Category: Randomness

Joe really oughta keep these to himself, but he what the hay…

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Daniel Boone Trivia

1190265-LTrivia for the Rush side of the family.

Natty Bumppo is the protagonist of James Fennimore Cooper’s The Leatherstocking Tales.  The books in this series are The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneers and The Prairie.

The Natty Bumppo character is generally believed to have been inspired, at least in part, by the real-life Daniel Boone.

Just as an aside… Daniel Boone’s last home is just outside of St. Louis in Defiance, MO.  It is an interesting tour.  Many things in this area are Boone this, or Boone that.

And another aside… Daniel is buried in two states. It is a tale I first heard when I toured his home in Defiance.  Here is an article on the controversy.  I do take umbrage at the author calling Daniel Boone a second tier folk hero though.

Boone’s Bones Brouhaha

 

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Get a grip Dude!

I have a 2006 Mazda MX-5 (Miata) that I drive mainly on weekends when the weather is nice.  I bought the car from amaxresdefault fellow my age who was marrying a younger woman with two small kids. He needed a more family friendly vehicle.   He had had the car 9 months, and he was grieving about selling it.  I gave him $19,000 for a car that listed for $27,000 before his hormones kicked in.  It is the top trim line for this car, the Grand Touring edition.  Hang on, hang on….  I have a reason for relating all of this and it is not bragging.

To give you an idea of the performance of this vehicle I quote from Car and Driver’s road test:

“First, this new model is the fastest ever Miata-we know, we know, Mazda wants to forget about that name. It scoots to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds, continues through the quarter in 15 seconds flat at 91 mph, and doesn’t stop accelerating until it hits 131 mph. With the exception of the 91-mph trap speed, which was equaled by the turbocharged last-generation Mazdaspeed model, each of those figures sets a record for showroom MX-5s. And this performance is hugely faster than that of the original 1990 model, which needed 16.8 seconds to cover the quarter-mile and topped out at 116 mph.”

It is not a muscle car, but a whole lot of fun to drive.  It will hit 80 or 85 mph in 3rd gear (it has a 6 speed) before the car’s computer calls me stupid by shutting down the fuel flow before I blow a gasket. Continue reading “Get a grip Dude!”

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That noise you hear…

eagleOne of the courses I play regularly has a 417 yard dog-leg left par 4, as played from the white tees.  It is a very open hole so the wind affects the ball quite a bit.  About 200 yards from the green are two bunkers left of the fairway and one bunker right of the fairway.  If the wind is into me or still I just try to thread the needle between the two sets of bunkers.   If the wind is behind I attempt to carry the left set of bunkers as it leaves a short shot to the green.  Most of the time though when I do this my ball ends up in the rough, but I have a clear shot to the green.

Friday I caught the hole downwind, and I caught my tee shot well.  I might have tugged it just a bit.  Nevertheless I was in the fairway.  My handheld GPS unit told me I had about 130 yards to the front of the green.  There was a red flag on the pole indicating a front pin position.  I drew my trusty 8-iron from its scabbard.  I went through my pre-shot routine taking dead aim at the pin as there was room left and right.  I hit one of the straightest shots I had ever hit in my life. Continue reading “That noise you hear…”

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New Memphian B&B

There is a new B&B in Memphis, Veronica & Steve’s Bodacious B&B.  Now you are probably thinking B&B, Bed and craft beerBreakfast, and in most cases you would be correct.  However, in this case the B&B signifies Beer and Bed.  It is a new twist on an old favorite.

The proprietors, Veronica and Steve, run an establish full of down home cheer.  Veronica is a native Memphian.  Steve is a transplanted Canuck who brings his Canadian reserve and sensibilities to the establishment.  Veronica handles the domestic portion while Steve is brew master and master gardener.  Veronica has a ready smile, and is a fine conversationalist on a range of topics.  While we arrived somewhat late, this did not seem to faze her, and we were gracefully greeted.  She directed us to amply sized rooms with comfortable beds.  As in an old world B&B and some European hotels you share a bathroom.  This was not a problem, as long as we waited 15 minutes or so after our traveling partner had used the facilities.

Steve has the yard and gardens looking absolutely magnificent.  The stand of banana trees in the front yard is worthy of a Costa Rican plantation.  His vegetable gardens in back supply a variety of delectable treats.  While there, I tried two of his in-house craft beers.  Continue reading “New Memphian B&B”

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought # 3,124

…yeah I know you did not ask!

I feel sorry (among other things) for those men in societies that treat women as second class citizens, as property, as less than human.  How wonderful it is to have a co-equal partner to share the world’s joys and sorrows with.  I can only hope that if they had even an inkling of an idea of what a gift it is they would change their behavior.  However, social and religious pressures can be an amazing force for the status quo.

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From Wow to Ouch

flickr-3470761412-hdI am leaving the house for work, driving along suburban streets to get to the Interstate that takes me downtown.  In front of my pick-em-up truck appears a red tail hawk flying about eye level in the same direction of travel as myself. The hawk flies with me for a few second. It then veers off to the right, swooping up and disappears in a tree.  I thought, “Wow.”

I stop watching.

Suddenly, out of the corner of eye, I see the hawk drop out of the tree.  It is headed rapidly towards the ground. It has my attention again.  At about six to 12 inches from the deck it snags a small bird out of the air, rises with its prize, and disappears again.  I thought, “Ouch.”

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought # 1,232

…yeah I know you did not ask!

My morning routine when I first get to work is to go to the company gym.  There I fill my giant economy size cup with ice and water, check my blood pressure, and do a series of exercises for my arthritic shoulders.

This morning I am going through the exercises when a couple of BBW walked through the sliding doors into the gym.  I had not heard the beginning of the conversation, but one woman avowed loudly that, “She did not take it off.”

I so wanted to remark, “Sweetheart,  then you have never had me sweet talking you!”

Fortunately I remembered where I was at, work, and kept my mouth shut.