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The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
The 2ND weekend of the month of August of 2010 is here, and I’ve been anxiously awaiting its inevitable arrival since I awoke last Monday morning. This afternoon I conveniently extended this weekend by exactly 24 hours. I’ve decided to take the day off from work on Monday. I’ve scheduled myself for a long-overdue comprehensive eye exam with my Optometry Doctor at The Falls. My last exam was over 14 months ago on my 42ND birthday. It’s usually a birthday tradition for me to get a complete eye exam, but I put it off this year for no particular reason of great importance. I have been experiencing occasional vision problems at times – particularly reading with poor lighting. The eye exam will determine if my eyesight has indeed worsened over the past 14 months, or if it’s just my imagination. The dilation of my pupils and 3-hour recovery time thereafter will no doubt cause me to eat a MASSIVE Lunch in the dark here, and then see a hit movie in the dark here. It’ll be a rough day for me.

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
Longhorn Steakhouse – Parmesan Crusted Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Brandied Cinnamon Apples, Bread, Coke. This was a week in which I ate Lunch at Red Lobster (Monday), Portofino (Wednesday), and Longhorn (Thursday). I also picked-up Lunch from Publix (Tuesday) and Broadway Subs (Friday). Every single Lunch this week was definitely satisfying and downright scrumptious, but I can’t pick any other than Longhorn as my ‘Best Lunch Of The Week’ since one of my regular waittresses actually opened the front door for me at the joint, welcomed me back, and knew exactly what I wanted before I even sat myself down at my regular table. I feel like I’m a part-owner there. I belong.

15 WEEKEND MINI THOUGHTS:
– After about 48 hours of dark skies and persistent rains it’s been non-stop sun.
– I forecasted up to 6 inches of rain, and much of Homestead got 4-5 inches.
– I then forecasted 5-7 days of dry weather, and that’s happening now.
– My amateur weather forecasting this year has been truly impeccable.
– It’s one of my few talents, so please don’t hate on me.
– Don’t let the lack of tropical storms and hurricanes thus far deceive you.
– In just a couple of weeks I’m forecasting the oceanic action to heat up.
– Get to know Danielle, Earl, Fiona, Gaston, Hermine, Igor, Julia, and Karl.
– I don’t know about you, but Hurricane Igor frightens me already.
– I’m so excited on seeing my 2010 Redskins play in a preseason game tonight.
– They play LIVE at home against the Bills on NFL Network in HD.
– New coaches, new players, new schemes, new attitude, new era !
– This season could / should be the start of something SUPER !
– I’ve recently made some cool enhancements to my blog here.
– Please tell me what you like and don’t like via the comments or privately.

THOSE CRAZY CRAZY CATS:

BLATANT PROMOTION:
During the Spring of 1988 I was a young 20-year-old USAF Airman First Class (two stripes) on the verge of becoming 21 and a Senior Airman (three stripes) at bustling Homestead Air Force Base Florida. My total annual salary was about $11,000, but I had no car, lived on-base in a dormitory, and all of the food was free. I rode my bike to and from work on-base through the heat, the wind, and the rain. I dreamed of someday owning a car and driving it all around South Florida … Be sure to check out this weekend’s hot new edition of my ‘Saturday Night Retro’ to see how this story ends. You won’t regret it pal.

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Saturday Night Retro

This weekend I’m flashing back 18 years ago to the Spring of 1992. Back then “The Silence Of The Lambs” won Best Picture honours at the Oscars, Microsoft Windows 3.1 was released – quickly becoming the most successful and most utilized computer software platform in the world, Disneyland opened in Paris France, and six days of riots overtook L.A. following the Rodney King verdict.

Back home in Homestead Florida a nearly 25-year-old USAF SGT Chris M. Day (that’s me) was enjoying the final year of his active duty military career – living and playing in Dormitory Building 675 on the original Homestead Air Force Base and working as a Computer Database Manager in a building just off the active flightline and famed Bikini Boulevard. Just a few months later the beautiful base would be destroyed by the wrath of Hurricane Andrew.

On the radio The KLF were rockin’ the acid house nation with their unique brand of European HI-NRG dance music. In 1991 they scored a long-running TOP 5 megasmash here stateside with “3 A.M. Eternal”. They followed that up with the sleeper hit “What Time Is Love ?” – and then came this GINORMOUS smash featuring country music legend Tammy Wynette. This past week marked the 12TH anniversary of her passing. Here she is – standing by the jams.

This is NOT the end of the blogging week, as I return to blogging on Sundays starting tomorrow. Join me as I bring “My Fantastic Journey: It’s In The Lyrics” over to its new day from it’s longtime Wed. night spot. You won’t regret it pal.

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Saturday Night Retro

Standard Time comes to a grinding halt early tomorrow morning – Sunday March 14TH 2010 at 2 AM local time – as Daylight Saving Time begins. Be sure to ‘Spring Forward’ by one hour before you go to sleep tonight, or else you will be one hour late for everything tomorrow. You will lose an hour of sleep, but have no fret for you will get that hour back next November when Standard Time returns. I know – I’m not crazy about it either. I say leave the time alone !

We don’t ‘Spring Forward’ every Saturday night on the ‘Retro’ – we ‘Fall Back’, and this week we take a trip back 18 years ago to the Spring of 1992. It’s when “The Silence Of The Lambs” won the Oscar for Best Picture. It’s when Microsoft Windows 3.1 made its much-anticipated debut at computer stores everywhere. It’s when the ‘Long Island Lolita’ Amy Fisher shot Mary Jo Buttafuoco. It’s when Johnny Carson retired from “The Tonight Show” after 30 years – and Jay Leno took over as the new host. It’s when USAF SGT Chris M. Day drove all around South Florida in his red Geo Spectrum listening to the hottest hits on Y-100.

It’s also when Ms. Amy Grant rocked the radio airwaves with this positive uplifting smash. It’s “Good For Me”, and it’s one of my favourite songs EVER:

This concludes another week of blogging for me. I’ll be back LIVE on Tuesday night for another action-packed edition of my ‘Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’. Until then you can catch me on Twitter at majorhitwaves. Enjoy your weekend !

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Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

1.  I just got home from work about an hour later than normal. We had a GINORMOUS Christmas party at work starting at 3 PM. ‘Twas the mother-of-all all-you-care-to-eat buffets (or as I like to pronounce it – ‘boo-fays’), and there was enough food for 75 of us even though there were only about 25 of us. I ate my fair share of food for myself and two other undetermined people. We also had a fun and hilarious Christmas gift exchange where previously opened gifts were being swiped left and right by the participants. I ended up with a totally awesome (and useful for me) gift. Let’s just say that I can buy food with this gift. I HEARD THAT ONE !

2.  It’s been a ridiculous week of eating for me. I actually went to Shiver’s BBQ for Lunch today just 3½-hours before the start of the Christmas party this afternoon. Yesterday morning I indulged in what amounted to essentially a 10-course Breakfast at the Cracker Barrel. Get this – 2 scrambled eggs with melted swiss cheese, hickory-smoked bacon, sausage patty, sugar-cured ham, hashbrown casserole, fried apples, cinnamon biscuits, sawmill gravy, grits, buttermilk biscuits, coffee, and water. YEAH !  BRING IT !

3.  This past Sunday afternoon me and my girlfriend checked out the hot new Portofino Coal Fired Pizza joint that’s located in the former Atlanta Bread Company restaurant. Portofino clearly poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the space to make it look real nice and modern. The service was near superb, and the coal-fired pizza was great. I hope this place succeeds. It’s pretty much upscale for Homestead, but I definitely recommend it as long as their service and food remain outstanding. Go check it out and support this hot new local business here in our own hometown.

4.  69 consecutive hours – That’s how long we were stuck in the 50s and 60s here in Homestead from Saturday afternoon through late this (Tuesday) morning. Sunday and Monday were our coldest two days in a row since two similar days way back during the first week of February !  I can’t believe how many people around me were whining and complaining about the cold air invasion. Look for warmer temperatures (day and night) through Christmas Day before it cools back down again late this weekend and into early next week. We could actually be back into the lower-80s on Christmas Day !

5.  Box Office Round-Up – Last Friday night we saw the critically trashed box office flop “Did You Hear About The Morgans ?“. Hugh Grant was sarcastically hilarious (my type of humour), and I thought that it was an “A+” movie. It maintained my undivided attention and entertained me all throughout from start to finish, and that’s what matters to me. It was the 15TH movie of the year for me, and that’s one more than I saw in 2008 – and six more than I saw in 2007. Here’s to more screwball comedies and bone chilling thrillers in 2010 !