20081213

100-point meme

Ok ok.

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity. Does $1k to Carla Howell's campaign for Gov of Mass count? Screw that, Barbaloot's support for our church beats that, 6 years running.
7. Been to Disneyland. (The old original one.) For work, no less.
8. Climbed a mountain. Mt Washington in New Hampshire. I get out of bed at a higher elevation than that though.
9. Held a praying mantis. As seen here.
10. Sang a solo. Teach Your Children Well, to a theater class.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train. Rome to Pordenone.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. Gimme a frigging break.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a Marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. Doha, Qatar.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise. 90-foot boat on 10-foot seas in Alaska's Inside Passage.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person. My inlaws live there.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community. And swerved my car out of the path of their buggies.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke. Soul Man. Richmond, Virginia.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance. Aviano AB.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud. Again, gimme a break.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater. Are they so rare now?
55. Been in a movie. Does newsfootage for a local TV station count?
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class. And given them, and stretched them out.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies.
62. Gone whale watching. The cruise.
63. Got flowers for no reason. What precisely constitutes 'no reason'?
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter. Over Chambers County, Texas, after Hurricane Ike.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar. Flying fish roe, as sushi.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London.
77. Broken a bone. My own, or someone else's?
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book. Do user manuals count?
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper. Spelling bees.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone. Please.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day. Ayn Rand's Anthem.

My counters:
Lawfully draw a weapon in reasonable apprehension for your life?
Buy an automobile with a credit card?
Start an IV?
Enter a building on fire?
Write your Congressman or Senator?
Dispute how your employer used your Social Security Number?

My 2¢ on the Bailouts

Use headphones if you're at work or have kiddies nearby.



TCM

Please allow me to (re-)introduce myself

So said the Stones.

It's The Cabinet Man again, known to his (few) friends as TCM. I secured permission from Fuze to continue my posts. Those posts will certainly be different than Fuze's writings. We're both libertarian gun whores but most of the similarities end there. He tends to be, well..........., a realist. I, on the other hand, have idealist leanings and get wrapped around the axle when The Obvious Solution to the Problem at Hand® appears to be seen by me only. Don't look to my writing for deep-rooted pithiness or cola-thru-the-nose snark. I can be monosyllabic and knee-jerk with the best of them.

As a way of introduction, I'll continue the meme I found on Brigid's site. Here goes:

1. Started your own blog. (Nope. I stole borrow one started by someone else.)
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band. (Bass guitar. I wanted to play lead but I wasn’t good enough.)
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity. (No. But if 'charity' was my 19-year-old stripper girlfriend – half my age at the time – then, yes.)
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain. (This is Colorado! Who hasn’t?)
9. Held a praying mantis. (Not in this lifetime.)
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped. (No fookin’ way.)
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea. (From the shore. TCM doesn’t do large bodies of water.)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. (Cabinetmaking. Yes, it’s an art…)
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train. (From Rome to Milan.)
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked. (Once. I would have kept walking but it was bear country – Alaska.)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a Marathon. (I’ll assume that pedaling my Litespeed for 175 miles in 10 hours counts. If not, then pedaling from Virginia to Oregon should!)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice. (It was raining when I was in Venice. And there was water.)
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run. (Two in one game!)
32. Been on a cruise. (Large bodies of water. No thanks.)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person. (Creepy. Very, very creepy. And there was water.)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. (Norway. Someday…)
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language. (Morse code and 'C'. I maintain fluency in both.)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. (Are you kidding?)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa. (No, but I’d love to!)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance. (Only because they ordered me to do so. And E-4s know how to follow orders.)
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing. (Once. Caught a lot of fish but I’ll never do it again. There was lots of water involved.)
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling. (Oh hell no!!)
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie. (I’ll assume that an Air National Guard recruiting commercial counts for points.)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business. (Two of them. It’s a lot of work…)
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia. (Nope. One word: gypsies.)
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies.
62. Gone whale watching. (Water.)
63. Got flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma. (Only because they ordered me to do so. And E-1s know how to follow orders.)
65. Gone sky diving. (Yeah, right…)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades. (Water…)
75. Been fired from a job. (For wearing a paper hat on which I’d printed, "The Buck Stops Here".)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London.
77. Broken a bone. (Arm, leg, and five ribs – all on the right side. Three different accidents, fortunately. Or is that unfortunately?)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle. (Suzuki TL1000S. 165 MPH on the display, ~150 when corrected.)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book. (I’m working on it at a glacial pace.)
81. Visited the Vatican. (Cool. Very, very cool. And I’m not even Catholic!)
82. Bought a brand new car. (Three of them. Not all at once, though.)
83. Walked in Jerusalem. (No, but I’d love to!)
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible. (I even got thru Numbers.)
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury. (I’d love to but being a libertarian, I’d probably be disqualified.)
91. Met someone famous. (Barry Goldwater.)
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake. (Water.)
97. Been involved in a law suit. (My attorney told me I was, but I was never served.)
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee. (A wasp once, too – ouch!!)
100. Read an entire book in one day. (Chewed thru The Da Vinci Code in two days. I’m a slow reader. 400-level math and engineering textbooks will do that to you.)

Well, if you're not yawning yet then there's hope. I have a few posting ideas for the future. I'll try to get one written once a week or so.

Until then...

TCM