Archive for the ‘Bitch & Complain’ Category

09-27-2014 Journal Entry-Drinking Wine Before It’s Time!   Leave a comment

With most of the gardening chores completed things have slowed down around here a bit.  Who am I kidding?  We’re just killing time until the day the “Fair” opens.  That would be the Fair held every year in Fryeburg, Maine.  It’s by far the largest event in the state and it’s a week long party for the many thousands of attendees from all over the country.  We’ll be attending next week and it will be twelve hours of farm animals, large crowds, crazy good food, and hundreds and hundreds of photographs.  So like I said we’re just killing time until the Fair.

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Today I’ve been completing a number of small projects which required very little effort on my part.  As I was walking through the house I remembered one thing that I absolutely had to do sooner rather than later.  It was time for the Concord grape wine to be bottled.  It’s been almost three months in the making and the fermentation has finally stopped.

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The final product is a beautiful dry ruby red wine with an unbelievable bouquet. So it’s a half hour of washing bottles and making my usual mess.  I tend to be a bit clumsy and if I don’t spill at least one bottle of wine in the process I just don’t feel like I’ve accomplished anything.

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There’s nothing like siphoning wine through a little plastic tube, spilling it on the floor, down your leg, and onto nearby books, papers, and house pets. Curiosity may have killed the cat but in this house a good squirt of wine onto a persistently nosy cat is as good as it gets.

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After filling and corking nineteen bottles it was then time to put on the fancy gold PVC covers.  This requires a large pot of boiling water into which the bottle tops are quickly dipped causing the cover to shrink and seal the corks. It’s imperative that the bottle not remain in the hot water for more than a few seconds or there will be trouble. That truth became immediately evident when my first cool glass bottle was held into the boiling water for more than four or five seconds and the top exploded.  Now I’m down to eighteen bottles but with a much better understanding of things I shouldn’t do.

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I finished the remainder of the job but held back another bottle for the better-half and I to have with dinner.  I poured myself a large glassful and waited for her arrival from work.  I found out in the middle of the second glass that there was definitely a sufficient amount of alcohol in the wine.  I had a wonderful glow on which translated to my canceling dinner. There was no way I could safely cook without possibly burning down the house.

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When the better-half arrived home she drank a couple of mouthfuls of the wine, declared it delicious, and then immediately opened a beer (she isn’t much of a wine lover).  She made her own meal and I ended up having an off-the-cuff snack consisting of Wheat Thins, a dab of Smart Balance and peanut butter with a dash of triple berry jam.

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This batch of wine has passed my final acid test.  Any wine that can make me eat this slop for dinner  contains more than enough alcohol.  I tested it with my vinometer and it contain just a hair more than 9 percent.  That makes for an excellent batch of 18 proof red wine, more than enough to make almost any food edible.

09-23-2014 Happy International Coffee Day!!!   Leave a comment

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I’ve been a coffee addict in a serious way since my time in the U.S. Army.  During those years my Army buddies and I drank a great quantity of what was called coffee.  It was strong and thick and black as night.  It was really just a poor man’s substitute for “speed.  It would keep you alert for hours on end while patrolling or carousing in the nearby villages until all hours.  It was as important to us as the food we ate and there was an endless supply available in the mess hall around the clock.

I returned to the states to resume my civilian life and within a  short time became a member of the Pennsylvania State Police.  The coffee was a little weaker but we drank it constantly as we patrolled both at night and during the day.  And no, donuts weren’t as prevalent as the media and stand-up up comics would lead you to believe.  It was all about the caffeine.

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I come by my coffee addiction honestly and it still remains an important part of my existence to this day.  Just as a point of information I feel the need to reiterate; I hate Starbucks.  They’ve made coffee a yuppie joke to those of us who are real coffee drinkers.

With International Coffee Day approaching on September 29 I thought you might find a little coffee trivia interesting since it’s been an important commodity for millions of people throughout the centuries.  Here we go. . .

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Once in the past, coffee was believed to be the devil’s drink. Pope Vincent III heard about it and decided to taste it. He enjoyed it so much he baptized it, saying "Coffee is so delicious it would be a pity to let the infidels (Muslims) have exclusive use of it."

Both the American Revolution and the French Revolution were born in coffee houses. The American Revolution was developed by patriots who were customers in the Green Dragon (some say it was the Green Lion) Public House in London.  The infamous French Revolution in 1789 was spurred on by Camille Desmoulins’s verbal campaign in coffeehouses.

  • Vincent Van Gogh was a big frequenter of the café society and famously said “I have tried to show the café as a place where one can go mad.”
  • An interesting Turkish law decreed that it was quite acceptable for a woman to ask for a divorce if her husband failed to provide her with adequate coffee rations.
  • Coffee was denounced by many religious leaders as the drink of Satan. Coffee houses were known as “hotbeds of sedition”. In the 1700’s many coffee houses were ordered to close.
  • There are 900 different flavors of Arabica. Complex and very volatile, they deteriorate if exposed to air and light.

The original blend called "Maxwell House" got its name from The Maxwell House Hotel, where it was first served in Nashville Tennessee in 1886 (also where Teddy Roosevelt was heard to say "good to the last drop", creating the Maxwell House slogan).

In 1732, at the height of his creative genius, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the Cantata No. 211 or Coffee Cantata. It is considered by many to be a work of perfection.

In Turkey, bridegrooms were once required to make a promise during their wedding ceremonies to always provide their new wives with coffee. Failure to do so would be grounds for divorce (no pun intended).

  • The second most widely used product in the world after oil.
  • It is a living to more than 100 million people.
  • It is consumed at the rate of 1400 million cups per day.
  • The world’s second most popular drink after water.

Beethoven, a known coffee lover, was not only particular about his music. He was also particular about his coffee brew. He always wanted 60 beans for each cup of his coffee.

Today, there must be 10,000 coffee shops in Venice alone! (In the year 1763, there were already over 200 coffee shops in Venice)

Cappuccino derived its name due to its similarity in color to the robes of an order of Monks called the Capuchins.

Well-known performers such as Joan Baez and Bob Dylan began their careers performing in coffeehouses. Another singer, Lightnin’ Hopkins, complained about his woman’s neglect with her domestic situation because of her coffeehouse socializing in his 1969 song, Coffeehouse Blues.

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Well there you have it.  Every thing you always wanted to know about coffee but were afraid to ask.  It’s now time for me to get back to my new friend, the K-Kup coffee maker, for a hot and sweet cup of vanilla/biscotti.  Man that’s the cats ass.

09-21-2014 Journal Entry-Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins!   Leave a comment

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Well to continue the story as I promised in the last post, we (my better-half and I) were in dire need of pumpkins.  Why, I honestly don’t know but we can’t live without them apparently.  We especially need to find those ever so illusive white pumpkins which are just ghostly enough to make Halloween worth celebrating.  After checking prices at Walmart and Lowes the decision was made to go elsewhere so as not to feel any more extorted than normal.

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These days the prices continue to climb on just about everything. The love of the almighty dollar leaves little regard for us customers and with the advent of the big box retailers the days of lower prices at roadside stands are slowly disappearing.  The farmers no longer try to beat the prices of the larger stores but are certainly happy to match them.   That translates to an end of bargain prices for all of us.

Fortunately if you want to spend the time and effort there are still a few farmers who’ll sell their wares at a decent price, collect their profits, and retain their customer base.  It’s one of those places that we headed to after our drive to Kennebunkport and the southern coast.

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As we arrive at the farm there are piles and piles of pumpkins and squash of all sizes and kinds.  These folks cultivate just over a hundred acres every year and they always seem to have excellent results.  They actually sell a large portion of their products to local school districts for the kids lunches.  I’ve always been a firm believer about "buying local" and supporting the farmers in our area and it’s folks like these that make that happen. They also give me an excellent place to take incredible Fall pictures. Here are a few.

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My better-half made her purchases of an assortment of orange and white pumpkins with a promise to return and pick up a few cornstalks and a bale of hay or two.  She feels the need to reassure me that we’re almost ready for Halloween and the Fall season.  I’m so relieved.

09-19-2014 Journal Entry–Sunny, Clear & Cold!   Leave a comment

I’ve been sleeping much better lately now that the weather is turning colder.  Heat and humidity seem to be my worst nightmare these days.  I’ve always favored cooler weather and it seems that will never change.

Today’s forecast was for clear and sunny skies and a temperature in the low fifties.  It was dig out a medium weight jacket and jeans because it appears shorts are out until next Spring.  The better-half and I had errands to run on her day-off but I was able to convince her to take a ride along the southern coast for a few hours.  Traffic was heavier than anticipated and I’m not sure exactly why.  I guess everyone was trying desperately to enjoy the sunshine and extend their summer for as long as possible just like we were.

We started our little journey to  Kennebunkport by cutting cross country through an area filled with horse farms. We can always find great photo opportunities there.  

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We made a short visit to the small coastal town of Cape Porpoise, Maine.  It was such a clear day I knew I could get a decent picture or two of the Goat Island lighthouse located just offshore at the entrance to the harbor.

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These lobsterman pictured below were in port with barrels of freshly caught lobsters.  As you can see they’re loading them into trucks for transport to some of your favorite restaurants.

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This area is filled with an endless supply of beautiful costal pictures as always. This small harbor was full of lobster boats and many of the visitors were sitting along the shore enjoying the view and basking in the sunshine.

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We traveled north along the coast back towards Goose Rocks and Biddeford.  There were many terrific photo-ops and we took advantage of them all. There were so many possibilities we actually were forced to pass a few by and we hate doing that.  Here are a couple of samples.

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It made for a great trip to roam around and enjoy one of our last remaining sunny and warm days.  The second half of this trip will be posted in a day or so as we traveled towards farm country looking for pumpkins. We planned on visiting a few farms in our ongoing effort to find pumpkins that weren’t priced sky high as those at Walmart.   It seems we can’t really enjoy the Fall season around here without stacking a few pumpkins and cornstalks in front of the house.

C’mon Winter!

09-13-2014 Journal Entry–Mall Safari!   Leave a comment

I’m sitting up in my bed and the electric blanket has been resurrected once again.  The nights are chilling down dramatically as reflected by my new morning wardrobe.  A heavy robe, wool socks, sweat pants, and an extra cup of steaming hot coffee.  Things like that can only be properly appreciated while sitting up in bed at a minimum of level 4 on the electric blanket.  Just saying.

Last night no one really wanted to cook the evening meal so we made a trek to the Maine Mall to window shop, eat some almost nutritious food at the food court, and possibly spend a little money.  Forgetting that it was a Saturday night was mistake number one.  The place was packed with large numbers of rude people all rushing around, pushing, shoving, and generally being ridiculous.  I also realized something else as we walked around observing many groups of teenagers huddled here and there looking for things to do. I’m truly glad I’m not married and don’t have any young daughters to worry about. 

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Any parent that permits their daughter to loiter around any mall just boggles my mind.  If any daughter of mine insisted on hanging out at a mall with her friends I’m afraid of what my reaction might be.  I can see myself in a tacky disguise scurrying around the mall, hiding behind plants, just to keep an eye on the activities of her and her friends. There are way too many unthinkable possibilities just waiting to happen in this kind of atmosphere.

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I was in dire need of a few new T-shirts and was intent on finding some.  We visited a store called ‘The Hot Topic’ where we seemed to be a little out of place.  It’s very much like a ‘Spencer’s’ without all of the sexual paraphernalia. My better-half and I were the only people in that crowded store over the age of 25.  I made my way to the back wall because I’d  been told they have offer quite the collection of T-Shirts made with images of vintage rock groups. 

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I decided some time ago to make a few changes to my boring wardrobe.  I concocted a few new rules to help make my life a little easier when it comes to making a personal fashion statement. 

  • No more white T-shirts of any kind. Being as clumsy as I am makes white t-shirts a nightmare.  Everything I eat eventually leaves it’s mark somewhere on the front of the shirt..
  • No more stupid or cute sayings on my shirts.  It make me either look stupid or uncute.
  • Buy only T-shirts about classic musical groups. There aren’t any current groups I’d allowed to be displayed on this body.
  • No more extra-large shirts.  I’m now just a large and proud of it.

I found a few shirts (see the photo’s) I absolutely loved, made my purchases and we headed to the food court.

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It’s a place with long lines, plastic sporks, and borderline delicious foods. There were representative kiosks from most Asians cultures as well as many of the standard American calorie and fat factories.  We pigged out on a  selection or two from Arby’s because the lines for Chinese food were too damn long. 

I think it’s quite possible the decline of this county was part of a well planned attack initiated  many decades ago by the Chinese.  I’ll bet years ago they decided as a first step towards invasion to build as many Chinese restaurants as they could in the US and get a large majority of the population addicted to their food.  If by chance over the next decade we begin to see Islamic restaurants springing up everywhere it could mean only one thing. Eventually this country will be the prize that goes to the winner of the Chinese/Muslim food wars.

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With indigestion in our near future we left the confines of the mall and headed home.  That Arby’s feast was so good it keep coming back up all night reminding us just how good it really wasn’t. 

Lesson learned, no more fast food from the food court.

0912-2014 Journal Entry – The First Fall Update!   Leave a comment

Today will be a general update on a few of the useless things I’ve been doing or trying to do.  I’m happy to report that the highchair restoration has been completed.  It was a relatively simple project that took only a week to accomplish.  The last posting on the chair had me sanding my heart out to remove the old layers of paint, stain, and shellac.  Once that was completed I then pulled out my handy-dandy Dremel tool and wire brushed all of the hinges and other hardware. Fortunately I was able to remove almost all of the corrosion.

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I discovered quite by accident that this highchair was made from an assortment of woods glued together and painted.  This made my staining job a bit more difficult but I persevered. The results were satisfactory but not as good as I’d hoped.  Once the stain was on then came three coats of a good polyurethane and a few days to let it dry. 

I installed the new modified safety straps which put me one step away from completion. The toughest part of the project was finding the proper decals for the chair.  The original had some sort of cutesy puppy on it which I immediately sanded away.  A little too lame for me or any kid who might eventually be using it. After visiting a few dozen websites and a few actual retail stores I found two  stickers that I felt were acceptable. I installed them yesterday and officially declared this project complete.

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Now to the garden which is slowly coming to an end. I harvested the remainder of the kale yesterday.  I picked the plants, cut and cleaned the leaves which left me with a large bag full.  The process included washing the leaves twice, blanching them all in boiling water, dropping them into an ice bath to stop the cooking process, and finally a last thorough washing.   A spin dry in the good old Salad Spinner and it’s into the vacuum bags and then the freezer. The process took a little longer than I liked but it’s important to keep the food as clean as possible at all times.

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‘In the Garden’

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‘In the Wash’

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‘Into the Freezer’

Another week and I’ll start the final cleanup of the garden to get it ready for winter. That includes removing all of the fabric from the frames and composting the entire garden with three or four inches of prime compost.  Once that has been rototilled in I can concern myself with the remaining yard cleanup and storage of all lawn furniture and equipment for the winter.

Just another slowly fading Summer week here in Maine. 

09-09-2014 Journal Entry–Advertising Rant!   Leave a comment

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I’m a child of television. I come by it honestly because I was a member of the first generation that had TV. So for good or bad I’ve spent a great deal of my life listening and watching the tube. In my early years television was unsophisticated  and simple with only three networks to choose from and a 12” black and white screen.

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Years later it was still black and white pictures but there were rumors of something called ‘Pay TV’ on the horizon.  It was the latest and greatest evolution of Television where you paid a monthly fee and there would be no commercial interruptions. Around that same time full color TV’s were introduced. The worst thing about ‘Pay TV’ was that we bought the fiction hook, line, and sinker.  Before we knew it cable TV was born and so began the steadily rising monthly fees, surcharges, and the reintroduction of commercials but only on a limited basis (so they said). Yeah, we bought that BS as well.

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Move forward a few more years and the monthly rates continued to increase based solely on the companies ability to increase the number of channels that you really weren’t all that interested in having but they were “part of the package”. More commercials were then added because the companies claimed a need for extra revenues to help cover their costs of production and maintenance of their infrastructure.  Another giant pile of BS.

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Move forward in time to yesterday. I’m now receiving my TV programming by the satellite dish hanging off the side of my house.  Pretty impressive but only if you live somewhere where it never rains or snows.  I never see any reduction in my monthly fees due to all of the weather related interruptions in service. I especially enjoy winter and those numerous trips I’m forced to make in my bathrobe to clear the dish during snow squalls.  I also don’t appreciate all of the extra channels I’ve been involuntarily stuck paying for because “it’s part of the package”. You’d think by now they’d have a better list of stupid reasons for inflating our monthly charges.

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I never thought I’d see the day when advertisements would come to be thirty minutes long on virtually every channel for a good part of the morning viewing hours.  How stupid is it that the advertisers then take short breaks during those half-hour infomercials for a commercial or two. Commercials inside commercials, unbelievable right?

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We are inundated with commercials everywhere everyday.  Planes flying over our beaches. Talking digital images on every end cap at Walmart activated as you walk by to spew their annoying messages.  Gas station pumps talking in your ear with more lame and unimportant messages.  It just never stops, so I decided to do a little research.

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For two hours last evening during good old TV prime time (6-8 pm), I began counting the number of commercials.  In a 120 minute time frame on two different channels I was forced to listen to all of these in this exact order:

Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuits, Back Support Device, Xarelto Drug, Hair Club, Sleep Number Beds, Belviq Weight Loss Drug, DR rapid fire log splitters, Hip replacement implant lawsuits, Dolphin Tale 2 Trailer, Little Caesars Pizza, Target, Gone Girl Movie Trailer, News Update, Lowry Law Firm, Toyota, Dick’s Discount Furniture, Dunkin Donuts, The Box Trolls Trailer, Hannaford Foods, Political Ad Maine, Kohl’s, Dodge, Scion Maze Runner Trailer, Sonic, Hershey, Dos Equis, Hanes Underwear, Nasacort Allergy Meds, US Navy, Dairy Queen, Geico, Reese’s Pieces, Dewars Whiskey, Gillette Razor, Dulera Asthma Meds, John Deere, Progressive Insurance, Tostados, Burger King, Hershey, Honda, Direct TV, Nasacort Allergy Meds, Pizza Hut, Fuse Electric Cigarettes, Schick Razor, Supernatural Trailer, Corona, Jolly Rancher, Walk Among the Tombstones Trailer, AT&T, Ace Hardware, Toyota, Sonic, Reese’s Pieces, Dewar Whiskey, Gillette Razor, Cricket Wireless, State Farm, Heineken, Dunkin Donut, Winter soldier Trailer, Kit Kat, Allegra Allergy Meds, UFC, Heinz, Evel Knievel trailer, Cricket wireless, Wendy’s, ROLO, Honda, Direct TV, Maze Runner Trailer, ITT Tech, Dos Equis, KFC, Reese’s Pieces, Nasacort Allergy Meds, Fiat, Domino’s Pizza, Ice Breakers Breath Mints, Sonic, Skittles, Cricket Wireless, Lipton Tea, Kit Kat, Dos Equis, Walk Among the Tombstones Trailer, Eye Exam PSA, Lending Tree Loans, Scion, State Farm, Reese’s, UFC, Sons of Anarchy Trailer.

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Is it just me or is this pure insanity.  72 commercials of varying lengths in just 120 minutes. There’s little doubt that these money hungry cable companies will eventually supply us with only 10 minutes of actually programming per hour if we just agree to watch 50 minutes of effing commercials. Is it any wonder that we can’t just sit down and relax anymore. Even if the TV is off the radio chimes in with their commercials. Signs along the roads and on thousands of vehicles driving by make it impossible to escape.

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Try and enjoy your day.

09-07-2014 Journal Entry–Bye! Bye! Summer   2 comments

What’s your morning routine?  For most of my life I’ve had a routine and I stuck to it regardless of the day, the month, or the year. It also was flexible enough to change when necessary to fit my always changing lifestyle.  I have to say that my routine these days is by far the best it’s ever been.

I’m sitting in a nice warm bed and  into my second cup of coffee while watching and listening to one of my favorite chick flicks, Return to Me.  My better-half has left for work, the cat has been fed, and I just finished off a bowl of crunchy cereal covered with berries and almond milk.  Now it’s time to write this posting before I finally roll out of bed and officially start my day.

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With Fall now rushing upon us and Labor Day behind us, we decided to make our farewell visit to the nearby tourist trap, Old Orchard Beach. We expected much smaller crowds because many places close up for the season just after the Labor Day weekend.  It was warm and sunny and the crowds were even smaller than we anticipated.

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We were both surprised to see that the vast majority of shops and restaurants had already closed their doors for the year.  I’d intended to do some shopping at a certain store but because it was on the grounds of the amusement park it was fenced off and locked up.  That’s what I get for delaying my visit to avoid the crowds. Another casualty of my claustrophobic need to avoid large groups of insane people.

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The beach was almost as empty as everything else.  Just a few die-hard beach people refusing to accept the fact that Winter is fast approaching. 

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We made our way to The Pier and the local Irish Pub.  They were open for business and apparently trying to rake in as much money as they could from any straggling tourists.  The prices were too high but the food was almost as good as the cold beer or so says my live-in beer expert.  I had the vodka tonic which wasn’t all that bad either.

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We ended the evening with our mandatory visit to the Arcade for my better-half’s minor obsession with Skee Ball.  Don’t ask me why she has it, I just don’t know.  We walked around for twenty minutes or so and decided to call it a night.  The Summer is over, Fall is beginning, and we’ll be shoveling the white stuff all too soon.

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Just so you know the little guy on the right is me. A little bit taller and always keeping an eye out for trouble.  And in my humble opinion a whole lot cuter  too.

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08-18-2014 Journal Entry – Doctor’s Suck!   Leave a comment

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I have a few least favorite things but two in particular. First, I hate having my teeth drilled. The sound and smell of teeth drilling makes me cringe because it’s been done all to often over the years. Second, I hate doctors, nurses and hospitals. I do realize they’re  a necessary evil but I hate them none the less. 

My late mother was never a well person. Through all of her illnesses and surgeries there paraded scores of doctors who spent more time spending her money than fixing her problems. Each specialist prescribed different medicines and drugs with little or no thought to the many others doing the same damn thing.  They almost killed her a couple of times with their constant insistence that the next drug was the one that would fix everything.  She trusted them with her life but I will not. 

I’m ranting about doctors because I spent yesterday afternoon being manhandled by the new and improved healthcare system.  Obamacare cost me my doctor of fifteen years when he threw up his hands last year, sold his practice, and left the country. I really wish I could have gone with him.

I arrived yesterday to go through an annoying series of blood tests which are required every time I turn around.  I arrived early being the obedience dumb ass  that I am and then sat for forty minutes while I waited for a computer person to enter my name into a freaking computer. Big surprise, they had no record of my blood test request or my upcoming doctors appointment.  My obedient behavior became a thing of the past as I intimidated everyone involved to pull their heads out of their collective asses and get their act together.  After another half hour I was advised that my doctors appointment I thought was scheduled for next week had been changed. Oops, no one sent me an email or letter telling me that.  After much bitching and complaining on my part they agreed to fast-track my blood work to have it ready for my newly scheduled appointment tomorrow at 10am.

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I had a surly and annoying young lady stick me and remove a number of tubes of my beautiful red blood.  She was in quite the mood about something but decided to be an asshole toward me.  Little did she know that I was once married for a very long time and that my-ex wife made her look like an freaking amateur when it came to pissing me off.

It’s now tomorrow and I’ve just returned from my annual doctors appointment  All my numbers were perfect but he insisted on giving me the old one fingered prostate exam while a female assistant looked on. She was hot enough to be one of my hundreds of sexual fantasies but not after today. That ship has sailed.  He then announced that he had an early Christmas gift for me this year. He’ll be scheduling me for my fifth colonoscopy in the last 9 years. My ass seemed to be very popular today for some reason.

Just to reiterate, I hate effing doctors, Medicare, Obamacare and Obama as well.

08-04-2014 Journal Entry – Let Freedom Ring!   Leave a comment

Well the better-half is finally on her way to Delaware.  Her getting ready for a five day trip was much like the American soldiers preparing for D-Day.  She packed everything except possibly a bazooka and c-rations.  She spent five whole days packing for a five day trip which meant a minor crisis every hour or so for me to deal with. “Where’s this thing? Where’s that thing? Where did you put my recharger? My phone isn’t working properly, fix it! Why isn’t this GPS thingee working? It doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to.” Man, I’ll need at least five days of rest to recover from her packing.

This posting will be all over the place today.  A little of this and a little of that. For instance, I’m always telling everyone how much I love living in Maine and thankfully I found something that will explain it clearly for you. We have an abundance of natural wonders here but it’s the people that keep me interested.  We were riding around a few days ago and came upon what could be called the Mt. Rushmore of Maine. Check it out.

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This is a perfect example of free thinking Americans voicing their opinion without fear of reprisals from the liberal left.  I appreciate their sentiment as well as the perfect way in which it was displayed.  Subtle but effective.  Here are a couple of close-ups so you can read the signs a little easier.

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‘More Obama Fans’

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‘One of These Thrones is for Biden too!’

Now let’s talk freedom of expression and mailboxes.  I created a photo book a few years ago with dozens of photo’s of unusual Maine mailboxes.  The Fed’s have a whole list of requirements for people who install a mailbox.  It must be so many inches high, so many inches from the road, and God forbid if it’s not an approved US Government design.  They may threaten you with a vicious bureaucratic note if you don’t obey their rules which just scares the hell out of no one.

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I also love those little threatening notes they occasionally drop in my box or attach to my door that informs me that they’ll stop delivering my mail unless I clear the snow and ice from my around my mailbox.  It’s Maine for God’s sake. There are times when I can’t even find it to clear the snow away.  It’s either buried under three feet of frozen concrete or the town’s snowplow has removed it from my property and dropped into the yard of a neighbor a few hundred yards away.  The fact that it will be in five or six pieces doesn’t seem to concern them either. The citizens of Maine apparently didn’t get that important government memorandum on mailbox requirements and if they did, they ignored it. I continue to find many mailboxes  which violate all of the rules of the USPS which just makes me smile. It’s just a simple and direct way for Mainer’s to throw the big middle finger to the Fed’s.

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Freedom is everywhere in Maine as reflected by this sign at a local biker bar. It just isn’t necessary to make up an impressive and phony name for your band. Just call things exactly what they are. Who wouldn’t drive a few miles to hear this group perform and throw back a few drinks as well.

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LET FREEDOM RING