Bernie Madoff, Eat Your Heart Out!

Five years of institutional financial records... up in smoke. Yep, the guidelines are: the branch should only keep the current years' financial records, plus the three previous years. My predecessor had done a good job, and his predecessor(s) had done a good job, but somewhere along the line, someone had let some old records slip through the cracks, and I found five years worth of old records which should have been discarded years ago, but weren't. I don't trust dumpsters, and I don't trust recylers. (I used to work for a paper company who did a boatload of recycling, and you'd be surprised what we came across in the recycle building!) So I brought them home to burn. Built a nice fire in the fireplace (applewood, from the apple tree that toppled last year -- see pictures on this blog a long time ago), and tossed the records in a handful at a time. Got burned, too. The thick files weren't burning, so I needed to poke them with the poker. My hand got blistered holding the poker, so I went to the kitchen and got an oven mitt. Poked some more. I had just transferred the hot poker from my mitted right hand to my left hand when two things happened simultaneously. First, I instantly realized that the poker was way too hot to hold without an oven mitt on, because my left hand blistered in about a thousandth of a second. But simultaneously, a tiny cinder flew up and out of the fireplace and landed on my cheek, so I naturally flinched and reflexively took my hand to brush it away. Bad move. My left hand was already smarting fiercely from the blistering poker, which I hadn't even had time to drop yet, so by reflex, I used my right hand to brush away the cinder on my left cheek. What I didn't realize was, the coating on the oven mitt had actually begun melting from the heat, and when I brushed my cheek, some of the melting oven mitt melted onto my face, blistering a very nice, straight, streak down my left cheek. Anyway, I'm now relaxing in my La-Z-Boy beside the toasty-warm fireplace, updating a blog, and remembering just how badly bad burns can hurt. But at least the four big boxes of old records are all empty. (Now, if only I can get all the paper smoke out of the house...) We'll go to Lynchburg for Mr. G's funeral tomorrow. Here's a picture of the Lint Monkey while she was here in the Valley. I think this is a good picture of her and captures her sparkle quite nicely.

Just How Old Are You?

Take this Quiz. How many of these do you know? And no fair looking them up on Google or Wikipedia or other stuff... do all of them purely from memory. 1. Whose show featured Mr. Green Jeans, Magic Drawing Board, Grandfather Clock, and Dancing Bear? 2. Mr. Moose bombarded the Captain with hundreds of what? 3. What newspaper comic strip character was played by Jay North on the TV series? 4. How many engines did Sky King’s plane have? 5. Professor Popkiss and Dr. Beaker invented what vehicle, flown by Mike Mercury? 6. Who was the co-pilot of Fireball XL-5? 7. Who co-hosted the Macy’s parade with her sidekicks of two sock puppets, and what was the bucktoothed dragon puppet’s name? 8. The original “propeller-head” wore a “beanie” and had a dragon for sidekick… what was this dragon’s name? 9. When Mattel’s Tiny Thumbalina was wound up, what would she do? 10. What was referred to as "Ma Bell"? 11. What musical instrument was played by Morticia’s butler in the opening credits? 12. Which U.S. president was a former football player, but became famous for falling down steps, most often coming out of airplanes? 13. Who ended his nightly show by saying, “and that’s the way it is”, followed by the date, his name, his employer, and “good night”? 14. Whose Tuesday night show featured “the Silent Spot” at the end, often with Freddie the Freeloader? 15. Whose Saturday night show featured Joe the Bartender at the end, along with Crazy Gugenheim? 16. Marlin Perkins wildlife show was sponsored by what insurance company? 17. What product touted by Ted Mack on his "Amateur Hour" could cure “Iron Poor Tired Blood”? 18. What was a "Flash Cube"? 19. Who sailed in the Guppy with a crew of kids and SeaDog? 20. The product “BC powder” was meant to treat what? 21. “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing” was the lament of a commercial for what product? 22. What two instruments were played by Tommy and Dickie? 23. Who always tugged on her earlobe as she said “goodnight” at the end of her show? 24. Alan Brady was boss of Mel, Buddy, Sally, and who else? 25. Which show featured two main characters derogatorily called Meathead and Dingbat by another main character on the show? 26. Who made famous the line “well, kiss my grits”? 27. Roger, the airline pilot, lived upstairs from Dr. Hartley, the psychologist, on what show? 28. What was Tattoo’s signature line, announcing the impending arrival of the guests on the island? 29. The adorable little mouse Topo Gigio, whose famous closing line was, “Keessa Me Goodnight, Eddie” appeared over 50 times on what Sunday night show? 30. Who said “Shuh-Zamm” and “Surprise, surprise, surprise”? 31. Whose signature lines included, “Sorry about that, chief” and “Would you believe….” 32. What show featured the June Taylor dancers? 33. Whose show, sponsored by Kodak, was known as the “Wonderful World of Color”? 34. What family lived at 1313 Mockingbird Lane? 35. What was inside those little 1-inch white wax coke bottles? 36. What was inside Pixie-stix? 37. Bazooka Joe comics could be found inside what kind of product? 38. What product was advertised by the “teaberry shuffle”? 39. What cleaning product featured the white knight that could clean clothes instantly by pointing his lance at them as he rode by? 40. What brand “tastes good, like a - - cigarette should?” 41. What kind of product was a “Chiclet”? 42. What brand was a “silly millimeter longer”? 43. “A little dab ‘ll do ya” advertised what product? 44. Smiley was the conductor of the Cannonball on what show? 45. Who kept her critters out by the “see-mint pond”? 46. Pat Paulson and Snoopy were both contenders for what public office, and in what year? 47. “You bet your sweet bippy” was made famous by what show? 48. “Pickin and Grinnin’” were made famous by what two musicians, and what was the name of the show? 49. Dean Rusk held what position in government? 50. Where did Pogo the Possum and Albert the Alligator live? 51. Kickapoo Joy Juice was a favorite drink in what comic strip? 52. What kind of store was W. T. Grant? 53. “Western Auto” stores didn’t sell autos. What did they sell? 54. The Mercury Seven included Scott Carpenter, Wally Shirra, Gordon Cooper, and Deke Slayton. The other three were far more famous, although one of them died in a fire, and one became a Senator. What were the names of these other three? 55. What was the name of the little village made famous by Lt. Calley? 56. Capt. Bucher and he crew of the Pueblo were captured by what country? 57. What football player became famous for advertising pantyhose? 58. What company admitted it was number two in its industry, but “we try harder”? 59. The TV show Daktari featured a vet whose daughter owned Clarence, who was friendly and very cross-eyed. What kind of animal was Clarence? 60. Sergeant Joe Friday and his sidekick Bill Gannon worked in “the City”. Which city? 61. What was it that made the sound “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”? 62. Who made the “Barracuda”, the “Valiant”,, the “Duster”, and the “Roadrunner”? 63. Who made the “Monaco” and the “Polara”? 64. What instrument did Al Hirt play? 65. What instrument did Benny Goodman play? 66. What instrument did Tommy Dorsey play? 67. Doc Sevrinson played what instrument? 68. Euell Gibbons asked, “ever eat a pine tree?” on a commercial for what product, shortly before dying of a stomach ailment? 69. “What’s for Dessert?” It was spelled out letter by letter. What was it? 70. The “uncola nuts” were used to make what product? 71. Morris had a reputation for being a very finicky eater. What color was Morris? 72. To Charlie’s disappointment, what company wasn’t looking for tuna with good taste, but rather tuna that tastes good? 73. What kind of product was Dash? 74. What product was “one quarter cleansing cream?” 75. Madge the manicurist would soak her client’s fingers in a bowl of what? 76. Whose show was broadcast from ‘beautiful downtown Burbank”? 77. Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe were Ben’s sons on what show? 78. Festus walked with a limp on what show? 79. “Good morning, Mr. Briggs” and later “Good morning Mr. Phelps” were the first words on the tape played at the opening of what show? 80. The Freedom Train was pulled by what? 81. “Duck and Cover” were school drills associated with a political altercation with what country? 82. Who did Jack Ruby shoot? 83. The “NS Savannah” launched in 1959 was the only cargo ship ever built by the U.S. that contained a what? 84. Who left a sword slash in the shape of a letter of the alphabet to mark his victories? 85. Who’s sidekick was “Tonto”? 86. “We’re having Beefaroni” was a popular commercial jingle. What real chef’s name is associated with Beefaroni? 87. F-Troop was part of what organization? 88. Nelson Rockefeller was vice-president under which president? 89. Spiro was vice-president under which president?. What was Spiro’s last name? 90. Hubert was vice-president under which president?. What was Hubert’s last name? 91. Madeline Murray O’Hair was one of the worlds most famous what? 92. Where was Francis Gary Powers when his plane was shot down? 93. A fellow named U Thant was head of what organization? 94. What kind of animal was Flipper? What kind of animal was Trigger? 95. Make Room for Daddy was a popular TV show. Who was the daddy? 96. In what city was Robert Kennedy assassinated? 97. What was an LP? What was an "8-track"? 98. A “45 single” actually had two on it, one on each side. Two what? 99. In January 1961, Ham the chimp rode a Mercury-Redstone to become famous. Where did he go? 100. Rudolf Nureyev is famous for doing what? 101. Roger Maris became famous in 1961 for breaking a world record. What did he do? 102. Wilt Chamberlain was the first to score 100 points in a single game. What was the game? 103. In 1962, Rachel Carson published a book which started the environmental movement. What was the title of her book? 104. Mike Mansfield, Sam Rayburn, Everitt Dirkson and Shirley Chisholm all held positions in what organization? 105. The bathyscaphe Trieste visited what location never before visited by men? 106. Cassius Clay is today known as who? 107. Rod Serling is known for being the creator and writer and host of what? 108. In 1958 at age 14, Bobby Fischer won his first national championship in what game? 109. What kind of vehicle was the Saturn V? 110. Van Cliburn made history by doing something in Moscow during the height of the cold war. What did he do? 111. George Wallace was governor of what state? 112. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. was US Ambassador to Vietnam and to the U.N. He was also the running mate to what famous presidential candidate? 113. Billie Jean King defeated who in the Battle of the Sexes? 114. The popular “Nehru Jacket,” precursor to the leisure suit, was inspired by the leader of what country? 115. What does a Moog Synthesizer do? 116. Lady Bird Johnson’s “Keep America Beautiful” campaign was intended to fight what? 117. Who was the first American astronaut to walk in space?118. Gloria Steinem is associated with what movement? 119. Chairman Mao was head of what country? 120. Lester Maddox, famously associated with ax handles, was governor of what state? 121. The Torry Canyon disaster involved what substance? 122. What American company is associated with the Bhopal disaster? 123. President Nassar was head of what country? 124. Benjamin Spock is not a Vulcan. What was his profession? 125. The Tet Offensive occurred in which war? 126. Mary Jo Kopechne was riding with what famous politician when she died in a car wreck? 127. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. Who was the third Apollo 11 astronaut who remained orbiting the moon while they explored its surface? 128. Who did Squeaky Fromme try to kill? 129. The Paris Peace talks were aimed at stopping which war? 130. Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of shooting who? 131. What did Yul Brynner’s haircut look like? 132. Art Fleming was the original host on what TV show? 133. Monte Hall would call, “Come On Down” on what game show? 134. What type of store was the “A&P”? 135. The Constellation was famous for having three tails. What was the Constellation? 136. The Caravelle had two engines. What was the Caravelle? 137. The Vega was criticized for being unsafe. What was the Vega? 138. The "Easter Sunday Earthquake" in 1964 devastated the southern part of what state? 139. Camille and Beulah were two of the worst ever. What were they? 140. Twiggy was quite famous. What was Twiggy's profession? 141. For a while, you could buy a brand of beer named "Billy Beer". Who was Billy, and who was his famous brother? 142. North Carolina Senator Sam Ervin became a TV celebrity for chairing Congressional hearings on what? 143. What brand of gasoline promised to "put a tiger in your tank"? 144. What brand of gasoline had a green brontosaurus as its logo? 145. Who was the Edsel named after? 146. Why is Three Mile Island famous? 147. What was the "Silver Meteor"? 148. What kind of music was played at Woodstock? 149. A group that called itself the Jefferson Airplane had nothing do to with air travel. What were they? 150. Sing Along with Mitch was a popular musical program in the early 1960's. What was Mitch's last name? 151. What kind of animal was “Speedy Gonzales”? 152. Old Lead Bottom was actually Captain Binghamton on what naval-based show? 153. The movie “The Great Escape” depicted an escape from what? 154. Who was the voice of Bugs, Daffy, Sylvester, Foghorn, Speedy, and Pepe? 155. The dog would say, "Peabody Here", and then to on to explain a principle of science or history on whose show? 156. What kind of show was "Mr. Wizard"? 157. The Flying Wallenda’s didn’t actually fly. What did they do? 158. Tenzing Norgay accompanied someone somewhere and became famous. Who, and where? 159. The Scorpion made headlines when it sank. What kind of vessel was the Scorpion? 160. Neal Armstrong, after returning from the moon, became chairman of what now-defunct company? 161. Clara Peller wanted to know "where's the beef?" in a commercial for what food chain? 162. Who "put YOU in the driver's seat"? 163. What company adopted the slogan, "and leave the driving to us"? 164. A famous program ended with the two hosts saying, "Goodnight David", "Goodnight, Chet"? Who were Chet and David? 165. Tribbles were a fast-multiplying organism that caused problems on an episode of what fictitious TV show? 166. Sam Snead made a name for himself in what game? 167. A short-lived football league in the 1970's was the WFL. What did the W stand for? 168. Who did Bear Bryant coach for? What was his sport? 169. In what business did Aristotle Onassis make his money? Whose widow did he marry? 170. Who were the Rockettes? 171. What did Cecil B. DeMille do for a living? 172. Little Black Sambo wasn't from Africa, he was from India. When he got the tigers to chase their tails around the tree, what did they eventually turn into? 173. Little Golden Books were named for the strip of gold foil. Where did this strip of gold appear on the book? 174. What famous family is from Hyannis Port? 175. Peppermint Patty was a character in what comic strip? 176. What was "Betamax"? 177. Whose nickname was "Satchmo"? 178. Today it is known as Bangladesh. What was this country known as between 1947 and 1971? 179. Who always came out with a candleabra and put it on his instrument before he began playing? 180. "Hair" was one, and "Tommy" was another, and "Jesus Christ Superstar" yet another. What were they? 181. Angela Davis was associated with what infamous organization? 182. An institution by the name of Folsom was made famous in a song by Johnnie Cash. What type of institution was Folsom? 183. After "Six Days on the Road", what is he "gonna make" tonight? 184. Jeannie Riley sang a song about an organization at Harper Valley High School. What was the organization's initials? 185. Who jumped off the Tallahatchee Bridge? 186. Loudon Wainwright wrote a song about a dead skunk. Where was this dead skunk? 187. What made a Polaroid Land camera so special? 188. What was a "spirit duplicator" used for? 189. The instruction to "Flick your Bic" referred to what kind of product? 190. If you were told to "speak louder into the receiver", what device were you using? 191. What kind of device used "rabbit ears"? 192. Jalousies are common in older southern homes, particularly on porches. What are jalousies? 191. Masonite was widely used prior to the 1970's. Used for what? 192. In many old houses, when you would walk into a room at night, you would have to pull a tiny short gold or silver chain. What would pulling the chain do? 193. Often in a kitchen, you would find a "pilot light". On what appliance was the "pilot light" usually found? 194. On what household appliance was the "wringer" found? 195. On what household appliance was the "treadle" found? 196. When a celebrity would admonish you to "Don't touch that dial", what dial was he referring to? 197. While driving, if you wanted to listen to music, sometimes you might have to stop the car, get out, and pull something. What was it you pulled? 198. What TV show was hosted by Durward Kirby and Alan Funt? 199. Where would you usually find linoleum in a home? 200. If your grandfather referred to a "Tin Lizzie", what was he referring to?

Nothing to Report...

Working hard and loving it. Office, classroom, church office, radio room in my garage, I've worked quite a bit and got a lot accomplished, but it would be very boring to list it here. Mom and I went out to dinner tonight at Wood Grill Buffet, but that's about the highlight of the week. (She'll be going to Lynchburg for Mr. G's funeral Saturday. I guess that's news...) I'm enjoying my classes this semester, but I sure wish students would take their studies a little more seriously. So many of them need to actually put some effort into the coursework... they'd do so much better. It's supposed to snow a little tiny bit tonight... we haven't yet had a really good snow this winter, although we've had some really cold weather. And the forecast sounds like this won't be a big snow either, just a half-inch or so. We'll see. Anyway, a plain-Jane post after a plain-Jane week. I'm happy and contented; there just isn't anything particularly exciting happening right now, but I figured I needed to post something to let readers (both of them) know that I'm still alive and kickin'.

Life is indeed good...

Echoing the sentiments expressed by some of my progeny, "life is good". Took Dubby to dinner last night to celebrate another pub acceptance. Took a CD of good music to a friend after dinner tonight. I'm just sitting here in the recliner, sipping freshly-squeezed orange juice with a cat in my lap, listening to the pounding timpanis and majestic French horns of a Rossini overture... ahhhh. The kids are healthy and happy. The cars seem to be running okay, especially for their ages. School is going nicely this semester so far. Our electric bill last month was $89. For the entire month! No joke. Catkim made it back to the Great White North, DJ is having fun at the "I", Big Al is in Kenya, and Bry is apparently still enjoying flying airplanes. Gma and Gpa are doing okay for now (like the cars: especially considering their ages). It's downright hard to be a grump when things are going so well.

Zero!

Yep. According to the official Weather Service observing station at the airport, it was ZERO for three hours last night. It didn't go negative, but still, zero is quite cold. The record for yesterday was -9 set in 1982. The record for the night before was -7 set in 1993, so it could have been a lot colder. The interesting thing is, it is 49 ABOVE zero in Fairbanks, Alaska!

Jagerschnitzel... Mmmmm

We took Catkim to the Bavarian Chef tonight. It's a great, authentic German restaurant, owned and operated by an authentic German, who serves gargantuan portions of fantastic Deutschland cuisine. It's a little out of our price range for ordinary dining, but for a special occasion, it's a real treat. Catkim hadn't been before. I know we've taken a couple of the kids there on their birthdays, and the ones who've been all claim it's their favorite restaurant. The special occasion tonight? Well, Catkim will be returning to popsicleland in a few days, and we wanted to treat her to something special before she left. And thanks to G'ma and G'pa, we had a gift certificate that we've been too busy to use up until now. It's an hour's drive over the Blue Ridge, but well worth the trip. So now, I'm sitting here at home in the La-Z-Boy chair, totally satiated and chock full of three kinds of German sausage, a huge platterfull of Jagerschnitzel smothered in bacon and cream sauce, glazed carrots with apples, green stringbeans, whipped German potatoes, creamed corn, warm pumpernickel bread, and traditional German Chocolate cake. I also had a taste of Catkim's Swiss Chickenschnitzel and sampled her Black Forest cake. Mmmm. Debbie had her stuffed portobello and glazed duck. Wunderbar. Like the other kids, Catkim made the comment, "This place has just become my new favorite restaurant of all time!" Speaking of popsicleland... Catkim has been checking the weather in Fairbanks, and believe it or not, it's now a lot warmer there than here. In Fairbanks, it had been near 50-below-zero a week ago, but it was 45 degrees above zero yesterday, 21 tonight, -- while here in Weyers Cave, it's 11 at the moment, and going down to 4 tonight. It is cold! And the high tomorrow is forecast to be only 15, and the low tomorrow night is predicted to be 2! The house is nice and toasty warm, however. Although the heat pump doesn't operate well once it gets below 25 outside, the compressor turns off and the heat strips light up (and the electric meter starts a small cyclone) and it keeps the house quite comfortable. We usually turn the thermostat down a tad at night, so we are using the booster heaters (those small electric oil-filled radiator jobs) in the bedrooms. We'll be putting an extra blanket on the bed tonight, too. We'll probably leave the bedroom door open so the cat can come in and snuggle -- she enjoys curling up between our knees on top of the blankets, and she helps keep us warm, too.

Cool, Cool Shades

While unloading the Camry after my trip to Washington D.C. this weekend, I discovered that SOMEbody left her shades in the car. So, the next question is ... does she want me to send them to her in potatoland? Or hold onto them until she returns next Fall? Do tell...

Beach Babe

Lint Monkey from Alaska. Early morning. January 5th. Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Hmmm. Not many people around. But hey, what are those white things in the background?

Mommy, Mommy, can we go over and see the birds?

Seagulls. Let's take a picture.

Watch this... Think I can catch one of them? Hey, come back! I just want to play...

Well, shoot, if I can't catch you, I'll chase you all the way to Daytona! Darn. Guess I'll just have to be content with collecting seashells on the seashore.

Having a wonderful time. Wish you were here.