New York Lottery

Now we know where the money for the NY lottery comes from; Puppies poop it out.

I found this over at photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com/. They've got some great stuff, the title speaks for itself.

Rememberings

I knew this girl growing up. She was one of those super smart kids, won every science fair, top of our class academically. She was also above all the cliques, nice to everyone, therefore, receded into the background of teenage hierarchy.
Later a few years out of school, I heard she was dating the Burger King, the guy in the ads and in-store appearences. I wonder if the got married? I wonder if this is her?

Dead Fly Art

What a great idea for that collection in your windowsill.

Home Again

I Got home the other day from a 10 day trip to Virginia having spent a few days in the "historic triangle," and the rest in Virginia Beach. Never having been to Williamsburg and Jamestown, I had to do the tour. Williamsburg, although impressive as it was, wasn't the pinnacle of historic preservation that I've always been led to believe. It is, on the other hand, a masterful merchandising and marketing machine.

Jamestown, however, is really a rush. The site of the first English settlement in the New World, it's an ongoing archaeological dig with most everything left as it was. It appears America was first settled by a corporate funded expedition with the goal of establishing big tobacco in Virginia, utilizing eminent domain over the indigenous population, and later exploiting slave labor to maximize profits. King James gave the Virginia company his blessing, as long as they named everything they found after him and his family. Fascinating stuff.

The first 105 settlers didn't do so well, due to weather, pesky Indians (except Pocahontas), and the fact they set up on the edge of a swamp. I know how they felt. It was soooo #$@&%* hot down there that I was sure I lost 20 lbs. from sweating buckets. However, I think I gained 20 lbs. from consuming a case of beer a day trying to cool off. The settlers, lacking beer, died of thirst 'cause they couldn't drink the water from the swamp. (I just prefer beer over boring plain water.) Which brings me to what I love about Virginia. In Virginia, one can buy beer and wine in any supermarket, which to a Pennsylvanian, where we party like it's 1699, is pure nirvana, kid in a candy store stuff, bliss, heaven. Gas is also 20 cents cheaper and cigarettes are free. (*disclaimer: no, they're not really free, I don't smoke, but they're really cheap if you do.)

So, the beach was great, big waves, because of the hurricane making its' way up the coast, and I fled town just in time to miss the storms. The place I stayed was the site of the "largest s'more ever", according to the Guiness Book, imagine that.

How did we get to this from the real one up top?

Ungions

Did you ever go through life mispronouncing some words, totally oblivious to their correct pronunciation until somebody corrects you, then you feel like a true idiot? A classic example is the nuclear/nucular screwup.
Well, I found out last week that when speaking of an onion, I pronounce it "ungion". Huh? I do not! Yes you do, there's no "ung" like "hung". So, I've been trying to retrain myself to say onion properly, and it's really hard.
Now, if I could just stop saying "expresso".

On the Go

It's busy here in the Summertime. There's always so much going on, places to go, people to see. Work slacks off (however unaffordable), nights are longer, alcohol consumption rises, fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high. Blogging and any keyboard activity, (along with my attention span) however declines, in my case anyway, and my measly posts have become even more sporadic. But, I had to break from my busy schedule and share with you a recent purchase that every on-the-go person will find useful.

Another Holiday, working by accident

It's Friday, July 3rd, and I'm at work. Last night I found out that today is the unofficial, everybody's closed holiday before the actual holiday. It never occurred to me to close up Friday because Saturday is Independence Day. If July 4th falls on a Wednesday or Thursday, everyone just takes the one day off. A lot of folks may use vacation time around the holiday, but it's not general protocol to take two official days off. I'm sure this clueless move on my part is due to my being self employed, I don't have disgruntled coworkers to feel cheated about losing a holiday because it falls on a Saturday. And who decided we should make Friday the extended holiday? I thought that the default day was Monday's privilage when a holiday falls on a weekend. What are we gonna do next year when Indy Day falls on Sunday? So, I woke up this morning and sure enough, all my neighbors were home. All week I had clients say they would see me on Friday, I said okay, so I'm here. Duh.