A bit late at patting myself on the back...

A long time ago, I wrote the following in response to a debate on another forum...

...While we’re in the neighborhood, let’s not kid ourselves about Pakistan. They don’t have control of their side of the border either, and their intelligence service is thoroughly infiltrated by the bad guys. At least Musharraf is able to wear a decent suit, but I don’t trust ole’ Pervez as far as I could throw him. I mean, he’s both the President and a General. Bad combo, man. Bad combo. Does anyone really believe he wouldn’t incinerate Bombay in a New Delhi minute if he thought he could get away with it? He may have figured out that cozying up to Bush was the key to keeping his job (and his head on his shoulders), but I’m tellin’ ya’, he’s bad juju. Bad juju....

Things I Never Thought I'd See, Part Deux...

Chapter 2: Las Vegas

[OK. Maybe Things I Never Thought I'd See: Las Vegas deserves a whole book, rather than just a chapter. Maybe I'll get around to that one day.]

Most Las Vegas visitors would consider our layover hotel to be an absolutely miserable place. Imagine the cheesiest, cheapest stereotype of a bad Vegas hotel. Now imagine Cheez Whiz. You are now beginning to get an idea of the Las Vegas Greek Isles.

The Greek Isles is the former Debbie Reynolds Casino and Hotel. When she went bankrupt, she ended up selling it to the WWF. Here's a place that sells vintage casino chips.


Almost nobody except airline crews stay at the Greek Isles. They do have a Rat Pack show which I'm told is actually pretty good, but I dunno...that's kinda hard to believe. The place is pretty much a joke among the airline business, and I'd have to guess it would be thought of as the same joke among the Vegas hotel and casino folks.

However, I actually don't mind the place. Because the clientele is almost exclusively airline crews, there really aren't any noise problems. While the room furnishings are spartan and dated, the beds are fairly comfortable. I can get Fox News on their TVs. The curtains are fantastic. It takes almost no effort to get the room completely dark. Their workout room is not the best I've seen, but also not the worst either. They have a crew room (again, spartan) with microwave, large TV, pool table (I think) and a couple of computers (!). All-in-all, for my needs, not a bad place.

Buttttt,

They run a karaoke bar, which is often active when we check in.

After working in a service industry for many years now, I confess that it isn't often that I'm surprised by what I see the public do. People will do anything, and I mean: A. Ny. Thing.

However, not once in a million years would I imagine I would observe a 60-something woman...someone's grandmother...karaoke....



Jethro Tull's Aqualung.



Only in America, folks. Only in America.

Whew...

We're almost done with the remodel. In addition to a small bit of baseboard to finish and install, there remains a small drywall repair in the dining room and a couple of paint touch-ups around the house to get to yet. Of course, the bookcases are not done yet, but that's not something I'm involved with. Other than that, we're done. D.O.N.E.

Survived the Turkey day well enough. It was a small affair--just the five of us--but this will be the last year with all of us home, so that was appropriate.

We still have to get the Christmas decorations out of the attic and the house decorated. This year will be bit different as the new layout of the family room will mean changes to how we've done things in the past, and some of our decorating will have to wait until the bookcases are installed.

Serious blogging (well, if you can call any of this "serious") will resume once the decorations are up and my damned computer is fixed.

Remodel Update...

Progress is slow, but steady. We've been interrupted (slightly) by a visit from our future son-in-law, and slowed by some of the same sorts of things that slow down any project--details. I hope to be done by Thanksgiving.

Skeptics raise doubts on global warming...

No kidding.

BTW, you can put me in the "third-camp" sort of skepticals.

Why can't we say...

Michael Yon: Pulitzer Prize winner?

See also: Glenn, Chris, Powerline, among many others, I'm sure.

Update from the road...

The family room remodel project is on the downhill portion, but there remains many details to yet get to. The home theater system needs to be re-wired, baseboards and crown moulding installed, and I may have to rip into the fireplace false-wall to re-wire the HDTV.

On the political front, it appears that Hillary isn't all that invincible, which is something I've thought for some time. Now if the R's can get a front-runner, then maybe the D's can be beaten.

Thanks to all my tens and tens of faithful readers (as well as those here after searching for pictures of Iranian WIG vehicles) for your continued patience. Serious blogging (assuming I can get my computer up to speed) should resume no later than the Christmas holidays.

Does anybody know...

...how to spell "outrageous"?

Portland, Oregon...

...City of Roses the Homeless.

I was putting in my time on the treadmill this afternoon in front of a window overlooking one of the streets outside. There I watched a homeless guy stop on the curb at what I initially thought were a bunch of bread crumbs. He spent five or six minutes handling the "crumbs", until I finally figured out that he was taking apart numerous cigarette butts to gather up enough tobacco to make his own smoke. Once he lit the thing, he wandered off.

Only in America, folks. Only in America.

Drip, Drip,...

Drip.



h/t Theo.

So, anyhooo....

The remodel project is moving ahead. This isn't one of those Overnight Makeover projects, but neither are we moving a glacial pace.

The paperwork for this project will, I'm afraid, be with us for some time. One of our bigger vendors took our deposit and then promptly went out of business. We've tried to get the charge credited back to our credit card, but no luck as of yet. If that avenue doesn't pan out, I'm thinking we'll be hiring a lawyer and heading into either the bankruptcy court or small claims court. Maybe I can put a lien on something the bastard owns.

In other news, my main general construction guy is an illegal immigrant. Nothing surprising here, as most of them are. I was reminded today that a couple of weeks ago, while on a Mexico City layover, I was able to watch 3 Sunday NFL games as well as some Mexican football. Not fútbol, but real American football, played in pads.

I was struck with this idea: For as much as Americans (and especially the GOP) complain about illegal immigration (from Mexico primarily), and the Mexification of America, it appeared to me that the Mexicans are seeking some of the trappings of America. They want to be American in Mexico, as much as some here see that they want America to be more Mexican.

“You know there's something about when you hear a pump shotgun click. It makes everybody think twice.”

Also: " It’s like I'm a newlywed now" said his wife.



h/t Glenn.

As if the General needed an example of his point...

The WaPo provides it.

A good day...

Yesterday, we were able to demo out a good bit of the work on the remodel of our family room. With some help from Son-of- and Wife-of, our built-in bookcases came out without me ruining them (and we discovered the most gawd-awful carpet under them), and they might garner something at a yard sale. The old mantel came off easily, as well as it's supports (although I made a giant cloud of dust in removing them). Learning this lesson, I enclosed the entry to the family room in plastic before I began to remove the upper coarse of the "bins". I made an even larger cloud of dust, but at least it didn't drift all over the house (well, most of it, anyway).

More to do today before I go off to work, but it looks as though I'll get it finished.

"I have a million ideas...."

"...it's just that the country doesn't want any of them."

Oh, wait. That's not what she said. It's what I heard, but not what she said.

I will give Hillary credit for dropping the "baby bonds" idea, though. I guess lead balloons don't float after all.

Not dead yet...

...but I am knee-deep in the remodel project.

The immediate future, with tons yet to do, on top of a 90+ hour month and a visit from the future son-in-law, foretells little blogging.

Ouch...

I wonder if the MoveOn types and the KozKidz have felt a little sting in this.

Ted Nugent...

...ought to be running for office. He couldn't win, but it would be fun to see Chuck Schumer have a stroke while listening to Ted.



h/t Gerard.

Jonathon Turley...

No. Dogs and cats aren't lying together. Hell hasn't frozen over (not yet at least).

But here we have a liberal saying that "...the NRA may have been right." [Well, maybe the NRA was wrong in electing Larry Craig to it's Board, but that's another story entirely.]

That's going to make it difficult for any Democrat to run with anything resembling a gun-control plank.

Wes Clark...

...pwoned by Tucker Carlson. Yes. Tucker Carlson.