202 – Busy Week Ahead!

Yeah, this is going to be a busy week ahead for both work and home.

Friday, I had a nice day off.. went to mom’s house and waited for her new washing machine to be delivered. Everything went off well and she’s real happy with it.

In basketball this weekend, the UCONN Men won twice, putting them in the Final Four. They play again on Saturday at 6pm and if they win against Michigan State, they go to the finals.

The UCONN Women won putting them in the Elite 8, and will play again tomorrow to see if they go to the Final Four. I don’t think anyone can doubt they’ll win the tournament this year.

We had our wine dinner yesterday, and while better than last year, there was a few disappointments. I’m hoping next year we change venue’s.

And now, for a funny:

A wealthy couple had planned to go out for the evening. The woman of the house decided to give their butler, Jerves, the rest of the night off. She said they would be home very late, and that he  should just enjoy his evening.

As it turned out, however, the wife wasn't having a good time at the party, so she came home early, alone.  Her husband had to stay there, as several of his important clients were there.

As the woman walked into her house, she saw Jerves  sitting by himself in the dining room.  She called for him to follow her, and led him into the master bedroom. She then closed and locked the door.

She looked at him and smiled.  "Jerves," she said."Take off my dress." He did this carefully."Jerves," she continued." Take off my stockings and garter." He silently  obeyed her.  "Jerves," she then said. "Remove my bra and panties."  As he did this, the tension continued to mount.

She looked at him and then said,  "Jerves, if I ever catch you wearing my clothes again, you're fired!"

Have a great Monday!

201 - Tomorrow is a First

Tomorrow, I take a "furlough" day off of work. I work for the State of Connecticut, and with the economy as bad as it is, we're facing a deficit of... well, lots of money. Our Governor has asked all State Employees to take as many furlough days off as they wish from now until June 1. Furlough being without pay. I plan on taking 4 or 5 if I can, to help out.

What really surprises me, is how many people at work either refuse to take even one day off to help, or live so close to the edge, money-wise, that they can't afford a day off.  Either way, I'll do my part as much as I can and hopefully it'll help save money somewhere.

I'll head over to my mom's tomorrow to wait with her for a new clothes washer. Hers died this week after 29+ years of use. (I guess they don't build them like they used to! *LOL*)

This Sunday, our wine club has our yearly "Wine Dinner" with very fancy food and excellent wines. I can't wait for that!

I wanted to share with you today, a pretty cool website! I hope you enjoy.

And now, for a funny!

Beer and Ice Cream Diet

Justification for beer and Ice cream! But stay away from the pizza!
As we all know, it takes 1 calorie to heat 1 gram of water 1 degree centigrade. Translated into meaningful terms, this means that if you eat a very cold dessert (generally consisting of water in large part), the natural processes which raise the consumed dessert to body temperature during the digestive cycle literally sucks the calories out of the only available source, your body fat.
For example, a dessert served and eaten at near 0 degrees C (32.2 deg. F) will in a short time be raised to the normal body temperature of 37 degrees C (98.6 deg. F).  For each gram of dessert eaten, that process takes approximately 37 calories as stated above.  The average dessert portion is 6 oz, or 168 grams.  Therefore, by operation of thermodynamic law, 6,216 calories (1 cal./gm/deg. x 37 deg. x 168 gms) are extracted from body fat as the dessert's temperature is normalized.
Allowing for the 1,200 latent calories in the dessert, the net calorie loss is approximately 5,000 calories.
Obviously, the more cold dessert you eat,the better off you are and the faster you will lose weight, if that is your goal.
This process works equally well when drinking very cold beer in frosted glasses.  Each ounce of beer contains 16 latent calories, but extracts 1,036 calories (6,216 cal. per 6 oz. portion) in the temperature normalizing process.  Thus the net calorie loss per ounce of beer is 1,020 calories.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to calculate that 12,240 calories (12 oz. x 1,020 cal./oz.) are extracted from the body in the process of drinking a can of beer.
Frozen desserts, e.g., ice cream, are even more beneficial, since it takes 83 cal./gm to melt them (i.e., raise them to 0 deg. C) and an additional 37 cal./gm to further raise them to body temperature. The results here are really remarkable, and it beats running hands down.
Unfortunately, for those who eat pizza as an excuse to drink beer, pizza (loaded with latent calories and served above body temperature) induces an opposite effect.  But, thankfully, as the astute reader should have already reasoned, the obvious solution is to drink a lot of beer with pizza and follow up immediately with large bowls of ice cream.
We could all be thin if we were to adhere religiously to a pizza, beer, and ice cream diet.
Happy eating!

Have a wonderful weekend!

200 - Wordless Wednesday - Curacao Revisited

 

(click on picture to 'embiggen')

199 - Do My Eyes Look Like Basketballs?

I've watched so much basketball since Thursday noon, I'm overdosing *chuckling*.  The UCONN Men beat Texas A&M 92-66 on Saturday, and the UCONN Women beat Vermont Sunday 104-65. Life is good. Both of my teams are winning easily. They look confident, poised, ready to take the next step, and hopefully at least make it to the Final 4.

My friend Ray has been here just about all weekend, and we've had a great time. I went to start the Vette today, knowing that in a few weeks, I'll be bringing her home.

Back last fall, a friend of mine bought me a box with three Corvettes inside, a fixed-roof coupe, coupe (like mine), and a convertible. They're plastic models (already assembled), but they're the only models/die cast I have ever seen for a 2000-2001 Corvette. The only Die-Cast like mine, is a 2003, and it has a different hood emblem (50'th Anniversary emblem), so needless to say, he knew I was looking pretty hard and I was pretty happy when he found them.

Not long after getting them, I asked a friend who is the vice president of our car club and the owner of a body shop, if there was a way he could paint them the same color of my car (Millennium Yellow) as they were some awful shade of brownish green. He took them, and I hadn't thought about them again until he called me on Saturday morning. He had one done, as he wanted to do one and see how it came out first, and when I picked it up, I was astonished that it was gorgeous! I'll take some pictures for you all, but it's absolutely flawless. Now, he'll do the other two soon.

Saturday, later in the morning, my daughter went to see my mom a day early, as she had fallen going up her stairs into her place and broke 3 fingers. Her hand is all wrapped up, but she's a tough ole bird and won't complain.... much.

Other than that and basketball, that's what my weekend was like. Here's a funny for you all:

In France, the young assistant priests do not live in the main rectory. That is reserved for the priest and his housekeeper. One day the priest invited his new young assistant priest to have dinner at the rectory. While being served, the young priest noticed how shapely and lovely the housekeeper was and down deep in his heart he wondered if there was more between the priest and the housekeeper.

After the meal was over, the middle-aged priest assured the young priest that everything was purely professional...that she was the housekeeper and cook and that was that. About a week later the housekeeper came to the priest and said, "Father, ever since the new assistant came for dinner I have not been able to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle. You don't suppose he took it, do you?" The priest said, "Well, I doubt it but I'll write him a letter."

So he sat down and wrote, "Dear Father, I'm not saying you did take the gravy ladle and I'm not saying you did not take the gravy ladle. But the fact remains that it has been missing since you were here for dinner."

The young assistant received the letter and he answered it as follows: "Dear Father priest, I'm not saying that you do sleep with the housekeeper and I'm not saying that you do not sleep with the housekeeper. But I do know for sure that if you slept in your own bed you would find the gravy ladle."

Have a great Monday all!

198 - UCONN Wins First Test

The UCONN Huskies beat the Chattanooga Mocs Thursday 103 - 47, while their coach, Jim Calhoun lie in the hospital not feeling well. I had my brother, and friends Dave and Ray over today to watch the games, and we had a great time. Next game, Saturday afternoon against Texas A&M.

We're supposed to have another nice weekend, and it's giving me the itch to get my Vette out. I'm trying to hold off another couple of weeks till the beginning of April.

I saw this next thing for the first time on Wednesday, and everyone who reads my blog should play the video on this page. Mark, make sure Shan and Ben see this as it's positively astounding! *S*

I'm taking another half day off tomorrow to watch more basketball, and with the great weekend coming up.. I'm in a good mood!

Now, for a funny for you:

A man travels to Spain and goes to Pamplona during the great "running of the Bulls" festival.
After his first day there, he goes out late for dinner at a restaurant in the center of the town. He orders the house special and he is brought a plate ,with potatoes, corn, and two large meaty objects.
"What's this?" he asks.
"Cojones, senor," the waiter replies.
"What are cojones?" the man asks.
"Cojones," the waiter explains, "are the testicles of the bull who lost at the arena this afternoon."
At first the man is disgusted, but being the adventurous type, he decides to try this local delicacy. To his amazement, it is quite delicious. In fact, it is so good that he decides to come back again the next night and order it again. This time, the waiter brings out the plate, but the meaty objects are much smaller.
"What's this?" he asks the waiter.
"Cojones, senor," the waiter replies.
"No, no," the man objects. "I had cojones yesterday and they were much bigger than these."
"Senor," the waiter explains, "the bull does not lose every time."

Have a great Weekend all!

197 - Let the Games Begin!

As I write this on the evening of St. Patrick's Day, I think back about how back in 2000, my wife and I took a vacation in Ireland, where we drove the countryside, staying in Bed and Breakfasts, and enjoying all that Ireland had to offer. Yes, I even kissed The Blarney Stone. And it's not easy to do. If you want to see the picture of me kissing the Blarney Stone, let me know, and I'll email a link. *chuckling*

Did everyone have Corned Beef and Cabbage on St. Patty's day? It's one of my very favorite meals to have, and ours was delicious.

Thursday and Friday of this week, I'll be taking half days off of work as I do most years, to watch some NCAA Basketball. I can't wait. It's my time of year. Some people love the Super Bowl, some love the World Series, me, it's the NCAA Tournament.

Other than that, I've got a great joke for you from my friend Mike H:

The Difference in Men's and Women's poetry:

WOMAN'S POEM:
Before I lay me down to sleep, I pray for a man, who's not a creep,
One who's handsome, smart and strong. One who loves to listen long,
One who thinks before he speaks, One who'll call, not wait for weeks.
I pray he's gainfully employed, When I spend his cash, won't be annoyed.
Pulls out my chair and opens my door. Massages my back and begs to do more.
Oh! Send me a man who'll make love to my mind, Knows what to answer to 'how big is my behind?'
I pray that this man will love me to no end, And always be my very best friend.

A MAN'S POEM:
I pray for a deaf-mute gymnast nymphomaniac with
huge boobs who owns a bar on a golf course,
and loves to send me fishing and drinking. This
doesn't rhyme and I don't give a shit.

Have a wonderful Hump-Day!

196 - March Madness!

The 65 team schedule has been announced, and 3 of the #1 seeds are from the Big East, including one being UCONN!

I'll probably be taking some time off of work this week to watch some hoops and eat some wings.. maybe have a beer or two and root for the teams. I love this time of year! *S*

Plus, it was almost 70 today, and I'm getting the itch for my Vette, but the roads have to be cleared of a lot of the sand before I bring it out.

Friday night, me and 3 friends went to see Watchmen at the movies. It was a very different movie, and I actually liked it. The biggest problem I had with it, is there was a "gratuitous sex scene", that really didn't need to be there. If it weren't for that, it could have been rated lower for kids to see it (and it really wasn't necessary at all).

I got to sleep late on Saturday, and it felt great after the busy weekend I had last week.

Well, lots to do tonight (I write these the night before publishing).

Here's something to make you laugh:

One day a guy dies and finds himself in hell. As he is wallowing in despair he has his first meeting with a demon...
Demon: Why so glum  chum?
Guy:  What do you think?  I'm in hell.
Demon:  Hell's not so bad.  We actually have a lot of fun down here...you a drinkin' man?
Guy:  Sure,  I love to drink.  Love the drinks.
Demon:  Well you're gonna love Mondays then.  On  Mondays that's all we do is drink.  Whiskey,  tequila,  Guinness,  wine coolers,  diet tab, and fresca...we drink till we throw up and then we drink some more!
Guy:  Gee that sounds great.
Demon:  You a smoker?
Guy: You better believe it!  Love the smoking.
Demon:  Alright!  You're gonna love Tuesdays.  We get the finest cigars from all over the world and smoke our lungs out.  If you get cancer - no biggie - you're already dead remember?
Guy:  Wow...that's...awesome!
Demon:  I bet you like to gamble.
Guy:  Why  yes  as a matter of fact  I do.  Love the gambling.
Demon:  Cause Wednesday you can gamble all you want.  Craps, Blackjack, Roulette, Poker, Slots, whatever...  If you go Bankrupt...well you're dead anyhow.
Demon:   You into drugs?
Guy:  Are you kidding?  Love drugs! You don't mean...
Demon:  That's right!  Thursday is drug day.  Help yourself to a great big bowl of crack. or smack.  Smoke a doobie the size of a submarine. You can do all the drugs you want and if ya overdose - that's right - you're dead - who cares!  O.D.!!
Guy:  Yowza!  I never realized Hell was such a swingin' place!!
Demon: You gay?
Guy:  Uh  no.
Demon:  Ooooh  (grimaces) you're really gonna hate Fridays.

Have a wonderful Monday!

195 - March Madness is Upon Us!

This is the time of year when ALL I do is watch College (NCAA) Basketball! It's my favorite sport to watch, and it's over all to quickly. The UCONN Women won the Big East Tournament, and are 33-0, winning all their games this season by double digits (that's a record). They're of course the #1 ranked team in the country going into the NCAA Tournament.

The UCONN Men, were #1 last week before losing for the second time this season to Pittsburgh. Tonight, they play Syracuse in the Big East Tournament, and if they win, guess who they play tomorrow? Pitt.

Sunday, is Selection Sunday. The NCAA picks 64 +1 teams to play in the tournament. We know UCONN Men will be going, but will it be as a #1 or #2 seed? I'm hoping they win the Big East Tournament and get a #1 seed. Right now, they're ranked #3 in the country.

Other than basketball, I'm waiting patiently for the weather to finally take that corner to Spring. I'm sure my friends Peter and Merle will welcome the fall down under in OZ, as they've had an incredibly hot summer. (and Merle, I hope you're feeling better)

Mark, I hope things are well with Shan. I'm thinking of you guys.

Well, other than thinking about having an easy weekend this week, there's not much more to say, so I'll leave you all with a funny:

One morning the husband returns after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap. Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out. She motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads her book. Along comes a Game Warden in his boat. He pulls up alongside the woman and says, 'Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?'
'Reading a book,' she replies, (thinking, 'Isn't that obvious?')
'You're in a Restricted Fishing Area,' he informs her.
'I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading'.
'Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up.'
'For reading a book,' she replies,
'You're in a Restricted Fishing Area,' he informs her again,
'I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading'
'Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up.'
'If you do that, I'll have to charge you with Sexual assault,' says the woman.
'But I haven't even touched you,' says the game warden.
'That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment.'
'Have a nice day ma'am,' and he left.

Have a great weekend all!

194 - Tools of the Trade

Prompted by a post that Mark made on his blog, here's some of the tools I use on my PC. Most are free, but what's not is quite inexpensive.

Firefox (Browser)
Chrome (Google's Browser)
Q-Dir (multi pane explorer)
InfraRecorder (CD/DVD Burner)
ImgBurn (ISO Burner/CD Copier)
Foxit Reader (Adobe Acrobat Reader equivalent but faster)
CCleaner (best tool for cleaning up PC)
EvJO Photo Image Resizer (indispensable for resizing multiple photos)
PSPad Editor (incredible text editor, great for programmers)
HandBrake (used for taking movies and resizing and converting for my iPod)
CuteFTP (FTP program. Cheap but real good)
FireFTP (free FTP program from FireFox)
DVD Shrink (DVD Ripper)
Whisper32 (password manager. I'd be lost without this)

All you have to do is Google any of the names above to find them. There's probably a few more, but I can add them at another time.

Other than that, is readership really down, or are people reading but not commenting? Enquiring minds want to know! *chuckling*

That's it for now, I hope you all have a great Hump-Day!

193 - SkyNet is Alive!

The new PC that I bought not long ago, is up and running as my main PC now. The name of it, on my internal network is SkyNet, in keeping with the theme of all my PC's having names of famous computers from TV/Movies.

I had a lot of software to install on it, like Office 2007, Paint Shop Pro, Microsoft Streets and Trips, FireFox, Chrome, etc, etc, etc. I'll make a list soon of some of the software I use that's free, kind of like Mark did recently.

I'm still amazed at just how fast that PC is. Things that took almost a minute on my old PC, take less than 5 seconds now. I'm impressed.

The weather this past weekend was incredibly nice! It was well over 60 degrees both Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, it's supposed to get back to the 30's on Monday.

This weekend flew by WAY too fast.  I need another weekend, just to catch up!

Well, pretty busy, so I'll wrap it up early.

And a funny for you before I go:

Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and George Washington are on a sinking ship.
As the boat sinks, George Washington heroically shouts, "Save the women!"

George W. Bush hysterically hollers, "Screw the women!"

Bill Clinton's asks excitedly, "Do we have time?"

Have a great Monday!

192 - Caution, Big Weekend Ahead

This is going to be a busy weekend. Friday night, I'm going with my friends Dave and T.J. to the Hartford Civic Center (called the XL Center now) to see the first round of the Big East Women's Basketball Tournament. The #1 ranked UCONN Women won't be playing until Sunday, but we get to see some good games anyway's, and the tickets are free for me! *chuckling*

Saturday morning, we're going to get our taxes done, then I have to stop at the guy's place that makes the trophies/plaques for our car club to pick something up, then the UCONN men play the last regular season game at noon. Saturday night, we have a wine tasting for our wine club.

Sunday, of course I go see my mom as usual, and at night I have a meeting of our car club. All in all, a VERY busy weekend!

Oh, did I mention, it may get up to almost 60 degrees on Sunday! WHOO HOO!

Well, since I haven't had a joke in a while, here's a good one:

Beer Troubleshooting guide:

SYMPTOM: Feet cold and wet.
FAULT: Glass being held at incorrect angle.
ACTION: Rotate glass so that open end points toward ceiling.

SYMPTOM: Feet warm and wet.
FAULT: Improper bladder control.
ACTION: Stand next to nearest dog, complain about house training.

SYMPTOM: Beer unusually pale and tasteless.
FAULT: Glass empty.
ACTION: Get someone to buy you another beer.

SYMPTOM: Opposite wall covered with fluorescent lights.
FAULT: You have fallen over backward.
ACTION: Have yourself leashed to bar.

SYMPTOM: Mouth contains cigarette butts.
FAULT: You have fallen forward.
ACTION: See above.

SYMPTOM: Beer tasteless, front of your shirt is wet.
FAULT: Mouth not open, or glass applied to wrong part of face.
ACTION: Retire to restroom, practice in mirror.

SYMPTOM: Floor blurred.
FAULT: You are looking through bottom of empty glass.
ACTION: Get someone to buy you another beer.

SYMPTOM: Floor moving.
FAULT: You are being carried out.
ACTION: Find out if you are being taken to another bar.

SYMPTOM: Room seems unusually dark.
FAULT: Bar has closed.
ACTION: Confirm home address with bartender.

SYMPTOM: Taxi suddenly takes on colorful aspect and textures.
FAULT: Beer consumption has exceeded personal limitations.
ACTION: Cover mouth.

SYMPTOM: Everyone looks up to you and smiles.
FAULT: You are dancing on the table.
ACTION: Fall on somebody cushy-looking.

SYMPTOM: Beer is crystal-clear.
FAULT: It's water.Somebody is trying to sober you up.
ACTION: Punch him.

SYMPTOM: Hands hurt, nose hurts, mind unusually clear.
FAULT: You have been in a fight.
ACTION: Apologize to everyone you see, just in case it was them.

SYMPTOM: Don't recognize anyone, don't recognize the room you're in.
FAULT: You've wandered into the wrong party.
ACTION: See if they have free beer.

SYMPTOM: Your singing sounds distorted.
FAULT: The beer is too weak.
ACTION: Have more beer until your voice improves.

SYMPTOM: Don't remember the words to the song.
FAULT: Beer is just right.
ACTION: Play air guitar.

Have a wonderful weekend!

191 - Wordless Wednesday - Curacao at Dusk

 

Click on picture to 'embiggen'

190 - Still Feeling Rotten

Yeah, I'm still feeling pretty awful. This cold is a whopper, and I've been down all weekend except for going to see my mom for about an hour this morning. Other than that, I haven't been out of the house since Wednesday.

On top of all of that, my main (not the new one) PC died. I spent a few minutes figuring out it's the motherboard, so the data on the hard drive is fine. That means I have to step up the work on the new one as soon as I feel better. Mainly, I have to install a lot of software, find CD's to install it all, and pray I have all the license codes I need.

I'll post a few more pictures from vacation:

 

 

Here's a picture of another part of the pool. As  you can see, there's little off-shoots that brings you to other areas. To the right, where the little exit goes, takes you to the pool bar. The ocean is to the left.

 

 

Here's a picture of the pool set up for playing water volleyball! It's about 4.5 feet deep and perfect for games. There are tables and chairs all around for watching while sipping a drink, or having a snack from the buffet about 20 feet behind.

 

 

Lastly, another sunset picture. Make sure you click to 'embiggen' it, to see the sun setting right over a container ship! *chuckling* I loved how it came out.

Truly, the sunsets in Curacao were spectacular.

 

 

Well, hopefully you're not getting bored with my vacation pictures, (some may be as I'm down in comments again), but I need to get going, so have a wonderful Monday.

ps, we're supposed to get 10-12 inches of snow Monday!