Random Thursday
Category: Random Thursday...
Posted Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 06:37 AM [GMT-6]

Here's a pretty good example of irony: I may have to buy some sand.

More about that in a minute. But first...

  • I challenge anyone who doesn't believe in the existence of teleportation to provide an alternate explanation about one's absolute inability to smack a hovering gnat.

  • Unintentional Juxtaposition or Astute Political Commentary? - I had to laugh at the sequence of stories on Fox News Channel yesterday morning, as they first showed the robot directing the symphony, followed immediately by a report on Hillary's victory in the West Virginia primary. Why was that funny? The piece played by the Detroit orchestra was The Impossible Dream from Man Of La Mancha.

  • Have you seen one of these tooling around town?
    Photo - CanAm Spyder

    It's a Can-Am Spyder, made by the Canadian manufacturer, Bombardier. Midland Powersports is a Bombardier dealer, and I understand the owner and/or his employees are showing it off. I spotted it last week and did a double-take; it's a funky-looking vehicle. It's powered by a 990cc liquid-cooled V-Twin engine turning out over 100 horsepower. It's 30 pounds lighter than a Honda Gold Wing, and $100 less expensive (MSRP) than the latter model equipped with anti-lock braking. I've never been a big fan of three-wheelers because of their inherent instability, but the design of this one - with the two front wheels - and the addition of computerized stability control probably mitigates that concern. If nothing else, it'll turn heads.

  • I offer the following sure-fire, can't-miss, guaranteed method for finding the exact location of previously unknown sprinkler system lines and buried electrical cable. First, buy a big honkin' tree. Second, let your wife decide on the sole spot in your entire yard where said tree can be placed without throwing the feng shui of the entire universe out of kilter. Third, dig a hole. The lines and cable will be located in the dead center of that hole, at a depth that's approximately two feet shallower than the required planting depth.

  • Got Photoshop? Want a free "tips" book? For the next 29 days or so, you can download The Photoshop Anthology: 101 Web Design Tips, Tricks & Techniques in PDF format from the SitePoint website. Even better, it's free! No catch; no strings attached* – a 278-page, $29.95 book for free. Hard to beat a deal like that. Be forewarned, though; the print-quality version is 63mb; there's a low-bandwidth version that's about a third that size. (*Well, you have to give 'em your email address.)

The sand I mentioned at the top of the post? I need to spread it under the one-and-a-half tons of flagstone being delivered tomorrow for some pathways down the sides of the house. Where's a 12 Barrow windstorm when you need it?

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Comments

The Feng Shui of the universe IS important, y'know!

"Buying" sand in West Texas... doesn't that just chap your hide?

Posted by: Rob O. at May 15, 2008 07:03 AM

Good work, today.

- Did I ever tell you about my conversation with a cabbie about “why the government won't release teleportation technology into the public sector”? If you're willing to to suspend your disbelief long enough to accept that the U.S. military have had it since the Roswell crash in the '50s, it made a lot of sense.

- That Can-Am Spyder is so cool-looking. And it would rankle much less seeing one of those taking up an entire parking spot than a regular motorcycle.

- I'm facing a similar prospect with the oak seedling that volunteered in our back yard, last year. Then, if I manage not to destroy the sprinkler lines, I still have the blasted neighborhood association's Landscaping Kommittee to deal with.

Posted by: Foo at May 15, 2008 07:37 AM

The Feng Shui of the universe IS important, y'know!

Try telling that to Darth Vader.

Did I ever tell you about my conversation with a cabbie about “why the government won't release teleportation technology into the public sector”?

I'm pretty sure that if Obama is elected, he'll change that.

I still have the blasted neighborhood association's Landscaping Kommittee to deal with.

Seriously? Your HOA has to approve the trees you plant? We have a few deed restrictions about landscaping, but they're pretty general, quite reasonable, and cavalierly enforced (so far). But I'm thinking about installing a cypress swamp, complete with water moccasins and muskrats, just to push the envelope.

Posted by: Eric at May 15, 2008 03:23 PM

Put a few chickens and a pig in your backyard and the Kommittee will never see the tree. If you have grass, bermuda, that is, my Dad still has a couple of horses that he could lend you for mowing like we did when we stilled lived at the Fort.

Posted by: dale at May 16, 2008 10:25 AM

If you have time before reunion, pick info about those trikes and bring to Waco. Thanks.

Posted by: Danny at May 16, 2008 04:37 PM
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