Style. I Haz It.

At the new job, most days the dress code is business casual.

But -

Game night...  Suits required.

Gotta make another run to Shanghai for more suits.
Mine are suitable for bodyguard duty or funerals, as a rule.

TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Current Events

The character 變 is bián.
Representing 'change'.

Not the pocket or loose kind...

The defecation has launched and should impact the oscillating ventilator in 4...3...2...

TBG

-TBG

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

-or-
Should I mind my own business, or risk life, limb, and look like an idiot?

DATELINE - Indianapolis International Airport. 6:00AM.

Thanks to prior planning and TSA Precheck I made it into the depths of Concourse A with a minimum of drama.

At 6am, people watching is quite entertaining - zombified people staggering around the airport are always fun...
Indy has that famous Airport Carnival Ride, the moving sidewalk...the one that airport employees love to board then stand, blocking the aisle and chatting about how they are getting paid to stand around and ride the magic carpet.

Whilst blocked from getting to my gate at the far end of the concourse...
(And let me take a second to ask about ask why the hell my gate is always at the furthest point from where I enter the airport? I hate Denver because no matter what, I'm at the furthest gate and I have to take a train, 2 shuttles buses and still have to walk 3 or 4 kilometers. DEN sucks. Same with Atlanta. And don't  get me started about Chicago.)

Back to our story- if you aren't walking on the moving walkway, you are actually moving slower than if you are walking on the floor. At least that's how it is for me...
So I have even more time to people watch.
As we are slowly passing a Delta gate in the final stages of boarding, I see a girl slumped over sleeping.
I wonder if she was there because she missed a flight the night before, or if she just arrived very early, or maybe did one of those "I'll stay up all night so I can sleep on the plane" things.
The Delta gate agent does a 'Paging so-and-so, Last call for flight X to Y.'
Now, even though I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, I can do the math.
Missing passenger+girl sleeping in waiting area=case solved.
Sadly, way back in my career as a Sports Nomad, I fell asleep at a gate and missed a gate change announcement, and consequently my flight.
Only happens once... After that, you become gun-shy of airport announcements.
Anyway.
I watched the gate agents... They don't even look at Sleeping Beauty. I will give them the benefit of the doubt since she was slumped down a bit...
The Good Samaritan in me pummeled my Inner Cactus and after LaShondagh and Taniqila got out of the way I went back to the gate we had passed.
At the gate desk I addressed the attendants...
"I'm only butting in because I've slept through a flight announcement, you think it's possible the lady you just paged might be the girl sleeping over there?, indicating the girl snoozing 20 yards away.

I was completely expecting some kind of "It's against company policy to wake up sleeping passengers" or something to absolve personal responsibility...
Happily that wasn't the case.
One of the gate attendants, a grandmotherly-type went over and gently woke Sleepy who immediately jumped up and ran to the door of the jetbridge.
I'm glad Fairy Godmother woke her up-
I hate to think of what would happen if I had had to wake her...
I probably wouldn't have been maced,  being an airport and all, but surely screaming and some fingernail-clawing would have probably been in my future, along with a session with the airport police or the TSA.
No twenty something young lady needs to be awakened by an Ogre.
It can only end in tears.
Mine, most likely.

TBG [exit- pursued by a Hoosier]

New Orleans - Part III (Final)

6:30am rolled around and we were up and moving... Amazing for a Saturday in New Orleans...
I made the girls get up and moving on a perfectly selfish motive, because I wanted to share my favorite breakfast spot with them...
We braved the 38 degree temps- fortunately the rain had stopped- and walked over to Poydras St, and got in line at Mother's Restaurant.
"Why so early?" an astute Constant Reader might ask...
Answer:Because they only have a limited amount of black ham.

They bake nice crusty hams all night long, and in the morning they trim off the outside crusts of the ham and set that aside. This crispy savory-sweet ham trimming is amazing.
And it only lasts a little while, so you've gotta be there early.


The black ham biscuit. I'll take 6, please.

Their entire menu is awesome old-school New Orleans diner fare...
If you don't make the cut-off for the black ham, get a biscuit with debris (the dregs from bottom of the roast beef tank) or if you go for lunch, get the Ferdi's Special Po' Boy - Ham, roast beef, debris and au jus... Amazing.
Highly recommended!

After a sumptuous brekky, we trundled back to the hotel to check out and head off to some daytime activities...
We saw a few interesting things along the way back to the hotel...

An endangered species- sadly, this one is deceased and will no longer roam freely the streets and alleys, providing help and succor to hookers, pimps and drug dealers. RIP.

I love graffiti... This was great.
Damn, Caitlyn. Can't you stay out of trouble?


This was a headscratcher- people build little fences around trees to protect them as they grow...
Like this:


But this...
C'mon circular tree guard railing- you had one job...
Ouch.
So we got checked out then headed off to enjoy the sunny day (finally).

We needed something to fortify us as we started the walkabout, so we found our way to the French Market-

The PC had her Mimosa, I had a Hot Cider and Rum, and The Woman had a Bloody Mary.

The PC and The Woman opined that they'd like to see one of the many graveyards that dot the New Orleans area, so I took them to St. Louis Cemetery #1 on Basin St.

They (the City of New Orleans) are changing the rules on touring the cemeteries- soon you will only be able to visit if you are part of a bona-fide and licensed tour.
No more individuals going walk-up, walk in because of the vandalism of the crypts.
Two cases in particular:
Marie Laveau's tomb...
Local legend says if you do any of a number of rituals - draw X's on the tomb in chalk, knocking three times, rubbing your foot on the tomb or lighting candles and shouting your desire, you might get your wish...
More likely, if you get caught these days, you'll get a charge of vandalism and pay a hefty fine...

The girls checking out a tomb- this may or may not be Marie Laveau's (Or Marie Compte's, or Marie Phhilome Galpion... Who knows?) final resting place, but it seems like a large number of people think it's worth damaging someone else's resting place in order to participate in dubious urban legends.
Morons.

Speaking of morons...
The last empty space in St. Louis #1 was recently (in 2010) purchased (for an undisclosed but reportedly huge sum) and a crypt built to await the owner's final demise...

This is/will be Nick Cage's final resting place...
The Latin reads Omnia Ab Uno (everything from one)...
Nick isn't the moron in question- it's the idjit women that make pilgrimages here to leave lipstick prints on the marble plaque... (Click the pic and you'll see them.)
As for the pyramid- National Treasure anyone?

I enjoy walking around cemeteries, looking at the architecture and stonework and ironmongery of the crypts. I also get a kick out of seeing other minutiae in the cities of the dead...

As I mentioned on twitter regarding this crypt- These are nice shiny chains, but if whatever is inside that box wants out, them chains ain't gonna stop 'em.



Lunch found us at Acme Oyster House in Metarie for, you guessed it... More charbroiled oysters! Yay!

That night we wound up down on Frenchman Street, going to a couple clubs (The Spotted Cat, Blue Nile) and enjoyed a streetcorner performance by what looked like a high school band.
We also wound up having a great dinner later in the evening at 13... Great food, if you get a chance- go. The Srirachos (Sriracha-tater tot-nacho hybrid) are awesome.

Back to the hotel by 1am, and back on the road to Jax at 9:00 the next morning...
We could only take so much fun...

On the way to New Orleans we were full of energy and potential...
And the way home, not so much...
Back to reality...

Update: the Girls are already planning their next trip to New Orleans... Koeschi help us.


TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Weekend Project - The Trunk

Since my primary transportation is the FJR and things don't look they are going to change any time soon, I have recently realized the need for more storage... And preferably something waterproof.

So, last weekend's project was to install a trunk on the back.

Now, Givi topcases are about $150-$180 for hardware and $200-$300+ for the actual trunk. Hell, I can buy a new handgun for that! (And there's a nice .357 at the pawn shop calling my name...)

Instead, I made the requisite 4 trips to the hardware store to get pieces and parts and the end result was...

Voilà!  Houston, we have trunkage.

The trunk itself was an old Pelican case I have been using as a travel tool case that I picked up for the proverbial song at Skycraft Surplus in Orlando years ago...
(If you've never been, the place is awesome. They get tons of surplus stuff from NASA and the military... The place is like a museum.
If you like DIY tech projects, it is Nirvana.)
Anyway - back to the project...

A little time with my handy-dandy drill press and some channel stock and I had mounting rails.



Mmmmm... Homemade rails... and only minimal personal injuries!

And in true McGyver re-tasking fashion, the mounting plate is an old cutting board.

That's right... At the campsite I can take off the case and fillet a fish or cut limes for the rum drinks on it. Yay for multitasking!

And while I was out I picked up another item I needed- Power, baby.

I picked up a Marinco weatherized 12v power socket at West Marine.

Now I can plug in a USB power adapter to power my GPS, iPod, iPad, mobile phone or damn near anything else.
One thing I have learned on the Interw3bs is that the power system on the FJR is not the most robust.
Folks that have put the same type of power adapter in and ridden off with a high-drain appliance (heated riding suit, heated gloves etc) and got to their destination with a dead battery. Seems that the alternator doesn't put out enough juice to keep up with the power needs of a winter riding suit.
Fortunately I don't need to worry about that...
But I will have it in mind when I use it for aux power. USB-powered devices don't usually draw that many amps.

(I wonder if I can find a USB powered pulse rifle I can mount under the front fairing for those idjits that flick cigarette butts out the window of their car in front of me.)


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Recovery Time

Back on the right  left correct side of the pond, and mostly recovered.
And even mo' better, ChrisC back at the office has resurrected my po' pitiful T43 so I will actually be able to blog at top speed again...
Woo hoo.
My laptop gave up the ghost on Day 8, and I've been working on borrowed & misappropriated machines to get the necessities done.
And 'blogging on an iPad is possible, but not very efficient.

So... I have a backlog of Olympic stuff and some London-centric content to post.
Stay tuned, Constant Readers...

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Alchemy

Long day today...
I won't bore you with details on who needs killin' and why. I'll just share my plans on tonight's alchemy experiments.

Tonight we shall perform a chemistry miracle...
I shall attempt to convert rum and diet coke into urine.

Film at 11.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Proverbs 26:11

As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.

Hi y'all. I'm back.


I've had quite a few emails, text messages, carrier pigeon notes, phone calls, and in one case, a cryptic query engraved on the side of a 5 gallon plastic bucket, all on the same subject.

To wit:
Dude, what's up with your website?

Well, let's just chalk it up to paranoia.
I shut down access to the 'site to avoid having my own words turned against me.

(After all, these days, even the most innocuous of words can be twisted, turned and taken out of context, and it will thrown back in your face as evidence of your racism and/or lack of cultural sensitivity.
A non-related example: Go look up the word "furniture" on Urban Dictionary.)

I had a long screed written up about the events of the last few months but after editing, tweaking, re-proofing, and re-editing it, I gave up on it because it became a just a hideously circular argument that revealed one of my character flaws...

I know, it's hard to believe that I have flaws, but stick with me here...

I am a bigot.

Shocking, eh?

Bigot:
noun
a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.

My bigotry is that I am intolerant of anyone that is so lazy that they will vilify others in order to get out of work, or use spurious excuses to evade their responsibilities, or to use tired inaccurate characterizations advance a hidden agenda.

Fuck every one of those motherfuckers.
Twice.
Hard.
With a ten-foot, wrought-iron, curare-tipped, barbed-wire dildo.

And that's all I'm going to say about that.



TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Self Perception Delusion

When I'm on my bike, this is how I see myself...



What others see:



Strewth.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Overheard in the Family Room

The PC also came home this weekend, gracing us with her presence at least some of the time, since the Boyfriend was also in town.
(Talk about being conflicted...)

While watching AMC's The Walking Dead we were remarking how everything is zombie-centric these days.
Books & movies, TV Shows, iPhone Apps, Ready.gov preparedness pamphlets...

PC: "What's up with all this zombie stuff?"
TBG: "Zombies are the new bacon."

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Sunday Morning Recoil Therapy

I'm back in Jax for a couple days, so I decided to join the guys at the Sunday Morning Breakfast Club & Shooting Society in Ponte Vedra.
I met Jingalls for breakfast, then we headed to the range.
 
Seems that the Southern Secret Shooty Spot has received a makeover...
A couple weeks ago they poured a slab on the firing line.


I got to put 100 or so rounds through the M&P 15/22, and another 50 rounds of 9mm;
I had most of a box of .44 magnum, so I got to take the .44 Rossi out for a spin, in addition to firing a couple cylinders through Athena...

Firing from 25 yards out, traditional offhand standing position...
(Near the 3rd slab line on the new pad)


I'm not unhappy with these groupings.
(Except that stray 9mm at 11 o'clock one of the other shooters put in my target. WTF dude?)

But I still want a ghost ring rear sight for it...


Seems there is/was lots of other gunny goodness going on this weekend...
Good times...good times.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

What The Hell...?

Thursday - Game Day
8:00am - Depart hotel
8:30 - Arena
8:31a - 3:30p Testing, tweaking & general maintenance. Everything is 100%
3:31p - Training & game operations mode. (Not 100%, but not bad.)
7:30 pm to 10:30 Game time.
10:31p - Depart arena

Apart from some machine cuisine (a Snickers bar) in the arena I didn't have any food, so I was ravenous...
I headed to the Chili's near my hotel and had a burger for dinner.
Beverage of choice: Diet Coke.
11:15pm - Back at hotel.
11:17pm - Dead asleep.

Friday - Heading home!

8:10a - Head to hotel parking lot.

Uh oh. There's a note on my car.



WTF??!!?!1

Uh, I must have missed something last night...Or...
Did some Hockey Operations groupie follow me and sneak a Roofie into my Diet Coke?


And... Oh no...
That handwriting looks a little masculine to me.

What the hell happened last night?



TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Specialty Hardware

So...
Let me get this straight...

Sumdood, ostensibly a responsible lackey with a class B or class A license, stopped for an overnight and had his truck 'jacked.
(FWIW, when I drive company-owned equipment cross-country, that prospect always scares the crap outta me.)

Inside was some Expensive & Important Stuff.

Seems that there was some pretty powerful magic items too...

Sources said inside that vehicle was about $200,000 worth of sound equipment, several podiums and presidential seals, behind which only the President himself can stand.

So, there is some special force field surrounding these items that keeps anyone except His Serene Majesty the Emperor Barack Hussein Obama II, Lord of the Flies, Keeper of the Hoops, Master of the Greens, Bringer of Kinetic Military Action, Vacationer-in-Chief, Slayer of Osama, and Protector of the Holy Cities of Honolulu and Chicago, the Kwisatz Haderach of story and song from standing behind it?

Man, that's some mighty powerful mojo.

Nothing to worry about anyway... I hear they were up for replacement anyway.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

So That's Where He Went

Looks like the guy who once owned my house moved to Everett WA and made the same kind of 'Home Improvements' on his new place that he did on my house...

Worst. Wiring. Job. Evar.



TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Quote of the Night Week Month

From an arena technician I first saw waaaay back in May,
when I ran into him again last night at The Game:

AT: "Still at it, eh? Are you DOING this cat, or are you just holding it's tail?"

TBG: "(stunned silence)"

Succinct, descriptive and creative.
Very nice.

I'll be using that one.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Ticking Time Bomb

It seems that Young People Today don't understand the rules concerning how to act in public, and that yes, you are living in a society that values free speech (no matter the volume or how much profanity is contained therein) but not everyone wants to hear you run your mouth.
The other thing is that as a rule, you don't know ANYTHING about the people that surround you in a public venue. And you definitely don't know what will set them off.
It would probably behoove these ladies women stupid bitches females to learn some manners.

Two loud customers push a McDonald’s cashier to his breaking point and a fracas breaks out. One customer suffered a broken arm and had her skull fractured after being beaten by the cashier with a metal rod. The second loud and unruly customer was wounded with a deep cut.
Police said that the cashier served 10 years for manslaughter after a shooting conviction in 2000 and was paroled last March. He had been working at McDonald’s since his parole.

Wow.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

The Duel

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Cat Fancy

Having owned been owned by a couple of cats, I would have believed her...


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Random Items

A couple items while I wait for my arena contact to arrive...

From Phoenix:
From a label on a bottle of tequila I was served from a couple weeks ago.
(Pretty sure it was tequila... We were eating big salads...)

Onward, into the fray with my trusty battle-speculum aboard my war-chicken!

I really like the whimsical imagery...

From Berlin:
Oooh.
I want one.

Actually I want two...
One for each foot.


Really? A really sporty Smart car?
It'll never make it over here.
The catalytic converter they'd need to install would double the weight of the car.



From the WTF File:
Wild Thing



From the "I'm NOT OCD, Leave me alone!" department:
This drove me nuts for 4 hours.

The strokes don't match...


This typeface designer must be taken  out and shot...
THE ARMS OF THE STROKES HAVE TO MATCH, DAMMIT!


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE