How Was Your Weekend?

I was getting ready to watch Saturday Night Live when I got a call from Brother In-law. He needed a co-pilot for a last second hotshot run to Rock Springs, Wyoming. It's been a while since I've made a run West, like 23 years! I jumped at the opportunity to see the Rockies again.

BIL had never been west of Vernon, Tx much less the Continental Divide. I was happy to be his swamper/human GPS/scout.

We loaded up the parts and pulled out of Decatur at 11pm. We stopped in Iowa Park to fuel up and I took the nightshift so he could grab some sleep. I took the route thru Raton, NM and took advantage of the deserted highway to make some time. We reached Colorado City, CO just before dawn, refueled and swapped drivers.

Up I-25 to Fort Collins then 287 to Laramie, WY where we stopped for fuel and a quick kickass breakfast buffet at the Petro Iron Skillet. Then back on the road fighting the wind across I-80 to Rock Springs. We got there about 3pm, dropped off the parts, got our paperwork signed and were homeward bound.

We stopped for the night in Fort Collins. Both of us were ready for dinner and a decent night's sleep.

One note about Fort Collins, Colorado. They DO NOT know how to cook a steak. Both of us ordered medium rare ribeyes at Charcobroiler 1716 East Mulberry Street and were served charred bloody rare steaks.The meat was tender, but grotesquely undercooked. We were tired and hungry enough that we ate them and didn't complain. Besides, I'm leery of sending back food in an unfamiliar restaurant. But I will be happy to recommend you DO NOT EAT at Charcoalbroiler 1716 East Mulberry Street.

#GordonRamsey

I should have known it was going to go badly when we were seated in "The North Forty" dining room.

Back on the road at 6:30am this morning, just in time for Monday morning rush hour in Denver. Yaaay!! A couple notes about Denver, Colorado. First, they have added a few traffic twists since my last visit. Mainly a new toll road (E-470) that we should have taken to bypass all the construction on I-25. If we had taken that to I-70 then followed 287 we would have saved a couple hours on the way back. But, there were higher powers at work as we shall soon discover.

Second, they hate the Dallas Cowboys. The morning sports radio was quick to defend Tim Tebow's execution by the Lions (biblical pun intended) keeping it short and sweet. Then they went into an extended, excruciatingly detailed, blow by blow massacre of Tony Romo and the Cowboys at the hands of the Eagles. Both games were amazingly similar and both QB's made carbon copy postgame comments. But they devoted 3 times the coverage to a Romo/Cowboys bloodletting.

Stay classy, Denver! 

#Tebowing

We stopped for lunch at a little gas station/cafe that I wish for the life of me I could remember the name of about a half hour north of Clayton, NM, a/k/a BFE. The place isn't even on the map, but it's been the community gathering spot since the early 1900's and they had the old photos to prove it. It wasn't the same building, but the name was the same. Close enough. It was actually kind of surreal watching people slowly wander in from who knows where slowly filling this cafe in the middle of the desert, nothing else in sight but a view that would take your breath away. I was waiting for someone to yell "CUT!".

There, I found the greatest cheeseburger on the planet... The Green Chile Cheeseburger.

#AnthonyBourdain

They top a ground sirloin patty with pepper jack, grilled onions and green chiles. If Heaven was a cheeseburger, this was indeed paradise. Come to find out, the Green Chile Cheeseburger is huge in New Mexico. I found other burger joints in New Mexico advertising a green chile cheeseburger.  People we are missing out on a New Mexico culinary juggernaut. It's the reason the state is called "The Land of Enchantment". It's world peace and the meaning of life all wrapped up on a bun.

Trust me on this, you need to try a Green Chile Cheeseburger! 

We rolled back onto The South 40 at 9pm. 2172 miles in just under 46 hours.

A 15K '64 1/2 Mustang?

Well, sort of:

Ford Motor Co. will soon sell brand-new 1965 Ford Mustangs for just $15,000 each. The only hitch: There's some assembly required.

As part of its Ford Reproduction business, Ford revealed today it had approved a new stamping of the steel bodies for first-generation Mustang that buyers could then build into their own 1964 1/2 through 1966 Mustang, using whatever engine, axles, interior and other parts they can find on their own.

The first-generation Mustangs rank as America's most-restored vehicle, and the cottage industry of reproduction parts has grown to where it's possible to build a Mustang just as it would have appeared on the showroom floor in the mid-1960s, down to the pushbutton AM/FM radio.

Ford says the new body shell built by California-based Dynacorn has been improved only slightly with modern welding techniques and rustproofing, and comes out of the crate nearly ready for paint and assembly. The company already offers metal bodies for Mustangs from 1967 through 1970, and has been in talks with Ford to remake the original body of the Ford Bronco. There's still life in those old horses yet.

There Is No Joy In Mudville

The St. Louis Cardinals are the 2011 World Series Champions. Congrats to them, the better team won. It was painful to watch my little red shoed Rangers come oh so close (1 strike) to their first Championship and then watch it all slip away. That's what we do as Ranger fans, we are keenly aware of what losing feels like and how to deal with it. But the fall from the top of the ladder hurts a little more than from the bottom.

But seriously, 1 lousy strike?!?!  The baseball Gods are cruel.

The Rangers didn't lose the series tonight, they lost it in Game 6 when they couldn't put that final nail in the coffin even when given multiple chances. It just wasn't in the cards. But man, what a ride they gave us thru the post season.

Beaten, battered and worn down they put it all on the line and came up 1 strike short. Game 7 was merely a formality.

Game 6, Let's Light This Candle!

Hopefully I will be doing "The Wash" and posting pics of the Rangers celebrating a win in a few hours.

UPDATE: So this is what being bi-polar feels like.

UPDATE: F^@# !!!

That's What A Rapist Would Say

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I need one of these for Halloween

Game 5 In Pictures

More pictures from the Star Telegram.

Uber-high definition Gigapan pic from MLB.com

Brother Inlaw was deep in thought contemplating the next batter, I was wooping it up and got my head cut off! Bonus points if you can find us. (Hint: I'm wearing a blue Ian Kinsler shirt, blue Rangers cap and no head... heheheh.) Nobody said it would be easy. But WCSP members should spot Brother Inlaw's hat.

http://mlb.mlb.com/photos/gigapan/?c_id=tex&gpId=63f3ef5080d13234e946dfbe5faba395#

Panoramic image made during game 5 of the World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, TX on October 24, 2011. Photo is made up of 390 photos (30 across by 13 down) stitched together taken over a 40-minute span during the second, third, and fourth innings. The final hi-res file is 86,168 X 25,587 pixels or 2,204 megapixels. Photos by David Bergman.

Memories of Game 5

• I did not see 1 angry person at the game. I didn't see anyone get arrested, get in a fight, vandalize anything, ect. In this day and age that was amazing.
• Lots of Cardinal fans showed up, most with Standing Room Only tickets. 1 lucky Cards fan from Denton bought an SRO ticket right before the game when the price dropped. He and a friend saw 2 seats that were empty after the 2nd inning. He walked down and asked if the seats were taken and the lady sitting next to them said no, go ahead and sit down. The lady was Chris Carpenter's Grandmother and the section was reserved for Cardinals players family. 
• I didn't see many empty seats except for the 2 next to ours at the end of the row. We quickly spread out and had a little extra room. Nobody ever came for those seats.
• I have a sore throat from yelling NAP-O-LI !
• There was a verry funny heckler ripping into Matt Holliday in Left Field after he hit into a double play with bases loaded to end the Cardinal 5th. He had our section in stitches.
• I've been to larger sporting events, but I've never been a part of anything like that before in my life. It was something very special and every person there knew it.

WOOOO!!!

When I saw the sign I told her, "you're getting on TV with that one". I was right, she was on several times. Brother Inlaw and I were 2 seats away.

The Ballpark was ROCKIN' last night! I've never heard it that loud in that stadium. I even felt it start to shake a little when the final out was made. That was an awesome experience. (If they had just Jimmy-jacked a couple to Left instead of Center it would have been perfect.)

NAP - O - LI !!!  NAP - O - LI !!!  NAP - O - LI !!!!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

Heading out to The Ballpark in Arlington (I'm old school) to watch The Rangers and The Cardinals in Game 5 of the World Series! I'll try to update as the game progresses, but I have a feeling cell connections will be spotty at best.

The South 40 Is Rockin' With The Zoo!

Labella and Rody- Radio Gods in the late 70's - early 80's. They inspired me to enter radio and I actually wound up working right across the hall from Studio H at Belo. I also got to meet John Rody when I backed into him trying to snag a parking spot in the Communications Center parking lot.

Belo had the mother of all overcrowded parking lots in downtown Dallas. I had to report by 2pm for my shift as a rookie mobile traffic reporter on 570 WFAA-AM and it was 1:56. I finally spotted someone backing out, hit the brakes and put it in reverse. I barely took my foot off the brake when I felt a bump. Oh shit! I backed into somebody... I jumped out of my van (it was very cool looking red custom Chevy Van than was a total POS, but it looked very cool) ran to the back and saw a late model Lincoln Continental with a completely totalled front end. I looked at my bumper and saw nothing but 2 tiny scratches. I looked back at the Lincoln and saw $4000 worth of damage, easy. Completely stunned I look at the driver... John Rody. The man that inspired me to get into radio in the first place. John Rody... the biggest star of Dallas rock radio. Me , the lowly part-time traffic reporter on the AM side.

What can I say? I had a panic attack that would make Tony Soprano proud. I sounded like Ralph Kramden, "humina, humina, humina". Rody looked me square in the eyes screamed at the top of his lungs "I'm late for the news!" and burned rubber getting out of there.

I... am a dead man.

I did my shift and tried to find him in the offices after work, but he was already gone. I don't think I slept a wink that night knowing I had to face him the next day. I missed him after the morning shift and went back right after lunch. He was at his desk and I went in literally hat in hand ready to plead mercy. I had no idea my Chevy van was a tank and Lincolns were beer cans. I introduced my self and started to beg mercy. John stopped me after a few seconds and said "Don't worry about it, kid. I had a wreck on Central 2 days ago." Thank you Jesus! Here I was sweating losing my career, my car, my... wait a second. You knew I didn't cause the damage and made me sweat it out?

Thanks a LOT!

Awesome Performance

Zooey Deschanel just owned the National Anthem at Game 4 of the World Series. That was the most moving performance I've ever heard and she didn't trick it up 1 iota like a lot of performers do.

Just The Facts

With the World Series tied at 1-1, in the last 15 years the winner of Game 3 has gone on to win the series 12 times.

The 2011 Texas Rangers haven't lost back to back games since they played Boston on August 26th.

The winner of Game 3 historically has a huge advantage the rest of the way, and the rest of the way means two victories to baseball immortality.

Those Game 5 Tickets Are Legit!

Meet My Next Exwife!

I ran across this video and immediately started booking the honeymoon.What a wholesome, sweet, innocent little neck popper. I'm a neck crack addict myself and just know we have tons in common. I've got a feeling we could make a beautiful percussion section together.

Then I find out she's got dozens of videos on the web cracking various joints:


Sorry, but the wedding is off. I'm starting to get just a little creeped out. Now all I can think of is Peggy Hill and her underground foot fetish videos from Transnational Amusements.

Limbaugh: Obama Helping Muslims Kill Christians

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Oops...

Father Of The Year?

Hell, I done the same thing for Dad 1000 times.

Looks Like Somebody's Been To Lowe's

And they swung by the liquor store on the way back.

You Want Fries With That?

Ladies, the next time you and your girlfriends decide to play Gangsta Gurls and jump the counter to beat up the clerk that was just doing his job, you might want to find out if he just did a 10 year stretch in the pen for manslaughter before he went to work at Mickey D's...

Full video HERE.

Full story HERE.

I say it was self defense all the way. The sad part is he will probably wind up back in the pen and they will get a big fat payday, when it should be the other way round. 

Scratch That Off The Bucket List

Game 5, 4th row from the rail in Left field near the foul line. 

I have a very good feeling about this.
Does anyone have a glove I can borrow?

The Missing Link

To be quite honest with you, life's been been pretty good around The South40 so far and I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, BUT there's something missing. I've been pseudowidowed for 4 years now and it's time to move on. The problem being I've not found anyone even remotely in the same league. I know I've set the bar too high, but that's what you're up against girls.

Is it really so hard to do a Fosbury Flop in CFM heels?

Now that I finally have the ability to travel and do my Anthony Bourdain impersonation, I have no one to share the experience with (or hold the camera) and that kinda sucks all the fun out of being there in the first place.Ok... maybe not ALL the fun. But that really depends on your Taxi driver and your conscience.

Would you buy a motorcycle from this man?

Damn straight, Skippy.

Cool Fountain

Not only is it an amazing use of dot matrix technology, it makes one heck of a babysitter.

I Didn't See That Coming (or The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend)

The season finale of Breaking Bad was nothing short of spectacular. I won't give any spoilers in case you missed it, but suffice to say they out did themselves once again. Just when you think the writers can't come up with something to top last year's cliffhanger, guess again.

Plot twists? M. Night Shyamalan would be jealous.

But for as many loose ends as they tied up, they left just as many juicy new ones dangling for the final season.

Best.

Show.

On.

TV?

Ding!

Just Win, Baby!

Al Davis 

1929 - 2011

Moving

"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma -- which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

George Harrison: Living in the Material World

HBO has always been known for excellence in documentary films. Their latest entry is no exception. Martin Scorcese's profile of Beatle's legend George Harrison is nothing short of greatness. It's full of nostalgia and little told stories from old friends that will put a huge smile on the face of any Beatles fan. Even if you're not a Beatles fan, the story is spellbinding.

One minute you're a nobody kid with a cheap guitar and you wind up hiding in the bathroom just for some peace from the world (not just paparazzi, THE WORLD) chasing you. That's a lot of pressure for someone to handle and this film walks you thru how George delt with it.

But The Beatles was only a small part of George's life. He was truly a spiritual artist that changed the world in many ways.

The film is in 2 parts. Part 1 was last night, Part 2 is tonight on HBO. It's also available online at HBOGO.com if you are an HBO subscriber.

Hello, Patent Office?

You can't tell me that gal hasn't been to Wise County Park a time or two.

More Westboro Baptist Idiocracy

Sent from her iPhone?

They're Baaaaaack!

I've been waiting for the new Cheech and Chong movie for like ever man. Wait... what?

On The Radar

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that's the case Mad Men should be very flattered. Retroshows hit the air this fall and none are in the same league as Mad Men. NBC has already axed The Playboy Club, their sexy 60's entry, which to be honest was just plain awful. Not only did it piss off women's and religious groups, it pissed off viewers that will never get those 60 minutes back they wasted watching a truly dreadful show.

ABC's entry has fared a bit better. Pan Am also features a cast of hunks and hotties, but it actually has well written scripts and interesting storylines. You better have a good script when half the show is inside the cabin of a 707. Pan Am is not as daring as Mad Men, but you wouldn't expect it to be on network TV. However they are adding a bit of cloak and dagger to keep things interesting. Let's hope it does.

What really caught my eye about Pan Am is the sweet/spunky French stewardess Colette, played by  stunning Canadian actress Karine Vanasse. I thought I'd do everyone a favor and see if I could find a "hey now" photo. AHEM, let's just say there's a foreign film called Angle Mort that has just been added to my watchlist and no I'm not posting the pics. Google is your friend.

I definitely recommend checking out Pan Am to catch a glimpse of the lovely Karine. Um, and the writing... yeah the writing...

Can You Feel The Love?

It was a Wide World of Sports moment

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat can coexist side by side.

The only thing missing is a Simpson's "HA, HA!" when Beltre points to the guy.

Have Some!

The kid's name is Dyshawn Davis... and he's a freshman linebacker? Wow.

Romo Gives Jones The Brush-off

This bit of video seems to be making the sports blog rounds this morning. Not sure that's the hand you want to be shrugging off if you're Tony Romo and you just blew the biggest lead in Cowboys history.

This will make for some great fodder for The Musers.

Must See TV

What Are Friends For?

Car won't start

« on: Today at 01:20:43 PM »

---

It has been suddenly turning off, often only momentarily for several months.  
Sometimes difficult to start.  Now it won't start.  No fire, plenty of fuel.  
I am thinking coil.  Does that sound about right?

The replies...

Is there spark? (Remove a plug, ground it, turn starter over and see if you can see a spark?)


Did you check the transmission?


Yep, that's why I said 'no fire'


Its your sound card, you need to update the driver...


Thanks!  I was about to call tech support and see if it had a compatible video card!


They'll tell you it isn't their fault and the graphics are state of the art...


In their defense, as much as it pains me I have to confess, when I look through my windshield, the graphics are lifelike, I have all settings maxed and never a stutter.


Did you check the aire in the tyres?


I tried that at the suggestion of www.change.gov


turn signal fluid is probably low.  when was the last time you changed fluids....


More likely it's out of exhaust fluid. Diesels don't use the sparkplugs anyway.


Damn - you guys are smart.  I sure am grateful for this resource.  I might have gone with my own silly instincts, that may have been expensive and time-consuming.

On The Radar

FX's American Horror Story



I like the cast. I like the premise. Let's just hope I like the scripts.

More Commercial Greatness

New Era steps up to the plate to take a swing in our commercial greatness derby.

I'd never seen any of these before today... Brilliant!

(Edit: I went ahead and threw in the first one of the series to set the stage.)

My New Favorite Commercial

Whoever is responsible for the new Snickers ad campaign is a genius. This one is greatness.

I'm Artwork Now!

A "friend" of mine did an artist's rendition of me from a picture taken at Texas Motor Speedway last year. Not too bad, but the jawline needs a little work.

Never Heard of Tajh Boyd

( and there's probably a good reason why)

New To Do List

It's official. I dropped off the keys today and only have one thing left on my list .

Life is good today.

Men's Health

Hope for prostate cancer patients as pioneering drug proves so successful they have already stopped the trials.

Medics at London's Royal Marsden Hospital were testing a powerful alpha radiation drug on 461 people while another group of the same number were being treated with a dummy drug.

Patients taking the new drug experienced less pain, side effects and lived longer.

Researchers were so astounded with the results they decided to stop the trial and started treating all 922 patients taking part in the study because they said it would be unethical not to.

When The Walls Come Tumbling Down

If you didn't see tonight's episode of Breaking Bad you missed out.

Best.

Show.

On.

TV.

Walt's world has finally come crashing down around him. Gus wants him dead. His wife... dead. His son... dead. His infant daughter... dead. His DEA Brother-in-law... dead. Neidermeyer... dead. Only Jesse's mercy keeps it from already being a done deal and Walt screwed that up royally.

When the going gets tough, the tough get the hell outa Dodge. It's time to vanish permanently. Walt goes to his secret stash getaway fund only to discover his wife has given over a half million to her boyfriend. After spending a bundle on the new Car Wash cover story, paying for his own cancer treatments, his Brother-in-law's therapy, lawyer bills, etcetera... he doesn't have the cash to pay for it.

Yowza!

2 episodes left this season. The show has yet again taken a wicked plot twist and next season will be the series finale. I have no idea where this is heading but I predict greatness.

SNL 37th Season Premiere

Alec Baldwin Set a new record hosting the Season Premiere of  Saturday Night Live. He's now the hosting record holder (16) by 1 over Steve Martin who stopped by to make sure everything was on the up & up and no performance enhancing drugs were being used.

The cold open was a parody of the Republican Debates. They tore Rick Perry to shreds and painted John Huntsman as The Manchurian Candidate.


Baldwin did not take his duties lightly. Besides playing Perry, he was a riot in several skits showcasing his wit and impeccable timing. He stole the show with his Tony Bennett impersonation on Weekend Update.

All in all I don't think you could have asked for much more from a season opener from SNL. Let's hope the rest of the season holds up as well as the debut.

I Need To Rebook My Flight...

I'm going to need an isle seat on an exit row and some singles, please.

Slicker version. (Like you're not going to watch it again.)

The Dakota Meyer Challenge To America

Medal of Honor recipient Marine Corps Sgt. Dakota Meyer was on David Letterman last night. If you didn't see it, you missed a great interview. The guy is as genuine as a mother's love as you will see in the first part of the interview.



The second half where he talks about the battle is only available on the full episode. I recommend watching.

One thing he took from his conversation over a beer with Obama was some advice about the importance of education. He has started The Dakota Meyer "Challenge to America". He hopes to raise $1 Million dollars (along with a matching $1M) for The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, the oldest and largest need-based scholarship organization supporting military families. Learn more about them  here.

Sgt. Meyer has challenged us to donate $1 Million dollars by the MCSF's 50th anniversary on May 28, 2010. During the Letterman interview he stated so far they had raised $31,000.

Really?

I'm not one to go off willy nilly donating to the "cause of the week". Hell, I've been freeloading off Channel 13 for over 40 years, but you had me at Medal of Honor... I kicked in a few shekels out of respect and I hope all the South40 faithful will do the same. If this is how he wishes for us to say "Thank You", then I'm  happy to do so and hope you will as well. Give what you can, if you can give. It's certainly a worthwhile charity and I'm pretty sure the spokesperson is beyond reproach.

http://www.dakotameyer.com/challenge.html

Nightshift of the Living Dead

While not an actual photo of me at work today, it is an accurate depiction of what I probably looked like. I haven't wanted to call in so badly in years. But since I just gave notice, it would have looked like I was just blowing off work. I really like my Supervisor and didn't want to disappoint him.

This one was for The Gipper.

Good news is with the help of Gatorade, water, Imodium AD and Pepto I managed to survive the shift. But in lieu of eating, I took a 30 minute nap for lunch. I think that did as much good as anything.

FUBAR

Dear 8 pounds 6 ounces... newborn infant Jesus, don't even know a word yet... Please make it stop!


I won't go into gory details, but I'm pretty sure it's safe to say I got food poisoning Sunday. I've spent the last 2 days doing the "I hope I make it" dance/prayer between the bedroom and bathroom. 


My gut feels like Charlie Sheen's liver stopped by to redecorate.


Speaking of the "Rockstar from Mars", if you didn't catch the Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen last night, you missed some serious funny. One of my favorite lines was from William Shatner, "I'm 80, you're 46. Why do we look like we went to high school together?"


Don't worry, I'm sure you will be able to watch it when it's rerun a few hundred times later this month. 


Now, if you will pardon me I have some urgent business to attend to...

Sgt. Dakota Meyer USMC and "that itty bitty ribbon"

WASHINGTON — President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor on Thursday to a young former Marine who ignored orders to stay put and fought his way five times into an ambush in an Afghan ravine, helping to rescue three dozen comrades and to recover the remains of four dead American servicemen.

In a ceremony at the White House, the president draped the medal over Dakota Meyer, describing him as a humble young man who repeatedly placed himself in extraordinary danger to save men he regarded as his brothers.

“Today we pay tribute to an American who placed himself in the thick of the fight — again and again and again,” the president said.

Mr. Meyer was the first living recipient from the Marine Corps to receive the award, the nation’s highest award for valor, for actions during the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Mr. Meyer, 23, now a sergeant in the inactive reserve, was an infantry corporal on Sept. 8, 2009, when an Afghan and American column headed before dawn toward the village of Ganjigal in Kunar Province.

The men in column — a mix of Afghan soldiers, border police officers and American trainers — were to meet with local elders. But they had been betrayed and walked into an ambush.

Corporal Meyer and another Marine had been assigned to secure a flank, and as Taliban gunfire began and the rest of his team was trapped, he was several hundred yards away.

Corporal Meyer listened on the radio as the rest of his Marine training team tried calling for help, and as Capt. Will Swenson of the Army, who worked with the border police and was also trapped, shouted into his radio for artillery support to suppress the Taliban fighters.

Officers at the nearby Army headquarters denied the request for artillery support, leaving the men, many of them wounded, to fight on their own until helicopter gunships arrived. (Investigations later suggested the Army officers decided that because the trapped troops were unaware of the precise locations of all of the other troops on the operation, artillery fire might have endangered them and was best withheld.)

Corporal Meyer asked permission several times to go into the ravine and to fight. He was told to remain in place, but decided to rush to the village nonetheless.

Meyer’s Medal of Honor citation details that day’s intense combat:

“When the forward element of his combat team began to be hit by intense fire from roughly 50 Taliban insurgents dug-in and concealed on the slopes above Ganjgal village, Corporal Meyer mounted a gun-truck, enlisted a fellow Marine to drive, and raced to attack the ambushers and aid the trapped Marines and Afghan soldiers. During a six hour fire fight, Corporal Meyer single-handedly turned the tide of the battle, saved 36 Marines and soldiers and recovered the bodies of his fallen brothers. Four separate times he fought the kilometer up into the heart of a deadly U-shaped ambush. During the fight he killed at least eight Taliban, personally evacuated 12 friendly wounded, and provided cover for another 24 Marines and soldiers to escape likely death at the hands of a numerically superior and determined foe.”

“On his first foray his lone vehicle drew machine gun, mortar, rocket grenade and small arms fire while he rescued five wounded soldiers. His second attack disrupted the enemy’s ambush and he evacuated four more wounded Marines. Switching to another gun-truck because his was too damaged they again sped in for a third time, and as turret gunner killed several Taliban attackers at point blank range and suppressed enemy fire so 24 Marines and soldiers could break-out. Despite being wounded, he made a fourth attack with three others to search for missing team members. Nearly surrounded and under heavy fire he dismounted the vehicle and searched house to house to recover the bodies of his fallen team members.”

Combined reports from The Washington Post and The New York Times .

One small step for man...

One giant "WTF am I doing?" for The South 40

As of the end of this month I will officially be self-employed/retired. I submitted my resignation yesterday.

I've got some surprises up my sleeve that I'll be sharing with you in the months to come. But it's safe to say some travel is on the horizon and maybe we'll finally have something worth reading around here.

Who knows, I might just go all Anthony Bourdain on you. I've got a sweet digital HD camcorder, a laptop, I love to eat and I love to travel. Don't forget I've already been featured on a national cooking show!

(OK, the segment was about the smoker and not me, but in the media world it still counts on your resume!)

I do have several Bucket List items that need checked off. Daytona 500, Talladega, Bristol, Hawaii, wait... what? 

I'll finally have the time and (if all goes as planned) money to pull this off. But I'm tellin' ya, that first step is a doozy!

If a tree falls in the woods, does it smash a minitruck?

 

I'm telling you that was one of the strangest things I've ever had happen to me. There I was typing away at a quick blog entry before getting ready for work when I heard a strange snapping/crackling/popping noise for a few seconds. It stopped then a louder crash/scrape/general mayhem noise.

My first thought was the cows had wandered thru the fence somewhere and were on the patio. Boy, was I wrong. 

As you can see in the pictures there are leaves on the tree branch that broke, so it wasn't dead. There was no sign of insect damage or disease. It was damaged in the fire that swept thru my place a few years ago and I'm sure that weakened the tree considerably. But there wasn't much wind, either. It just broke.

Luckily, Lil' Suzi is "Tokyo Tough" and the RV is in the shop getting wiring repaired or it would have been sitting right there. It also missed my covered patio/carport by a few feet. That's a hefty tree limb, about 8 inches diameter, and it fell 12-15 feet. Had it taken a different angle, I'm sure it would have done quite a bit of damage.

Littlesister has already staked a firewood claim on it.

Burn, baby, burn...

How quickly things can change

Haven't posted anything in a few days. It's been slow around here and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

We did manage to break 100 days of 100 degrees. (That's Wichita Falls' count) Yay?

Do have one bit of good news, DirecTv is finally broadcasting AMC-HD. Now you can watch Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Walking Dead and everything else AMC has to offer in HD without waiting on the BluRay. Now if they would only get TCM in HD.

There is some sort of mutant strain of upper respritory bug that has been floating around. I know several people that have been sick with it, but luckily I've dodged it so far. Howie Mandel would be proud of the germaphobe precautions I've been taking.

The NASCAR regular season is over and The Chase has begun. I have a feeling Kyle Bush will win.

HOLY CRAP! A tree just fell over and missed the house by a few feet, but landed on my minitruck! Gotta check this out...

Is it just me?

Or is this picture disturbing?

I'm a gun owner and I fully believe girls should know how to hunt and defend themselves with firearms just like boys... BUT this is irresponsible parenting and gun ownership in my book. A single shot .22 is one thing, but there is no practical reason for a child that age knowing how to fire (much less actually firing) an AR-15.

I can't help but think of the child soldiers in Africa when I look at that.

The Great 2011 Dove Hunt

See any dove?

Neither did I.

I was out at dawn, Remington in hand, waiting for the feast. And I waited and waited and waited...

Finally around 10am a lone dove made it's way past me on the way to the stock tank but just at the far range of my gun. I took the shot and caught a few feathers, but no kill.. An hour or so more and I called it quits. But to add insult to injury, while rolling up my driveway not 1, but 2 of the fattest dove you've ever seen flew right across the hood of my truck.

Just a second I thought, "my windshield's already busted and my gun's in the backseat, I can do this..." then common sense took over and I decided it wasn't worth it.

There is still hope, a "cold front" is predicted and maybe it will be enough to get the dove migrating.

I've got bacon, onion, garlic and jalapeno on ready alert.

• It's the 900th post on The South 40!  Who knew I was this full of authentic frontier gibberish? 
• Don't answer that...
• Eyeball update: It could be better. I didn't realise I would lose what close vision I had and now have to carry a pair of reading glasses everywhere. I can't complain about vision beyond arm's length. It's like going from an old 1960's TV with a rabbit ears to a 1080p HDTV. I just can't see the clicker.
• I've finally switched to mp3's. To be honest I never had that many CD's, but it's much easier to carry everything in my Droid and there are some pretty cool apps out there like the DJ mixer I loaded to use this weekend when I take the PortaPole out to a party. Things should go much smoother this time. 
• Put the Space Shuttle in the shop. A big fat rat decided to attack it and chew thru the main coach wiring harness pretty much disabling the whole thing. That really ticked me off because the interior was in perfect condition when I bought it. Fortunately, the engine wiring wasn't touched and I was able to drive it there no problem.
• Tractor Supply sells great rat poison.
• Looking forward to dove for lunch!