Shelbyville

In Shelbyville, they fight with Cheetos. Maybe its because they married their cousins?? Perhaps they should throw Turnipos at each other.

Froot Loops

I watched my son Tory fill a stainless steel quart size mixing bowl with Froot Loops, pour in about a pint of milk just to float those things around, and then wolf them down - all at 10:30PM last night. Why? B/C he's hungry. And he wonders how he can't sleep at night.

Defensive Driving

There's 6 hours of my life I won't get back. A major part of last Saturday was spent in a stupor watching VHS tapes, and listening to a memorized presentation of defensive driving info. I kept thinking of Homer Simpson laughing, "Its funny because its not me."

Two memorable impressions from the day:

I won't feel the urge to eat at a buffet style restaurant any time soon - maybe a Souper Salad, but not a Golden Corral type. The class was in a separate room in a buffet eatery. Its not the food that failed, altho the food wasn't memorable either. Unfortunately it was the other people eating there. How to say this?? Most of the other folks were over what you would call recommended weight. And by a wide margin. I myself could lose 15 pounds or so and I could use some major conditioning, but I looked positively skinny in comparison. My appetite vanished before eating (except for a piece of apple pie) and when I did eat, it was not much. I really have sympathy for people in an obese condition - however it appears resignation and apathy has set it in for them.

I sat in the back row next to the wall on the left side of the room. To my right was a taxi driver from Austin who didn't speak English very well, it appeared a mid-eastern language was probably his native language. This was fortuitous since I didn't have to talk to anyone as a result! At the end of the class everyone has to take a test and get at least 70% of the answers correct. All day the instructor pointed out exactly what was on the test. Right before the test was handed out, the instructor read aloud every question and the multiple choice answers and then the correct answer. Every question. The tests were then handed out. I blasted through mine and sat around for a few minutes before we graded the test. We were asked to exchange with the person next to us so I exchanged with the taxi driver. At a glance I could tell he'd only answered about 5 questions of the 20. I waved to the instructor to wait - my guy's test had a "few" unanswered questions. He waved me off and told me to grade my own paper (I made a 100!) and to give the taxi driver his paper back. As we are checking answers the taxi driver is answering the unanswered questions. He managed to pass with an 80. Somehow he missed 4 while the answers are being given.

Class over and I walk out into the parking lot to be picked up by my wife to go home. The taxi driver offers me a free ride home in his cab. Think, think, think. Ah, no thanks.



Homer in Defensive Driving - if it were only this funny.

Unusual Chess Game

From Susan Polgar's blog, Chess Daily News and Information comes this link to an unusual chess game.

When Grackles Attack

They came by close enough for me to notice the noise of flapping wings the first time. I heard a bunch of grackles making a racket up on some nearby powerlines. The second pass I saw them coming and ducked out of the way. There were about 6 grackles sitting on the powerlines looking at me and squawking. I stopped walking and stared up at them, when about 4 of the 6 launched and dove at me a third time. About halfway, I started flailing my arms at them in frantic waves which caused the birds to pull up and fly off before reaching me. I quickly jogged away before another attack. All this on my lunch time walk of about two miles. Unfortunately there were no telephone booths for me to jump into for relative safety.

This reminds me of an Eastern Kingbird that nested out behind the 18th green of Mallard Cove Golf Course (my hometown course) back in the day. The bird would fly at golfers who had happened to get beneath its tree. We watched from the clubhouse as group after group came in and did battle with the Kingbird. Comedy.

Stanley Cup on TV

The finals for the Stanley Cup is on, and has been on TV the past two nights by NBC. The first two games were in Detroit as the Red Wings are playing the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Detroit is one of the USA cities hit hardest by the recession. Motor City - home of most American car makers. Yet - the automaker sponsoring the Cup TV coverage is HONDA. I guess the bailout, and now bankruptcy for GM doesn't allow for product promotion. And the Honda cars look good too - except those eco-friendly cars, yuck.

As I watched the crowd in Detroit I couldn't help thinking that greater than 1 of 10 of those fans is out of work, except that tickets prices are so high that I doubt anyone there doesn't have a job. At least they aren't watching the Detroit NFL Lions (0 - 16 ) last season.

BTW The Red Wings look awesome. Its impossible not to notice how they control the puck, control the opposition physically, and control shots that reach their goalie Osgood so that he can make sound saves.