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Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

Nearly 16 months of historical statistics reveals that Tuesday is by far the busiest day here on the big green blog. I think that we all know why that is so:

1.  We may actually receive some significant rainfall here in America’s Rivera between tonight and Sunday as a couple of old cold fronts from the north ease closer to us. Don’t expect a flood or anything close to that, but don’t be surprised if we manage to receive up to an inch of the much needed rain that we so desperately need. There’s also a very remote possibility that I may actually issue a late-season ‘Homestead Cold Weather Alert’ for both Saturday and Sunday mornings as wind chill temperatures may approach the upper-40s for a brief period of time.

2.  I’m not exaggerating here when I state that most motorists here in America’s Riviera totally ignore the green traffic light arrow that points to the left that states that you have a protected path to make a left-hand turn. I guess they don’t teach that in traffic school down here. GREEN = GO !

3.  Weight Check – I’m slowly easing down into the lower-170s. I just weighed in at 172.5. My goal is to get back into the more comfortable upper-160s. Yes I can !

4.  We probably won’t find out that the recession has ended until at least six to nine months after it has actually ended. It may have ended already, but we won’t really know for sure until perhaps Thanksgiving or Christmas. Politics and policies aside I’m rooting for a strong and robust economy in 2009 and beyond. How can you not root for that ?

5.  It’s St. Patrick’s Day in 2009, and I wore virtually all green today. I’m proud of my Irish heritage. My ancestors on the paternal side had a last name of ‘O’Day’. The ‘O’ was dropped when they emigrated from Ireland to The U.S. back in the late-19TH Century. For over 17 years our beloved cat Fluffy – a Manx – was an integral part of our family. The Manx breed originated from The Isle Of Man in the Irish Sea. I lived in the U.K. for exactly two years from 1985 to 1987, and I did quite a bit of traveling during that time. But one regret is that I never got to visit either Northern Ireland (part of the U.K.) or The Republic Of Ireland. Some day I hope to visit both countries. While living in the U.K. two Irish bands – The Pogues and The Dubliners – joined forces to become one, as they performed a traditional Irish song about a MASSIVE ship in the sea. Check out this 1987 performance of “The Irish Rover”. It was a U.K. TOP 10 pop smash back then, and I present it to you as a very special St. Patrick’s Day edition of the ‘Saturday Night Retro’.

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Monday Night Countdown

Here are the TOP 5 things that I’m looking forward to this week:

5.  St. Patrick’s Day – Believe it or not I’m 50% Irish (on the paternal side), and I always look forward to showing off my Irish heritage by wearing lots of green on this date every year. Look for me in my flame retardant leprechaun outfit tomorrow on the streets of Homestead !

4.  Life Group – That’s this Wednesday night, and due to a wide variety of reasons I haven’t attended in exactly a month. I can’t wait to get back to the group again to discuss The New Testament of The Good News !  We also need to reschedule our Key West ‘Bike-A-Thon’.

3.  One word – Publix – It’s my playground. I don’t know how to cook, but then again I don’t need to know how to cook as long as I know how to shop for food – and I do that very well thank you. Whenever I’m at Publix I’m as happy as can be. It’s all of that food staring at me and begging and crying out for me to buy it. Oh yeah and the pop, rock, and disco music that usually blares through the sound system. It makes me wanna dance up and down the aisles like a crazy man.

2.  Dentist Appointment – Believe it or not I actually look forward to this cleaning appointment every six months. I always get scolded by my dental hygenist for (allegedly) not flossing and brushing properly. Six months ago after my last scolding I slightly altered my flossing and brushing routine and made it even more all-encompassing. (Right now my brother is giggling because he just read through an inside family joke there.)

1.  Vernal Equinox – Spring begins at precisely 7:44 AM EDT this Friday morning, and that means that the Sun is on our side of the Equator for the first time in nearly six months. That’s real important to me because when I’m confused I check with the Sun. I carry a compass to help me along. My feet are going to be on the ground. My head is there to move me around …

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Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

It’s that time of the week again. It’s time for the flagship weekly series here on the big green blog – the one that started it all back in 2007 !

1.  Fire season is in high gear all across America’s Riviera. It started early this season due to the cold and dry winter that we enjoyed – oh yeah – and the frost that killed the grass all around and made it crunchy. Over the past 5 months (since Oct.) we’ve only had one rain-soaking day. America’s Riviera – ON FIRE !

2.  Travis watched the beautiful sunrise kick-off Tuesday morning over in Seoul South Korea at around 6:50 AM local time. That was at 5:50 PM EDT yesterday evening here in America’s Riviera. Nearly 14 hours later at around 7:40 AM EDT this morning I watched that same sunrise kick-off Tuesday morning outside of my east-facing office window at work.

3.  I want to fly Jet Blue somewhere. It looks like a really cool airline. I spent a lot of time on their official web site last night. I took some virtual trips to Austin Texas, Washington D.C., and Hamilton Bermuda. They don’t fly to Dallas-Fort Worth, but they fly to Austin. I’m almost willing to fly in to Austin and then grab a rental car and drive up to the Dallas area the next time I visit Texas.

4.  I have a fun afternoon planned for Southland Mall later this month. I plan to see the comedy blockbuster “I Love You, Man“, and then I plan to eat pig-out at the all-new Buffalo Wild Wings. I have a feeling that I’ll be visiting the mall more frequently now that BWW is in full effect.

5.  I’m having problems losing the pounds that I packed on during my recent Carnival cruise. It appears that I’m actually gaining even more weight, and that I’m stuck in the mid-170s (if not approaching the upper-170s) !  I may have to contact “The Biggest Loser” for assistance in this matter.

… And that’s what I’m thinking about on this Tuesday night.

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Food Health Weather

The Major’s Walk-A-Thon

Time: 6:28 AM – 7:14 AM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Temperature: 65°F
Dewpoint: 57°F
Relative Humidity: 75%
Winds: E 6 MPH
Barometric Pressure: 30.30 Rising

Here are my thoughts in 15 words or less:

– It’s my 2nd walk around my neighbourhood of 2009.
– The last time I did this was the 1ST Saturday morning of January.
– That was way too long ago.
– I hadn’t done it since then due to a wide variety of reasons.
– Some of them were too legit to quit – like I was out-of-town.
– Some of them were poor excuses not to walk – such as ‘too cold outside’.
– Hopefully I can get back into my groove again on Saturday mornings.
– That is until it gets ‘too warm outside’ by the time mid-May rolls around.
– This morning was the last morning of Standard Time until November.
– That means dark early mornings begin tomorrow.
– The Sun rose at 6:39 AM EST this morning.
– I began my walk 11 minutes before that.
– Tomorrow morning at 6:39 AM EDT it will be pitch dark outside.
– I don’t need daylight at 7:30 PM at night.
– I need it at 6:30 AM in the morning.
– I’m not a fan of Daylight Saving Time.
– That’s right – it’s not ‘Savings‘ – it’s ‘Saving’. Look it up.
– Oh yeah – about this morning’s walk:
– I walked for 46.6 minutes.
– That made it about a 2.5-mile walk.
– That made it the longest walk ever !
– It nipped my previous 43.2 minute / 2.3-mile walk.
– My neighbourhood smelled good all around.
– I smelled dozens and dozens of varieties of breakfast in the air.
– It all made me hungry for some home-cooked food.
– Too bad I don’t cook.
– But Burger King does !
– After this past rollercoaster of a work week I needed this walk.
– It made me feel good.
– It cleared my mind.
– I haven’t felt this refreshed in a long time.
– I’m ready to rock and roll.
– I’m ready to file my income taxes.
– Be sure to catch the ‘Saturday Night Retro’ tonight.
– You won’t regret it dude !