Showing posts with label Diversions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diversions. Show all posts

Monday, July 12, 2010

Pizza with Piazza

My friend Greg invited me to go hear Rod Piazza, a harp player. (Harp is jargon for a harmonica.) Rod Piazza plays the blues on his harmonica and is a legend among the blues community. We arrived at Midway, a little tavern in a residential section of Mishawaka, about 40 minutes prior to the music beginning. It was a $20 cover charge and by the time we arrived, it was standing room only. Already about 200 reservations for seats had been taken. Fortunately Greg and I were sitting with Johnny who had a table reserved. Johnny takes photos of the players for Midway. His fine work in black and white is displayed through out the establishment. Just before the music began we had another fellow join us. He had heard Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers in Kalamazoo the night before. He had driven down from Grand Rapids MI, a good three hour drive. He was so appreciative of being able to sit at our table with us that he bought us a couple of rounds throughout the night. Pretty cheap since we were all drinking pop.

The music began and the place became electric. Not only was Rod a fantastic harp player, the rest of the band was each fantastic in their own right. His wife Honey on the keyboards (I didn't know fingers could play so fast), Henri C on the guitar (I love the guitar riffs) and Dave on the drums. Not only did we get to hear Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers, we had the pleasure of two additional individuals who joined the band for a song or two. One was Katie Wassenhove the aspiring granddaughter of Albertina the establishments owner. The other was 'Ole Harv' the local Blues DJ and member of Elwood Splinters Band. The granddaughter played the keyboards with Honey and 'Ole Harv' did some vocals.

Well, since my drinks were covered, I decided to buy a pizza to go with them. So, after drinking a few rounds of Diet Coke and eating some pizza, the break in between sets was welcome. I needed to visit the tiny toilet facilities; one urinal and one toilet in a closet. Who did I find myself sharing this refreshing break with other than Rod Piazza himself. A little banter with the man who was behind sunglasses all evening, made the time pass quickly.

I really enjoyed the time at Midway. I'm just wondering though when my ears will stop ringing.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Walk This Way

It's been 150 days since Wii Fit has been my fitness coach. When I first started he would say, "That's obese", when I would step on the balance board which measures my weight, BMI (Body Mass Index based on weight and height) and my COB (Center of Balance). Wii would assist me by asking me what my goal in weight loss was and how long I wanted to achieve that goal. I started out simple and told it that I wanted to loose 1 lb. The minimum time frame to reach a goal is 2 weeks. That seems to have worked for me. Since I've started I've lost 12 lbs and now when I step on the balance board it says "That's Overweight".

In addition to performing the weight, BMI and COB measurements, it selects two other random tests to perform. They can be steadiness, agility, single leg balance or checking something or other in regards to walking. It's this last test that I find strange. I have to stand on the balance board which is approximately 1 ft x 2 ft. Then it tells me to walk as I normally would walk. I have no idea how I'm supposed to walk normally on a 1 x 2 ft balance board.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

In The Bag

I'm asking myself why I feel it necessary to save and re-use plastic baggies. You know, the kind you put your sandwich in when you're packing your lunch.

The other day I found myself washing them to make them suitable for re-use. Barb has rightly pointed out that they are inexpensive and meant for one use. You probably haven't ever washed a baggie. They are not easy to wash. I'm not sure they get really clean.

So why do I hang on to them? It could be that I'm a miser and detest spending money. It could be that I'm concerned about the environment and want as few of these baggies floating around landfills. I'm not really sure what drives this quirk.

From this point forward I vow never to re-use baggies...uh, I vow never to wash them to make them suitable for re-use. If their used for something like...pretzels where the item itself does not remain with the baggie, I may re-use it. If what was in the bag still has it's DNA in the bag, it's gone.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Lying Through Her Teeth

I was perusing the news on FoxNews.com when I saw a link regarding whiter teeth. Seldom do I follow links, but this one claiming success with products found around the home intrigued me to at least follow it one click.

The new page starts out in large print Cathy's Teeth Whitening Success then some sub headings, a before and after photo and then the testimonial. My name is Cathy Anselmo. I live in Mishawaka, IN and I want to tell you...

Amazing! Cathy was from right here in Mishawaka. I became skeptical. I did a quick Switchboard search on the last name Anselmo for Mishawaka. Nothing found. I then did a "view source" on the web page and confirmed my suspicion. Cathy lied. (It's probably not even a woman) The page source showed that it was obtaining the city and state information from a script that retrieved it from information available from where the individual was browsing from.

If Cathy lies to me about where she is from, what else is she lying to me about?

Monday, September 8, 2008

My Two (many) Scents

Scent 1 - I step in the shower and lather up with soap.
Scent 2 - Shampoo my hair.
Scent 3 - Put on deodorant
Scent 4 - Shaving cream
Scent 5 - Hairspray
Scent 6 - Cologne

It would be nice to not have so many competing scents to deal with.

Friday, July 25, 2008

He ventured forth to bring light to the world

I enjoyed this piece and thought that I would share it with those who might read my blog. The original post can be found at Times Online.

He ventured forth to bring light to the world

The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and a blessing to all his faithful followers

And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.

The Child was blessed in looks and intellect. Scion of a simple family, offspring of a miraculous union, grandson of a typical white person and an African peasant. And yea, as he grew, the Child walked in the path of righteousness, with only the occasional detour into the odd weed and a little blow.

When he was twelve years old, they found him in the temple in the City of Chicago, arguing the finer points of community organisation with the Prophet Jeremiah and the Elders. And the Elders were astonished at what they heard and said among themselves: “Verily, who is this Child that he opens our hearts and minds to the audacity of hope?”

In the great Battles of Caucus and Primary he smote the conniving Hillary, wife of the deposed King Bill the Priapic and their barbarian hordes of Working Class Whites.

And so it was, in the fullness of time, before the harvest month of the appointed year, the Child ventured forth - for the first time - to bring the light unto all the world.

He travelled fleet of foot and light of camel, with a small retinue that consisted only of his loyal disciples from the tribe of the Media. He ventured first to the land of the Hindu Kush, where the

Taleban had harboured the viper of al-Qaeda in their bosom, raining terror on all the world.

And the Child spake and the tribes of Nato immediately loosed the Caveats that had previously bound them. And in the great battle that ensued the forces of the light were triumphant. For as long as the Child stood with his arms raised aloft, the enemy suffered great blows and the threat of terror was no more.

From there he went forth to Mesopotamia where he was received by the great ruler al-Maliki, and al-Maliki spake unto him and blessed his Sixteen Month Troop Withdrawal Plan even as the imperial warrior Petraeus tried to destroy it.

And lo, in Mesopotamia, a miracle occurred. Even though the Great Surge of Armour that the evil Bush had ordered had been a terrible mistake, a waste of vital military resources and doomed to end in disaster, the Child's very presence suddenly brought forth a great victory for the forces of the light.

And the Persians, who saw all this and were greatly fearful, longed to speak with the Child and saw that the Child was the bringer of peace. At the mention of his name they quickly laid aside their intrigues and beat their uranium swords into civil nuclear energy ploughshares.

From there the Child went up to the city of Jerusalem, and entered through the gate seated on an ass. The crowds of network anchors who had followed him from afar cheered “Hosanna” and waved great palm fronds and strewed them at his feet.

In Jerusalem and in surrounding Palestine, the Child spake to the Hebrews and the Arabs, as the Scripture had foretold. And in an instant, the lion lay down with the lamb, and the Israelites and Ishmaelites ended their long enmity and lived for ever after in peace.

As word spread throughout the land about the Child's wondrous works, peoples from all over flocked to hear him; Hittites and Abbasids; Obamacons and McCainiacs; Cameroonians and Blairites.

And they told of strange and wondrous things that greeted the news of the Child's journey. Around the world, global temperatures began to decline, and the ocean levels fell and the great warming was over.

The Great Prophet Algore of Nobel and Oscar, who many had believed was the anointed one, smiled and told his followers that the Child was the one generations had been waiting for.

And there were other wonderful signs. In the city of the Street at the Wall, spreads on interbank interest rates dropped like manna from Heaven and rates on credit default swaps fell to the ground as dead birds from the almond tree, and the people who had lived in foreclosure were able to borrow again.

Black gold gushed from the ground at prices well below $140 per barrel. In hospitals across the land the sick were cured even though they were uninsured. And all because the Child had pronounced it.

And this is the testimony of one who speaks the truth and bears witness to the truth so that you might believe. And he knows it is the truth for he saw it all on CNN and the BBC and in the pages of The New York Times.

Then the Child ventured forth from Israel and Palestine and stepped onto the shores of the Old Continent. In the land of Queen Angela of Merkel, vast multitudes gathered to hear his voice, and he preached to them at length.

But when he had finished speaking his disciples told him the crowd was hungry, for they had had nothing to eat all the hours they had waited for him.

And so the Child told his disciples to fetch some food but all they had was five loaves and a couple of frankfurters. So he took the bread and the frankfurters and blessed them and told his disciples to feed the multitudes. And when all had eaten their fill, the scraps filled twelve baskets.

Thence he travelled west to Mount Sarkozy. Even the beauteous Princess Carla of the tribe of the Bruni was struck by awe and she was great in love with the Child, but he was tempted not.

On the Seventh Day he walked across the Channel of the Angles to the ancient land of the hooligans. There he was welcomed with open arms by the once great prophet Blair and his successor, Gordon the Leper, and his successor, David the Golden One.

And suddenly, with the men appeared the archangel Gabriel and the whole host of the heavenly choir, ranks of cherubim and seraphim, all praising God and singing: “Yes, We Can.”

Monday, December 24, 2007

Earworm

Saturday morning I turned on the TV and watched TV5 for a bit. It was children's programming in French. Then on came a music video. It was called Funny Bear. It became and earworm. I walked around the house singing it. Come to find out it's also known as Gummibar and Gummie Bear. It's been recorded in several languages and has been popular on the web. For those who have not yet had the pleasure, here is the short French version.

If you have trouble with it playing here on my blog, here is the link to You Tube.
Funny Bear

There is also a longer version on You Tube that has different video.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Gas Jack


Within 1/1000th of getting a Gas Jack.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Gas Jack

In Las Vegas they have Black Jack where you can loose large sums of money. Here, we have similar entertainment where you loose large sums of money. I'm not talking about the gambling sites that are in the area, I'm talking about hundreds of locations that you pass everyday. You are already spending big bucks when you visit them, why not have a little fun at the same time? I'm talking about gas stations. It's a little game I call Gas Jack. All you need to play is a credit or debit card which you probably already use to get your gas, a car that's in need of some fuel and a pay at the pump gas station. Here's how you play: 1) pre-determine a gallon or dollar amount that you are going to attempt to stop the pump at. Only whole dollar or even gallon measurements allowed. 2) Start filling the tank without using the auto shut off. 3) Only the first stop of the pump is allowed. 4) No fair slowing the flow of gas to make it easier to hit your pre-determined goal. Here is an example of my recent play. My goal was 8 gallons. I overshot my target by .004 which isn't bad. Send me your entry that comes closer than mine and I'll post it. I'll set up two categories to play, gallons or dollars.