A Musical Interlude

Bon Scott lives!

Friday Night Lights: Bulls Season Comes To An End

http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2009/nov/28/steers-stave-off-bulls-for-victory/

It didn’t come down to a last-second extra point this time.

But Graham’s second clash with Bridgeport this season was just as close.

By converting three third downs in their final possession, the Steers bled off the last 5:51 on the clock Friday night, holding off the Bulls for a 28-23 victory.

No. 10 Graham (12-1) will meet up with Wimberley (9-4) in the 3A Division II quarterfinals at 7 p.m. next Friday at Waco ISD Stadium. The Bulls end their season at 7-5.

If they only had artificial turf and and an indoor practice facility... plus a QB whose brother is a Heisman Trophy candidate and Dad as head coach.

Congrats to the Bulls on a GREAT season!

Who's Reading The South 40?

Haven't done one of these in a while. Random sampling of 2 or more repeat visits in the past 30 days.

My apologies if I left you off, but brevity prevailed:

• Chico, Texas
• Decatur, Texas
• Boyd, Texas
• Alvord, Texas
• Sunset, Texas*
• Azle, Texas
• Jacksboro, Texas
• Bowie, Texas
• Bridgeport, Texas
• Fort Worth, Texas
• Arlington, Texas
• Muenster, Texas
• Copperas Cove, Texas
• Harker Heights, Texas
• Killeen, Texas
• Dallas, Texas
• Denton, Texas
• Dublin, Texas
• Haslet, Texas
• Houston, Texas
• Rockport, Texas
• Irving, Texas
• Gatesville, Texas
• Longview, Texas*
• Spicewood, Texas
• Wichita Falls, Texas
• Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Edmond, Oklahoma
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Chaska, Minnesota
• New York, New York
• Allison Park, Pennsylvania
• Warsaw, Warszawa
• Mandaluyong, Philippines
• Cebu, Philippines
• Bangalore, India
• Guragon, India
• Swift Current, Canada
• Brockville, Canada
• Ottawa, Canada
• Halifax, Canada
• London, England
• Bootle, England
• Penshaw, England
• Stockholm, Sweden
• Malmo, Sweden
• Paris, France
• Munich, Germany
• Bad Vilbel, Germany
• Mesa, Arizona
• Tallahassee, Florida
• Lakeland, Florida
• Miami, Florida
• Winterpark, Florida
• Gainesville, Florida
• Charlotte, North Carolina
• Cary, North Carolina
• Carrboro, North Carolina
• Mooresville, North Carolina
• Onslow County, North Carolina
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Muncie, Indiana
• Bloomington, Indiana
• Chicago, Illinois
• Chanhassen, Minnesota
• Los Angeles, California
• San Francisco, California
• San Diego, California
• Roseville, California
• Alameda, California
• Santa Barbara, California
• Montclair, California
• Anaheim, California
• Downey, California
• Camarillo, California
• San Jose, California
• Mountain View, California

Thanks, ya'll!

Holy Crap, Original Content!

Yeah, I've been blog slacking hard. But, this is the busy season at work. As hard as I try to keep work out of the blog, let me just say it's been a beating since since Tommy left.

For everything turn, turn, turn...

But, somethings just don't change. Thanksgiving is the beatdown of all beatdowns in the grocery business. It's a close second only to Dec 31,1999 in the liquor business. That was so far beyond what you could wrap your head around it's crazy.

I was a manager at Centennial Liquor #5 at Inwood & Beltline in Addison. That store is the Dallas equivalent to Briar or Jeterville for you old time Wise County beer runners. Just increase the volume by 250%. It was THE dry line store for North Dallas. We ran $175,000 thru 5 registers in 11 hours. That's about $53 per minute, per register, every minute the store was open. Profit Margin! We had DPS directing traffic in the parking lot and armed guards stationed at the doors.

It was pure unadulterated mayhem.

At the very best it was a controlled looting. But, I looked upon it like an actor looks at New York. If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere. What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger.

Moving on...

I had an interesting conversation tonight on a discussion board with a person whom I shall describe as a "Palin Conservative". Come to find out they were a Canadian citizen living in Texas. I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around a foreign national advocating the ultra-rightwing. Does not compute. 601.

That FOX News Kool-Aid dispenser truly is amazing.


Apparently the Seiko Corporation has been monitoring The South 40. My faithful Seiko 5 Sports diving watch has suddenly gone on the fritz. It's gaining 30 minutes every hour. Either that or our orbit around the sun has suddenly started to deteriorate.

Somebody call Bruce Willis.

Thinking of Others

Happy Turkey Day

Warning: Chunks may fall off while driving.

Toyota Motor Corp. will recall 110,000 Tundra trucks from the 2000-2003 model years to address excessive rust on the vehicle's frame. The government urged owners to remove the spare tire from the frame, concerned it could fall onto the road and create a hazard for other vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into excessive rust on Tundra frames in October after receiving 20 complaints of "severe frame corrosion." NHTSA said then it had received 15 reports alleging the spare tire, stowed under the truck bed, separated from the frame. Five other reports alleged broken brake lines because of the rust.

Toyota said owners could "minimize the risk of the spare tire separating from the rear cross-member by removing it. If you choose to do so, please be sure not to be under the rear cross-member or spare tire carrier during the lowering process." The automaker also urged owners to secure the spare tire in the truck bed or other areas of the vehicle.

Other areas of the vehicle?

"I ranned head on to a hog!"

My favorite Southern chef Paula Deen got an unexpected serving of ham — across her face. The Food Network star was helping unload 25,000 pounds of donated meat for an Atlanta food bank on Monday when someone threw one of the hams like a football and accidentally smacked her.

Though smiles and laughter, Deen added: "I'm OK. It just knocked me for a little bit. I ranned head on to a hog!"

She says she was unloading hams when she tossed one to a man, who then said "Back at 'ya." Thinking he meant it only as a sentiment, she turned around to get another ham when the idiot threw it back at her.

"He really meant, 'Back at 'ya.'"

Fortunately, the ham was a Smithfield.

The Bottom Line

I doubt the person this is directed towards is a South 40 aficionado , but this needs to be addressed.

1. You're a nice girl but I'm not interested. Nothing personal.
2. The love of my life was murdered 2 1/2 years ago and it is still unsolved.
3. I have issues.

From The Wayback Machine

Mother's Day 1938 Park Springs, Texas

Here's a pic of my great grandmother featuring her 15 children!

Why she went to bed without a loaded handgun or at least a baseball bat is beyond me.

Didn't married couples sleep in separate beds until the Bob Newhart show came along?

(My Granddad is top row 4th from the right.)

You Might Be A Redneck...

if you want one of these as bad as I do.

BREAKING NEWS: Bridgeport House Fire (Updated)

House fire at 15th & Stevens behind IGA.

Units from Bridgeport and Decatur responded. It doesn't look like much from the pics, but trust me it was going big time when the first units arrived around 1:30pm. Lots of thick smoke was billowing out of the doors. I was sure the house was going to burn to the ground.

Great job on getting it under control.

Blah, Blah, Blah Vol. XVI

• Former Oilers head coach Jerry Glanville is out at Portland State after a record of 9 - 24. I hear there's an opening in Chico.
• Southern California crime spree. The Geezer Bandit. He escapes on foot?
• Disney scuttles Capt. Nemo.
• Drilling in Antarctica for 100 year old scotch.

翻訳で失われる

For the last few months I have been getting strange comments in Japanese from what I can only assume is some sort of bot. I've blocked them for security concerns, but I do have to admit they are off the wall or very lost in translation.

SM・露出・スワッピング・レズ・女装・フェチなど…普通じゃ物足りないあなたが思う存分楽しめる世界！貴方だけのパートナーを探してみませんか？アブノーマルでしか味わえない至福の時をお過ごしください

Babblefish Translation - SM exposure swapping lesbianism woman equipment [huechi] and the like…Normally, the world where unsatisfactory you think and can enjoy freely! Yourtry searching just don't your partner? Only being abnormal, please pass the time of the happiness which you cannot taste.

I'm Jealous

Good luck finding an empty seat today!

I talked to an old friend I hadn't seen in a while yesterday. He has tickets to today's TCU game.

He got a funny look when I asked him if he had them on him...

This is the biggest game played at Amon Carter in my lifetime and I have to work. I can't even begin to imagine what Frog Alley will be like with ESPN's College Gameday broadcasting from Ft.Worth for the first time in the history of ever.

Unless the wheels go completely flying off the Battlefrog, TCU should manhandle the #16 Utah Utes and keep a deathgrip on 4th in the BCS.

Did you say Utes?

Last year Utah busted out some all black uniforms against TCU. The Frogs (and Nike) decided to repay the favor.

Check out the badass new Nike Pro Combat Gear uniforms The Frogs will be wearing.

The pants are dark gray with purple and black stripes down the side. The pattern on the pants is supposed to be the skin of the horned frog. The red stripe on the helmet represents the blood that shoots from a horned frog’s eyes when under attack.

Personally, I think it's a bad idea to swap uniforms during a streak. But it's what's on the inside that counts and this team has it. Coach Patterson is going to unleash the hounds to make sure there is no BCS doubt about The Frogs being for real.

GO FROGS!!!!!!!!

One For The Ladies

In the interest of blatantly pandering the blog fair and balanced blogging, here's something for the fairer sex to admire.

I hope you girls appreciate this. It kinda creeped me out looking for a pic.

The Morons Will Never Notice

I know this was already posted over at The Mothership, but I feel compelled to post it here as well. I watched this last night and honestly couldn't believe what I saw. Do they really think you are that stupid? Apparently the answer is yes. FOX News is Yellow Journalism in the worst possible sense of the term.

I don't know if you've ever seen Elia Kazan's A Face in the Crowd starring Andy Griffith, but it nails FOX News squarely on the head 40 years before they were on the air. Network would be a close second.

If it sounds like exactly what you want to hear, it's probably not the truth.

Veteran's Day

If you know a Vet, thank them for their service.

A Musical Interlude

Blah, Blah, Blah Vol. XV

• According to a Tweet by Joe Perry, "aerosmith is positivly looking for a new singer to work with". Has Steven Tyler's broken shoulder, broken his desire?
• Mark Cuban is interested in buying the LA Dodgers. Too bad there's not a local team that desperately needs a new owner.
• Uh, What's up Doc?
• Looks like there's a Jennifer Lopez sex tape. And it's 11 hours long!
• Remember Lisa Nowak, the diaper wearing, cross country driving, kidnap plotting, crazy exgirlfriend astronaut? She faced up to a life sentence on the attempted kidnapping, but just copped a plea for 1 year probation.

I Need A Few Days Off To Recover

Whew! I made it safely home from Texas Motor Speedway. XRV-1 ran beautifully. There were a few minor hiccups, but it was mission accomplished. Thank goodness I have a couple days of vacation left to recover from vacation.

The racing Friday and Saturday could have been better. Kyle Bush ran away with both the Truck and Nationwide races. It was mostly single file points racing in both events. Kyle Bush had a chance to have a record making Hat Trick weekend. Winning the Truck, Nationwide and Cup Series on the same weekend has never happened. On Sunday he had the car to do it with, too. He led the most laps and almost pulled it off. But, there's a reason it's never been done. It's insanely hard to do.

The Cup race was non-stop drama from the green flag.

I told everyone sitting next to me that we needed Jimmy Johnson to wreck in Turn 2 of lap 1 or the Championship was a done deal. I missed it by 2 laps! Sorry, Unattainable. But, with his wreck and Mark Martin's 4th place finish, the remaining races just got very interesting. A huge Tip of the Hat to Chad Knaus, his pit crew and the entire Hendrick Racing organization for getting Jimmie back on the track and gaining 14 valuable points. They basicly rebuilt the racecar and made it competitive in a little over an hour.

Speaking of interesting, one of my neighbors is a genius. He designed a portable stripper pole for his Kawasaki Mule. Back my minitruck up to it and you have an instant stage! I've already come up with a design to bolt one onto the bed of my Suzuki.

You have to keep up with The Joneses!

Apparently, great minds think alike. Barnacle came up with the same idea several months ago. I swear I wasn't involved in any industrial espionage conspiracy.

I need a better camera, but here's a couple cellphone videos from the TMS campgrounds on Friday and Saturday night with said portable pole in action. I kept them R rated for here, but I DO have much more unrated racegirls gone wild video!

Tilt your head for this one.

Jimmie Johnson Crashes!

He needed to fall out early for anyone else to have a chance at the championship. He wrecked on lap 2 3.

Thank you Sam Hornish, Jr!

Live From The Cheap Seats.

Sausage Gumbo for supper tonight.

Voila!

I think I've figured this out.

Friday Night TMS Recap

Did you see me on Trackside? I needed a better sign (and I'll have one in April!). But if you look real hard at the lower left corner I sent a shoutout to a follower.
The truck race was rather disappointing and the wind was terrible. The action afterwards more than made up for that.

I'll have video when I get back to my computer and can figure out how to post it. There was a portable stripper pole from Chico and I think a couple girls may have lost their amature status.

Good times!

Tranquility Base Here...

The South 40 has landed!

OK, I've figured out how to post using Opera on my MotoQ. Let me just take a moment to say Windows Mobile sucks. IE mobile sucks even worse.

I was in a semi-MAJOR panic attack before I left for work. I could'nt find my race tickets! I finally located them in the bottom of my scanner bag.

Thank you Baby Jesus!

But in my panic and ensuing late for workness, I left a few things behind like clothes and shoes. Looks like I'll have to bum a ride with Brother In Law and grab my duffle bag or spendthe weekend in my work clothes.

Launch Sequence Initiated

I'm hitting the road right after work tonight and heading to Texas Motor Speedway. The posting around here may be slower than usual for a few days, but I will be updating from the track. Unfortunately, I will be limited to using my PDA. Maybe I can figure out how to post some pics from the track.

If you watch any of SPEED Channel's coverage keep an eye out for me. I'll be hanging around their stage for Trackside and a few other shows.

I'm thinking about making a sign to hold up during the broadcasts. Any suggestions?

Off topic: Last night's episode of Friday Night Lights featured a very funny cameo by Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach. It was shot back in September at an Austin area gas station.

edit: Tip of the Hat to Bryann for the clip. I got it several days ago but wasn't able to edit until now. Thanks!

There's Always Time For An E-Mail

From Bertha in Bugscuffle:

Dear South 40,

What are your views on the current administration and their effectiveness?

Dear Bertha,

Thanks for writing. My views are somewhat jaded since I thought we would be withdrawing troops and closing Gitmo. Surge?

Paul in Poolville writes:

Dear South 40,

My wife has become distant, my dog growls when I get home and my kids are calling my best friend "Uncle Frank". Should I change hair conditioner?

Dear Paul,

Perhaps you need a salon treatment. Take your wife's next shopping trip stash and book a carefree weekend in Cozumel. Trust me, it will cure any frizzies you may be dealing with.

Dear South 40,

My husband says we need new turf for our front yard or Cottondale will slaughter our young.

Signed Brittany in Balzora

Dear Brittany,

You have nothing to worry about front yard turf-wise. What you need is an indoor practice facility.

Remember, we solve life's little problems free of charge right here at The South 40.

This Is Why I Hate Anonymous Posting.

http://skattershooting.blogspot.com/2009/11/bonds-school-bonds.html

I reply to an anonymous poster in the same minute as 3 other posts. The wrong person takes offense.

How freakin' hard is it to make up a fake identity so people know who is talking to who?

Or is that whom to whom?

Make up a freakin' name already!!!

Come Over, Drink A Beer... We'll Have A Hayride!

Beware those words. Especially if you helped work on their baler the day before.

I do have to admit the hay loader is the greatest invention in the history of ever.

I remember hauling peanut hay during the summer when I was a teenager. Talk about a beating! Those peanut bales weighed 100-150 lbs depending on how much sand they had in them. Of course all that sand would fall in your face and stick to your body just to make the experience all the more memorable. We also worked without a driver to make more money. Point the truck in the right direction, put it in "Granny gear", pull the choke out 1/2 way and get after it!

Fortunately, this was coastal and the bales were only 60-75 lbs. Having to bend down, pick up, walkover and throw it up on top of the stack on the moving trailer, then run ahead of the truck to the next bale and repeat 300 times will wear your ass out in a hurry.

With a hay loader all you have to do is stand on the moving trailer and wait for it to spit the bale out then stack it. It still wears your ass out, just not as fast.

My Nemesis

I have discovered what boats and RV's have in common. They are big holes to throw money into.

What you are looking at is the water heater on board XRV-1. So far it has cost me $190 and still no hot water. I bought a new electric heating conversion kit, but couldn't remove the drain plug (the round thing behind the two round things with a pipe) to install it. Next, I bought a new circuit board (the square thing hidden behind the white square thing with all the wires leading to it) to get the LP system working... Fail.

Now my options are:

1. Take it to an RV repair center where it will cost me at least $200 to get it repaired.
2. Buy a new water heater for $385 + shipping.
3. Douse generously with gasoline and add a match.

I'm leaning towards option #3.

Hello... Is This Thing On?

• I apologize for the lack of reading material lately. I've been slacking hard. To be honest I really haven't been in a writing mood during my life and death struggle with whatever mutation of the Pig Flu that I was exposed to.
• That doesn't mean I haven't been hard at work. I have been running around like the Little Dutch Boy and I'm running out of fingers.
• Race week is finally here! The part I need to get the water heater working on XRV-1 finally came in the mail. I plan on getting that installed and working today. I've packed all the camping gear, double double checked all the appliances and loaded everything except the beer, meat and ice.
• The weather forecast looks good for the next 7 days. Highs in the 70's, lows in the 50's. Perfect camping weather.
• Apparently there was a bad wreck over the weekend somewhere in Alabama.