Happy Everyday

www.engrish.com

Nuff' said.

No Spark in Sparks

What is happening to our beloved Sparks? Rumors and talks have been going round and round regarding the removal of Sparks from the production lines. There has been a big uproar from concerned citizens that Alcoholic Energy Drinks are dangerous especially for kids. Last I checked, kids are not supposed to drink Alcohol. In December, Miller Brewing announced that in Q1, they will be continuing Sparks but without the Caffeine. That leaves an Orange flavored Malt beverage with some Taurine and Ginseng.

From wikipedia....

As of December 2008, at the behest of San Francisco and 13 states, distributor MillerCoors LLC is taking the caffeine out of its Sparks line of energy drinks, which list ginseng, taurine and 6 to 7 percent alcohol among its other ingredients, as well as changing its marketing campaign. "We're doing it to protect the public health of our young people and to reform business practices," said S.F. City Attorney Dennis Herrera.

That is great for the young people but what about us old idiots who need feel young???

Jack Handey

Another Deep Thought by Jack Handey....

If you saw two guys named Hambone and Flippy, which one would you think liked dolphins the most? I'd say Flippy, wouldn't you? You'd be wrong though. It's Hambone.

Ouch... Not Good

Another crappy picture from my camera. But this time I have an excuse (moving, dark, and foggy). This was taken at around 6am this morning on the corner of Kaiser and Laidlaw (Portland, OR). A car rolled over and pinned 2 people inside the car. They were working to cut open the roof to get the people out. News report on the radio said that they were removed and were alive. They think a car ran a stop-sign due to the fog and hit the car causing it to roll.

Snack Food?

Here is a snack food you don't see every day. Chili/Mango......

Funny or Sad - You Make the Call

We have all seen it. The people who stand on street corners equipped with ipods and a sign dancing and waving hoping to draw people into buying a mattress or some incredible going-out-of-business deals that has been going on for years. But here is a new twist. I saw this on the corner of 25th and Cornell in Hillsboro, OR. Who are they? Why its the Little Ceasar guy and the Liberty Accounting guy together at the same street corner. In an unprecedented move, these guys were air-guitaring with their signs while dancing. An incredible display of hard core strumming, Fists in the air, high-fives, and even a brief solo competition. It sent goose-bumps down my spine seeing these two in harmony. Pizza and taxes working together as one. Only in America!

Canseco Bonaduce - update

Look at the size difference between these two. How on earth did the fight end up in a draw (They tied)? 3-rounds and no knockout. Amazing. Or Sad. Or Pathetic. Depending on how deep you want to go with this. I was hoping to TIVO it but comcast did not have this available. There is talk of a second fight on HBO. Hold your breath my friends.... Hold your breath.

Fight of the year!

How can this NOT be the fight of the year? We are talking Danny Bonaduce from the Partidge family vs. Jose Canseco from the Oakland A's square off for the battle royale this Saturday night. Pay-per-view for $9.95 or $12.95 day of the fight. To me, watching what is the bottom of the barrel, fight for your dignity battle royale is well worth the cost.

Do not miss it! I will be at another commitment during this fight but will find a way to watch it later. Does anyone know if you can TIVO a PPV event?

Cavaliers at the Rose Garden

Good game with the Blazers and Cavaliers. Even though we lost, it's always great to watch a close game and of course, Lebron do his thing. Neighbor had some tickets and got to see it live with his youngest boy and mine. These seats were not only great seats but they came with Lexus club level access that included a full Dinner, Dessert Buffet at half-time, and all the snacks and drinks you could wish for through-out the game. This is the way I like to watch the game! Thanks for the invite, Mark! And if you don't know Mark, forget it.... He does not like any of you and therefore will never invite you!!!

Fingers in the Sky

I am not too sure what to think about this picture I took this morning. I am guessing its one of two things: Intel is being crowned or Obama's fingers are reaching down to save us all. Either way, this is something I have never seen before. I am sure more details can be found at your local Obama worship center.

Are you kidding?

I saw this on failblog.org and took it from Youtube. Please tell me this is a joke. Sadly, the website is real and has additional items for sale. You can doooooooo it!

Wind Storm II

Here is a better angle of the fallen tree. However, I took it again on my crappy Blackberry Camera.

For you local folks, you can see this live on the corner of 137th and Laidlaw.

Who is this guy?

Anyone watch the NFC and AFC Championships? I think everyone knew that Pittsburgh would make it to the SuperBowl (although Baltimore did give them a run for their money). But what is up with Arizona? Who in the heck is this Larry Fitzgerald? (shown in the picture (from azcardinals.com)). 3 touchdowns yesterday. He was also stunning last week.

At first, I thought that AZ going to the Superbowl would make it a boring wipeout. But with Fitzgerald, Hightower, and Warner on the offense playing the way they are playing we may have a team that can test the #1 Pittsburgh defense. Looking forward to Feb 1.

Be sure to get your 3D glasses for the 3D movie preview of Dreamworks' Monsters vs Aliens that will show after the 2nd qtr.

Cross-Winds How is it even possible?

Not trying scare anyone but it has always fascinated me how Jumbo jets can land in heavy cross-winds. It is a normal part of piloting these massive machines but you cannot help but respect them for these white knuckle landings.

This video is the new Airbus A380 (Double Decker) performing cross-wind tests in Iceland.




Here is another one. This time it is a real passenger landing on a Korean Air 747 in China.



This one is of particular interest to me. This Lufthansa plane was attempting to land in Hamburg Germany. Had to make another go around. I was also landing in Frankfurt during the same time last year. All airports in Germany were closed due to almost hurricane force winds. They were only allowing planes to land. It was a scary landing for me but not nearly as scary as the people who were on this flight. The pilot did a good job dealing with it and no one was hurt.

Wind Storm

Wow. The Wind storm we had this weekend was a serious doozy. I live in a heavily treed neighborhood and those pines and firs were bending something fierce. Coastal Storms don't affect us. Nor do Winds coming from the north or south. However, when the Columbia Gorge winds from the east strike up, I get scared.

The crappy picture I took here is a neighbor that had a pine tree snap about 20 feet off the ground and land on top of his roof. It does not look good. Poor Bart and Patty. Just a week or two ago, during the ice storm, someone slid a car into their fence. They quickly repaired that then this tree came down. The remaining 80+ feet of the tree is resting on the back side of their house. Roof structure is compromised to say the least.

Brand Loyalty going too far

KTM. An Austrian company that makes precision Dirt bikes, high-end on/off road motorcycles and even Mountain bikes. I like this brand. Heck, I even own a KTM 450 dirt bike as well as my friends like Billy, Ray, and Ken B. Ken S, the anti-blogger owns an Itallian dirtbike called Beta. BUT, even he has the KTM Bug as his engine is made by those beloved Austrians. They make a great bike. There are some weird things about their stuff like why does my bike have 4 oil filters? And why does the kick stand suck so bad? But overall, these are top bikes and I stand by them.

When it comes to paying bucks for buying branded items like T-shirts or hats with the company logo I tend to question that. Especially, when they charge a premium for the right for you to advertise but I will break down from time to time and get something. However, when a company brands their logo on a dog dish and somehow believes that $11.99 is a fair price for it, that is a line that I will never cross. What the heck is up with that?

Farrell's Anyone?

Any of you old timers remember Farrell's?

I certainly do. It was a big deal for me and my sister when we got to go there. I remember my Uncle finishing a "Pig Trough" Sundae. I also remember the "Zoo" that fed up to 10 people but when someone ordered it, they delivered it on a stretcher held by two people who ran around the restaraunt while a siren was blasting everyone. How about the Green river sodas? Or the Candy shop with Suckers the size of a frying pan or the JawBreakers the size of a Softball. Sigh. What memories. I always wanted to take my kids there but they have since disappeared. Or have they?

The original was based in Portland (Across from Lloyd center) and eventually spread to over 130 locations before they closed their doors. Why? Read the story at www.farrellsusa.com.

However, I saw that a friend on facebook joined the Farrells fan club. Apparently, they are attempting to make a comeback. Great news if you live in SoCal or Hawaii. :( Perhaps they will re-expand and our kids will have the same fun we did as kids. Farrell's.

Just the facts...

Everyone likes to hear a fact, right? Well here is one.... I invented the common, household fact. Yup. Please think of me when you hear one.

Here is another one. From USA Today: For the first time since the dawn of the Jet age, two consecutive years have passed without a single airline passenger death on a US carrier.

It goes on to say 1.5 billion passengers traveled on scheduled flights in 2007 and 2008 where no passengers died.

To top it off, MIT Professor Arnold Barnett calculates that it's more likely for a young child to be elected president in his or her lifetime than to die on a single jet flight in the USA or in similar industrial nations in Europe, Canada, or Japan. I think this is a lie because Canadians cannot become President.

BTW, the photo is an optical illusion. The Jets are 750 feet apart and landing on separate runways in San Francisco.

UPDATE: Good news and Bad news: A US Airways jet crash landed in the Hudson River today. 150+ people on board. Good news: Everyone Survived!

The (blank) of Ought (blank)

People, We are the generation to make this happen. We have heard the ol' timers or read something about the 1900's with phrases such as the 'war of ought 4' or the 'floods of ought 6', etc. But what have we done so far? We are almost out of time to set our own 'Ought x'. It is 2009 for goodness sake (Ought 9). The picture here is the Chehalis Washington flood of ought 7. It was bad but will not cut the mustard for the stories we will tell to the grand kids.

Yes, we do have the disaster of September 11, ought 1. That one is clearly a worthy story. What I don't want to hear is 'The depression of ought 9', 'The Attack of ought 9', or the 'Armegeddon of ought 9'. But, we do need something where we can show pictures of people walking across the Columbia River, Discovery of Lava people living in the earth's core, or small dogs acheiving the triple back flip.

Come on people, Lets get to it!

Back in the Saddle

Well its about time. Yes, I have been feeling guilty for not updating this. Time for me to buck up and update you all on all the important happenings that have been going on. Also, Thanks for the death threat from a certain individual if I don't update it soon.

Here is a picture of what is now the long lost storm of '08. Picture is 5 of 8 timid deer that were crossing the front yard. The same timid deer that I have to mow around if they are too lazy to move. The snow was fun. Got to do a couple Roadside assistance, good samaritan deeds during the storm. First one was three kids in a Mercedes. I pulled over and helped push them out of a ditch. When we got them out, I told them that their car was a rear wheel drive and having the chains in the front was probably not the brightest move. Kids!!! The second one was the mailman. He slid into a ditch in our neighborhood. Had to get the truck out and tow him out. He takes my tow chain and wraps it around the bumper. I said, "Uhhh, I think that is the wrong move" and reconnected it to the frame. Before I pulled him I asked if I should be doing this and he said "Sure, They don't care." Not sure who "They" are but the USPS probably does care about having some local hick hooking up a tow rope to their vehicles. Anyway, told him to straighten out the wheels when I pulled. He apparantely knew better and kept them cranked to the left which ended up putting him into the ditch on the other side of the road. So I just kept on pulling until he figured it out. Mailmen!