Leap Day 2008

So today is Leap Day. We get an extra day this year to do all the fun stuff we like to do. Like listen to political ads?? Why is it that Leap Year is always during an election. That means we have to put up with all this nonsense an extra day. And it certainly didn't help this year, what with all the campaigns and such getting an unreal start on the process. Seriously, Leap Year has it's good side and it's bad side. Just think. If you are born on Leap Day do you only get to celebrate every four years. Boy that stinks. Imagine, you be like 60 years old by the time you were 15 and could learn to drive. Even going to school' you would be like 25 years old before you were 5 and able to go to kindergarten. (I suppose I shouldn't say much. I'm 52 and am still in kindergarten. And, I just got promoted this year. I had been in Pre-Kindergten.) If you get married on Leap Day does that mean you celebrate your anniversary every four years? I'm not sure if that would make it easier to remember or easier to forget, what with being every four years and all. At any rate, Have A Great Leap Day! Ribbet, Ribbet!!!!© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

The Road Trip Begins...Again

I bought the Season One, Part One box set of Route 66 last night. I'm looking forward to watching it soon. I couldn't watch it last night because we were watching American Idol. I think our vote for the girls goes to Brooke White. She sang a great rendention of Carly Simon's "You're So Vain."

Oh, back to Route 66. I was looking at the packaging materials, and the episode list, and stuff like that. I noticed something about the episodes. Disc 2 has Episode 5 that aired on November 4, 1960. Then Disc 3 has Episode 9 that supposedly aired on November 2, 1960. A small amount of research yielded the following information:

IMDB shows that episode 9 aired on November 2, 1960.
Epiguides.com indicates that the same episode aired on December 2, 1960.

Who's right? I don't know! I tend to believe that IMDB got their information from the mis-typed DVD notes. The epiguides.com information certainly follows a more logical timeline. After all, why would the network air one episode two days after another one? You decide.

Hard drive update-I think I may have mentioned some time back that one of my hard drives had bitten the dust and there were a ton of important financial and jpeg files on it. I worked on it this weekend and was finally able to coax every file off of it with the exception of one pdf document. I was excited. By the way-That is the hard drive that I played with later and was hitting with a screwdriver. (Refer back to my Blog Tag post.)

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

No Blog Today

There is no blog today. Yesterday was Chris' birthday and I did not have time to prepare for the blog. Tune in tomorrow for a fresh blog. Thanks for all you do! © 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

BLOG TAG - I'm It!

There is a game that has been making the rounds of blogs, apparently for some time in various iterations. (I've used that word for Mandy!) Here's how it works. A person tells 5 or 7 unknown, interesting facts about theirself and then tags another blogger. The newly tagged blogger then tells the requisite number of facts about theirself and then tags another blogger; and the cycle continues.

Needless to say, I have been tagged by Mandy. Read her blog: Rogers Review. I have found at least 2 references to Blog Tag. The first is at the Jeff Pulver Blog. It is dated December 10, 2006. The other reference is dated December 28, 2006 at SoloSEO.

Oh, I guess I should share my 5 or 7 things. Let me think for a few moments. (Tapping head, rubbing chin, thinking--I teach kindergarten you know!)

1. I really like music from the big band era. You know the stuff of Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller.

2. When I was much younger I would do things just to see what would happen. For instance, if you hit a bullet with a hammer it explodes. (The bullet, not the hammer.) Matches dropped into a gasoline container generally go out before they drop into the can. (State Farm and the Waco Fire Department are certainly glad of that.) And gunpowder from Black Cat Firecrackers makes a dandy explosive when packed into small glass tubes. (Great for making holes in the driveway.)

3. I love Braunschweiger. Some of you may know and love it as Liver Sausage. Yum yum!

4. I learned a lot in the 3rd grade. For instance, if you chew on the end of a Bic pen the ink comes out in your mouth. The ink tastes terrible. Also, the ink doesn't wash out at the water fountain. I thought you might want to know that.

5. I love mustard and saurkraut. Not necessarily together unless it's on Reuben sandwich.

I better stop there. I might get in trouble if I divulge much else. Besides, I think my second item could count for 2 or 3 individual items.

Oh, I just remembered something else. If you hit a hard drive with a screwdriver while it is accessing information the heads will clatter and they don't stop until you unplug it. Also the computer doesn't recognize the hard drive anymore. Go figure! (Shrugging shoulders!)

I'll tag my brother and his blog on the L & P Home Web Site.

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Picture Monday For February 25, 2008

My sister, Michal Ann, was a majorette when she was in junior high. She attended University Junior High. Their mascot was the Indians.

I remember her practicing all the time at the house. In the picture, below left, she is practicing twirling with Sandra Cranfill (left) and Lana Morris (center). Michal is of course on the right. The other picture shows Michal preparing to march in a parade. These three pictures were all taken in the early 1960's. Michal played the flute in the band. She also twirled in high school and then was cheerleader in college.

The picture above is Michal and my brother Lance. It was taken in the spring of 1957.

"Isn't she a doll?"

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

The Garden-Latest Pictures Are In

Here are the latest pictures from the garden. The top two are gazanias. They are beautiful during the day. They close up shop in the evening and go to bed on ly to open again in the sunlight.

The narcissus are beginning to look great. The snapdragons are in place now, as are the bluebonnets and grape hyacinth.

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

FREE, FREE, FREE-2nd Installment

I don't know how many of you spend much time on the internet. I have found a lot of useful things in my time. I have signed up, joined up, and who knows what else.

Many years ago I found a couple of places on the web that let you answer surveys in return for receiving points that could be redeemed for merchandise and sometimes cash. They were Bonus Mail and My Points. A couple of years ago both of these sites merged and they're now called My Points Bonus Mail. Original! Anyway, Chris and I both have an account. In return for giving them a little of my information I get e-mails to read. I get points for each e-mail. If I take advantage of the offer in the e-mail I get even more points. It's not that bad. Since I have signed up we have received about a total of $200 in gas cards from Shell, Exxon, and BP; $150 in gift cards from JC Penney; and $200 in gift cards from Circuit City. The cards from Circuit City helped me get my HDTV last fall. Not Bad! If you shop and purchase from certain retailers on-line you also get points. Check them out here: MyPoints.

In an earlier blog I mentioned the many magazine subscriptions I get. I get them from FreeBizMag and from AdPerk. I have had several new magazines come in now.

If you are looking for free stuff, samples, and such; I go to Weekly Freebie. I subscribe to their e-mail and get the notice weekly. But you need to check them every Th ursday because they post a couple of other offers on the B-Side. You can also check out The Bargainer.

There are also a couple of survey sites that I belong to. In return for participating in surveys I receive money, gifts, and points redeemable for merchandise. I complete surveys for e-Rewards, MySurvey, and Synovate-Global Opinions Panel. It's pretty good. there have been times where we were involved in studies testing various products for manufacturers. We have tested cat food, dog food, shampoos, laundry detergent, deodorants, and many other items.
If you go to the Wal-Mart and Sam's Club site you can find samples. At Wal-Mart you have go to the In Stores Now tab and click on FREE Samples. At Sam's Club you have to click on the In Clubs Now tab and then look for any free samples. More free samples can be found at Start Sampling. You have to join that site to participate though.

Do you get Frequent Flyer Miles on your credit cards or from taking trips? Do you get enough to take more trips. If not try Points.com. I had several thousand AA points just laying around collecting dust. I used this site to trade them in for something useful; although, I can't remember what it was now.

These are just a few of the places on the internet that give samples, points, cash etc. I use them and have been very pleased with them. You may know of others. If so, share them.

PS--Want to make a little extra money? Write a blog like I do. I am sure that you have noticed the ads on my blog. By placing the ads on the blog the author receives payment for each ad that is clicked. The payment varies based on the ad, daily traffic to the blog, etc. I certainly will not be able to quit my day job, but it is fun. Oh, and don't forget the Blue Sunflower Collection. The stuff is not free, but it is fun to look.
© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

The Blue Sunflower

The Blue Sunflower Collection is open. I just opened an on-line store through the Cafepress storefront website. I currently offer many household type items which include mugs, note cards, magnets, buttons, pictures, etc. All of the items are embellished with various pictures that I have taken over the years. Most pictures are of flowers, but there is a lighthouse and the Air Force Academy Cathedral on a few. I think the items are pretty cool. I invite you to visit my store by clicking on The Blue Sunflower to the left or you can click on the link in the sidebar on the left hand side of the blog. It is a little below Kitten. We are still trying to keep him off the streets so please visit and purchase if you see something you like. And if you don't see anything to buy I hope you just enjoy looking at the pictures I used. Thanks again and have a blessed day.


© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Tom Swift or More Fun With Words

The Random House Dictionary of the English Language (1st edition, 1966) defines a Tom Swifty as ... a play on words that follows an unvarying pattern and relies for its humor on a punning relationship between the way an adverb describes a speaker and at the same time refers significantly to the import of the speaker’s statement, as in “I know who turned off the lights,” Tom hinted darkly. Named after a narrative mannerism characteristic of the Tom Swift American series of adventure novels for boys.

Below are a few of my favorites:
“This is just like a fairy tale,” Tom said grimly.
“I only have diamonds, clubs and spades,” Tom said heartlessly.
“I voted against Clinton in his last election run,” Tom said dolefully.
“I need a drink,” Tom said drily.
“The prisoner escaped down a rope,” Tom said condescendingly.
“I think I broke my leg,” Tom said lamely.
"The situation is grave," Tom said cryptically.
"I don't like hot dogs," Tom said frankly.

And my favorite:

"That is remarkable," remarked Tom.


© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

A Few Random Thoughts For Your Consideration

Sometimes when you have a like a million things to do and not a lot of time to do them it can be difficult to find time to blog. Well, yesterday was one of those days. For that reason I am sharing an e-mail that I got yesterday that is a fun read. I hope you enjoy it. I know I did. I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.

Police were called to a day care where a 3-year-old was resisting a rest.
Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.
The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference.
To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
When fish are in schools, they sometimes take debate.
The short fortune teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
Oh and a big THANKS to Mr. Middleton for sending this e-mail my way.
© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Banlon-The Wonder Fabric (I wonder why it was even made!)

As many of you know by now I have been going through family pictures. I came across one that I remember quite well.


That is my brother Lance with me. I was in the 6th grade when this picture was taken. I remember it because I was wearing my very first Banlon shirt. I'm sure you remember Banlon. It was that wonder material that was going to be the answer to all the world's problems.
WRONG!
I remember how I always get hot and sticky anytime I wore that shirt. But then, maybe it was just me. Maybe I was just hot and sticky. I also rememeber that it seemed to snag a lot. Then again, maybe it's just me. Maybe I was just carrying the cats and other sharp, snag inducing items a lot.
My mother loved that shirt. I didn't. She thought it looked nice. I thought it was a pain because it snagged so easy.
Last night I found a BLOG that had some interesting theories about Banlon. Give it a read at Unraveling a Twisted Thread.
© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

More Family Pix

Found a couple of other pictures to post. This picture is another Christmas card picture. I don't know what year. It would have been nice if my parents had dated them. Oh well! There are three angels on this card. There are also three more angels next to the "Season's Greetings".

I am especially pleased with the picture below. I found it tonight. It is a picture of my sister, Michal Ann. This picture was taken April 30, 1947. Wouldn't it be nice to sleep that peacefully now?

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Talk About Planning Ahead

I was looking at Monday's Waco Tribune-Herald. They had an article in the Sports section about the upcoming series of football games between Baylor and Notre Dame. I have known for some time that colleges plan far in advance for some of their series; especially non-conference contests. But I think the planning for this series of games is a little too far in advance. Look at the date that the paper published; October 6, 20012. I don't imagine I'll go to that game.

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Picture Monday Bonus for 2008-02-18

This is a picture appears to be my grandfather coming out of his house in Robinson. Doesn't he look jaunty in his hat? That is probably my grandmother behind him.

And here comes my grandfather again. I reckon he went to put his hat up. Or perhaps I have the pictures out of order. Maybe this is the first and then he went back in to get his hat and my grandmother. That works for me.

Both pictures were taken in the early '50's. My grandfather died about 4 months after I was born in 1956.

PS. Thanks anonymous! I think Pam is right and I've changed this post accordingly. Thanks again.

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Picture Day Monday, February 18

The above is a Christmas card that my parents made. I can remember my parents converting the kitchen into a dark room and cranking these things out each Christmas when I was in elementary school. I don't remember it after we moved to the house on Windsor. I'm not sure of the year but I know it was from the mid 1960's. My sister, Michal Ann is on the left. My brother, Lance is on the right. I am the happy chap in the middle.

This is another picture of Michal. This is probably when she was at Sam Houston State College. The college changed it's name to Sam Houston State University the year she graduated. Because of the name changed she received two diplomas; one with the name of each school on it. For more history on SHSU click here: SHSU HISTORY.

The pictures above are a few pictures from the mid 1980's. The picture on the left is Janna, Kari, and Meredith playing a game. Jana and Kari are the daughters of Lance and Pam Horst. Meredith is Michal's daughter. In the middle picture Meredith and Scott are sitting on my mother's lap. The picture on the right shows Meredith playing with Scott.

Here is a picture taken in Dickinson. I don't recall the occasion, but it was taken in the early to mid 1990's. Starting from the right we have Scott, Kari, Julie, Meredith, Janna, and my "Big Dogs" back. I don't know what that is on the left. Perhaps a UFO? Perhaps a thumb? I don't really know.

This is Jerry. I don't know who he is related to.

Actually, Jerry was a mannequin that my Mother picked up somewhere. Chris just told me that he came from a JC Penney that was remodeling. Maybe that explains the name, Jerry. She would sit it in her house and take it on trips in her car to make it look like she had someone in the car with her. No, not so she could drive in the HOV lane. After my father passed away my mother didn't like to take trips to Houston and other cities and have people think she might be by herself. All the grandkids liked to play with Jerry. Especially when his head fell off. Just imagine dancing with a headless Jerry.

Hmm!

No thanks!

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Narsiccus By Day

Good rains yesterday brought beautiful flowers today. Enjoy!

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Bummer!

I got up this morning and took a shower. Boy it was great! Nice and warm on a cold morning.

THEN!

The water didn't go anywhere. I mean it stayed in the tub. I checked the drain plug. Yep, it's open. Still, nowhere. There must be a stoppage farther down the line. I proceed to get the trusty plumbers friend, better known as "The Plunger". I plunge, and plunge, and plunge. And nothing!

Oops! There was a little something I didn't notice. The water did start to go somewhere. It's not where I wanted it to go. It started backing up on the floor around the toilet. GREAT! Now I have to abandon the tub and start cleaning up around the toilet.

In the middle of all this I realize I need to take the dog out. I don't want another mess on my hands. Well, actually not on my hands but on the floor. I take Puppy out and she was by all accounts a good girl. I come back in and get ready for Wal-Mart. I am now thinking it would be better if I buy some drain opener/cleaner.

I go back to the bathroom and the water that was in the tub is gone. No, it's not on the floor this time. It's gone. I finish cleaning around the toilet and then move back to the tub. I run the water to rinse out the tub and the water dutifully drained. I then run the water even longer and watch. The water drains.

Why does this happen to me? Does the tub have a mind of it's own?

I HATE plumbing!

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Life In The Fast Lane With Bristow

I woke up early today. We were planning to go to Ryan's this morning for breakfast and I didn't want to miss it. There were supposed to be bad storms rolling through this morning also. I don't really remember anything other than a few flashes of lightning and crashes of thunder. Chris was showing me the weather and she said that there are supposed to be a lot of storms still. The weather shows 100% chance for rain today.

While I was up I started looking at some You Tube videos. I found this one that fits Julie's new cat, Bristow. It's called the "Mean Cat Video". I hope you enjoy it. I did, even though the music is rap.

A reminder from your friendly moderator: I now have You Tube links on the bottom of my blog page. You can scroll on down and view some videos. I've tried to make sure the videos that are linked to my blog are, shall we say, appropriate. I apologize if something less than tasteful slips through.

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Get The Phone, It's For Me-The Unrelated Sequel #1

I was watching reruns on TV last night. I had recorded an episode of "I've Got a Secret" from the early 60's. I finally got around to watching it. Steve Allen was a guest and did a few telephone stunts. One of them was trying to get Bill Cullen to accept a long distance collect phone call. It made me think of how things have changed. When I was younger I remember when we always waited until after 10:00 PM to make long distance phone calls. if the phone rang after 10:00 it normally meant a relative was calling. I also remember when I would go out of town to visit family. My parents would tell to call collect person-to-person when I had arrived. They would usually say the person I was calling was not home and refuse the charges, but they knew I had arrived safely.

Nowadays, we don't think twice about picking up the phone and calling most anywhere. Here at the house we have unlimited long distance and even can call internationally on the cheap. Then there are the cell phones. Call anywhere, anytime, from anywhereand the long distance is included.

When I was younger we only had one phone. It was in the kitchen and I swear the phone cord was a mile long. I especially remember my sister talking on the phone and taking the phone, really the receiver, across the hall into her room. Before I went to junior high we moved. Our new house had a phone in the kitchen; and wow, phone jacks in the bedrooms. We got another phone and it was great. My brother and I could take the phone out of our parents room and take to our room and then talk. Wow! Those phones had long cords to. I guess the long cords made up for not many phones.

By the time I got married the phone business had been deregulated and you could buy phones instead of renting them from Ma Bell. When we lived in Irving the pharmacy at Kroger had a promotion that gave free phones with new prescriptions. That was really different. Now we were responsible for our own phones. If they broke, buy a new one. And we did. But these were corded phones. They were still stuck to the wall.

Hallelujah! Cordless phones! Finally, a phone that you could take anywhere and talk on it. As long as you were within range of your base set. They were great though. Freedom at last. You could have a phone in the kitchen and the bedroom and maybe the den and the garage. You could talk and talk and talk.

And then the cell phone. But that's a story for another day. Remind me to tell you sometime about Scott and the first cell phone he had.

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Garden Update-February 14, 2008

The narcissus has started to bloom. Here they are. More to follow as we open up more.

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Happy Valentine's Day The New Green Way

Chris gave me my Valentine's Day gift yesterday evening. I was surprised because earlier she told me that I didn't have to get her anything. She said she hadn't got me anything. Okay. That was fine, I don't really need anything anyway. Back to the story; Chris came in the bedroom last night and announced that she had my present. She gave me a decorative sack with a few small items in it. I looked in it and found a card, 2 small stuffed animals, a small toy, and a bag of sugar-free candy. She told me the card only cost 50 cents and that I could use it too if I wanted to.

A few moments later I gave Chris her Valentine's Day gift. She was as surprised as I was earlier because I had told her earlier that I wasn't going to spend anything for her gift. I gave her a decorative sack with a few small items in it. She looked in it and found a card, 2 small stuffed animals, and a small toy. I kept the sugar-free candy for myself. Chris doesn't like sugar-free candy.

I recycled the card she gave me. We went green for Valentine's this year.

Later, I was looking in one of my tree catalogues. I found a pine tree I liked. I also found an apple tree that looked pretty good. Never found the pineapple tree though.

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Say Again...

Sometimes I don't hear so good. If I'm not concentrating on the conversation I only hear bits and pieces; literally. My brain then takes what was heard and fills in the blanks with something that works but may not always make sense.

Example-I was watching TV last night when a Sonic commercial came on. Obviously they were advertising a food item; for breakfast I think. What I heard was "Petrified Steak". I knew that wasn't right so I used context clues and figured out that it must have been Country Fried Steak. At least that sounded more appetizing.

I can't tell you the number of times that I've heard a joke, well not really heard it; but sort of heard a joke and missed most of it but laughed so others wouldn't know that I didn't hear it. By the way, that also works if you don't understand the joke. Laugh heartily and then others will think you understand and ask you to explain it. Just tell 'em to think about it for a while. By then you can leave and they'll never know the difference.

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

The World At My Fingertips

Chris gave me the gift of a lifetime yesterday. She gave me the world. Now, I literally have the world at my fingertips.

For some time I have been looking at the small globes that are made of decorative inlaid stone. I'm sure you have seen them in the stores before. They appear to have been made with a variety of stones, brass, porcelain, and Mother of Pearl. I like this particular globe because the oceans are represented by what appears to be a dark blue porcelain like material. She told me she bought this one because she knew that I liked the color blue. It appears that she has read my blog "It's A Blue Day But I'm Not Blue". I think it's great. I love it.

The best part---she bought it on the cheap at Goodwill. You know what else? Goodwill's logo colors are blue and white. What could be better than that?

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Beautiful Sunday

Today was simply beautiful. The temperature was just right. Just enough of a breeze to make it comfortable but not too windy. I was able to get out in the garden and do some work this afternoon. I planted the bulbs I bought yesterday at Lowe's. I am not sure why they had them on clearance. I bought a yellow tulip, a red tulip, a purple hyacinth, a pink hyacinth, and 2 yellow narcissus for 25 cents each. I also bought 3 flats of tulip bulbs for $1.00 per flat. The flats had fron 12 to 15 bulbs each. That's about 6-8 cents each. Pretty good deal. These were orange, pink, and purple tulips.

While I was preparing the garden this afternoon I discovered a huge chunk of old concrete that I had to dig out. This left a pretty good size hole in the garden that had to be filled. Fortunately I had some dirt lefte over from yesterday to help fill in.

Yeah, it's still a little rough. But remember, a garden is always a work in progress. Pictures will post as the flowers bloom.

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.