5-0 going into yesterday's games.  Then I got whooped bad yesterday, and my perfect winning streak was broken.  The Louisville Bombers pummeled The TWITS into the ground. But it's not that bad - even at 5-1, I'm still in first place.  And after week three, I'd already won more games than I'd won all of last season, so it's a great improvement.  I don't think that's bad at all for someone who puts maybe fifteen minutes of effort into strategizing (yes, that's a new word I just made up)the roster for the coming week.  Plus for five weeks, I was able to rub it in to my opponents that they got beat by a girl. 

Link Of The Week

We all like to feel we're getting a good deal when we pay for something - whether it be a haircut, having a dog neutered, or getting liposuction.  Sure as the world, if you mention that you paid $17 for a haircut, someone at work or in your 'hood will say "Well, I paid $15 for my last haircut."  I found a site this week that will help us all compare the prices that we paid for something, and see where it falls in the national average.  Visit http://www.costhelper.com and you can find the price of things from haircuts to dog neutering to even liposuction, and pretty much everything else in between.  The website says "CostHelper.com aims to be the premier shopping and cost information community on the Internet."  So give it a shot.  And they also have a link where you can send them pricing info on something you just bought, so you can help other consumers who want to know if they paid too much if they got a bargain. 

Poisoned Pot Pie Update

TWIT is the first on the scene with breaking news.  I have one report of a confirmed case of salmonella poisoning from the Banquet chicken pot pies.  My Aunt Helen, who was here visiting at The Compound  a couple of weeks ago, ate one of the poisoned pot pies earlier this week, and was sick for two days after eating it.  My cousin (her daughter) emailed me with this news, knowing I would want to report it to my faithful readers, and my first words to here were "Did you call a lawyer?"  Aunt Helen is fine now, and didn't have to be hospitalized, thank goodness, but you can bet she'll never eat another pot pie.  On a side note, her husband (my Uncle Roy) worked for Premium Foil - the company that made the aluminum pans for the Banquet pot pies, back when pot pies came in those cool little pans. 

I also have a related report of the poisoned pot pie.  The wife of faithful reader JMc ate one for lunch on Thursday, and did not get sick.  We're glad of that, since she has a career, two busy kids, and a husband to deal with. 

Flashback Friday

 

                

Always wanting to accomodate my faithful readers, today's Flashback Friday is the result of a special request by my co-worker and faithful reader, JMc. 

Back in the day, the best TV show on Sunday was ABC's "Wide World of Sports."  They had everything on there - the Harlem Globetrotters was always a favorite of my Grandma and me, but they couldn't compare to the daredevil motorcycle jumps of Evel Knievel.  Honestly, that was the only reason I watched the "Wide World of Sports" - hoping that they'd show Evel doing one of his awesome stunts.  I remember vividly as an almost six year old on New Year's Day in 1968, watching Evel on live TV as he jumped over the fountains at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.  He made the 151 foot jump, but  crashed when he landed, and his injuries put him in the hospital in a coma for 30 days.  It was during his recovery that he decided to jump the Grand Canyon, which he did in 1974 when he jumped over the Snake River Canyon in Idaho. In 1975, Evel successfully jumped over 14 Greyhound buses up at Kings Island.  For that stunt, Evel holds the ABC's Wide World of Sports TV viewing audience record for an unprecedented 52% household share.

In the early 70's, the Ideal Toy Company produced Evel Knievel toys, watches, radios, lunchboxes, pinball machines and other toys and accessories.  The items sold over $300 million, and Kneviel was credited with revitalizing the poorly performing toy industry of the 70's. 

Evel is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as having broken 35 bones, and after watching the video of the Caesar's Palace jump on YouTube, I think the marjority of those 35 bone breaks happened at that crash.  In the winter of 1976, Evel was seriously injured once again during a nationally televised jump.  He attempted to jump over a atnk full of live sharks.  Evel suffered a brain concussion and two broken arms, and a cameraman was also seriously injured, losing an eye.  It was then that Evel decided to retire.

He's still America's greatest daredevil.  I sure wish I could still watch him on Sunday afternoons with my Grandma.

Another Ohio Valley Weather Update

I know I've written alot about the weather this year, especially this summer, but the very strange weather has been newsworthy.  On Sunday the high was 93, and Monday it was 95 -- both record-breaking days for temperature highs.  Then the front moved through, and the high yesterday was 59 -- 21 degrees cooler than the high of 80 on Tuesday.  So, the heatwave is finally over, and by the looks of the big winter coats that I saw on the way to work this a.m., winter is almost here.  I always look forward to the first cool period in the fall, because I know I'll see a few coats on the drive to work.  Granted, if I were waiting at the bus stop this morning, I would have had on a jacket (it was 50 degrees at The Compound when I left for work at 7:30), but it has to get in the low 30s for me to get the big coat out. 

While I look forward to our first cool spell of the season, mothers everywhere dread it.  Because they know that there's a good chance the jackets that they put on their kids when they left for school this morning won't make it home this afternoon because they'll be left in lockers, classrooms and on buses. 

Now That's What I Call An I-V.

Poisoned tourist saved with vodka drip

With treatment, Italian visitor made successful recovery in Australia

The Associated Press

Updated: 8:41 a.m. ET Oct 10, 2007

BRISBANE, Australia - Australian doctors said they plugged a poisoned Italian tourist into a vodka drip after running out of the medicinal alcohol they would normally have used to save his life.

The 24-year-old Italian, who was not further identified, was diagnosed as having ingested a large quantity of ethylene glycol, a common ingredient in antifreeze that can cause renal failure.

Pure alcohol is often given in treating such cases because it can inhibit the toxic effects of ethylene glycol.

Dr. Pascal Gelperowicz at Mackay Base Hospital where the man was taken for treatment said he was given pharmaceutical-grade alcohol on arrival, but that the hospital's supplies soon ran out.

"We quickly used all the available vials of 100 percent alcohol and decided the next best way to get alcohol into the man's system was by feeding him spirits through a nasogastric tube," Gelperowicz said in a statement.

"The patient was drip-fed about three standard drinks an hour for three days in the intensive care unit," he said. "The hospital's administrators were also very understanding when we explained our reasons for buying a case of vodka."

The patient made a successful recovery. The incident occurred about two months ago, though the hospital just released information on the case.

I have a few concerns about this.  For starters, I really wouldn't want to be treated in a hospital that doesn't have an ample supply of alcohol.  I realize that the patient was a tourist visiting Brisbane, and he probably didn't have much choice in the matter, but if it were a non-emergency case, I think I'd do a bit of research and find out if the hospital had enough normal supplies, like alcohol, on hand.  Second, I wonder what brand of vodka they used.  I can't imagine they would have been pumping Grey Goose or Belvedere into the guy's veins;  I'm guessing it was the Australian equivalentof Heaven Hill.  And what about the amount of vodka they gave the poor guy - three drinks worth every hour?  They didn't say how long it took to heal him, but I'm thinking that in normal get-your-drink-on circumstances, three drinks an hour continuously would kill you after 5 or 6 hours.  After thinking about this story, it's definitely in the "WTF?" category. 

No Pot Pies For Me, Thank You

                                                

Just as my normal get-ready-for-work routine involves watching "Good Morning, America", my evening get-home-from-work routine involves watching the news while changing into my play clothes.  Today, an interesting news story caught my attention while I was changing into a t-shirt and khaki shorts.  Apparently, there have been over 70 reported cases of salmonella poisoning from eating Banquet chicken pot pies.  But the news story went on to say that ConAgra, the corporation that owns Banquet, had no plans for a recall on the pot pies.  WTF?  There have been 139 reported cases in 30 states of people getting sick after eating the pot pies and ConAgra doesn't seem to care? 

Ever the inquisitive one, I did some research on this, and was surprised to find that salmonella poisoning is fairly common in pot pies.  To make the long story short, people get in a hurry for their pot pies, and they simply don't cook them long enough.  I was surprised to find out that botulism is fairly common in pot pies. Here's what the CDC (Center for Disease Control) website had to say about it: The organism produces a heat stable toxin when allowed to grow for several hours in foods such as chicken pot pie. This bacterial growth doesn't cause any off color, odor, textural or flavor change, but the toxin will be secreted into the food.  The toxin is not affected by heating or freezing.  Even though the food is heated before eating, the poison in the food will still cause illness although the heat has killed the bacterial cells. I guess you pay your money and you take your chances.

When I was a kid, I remember my Grandpa eating the Banquet chicken pot pies all the time; mainly, because we got them from my uncle who worked for Premium Foil - the supplier of the aluminum foil that made the little pot pie pans.  He loved them.  I could never bring myself to eat one, and still can't, even though KFCand O'Charley's advertise them as being awesome.  I just don't like all of my foods jumbled up into one little area. Now, if they had the crust shell, chicken, and vegetables separate, I'd probably eat it, but not all contained in one pot pie.  At least I won't have to worry about getting salmonella from eating contaminated pot pies;  I can focus all my energy on avoiding e Coli in my medium-rare steaks.

Ohio Valley Weather Update

The heat wave continues.  Yesterday, we broke the record with a high of 93.  Today, it got to 94, with about a thousand percent humidity, so I'm pretty sure that broke some kind of record.  To give you something to compare this to, for the past week, in Las Vegas the highs have been in the low 70's.  In case you forgot, Las Vegas is in the desert; the hot, dry desert.   I've seen it warm in October before, but this is ridiculous.  It's just so hot and dry now, that our yard here at The Compound is turning into a dust bowl.  I will say one thing, though - I still continue to say prayers of thanks that our good ole Trane central air unit is still working just fine.  But I just want it to get cool so I can wear my awesome fall wardrobe.  You've got to be a real woman to wear long-sleeved suede cloth when it's 94 degrees outside.  I'm badass, but I' not that badass. 

Link Of The Week

As you know, I have a different Link of the Week each Sunday, and I don't repeat them unless they're very important.  Well, this week, it's time for a very important repeat.  As you probably already know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and TWIT would like you, faithful readers, to take the Pink Ribbon Challent.  Visit http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=2&ThirdPartyClicks=prcnbcf anc click on the "Click here, it's free" big pink button.  The sponsors of the website will donate money that will be used to provide free mammograms to hundres of women throughout the country.  Please put the link in your favorites and click on it once a day. 

Confucius Says?

We've had some issues the past couple of weeks with our spam and anti-virus filters at work, and some emails that normally would have been "quarantined" have gotten through to our in-boxes.  This Thursday when I came back from vacation, it took me almost an hour to wade through all of the emails that had collected in my in-box from the past week and a half, and this one email caught my eye.  I'm sure it was a faux pas and that our trusty filters would have normally caught it, but somehow it got past the Sonic Wall.  Here's what it said:

If you want to win sex-battles you must have heavy cannon.

Well allrighty then.

Flashback Friday

If you live here in the 'Ville, then you already know that today is the start of the famous St. James Art Fair.  It's become one of the most popular arts and crafts fairs in the country.  I'd be willing to bet it's even more popular than the Country Living Craft Fair in Morrow, OH, but I digress.  St. James has grown so popular here, that in the past few years, the school system has made the first Friday of October a day off for the teachers and students - it seems that alot of the teachers wanted to go to St. James and the school system had trouble getting enough substitute teachers.  So they did the only thing they could do: give the kids another day off from school.  The school system called it a "professional development day."  Right.  Add to this the fact that school is closed Monday for Columbus Day and Tuesday for parent-teacher conferences and the kids have a pretty sweet mini-vacation.  All I know is that we sure didn't have nearly as many days off from school as the kids do today.  We got off for national holidays, but not for parent-teacher conferences or arts and crafts fairs.

Back in the day, parent-teacher conferences were held at night, after parents got off from work; we didn't have entire days devoted to the conferences.  And if your parent got a note from the teacher saying they had to come to the conference, it meant that you would be in major trouble when your parents got home from the conference.  From what my co-workers tell me, today the teachers ask all parents to come to the conferences - not just parents of kids who are doing bad in school.  Maybe this is along the lines of how they don't pick kids for teams any more because they don't want to single out the non-athletic kids and hurt their self-esteem. 

On the rare occasion we did get a day other than a national holiday off, they called it a teacher's in-service day.  It sucked for them to have to go to school while the students got to stay home, but I really don't remember having alot of those days off, unlike the kids today.  Maybe our places of employement should start having in-service days -- we can stay home while our bosses have to go to work. 

Post Vacation Update

Let me give you a brief look at how the 'Rents spent their first day without The Relatives:  When I left for work, Dad was sitting in his recliner and Mom was sitting on the couch.  They both had their hands folded in their laps.  The TV was off, and the house was as quiet as a tomb.  They both had dazed looks on their faces.  I called home during my 2:00 break, and Dad said the TV was still off, and that they had not done a thing all day long.  Good for them.  I wish I could have stayed home and sat on the couch with them. 

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

All good things must come to an end, and so does my vacation.  It's back to work tomorrow morning for me.  I hauled the California relatives to the airport this afternoon and saw them off, and tomorrow morning the remaining Alabama relative will head back down south, and then it will be just the Rents and me here at The Compound.  We had more than our share of dramas over the past week, but all in all it was good for the family to be together.  Sure, I wanted to knock some of them in the head with my Louisville Slugger, but they are blood kin, and I just bit my tongue so hard I could taste blood on more than one occasion.  But it's time for some reflection on my week with The Relatives.

Looking back, it wasn't all that bad.  At least I wasn't working, and I was getting paid for my days off - that's a plus.  But it was just the little things that really irritated me.  For one, the incessant flushing of the toilet at all hours of the night and early morning.  I understand that you normally flush the toilet when you use it, but please be considerate of those whose bedroom is next to the toilet and the sound is amplified a thousand times.  And I swear that all four of The Relatives were taking a Lasix or some other water pill, as much as they used the bathroom all night long.  It made no sense to me - they ate and drank all day long, and sure didn't use the bathroom nearly as much as they did in the middle of the night.   The lights were another major source of irritation for me.  They would leave the lights in their bedrooms and in the bathrooms on all the time.  I guess they thought that our electricity was free.  Mom and I spent half our time going behind them turning off the lights.  And as soon as we would turn them off, they would go back into their bedroom and damned if they didn't leave the lights on again.  

I could go on for a few more paragraphs but I won't.  I'll just close by saying something I never thought I would say:  I'm actually looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. 

She Sure Looks Happy To Me

                

I'm pretty sure nobody was surprised yesterday when we heard the news that Britney Spears lost custody of her two sons.  On Monday, the court ordered her sons Sean and Jayden to be given to their father, Kevin Federline, or K-Fed as we've grown to call him.   She was supposed to produce a valid California driver's license, which she didn't, and also missed a court-ordered drug and alcohol test.  But she didn't look too broken up over it - the above photo was taken just two hours after she handed the kids over to K-Fed.  Please notice the baby's shoes hanging from the rearview mirror. 

This was the latest blow to Britney's ego.  We saw countless pictures of her driving with one of the kids in her lap, and then we saw pictures of her almost dropping one of the kids while she carried him.  As if that wasn't bad enough, we had to listen to all of the stories of her partying out of control with Paris Hilton.  Then we saw her mega flop on the MTV awards a few weeks ago.  But with all of that against her, it sure doesn't seem to be bothering Britney too much. She got rid of the kids and now she can go out and do whatever she wants, as long as she has a driver because she still doesn't have a driver's license.

It's just so sad that little Sean and Jayden are having to go through something like this.  I'm not so sure it was even right to give them to their father, but being with one parent is better than being with none at all, I guess.  And I give K-Fed props - we've never heard about him almost dropping one of his kids on the ground, nor driving with one of them sitting in his lap.  In fact, all of the pictures I've seen of the kids with K-Fed are of them and their nanny, and the kids are smiling and seem happy, so I guess it was for the best after all.    To me, Britney just seems to be another white trash with money.  And if she has to pay child support to K-Fed, she might not have much of that. 

See You Later, Pancho and Pedro

                   

This was a bittersweet day at The Compound.  This morning, Pancho and Pedro left for their new home down in Breckenridge county.  This photo was taken about an hour and a half before they took their trip.  We miss them already, but it was time for them to go to a new home.  The older they got, the stronger and more stubborn they got, and they had become quite a hand full for the Old Man to deal with.  Actually, they were quite a hand full for me to deal with as well.  They were also becoming more aggressive to each other, and when that happens, it's not a pretty sight to be caught in the middle of those two with their eight little hooves.  The straw that broke the donkey's back was a month ago when the Great Escape took place and the donkeys got out.  So today, they left The Compound for their new home at Jones' Farm.  They'll have lots of new playmates - horses, other donkeys, and even a goat. 

Dad and I will be first to admit it was odd when we got home this evening from our day at the Glory of Rome - ordinarily, we would have heard donkeys braying as soon as we pulled into the driveway, but it was quiet.  And it will take some time for Dad to get used to not having to go outside at 3:45 every day to feed them.  But as the three of us, most of The Relatives and Mr. Jones attempted to get the donkeys into the trailer this morning, the sadness that we had experienced over the past two days quickly went away.  I know it did for me when I was up in the trailer with a death grip on the rope attached to Pancho's halter while he was kicking and rearing up.  Believe me when I say that as much as I loved those two little donkeys, this morning, I wanted to introduce them to the end of a Louisville Slugger.  But we finally managed to get them loaded up, and as I type this they're enjoying their new home.