ground control to major tom

Still waiting for a really good ewok recipe. Currently, I'm out of propane for my grill. Anything would be greatly appreciated, however anything barbecued will to wait until I get a chance to fill the tank.

I saw the sign, and it opened up my eyes

Signs, Signs, everywhere a sign

Have you ever noticed the church billboards with the sometimes slightly amusing one liners? Who comes up with these things? I'm not slamming them at all. I know that anyone with a PC can google the phrases and come up with more than a few hits, but these billboards were around long before the advent of the internet. Nothing really of interest to add, just a random observation.

Try a little tenderness

On a road not far from my house, there's a sharp turn. The road isn't lit very well at night, and with a 35 MPH speed limit(that's 56.327 KPH for our Canadian friends) the turn can be quite treacherous for the uninitiated. There's a guardrail on the outside of the turn that has been damaged for quite some time, at least as long as I can recall. Rather than fix it, they merely placed a sign at the beginning of the turn that says, "guardrail damage".

I'm not sure, but maybe one could just tack it up to the mentallity of the folks down here. Its not quite the rat race that one sees in other parts of the Country. I really notice how different it is when I travel. The last time I visited my parents in Delaware, I went to the grocery store with my Dad. When we were in the parking lot going from the car to the store, I noticed vehicle after vehicle driving at excessive speed through the crosswalk with people on either side waiting to cross. Expecting the drivers to yeild, I was nearly run over attempting to cross. This would never happen here in Space City. People drive fast here, but not through crosswalks. I've never seen more courtious drivers than those here. And people actually hold the door for you, and say strange new words and phrases like "please" and "thank you". I thought it was weird when I first moved here, but its the first thing I notice about other places when I travel. People just aren't polite in other parts of the Country.

Maybe they haven't replaced the guardrail for other more obvious reasons. I really think that my decision to move away from the East Coast lowered my stress level. Its so much easier to be a jerk to someone. I just think people just need to be nicer to each other.

Canada Update

Be cool or be cast out.

from the kjunglewires...


If drive-throughs work for coffee and doughnuts, why not for that other great Canadian staple -- beer? A drive-through lane -- the first in Ontario -- is being added to the Beer Store at 414 Wharncliffe Rd. S. in London as part of a test marketing project.

The new lane will operate much like a fast-food outlet. Customers will see a "menu" board of beers and order from a speaker box. They will drive to a window to pay for the beer and then pull up to a door, where Beer Store staff will place the beer in the trunk.

The Beer Store is testing the drive-through because customers have suggested it, Scott Simmons, vice-president of marketing and business development, said yesterday.
The Beer Store, owned by Molson, Labatt and Sleeman breweries, is renovating outlets and testing the drive-through to boost sales, Simmons said. "People have other choices. We want to give people reasons to choose beer." The Beer Store experimented with drive-throughs 15 years ago.

Lanes were installed at the Wharncliffe Road outlet and a handful of others, but they were dropped after a few years. "It wasn't used very much, to be frank," Simmons said.
But fast food drive-throughs have soared in popularity in recent years, especially at the Tim Hortons chain, so it seemed like a good time for the Beer Store to try the concept again, he said.
The Wharncliffe store was chosen for the test market because the space for the drive-through was available and London has traditionally been a strong beer market, Simmons said.
Steve Carroll, manager of the Wharncliffe Road store, said he is confident the drive-through lane will be a hit this time. "I think it will be popular with customers. People really like drive-throughs."

The new drive-through lane should be open for the Victoria Day weekend -- the unofficial kick-off of summer.

But there is one drawback. Customers won't be able to return empties because it will slow service.

knock three times on the ceiling if ya want me

My friend and all too infrequent kjunglerants contributor buKit's latest blog entry calls into question peoples' priorities in the rat race we call life. Don't blame him for his negative outlook. Its nothing personal. He's been upset ever since I refused to give him the "secret knock" for the conjugal trailer at the prison where Martha Stewart was incarcerated.

To show how in line MY priorities are, I'd like to take my third blog entry of the day to ask for your help in saving a TV show from cancellation. Arrested Development is the funniest show on TV, bar none, and Fox has a website set up with a petition in hopes of generating enough interest.

If you haven't had a chance to watch it yet, check it out after the Simpsons on Sunday, or go rent season one at your local video store. You won't be disappointed.

new world hors d'oeuvre

I'm not sure how much AOL Time Warner has infiltrated your 'lil ole Utopian Metropolis, but here in Space City they're just about everywhere. As if their cable TV service and their AOL and Road Runner Internet services weren't enough of an intrusion, they now offer Digital Phone and Home Security services.

Its a bit maddening when you think about it. Not only can they theoretically control everything you see on TV, everything you view/do on the internet, and who you speak to on the phone, but they can now control access to your residence. The real kicker is.....

PEOPLE ARE PAYING FOR IT!

Am I sounding paranoid?

What you say and what you do

Call me a glutton for punishment, but I've finally decided to turn the comments feature on. I really don't know why either. I just woke up today and decided to do so.

I only ask that you play nice.

Also, if anyone out there in blog-land has any good recipes for Ewok, I'm all ears.

We Are Family

Nepotism is alive and well these days.

from the AP...

Lawmakers with relatives on their congressional or campaign staffs include:
_ House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas: Wife and daughter were paid more than $500,000 since 2001 for working for DeLay's campaign and political action committees.

_ Connecticut Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman: Son Matthew received about $34,000 and daughter Rebecca about $36,000 for working on the senator's 2004 presidential campaign.

_ Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash.: Nephew Todd Reichert was paid $3,000 last year, plus several hundred dollars for mileage, for serving as driver.

_ California Democratic Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark: Wife Deborah earns $2,400 a month for serving as campaign consultant.

_ Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif.: Wife Arlene Willis serves as congressional chief of staff at a salary of nearly $111,000.

_ Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich.: Wife Laurie Stupak earned about $36,000 annually the past two years as the finance director for her husband's campaign.

_ Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio: Wife Elizabeth was paid about $1,730 a month during his 2004 campaign. She has worked as a campaign consultant for him since the 2001 election cycle.

_ Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif.: Cousin Ken Costa made about $45,000 for serving as a co-campaign manager last year.

_ Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah: Three college-age children worked on his campaign last year. Emily was paid $5,425, Jane $9,508 and Laura $17,766.

_ Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn.: Sister-in-law Sharon Davis has been his campaign treasurer since 1994,and daughter Libby Davis was his campaign coordinator in the last half of 2004.
Libby Davis was paid about $2,334 a month; Sharon Davis was paid about $1,000 a month for bookkeeping last year.

_ Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, employs his wife, Kathy, as his campaign manager. She was paid $21,791 over four months, including a $7,500 bonus last November.

_ New York Democratic Rep. Tim Bishop: Daughter Molly was paid $46,995 as his 2004 campaign's finance director.

_ California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher: Wife Rhonda Carmony makes $40,000 a year as his campaign manager.

Finger Lickin' Good

Hard to believe this is having an impact on sales

From Reuters

Finger Report Hits Wendy's San Francisco-Area Sales
Mon Apr 11, 2005 08:27 AM ET
By Barbara Grady
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Reports of a severed human finger in a bowl of chili at a Wendy's International Inc restaurant have hit the firm's sales in the San Francisco area, a company spokesman said on Saturday. "We've had a severe sales impact from this, particularly in the San Francisco-San Jose bay area," said spokesman Bob Bertini from Wendy's corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ohio. "It's very important to us to find out what happened in this incident. We believe someone knows exactly how the piece of finger got into the chili bowl," he said.
The company has offered a $50,000 reward to the first person offering verifiable information about how the finger found its way into a bowl of chili at a franchise in San Jose, California, on March 22. The San Francisco Chronicle reported this week that police has searched the home of Anna Ayala of Las Vegas, who filed a complaint about biting into a human finger after spooning up a mouthful of chili at the San Jose Wendy's on March 22.
A San Jose Police Department sergeant would say on Saturday only that investigators traveled to Las Vegas this week to serve a search warrant in a private home connected to the case. "The investigation continues," added Sgt. Nick Muyo, declining to further describe the search.
Calls to Ayala's home went unanswered on Saturday.
The Chronicle reported on Saturday that Ayala has filed legal complaints against commercial establishments before. She won a claim against a restaurant after her daughter contracted salmonella poisoning in 2003. She sued a car dealership and tire manufacturer after an accident in 2000. That case was dismissed.
Wendy's has said its own investigation found no evidence of any finger or hand accidents among workers or suppliers at the San Jose franchise in late March.
Police also focused on where the finger had come from.
"From a law enforcement point of view, once you establish it is a human finger, you have to wonder is this a case of industrial accident or is this a case of unreported homicide," Muyo said.
Wendy's this week forecast that first quarter profit would be lower than a year earlier, citing higher beef prices and a slip in sales in March. It did not cite the chili incident.

Whole Lotta Rosie

Just Plain Weird

I guess Rosie O'Donnell had too much free time on her hands, because now she has a blog of her own. Scan down to the entry entitled "waffle house" and see what ya think.

Upon reading said entry, I feel honored that even the great Rosie O'Donnell stoops so low as to dine with us lowly peasants (at a waffle house of all places), picks up the $12 tab for someone she deems less fortunate than she, and then takes the time to blog about it.

Oh woe is she.

It just goes to show that you need not be creative to have your own blog. I continue to prove that with each entry of my own.

Also of note from "ro's" website is some really weird shit from her "home movies" section. Check this one for starters. I guess she had some antiwar message she was trying to convey. She's no Ed Wood when it comes to film making. Not sure about you, but I think its just plain creepy.

I guess exploiting your infant children for your own political statements is the "in thing" to do when your career is foundering. What's next? buKit bathing the girls cut in with stills of Tim Horton's in hopes of getting a franchise opened in Fairfax?

Time to make the Doughnuts.

Cadnada Update

Peter Jennings to begin treatment for Lung Cancer

In an email to employees yesterday, Peter Jennings informed his colleagues that he had recently been diagnosed with Lung Cancer. Jennings plans to continue his World News Tonight broadcast during his chemo-therapy as long as he is able to do so.

I don't agree with his politics, nor do I watch his broadcast. But I don't wish cancer upon anyone. Get well soon, Peter.

Isn't it Ironic

After hosting Canada's Juno awards ceremony (their equivilant of the Grammys), and filming a guest spot on Canada's teen drama Degrassi, pop star Alanis Morissette recently became a US citizen. Funny, I thought everyone wanted to "take off to the great white north" and immigrate to Canada. Said Alanis, "There was a turning point during the [citizenship] ceremony where I felt connected to this country in a way that I didn't quite expect," she said. "I wanted to walk up to one of the officials to ask them if I could sing the anthem." Well, you oughta know that she did in fact get her chance later that night at her show at the House of Blues in LA, where she performed the Star Spangeled Banner to a sold out audience. Apparently you CAN do that on television. Take that, Barth.

Morissette joins Peter Jennings, Jim Carrey, and Pamela Anderson on a list of famous Canadians that have US citizenship.

Daylight Won't Find Us Here

I think the abolition of daylight savings time should be seriously considered. I know its only an hour, but am I the only one that has a difficult time getting up in the morning?

And another thing...

I don't work dayshift anymore, but when I did and had to be in bed by 8:30PM while it was still light out, I hated it even more.

r.i.p.

Terri Schindler Schiavo 1963-2005

Pope John Paul II 1920-2005

Canada Update

I said in an earlier post that I may or may not do some sort of "Canada Update" segment. In the aforementioned post, I also said that I liked Canadians and thanked them (sincerely) for their support in the US war on terror. For this, I was accused (by individuals not to be named here) of disliking Canada and Canadians. This could not be further from the truth. Sarcasm doesn't lend itself well to print media. So for the record, at least in the scope of this one particular blog entry, I am not being sarcastic and applaud Canada's Video Service Corp.


From http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=3074
"Here's some happier ALF news: Video Service Corp, the Canadian company that previously released The ALF Files (which contained uncut episodes), will be putting out Project: ALF on April 12. While this is a Canadian release, Amazon.com is stocking it ($10.49), and releasing it a week earlier than in Canada. Every set will come with a free ALF keychain!"

Apparently, in the US only the syndicated versions of ALF are available on DVD. Meaning that several minutes of the original NBC airing that were butchered will not be on the US DVD and will be available only in the Canadian release, which may be purchased online.

Thank you Canada.