Weather Update

TWIT is not really happy to report that on Friday, we had almost record low temperatures, and the very next day on Saturday, the temps were up close to 90.  And for the past two days, we've had record highs in Louisville of 94 degrees.  Add to that the oppressive humidity, and you've got the heat index of over 100.  I'm not ashamed to say that I will be riding the recumbent bike indoors tonight instead of riding the old Schwinn outside on the bike path.  Unfortunately, they're calling for temps in the mid 90's until the first of next week.  All I can say is I hope that everyone's a/c is in good working order.  Please drink plenty of water - drink a bottle even when you don't feel thirsty just so you'll stay hydrated during this heatwave.

Happy Decoration Day

TWIT would like to wish everyone a very happy Decoration Day.  Yes, it's Memorial Day, but my Grandma and Grandpa always called it Decoration Day because that was the "official" day that people went to the cemetaries and put flowers on their loved ones graves, thus decorating.  Whatever you want to call it, please take a moment today to remember our loves ones that are no longer with us, and also remember the many veterans that made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

Link Of The Week

Something happened to me this week that I know people will think it's a tall tale: I called the IRS and actually talked to a live person.  Yep, it happened. And not by accident, mind you; it too a while but I finally made it through.  I called the regular number listed on the IRS website and kept pushing number after number, hoping to finally get to a person but had no luck.  Then I did a quick Google search for "number to call to speak to a person at the IRS" and the most awesome website came up that gave the number to call and precise instructions on how to speak to a person. All it said to do was call the regular IRS number and do nothing - don't say anything or press any numbers, and then you would be put through to a live person.  Darned if it didn't happen.  Sure, I had to wait about 15 minutes on hold before speaking to probably the most best customer service rep that I've ever spoken to, but it worked. 

Check out http://bzus.com/talk.htm for a list of couple hundred frequently called companies, the phone numbers to call and instructions on how to get to a live person.  I believe this might be one of the most useful Links of the Week that TWIT has posted. Good luck!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend

Flashback Friday

It’s hard to believe that 30 years ago today, I graduated from high school. Well, on second thought, I guess it’s not all that hard to believe. But 30 years is a long time. I knew I’d graduated some time at the end of May, but honestly I didn’t remember the actual date until this morning at work.


A coworker in the factory came up to my office with a friend of his who needed a pump for his church. I took one look at the guy and didn’t even need to read the name on the ID badge he was wearing to know it was Sid, a guy who graduated from high school with me. He looked pretty much the same, and I would have just as easily recognized him if I’d met him on the street. But I digress. We gave each other a hug, and he said “I haven’t seen you in 30 years.” We both laughed and he said “It was exactly 30 years ago today when I last saw you – the day we graduated from high school.” Damned if he wasn’t right. Not that everybody can tell you the exact day they graduated from high school; May 27 also happened to be his birthday so he remembers it well. But 30 years ago today our little class of over 80 students donned our dark green caps and gowns and graduated from high school. 

As a P.S. to this story, I didn't go out on graduation night partying like a lot of my classmates did.  But I did partake in underage drinking.  Instead, I rode home from my graduation in an antique 1955 perfectly restored Cadillac, stopping at White Castle on the way home for carryout, and once home having White Castle hamburgers with my family as we all had a glass of champagne to celebrate.

Off The Chain

I'm still shaking my head and trying to comprehend the fact that I just explained to my 77 year old mother what "off the chain" meant.  I don't know what amazes me more: the fact that I actually explained in great detail what "off the chain" meant, or the fact that I believe that she will in deed use that phrase some time in the very near future.  At any rate, the supper that she fixed tonight was most definitely off the chain.

File Under: WTF?

Police: Man Drove Drunk With Passenger's Head In Lap


LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A Louisville man is facing multiple charges after police said he was driving drunk with his pants unbuttoned and his passenger's head in his lap.

According to arrest records, an officer saw a vehicle driving with its bright lights on while failing to dim them for approaching cars around 2:34 a.m. Wednesday near West Market Street and South 28th Street.

Police said when the officer attempted to pull the car over, the officer noticed the front-seat passenger raise her head out of the driver's lap.

According to arrest records, once the vehicle was pulled over, the officer saw that the driver, 30-year-old Jeffery Grace, was not wearing a seat belt and that his pants were undone with his penis "clearly visible."

Police said the officer had to ask Grace to close his pants.

Grace had red, glassy eyes, slurred speech and smelled strongly of alcohol, police said.

According to arrest records, Grace failed several field sobriety tests.

He is charged with failure to dim headlights, failure to maintain insurance, operating on a suspended license and driving under the influence of alcohol.

I hesitated for a bit to post this in TWIT.  But it's priceless.  

There's not much I could really add to this story, other than I hope that Jeffery thought it was worth it.

It Was Twenty Years Ago Today . . .

This should actually be a Flashback Friday, but it's too important to me to postpone posting until later on this week.  It's hard to believe that twenty years ago today, the awesome movie "Thelma and Louise" premiered in the movie theaters. 

Twenty years ago, Mom still had her cleaning business, and one of her clients was the grandmother of Callie Khouri, the woman that wrote the screenplay for "Thelma and Louise."  Mom had the privilege of meeting Callie a few times during her time when she worked for her grandmother, and said she was a very sweet, kind,  young woman.

Shortly after the movie was released, Mom, me and a friend of mine went to see the movie. The following week when Mom went to clean for Callie's grandmother, she was surprised to find that Callie was in town and was there at her grandmother's.  Mom told them that we saw the movie, and Callie immediately wanted to know what we thought of it. Mom told her that while the movie was showing she saw me and our friend get mad, laugh and cry, all within a two-hour period. 

If you are a member of Netflix, I urge you to order "Thelma and Louise" this week and watch it for old time's sake. Tonight is the "Dancing With The Stars" finale, and nothing will keep us from watching that, but the family has already made plans to watch "Thelma and Louise" together tomorrow night.

Thank You, Lord

After the devastating tornados that came through Joplin, Missouri yesterday, we at The Compound were very, very thankful that all we got from that massive storm was a lot of rain and wind early this morning.  As I type this, I'm playing chicken-with-a-train, as we're under a severe thunderstorm warning and the lights are flickering and we are getting pelted with once again heavy rain and wind, but thanks again that we're all safe.

Upon first inspection this morning, all of the tomato plants were fallen over, but after the sun came out later this morning, they all sprang back up.  So far, we didn't have nearly as much wind and rain as we did with this morning's storm, but the night's not over.  I'll keep you posted.

Link Of The Week

I don't think I've mentioned this very much, if any, but I love horse racing. I seldom bet on the horse races other than Derby or my yearly trip to the track, but I love watching the horses run.  I hope that everybody had a chance to see Shackelford win the Preakness yesterday.  He ran an awesome race from start to finish.

If you enjoy horse racing, I found a very cool online game that you can play.  You breed, train, and race your own (well, virtual) horses.  It's pretty cool, and as soon as I post this link I'm going to get started building my racing empire.  Visit http://www.horseracegame.com/reg_new.php?sp=42 and get started.  Happy racing.

The Dread Has Already Set In

It's only Saturday morning but the Monday Morning Dread has already set it.  It's been so nice being off three days this past week that words cannot express.  I know I've got a day and a half left before I have to go back to work but I'm already dreading it.  But at least we have a holiday coming a week from Monday so there's a little something to look forward to. 

And while this post isn't an official Update post, I'd still like to give a big shout out to my friend and classmate RS who is participating as I type this in the southern California Webster University graduation today.  By the time that this is posted, RS will have received his Master's in Business and Organizational Security Management.  It was a priviledge to have completed this degree program with you, RS.  You rock, and I wish you the best luck with your degree. 

Flashback Friday

The Superelastic-Bubbleplastic was just one more in a long line of toys that I just HAD to have when I was a kid but yet I never had any luck with using it. 

You got a tube of the plastic goo, about the size of a tube of toothpaste, and a hard plastic straw.  You would squeeze out a little blog of the plastic goo, excuse me, Superelastic-Bubbleplastic, on the end of the straw and you'd blow and make a big bubble.  That was how it was supposed to go, anyway.  But I digress.
The bubbles were more durable than regular bubbles from the little plastic bottle and ring, but not as durable as a balloon; meaning, even after all of your hard efforts of blowing up the bubble, it would still pop fairly easily.

They didn't have Superelastic-Bubbleplastic on the market very long, after discovering that kids would get a major buzz if they inhaled on the straw instead of exhaling, so it was pulled from the stores.  It's a good thing. I never liked it anyway.

Bumper Sticker Of The Month

Two All Beef Patties, Special Sauce, Lettuce, Cheese, Pickles, Onion On A Sesame Seed Bun

I read an interesting article today.  It seems a guy up in Fon du Lac, Wisconsin just ate his 25,000th Big Mac yesterday.  Yes, 25,000.  There's nothing to go on except the word of Don Gorske, age 58, so we will take him at his word that he has eaten 25,000 Big Macs. 

Don had his first Big Mac in April of 1967.  He went to McDonald's on his way home from buying his first car, and bought a Big Mac.  He liked it so much that he ended up buying nine that day.  Now, one of the first things people would probably assume is that Don is in horrible shape.  He's 6 feet tall, very lean, and his cholesterol is in the good range. You can't ask more than that.  He's said he usually eats two Big Macs a day, but on occasion has eaten up to nine in one day.  In addition to keeping track of how many Big Macs he's eaten, Don has also kept track of how many bites it takes to eat one; his average is 16 bites.

I did some quick research, and discovered that if you stacked 3,374 Big Macs one on top of each other, the height would equal that of the Eiffel Tower. So to put this in perspective, Don has eaten almost seven and a half Eiffel Towers worth of Big Macs.  That's a lot of special sauce.

File Under: WTF?

Exploding Watermelons Plague Chinese Farmers

BEIJING -- Watermelons have been bursting by the score in eastern China after farmers gave them overdoses of growth chemicals during wet weather, creating what state media called fields of "land mines."

About 20 farmers around Danyang city in Jiangsu province were affected, losing up to 115 acres (45 hectares) of melon, China Central Television said in an investigative report.

Prices over the past year prompted many farmers to jump into the watermelon market. All of those with exploding melons apparently were first-time users of the growth accelerator forchlorfenuron, though it has been widely available for some time, CCTV said.

Chinese regulations don't forbid the drug, and it is allowed in the U.S. on kiwi fruit and grapes. But the report underscores how farmers in China are abusing both legal and illegal chemicals, with many farms misusing pesticides and fertilizers.

Wang Liangju, a professor with College of Horticulture at Nanjing Agricultural University who has been to Danyang since the problems began to occur, said that forchlorfenuron is safe and effective when used properly.

He told The Associated Press that the drug had been used too late into the season, and that recent heavy rain also raised the risk of the fruit cracking open. But he said the variety of melon also played a role.

"If it had been used on very young fruit, it wouldn't be a problem," Wang said. "Another reason is that the melon they were planting is a thin-rind variety and these kind are actually nicknamed the 'exploding melon' because they tend to split."

Farmer Liu Mingsuo ended up with eight acres (three hectares) of ruined fruit and told CCTV that seeing his crop splitting open was like a knife cutting his heart.

"On May 7, I came out and counted 80 (burst watermelons) but by the afternoon it was 100," Liu said. "Two days later I didn't bother to count anymore."

Intact watermelons were being sold at a wholesale market in nearby Shanghai, the report said, but even those ones showed telltale signs of forchlorfenuron use: fibrous, misshapen fruit with mostly white instead of black seeds.

In March last year, Chinese authorities found that "yard-long" beans from the southern city of Sanya had been treated with the banned pesticide isocarbophos. The tainted beans turned up in several provinces, and the central city of Wuhan announced it destroyed 3.5 tons of the vegetable.

The government also has voiced alarm over the widespread overuse of food additives like dyes and sweeteners that retailers hope will make food more attractive and boost sales.

Though Chinese media remain under strict government control, domestic coverage of food safety scandals has become more aggressive in recent months, an apparent sign that the government has realized it needs help policing the troubled food industry.

The CCTV report on watermelons quoted Feng Shuangqing, a professor at the China Agricultural University, as saying the problem showed that China needs to clarify its farm chemical standards and supervision to protect consumer health.

The broadcaster described the watermelons as "land mines" and said they were exploding by the acre (hectare) in the Danyang area.

Many of farmers resorted to chopping up the fruit and feeding it to fish and pigs, the report said.

It's bad enough that we have baseball players on steroids.  Now we have watermelons with 'roid rage, too. 

Happy Monday

Things were super hectic and problematic at work today, but this evening knocked it out of the ballpark.  I got to spend the evening with some of my favorite sales reps that I've dealt with over my 22 years at ZCO.  They were in town for a sales meeting, and I was invited to dinner tonight with them.  I'd intended on staying only an hour or so and then coming home so I could watch "Dancing With The Stars" but ended up staying until everybody left.  It was great to get hugs from them all, and to catch up with them. Ever since I started at ZCO, I'd heard people refer to our sales reps as family, and I can truly testify to that.  We've all been through a lot over the years, and when we see each other, it's like a family reunion. I'm still thankful that I've been able to develop and maintain these friendships over the years and miles.

Link Of The Week

As you all know by now, I recently completed my second Master's Degree - this time in Business and Organizational Security Management.  So naturally, I've become more aware of being, well, secure.  Not just secure, but secure and safe. From time to time I post security tips, and give information that will keep you and your loved ones safe and secure.  My family and I try hard to be as safe and secure as we can by, but none of us are truly ever prepared for something major like a tornado, flood or earthquake. 

This week I found a site at Google that touches on this subect.  It's called Google Crisis Response. It's loaded with pages and pages of information that will help during times of natural disasters or humanitarian crises. Check it out at http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/.  Be safe.

Saturday Updates

We're proud to report that the garden has been planted at The Compound.  Some friends of the family are sharing in the gardening planting and picking, and I'm happy to say that they planted not one but two long rows of collard greens just for me.

The majority of our spring cleaning at The Compound has been completed, just in time for the arrival of The Cousin From Alabama, who drove up yesterday for a week-long visit.

A faithful reader sent me a note the other week, asking how the old Beemer is doing.  I'm happy to report the BMW is still running great, and as of this weekend, has no new major leaks. But with gas being over $4 a gallon right now, I don't expect the BMW to be making any big road trips anytime soon. 

The only lingering ailment/injury I have is still some soreness in the broken little toe.  But I still keep it taped up to the toe next to it and go on about my business with no problems.

Last but certainly not least, I only work Monday and Tuesday of this coming week, and will thoroughly enjoy a mini-vacation.

Technical Difficulty

TWIT's blog site has been down for maintenance since Wednesday night. I apologize for the inconvenience and hope to be return to normal blogging soon.

Happy Eat Anything You Want Day

TWIT would like to wish all of my faithful readers a very happy Eat What You Want day.

How Cool Is This?

How cool is it to come home and see your 77 year-old parents wearing your old concert t-shirts that you bought way back in the day at the actual concerts in the 70's and 80's ?  Believe me when I tell you that I was almost weepy.  I think I have got the coolest set of 'Rents ever.

Gas Price Update

It's been a while since we've had to post a Gas Price Update, but with the mega increase today, I thought it was post-worthy.  Yesteday, gas was $3.78 a gallon.  When I came home from work today, it was $4.15.  I can't breathe.

Mother's Day Reflections

As I think back on Mother's Day, if you were to ask Mom right now how her Mother's Day has been, she would tell you that it was one of the best Mother's Days she's ever had. And it's not because of anything that I did as her child, although she loved her gardening kneeling stool/bench; it was because of something that a pair of 90+ year olds did for all three of us. Two of the sweetest people that we've had the pleasure of getting to know at church invited us to have Mother's Day dinner with them: our dear friends John and Betty Jean. Their daughter and her family wouldn't be over to visit them until later tonight, and they wanted to spend the morning and afternoon with us. They live in a high-rise apartment complex on our church property, and we all walked over to the complex together after church. It was our first time visiting this place, and I'm here to tell you that Dad and I are just about ready to pack up and move in. But I digress.


We felt honored because John and Betty Jean invited us to spend Mother’s Day with them, and even referred to us as part of their family. Well, it’s mutual because we think of them as family. As I said, they’re both in their early 90’s; Betty Jean used to teach at a college and John is a retired pastor and seminary professor. Age might have slowed them down physically, but they are still sharp and wise. As we sat in their apartment chatting, they told us stories and history of a lot of Baptist churches and pastors from the area. While I listened to them, I was thinking how I wished I could have heard Dr. John preach a sermon or have heard Betty Jean conduct a class lecture.

As I look back, this is what it's all about - being with people that you care about and who care about you. 

Happy Mother's Day

We interrupt Link of the Week so TWIT can like to wish a very happy Mother's Day to all women.  For the women who have never given birth to a child, you're like a mother to someone; you're a role model and are an important part of someone's life.  For the women who have children, you deserve more than just one day a year for recognition. 

And I would like to wish my Mom a very happy Mother's Day.  I thank you for everything you've done for me and for everything you've taught me.  You are the best example I can think of for unconditional and selfless love.  

Happy Derby Day

Flashback Friday

For my faithful readers who don't live here in Louisville, today is just another Friday.  But for those of you in  Louisville, it's not just another Friday; it's Derby Eve. For pretty much the whole city, Derby Eve has become a holiday.  For a lot of businesses and companies, Derby Eve is a company holiday.  They figured they might as well close since a lot of the employees would take off anyway.  And in recent years, it's also become a school holiday, as well.  But I have the distinction of saying that my school was THE first school to be closed on Derby Eve. 

Back in the day, my school was about a block from Churchill Downs, and they would close school on Derby Eve so they could make extra money by parking cars in the parking lots. We didn't care- we were just happy to be off from school.  Like I said earlier, all of the schools in the city and county are closed on Derby Eve. At least we were the first.

Happy Cinco de Mayo

TWIT would like to wish all of my amigos and faithful readers a very happy Cinco de Mayo today. The 'Rents and I had an awesome fiesta, complete with red and green chips as seen above. It's still not to late to get a shot of your favorite tequila and celebrate.

Injury Report

With the flooding and other things going on, I've been remiss in reporting some unique injuries/health issues I have right now.  Let's go over them, shall we:

1.  One night last week, I'm about 99% sure I broke the little toe on my right foot .  I hit it on a shoe that I had left in the hallway, so it's my own fault for being clumsy. It's been almost a week, and it's still a bit swollen and bruised, but at least I can walk. Which is a good thing because . . .

2.  . . . Monday morning, I stepped on something tiny that either impaled or is still stuck in my left foot.  Once again, it's my own fault for not wearing my houseshoes.  I got a tube of drawing salve and applied some last night before I went to bed, and the little spot has become more noticable.  I'm going to use the salve again tonight, and exploratory surgery might be in the forecast for tomorrow morning.

3. Yesterday during lunch, I burned the ring finger on my left hand while trying to get a piece of fish out of the toaster oven at work.  Once again, it's my own fault; I should have used the oven mit that we keep hanging by the oven. It didn't make a very big blister, but it's still annoying.

Update From The Compound

I feel like I should be using Twitter with this quick update to bring you breaking news from The Compound:  We've been outside on driveway listening to a couple of coyotes howling. It was pretty freaky. 

Just Another Manic Tuesday

It was another Manic Tuesday at work today, especially with me trying to get ahead on work since I'm off until Monday.  "Manic" pretty much describes today.  But the work day is over, and I can sit and relax with a glass of brandy as I get ready to watch "Wheel of Fortune" and be thankful that I don't have to go to work until Monday morning.  Yes, I'm that glad.

Just Another Manic Monday

It's been one of the craziest days at work that I've had in weeks.  Maybe months.  As soon as I actually walked through the door to the building this morning, two coworkers were there ready to hand me a check and money to pay for their pumps they bought through our employee sales.  I was standing there looking at them while I was still holding my umbrella, purse and lunch bag.  And needless to say, it all went down hill from that point on.

All I can say is I just need to make it till 4:30 tomorrow than my mini-vacation starts and I won't have to worry about work until 8:00 Monday morning.

Link Of The Week

I've developed a love-hate relationship with Facebook.  I don't feel like getting into the reasons I hate it, but will say that the main reason I love it is because I've been able to keep in touch with a few people that were very important in my life when I was a young adult.  One of them, TG, will always be one of my favorite people in the whole world.  He became a part of our family when he was working at our old church.  He then moved to Honolulu, and now is living in California. I will be eternally grateful to TG because he is the one that taught me to love the North Carolina Tar Heels.  But I digress.  This is a "Link of the Week" post, not a tribute. Well, it's both. 

TG's has been helping his brother with a charity fundraiser for a scholarship fund in memory of TG's nephew. When I found out about this, I was only too happy to help out.  They're having a golf tournament next week, and an awesome silent auction is going on right now.  If you love old school pro sports stars, then you need to bid on some of the stuff at the auction.  You can read more about the scholarship fund, the auction, and the school at http://www.ngngo.org/.   Only you can't bid on the autographed Bob Greise football card.  It's mine.