More hotel and motels

Well, I've never posted a cat picture before...

Department of Useless Information and other wanderings of the mind.

I keep lists. One of the lists I started keeping years ago is the name and location of the motels/hotels I have stayed at over the years. The current number is 731 and I am sure I have missed some. And that is separate hotels, not stays. Nights are probably in the 2500 plus range since I traveled like crazy for over 47 years.

                           

I don’t know why I started the list. Seems like I was on a flight from SeaTac to Honolulu around mid ’84 when boredom set in and I started writing. Later on I transferred them to my computer. The files survived being moved from Apple to PC, Ashton Tate to Windows and numerous computer crashes. One of which involved the computer smoking up the First Class cabin on an UAL flight between Chicago and Denver. Electrical smoke/smell on board an in flight airplane will always get a lot of attention. In today’s world I probably would have been tasered, thrown to the floor and held down by a couple of 200 ponders until they could get the aircraft on the ground and turned me over to TSA.



From time to time I click through the list. It’s a wonderful way to bring back memories, mostly good.



I sometimes get asked what my favorite hotel is. It actually should be, “was” because hotels and motels tend to wear out quickly and it is always the staff that makes the average good and the good the best. I’ve stayed in 5 star’s in which the staff made me want to post a “Do Not Stay Here” sign out front to Mom and Pop’s with a bad bed and only three channels of snowy TV in which the staff made up for the lousy room and I left with a smile. People are the difference.



But not always.



I use to stay at a road side Holiday Inn, this was 30 plus years ago, that was near a customer that I called on regularly. My routine was to pick up messages late afternoon the day before and return the calls first thing the next morning. This one particular motel didn’t have the capability to allow a guest to dial “8” and be connected to an operator for a credit card call. It wasn’t unusual for me to have 6 or so messages so it was a real pain to have to call the front desk, wait for the clerk to answer, plug me into a outside line and dial 0 for me.



After one particular morning of delays and frustration as I was checking out I said, “It’s a real problem for me to have to call you every time I want to make a long distance call. I may have to start staying someplace else.”



“It’s up to you,” was the immediate response.



Needless to say I found a Mom and Pop up the road a bit that seemed to appreciate my business.



Reading back I see I called it a “a road side” Holiday Inn. Back then that meant it was beside a road and not in a town. They were often near interstate exits and maybe there would a gas station there. They weren’t all Holiday Inns and for the most part there wasn’t but one. Also back then the deal was a room “downstairs and out.” That meant a room that was downstairs and outside so you could park directly in front of the room, open the door and walk in versus a room inside that made you walk around the side and then through a passage way, etc.



Now days you see three or so motels, two or more gas stations and couple of restaurants. The country has grown.



And yeah, many motels and hotels, didn’t have direct dialing. You called the front desk, gave them the number, they made the call, connected you and when completed the operator would call them back and give them the charge which the marked up (surcharge) and added it to your bill.



Local calls were dial “9” plus the number. The typical charge was .25 cents.



Later direct lines, called “trunks” were added. Then you could dial, in most cases, “8” and you would be connected an operator for a credit card or collect call. Then, as technology improved, you could dial 8 + 0 + 555 666 7777 and the operator would come on, get your telephone company issued credit card number and release the call.



Yes, Virginia. There was a time in which cell phones did not exist.



One hot summer day I arrived at a customer’s office only to find out that the engineers, who I wanted to see, were on strike duty and doing repair and installation work at not too distant town.



So I called the motel where they were staying, made a res and left a message that help was on its way. (The town was dry.) On the drive over I stopped at a hardware store, bought a small wash tub, put it in my trunk, dropped in a couple of cases of beer, covered it with ice and drove to the motel.



I backed the car up towards the walk in front of the rooms and we proceeded to pop a top. I was a much appreciated man. After a beer or too one of the guys said, “You know there is a perv here?”



“What?” I replied, being the possessor of quick wit and sharp interrogation techniques. “How’d ya know?”



“Come on,” he said walking away.



Now the motel was a two storey in an L shape. Rooms were on both sides with a service hall running the length of the building for space to provide water, sewer and telephone connections.



“The lock on the entrance door is broke,” he said as he opened the entrance door to the service hall.



“Look,” he said pointing down the hall



The hall was dark and every so often you could see a light shining through a hole.



He closed the door and then led me to his room; another guy’s and then mine. Each room had small hole located in such a way the bath area could be viewed.



“What you gonna do,” I asked. “Call the police?”



“Nope,” he said. “We’re gonna be here for at least a month. I’m gonna wait til some real big guy shows up with his wife and I’m gonna show it to him the first morning.”

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper


 “It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

A Leftie debating

Hat tip to Tom H!

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

 “It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

Obama is not the problem

QUOTE OF THE DECADE:

This quote was translated into English from an article appearing in the Czech Republic as published in the Prager Zeitung of 28 April 2011.

... "The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting an inexperienced man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America . Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama. It is less likely to survive a multitude of Idiots such as those who made him their president."

Hat tip to Jimmy M!


"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

Will Texas secede if Obama wins?

The Lone Stranger and Tontoette

Please note that Texas is the only state with a legal right to secede from
the Union . (Reference the Texas-American Annexation Treaty of 1848.)

We Texans love y'all, but we'll probably have to take action if Barack Obama
wins the election. We'll miss you too.

Here is what can happen:

1: Barack Hussein Obama is President of the United States, and Texas secedes
from the Union in summer of 2013.

2: George W. Bush will become the President of the Republic of Texas . You
might not think that he talks too pretty, but we haven't had another
terrorist attack, and the economy was fine until the effects of the
Democrats lowering the qualifications for home loans came to roost.

So what does Texas have to do to survive as a Republic?

1. NASA is just south of Houston , Texas . We will control the space
industry.

2. We refine over 85% of the gasoline in the United States .

3. Defense Industry--we have over 65% of it. The term "Don't mess with
Texas," will take on a whole new meaning.

4. Oil - we can supply all the oil that the Republic of Texas will need for
the next 300 years. What will the other states do? Gee, we don't know. Why
not ask Obama?

5. Natural Gas - again we have all we need, and it's too bad about those
Northern States. John Kerry and Al Gore will have to figure out a way to
keep them warm....

6. Computer Industry - we lead the nation in producing computer chips and
communications equipment -small companies like Texas Instruments, Dell
Computer, EDS, Raytheon, National Semiconductor,Motorola, Intel, AMD, Atmel,
Applied Materials, Ball Microconductor, Dallas Semiconductor, Nortel,
Alcatel, etc, etc. The list goes on and on.

7. Medical Care - We have the research centers for cancer research, the best
burn centers and the top trauma units in the world, as well as other large
health centers. The Houston Medical Center alone employees over 65,000
people.

8. We have enough colleges to keep us getting smarter: University of
Texas , Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Texas Christian, Rice, SMU, University
of Dallas , University of Houston , Baylor, UNT ( University of North
Texas ), Texas Women's University, etc. Ivy grows better in the South
anyway.

9. We have an intelligent and energetic work force, and it isn't restricted
by a bunch of unions. Here in Texas , it's a Right to Work State and,
therefore, it's every man and women for themselves. We just go out and get
the job done. And if we don't like the way one company operates, we get a
job somewhere else.

10. We have essential control of the paper, plastics, and insurance
industries, etc.

11. In case of a foreign invasion, we have the Texas National Guard, the
Texas Air National Guard, and several military bases. We don't have an Army,
but since everybody down here has at least six rifles and a pile of ammo, we
can raise an Army in 24 hours if we need one. If the situation really gets
bad, we can always call the Department of Public Safety and ask them to send
over the Texas Rangers.

12. We are totally self-sufficient in beef, poultry, hogs, and several types
of grain, fruit and vegetables, and let's not forget seafood from the Gulf.
Also, everybody down here knows how to cook them so that they taste good.
Don't need any food.

13. Three of the ten largest cities in the United States , and twenty- three
of the 100 largest cities in the United States , are located inTexas. And
Texas also has more land than California , New York , New Jersey ,
Connecticut , Delaware , Hawaii , Massachusetts , Maryland , Rhode Island
and Vermont combined.

14. Trade: Three of the ten largest ports in the United States are located
in Texas .

15. We also manufacture cars down here, but we don't need to. You see,
nothing rusts in Texas, so our vehicles stay beautiful and run well for decades.

This just names a few of the items that will keep the Republic of Texas in
good shape. There isn't a thing out there that we need and don't have.

Now to the rest of the United States under President Obama: Since you won't
have the refineries to get gas for your cars, only President Obama will be
able to drive around in his big 5 mpg SUV.The rest of the United States will
have to walk or ride bikes.

You won't have any TV as the Space Center in Houston will cut off satellite
communications. You won't have any natural gas to heat your homes, but since
Mr. Obama has predicted global warming, you will not need the gas as long as
you survive the 2000 years it will take to get enough heat from Global Warming.

Signed,
The People of Texas

P.S. This is not a threatening letter - just a note to give you something to
think about!

SLEEP WELL TONIGHT - THE EYES OF TEXAS ARE UPON YOU!!

Hat tip to Jim M!

Hey Jimmy! When you moving?

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

A simple test

When a young person intended to go to medical school, they had to pass an exam.

One of the questions was "Rearrange the letters P N E S I to spell out an important part of the human body that is more useful when erect."

Those who spelled SPINE became Doctors. The rest ended up in Congress.

Hat tip to Bill T!

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

How liberals argue

Actually it's how Lefties and so-called Progressives argue since they are the ones that tarnished many good positions held by Liberals.

Click here for the video.



"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

 “It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

Holiday Inn, Rodeway and other hotels and motels and such

Department of Useless Information and other wanderings of the mind.

The first Holiday Inn was built on Summer Ave  in Presleyville, aka Memphis, TN. The second one, and the first outside of Memphis, was built in Jackson, TN. The second hotel I ever spent a night in was the old Maxwell House in Nashville. The Navy paid for it and I remember getting on an elevator in which a drunken woman of later mid years showed immediate interest. Her Maid took immediate protective measures, stopping the elevator long before I reached my floor and shooing me off.

Ah, such is life. Here I was about to be taken advantage of and this Maid person had to start making value judgments.

The first Holiday Inn I stayed in was at Bangor, Maine. I was being transferred from Argentina and on a seven (7) day road trip home for 30 days of leave before I reported to the next duty station. Just my wife and me and two kids in a car that was so full that the kids traveled in the back set… setting, laying and sleeping on a level surface of strategically placed suitcases, with padding, about 6” below the top of the front seats.

Yeah, I know. The PC people would go absolutely nuts today. The kids loved it. They played, slept and accused, “Momma, she pushed me!” 

And it was July …and the car had no air conditioner.

Seven days and neither were harmed by the ride or their parents although there were some moments…....

The only good duty station is the one where you were and the one where you were going.

The next Holiday Inn I stayed in was in Russellville, AR. The Navy was long past and my civilian boss had decided where we should stay. The Railroad YMCA, $4.00 a night. Deciding that they needed me more than I needed them I checked into the Holiday Inn at a special weekly rate of $12.00 a day. I then called my boss’s secretary. I told her what I had done and noted that my companion had joined me only after my threats and that if there were any problems I would check out in the morning and my next stop would be at home on my way to join IBM.

My boss called back immediately and assured me that the problem was with Accounting demanding we spend less but he would “take care of it.” We both knew he was bsing but I wisely thanked him, went down to the ice machine, filled the bucket, beat on my companion’s door and we went to my room, built ourselves a VO and water and tried to figure out which of the three restaurants in town we would have dinner in.

It’s nice to be loved. Even nicer to have a job offer in your pocket.

Russellville was dry as a bone. Nearest place for a drink was 35 miles away at a VFW. Who said life would not have its ups and downs??

Holiday Inns and I have had many more ups than downs but it was at a Rodeway Inn in which I heard the world’s best put down. Three of us were having drinks in the bar when a friend made several hits on the waitress. None were successful in obtaining a telephone number or even the slightest hint he would ever get one.

So we went out with clients and had dinner and came back and got up the next morning and worked all day and met in the same bar the next PM where we had the same waitress serving us. She approached our table, smiled and said, “I hope you all are just fine today!”

To which my friend replied, “Well, I’m still horny.”

Without missing a beat she replied, “Know what honey? In your case I can understand why.”

I made sure she received a very nice tip.

Back during the first energy crunch I stayed at a Holiday Inn that wanted to conserve. It was your typical roadside motel. All of the rooms were entered from the parking lot and had heat pumps under the window. When I got in the room I discovered that the heat pump required the room key to be turned on and if the key was removed it would shut down. It was blue nose cold outside and in the room and I was going to have to go out for supper and come back to a cold room.

So I left the key in the heat pump, went and ate and stopped at the front desk and asked for another key since I had left mine in the room.

In those days of yesteryear room keys were KEYS of METAL not pieces of plastic that will become useless if you carry them in your pocket next to your cell phone.

I got one, went to my WARM room, went to sleep got the next morning and checked out. As I was doing so I asked the clerk if they were saving much electricity with the key in the heat pump thing.

“Don’t know,” she said, “but a lot more people are leaving their keys in the room and needing a second one than they did before we changed the heaters."

Ah, people. They’ll beat a foolish system every time.

I remember thinking how stupid the hotel’s owner was in spending money on something that didn’t save energy and just cost money.

But then I hadn’t yet heard of the manmade global warming hoax and Solyandra.

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper 

 “It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

Little Akio, or from the mouths of children

The teacher said, "Let's begin by reviewing some American History. Who said 'Give me Liberty ,or give me Death'?"

She saw a sea of blank faces, except for Little Akio, a bright foreign exchange student from Japan, who had his hand up: "Patrick Henry, 1775," he said.

"Very good! -- Who said, 'Government of the People, by the People, for the People, shall not perish from the Earth'?"

Again, no response except from Little Akio: "Abraham Lincoln, 1863."

"Excellent!" said the teacher continuing,"Let's try one a bit more difficult -- Who said, 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country'?"

Once again, Akio's was the only hand in the air and he said: "John F. Kennedy, 1961."

The teacher snapped at the class, "Class, you should be ashamed of yourselves, Little Akio isn't from this country and he knows more about our history than you do."

She heard a loud whisper: "F_ _ k the Japs.""Who said that? -- I want to know right now!? she angrily demanded.

Little Akio put his hand up, "General MacArthur, 1945."

At that point, a student in the back said, "I'm gonna puke.'

The teacher glares around and asks, 'All right! -- Now who said that?"

Again, Little Akio says, "George Bush to the Japanese Prime Minister, 1991."

Now furious, another student yells, "Oh yeah? -- Suck this!"

Akio jumps out of his chair waving his hand and shouts to the teacher, "Bill Clinton, to Monica Lewinsky, 1997!"

Now with almost mob hysteria someone said, "You little shit! -- If you say anything else -- I'll kill you!"

Little Akio frantically yells at the top of his voice, "Michael Jackson to the children testifying against him, 2004."

The teacher fainted. As the class gathered around the teacher on the floor, someone said, "Oh crap, We're screwed!"

Little Akio said quietly, "The American people, Presidential election, 2008." 

Hat tip to Dave T!

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

 “It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

Cheating at poker

Cheating at poker has progressed over the years. Whereas the supposed problem in the Old West was slick dealers stacking the deck and players sliding a hidden Ace into their hand the most usual cheating today is team play. 

Simply put team play can be used to run a player out with multiple raises or raise a team mate’s big hand so he wins a bigger pot. Somewhat more complex play is available almost exclusively on the Internet where 3 or 4 players tell each other what they have via phone or Internet. This allows a player to know certain things. That is, if three guys threw away an Ace and an Ace flopped then the fourth player’s pocket Kings is good and he knows it. That’s a bit simplistic but it shows my point. And if you can get  20 extra small and big bets in per session that’s an extra $600 in a 20-40 game going to your stack.

In live games that is almost impossible. But two people playing together is not. A buddy raises before the flop. Four people call.  The flop comes. The bettor bets and the raiser raises again. Three players fold. One  player calls. The bettor reraises… and the player in the middle mucks his hand. If the cheaters are smart they bet/call to the River when one bets and the other folds. The dumber ones just check the hand down and one shows his hand and the other folds. A few instances of that and the smarter players at the table either get up and leave or complain, sometimes loudly, to the Floor Person supervising the game.

Unlike the Old West, cheating in casino card rooms is mostly ignored.  While checking the Nuts in a tournament to your friend, if detected, will get you a penalty, team play may get a warning from the Floor Person but in 99% of the cases, nothing else.

Worse, many people see nothing wrong in two buds soft playing in tournaments as well as ring games although multiple complaints sometimes bring banning.

Which is better than “Go for your gun, sidewinder!”

But what to do?? My solution is make suspects show both hands if there is a bet and call, or if there both suspects check. And complain to the Floor Person, quietly if you don’t want controversy. Or just bring the subject while talking to another person. Sometimes just the subject being aired stops it.  But if it doesn’t stop, pick up your chips and leave. 

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

 “It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

Whatever happened to those crazy girls??

You know, I didn't note the time frame of my comments in my last post. It was in the late 70's. Of course before then we had the hippies and free love, free that is if you didn't add in the cost of the doctor visit and penicillin shots. (At least that's what my friends have told me.) Then came herpes and then came AIDS and the world changed. But during the 60's....

The Sixties

For all of you who remember being there . . .
And for those of you who are too young and weren't there
- but sometimes wish you had been . .
..

Remember
the words from the song 

"Where have all the flowers gone . . .
Long time passing ..."?

Have you ever wondered what happened. . .
to all those really cute and crazy, great looking, barefoot, young hippie chicks . . .

. .... ..who didn't wear bra's,
did drugs, smoked weed, and got tattooed. . .

...and had sex with every guy they met during that great Age of Aquarius back in the 60's?

Well, wonder no more!

Hat tip to Dave T!

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

 “It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

What happened to the babes and where did all the fat women come from?

One of the people I admire is Burt Prelutsky. And not just because he admits to being old. I do it because he writes things such as this:

One thing that I have become aware of is that the female icons of today are not as attractive as they used to be, and I don’t attribute that to my age, but to their lack of faces and figures. For instance, Angelina Jolie has the pencil legs of a 90-year-old and lips that are larger than her arms; Lady Gaga looks like something the cat dragged in; and Sarah Jessica Parker looks like the homely girl that pretty girls hung out with in high school so they’d look even prettier by comparison. When you compare them to the likes of Rhonda Fleming, Rita Hayworth and Doris Day, you’d think you were comparing different species from different planets. (Emphasis added.)

Link

Long before the movie "Ten" came out a friend and I sat at the upstairs restaurant in the old Atlanta airport one fine 11ish morning and after sipping a few adult beverages to cover up the headaches from the previous night's adult beverages I remarked how delightful and well groomed the females in our view were. (Actually I probably said something like, "Damn that is one good looking sweet thing....")

My friend, agreeing with my observation, added, "We should devise a rating system. You know, like they do in the Olympics."

So we did. Now I won't trouble you with the details, but we didn't see a female in over an hour of watching and drinking below a 7. And yes, I remember that "the girls get prettier at closing time" and Jimmy M's immortal comment, "Fat women need love too," but it was, as I said, 11ish in the morning and I had practiced my drinking to the point that four or so VO and 7's didn't warp my judgement the way they would now.

The women were dressed better, had better figures, nicer hair do's, their make up was done correctly and they walked and carried themselves in a way that said, "Look at me. I'm a good looking sexy Lady."

I don't remember much else. My friend caught a flight to southeast LA and I probably flew back to Memphis although I can't be sure.

And lest you think my admiration of Burt's observation and comments is based only on memory, be aware that I still get around a bit. And the women I see in airports and in the casinos when I'm walking around between poker games or on break are almost uniformly 3's and below.

No wonder the birth rate is plunging. A lot of these babes are so fat I don't see how anyone could get close enough to get them pregnant....or want to.

Now we didn't rate the guys. I mean being the sexist selfish ignorant pigs that we were it didn't occur to us.

But I have to say that had we done so we would have seen men dressed smartly in suits and ties or neatly in casual clothes with shined shoes and no tattoos. And if they had a beard it would be neatly trimmed and no "5 o'clock shadows."

Now a huge majority look like they dressed to work on their car and have just completed a 12 hour shift doing same. In addition to being unkempt they are likely to be dirty and their beards are shaggy and many look like they haven't shaved in days.

You see them on TV all the time, except the babes are 10's and they are zeros... again  a valid reason why the birth rate is plunging... But's that's TV and if nothing else TV knows its market.

The two groups deserve each other.



"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

 “It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

The three stages of a man's life

Cappy sent me this. I'm not sure why I used it because I've been married to the same woman for 54 years and 2 months... Yes, I married a Saint who is tolerant, wise, understanding and forgiving...

But, I have known some friends who went through the process....

Now  that I've gotten started....

A friend asked me about my garden.

It's the best I ever had. Man made global warming (sarcasm alert!) allowed me to get it in early and the green beans have produced and produced and produced. We have some 40 odd packets in the freezer along with whole tomatoes, corn, purple hull peas....

I put in Better Girl tomatoes and they have out done my expectations. As I set them out I put in a table spoon of Epsom Salt, mixed well in the soil and used fertilizer with calcium. No end root of the fruit. And yes, boys and girls tomatoes are a fruit. Also helped the squash and cukes.

Tried a hybrid okra and it has done great. The pod is much longer and smaller in girth than what I've been using. Tastes great. Only I have lost the seed packet and can't remember the name.

I am, of course, required to talk a small bit about politics.

I look at Obama's "tax plan" as pure BS.  I say this because:

The Senate can't introduce a revenue bill. So Harry Reid mouthing about it is nonsense. You might say the entire thing is theater written and directed by Obama, produced by Harry Reid and distributed by the Lame Stream Media, aka ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC and the press.

BTW - If you have never visited GOC, you need to. He has 4 videos of John Sununu educating the talking heads. He really porks them and it is funny as hell. Too bad McCain's surrogates didn't have the balls to do the same in '08 but then McCain was too busy trying to be nice.

GOC

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

 “It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

Is Obama a Muslim?

Faye C sent me the link below. Supposedly Fox News has bent to pressure from the Obama regime and won't let Hannity show it.

Link

I don't know if that is true.

What I do know though is that Obama did spend his formative years in a Muslim country and his father and stepfather were Muslims and that at the school he attended he was entered as a Muslim. And although it is denied by some, I think it is plain that the school fit the description as Muslim school, a Madrassa, in function if not in name.

What does this mean? Nothing.

Except when you connect that to what he says in the video you have to come to the realization that he was greatly influenced as a child by the Islamic religion and that this influence is at work today.

Then the question becomes:

Do we want a President that is under this much influence by the Islamic religion?

Your call boys and girls.

My answer is no.

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

History of the VX squadrons

Dave T sent me this bit of history on the VX squadrons. You may find it interesting.


http://thanlont.blogspot.com/2010/07/vx-squadrons.html">Link






"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper 


 “It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

Murfreesboro Mosque

Larry P sent me an email that had the following link embedded in it.

The link opens to an article that raises some interesting questions:


"Why is it such a big deal that a Muslim community is simply trying to build a house of worship?

Let’s start with a little math. Murfreesboro, TN has just over 100,000 residents. According to estimates provided by the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, there are 200 to 300 Muslim families living in the area. When they announced their plans to build a 53,000 square foot mega mosque, a lot of questions came up. One subject of concern was why they needed such a huge compound for so few families. What is particularly disconcerting is that, according to their own documents (attached 2009 annual report) the ICM only has 45 active paying member families. Naturally this begs another question – who is paying for this massive compound?

And, what will it really cost to build something that looks like this, per square foot, at 53,000 square feet, when the project is completed? How many millions of dollars will these “45 active members” be coming up with – and where is all this money coming from?"

That is a good question, and my answer is:

From someplace and somebody else.

Now before you start waving the First Amendment let me point out religious buildings are subject to the same zoning laws as everyone else.

In this case the mosque members went to the county Planning Commission and received approval.

But then we found out that the meeting where approval was given was not properly advertised. A judge said that but didn't halt construction.

Some people aren't subject to the same rules as others.

But let's go back. Where is the money coming from? Obviously from the same place all the Muslim school money is coming from. From Muslim sources outside the country.

Does the First Amendment say that people are free to practice their religion by building religious buildings all over the country using money from outside the country?

"But the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro says it’s just a place of worship, right?

According to a passage on the ICM website from 2008, since scrubbed from the web, but preserved in the attached documents, here is what the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro website used to say about an objective of their presence, in Tennessee (before they scrubbed this from the web):

“The main focus is to insure the masjid (mosque) stronghold on our community and to expand beyond religious teachings… We must work hard so that the ICM have a prominent role in the development and progression of not only Mufreesboro, but of Middle Tennessee.”


No. The First Amendment doesn't protect "....(mosque) stronghold on our community and to expand beyond religious teachings......."

Here's the link. Be warned that it is not PC so don't complain. You don't have to read it.

Link


"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

ISM

This cartoon was put out by Harding College in 1948, 64 years ago. It is frighteningly accurate.


Link to cartoon.


Hat tip to Trish G!




"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper


 “It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

Tick Warning

From: joe coombes
Date: Tue, Jun 26, 2012 at 2:55 PM
Subject: Tick Warning
To:

Forewarned is forearmed!

I hate it when people forward bogus warnings, and I have even done it myself a couple times unintentionally...but this one is real, and it is important.

So please send this warning to everyone on your e- mail list.

This is the time of year to think of ticks once again.

If someone comes to your front door saying they are checking for ticks due to the warm weather and asks you to take your clothes off and dance around with your arms up, DO NOT DO IT!! THIS IS A SCAM!! They only want to see you naked.

I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid.

Hat tip to Mike L!


"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

 “It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine