Happy Memorial Day

TWIT would like to wish everyone a very safe and happy Memorial Day. While we are cooking out or swimming or goofing off or doing whatever, I urge us all to please take a few moments out of your day and give thanks for all of the brave and loyal men and women who served and are still serving in the military, law enforcement and other organizations that serve and protect us.

Link Of The Week

Thanks once again to kind neighbors, I'm able to use their computer and bring you another posting of TWIT. That having been said, as I type this it's getting pretty close to lunchtime and I'm getting hungry. The usual Sunday morning discussion will be coming soon: what to have for lunch. On Sundays, it's our normal routine for me to go pick up some form of carry-out for us to have for our Sunday lunch. Lately, we've developed another routine - once a month we have Sunday lunch from our new favorite restaurant, Tuscany. Just the other day I was able to buy a $25 gift certificate for Tuscany for only $10. Yep, only $10. You, too, have the same luck - not only for Tuscany for for lots of other restaurant as well. And not just in Louisville but in other cities around the country. Just visit http://www.restaurant.com and sign up and you'll be on your way to getting great deals on gift certificates. I've bought a few from them and I can vouch for them. Restaurant.com definitely gets the TWIT Seal of Approval.

Happy Saturday

I say sarcastically "Happy Saturday", faithful readers. My cable internet connection has been out since last night, and the cable repair people won't be able to get to The Compound until Wednesday. Ordinarily it wouldn't bother me too much but my next class starts this Sunday night and this is going to put me in the crunch zone for the first week of class. As I type this to you, I am using a neighbor's computer. They graciously offered the use of their computer until my system is up and running but I'm not one to impose. So if the TWIT posts for the next few days are limited to the few sentences I can send from my cell phone, I hope you all will understand.

And in keeping with my bad luck today, I've already had issues with the Post Office and our local Krogers. I hope it's not an omen of how my luck will be for the rest of the weekend and the following week.

Flashback Friday

This week's Flashback Friday is brought to you courtesy of my best friend and faithful reader, Diva Stacy. She knew I was experiencing some major computer issues in addition to being sick with a bad cold, so she offered to share a Flashback this week.

When I was very young, I would sit and listen to my older sister's records. Beatles, Monkees, Jimi Hendrix...you name it. I'd sit upstairs in our bedroom which was a converted attic, and sing for hours and hours.

This morning on the drive to work, I heard an old song and it made me flash back to what I thought was a fun memory. The song was "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells. I remember how I devised what I thought was a clever plan when I performed the song. The attic was hot, and I had an old box fan up there to keep cool. I pulled it over next to the record player and at the end of the song where Tommy James' voice sounds all psychodelic and broken, I would sing into the fan. Worked like a charm. I guess you could call it 1969 Special FX. Ah, the good old days!

File Under: WTF

Blind Drunk? Vodka 'Eyeballing' Latest Fad With Teens

You might have to see it to believe it, but a shocking trend gaining popularity among teenagers may actually prevent them from seeing anything at all.

"Eyeballing," a drinking game where participants pour vodka directly into someone's eye, is the latest -- and dangerous -- fad, and videos of the act are even popping up online."They're not doing this eyeballing to get drunk, they're doing it after they're drunk and they're drunk enough to act stupid," said Mike Gimbel, a substance abuse expert. "They're actually doing it as part of a fad. You know, I dare you to do this." Hundreds of YouTube videos have been put up to document the practice.

Three 2009 college graduates living in the District of Columbia told The Washington Examiner that eyeballing was a common party stunt. "Every time, it was a big spectacle where people were like 'what the hell is that kid doing,' " said one graduate, who wished to remain anonymous and compared the feeling to getting shampoo in the eye. Although, "eyeballing" is much more than fun and games doctors said.

"Vodka is about 40 to 50 percent pure alcohol, which can take off the top layer of the cornea," Robert Stutman, president of the Maryland Optometric Association told Fox41. "It can cause scarring. Can it make you go blind? I suppose it probably could, if it causes severe enough scarring of the cornea."

Dr. Barry Eiden told AOL Health that once the damage to these surface cells of the eye occurs, there is a possibility that with prolonged exposure damage to deeper layers of the cornea may lead to permanent vision loss.

He added that because these teens are intoxicated while "eyeballing" it's likely that their pain tolerance will be heightened and sense of urgency depleted, so they would not try to immediately flush their eye out with water.

"Other risks include infection once the surface cells are damaged, and a high likelihood of direct injury to the eye if the bottle hits the eye surface," Eiden, a member of the American Optometric Association. Eiden said he believes this fad has the potential to affect college-aged, high school and even younger students if it gains enough momentum.

How sad and scary is it that we've gotten to the point where we need to explain to people that they shouldn't pour alcohol in their eyes? And these kids are the generation that's supposed to lead us in the future. Heaven help us all.

Wednesday Health Update

I'm very sad to report that I've caught a damned early-summer cold. It's got all the symptoms of the Damned Cold that I caught back in February. I've been miserable all day long, and have gone through a full box of Kleenax from blowing my nose. But I am determined to beat this without the aid of a doctor. I've been taking some homeopathic cold and cough meds, and have been drinking as much water as I can stand in hopes of flushing this crud out of my system before the long holiday weekend. As soon as I post this I'm going to get another glass of water and take my cold meds and crawl into bed and rest. As always, I'll keep you posted.

Indoors Or Outdoors?

An interesting thought occurred to me this afternoon at work: when people talk about it raining/snowing or doing any other type of precipitation, they always say "It's raining/snowing/fill-in-the-blank OUTSIDE." As opposed to it raining, snowing or precipitating INSIDE.

I don't know why this hasn't really stood out to be before; I've heard this phrase all of my life. But I guess we just take it for granted that the precipitation will be occurring OUTSIDE instead of INSIDE. With global warming and the way that the weather is freaky, it's really anybody's guess.

It just struck me as interesting.

School Update

I'm in the midst of my two-week break in between classes, and I'm thrilled and proud to report that official grades were just posted for the previous class and I got an A. I'm not ashamed to admit that this was the hardest class so far; I worked on homework just about every night of the week for this class, and poured my heart and soul into a big project. But the class is over, and in fact, this program is well over half-way over; I have four more classes and then I will be the proud recipient of yet another Master's Degree.

Thank you so much for your emails of support. It means a lot to know that I have so many people in my corner.

Link Of The Week

Disclaimer: for those of you who are more health conscious, I hope that you are not offended by this link. I try to watch what I eat, and I make an attempt to ride my bicycle everyday, and I think this site is pretty darned cool. TWIT does not encourage people to attempt to do what the author of this blog is doing.

Regardless of the size of your place of employment, there's an extremely good chance that there is at least one vending machine there. If you're lucky enough to work for a company with an office building and a factory, you could be in vending machine heaven.

A guy by the name of Matthew Baldwin has taken the love of vending machine one step further - he's going to eat one of everything in the vending machine where he works. He's vowed to eat every single item in his office machine and file a report at his blog, http://www.vendingmachinespree.com. Please put this link in your favorites so you can check out all of the things he's eaten.

Quote Of The Week

My father told me something this morning, and I felt compelled to share it with you, my faithful readers:

"Your daddy will always have your back."

Stormy Friday

Storms storms go away. Don't rain on my outdoor concert today.

The above post was sent from my cell phone last night over at the outdoor concert at Horseshoe. Unfortunately, the storms didn't go away. There were tornados probably 30 miles from us, but never any real severe weather where we were - just heavy rain and some lightning. We took cover in the parking garage twice, and then when it really started raining hard we hung out in the hotel lobby until it was clear and the concert could start. It was only an hour late, which surprised me; I thought for sure they would cancel it with the rain and lightning, but Chicago ended up giving a heck of a performance, playing all of their big hits.

I Found What I'm Looking For

Five minutes after I posted last night's TWIT entry, I'm very happy to report that I found the small red bag. It was in the spot where I asked Mom to look yesterday - the hall closet. She said she looked there and didn't see it. But just minutes after I posted last night's TWIT entry, I went on one more thorough search. I re-ransacked my bedroom, and checked all around the back bedroom before finally looking in the hall closet. Lo and behold, there it was.

On a related note, my friend, coworker and faithful reader SH also had a similar experience yesterday. She'd lost her beloved Little Notebook - the notebook she wrote all of her to-do lists, her grocery lists, menus for suppers, etc.. I could truly empathize with her on that one. But thank goodness she found her Little Notebook this a.m. - it had fallen out of her purse and was down in between her carseat and the middle console. I'm glad she found it - that would have been a bit harder to replace than my Little Red Bag.

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

You might not know this about me, even in the many years that I've been blogging, but I'm notorious for losing things. Usually I find them, be it days or weeks later, but I almost always find what I've lost. The main reason this happens is because I have too much stuff and have too much going on that I sometimes forget where I put things. Case in point - a little red bag containing something a relative gave me last year. I looked high and low last night and for the past hour and a half today and cannot find it anywhere. I know it's in the house somewhere - I didn't take it anywhere, and the last time I saw it was last week when I was cleaning the back bedroom in preparation for The Relative to make his early summer visit. So I know it has to be somewhere; I just don't know where. I'm going to give my mind a rest for tonight and relax and watch TV and hopefully tomorrow I'll remember where I put it. I'll keep you posted.

Calling All Artichoke Fans

I don't ask much of you, faithful readers, other than to just be faithful readers of TWIT. But today I am asking a favor. If any of you have ever cooked an artichoke, please let me know how you did it. Sure, I could go online and find thousands of recipes but I'd rather hear it from a reliable source. Please post your comments with your way to prepare an artichoke so I can give it a try.

Happy Birthday, YouTube

TWIT would like to wish a very happy fifth birthday to YouTube. It's hard to believe that they've just been around for five years; with as much entertainment as they've given us, it sure seems a lot longer.

I've shared these before in Link Of The Week, but it bears repeating: the two funniest videos I've ever seen from YouTube are Pearl The Landlord and Charlie Bit Me. If by chance you're new to TWIT and don't know what I'm talking about, just go to YouTube and do a search for those two videos. You'll be hooked.

I also love YouTube for getting cool clips from TV shows, movies, and song videos. And a lot of the readers will compile and edit their own videos from TV shows and even set them to music.

TWIT wishes YouTube many many more years of bringing us entertainment and laughter.

Link Of The Week

As I've said before, I don't cook. Actually I can cook; I just don't. But I love reading recipes and enjoy cooking magazines and websites. This week I was looking online for a recipe that Mom wanted and found it at the Pillsbury website. I was pleasantly surprised - I thought all they would have would be information about their products, but the site is pretty cool. The recipes are awesome, and they include recipes from the famous Pillsbury Cook-off contests. Check it out at http://www.pillsbury.com.

Happy Tour de Cure Day

In case you didn't know, today was Tour de Cure Day - the annual bicycle ride to raise money and awareness for the American Diabetes Association. I'm going to pat myself on the back and report that I was the 3rd biggest individual fundraiser, with a total of $1,100.

The weather couldn't have been any better - it was cool when we started, but humid. At least it wasn't raining and storming like it was on last year's Tour de Cure. The route consisted of about quite a few hills, but even with my old school three-speed Schwinn I was able to make it up and down the hills along with the hardcore cyclists on their multi-thousand-dollar bikes. But I made it through the 20 miles, thanks to my iPod full of tunes and my camelback water resevior.

All in all, it was a great ride. I'm thrilled to be able to do my part and raise money to hopefully find a cure one day for diabetes. And I'm proud to say that I pedaled everyone of the 20 miles for my Mom.

Flashback Friday

For the past few days at work, a coworker and I have been trading old Henny Youngman one-liner jokes. We've been laughing our heads off, while our two youngest coworkers sit there with blank expressions on their faces; they just don't get it. We started doing some online research and found a ton of Henny's jokes. Here's the one that made me laugh all day long.

A priest is sent to Alaska.
A bishop goes up to visit one year later.
The bishop asks, "How do you like it up here?"
The priest says, "If it wasn't for my Rosary, and 2 martinis a day, I'd be lost. Bishop, would you like a martini?"
"Yes."
"Rosary, get the bishop a martini!"

It's THAT Time of The Year Update

I am very happy to report that the switch has been flipped at The Compound and as I type this I am sitting in air conditioned comfort. Last night as the 'Rents and were getting settled in to watch "Law and Order", out of the blue, Dad asked me, " Do you know how to turn on the air conditioner?" I didn't hesitate. I replied "You move the switch from 'heat' to 'cool'." Then he spoke those golden words: "Go turn it on." I don't even need to tell you that I was at the thermostat in a flash. Within an hour, the house was cool, and humidity-free. And I had an awesome night's sleep.

Now I Feel Like Goldilocks

Black Bears Roaming Through Bluegrass State

Mating Season Brings Bears Down From Mountains
Biologists at Kentucky's Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources say residents in the WLKY viewing area need to prepare for some wild guests -- black bears.

It's all because of love. This is black bear mating season, and the males are traveling hundreds of miles and crossing borders to find Mrs. Right. That's putting them right in our back yard.

Kentucky has a fairly healthy black bear population," said bear biologist Steven Dobey.
And right about now, the male black bear is wanting to increase that population.

While they're usually contained to the eastern mountains of Kentucky, Dobey said the bears are moving west and northwest, a journey that happens every May, June and July.

"During that time, these males roam incredible distances looking for females. And those roaming behaviors will bring them far out of that mountain range," he said.

Black bears have been spotted near Frankfort, Bardstown, Fort Knox and near the Louisville area -- but you won't see many females.

"Generally what we're seeing is solitary males or sub-adults and they're looking for some companionship during breeding season," Dobey said.

Black bears are not as aggressive as their cousins, the grizzly or brown bears, and they're rarely a threat to people. But they can be bold when it comes to finding food.

"They're opportunistic feeders," Dobey said. "They just want to go where the easiest meal is."
Dobey said the easiest meal can often be found right in your back yard, your car, picnic areas, and restaurants dumpsters -- anywhere food is found.

Put up the food, and Dobey said you eliminate the chance of a bear encounter by 99 percent. But what if an encounter does happen?

"If one were to physically encounter a black bear, what they want to do is appear as the more dominant being," he said. "Yell, scream, wave their hands in the air, make themselves larger than they appear."


Great. Like I need one more thing to have to worry about here at The Compound.

Ohio Valley Weather Update

When we last spoke about the weather, it was almost 90 on Friday and it was hot and humid. A storm front moved through Friday evening and by Saturday afternoon when it was time for me to get ready to go to my Bats baseball game, I was down in the basement digging out my winter coat to wear to the game that evening. Yes, you read that correctly. On Friday I was bitching because it was so hot, and less than 24 hours later I was willingly getting out my winter coat to wear once again to a baseball game. Only in the Ohio Valley would you experience weather like that.

It was pretty cool for a couple of days but it's warming back up. It was in the upper 70's today and is supposed to back up in the 80's in a day or two. And for the record, the winter coat is back in storage in the basement. I'm hoping to not have to wear it again until about November. But I'll keep you posted.

Link Of The Week

You know by now what a big classic country music fan I am, so you can imagine my sadness last week when the Mother Church of Country Music, the Grand Ole Opry, was flooded. It literally made me sick to see the flood waters up over the stage. Like many, many others, I was concerned about the six-foot circle of wood in the middle of the Opry stag from the original stage at the Ryman Auditorium. I was relieved when I read that the circle was wet but it will once again be center stage when they rebuild. You can read all about it here at http://blogs.tennessean.com/tunein/2010/05/07/at-opry-house-country-musics-most-famous-circle-will-remain-unbroken/.

Happy Mother's Day

We interrupt the regularly scheduled Link Of The Week to wish all of the Mothers out there a very Happy Mother's Day. I'm taking it one step further, and including the wishes to all of the women who have had an impact on my life - many of whom do not have children. While they might not have biological children, they have helped raise or have contributed to the upbringing of quite a few men and women. TWIT would like to salute these women today.

Please take a few minutes tonight to phone or email a woman that has made an impact on your life, and just tell them thank you for what they've meant to you. I did that earlier this afternoon and I challenge you to do the same.

It's THAT Time Of The Year Update

Let me tell you, faithful readers - last night was one of the warmest nights here at The Compound this season. It got up to 88 yesterday afternoon, and even with the temps nudging 90, the 'Rents still didn't budge on flipping the switch. It was hot in the house until after the storm front moved through and then it was cool and comfortable. So needless to say I didn't sleep much until about 3:00 when it finally cooled down.

I'm hoping that one day next week will be The Day. My Cousin from Alabama will be arriving next Saturday for his annual spring sabatical here at The Compound. If the a/c isn't on by the time he gets here I know he'll be complaining and whining about it enough to make The Rent's turn it on. Heh heh heh.

Flashback Friday

Fifty years ago today, the Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of an oral birth control pill. This decision has had a profound effect on women's lives. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the pill, here's the lyrics to Loretta Lynn's hit song "The Pill".

The Pill

You wined me and dined me when I was your girl
Promised if I’d be your wife you’d show me the world
But all I`ve seen of this old world is a bed and a doctor bill
I’m tearing down your brooder house
`cause now I’ve got the pill

All these years I’ve stayed at home while you had all your fun
And every year that’s gone by another baby’s come
There’s gonna be some changes made right here on Nursery Hill
You’ve set this chicken your last time
`cause now I’ve got the pill

This old maternity dress I’ve got is going in the garbage
The clothes I’m wearing from now on won’t take up so much yardage
Miniskirts, hot pants and a few little fancy frills
Yeah I’m making up for all those years
since I’ve got the pill

I’m tired of all your crowing how you and your hens play
While holding a couple in my arms another’s on the way
This chicken’s done tore up her nest and I’m ready to make a deal
And you can’t afford to turn it down
`cause you know I’ve got the pill

This incubator is overused because you’ve kept it filled
The feeling good comes easy now since I’ve got the pill
It’s getting dark it’s roosting time tonight’s too good to be real
Aw but Daddy don’t you worry none
`cause Mama’s got the pill

Oh Daddy don’t you worry none
`cause Mama’s got the pill

A Conversation With Mom

It's just a few days before Mother's Day, and as I type this I am in the midst of a deep conversation with my Mother that I never thought I would have : we've been talking for quite a while about terrorism. Katie Couric had just finished talking about the terrorism scare last night in New York City where they found an abandoned U-Haul truck on one of the bridges. Luckily it turned out to be just an abandoned truck. But with the attempted terrorist attack last weekend in Times Square, terrorism is back in the limelight in the news.

Since I've been taking classes in security management for a year now, I guess she was looking to me for words of wisdom. Unfortunately, I didn't have many for her. I just explained how we as ordinary citizens need to be aware of things around us and if we notice something that doesn't look right, or see something that makes us feel uneasy we need to report it to the police or other authorities. Other than praying, that's unfortunately all we can do here in our homes.

In response, Mom said "Well, we should be praying already. But it wouldn't hurt to pray extra for our country's safety." No, Mom, it sure wouldn't.

Way To Go, Cubs

TWIT would like to say way to go little friend M and your fellow Cub Scouts on the fine job you all did making your very cool tool boxes.

Just look at the expressions on these boys - if looking at those smiles don't make YOU smile, then you're just too far gone. The little fellows look so happy and proud of their handywork.

I had the pleasure of working with this fine bunch of young men last winter at a few of their Cub Scout meetings, and it was truly a pleasure to spend time with them. Kids their age think and feel way more than we give them credit for. They're a great bunch of young men, and I applaud the dedicated men and women that work with them each week.

It's THAT Time Of The Year

It's THAT time of the year, faithful readers - the time where I drop multiple hints for the 'Rents to flip the switch on the A/C here at The Compound, but to no avail. I thought for sure when I got home today the house would be nice and cool but no. I don't know why I got my hopes up.
Last year, they turned it on before I even had a chance to whine and drop hints but I think they're making up for it this year.

Needless to say, I don't have to tell you that I hate this time of year. I haven't slept good in over a week because I've had my window open during the night and can hear all of the bird chirping and all of the traffic. Never mind that just about every night for the past week I've had to get up during the night to close the window because it's rained. But I digress. I guess I can only hope that the temperatures will soar to the 90's and make the 'Rents uncomfortable enough to turn on the air. As always, I'll keep you posted and report back when the switch gets flipped here at The Compound.

File Under: WOW

After receiving over a foot of rain this weekend, it really hurt me to find out that the Grand Ole Opry has been flooded. As you can see from this picture, the water is up to the stage door handle. The Grand Ole Opry is just not supposed to be flooded . But then again, Churchill Downs and Louisville's Main Library weren't supposed to be flooded last fall, either. But it happened.

From what I've gathered, Nashville got quite a bit more rain than Louisville did last fall during our flood, and their Cumberland River hasn't even crested yet, so more flooding is expected.

There's not much I can say about this other than wow.

Link Of The Week

It's the first of May, and that can mean only one thing here at The Compound: it's time for Nanaw's Roses to start blooming. In fact, we've already got one rose in full bloom. If this rain will dry up, we should be able to keep up with our tradition of the bush being in full bloom by Mother's Day.

Mom had a suggestion for TWIT, and said that I should post the recipe for the homemade insecticide that she's used for years on our rose bushes. I was only too happy to oblige. You can find the recipe here at http://www.gardenguides.com/112105-homemade-insecticide-kill-bugs-rose-bushes.html. And we can testify that it does work.

Happy Derby Day

TWIT would like to wish everyone a happy Derby Day. It's been raining off and on since abut 4:00 in the morning, and the rain is supposed to continue till tomorrow night. But that's not stopping the Derby. If you're here in the 'Ville, you can watch the coverage on Wave 3. If you're out of town, you can watch the coverage on ESPN.

On a related note, the 'Rents and I are all three dealing with some major allergy issues today, and thanks to the active ingredients in our allergy meds, I think we're all three ready to take a nap very soon. So much for an exciting Derby Day party at The Compound. Anyhoo, I hope you have a winner.