Jack Aubrey

I am ready but my wife is not. I've a feeling we'll be going to the shelter afore too long, tho. Meanwhile we have Sam's sister, River, to dote on and spoil! :D

Big hugs and lots of love to you, Jamie. I am very, very sorry for your loss. They are not just "pets", they are family!!

 

I had to say goodbye to My Little Buddy Sam (aka Butterbean, Short Rib, Pardner and sometimes Gooberhead) last month. He had developed kidney disease and it had advanced to a point that the vet said if they tried to extend his life at all then the most we would get with him would be 1-2 weeks so we made the decision to euthanize him and as we were sitting in a room waiting for the vet I lost it. I sobbed like I haven't sobbed in years and all I could say was "I need my Buddy!" over and over again. He was the best, sweetest, smartest, loving, even-tempered, and amazing dog I've ever seen in my life and I shall miss him a lot. We had 14 wonderful years with him and that's a Blessing right there. He had a good long life and we did our best to make it as good as we could. We absolutely spoiled him and he was 100% worthy of it!! I love my Sam and look forward to the day we meet again.

Thank you for the kind words, Tony! I appreciate them! How are you and your wife? Well, I hope.

Juggernaut with the great Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, and Sir Anthony Hopkins. If you've never seen this one, go do so.

I was fortunate enough to see him in his one-man Mark Twain show about 16 or so years ago. He was a damn fine actor and we are diminished by his loss.

Thank all of you SOOOOO MUCH for the beautifully kind well wishes! I am now about 90% healed, the Doc said I could actually stop wearing the ortho brace if I wanted to, so I am now closing out my 1st full week without it!! It still hurts if I am on my feet longer than 5 or so hours, but the pain is very manageable and goes away when I sit down and elevate it for an hour or so.

 

The Doc also said I'm one of the fastest healers he's ever seen, but don't worry, I won't let that go to my head!! :D

 

God Bless you good folks always!! Much love and big hugs!

I've been binging hard on graphic novels lately. I loved comic books as a kid and now that I'm in my 50's, I guess I'm getting a little sentimental and am trying to recapture a bit of my youth. Currently I'm reading Batman: White Knight.

Almost forgot: There were no apparent leaks in any of the pipes under the house so the plumbers we called said it was due to condensation (welcome to the Southeast, right? Where the humidity averages about a thousand percent!) What they wound up doing was "encapsulating" our entire crawlspace in plastic and also installed a dehumidifier and they said it would take care of things. I reckon we'll see.

Hey folks! You'll never guess what happened to me!

 

My wife and I had to have our kitchen floor replaced due to extensive water damage. It was getting so bad that we were cracking the floor tiles as we walked on it so we contacted Handyman Connection (and they have locations in several states and provinces so if you need any work done on your house, contact them, they do great work). Anyway, the technician had been coming over for about 3 days and had to leave in the mid morning to go help his wife whose car had died on the highway. Before he left, he briefed me on which parts of the floor I should avoid. Well, wouldn't you know it, I apparently missed the part where he said "in front of the fridge". So about 20 mins. later I get thirsty and decide to stroll into the kitchen for a water. Right when I stepped in front of the fridge, the particle board just gave out like it was made of tissue paper. I wound up "sinking" up to my belly and bashed my ankle against some kind of support. I hauled myself out of the hole and when I'd caught my breath, tried to get to my feet ("tried" is our operative word, here)! Well, I was about halfway up and put my left foot under me it just said "nuh-uh" and pain hit so hard I thought I was gonna literally pee myself. So I went to my Doc who referred me to get an xray and also to an ortho. My poor wife gets a nomination for sainthood for hauling my busted behind all over town to get this stuff done. Well,I get to the ortho and they look up my xray and showed me where I had cracked my fibula on the diagonal about an inch above my ankle so currently I'm on crutches and in a walking boot and under orders to stay off of it as much as possible. So that's the news from me for now and I hope and pray that all of you are uninjured!

 

Thanks for reading.

Being a veteran, the time change has never bothered me as I have that "sleep where you can, when you can" reflex. I am for splitting the difference, tho.

http://islandconnectionnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/piebald-deer-tarpon-pond-by-daphne-corcoran.jpg

 

This handsome piebald guy was spotted about 50 miles from where I live.

If y'all want to see something cool, google "piebald deer". I'm for leaving those ones alone, too!

Oh heck yeah and a big 'ol ditto on leaving this fellow alone, he's too pretty to kill. I'd be slowly and quietly taking out my phone to get at least one pic, all the while praying he doesn't see or hear me and bolt!!!:D

 

Look at that stance and those eyes, I'm sure he's survived a lot of fights and bullying for being different. He's a badass and he knows it!!

Staying in with My Sweet Bride and enjoying a non-traditional pot roast as neither of us are huge turkey fans. Probably gonna rent that New Mutants movie.

I was reading the other day about the guy who created the Theremin - Leon Theremin - and he was also a Russian spy or similar, put a fancy bug in a seal that sat in the Russian ambassador`s office for many years, and those sneaky Soviets could hear all the US conversations.

 

I saw a History Channel doc about spycraft and that seal was featured prominently. It was a great example of thinking outside the box. I believe it's official code name was the "whatizit".

I loved him on MythBusters! Rest in peace, Grant.

Happy Anniversary, Buddy!

Thanks Jack!

 

 

What are the altoids for, Jack? There’s got to be another purpose other than just wanting mints. Using the tin container for something else? Tiny electrical device? Wire? Mini-mini hatchet?

 

Good question! I've both seen and read about several different applications for an Altoids tins over the years. Some folks use it as a tinder box (flint and steel, mischmetal rod, or a Bic lighter) all carried along with tinder from cotton balls to sawdust to char cloth. Some use it to carry pills like advil and benadryl and such and I've even seen folks try to cram miniature versions of crucial surval tools into one claiming that's "all they'll need". I once challenged myself to compile the smallest kit I could that I would still trust my life to and the smallest kit I could make that would be "essentials only" was around the size of a shoebox. Since then, my advice has always been: beware of trusting a survival kit small enough to fit in an Altoids tin or they're liable to bury you in one.

Happy Anniversary, Buddy!

Thanks Jack!

 

 

Great kit! Everything you need! My only bugaboo is with the knife, the Becker Campanion. I hosted a survival trip about 6 years ago and one of my students brought one along. During field trials we found the knife to be bulky, heavy, and unwieldy. Also, the handle was quite slippery and that made it dangerous to use. Just a heads-up.

Happy Anniversary, Buddy!

I can't watch. I love cats.

 

I do, too! Medium-rare with barbecue sauce! :D

 

I know you're a hunter and all but yuck

 

Just joking, Brother. I would never really eat a cat unless it was that or starve to death and even then I'd probably weep openly over such a hard choice while begging God's forgiveness.

Hi! Some years ago, I made a documentary about the Welsh band Manic Street Preachers, which is now available to stream free for Amazon Prime members, or at low cost for non-members. You can find it here:

 

https://www.amazon.c...s/dp/B00Q8T24W4

 

There is Rush content in the film, including excerpts of an interview with Geddy and Alex done by members of the Manic Street Preachers. If you're interested in seeing the entire Rush interview plus other fun bonus content related to the film itself, those appear in extras on the home video release, which is available on DVD or Blu ray, and which you can buy directly from me for cheap! PM if interested.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Very very cool! My sincere compliments to you, sir, and I have just saved your doco on Amazon and will watch it soon.

I revisited a favorite from my childhood and watched Disney's The Scarecrow Of Romney Marsh which is available for free on YouTube. If you've never seen it, check it out with all speed. It's based on a series of novels by Russell Thorndike (the first of which was written in 1915) and is acknowledged as the first superhero story ever written. The movie also happens to be a rousing adventure story and features Patrick McGoohan in the title roll.

Great idea for a thread, by the way! Thanks, hi water!

1. Blade Runner.

2. Tombstone.

3. The African Queen.

4. The Sand Pebbles.

5. Patton.

6. Jaws.

7. Alien.

8. Big Trouble In Little China.

9. The Empire Strikes Back.

10. The original Planet Of The Apes (featuring the greatest twist ending in the history of movies).

[i'm not much for ranting about stuff that is happening in the world, but today, something really ticked me off]

 

My local newspaper has an article about a local pediatrician and a child psychologist who are offering guidance to parents when it comes to teaching their young children about racism.

 

They used a new label that I've never seen before: "BIPOC families" (Black, Indigenous and People Of Color). :facepalm:

 

Yet another insipid label to define, categorize and segregate human beings. Don't we have enough problems with people calling each other minorities, Black, White, LGBT ? These alleged "professionals" are obviously unaware of how they're just perpetuating the problem.

 

Language is everything when it comes to social and cultural change and/or progress. Without exception, every word or phrase that we utter conveys a specific meaning, a specific idea. If we keep calling other human beings minorities or BIPOC's, then they will always be minorities or BIPOC's (instead of our fellow human beings) and we will always be in competition and conflict with each other.

 

Wholeheartedly seconded!! Nicely done, sir, my sincere compliments.