Saturday, June 24, 2006

A man who has friends must himself be friendly

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That's Proberbs 18:24. We had supper tonight at our friend's house, pictured above; in total there 16 of us eating there. Other cars were parked on the street.

Our subdivision has organized into four 'dining in' groups. Each group has around 24 people.

Proverbs 18:24 reads: A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
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This is our friend, Don. It was at their home, Don and Charlotte, that all we met. This couple is the 'friend' who stick closer than a brother. Thanks, Guys, for opening your home to all of us, you were very gracious.

We have known them for seven years now, have attended the same Sunday school class, and play 42 (a Texas domino game) with them and eight others once a month. We do a lot of other things together, Mrs. Jim and Charlotte both play in our church orchestra.

Don is a very good golfer. I do not play with him very often, he is way out of my league. One Saturday Don played with my son, Mike, and a couple of others. Mike had the best score, probably par or very close.

That was fine, but Don and his group have a tradition that the winner buys a Coke for the others. Mike thought they were teasing him and refused to buy the Cokes.


[Note: There is another Proverb which can apply here, Proverbs 17: 17 "A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity." I don't have a brother. So? Maybe back when the Bible was written, everyone had a brother?]



[Please enter the Bad Ass Coffee Co. 'Where Are We Now location' contest which follows--if you don't see it, click here anonymous and friends welcome--it ends Monday morning!]
[Click the pictures above to make them large]

Adi Can . . . . . . . . . . Play with her toys



[Please enter the Bad Ass Coffee Co. 'Where Are We Now location' contest which follows--if you don't see it, click here anonymous and friends welcome]
[Click the picture above to make it large]

Friday, June 23, 2006

Texas oilman E. Pierce Marshall, dead -- What goes around comes around? To Anne Nicole Smith?

Being mean to Anna Nicole Smith just doesn't pay. Well, being mean and greedy towards his step-mother did pay for a while. Now has God said "enough!" and taken him home?

Chron.com Texas oilman E. Pierce Marshall, 67, dies

"Smith married Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II in 1994, when she was 26 and he was 89. He died the following year. Since then, E. Pierce Marshall has been locked in a legal battle over her entitlement to the estate."

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This is an unfair statement. They had been going together a long time before this, when he rescued her from the strip club. Texas has Common Law Marriage; in my book they had been legally married several years before she officially walked the isle.


Was I prophetic? In a comment, I had just mentioned this to Useless Man (blog) this afternoon, warning a young thing harboring romatic thoughts towards an older man of plights similar to poor Anne Nicole.

[picture from Wickopedia, find the article here]


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The picture of her on the June, 1993, cover of Playmate displayed here was in preparation of a blog I was working on, about Anne Nicole Smith and her situation. It was to include this greedy step-son.

My hopes are that the family will let this matter rest in peace--who knows about the wicked stepson--and let Nicole have her due that her beloved husband had provided her [with].


The Big Divorce -- DanActive vs. The Jim Bunch House

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DanActive is Gone, Thank God and Greyhound, She's Gone! [an old Roy Clark song, lyrics for sale, do the Google]

She left silently, in the garbage very late on a Thursday night, and on to the Best Waste bus the next morning. There was no sobbing from the Jim Bunch.



Gone to DanActive Heaven? No, gone to the Big Pile in the Suburbs, including L.casei Defensis and all.

We're glad. She just wasn't happy anymore, and we all know when Moma isn't happy, nobody is.

And she wasn't being productive. She was high maintenance, yuppie like, in our senior residence here; she even had to live in expensive housing (refrig). And I don't like yogurt! So all told there was rejoicing in the household. The new resident lives in my shoebox with all my other meds and vitamins..

Remember back in January (link) when I endorsed her as working. Well, I though it was a he then. That was another trick, Dan is a she! And a bitchy cranky, lazy, hard to work with she at that.

At first I didn't want to go this way, it is an admission of getting old, I can remember when Dad started on METAMUCIL**. We were all praying it would help him and it sure did, once he got regulated.

This Kroger brand (like generic?) is wonderful, five capsules once a day and a big glass of water have a new home here now.

Five new pills added to my meds (13 pills) and vitamins (4) makes 22 pops a day for me.

And now we are happy all the day!




[Please enter the Bad Ass Coffee Co. 'Where Are We Now location' contest which follows--if you don't see it, click here anonymous and friends welcome]

** Kroger brand Fiber Capsules label says "Compare to the Active Ingredient of METAMUCIL Capsules. See back panel."


Where are we now?

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You'll have to guess (unless you've been here)
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You can buy a franchise, but not here (go see)
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Closest to the pin correct city wins,
one guess per person, last guess counts
All is over Monday morning when I check the blog
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Also you can tell us, yes or no:
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1. About visiting a Bad Ass Coffee Co. place
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2. Whether or not you have ever heard of
Bad Ass Coffee Co.
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I don't think Google will help much, it might
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We have one in Houston (not this one),
I would love a picture of it.
Location:
5571 Hwy 6 N.
Houston, TX 77084
(281) 550-5339
Cross Street: Timber Creek Place Lane
Read about it through a review (link)
Contest is over now.
Click here for the answer.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Priceless Art vs. Art For a Price

[click on any picture to enlarge].
This plate is my Fathers Day present from GC#4, aka Karen Jr.
It is hand painted by her.
See note below for more details.
And that is her smiling face to your left.
You can see why this artwork is priceless.
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This one is trying to be sold for 20,000 Euros

(that is equivalent to $25,330.98).

I wouldn't pay that much but someone will come close.

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You can brag about your Fathers Day present or how much it cost, mine can't be bought. And it never was, except for the blank plate she painted on.

So as far as I'm concerned there is no comparison with my present anywhere in the world. Karen Jr. made it, very special, for me. I hope you appreciate this! [Thank you again, Karen Jr!]

Notes:

1. Karen Jr. was seen painting this on this in my May 20, 2006, post.




I didn't know it was for me then.

2. A brief description of the abstract (Claude M, eat your heart out): in the center is Adi's dog house; Adi is laying inside; she has two fire hydrants, one on each side of her house (see yesterday's post for Adi's own real fire hydrant out in front of our house); her doggie dish is to your left; and there are two abstract doggie bones in the front.

3. Karen Jr's. picture is normally in our bookcase, but I wanted to show the artist. She has boldly signed and dated the back side, in paint, before the firing.


Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Some very different cat pictures here

Stuff On My Cat
See what a Technorati ranked 80 blog looks like (mine is #211,110).


Adi Can . . . . . . . . . . . . Have Her Own Fire Hydrant

[click on picture to enlarge]

Shopping Mall Trivia

ABC News: Mellody Hobson: Become a Savvy Mall Shopper (link)

The Program Theme:
Good Morning America (ABC) had a blurb on shopping malls this morning. Most of the stuff on the program I taught in my college entrepreneurship classes.
Read about it, for your business ideas, or for shopping tips.

The Trivia:
There are more shopping malls in the U.S. than high schools.
Over $2 Trillion dollars are spent at shopping malls each year.
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An Idea:
The second leads me to think the federal budget deficit. A special Shopping Mall Tax, similar to the sin tax on booze and smokes could balance the federal books rather quickly.
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This new tax money could even be used to reimburse Social Security of the massive amounts the government has "borrowed" from these funds.

Nolan Ryan's cows stolen by cattle-rustling ring

Chron.com Nolan Ryan's cows stolen by cattle-rustling ring
"Authorities said Tuesday they have cracked a cattle-rustling operation that stretched across eight counties and claimed 289 head, including 17 cows and 30 calves belonging to Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.
The total value of the stolen livestock was estimated at up to $300,000."


A lot of cattle rustling is done by butchering in the field and taking the prime cuts, leaving the carcass, organs, etc. for the buzzards. Apparantly these were sold for cash. Drug money maybe?

Robot, just clean the floor - Sunday Times - Times Online


A rush to stay ahead of the robots;


develop a “code of ethics” for these machines.

Should we worry?

Well, do what you want to do. Al Gore can make us worry, but will we do anything?

For me and my house, we will take definite charge of our robots (we only have five right now)!

. . . robot, just clean the floor - Sunday Times - Times Online

This article makes these suggestions:

Keeping control

New robo-ethics recommendations:

  • Safety -- Ensure human control of robot
  • Security -- Prevent wrong or illegal use
  • Privacy -- Protect data held by robot
  • Traceability -- Record robot’s activity
  • Identifiability -- Give unique ID to each robot


Isaac Asimov’s laws of robotics (Asimov's home page):

  • Robot may not injure human or, through inaction, allow human to come to harm
  • Robot must obey human orders, unless they conflict with first law
  • Robot must protect itself if this does not conflict with other laws


Mrs. Jim is a little more permissive, buy I think we have a good handle on this matter for now with our robots.

How about you and your robot(s)?



Tuesday, June 20, 2006

The Interview With God (link)

Cousin, Judy sent this one.
Then press the view presentation button.

I found out that I'm rich!

Zoned Industrial as Well as . . .

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"Zoned industrial as well as residential, this vintage structure is the handyman's dream. Make an offer today!"
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That is a nice caption nominated by Curious Servant [Job's Tale].

Thanks to all you guys. Thanks also to the 'rules cops' who helped keep people honest!

I have another named place for you to guess where?

Do I dare?

Who is Geoff Ogilvy?

Chron.com Mickelson stumbles at U.S. Open

Geoff won the 106th U.S. Open Sunday. Phil Mickelson was ahead but not at the end. That was Ogilvy.
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[Geoff Ogilvy, of Australia, left, and Phil Mickelson are shown on the 18th green where Ogilvy was presented the U.S. Open trophy after winning the championship at Winged Foot Golf Club on Sunday, June 18, 2006, in Mamaroneck, N.Y. (AP Photo/Morry Gash )
MORRY GASH: AP]


Ogilvy was then on the Dave Letterman Late Show this Monday evening.

He did the Top Ten List, it was all about what Geoff would do now that he had won the Open.

Number Six: "Oh crap, now I have to be on the Letterman Show."

Monday, June 19, 2006

The rest of the Jim Bunch eating pictures


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Blogger wouldn't post these two pictures but I hacked them into here as I knew they had been uplinked.

From left to right, Mrs. Jim, daughter Karen, granddaughter Karen. Jr, son-in-law Billy was to the right, getting their camera ready (I thought he was in the picture but I missed him), grandson Timothy, his steady friend Tia (in hiding, see picture below), daughter-in-law Sharon, son Mike, son-in-law Anthony, daughter Susie, son Mitch (daughter-in-law Carmen was out of the picture this time), and granddaughter Jenna.


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Here are grandson, Timothy, and his steady special friend, Tia. As you can see I talked her out of hiding.




The picture today is the one I could get Blogger to upload this morning. It is the less populated end of the table, we had all seventeen who were in town at Niko Nikos Greek restaurant (link) in Houston. [I'm sure the street in front is full of water this morning, I hope it doesn't get into the restaurant.]

Thanks guys, for the presents and cards.

Pictured above are daughter-in-law Carmen, granddaughter Jenna and her steady friend Justin, son Tim, Mema, and Mrs. Jim.

[This end of the table picture was first on another blog, for that click on this link.]






It is raining on our parade today . . . How Juneteenth began


How Juneteenth began
Chron.com Houston group aims to save Freedman's Town

Juneteenth is an official Texas State holiday. I celebrated the first one with a huge BBQ picnic near NASA in the 60s before it became a regular holiday in 1979.


Interesting in this article is the following (read more of the article, then search www.chron.com on juneteenth for more Houston activities in celebration of this historic holiday):

Juneteenth recognizes June 19, 1865, the day that slaves in Texas learned President Abraham Lincoln had freed them two years earlier.

Rain on the parade
"As much as 10.5 inches of rain was reported by the heart of the morning commute Monday, said Rusty Cornelius, administrative coordinator for Harris County Emergency Management." (link)

The parade was scheduled to begin at 11:00 AM. All that is on the Houston TV this morning is about the rain and flooding. I changed to Channel 3, the CBS station from Bryan College Station, so I'm missing out on the weather related events and non-events.

That's what we had to do too when hurricane Rita disrupted Houston. We are north of Houston and Channel 3 is our strongest over-the-air station. It isn't raining there or here and we will stay out of Houston today.

I know Tim and Jenna are affected, they live in Deer Park. Jenna is taking a summer college class (English) at San Jacinto College in Pasadena. I did hear before I switched channels that San Jac is closed today for day classes.

Jenna is enrolled as a freshman in the University of Houston for this fall. The U of H is my alma mater, I have two degrees from U/H. Sometimes they have good sports teams. I hope they do this year.


Our combination Mothers Day/Fathers Day
Family Get-together Yesterday

The picture today is the one I could get Blogger to upload this morning. It is the less populated end of the table, we had all seventeen who were in town at Niko Nikos Greek restaurant (link) in Houston. [I'm sure the street in front is full of water this morning, I hope it doesn't get into the restaurant.]

Thanks guys, for the presents and cards.

Pictured above are daughter-in-law Carmen, granddaughter Jenna and her steady friend Justin, son Tim, Mema, and Mrs. Jim.

The other end of the table will be on another post IF Blogger will upload soon.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Slightly Used Shrimp Boat for Sale

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[click picture to enlarge]

It is docked in the little canal with the alligators. See last picture of previous post today (link to post).

We were at Esther‘s Seafood & Oyster Bar, 7237 Rainbow Lane, Port Arthur, TX 77642.

It was tied to the dock there, maybe for a long time, just in case you are trying to buy it. I can't read the phone number on the picture, even with the original shot.


Another first time for Jim -- Fishing legal

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My fishing license. I got it.
It was the first one in my life, and at my age!
It was a Senior Texas Fishing License
good for freshwater and salt water.
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A one day license for Texas residents costs $21.00.
My Senior License was $21.00 too.
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Billy, his Dad, John (Karen's father-in-law)
and I were about to go fishing.
We would put out at Orange, Texas,
go over to Adam's Bayou,
down the Sabine River, and
over to the Intercoastal Canal
The outing was my Fathers Day present
from Billy, Karen, Karen Jr,
and John, who had the boat.
[I had to buy my own license]
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This was going to be a good Saturday, I can tell!
Those clouds behind us do look kind'a dark?
Jim caught the first fish,
a little nine-inch croaker.
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Daddy, why are we going here?

Under this bridge?

See that rain out there, on the bayou.

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One of us didn't get very wet today.

Only one of us caught a fish.

It was my first time fishing since 1963 and the first fish I caught since 1954. Those times I didn't have a license.

Once in Nebraska (on private property) and

once in New Hampshire (the kids did most of the fishing)

We enjoyed the fishing, the rain was alright,

but the lightening said come on in.

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Now that I have my license, I can go another day.

Out on the Intercoastal Canal

(it runs from Florida to almost Mexico)

or right here at home on our Lake Conroe.

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How about this guy?

He's a Devil not a Man

No, better,

He's a Reptile, not a Fish.






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