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The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
Another weekend has arrived, and I’m so looking forward to this one. I haven’t had a normal weekend since the middle of June. Two weekends ago I worked all day on a Saturday, and then last weekend I was on vacation over in the Dallas Texas area. I’ll also be on vacation next weekend, so this is like the bit-in-the-middle. It’s my time to relax and do normal things at home – like blog – and prepare for my Sunday morning hosting duty at Life Pointe Church – and go grocery shopping at Publix – and do laundry. I live for the mundane. It’s truly great to be right here in my home sweet Homestead !

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
Longhorn Steakhouse – Parmesan Crusted Chicken, Seasoned French Fries, Mashed Potatoes, Bread, Coke. I dig.

15 WEEKEND MINI THOUGHTS:
– It’s still hot, humid, and dry here in South Florida while Texas is drenched.
– In a normal year it’s the other way around – a dry Texas and a wet Florida.
– Does everyone remember our record-shattering frigid cold winter season ?
– I just received the first of my two home insurance premiums.
– This one covers everything except for damage caused by wind.
– The premium for 12 months of coverage increased by over 16% from last year.
– That seems a bit steep for an annual increase, but it could be much worse.
– Next Thursday I embark on yet another vacation.
– I’ll be driving 600 miles in a single shot until I arrive at my destination.
– I’ll be at an undisclosed location in the northwest part of Florida.
– It’s very peaceful and quiet there.
– Internet connectivity will be extremely limited.
– There will be no new blog posts from me next weekend.
– I’ll be lucky to get out an occasional tweet.
– When I return from this short trip I have no plans to go anywhere until Sept.

THOSE CRAZY CRAZY CATS:

BLATANT PROMOTION:
Tomorrow on the ‘Retro’ I’m going back deep into my early childhood – all the way back to when I was 4-years-old during the Summer of 1971. Then on Sunday it’s a fresh new ‘My Fantastic Journey: It’s In The Lyrics’. Be sure to check out those two new blog posts during this weekend. During the week when I’m not blogging I’m tweeting, so follow me if you wish at majorhitwaves. Have a great weekend my friends. Make it memorable. Be safe.

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Annoyances God Health History Home Life People Television Weather

Thursday Night Mini Thoughts

– I just returned home from my Doctor’s office.
– I was there waiting for nearly 2 hours for what amounted to a 10-minute appt.
– My Doctor told me that I’m in excellent health.
– My cholesterol levels remain within all of the optimal categories.
– She told me that I could decrease my Lipitor consumption.
– I could either go down from 10 mg. per day to 5 mg. per day.
– Or I could stay on the 10 mg. but only take it every other day.
– I choose the latter option.
– Starting today I’m taking my Lipitor on odd-numbered days only.
– Happy odd-numbered day my friends !
– Happy 43RD Birthday CNN host Anderson Cooper.
– Your hair is super gray, yet mine is not.
– But you are a TV star, and I am not.
– I’ll be joining Anderson as a 43-year-old on Saturday.
– This weekend is also the 25TH anniversary of my high school graduation.
– I’ll mark the event this Saturday night on an all-new ‘Retro’.
– Tonight’s edition of the ‘Thursday Night Mini Thoughts’ contains no MSG.
– Tomorrow morning I’ll be staying here at home.
– I’ve got plumbers arriving early in the morning to repair a water line leak.
– It’s my first such leak since the end of 2006.
– Unfortunately the leak is in a bad location.
– It’s located directly behind the wall that’s directly behind my computer.
– It’s been slow leaking for at least a week now based on the mold I now have.
– What’s it doin’ outside ?
– It was a scorcher today here in Homestead.
– We climbed into the lower-90s with humidity readings above 60%.
– Our heat indices were just above 100° F !
– Heavy downpours are drenching much of the region from Miami northward.
– Meanwhile we’ve got bright sunshine and no rain (yet) down here.
– I got word earlier today that I’m hosting the 9 AM service again at LPC.
– That means I’ll be reading and studying more Scripture starting tonight.
– I always look forward to hosting because I enjoy the learning involved.
– ‘The Truth’ be told – it’s ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’.
– I hope to enjoy a peaceful and quiet weekend here at home.
– I also hope that my living room wall begins to dry out once the leak is fixed.
– I hope that you have a safe and enjoyable weekend as well.
– Make it positively memorable.
– You won’t regret it pal.

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Annoyances Food Home Travel Weather

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

Weather Delay – My return trip back home from North Texas to South Florida via American Airlines was just about as crazy and unpredictable as it was going there. My round trip flights last Thursday night and this past Monday night can be summed up in three words – ‘two-hour-delay’. My 4:20 PM CDT flight back home to the land of the ‘305’ was already delayed by 45 minutes several hours before the actual departure time. Then it was delayed by another 25 minutes. It ended up taking off into the wild blue yonder 2 hours and 15 minutes late due to thunderstorm activity all around DFW. MIA also had its fair share of thunderstorms, so while we touched down 1 hour and 40 minutes late it took another 30 minutes just to get to our assigned gate. Long story short I walked in to my front door just a few minutes before Midnight. It was another long day (and night) of travel. I was happy to be home sweet home.

Collared Way – This past Sunday night at Dinner me and my brother were required to put on (what resembled) generic bowling shirts that were provided by the wait staff of the neighbourhood clubhouse restaurant because we came in wearing non-collared tee-shirts. It became a running gag throughout the entire dinner. We pledged to ‘accidentally’ drop as much food as we possibly could on our collared shirts, and then play a round of bowling a la Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble. Here’s what I think about the collared policy. A restaurant should be more concerned about upgrading their food, service, cleanliness, decor, and atmosphere before they worry so much about what someone is wearing to the table. I had issues with all five of those aspects. Here’s what else I think. If you’ve got such a policy then clearly and visibly state so at the front entrance of your joint. And this is the most important thing of them all. Don’t discriminate. Enforce your policy to all of your customers – not just the ones that look young. If you’re old(er) and you’re wearing a tee-shirt then you too should have to put on a bowling shirt in order to eat dinner. You should also have to put on long pants and socks. It makes no sense to me to wear a collared shirt with short pants and no socks to the dinner table. I’m just sayin’.

Taylor Lesley Day – My lovable little niece turned 4-weeks-old today. I met her for the very first time last week when I arrived at DFW. This much is certain. She’s even more adorable LIVE and in person than she is in pictures. She doesn’t eat any food yet, but she drinks a lot of warm milk. She totally digs her Binky. She can’t go very long without it.  Her favourite pastime is clearly sleeping. She gets about 22 hours of it per day. I’ve been told that she won’t get nearly that much when I get to visit her again in about six weeks. Quite a few pictures were taken of the two of us. I’ve got a few on my phone. My sister-in-law specializes in scrapbooking. She’s very good at it. I actually think that she could even do it professionally. I can’t wait to see that first photo album of Taylor chock-full of all of her latest snapshots. Knowing my sister-in-law that first photo album should be filled and completed by the time that I return. I’m counting on it !

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Blogging Food History Home Music Sports Travel Weather

Thursday Night Mini Thoughts

– As I begin these ‘Mini Thoughts’ it’s 1:38 PM CDT on a Friday afternoon.
– That makes this a delayed edition of the ‘Thursday Night Mini Thoughts’.
– I’m at my brother’s and sister’s-in-law home in dark and stormy North Texas.
– Showers and thunderstorms are slowly moving their way through the region.
– I’m just hoping that the power stays on as these heavy storms move through.
– Winds are occasionally gusting up to 40 MPH.
– It’s a good day to stay cool and dry inside.
– It’s a good day to play a competitive game of Scrabble and maybe some Uno.
– Uno is a longtime tradition with me and my brother dating back some 25 years.
– We may be playing a lot of Scrabble and Uno during this rainy weekend.
– The inclement weather is expected to continue for the duration of my visit.
– If I remember correctly it was like this last May when I visited here.
– May seems like the mini rainy season for North Texas.
– That’s fine, for when I return in July I’ll be able to experience sweltering heat.
– Speaking of sweltering heat – and a nice segue way …
– My flight out of Miami yesterday afternoon was more than 2 hours late.
– It actually arrived in Miami more than an hour late.
– We finally lifted up into the air at 5:25 PM EDT.
– That’s 2 hours and 20 minutes past the scheduled departure time.
– It was a smooth flight towards the northwest at 40,000 feet.
– It was in a Boeing 777.
– It was perhaps the nicest and most modern plane that I’ve ever flown in.
– I even sat in business class – no extra charge.
– I’ve never enjoyed as much arm room and leg room in any previous flight.
– It was a special and unexpected treat.
– The original 757 that was supposed to fly was replaced by this 777.
– I’m all for sudden replacements in aircraft when they are upgrades.
– We touched down at Dallas-Fort Worth at 6:53 PM CDT – nearly 2 hours late.
– It took a full hour – YES – 60 minutes – to eventually get to our gate.
– So my 5 PM arrival turned out to be an 8 PM arrival.
– That’s when I finally met my 23-day-old niece Taylor Lesley Day.
– She is as gorgeous in person as she is in pictures.
– Have you seen the latest pictures over on my Twitter account ?
– I hope that she loves me as her lovable uncle forever.
– We picked up a large Domino’s Pizza and ate it at home.
– I was so exhausted after about 11 hours of travel time.
– I actually slept pretty good last night on a foreign bed.
– This morning I woke up nice and refreshed.
– For Lunch today we picked up burgers and fries at Whataburger.
– There’s about three dozen Whataburgers in Florida – all  in the panhandle.
– I don’t know what’s for Dinner yet, but I’m hoping that it’s MASSIVE.
– I came to Texas to spend quality time with my family – and of course EAT !
– My brother said that they give extensive tours of Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
– We may try to do that on Monday before they take me back to the airport.
– I’ll be back at home late on Monday night.
– Tomorrow night I’ve got another edition of my ‘Saturday Night Retro’.
– I’ll be remembering one of the greatest years of my previous life – 1987.
– On Sunday I hope you’ll join me for ‘My Fantastic Journey’.
– I’ll be featuring a local homegrown (Dallas Texas) Christian Rock band.
– Those are my ‘Thursday Night Mini Thoughts’ for now – one day late.
– Better late than not at all.
– Be sure to follow me on Twitter, and stay tuned as the blogging continues.
– You won’t regret it pal.