Cold

It seems that this year of 2010 has come and gone very rapidly. BP is believed to have capped the oil well spill, and the press has all but forgotten the incident. I think it would be frustrating if you lived on the Gulf coast about now. I haven't seen our President on the news for a while so I guess we are still ok as a country.It is the first week of October and the little political signs have sprung up almost overnight like colorful poison mushrooms, each begging for your vote.I have grown to hate this time of the year solely for all the political threats and promises. I strongly feel that we need to make a concerted effort to vote out all the incumbents. Hardly an original idea, but a mob of rookies cannot do any worse. Can they? I have not heard much about Iraq. We are no longer fighting, but we're still there. It isn't Bush's war anymore. And Rand Paul--what are you saying and what has caused you to open wide and insert foot?? You seem to have contracted Joe Biden's malady of becoming irrational at times. Why would a successful eye surgeon want to run for office anyway?? Lindsey has been sent back to jail for testing positive, and Paris was caught with cocaine somewhere overseas. Some things never change.I hope Kayne West is keeping his mindless chatter at bay, as a matter of fact maybe he could be the spokesman for Rand Paul and Biden. They all seem to have a propensity of embarrassing themselves in public. I heard the country music girl Kayne intruded upon made an embarrassing effort at singing a song of reconciliation at the awards show towards that idiot. Now that wasn't very smart. She seems to be heading in the direction of the Dixie Chicks. Anyone remember them?? I have gone to the pawn shop and purchased an I Pod of the 80 gigabit variety. My old one was only 4 gigs and I filled it up with a little over 500 songs. The 80 gig job had over 11,000 songs already on , but I hooked it up to I-Tunes and stripped them off. To date I have added over 2200 songs of my own. That's a lot of music, and I still have room for nearly 10,000 more songs. Man I still remember my first 8 Track. We would buy those little units and bolt them under the dash ,and we had the latest technology. My first 8 track was around 1970 and it was Led Zeppelin. That was quite a jump from 45 and 33 rpm vinyl records. Back in the early 60's you could actually buy 45 rpm record players to go in the dash of your Led Sled. For obvious reasons they didn't work too well.So now I have all my favorite recordings on a device the size of an old pack of cigarettes. There are some bumps in the road, however, as I have lost the ends of my earbuds in my ear canal a couple of times. I also keep having awkward moments of listening when I'm cutting grass and tear the earphones out as they get snagged on limbs and leaves as I pass through.I have been listening to Luther Vandross and it's ok, but Bob Seeger seems a little more appropriate on the riding mower. I was cutting the 95 year old aunt's lawn and she asked if I was listening to a book, and I said, Yeah. I don't think she would relate to Kid Rock. Maybe I don't either. Timmy sent a copy of Laura Bell Bundy's first country album,and so far it hasn't grabbed me.It is kind of like a young Dolly Parton. I heard she had a concert down town Lexington this weekend and everyone had a good time, unlike everyone who watched the football kittens get trounced by Mississippi. Ah, the Cats. Again we have the opportunity for the big blue nation to all have our hopes trampled to the ground.Why would we consider a coach named Joker?? Even the name implies failure. I think our state enters into mass hypnosis every year at the start of football season.Speaking of cruel jokes, what about the fiasco at LSU and the Vols?? Tennessee needs tutoring in simple math and counting. Was it 13 or 14 on the field?? Somebody screwed up. I bet it was a short but silent air ride home to Knoxville. We have finished up another large installation , and are signing new contracts every day. In my wildest imagination I never thought that business would be so good , especially in the middle of a terrible recession. Quality has been outstanding and the customers could not be more satisfied.I just hope it all continues. There is a tremendous satisfaction being able to control design, and then have awesome projects come together. One of our projects is entered in the National Bath and Kitchen Project of the year and I think we have a shot at winning.It has been a lot of work, but so far it has been a lot of fun.When it quits being fun then it's time to do something else.I think it's time to down load Foghat on the I Pod .The night has a chill to it and Fall is here.Going to the mountains tomorrow to start a new job.

Thanks for the Help!!!

Well it's the 17th of June and our President really kicked BP's ass the past couple of days. He made them pledge $20 billion on the cleanup effort of the Gulf . BP rolled over and agreed. The next day gasoline went up from $2.49 to $2.76. You could almost see the price signs change in front of your eyes. So BP makes gasoline go up over 25 cents a gallon, and probably makes the $20 billion up in the latter half of this week. Thanks Mr. President and BP . We all needed that. Speaking of meltdowns of the week, what is it with that crazy-assed old Helen Thomas?? She went from being the darling of the press corp to being the pariah. I think she must have had a Senior moment, but I think she's always been batty. Helen is of Lebanese descent and seems to dislike the Jewish people. She wants the Israelis to give up Palestine and go somewhere else. She appears to have some Germanic blood as well as Lebanese. One of the late night boys remarked that she must have been a good journalist as she certainly hadn't slept her way to the top. Helen has some Kentucky roots and was rumored to be coming back . Please don't.This past weekend was the annual Brass Band Festival in Danville and it seems to grow bigger every year. As always they have a hot air balloon race and they all took off on Sunday night, and most landed near US 150 between Stanford and Danville. I must say it was a refreshing sight to see the bright colors as they came down amid the rich green country side. What I did miss was the brass band music. It's just not my thing. I think Helen Thomas would have made a great Grand Marshall. The Eagles are coming to Louisville in October and Sandy Kay is ordering tickets torrow when they go on sale. They are the opening ceremony for the grand opening of U of L's new arena. Maybe Pitano will forego having sex after hours in restaurants and attend the show. You know, having a meal in any of Louisville's eating establishments just hasn't been the same. It's quite the classy couple who do the deed after hours in a booth. Talk about bus boy cleanups. Do you think they left a tip?? Go Cards!! I've been thinking about my 100 greatest rock and roll songs list, and I have to believe that AQUALUNG by Jethro Tull is one of the top albums, and that Locomotive Breath is the best song. That's just my opinion. Speaking of opinions, the Saga of Fort Logan has to be one of the brighter ideas to continue to unfold in Stanford. The committee to date has spent $104,000 to have a blockhouse and section of wall erected. The masterminds have run out of money,and say it will take nearly $1 million dollars to complete. It's like we don't have needs for that money elsewhere in the county.I know they always say it's grant money that someone else will get if we don't .I think it's a foolish pursuit that is wasting a lot of money . It does however keep a half dozen local zealots occupied in a pursuit away from normal society.Maybe they should utilize Helen Thomas in the Fort Reconstruction as she probably reported on the original construction of Fort Logan in 1775.We are still in Iraq and Afghanistan. Why? We can't blame George, Dick, and Donald anymore. Al Gore and Tipper are splitting after 40 years. Does anyone remember that open mouthed kiss at the Democratic nominating convention?? Wow Al's global warming is about over. Who do you reckon Al and Tipper will end up with?? Probably not Hillary or that trashy old Johnny Edwards. Edwards ended up with about as much class as a Saturday night whoremonger. Wasn't he a most trustworthy man? Cheating on a wife suffering with cancer, while wearing a $400 haircut. Trashy little Johnny Edwards.By now the idiot Governor of South Carolina is sinking into obscurity, and his Argentian hottie has dropped him. Another trashy man bites the dust.And what can we add about the past criminal governor of Illinois? Rod is heading for Reality TV, where he certainly has a future. I have to admit that I am missing the honesty and good old days of Bubba Clinton and his whores.These trailor trash politicians and their cheap, tawdry affairs just pale when compared to Bubba.I figure gas will be nearly $4 a gallon before BP cleans up the mess and pays its fines. Chastising BP is starting to look like throwing the rabbit in the briar patch for punishment.The Aruban Murderer has struck again and maybe tne Peruvians will lock him up.I think he is Satan on earth. Eastern Kentucky sales continue to grow and business is good . I just hope they get that damned fort done before the Shawnees realize Stanford is vulnerable. Love, peace, and rock and roll.

Just Checking In

Well here it is May 27 and it's almost halfway through good old 2010. By now the BP oil rupture has surpassed the Exxon Valdez and everyone is pointing fingers at each other.This country has become a nation of whiners and cry babies. We have a massive oil rupture nearly a mile below the surface of the Gulf Of Mexico and we can't seem to stop the flow, which will eventually besmear the white sands of the Gulf Coast of the US. Evidentally there are no contingency plans for such a catastrophe. Even the press is losing patience with Obama and his administration. Remember George Bush and FEMA?? Remember Katrina?? I'm glad I don't have to deal with something like this. The consequences of this may affect the environment for the lives of many generations. The stock markets continue to be volatile and fell over 700 points one day alone. They're still investigating what happened there. Something about a mistake with zeroes. Yeah right, zeroes my ass! The smart ass white boys on Wall Street are still playing games with all of our futures and retirements. I say the only thing you can trust is Rock and Roll and Nascar.We're still in Iraq and Afghanistan. Didn't we elect a man who was going to wind this fiasco down? Now we're sending more troops to Afghanistan.Maybe we should send those WAll Street criminals across the sea. Boy they'd suck the life out of those militant troublemakers. I also would suggest we send Jason Bourne over to help in our quest for world freedom. By this stage in my life I have tried to wean myself away from all current events and news. Europe is trying its best to drag the world into a major depression. Greece is going down the tubes and is taking the Euro down. Does anyone know what Greece has done in the last 2000 years? I don't . The last monumental Greek story involved the Spartans and the Athenians. Any country where the heroes wear short skirts and drag wooden horses around the Mediterranean isn't of much consequence. The country's legends have kept Brad Pitt busy for a few years , but the Greeks are probably more famous for olives and ouzo than their economic impact on the world.I would like to go to Santorini for a week or so. The blue of the sea and sky with the whitewashed houses are beautiful in pictures.Maybe if they go broke we can find some bargains. Our elections are over until November , and maybe we can catch our collective breaths for a while without some dumb-assed would be politico knocking on your door. The signs sprang up like some nasty , evil plant that grew to maturity. As usual I was cruising through Manchester and there was the usual colorful boys running for office. As the norm, everyone in Clay County seems to feel more comfortable with a nickname. "Tireman" was running for some office, and "Jam-up " was running for another. I wonder if Jam-up was running against "Jelly-tite". Or does Tireman moonlight in a pit crew? What I do know is that Crawdad lost his re-election bid. In our own county "Popcorn" won for constable.Buckwheat didn't run , and Jim-Bo will in all liklihood be our next judge. How can you not like a guy named Jim-Bo? Dave the Magistrate has won his Republican primary against a pretty weak candidate.Dave decided to commit his race on the air waves of FaceBook, and now has close to 2200 friends.I read in one of Sandy's womens' magazines that the average person can only deal with 150 friends, but Dave is the master with over 2000. At the moment our new company has more projects going than we ever thought possible, and the quality of the work is the best I've seen in years.I'm still in a funk over TV as I'm perplexed as to how I'm paying $90 a month to Dish Network and I have more shopping channels than anything. What is this SOBONGO bullshit?? And like do these intense guys have nothing better to do than try to sell you huge, gaudy watches in purple and orange??? And Esteban, how many frigging guitars can people buy as you strum with those long, nasty fingernails.And come on now is your name really Esteban?? I bet you have a name like Jim or Johnny. Could it be that when you're not hawking guitars on QVC that you are up in Clay County running for office as Jam-up?? This Kate woman really bothers me too. As I understand it she was married to some chubby oriental guy and somehow they have 8 kids. I don't know how they got the kids but they have been all over tv , and seemed to have split . I caught that she was on a dancing show but lost. Look lady, if you'd danced all along instead of doing the dirty maybe you wouldn't have had 8 kids. I know for a fact that I had an aunt Marcell that had 7 or 8 kids and thought nothing of it. In Stanford and Lincoln County we have tons of chubby boys and over-sexed girls living in trailors with lots of kids, and live normal lives. I rest my case. Since when has fertility become fashionable? I guess I've gotten too old and I don't understand this crap on TV anymore. I do like the occasional Monsterquest and The Newly Wed Game with that fat  Carnie Wilson.You might say I'm into the intellectual side of TV. I'm looking at a new I-Pod that can store 40,000 songs. Now they're talking. 40,000 songs will keep me busy for a while. I've been listening to "I Love Beach Music ", and it seems to make grass cutting go faster. I burned Slashes new one from a crazy chick acquaintance. She likes Ozzie and Metallica , but at least its not about 8 kids and Esteban. Tomorrow its Eastern Kentucky and maybe a little Slash. Have to watch those Troopers on the parkway though. They come out in warm weather.

Barbie Takes A Swim

Like everything else in life, all good things must come to an end, and our little visit to paradise was over all too quickly. One lasting memory of this last month was the constant traffic of boat traffic on the canal behind our house. The commercial pontoons carrying manatee swimmers would be bumper to bumper starting before 8 o'clock in the morning, and would end up at about five o'clock. Our canal was only a hundred yards from The Three Sisters Springs where the manatees live during the winter , and tourists paid $35-40 a trip to don wet suits and masks to snorkel with these creatures. Sometimes there would be 5 to 6 boatloads of tourists at a time, with maybe a total of 75-100 snorkelers in the water. Talk about chaos! Along with the boats would be wall to wall kayakers as they came down to view all the sights. These kayaks were of all colors and sizes but were mainly of the single person size. Many had dogs riding on the fronts with their masters. We always got a chuckle out of this petite middle-aged blonde who had a hot pink kayak , and often wore a matching pink wetsuit. We started calling her Barbie because she was Barbie grown to middle age. She was always cheerful and spoke to us as she glided by on her way to see the manatees, blond hair generally in a pony tail. I just knew that somewheres parked down the canal she had a pink Corvette just like in the old Mattel ads of thirty years ago. As luck would have it we had rented a pontoon to go diving out in Kings Spring ,and Barbie was cruising by on her morning tour and dumped herself in the water in the canal behind our house. Sandy loaned her a towel and she went on her way. I don't think her current mate is Ken because he's an old guy like me and looks straight. We were in the murky depths of Kings Spring when all the excitement happened. Kings Spring is about 50 feet deep and water rushes out at millions of gallons a day to enter eventually into the Gulf Of Mexico . We anchored the pontoon in 12 feet of water and I dove down to make sure it set in the muddy bottom as there was a large boat load of wetskin clad tourists 20 feet from us. The boat rental people call it a cattle boat as there were about 25-30 swimmers aboard. The first thing I noticed as I descended down the anchor line was I nearly collided with a half grown manatee as he was cruising along. He came up to me and let me rub his blubbery belly and went on about his business. I joined Tim and we descended to the murky depths of the Spring . I have been in it at times when it was crystal clear, but not today. There was about five feet of visibility and I could barely see Tim's light. There are always schools of saltwater fish in the springs as they come up the channel to the 70 degree water.The schools of silvery mullet caught what rays of light came through the murk, and almost looked electrified. There were several large black and white striped fish feeding on the bottom, and we nearly ran headfirst into a 12 foot manatee that probably weighed about 2500 pounds. He was in no hurry and swam with his belly up to the sun . I may be his size not far in the future.We loaded up and cruised down the canal to the Three Sisters Springs where we did some snorkling with the hordes of sightseers. Later on we borrowed Kayaks from our next door neighbor, and she asked if we had used kayaks before , and we said no. She laughed and said, "Get ready to get wet." Like Barbie, my ass was under water in one minute after I got on. I lost my glasses, but after all , I am a diver, and I found them in the mud. So no harm done. Tim and Eddie didn't fall off. Maybe I was the only one cursed, but then it's not every day one has the opportunity to swim with the real Barbie. Betsy, the patient girl that cuts my hair every three or four months collects Barbie Dolls, and I guess she has done this since her childhood. When I found this out about 10 years ago from a casual conversation, I had to add to her collection, and I went to the flea market and found these two old, naked Barbies with matted hair and ground-in dirty skin. Betsy had earlier gotten a tattoo above her buttocks, so I took an ink pen and made a similar tattoo on the trashy Barbies' asses. They were exquisite and Betsy was totally speechless.I'm still confused as to how I knew about her tattoo. I feel privileged to have seen middle-aged Barbie and her pink kayak.Barbie's last name is Roberts. That is a true fact . Look it up, and I wish I didn't know that.I've been listening to the Spinner's Greatest Hits, and Rubberband Man seems appropriate to diving in murky waters. I bet Barbie sneaks and listens to Amy Winehouse when old Ken isn't around. It's back to the Mountains of Eastern Kentucky tomorrow, and Noran Jone's new disc , thanks to Timmy.

Florida

Well here we are in sunny Florida in Crystal River watching the big schools of manatees as they cruise up and down the canal behind our rental house. These brutes weigh up to 900 to one thousand pounds and live on vegetation. Supposedly they are kin to elephants and spend their entire lives in and under water. They are mammals that have been nearly killed to extinction, mainly by spinning propellers on boats. They come up for air every five minutes or so, but can stay under for up to 20 minutes at a time if freightened. The newborn weigh about 75 pounds and nurse milk from their mothers. Supposedly there are about 40 manatees that winter over here in Crystal River because the springs pump out a huge flow of 70 degree water. The Fish And Game Department keeps track of the manatees by the monsterous scars on their backs.Crystal River, like New Port Richey, is blessed with a large population of really elderly people. I don't mean just old, but really, really, really old. It's like The Northern US flushed and the ancients flowed to Florida. They are not only old, but they are all from New England and talk like the Kennedys.Last week it was chilly and rainy, but this week promises to be sunny and warmer, like Florida is supposed to be. I've been working on jobs via e-mail and cell phone and I really dread going home to a backlog of work, but that's part of life. We went down to the waterfront in Tampa on Saturday and it was beautiful as always. There was a huge cruise ship in port, discharging hordes of guess what?? More ancients , just what Florida needs.Timmy is coming down and we're going diving and attempt to find mermaids again. We can't do worse that last year. I certainly didn't bring last years wet suit back . That ordeal was humiliating and dangerous to bystanders. This year it's polartec or no dives.I saw on weather.com that we are having snow and cold back home, and I'm thankful to be here. This morning it was 70 degrees and sunny. My little buddy Corrine seems on edge over global warming, and my advice is more Southern Comfort. Well it's time to take a walk and check out the oldsters, maybe a few mermaids will pop up in the canal.I'm going to play them a little bit of "Latin Girls" by the Black Eyed Peas. I hope the Mermaids look like Fergie.

Cornering The Market On Ignorance

I looked at the exterior thermometer and it was 17 degrees with a promise from Bill Meck on Channel 18 that we would finally be above freezing tomorrow for the first time in a long time. I guess I'm dwelling on this weather thing because I, likeone else has had enough of this crap!!It was freezing in MIami this past weekend , and I bet the Cubans were trying to float back to Havana and Fidel. It was over a hundred years ago since Miami was this cold. Even Key West was 44 degrees!There,s something wrong when New York and Boston are as warm as South Florida in January. Maybe Al Gore should go down on South Beach and figure this Global Warming situation out. Scientists said that the Ice in Antartica is breaking up , but the water is below freezing, and they don't know why. They can only scratch their heads. I don't exactly know what a scientist is anyway. Just who exactly designates a man or woman as a "Scientist"?Most scientists appoint themselves , and the thing most have in common is that they must literally publish articles in their fields in obscure trade journals on a frequent basis. Most scientists cannot actually converse with someone out of their field. I guarantee the average scientist would screw up an order at a convenient food mart for strawberry icecream. At the best the stuff would be melting out on the floor while they absorbed the labels on everything in the freezer section.It's almost like the weather guys and girls on TV. I don't want entertainment for weather , or long explanations. I don't need to know about verge or wind chill. And please quit this business of a short weather teaser and then a promise of what else is coming later. And what's with all Lexington Stations having such a wide difference in forecasts? One prognosticator even has a 3 degree guarantee. I have not heard what happens if he misses his guarantee. If so do we get rewards, or better yet does some UK football player get to whip his ass? I think not , but then maybe I should have threatened him with a Clemson Player. I honestly think the pale TV weather boys could keep up with the cats on the football field. Speaking of The Cats, is there something out of adjustment on my flat screen?? Mrs. Dario Francetti looked like she had put on a few since the last time. But who am I to criticize, she's still pretty. The only word of caution-Wynona.This cold weather has caused me to do some erratic things, and out of curiosity I picked up Amy Whitehouse's "Back To Black". When she won the awards the last year or so I was unfamiliar with her other than she was a skinny , skanky looking Englishwoman who had bad tastes in men, drug habits , and a propensity to brawl in public. I thought there must be some talent to this chick, and guess what?? I got hooked after the second sound track.This skanky girl can sing!! Her music reminds me of the girl singers of the 60's and 70's, as well as her back up music. I'm hooked on her like Fergie.I also picked up a 2 volume set of Marvin Gaye, and took a trip back through time to Water Street in Richmond , Ky, circa 1968. Then Exile was The Exiles, and country wasn't their genre. It was wall to wall with girls under black lights and flashing strobes with too much makeup, and a tendency to wear lots of hairspray. We didn't have I Phones or computers, and wouldn't for 30 years or so. I don't think I missed them. The girls were always prettier under the strobes, and generally changed looks once outside. I did too though, so we were all even. Sometimes there were positive connections, and sometimes we would trade connections in the course of a trip down at Specks. We didn't hold it against each other most of the time. One of my favorite of all girls I found in the Spring of 1968 in the middle of a ferocious snowball fight between the Combs Class Room Building and the University Building. My best buddy had already given up and headed on his eventual way to Saigon and a warmer climate.I missed him and his free spirited ways , but I was a Freshman and she was a Senior. I eventually went on to another senior,but met my buddy two years later as one of his pall bearers. Life was a temporary bitch, but youth forgets. My last homecoming football game at Hanger Field found my friend's date sitting next to me munching on her yellow football mum corsage. In her defense she left the stem and ribbon, and seemed none the worse for wear.This all comes back to the fact that it was probably even colder, and I never even thought about the weather and never bitched. It actually made the girls get closer for warmth. The difference today, 40 years later? I'm having to help pay for heat bills, and the girls just put on another sweater or blanket. There's no more snowball fights, strobe lights, or drunken girls in my life. I don't think I miss that, but thanks skanky Amy for triggering some warm memories, as well as Marvin for making those girls go ballestic on "Long Distant Lover".Tomorrow is up to mid 30's. Life is good.

A Balmy Evening In Stanford

Today is January 5, 2005, and the temperature rose to 24 degrees, up from 12 degrees during the night. The only thing worse would be -36 degrees in International Falls or nearly freezing in Miami. Nostradamos predicted 2012 as the end of the world, maybe it really is 2010. Freezing in Miami would cause Brittany and Paris to wear drawers when cavorting down on South Beach. Maybe even some long johns. And just who or what is this Lady GaGa?? I read that Rosie O'Donnell and her woman had split, and like who cares?? No one cares when fat, ugly, and obnoxious people encounter bumps in the road of life.I've gotten old and do not comprehend as readily as I used to. Here in the nation of Big Blue and UK we beat the little adulterer Pitino and life is good. We traded our old model Italien for a new and improved one. Poor little Billie G. passed GO and collected his $3 million dollars and promptly checked himself into rehab. Where Tiger ends up is anyone's guess. Estimates say he was making up to $300 million in endorsements, but was paying up to $14,000 a night for the favors of women. I hope Sandy does not use that for her pay scale. It pretty well does away with hopes for minimum wage rates in the future. Now Tiger's sponsors are dropping like flies. Maybe Nike could put its trademark swoosh on the asses of Tigers hookers. Maybe he can do for prostitution what he did for golf.It amazes me as to how prominent , wealthy people are so willing to self destruct.I think when these celebrities do such trashy, low down stunts that they should all have to live together in a worn out mobile home park. I also think some people are destined from birth to become trashy, regardless of circumstances. You can take a fat, ugly, hog into the house and wash the mud off, powder it up with a satin bow and where does it race to?The nearest mud hole. Another terrorist has reminded us of the fragile nature of our safety , and burned off his gonads coming into Detroit.Maybe if all the terror acts were so ill conceived ,that would thin out the ranks of our sworn enemies. We can't profile because this would be politically incorrect. The Israelis have profiled for years and don't have airline problems like we do. The head of Israeli Security said not all Muslims are airline terrorists, but that all airline terrorists are Muslim. What are we missing as a thinking nation? I've got several jobs in Eastern Kentucky, and I really have to make some order out of chaos if I'm going to leave for Florida for the month of February. This year we're going to Crystal River and cavort with the manatees. I'm making a firm committment to the mermaid cause one more time.I surely hope the cold weather is over when we go down because nothing is worse than cold weather in Paradise when you're paying by the day.I was in London today on a jobsite where the main blessing was that the slimy, red mud was frozen. The last visit on site took me a week to get rid of the mud. I've got another job in the mountains that doesn't work well in ice and snow. Even four wheel drive can be an adventure here on this site.Sandy ran me out of my old design center , and now I am paying rent. I've got the company up and running in 10 months, and I have had remarkable results for the efforts.I'm still trying to determine whether I'll get a H1N1 shot, now that they are available. Tim the Divorced Pharmacist encourages everyone to do so. He thinks the second round could mutate and be pretty bad.I heard today that H1N1 has killed 11,000 people already in the US. The flu after WW1 killed nearly one half million world wide!I had the dreaded blood work in December and sat in a waiting room with these two dorks who were wearing the surgical masks. Damn, they looked stupid. Never figured out if they were protecting us from them, or them from us. Must have worked as I didn't get it.I took Sandy to see Sherlock Holmes at the theater in Danville. It was so-so but that Rachel McAdams was screaming hot.She can come to Stanford and not wear underwear any time she pleases. I also watched the new Star Trek on Dvd, and it was my favorite of all. I have to admit to being a Trekkie from the start when William Shatner played a youthful Kirk.The writers from the new Star Trek got it right. I give it an A. Sherlock I give a C+. I like to never have found that damned + sign. Speaking of cell phone technology, my niece got a new I phone and it does about everything. You can let it listen to seconds of a song and it will tell you the singer, the song title, and even show you the album cover. Now that all makes sense.I downloaded Rod Stewarts"Soul Book" from I tunes and I give it a B overall. The track," Rainy Night In Georgia" I give an A.I took the nieces and nephews to Rupp and saw the Tran Siberian Orchestra . Best laser and light show and cavorting go go dancers. Beats the hell out of The Radio City Christmas show. Rockettes are ok,but....The Black Eye Peas are coming to Rupp but we'll be in Crystal River. Sorry Fergie, I'll miss you too.Dave the magistrate is gearing up for another run this year. His strategy is to use Face Book and get his message out to the peeps. So far he has over 800 friends ,and is giving out morsels of magisterial wisdom.I still don't understand FaceBook . I don't have but one or two friends--thats total.I got a new Garmin GPS and it works great. Timmy got tired of the old one in San Francisco , and sprang for the new model . We'll need it in April to get us to Talledega,speaking of trailer park people.I'm preparing my state of my union address for next time. Keep warm, and you girls keep the drawers up until spring.Really, who is this Lady GaGa thing???