The Best Odd Shaped Boulder in Joshua Tree

Over the years I've posted photos of boulders that look like just about every animal I can think of. Here is a new one. To me, it's the best one I've ever seen. I can't even really describe it properly.

The hairdo, beard, eyebrows, and nose are great. The whole face is comical. I'm trying to ignore the rear end...

If Your Desk Looks Like This - You Might be A.D.D.

You've all seen the badge on the right hand side of my page, right? I joke quite a bit about being ADD in my posts. I really am ADD and I think this photo proves it. It was my desk at work, on a good day. Being ADD actually helped me a lot there, because I always had about 20 irons in the fire at the same time.  I am so glad that I retired!

From the Ends of the Earth

A few months ago, Jeep sponsored a contest named, "From the Ends of the Earth." To enter the contest you had to submit up to five, adventure themed photographs involving a Jeep. Five winners were to be selected from the entrants.  Each winner would receive five-thousand dollars.   Guess what?

That's right people! Five grand for a single photo...

My wife did all the work (what little there was), but she somehow forgot to ask me to sign a model release form. Hey, people make mistakes, right? That is why I gave her a break and only demanded half of the money...

If you are wondering where we found this jeep, just follow this link.

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Newman

We have four cats. This one is Newman. Newman has a fetish for human clothing. He loves to drag pajamas, socks, underwear, bras,  pants, etc, all around the house.  If none of those things are available, he has no problem dragging rugs around. He's also been known to empty our dirty clothes hampers and drag the contents all over the house. Heck, when he's feeling particularly strong, he'll pull the blanket off you while you're sleeping.  He's strong enough to do it too. 

As if the clothing thing weren't enough, he prefers to drink out of the toilet. One paw full at a time.

I included this one for scale. That is a full size laptop computer he's dwarfing.  He's the biggest (non obese) house cat I've ever seen. He's the size of a medium dog.  If he stands up on his hind legs he can see on top of most of our furniture.

Perverted, but very cute...

I think I embarrassed him. He should be embarrassed!

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Desert Sightings Near Beaumont

embiggen to enhance your viewing pleasure.

These days, it seems like all train cars are covered with graffiti. However, this is the first time I've ever seen a landscape painted on one. That guy was good!

ENLARGE this one please!

Yet another abandoned truck. Although I really do love old trucks (and own one myself), what I like best about this photo is the little hints of yellow in the foreground brush.

Rain clouds, snow, wind powered electricity generators. All desert oddities.  Actually, the wind generators are very common in this area (close to Palm Springs), there are hundreds of them around.

I don't know about you, but when I see dark clouds in the desert, I try to get off the road and onto some high ground. Storms are not usually very friendly there.

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Nothing spectacular in this post, but I thought there was something pretty interesting or funny in each of these photos. I hope you agree...

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Plumber With a Camera

Part Time Photographer and Part Time Plumber

I know, but I just couldn't help myself.  These folks were just pausing to take a few photos in front of the Cachuma Lake dam a few days ago.  I just happened to be there also and couldn't resist... After all, the guy did crack me a smile!

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We've done quite a bit of exploring since we've been here, but we have such a tiny little phone signal where we are camping, that I can't really post anything of substance until we get home.

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Yin and Yang in Action

The overjoyed young girl in the foreground is my granddaughter Tay. The sour faced curmudgeon in the background is a friend of Tay's great grandmother.

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We're leaving on a two week roadie this Friday. We'll be hitting parts of four states (California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada). We have a lot to do, but I hope to return with some decent photos to post.  I don't know when I'll have Internet access, so I'll post and comment when I can. It seems like every time I say that, I have no trouble getting on-line almost everywhere. So, "Until that time, Eustis, until that time." *

*Anybody know who said that?  How about who they said it to?  Movie name?  If you know the answer to all three questions, you will receive absolutely nothing except my undying respect.

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Worst Movies EVER

Welcome to another one of Alex Cavanaugh's blog fests.  I don't usually participate in this these, but the ones that Alex hosts, always have an interesting subject and are fun. If you don't follow his blog, you might want to check it out. It's good and he's a good guy. If you want to see the stinkers that others picked, just click on the word Alex.

Here are my top ten WORST movies in no particular order.

Battlefield Earth

Just for the record, I think this is the most stupid movie I've ever seen. There wasn't a single thing good about it. I can't even understand why it was released. It should have gone directly to the DVD bin at Big Lots and the 99 cent store.

Amityville II: The Possession

The first movie in this series was pretty scary and is said to have been groundbreaking.  This stinker, was only groundbreaking in how much it sucked. It's the first movie that I ever walked out on. I gave it a good long chance, when it never got any better, I left.

 Road House

Sorry ladies, there wasn't ANY part of this movie that I liked. If ever there was a person miscast in a role, it was this one. The plot was bad, the acting was bad, and this guy (rip) could NEVER be a bouncer.

Batman & Robin

I can sum this one up in two words "MAJOR LETDOWN!"

Zombies of Mora Tau

I admit to loving Zombie movies and there are a lot of them out there. This one is just plain stupid. Worst "zombie" acting ever.

Plan 9 From Outer Space

Maybe the most idiotic "special effects" ever! Add to that, the fact that is was so darn cheesy and it's on my list.

Mad Max (any of them)

Take it from me. ANYTIME a movie involves jet skis or dirt bikes, don't see it. To me, the only thing this movie (and those like it) does, is to keep stunt men gainfully employed. The fact that a major whack job was the star didn't help.

Water World

Ditto what I said about Mad Max. It's too bad, because I really do like Kevin Costner.

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I have many more that might have made my list, but you probably already stopped reading. It's okay....

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Dogs Are Sociopaths -- Part 1 -- Dishonesty

First of several posts relating to man's best friend. Some of them were posted a long time ago when I had 3 followers (one of them being me).

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate dogs, I just don’t trust them…
Although most dogs would prefer to poop outside, it’s not a requirement. They are more than willing to do it wherever they happen to be when the urge hits. It could be on your furniture, in front of the door, or even on your clothing. They are not even opposed to leaving a "gift" right on your pillow! And after he’s done it, when you come home, your dog will dash to the front door to greet you and act like nothing happened! Like he doesn’t know what he left on your pillow! When you find it later and call him on it, he’s just going to cock his head to one side and give you a look that says “what are you talking about? I haven’t even been in this room all day!” Dogs are liars…

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I have no idea where I got this cartoon from. If it belongs to you and you don't want it here, just let me know...

Learn to Appreciate Technology

I don't often post video, but this one is so very true and funny!

Menopause Just Might Kill Me

Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion is, "To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction."
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I'm married to a beautiful, funny and smart woman. Unfortunately for me, she is now going through menopause and has apparently lost her mind. Although I totally feel sorry for her, I'm pretty sure that her menopause might cause me to die of hypothermia or heat stroke I know that it will eventually pass.

What I’m about to say, is almost completely true...
When it's freezing in our house, she's burning up! We have to open the windows and/or turn on the air conditioning, even though it's the dead of winter. Most of you know where I live and I understand that "dead of winter" is a relative phrase. For those of you living in areas with "real' winter, I apologize!

On the other end of the spectrum…
If it’s mid-summer and about 85 degrees outside, she is usually wearing a parka it’s about 75 degrees inside. How is my wife feeling?

"I'm so cold!"
"Honey, it's 75 degrees in here!"
"I don't care, I'm freezing!"
"Put another coat on!" (notice I said another)
"I'm turning the heater on!"
"What?"
"It's much too hot in here already!"
"I don't care, I'm freezing!"

Last summer was one of the mildest on record where I live. I think it was August 15th, when I lost the tip of my nose to frostbite.

If I'd known it was catchy, I would have gotten a vaccine or something...
Or is it just me?


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New Glasses

I'm not sure when it happened, but when I need things, I usually think about Costco first.  Between their physical stores and their web site, you can pretty much buy anything.  As long as you don’t mind buying large amounts, or multiples of many items, it’s a great place to shop. 

I recently noticed that my eye glasses seemed to not be working as well as they should, so I made an appointment at my local Costco optometry department.

When it came time for my appointment, I discovered that the examination and testing was done exactly the same as anywhere else. The optometrist even had a diploma on the wall!  There were no major surprises, but my prescription did have to be adjusted.  They told me it would take about a week for my new glasses to arrive and that they would call me.

Five days later I was notified that my glasses were ready. I went back to Costco to have them adjusted for fit. I loved them! Now I'm hoping that my prescription doesn’t change before I've had a chance to use all eight pairs...

Only folks who frequent Costco got that... (I hope)

I wonder how much food purchased at Costco ultimately gets thrown away because it gets too old before it can all be eaten. Do we really need to buy a 55 gallon drum of mayonnaise?  Can we really use a case of anything? How about a 42 inch flat screen television multi-pack? 

Hot Mess Chronicles

Some of you might remember a post from last year relating to whether or not I’d ever worn women’s clothing.   The post was basically the story of the what, when and why, relating to my “cross dressing” incident.  Cake Betch at “The Hot Mess Chronicles” has taken my story and added her zany illustrations to it.  Even if I have to say so myself, her pictures make a good story great.  I’m so happy and pleased with what she has done with it.

I’m sure that very few of you have been exposed to this lady yet. That is too bad, because she is FUNNY and her illustrations are creative and hilarious. Please go over to her blog right now and check out my vastly improved post.   She is pretty new to blogging and I’m sure that many of you will like what she does so much, that you may even follow her.  You can thank me later for the referral (cash or check).  Please leave a comment there after you go see it (if you do), so I know what you think of it.   Thanks my friends…

May I now introduce you all to...

Cake Betch

Just to show you that I'm not exaggerating as to the talents of this lady, she has already been featured on The Sassy Curmudgeon ( by Una LaMarche). I'm sure you all know who she is. If not, just take my word that Una is one of the funniest people on this planet (or any other).

Office Eater Types

Everybody likes food, and people working in offices are no exception.  There are many different "food personalities" out there. You may be one recognize some of these fine folks...

The Leech
This ingrate never participates in office pot-lucks. Despite that fact, the leech has no problem slithering up to your potato salad and anything else that was brought in and eating without shame.

The Secret Eater
The overweight person who always says no to potluck, snacks, sweets and cake from office celebrations. They come back later, when no one is around to get their share and eat it in secret. It's not a problem if all the food is gone, because they have enough snacks in their desk to feed a small country. Oh yeah, there are never any candy or snack wrappers in their waste basket. What? Do they really think that if we never see them eating, that they must appear skinny to us?

The Ghost
This person doesn't even work with you, but somehow gets word that food is in the building and noses it out at just the right time.  Coincidence? I think not!  You won't see this schmuck again until the next time food is available.

The Hawk
The person who always asks if everyone is done eating and then scoops up all that is left and takes it home. I was at a my granddaughters birthday party a short time ago and my daughter caught one of the mothers wrapping up many pieces of pizza and putting them in her purse. The nerve! In addition, her daughter was clearly a trouble maker. Must be fun in that house.
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Of course there are other borderline personality types whose food issues have nothing to do with potlucks.

The Bird
This idiot eats pistachios, peanuts or sunflower seeds and manages to leave a mess wherever they are sitting.

The Saboteur
The skinny person who brings sweets in for everyone but never eats any themselves.  They must always remain the slimmest person in the office.

The Fish Eater
Forget about pot-lucks, this non-human always ignores the "NO FISH" sign hanging on the microwave and stinks up the entire office. This practice is so taboo, that doing it, should result a caning. Or is it just me?

inspiration provided by:  http://jayneferst.blogspot.com/2010/10/seeds-as-snacks.html

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Nickname Compendium

I recently made a blog post relating to "Neighborhood Nicknames" that we've given to some of the people we don't know and houses in our neighborhood.  Many people who commented to the post also left nicknames they use in their neighborhood.  Some of them are hilarious! They also left explanations, but it just seems so much funnier without them.

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5 cats that crap in our garden house

Billy Barty house 

Binocular Face
Car Alarm house
Cassanova house

Cat Murderer House
Cat Woman's house

Cloppity House

Cooper House

Crotchety old fart

Crotchety old fart house
Dealer's house

Devil worshipers' house

Drug House

Dysfunctional family

Dysfunctional Family house

Family whose Mom died

Family with Five Boys house

Freaking Insane

Freaking insane house

Girl who drinks wine on the front porch in her bathrobe house

Goat Man’s house

House with that really nice guy married to that recluse

IN-LAW house

Junk House

Mean Asian Guy

Naked Neighbors

NOSEY House

NUT HOUSE!!!!
PJs at noon

Nutty-Nora-Next-Door

Pavarotti

Pill Hill

Selfish “^&*%”

Slam-slam house

Sliding Down the hill house

Spider lady

Start of The Trail House

The Clampett house

The Clown Car for assholes people

The Cool Neighbors

The Fireworks People

The German Shepard People

The hollering trio

The mansion on the hill

The Persian Party house

The Pond House

The Pool People

The SquidBillies House

The Weird Young Hippie Couple with the Push Mower and the Baby house

Unfriendly House

Weird People

Weirder People

Weirdest People

What-are-the-Gringos-doing-in-my-neighborhood house

Where's Waldo House

Yappity Dog House

Yours mine and ours house

Zoomy house

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Neighborhood Nicknames

Do you have "names" for people in your neighborhood that you either don't know, or don't like? We do...

• Dysfunctional Family. This family lives behind us and down the hill.  They need full time therapy. All we know about them is the yelling, cursing, and cops.
• Cloppity House. The guy walked home drunk in the middle of the night with clogs on. His steps made a "cloppity" sound. This happened five years ago, but the name stuck.
• Yappity Dog House. These folks actually denied that their yappity dog barked all day while they were at work. Thank goodness they moved.
• Unfriendly House.  For reasons unknown to us, the wife in this house just flat out doesn't care for us. Although her husband seems to like us, when she's around, he pretends not to see us. Poor guy...
• Sliding Down The Hill House.  We live on the ridge line of a hill top. A house across and down from us a ways has slipped down the slope a bit. There is also a semi-wilderness trail that starts next to their house. (also known as "start of the trail house."
• Cooper House.  These people now rent the house from the "yappity dog" owners. They have a stupid dog that they can't control. All we've ever heard them say is "Cooper, Cooper!" The dog just won't shut up. You can't have a conversation with them because the dog won't stop barking at you. I told the lady yesterday that I give up...
• Start Of The Trail House (see "sliding down the hill house.")
• Cat Murderer House.  These cruel people have lost 3 cats to coyotes, but they keep getting new ones. Someday, there is going to be a confrontation between the two of us.

We  also have neighbors that we like and know by name, so not everybody gets a "nickname."

I'm sure our house is known as "the guy wearing pj's at noon on weekdays drinking beer in the back yard" house"



thanks to Bossy Betty (one of my favorites) for inspiring this post.

How Do You Compete With That?

Many of you are aware of the annual July 4th "water war" on our street. It should come as no surprise that Halloween is a pretty big event here also.  It's not that there are a ton of decorated houses, but everybody is in their driveways or in their garages, giving out candy and having small parties.

We get between 150 and 200 kids each Halloween. A couple of years ago, we had well over 200. Every year there is at least one kid, or parent who reminds us that "the lady who used to live in your house gave us hot donuts instead of candy!"

That's right! She cooked and gave out fresh hot glazed donuts as treats! How in the heck is a person supposed to compete with that? We don't even try, I just give them their single m&m and tell them to move along...bah!

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No, I Haven't Seen Your Lipstick!

thanks BMB

Elephant Story

I really appreciate all the heavy reading being done on my blog lately. I'm going to continue to take it easy on all of you for a few more days.

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This is an Incredible story about an elephant's amazing memory.

In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University .

On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air.

The elephant seemed distressed, so Peter approached it very carefully.

He got down on one knee, inspected the elephants foot, and found a large splinter of wood deeply embedded in it.

As carefully and as gently as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot.

The elephant turned to face him and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments.

Peter stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled.

Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.

Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Peter was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenage son.

As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Peter and his son Cameron were now standing.

The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down.

The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter could not help wondering if this was the same elephant.

Peter summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing, and made his way into the enclosure.

He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder.

The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Peter legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.


I'm thinking it probably wasn't the same elephant...




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thanks Diane

On a Lighter Note 2

Somebody sent this to me today.

No one was hurt. I promise you!