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Annoyances Blogging Driving Food History Life People Politics Travel

Thursday Night Mini Thoughts

– Here’s another collection of my spontaneous combustion ‘Mini Thoughts’.
– What else would you expect from me on a Thursday night here on my blog ?
– Tonight I may offend pick-up truck drivers – the bullies of the open roads.
– I may also offend soccer-mom mini-van drivers who are just plain horrifying.
– Let’s start with the bully pick-up truck drivers who think they own the roads.
– Pick-up truck drivers rarely surprise me, as they are very predictable.
– Stop signs and lane markings generally mean nothing to them.
– I often wonder why they run the stop signs yet stop for a red light.
– If you break every other law in the book then you might as well just keep goin’.
– Speed limit signs along the sides of the road don’t apply – and don’t exist.
– What do I see in my rear-view mirror – a GIANT pick-up truck tailgating me.
– Do you really need tires that are bigger than most humans ?
– Do you really need your truck to be so high that you can walk underneath it ?
– Does it really need to be as loud as an F-16 jet ?
– OK soccer-mom mini-van drivers it’s your turn now.
– Men and women are equally bad drivers in soccer-mom mini-vans.
– You guys and gals are stark raving mad lunatics behind the wheel.
– You’re driving your giant gas-guzzling tanks as if they are little sports cars.
– And you’re usually doing so with half a baseball team as passengers.
– When you make a fast turn a wheel should not lift up from the road.
– It’s no wonder that you cause more accidents on the road than any other.
– There should be a special license that’s required to drive a mini-van.
– Incidentally a mini-van is any vehicle that’s not a car or a pick-up truck.
– It’s my somewhat generic label for every obnoxious vehicle on the road.
– Some of the nicest most friendliest people turn demonic behind the wheel.
– Parents that are bad drivers raise kids that are bad drivers.
– The national driving age should be 18 – not 15 or 16.
– Kids should not be driving any vehicles on the road.
– That is all that I have to say about this subject.
– Moving on to even more controversy – Politics:
– The media’s intense love affair with President Obama continues.
– He can do no wrong, as he walks on water that’s up to 2% crude oil.
– Everything bad that happens in the world today is still Bush’s fault.
– President Obama and his administration loves to blame others.
– We’ve been down this same road before – the Clinton administration.
– They blamed the elder Bush while their boss was out playing and partying.
– Don’t get me started.
– Yesterday I had a bad experience at a popular local Latin eatery.
– I got bad service and perhaps bad food.
– I ended up with an upset stomach that lasted the rest of the day into the night.
– The bad service alone was quite shocking, as it was perhaps racially-motivated.
– Needless to say I won’t be frequenting that establishment anytime soon.
– I’m boycotting places that don’t treat all customers equally with respect.
– Well this turned out be a rather dismal edition of the ‘Mini Thoughts’.
– I didn’t intend to shred bad drivers, bad political leaders, and bad restaurants.
– But that’s what happened in this spontaneous combustion.
– You should have seen the original unexpurgated version of all of this.
– This weekend it’s an all-new ‘Saturday Night Retro’ here on the blog.
– It’s the 20TH anniversary of my ‘Summer Of Fun’ in 1990.
– It was my Woodstock – my Spring Break – my endless party on the beach.
– I’ll look back at that decadent summer and present a signature rock song.
– It’s the song that brings back all of those vivid memories of a previous life.
– On Sunday it’s an all-new ‘My Fantastic Journey: It’s In The Lyrics’.
– We are like totally going to jam to some awesome worship music.
– After that this blog goes on hiatus for 5 days.
– Stick around this weekend as we kick-off an all-new summer of fun for 2010.
– You won’t regret it pal.

Categories
Animals Blogging Career Commerce Driving Food History Holidays Home Nature People Shopping Travel

Thursday Night Mini Thoughts

– It’s 1:40 on this Thursday afternoon, and yet I’m already at home.
– That’s because I took a half a day off from work this afternoon.
– I left work and I immediately proceeded to Red Lobster.
– I’ve now eaten at a Red Lobster twice in less than 5 days.
– That’s twice as much as I had eaten there over the past decade !
– Memo To Self – Add Red Lobster to my weekly Lunch rotation.
– Today I enjoyed the ‘Chef’s Signature Lobster & Shrimp Pasta’.
– I got the Lunch portion of the most delicious dish.
– I should have gotten the full portion of it because it was ‘whole nutha level’.
– I also enjoyed a couple of their oh-so-tasty ‘Cheddar Bay Biscuits’.
– I could eat a dozen of those in a single sitting.
– After Lunch I went to Kohl’s and Bed Bath & Beyond, but I bought nothing.
– I went to Publix after that to do some grocery shopping.
– And here I am at my computer on my blog writing all about it.
– This past weekend was a weekend of firsts.
– I visited the Lion Country Safari for the first time in over 20 years.
– I visited Lake Okeechobee for the first time ever.
– I visited Ft. Pierce, Stuart, Jupiter, and West Palm Beach for the first time ever.
– I ate at Red Lobster for the first time in over a decade.
– I ate at Hooters for the first time in about 16 years.
– Their chicken wings were big and meaty and juicy.
– I saw comedian Jim Gaffigan LIVE in concert this past Sunday night.
– He performed his material for about 80 minutes, and it was crack-up city.
– Very few comedians make me giggle and chuckle as hard as he does.
– Much of his routine is about food – one of the funniest categories there is.
– I was hyperventilating in my seat laughing so hard at the dude.
– If you want to make me laugh then tell me some Jim Gaffigan jokes.
– I really enjoyed my 420-mile weekend road trip.
– I’ll be sure to return to the Treasure Coast area to visit other locales.
– My next three monthly vacations are already planned out.
– Two weeks from this afternoon I fly to Dallas Texas to visit my family.
– My niece – Taylor Lesley Day – is 9 days old today.
– I get to meet her for the first time when she’s 23 days old.
– In June I travel to the Springfield Massachusetts area for 5 days.
– It’s work-related, but I’ll still consider it to be a vacation.
– I’ve never been there before.
– In fact I’ve never set foot before in that entire New England region.
– For the 4TH Of July weekend I’ll continue an annual tradition.
– That tradition is to spend it with my family in sizzling hot Dallas Texas.
– I’ll have my next Carnival cruise vacation during Labor Day Week in Sept.
– That leaves August with no vacation planned thus far.
– Perhaps I’ll do another weekend road trip then.
– There’s still more animals to see and zoos to visit !
– This weekend I’ll be blogging my regular series.
– On Saturday it’s the ‘Retro’, and I’ll be remembering the Summer of 2005.
– ‘My Fantastic Journey: It’s In The Lyrics’ returns this Sunday May 02ND.
– Can you believe that the month of May is less than 33 hours away ?
– 2010 is flying by, so we must be having fun.
– Have fun my friends, and we’ll meet again this weekend.

Categories
Animals Driving Food God Nature People Travel

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

The saga that is the flagship weekly series of this here blog continues now:

My Land, Lake, & Sea Adventure – So I left my home bright and early this past Saturday morning, and after brief pitstops at Chevron and Starbucks to fuel up (in more ways than one) I jumped on Florida’s Turnpike and headed north to Southern Boulevard (U.S. 98) in the West Palm Beach area. My first stop was the legendary Lion Country Safari in nearby Loxahatchee. It’s been there for as long as I’ve been alive – 43 years – but this was my first visit there in at least 20 years. I spent about 4 hours there, and I enjoyed every single minute of it. It’s fun to hang out with the lovable animals big and small. After the animal adventure I ventured over to the Big Lake Okeechobee for my first-ever up-close visit. I’ve seen it from way up in the sky in a jumbo jet, but never from the ground. It was quite the tranquil scene. Who knew that the lake had little mini waves brushing up against the rocky shoreline ?  From the lake region I proceeded back to the Florida east coast. I ate Dinner at Red Lobster for perhaps the first time in about 16 years, and then I headed over to the Atlantic Ocean to check out Fort Pierce Inlet State Park which turned out to be a most surprising treat (and unbelievably not on my itinerary). I dig that joint !  The scenery was awesome and picturesque, and the beach was vast and beautiful. I could hang out there for hours on end on a future visit, and I probably will.

Lion Country Safari
Lake Okeechobee
Fort Pierce Inlet State Park
Fort Pierce Inlet State Park

Renaissance Community Church – This past Sunday morning I ventured over to the local movie theatre complex in the heart of Stuart Florida, and I was a First-Time Guest at Renaisance Community Church. I was immediately welcomed and introduced at the front door of the joint, and after that it was a near-continuous flow of welcomes and introductions from those who serve and lead there. They’ve been doing church in their movie theatre for about the same amount of time as us (at Life Pointe Church). The service itself was awesome. There was about 35 minutes of “Praise & Worship’, and the band itself could best be described as inspirational country rock. Think of four hair-challenged white dudes in their late-40s / early-50s with a younger female background vocalist that totally rocked my redneck face off. They were truly kool dudes, and the guitarist dude was totally ballistic like that. You could definitely determine his ultimate joy for Jesus. Lead Pastor Rick Evans preached the timely, relevant, and practical message, “Where To Get The Power You Need”. He taught from the following Scriptures out of The Truth: Job 6:10, 1 Corinthians 4:20, Psalm 68:35, Isaiah 40:28 & 31, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Psalm 41:3, Romans 7:18, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Philippians 4:13, Proverbs 29:23, John 15:5, 2 Timothy 1:7, Hebrews 11:1, 1 Corinthians 2:5, and Romans 8:17.

Jupiter Florida – After a scenic drive through Jupiter Island capped off by an educational visit to the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum on a warm and breezy Sunday afternoon I ventured down the road to the Burt Reynolds & Friends Museum which incidentally is certainly not the easiest place to find. It’s located in an odd-looking building that resembles a former office building complex that’s been converted one too many times through the years, and it’s located at a non-descript corner of an intersection that if you’re not really paying attention to where you’re going you’ll drive right past it without even noticing it at all. So I parked my car in the plain-looking parking lot right next to the main sign that identifies it as the museum. I walked up the sidewalk from that sign to what appeared to be the main entrance, and I walked right in to the museum. But the place was a mess inside. There was construction going on, loud tools being utilized by workers, and nobody in sight. As I began checking out the various displays on the walls and all around the construction areas I wondered if the joint was actually closed to the general public for repairs. But then I saw another dude and then a couple checking out the displays, so I was fine. The place was indeed open for business. Here’s the kicker though. As I eventually made my way around to the other side of the building I came across the real main entrance where two older ladies were welcoming the few visitors who entered – and also collecting their $5 admission charge !  After I made my way completely around the museum I introduced myself to one of the ladies at the front entrance. I explained to her that I had inadvertantly entered the building through the other (rear) entrance, and that I had just now realized the mistake I made when I saw visitors being warmly welcomed at the door that I didn’t enter through. I signed the visitor’s guestbook, paid my $5, thanked her for the fun time I had, and then left the museum through the main entry and exit. And that’s how I unintentionally broke in to the Burt Reynolds Museum on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I didn’t mean to do it. I’m a tourist. I can get away with doing crazy stuff like that.

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Blogging Career Driving Nature People Travel Weather

Thursday Night Mini Thoughts

– It’s time once again for my weekly montage of ‘Mini Thoughts’.
– They are spontaneous, and they are in your face in 15 words or less.
– It’s been a busy week at work after being away from my desk last week.
– It all culminated in back-to-back PowerPoint Presentations this morning.
– My weekend away from work commences at or before 4 PM tomorrow.
– My road trip mini vacation begins bright and early on Saturday morning.
– I plan to extensively use the Google Maps / GPS feature of my new phone.
– I also hope to take a bunch of cool pictures along the way.
– I’m looking forward to checking out Lake Okeechobee for the first time.
– Fort Pierce, Stuart, Jupiter, and Palm Beach – Be warned – I’m on my way !
– I also can’t wait to laugh hysterically to comedian Jim Gaffigan.
– It should be a lot of fun on the road this weekend.
– Be sure to follow me on Twitter for all of the breaking news on the road.
– This past Tuesday night I became an Uncle for the first time ever !
– My niece was born at 6:33 PM CDT / 7:33 PM EDT on the 20TH of April.
– She was born to my sister-in-law Christina and my little brother Danny.
– She weighed in at 7 pounds 12 ounces, and she was 20 inches in length.
– Here are some pictures of my gorgeous little niece – Taylor Lesley Day:

– 3 weeks from tonight I’ll be introducing myself to Taylor.
– It’s going to be very exciting watching her grow up through the years.
– I’m reserving my right as her Uncle to take her to the zoo at any time.
– In fact she’s not allowed to go to the zoo without me.
– That’s just the way it’s going to be.
– It’s going to be a sizzling hot weekend coming up.
– We could see mid-afternoon temperatures approaching the 90°F mark.
– It should be our hottest weather in about 6 months – since the end of Oct.
– Stay cool and be safe my friends in whatever you do.
– I’ll be back to blogging again next Tuesday night with the ‘Grab Bag’.