USMB Coffee Shop IV

[saveliberty]

Dropped a full wheelbarrow on my toe before I wised up and use steel-toed boots. Took a year to grow it back.

 

[Sarah G]

So I'm packing for another three-day outta town trip and I hear a faint familiar cry...
feel it coming?

Hobbes is up a tree again. And this time way further up than he's ever been before. Nothing and nobody could reach him up there even if I were to take that route, which I won't.

So I did the only thing I could do -- ordered him sharply, "Hobbes, GET DOWN !!"

Whereupon he proceeds to pull out a Fender Jazz Bass and start riffing on Parliament Funkadelic tunes.

"Not that kind of 'get down', I mean literally!'"

I don't know where he gets it. I suspect Ringel's been coaching him.


Disclaimer: I made some of that up

 

[saveliberty]

When Hobbes comes down, show him a video of a hawk picking off a cat in a tree. Scared straight programs can work.

 

[Pogo]

When Hobbes comes down, show him a video of a hawk picking off a cat in a tree. Scared straight programs can work.

This particular tree is completely devoid of leaves and has no neighbor-trees. He couldn't possibly be more visible. And we have hawks and owls here constantly.

 

[Foxfyre]

I was just looking at the little rectangular thingee stuck the front of my computer and marvel that it allows my computer to communicate 100% effectively with my wireless keyboard and mouse. And how I don't have a clue how it does that but what an amazing thing that is.

Radio frequency. One is a transmitter, the other is a receiver, and the transmitter sends RF signals to the receiver, most commonly in the 2.4GHz range.

I just love it when you talk all macho technical (Even when I don't understand a word of it.)

 

[Foxfyre]

Much better than letting kids eat candy or other edibles from unknown sources these days and nights.

The idea came from a local news report about a movement to provide non food items for kids with food allergies. They said if you paint a pumpkin teal green, it's an indicator to parents that you are giving out non food items.

But, in my world, painting a pumpkin teal, hell, even knowing what 'teal' is, is an indicator of deeper personal issues than should be discussed in the Coffee Shop!

I have to admit that I wax nostalgic at times and long for the days when the folks in the community made a lot of the Halloween treats - rice krispy treats, cookies, homemade candy, brownies, caramel apples, popcorn balls, and the like - and we kids loved getting those so much more than a piece of store bought candy. And I still remember when the first stories started showing up, years later, of razor blades being found in apples and such, the first bottle of Tylenol that was poisoned by somebody, and us becoming aware, for the first time, that there were evil, sick people in the world. And we have had tamper proof packaging and kids no longer get those wonderful home made treats at Halloween ever since. Ah well. I suppose there are enough things to worry about than that.

At the Big House, Mom still makes popcorn balls for the Trick-or-Treaters. She includes on the wrapping one of those return mail stickers she gets after donating to Veteran's organizations. Pop kept her stocked with stationary from the print shop, so she always had a glut of those stickers.

And I've heard that the razor in the apple business is really an urban myth. But it's scary enough to dissuade parents from approving homemade treats.

It might have been, but it was sufficient for me to caution my own kids to not consume anything that was not commercially wrapped. Your mom was brave to take that risk because anybody could have accused her of almost anything in our litigious and self-serving opportunistic society. There is much that is better now than it was back then. But those olden days had much to commend them too.

Well, Mom will never change. And if someone took her to court over some fallacious claim of harm, what chance do you think they'll have suing an 81 year old lady?

But waaay back in the day (as they say), my uncles were Halloween hellraisers! They would still giggle as they were in their eighties about the time they took the grease gun to the trolley tracks at the base of Lisbon Street hill. Our area has the topography of an unmade bed. Steep ravines and hillsides are where they decided to build a town, and here it is. Uncle Ducky, Uncle Robert, Uncle Alex (pronounced "Elec") and yes, even my Grandpa all slathered up the last twenty five feet of the tracks making stopping at the bottom of the hill damn near impossible.

Mom takes her cue on a traditional Halloween celebration from the Vincent Minnelli MGM film classic Meet Me in St. Louis. Mom must have identified with little Margaret O'Brien.

LOL. My mom used to talk about axle greasing the train tracks at the bottom of the hill--she grew up in Cedar Hill TX, a small suburb of Dallas--and then watching the train trying its best to get up the hill. I think she must have been something of a real brat too.

 

[Nosmo King]

The idea came from a local news report about a movement to provide non food items for kids with food allergies. They said if you paint a pumpkin teal green, it's an indicator to parents that you are giving out non food items.

But, in my world, painting a pumpkin teal, hell, even knowing what 'teal' is, is an indicator of deeper personal issues than should be discussed in the Coffee Shop!

I have to admit that I wax nostalgic at times and long for the days when the folks in the community made a lot of the Halloween treats - rice krispy treats, cookies, homemade candy, brownies, caramel apples, popcorn balls, and the like - and we kids loved getting those so much more than a piece of store bought candy. And I still remember when the first stories started showing up, years later, of razor blades being found in apples and such, the first bottle of Tylenol that was poisoned by somebody, and us becoming aware, for the first time, that there were evil, sick people in the world. And we have had tamper proof packaging and kids no longer get those wonderful home made treats at Halloween ever since. Ah well. I suppose there are enough things to worry about than that.

At the Big House, Mom still makes popcorn balls for the Trick-or-Treaters. She includes on the wrapping one of those return mail stickers she gets after donating to Veteran's organizations. Pop kept her stocked with stationary from the print shop, so she always had a glut of those stickers.

And I've heard that the razor in the apple business is really an urban myth. But it's scary enough to dissuade parents from approving homemade treats.

It might have been, but it was sufficient for me to caution my own kids to not consume anything that was not commercially wrapped. Your mom was brave to take that risk because anybody could have accused her of almost anything in our litigious and self-serving opportunistic society. There is much that is better now than it was back then. But those olden days had much to commend them too.

Well, Mom will never change. And if someone took her to court over some fallacious claim of harm, what chance do you think they'll have suing an 81 year old lady?

But waaay back in the day (as they say), my uncles were Halloween hellraisers! They would still giggle as they were in their eighties about the time they took the grease gun to the trolley tracks at the base of Lisbon Street hill. Our area has the topography of an unmade bed. Steep ravines and hillsides are where they decided to build a town, and here it is. Uncle Ducky, Uncle Robert, Uncle Alex (pronounced "Elec") and yes, even my Grandpa all slathered up the last twenty five feet of the tracks making stopping at the bottom of the hill damn near impossible.

Mom takes her cue on a traditional Halloween celebration from the Vincent Minnelli MGM film classic Meet Me in St. Louis. Mom must have identified with little Margaret O'Brien.

LOL. My mom used to talk about axle greasing the train tracks at the bottom of the hill--she grew up in Cedar Hill TX, a small suburb of Dallas--and then watching the train trying its best to get up the hill. I think she must have been something of a real brat too.

Train tracks make for big fun for kids. Remember that, new mothers!

First it was pennies on the tracks. Trains make a little puddle out of them. Once that attraction wears too thin, kids often move to books of matches, which pop like firecrackers as the train rolls over them.

 

[WelfareQueen]

So I'm packing for another three-day outta town trip and I hear a faint familiar cry...
feel it coming?

Hobbes is up a tree again. And this time way further up than he's ever been before. Nothing and nobody could reach him up there even if I were to take that route, which I won't.

So I did the only thing I could do -- ordered him sharply, "Hobbes, GET DOWN !!"

Whereupon he proceeds to pull out a Fender Jazz Bass and start riffing on Parliament Funkadelic tunes.

"Not that kind of 'get down', I mean literally!'"

I don't know where he gets it. I suspect Ringel's been coaching him.


Disclaimer: I made some of that up

So I'm packing for another three-day outta town trip and I hear a faint familiar cry...
feel it coming?

Hobbes is up a tree again. And this time way further up than he's ever been before. Nothing and nobody could reach him up there even if I were to take that route, which I won't.

So I did the only thing I could do -- ordered him sharply, "Hobbes, GET DOWN !!"

Whereupon he proceeds to pull out a Fender Jazz Bass and start riffing on Parliament Funkadelic tunes.

"Not that kind of 'get down', I mean literally!'"

I don't know where he gets it. I suspect Ringel's been coaching him.


Disclaimer: I made some of that up

Not P-Funk....but George Clinton....close enough. Seemed appropriate.

 

[Foxfyre]

So I'm packing for another three-day outta town trip and I hear a faint familiar cry...
feel it coming?

Hobbes is up a tree again. And this time way further up than he's ever been before. Nothing and nobody could reach him up there even if I were to take that route, which I won't.

So I did the only thing I could do -- ordered him sharply, "Hobbes, GET DOWN !!"

Whereupon he proceeds to pull out a Fender Jazz Bass and start riffing on Parliament Funkadelic tunes.

"Not that kind of 'get down', I mean literally!'"

I don't know where he gets it. I suspect Ringel's been coaching him.


Disclaimer: I made some of that up

So I'm packing for another three-day outta town trip and I hear a faint familiar cry...
feel it coming?

Hobbes is up a tree again. And this time way further up than he's ever been before. Nothing and nobody could reach him up there even if I were to take that route, which I won't.

So I did the only thing I could do -- ordered him sharply, "Hobbes, GET DOWN !!"

Whereupon he proceeds to pull out a Fender Jazz Bass and start riffing on Parliament Funkadelic tunes.

"Not that kind of 'get down', I mean literally!'"

I don't know where he gets it. I suspect Ringel's been coaching him.


Disclaimer: I made some of that up

Not P-Funk....but George Clinton....close enough. Seemed appropriate.

Did you notice that your Starqueesha gif in your sig line was dancing really well to that beat?

 

[ChrisL]

I was just looking at the little rectangular thingee stuck the front of my computer and marvel that it allows my computer to communicate 100% effectively with my wireless keyboard and mouse. And how I don't have a clue how it does that but what an amazing thing that is.

That's what I need to get. I have way too many wires. Lol.

 

[Foxfyre]

I was just looking at the little rectangular thingee stuck the front of my computer and marvel that it allows my computer to communicate 100% effectively with my wireless keyboard and mouse. And how I don't have a clue how it does that but what an amazing thing that is.

That's what I need to get. I have way too many wires. Lol.

I had to replace my keyboard recently and the Logitech wireless keyboard I am now using was on sale at a really attractive price. So with much fear and trepidation that I wouldn't like it I bought it. And I love it--it is comfortable to use, extremely efficient, and has a whole bunch of bells and whistles that I haven't learned to use yet. The wireless mouse came with it and works in tandem with it. And it uses two AA batteries--I've used it for some weeks now and the batteries give no indication they are slowing down.

 

[007]

When Hobbes comes down, show him a video of a hawk picking off a cat in a tree. Scared straight programs can work.

This particular tree is completely devoid of leaves and has no neighbor-trees. He couldn't possibly be more visible. And we have hawks and owls here constantly.

I swear... for as many times as that cat has stranded himself up in a tree, all I can figure is he either LIKES sitting up there, or he's too stupid not to climb up there again. But, my guess is one of these times it will end in tragedy. I was actually letting my cat out to walk around a little last winter, until I saw a massive hawk out here sitting very near in a tree. Was probably waiting for that tasty little LUNCH to walk out of the house. She doesn't go outside anymore.

 

[007]

So I'm packing for another three-day outta town trip and I hear a faint familiar cry...
feel it coming?

Hobbes is up a tree again. And this time way further up than he's ever been before. Nothing and nobody could reach him up there even if I were to take that route, which I won't.

So I did the only thing I could do -- ordered him sharply, "Hobbes, GET DOWN !!"

Whereupon he proceeds to pull out a Fender Jazz Bass and start riffing on Parliament Funkadelic tunes.

"Not that kind of 'get down', I mean literally!'"

I don't know where he gets it. I suspect Ringel's been coaching him.


Disclaimer: I made some of that up

So I'm packing for another three-day outta town trip and I hear a faint familiar cry...
feel it coming?

Hobbes is up a tree again. And this time way further up than he's ever been before. Nothing and nobody could reach him up there even if I were to take that route, which I won't.

So I did the only thing I could do -- ordered him sharply, "Hobbes, GET DOWN !!"

Whereupon he proceeds to pull out a Fender Jazz Bass and start riffing on Parliament Funkadelic tunes.

"Not that kind of 'get down', I mean literally!'"

I don't know where he gets it. I suspect Ringel's been coaching him.


Disclaimer: I made some of that up

Not P-Funk....but George Clinton....close enough. Seemed appropriate.

Did you notice that your Starqueesha gif in your sig line was dancing really well to that beat?

Dancing... you mean jiggling like jello?

 

[Foxfyre]

So I'm packing for another three-day outta town trip and I hear a faint familiar cry...
feel it coming?

Hobbes is up a tree again. And this time way further up than he's ever been before. Nothing and nobody could reach him up there even if I were to take that route, which I won't.

So I did the only thing I could do -- ordered him sharply, "Hobbes, GET DOWN !!"

Whereupon he proceeds to pull out a Fender Jazz Bass and start riffing on Parliament Funkadelic tunes.

"Not that kind of 'get down', I mean literally!'"

I don't know where he gets it. I suspect Ringel's been coaching him.


Disclaimer: I made some of that up

So I'm packing for another three-day outta town trip and I hear a faint familiar cry...
feel it coming?

Hobbes is up a tree again. And this time way further up than he's ever been before. Nothing and nobody could reach him up there even if I were to take that route, which I won't.

So I did the only thing I could do -- ordered him sharply, "Hobbes, GET DOWN !!"

Whereupon he proceeds to pull out a Fender Jazz Bass and start riffing on Parliament Funkadelic tunes.

"Not that kind of 'get down', I mean literally!'"

I don't know where he gets it. I suspect Ringel's been coaching him.


Disclaimer: I made some of that up

Not P-Funk....but George Clinton....close enough. Seemed appropriate.

Did you notice that your Starqueesha gif in your sig line was dancing really well to that beat?

Dancing... you mean jiggling like jello?

I don't care what she was doing. She was doing it to the beat.

 

[saveliberty]

That's what I need to get. I have way too many wires. Lol.

Stepford Wife?

 

[Sarah G]

Too many wires?

 

[ChrisL]

I wish I could make my entire PC wireless. I hate getting behind the computer to clean. All those wires suck! No matter how many times you try to untangle them, they end up being a big tangled mess!

 

[Pogo]

That's what I need to get. I have way too many wires. Lol.

Stepford Wife?

I'm not much for movies but that particular one has one of my favorite lines of all time:

"I thought to myself.... where would people not notice a town full of robots?
:: gasp:: Connecticut!"

 

[saveliberty]

Too many wires?

Gasp! Your avie and video are sooooo... similar.

 

[Pogo]

When Hobbes comes down, show him a video of a hawk picking off a cat in a tree. Scared straight programs can work.

This particular tree is completely devoid of leaves and has no neighbor-trees. He couldn't possibly be more visible. And we have hawks and owls here constantly.

I swear... for as many times as that cat has stranded himself up in a tree, all I can figure is he either LIKES sitting up there, or he's too stupid not to climb up there again. But, my guess is one of these times it will end in tragedy. I was actually letting my cat out to walk around a little last winter, until I saw a massive hawk out here sitting very near in a tree. Was probably waiting for that tasty little LUNCH to walk out of the house. She doesn't go outside anymore.

Here's where he is -- that dot against the background of the sky.