Perish the Thought ~

Signing Off!

Fri, 09 Jun 2006 15:37:14 GMT

I can't say it hasn't been fun ------ because it has!

I'm boarding up my space on AOL in a week or so (gads, I really AM a pack-rat) and will ride out my cyber-daze (oops -- days) on another connection ....

Fun, fun, fun -- loads of laughs, trying and sighing times were had, no regrets (okokok -- a couple -- but who's counting, eh?), a passle o' good memories, a few tears over the years and many acquaintances (new and renewed) who will forever have positive thoughts sent their way!

And if AIM ever decides to park those zooming car ads in the margin of the screen and delete those blasted pop-ups, I'll likely be around for an occasional IM or two ....

^v^ Fly by http://perishthethought.blogdrive.com sometime (I know -- AOL doesn't like to load it and will probably send you to an "error" page, so you may have to refresh....). That wild and wicked poker crowd be posting there occasionally!

Memorial Day 2006

Sun, 28 May 2006 00:53:05 GMT

Let the Healing Begin!

Mon, 22 May 2006 04:19:22 GMT

Several years ago, I watched a race in which another race horse suffered a leg injury.

The jockey also stopped the horse, jumped from the saddle and held the horse's front foot until assistance arrived .... That touching scene of rider-tending-to-his-horse has remained with me all these years.

What has remained with me also is the memory of an adopted horse named Brandy. I met Brandy as I rode through the mountain backroads one Saturday afternoon.... I watched in horror as a drunkened farm-hand was hitting her across the back with a shovel. I recall turning sharply off the road into a hay field, blowing my horn to distract the drunk. Obviously disconcerted by a car roaring toward him at full speed, the bastard threw down the shovel and ran.

Long story shortened -- the police did nothing to the man. Brandy's owner, unable to care for her, willingly signed her over to me.

We bonded quickly .... We played "ball" with empty milk jugs hanging in her stall. She followed me around the paddock like a puppy, never needing a lead, and would turn to nuzzle me during her water treatments and massages ... There was amazing progress, but three months of daily treatments and medication could not stave off the arthritis that developed in her battered body. Brandy now runs freely and proudly through the meadows at The Rainbow Bridge .... We will meet again.

If you were watching the race Saturday evening and witnessed the horrifying incident when Barbaro's ankle shattered in stride, you likely experienced the anguish and tears shared by millions.

I'm not a true fan of horse racing, but there are few scenes more elegant than that of a marvelous athlete in full stride (sans whip), gliding toward an imaginary finish line -- not necessarily to win -- but because it is his nature!

To see that stride "break" because of an injury is a pain that literally rips through your heart.

All day I have checked the news feeds, praying that this marvelous animal would survive -- not to become a breeding machine for posterity -- but because he deserves to live, to roam at will the pastures and paddocks of the farm he has so proudly represented.

I continue to pray that the repairs to Barbaro's ankle and leg are sufficient to allow him a full and deserving life of leisure. He has more than earned his keep.

An athlete "let out to pasture" .... How fitting.

image from AOL news: Barbaro post-surgery.

Hiatus

Sat, 29 Apr 2006 13:27:21 GMT

Two surgeries, the residual calamity of a break-in with 5-600 files strewn from cabinets and a compliance inspection certainly don't leave much time or desire for blogging.

You set priorities and do what you have to do. Even if it means foregoing regularly vacuumed carpets or dinner with friends -- slowing down only for your best friend's 12th birthday ..... Happy belated-birthday, Dawg. I promised her we'd take longer walks and allow her to doze on the deck, to roll in and sniff the grass at her leisure for at least 30 minutes a day. She deserves it.

And so do I.

Frolicking in France

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 14:13:06 GMT

Be-danged if I wouldn't protest, too.

I'd hate to be held to a 2-year "prove your worth" employment contract or be subjected to dismissal. Especially if I had to work 35 hours a week with 6+ weeks of paid vacation annually. While drawing a salary.

The very idea.

PARIS (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of students, workers [on paid vacation?] and left-wing politicians [picnic lunch bags provided, no less] took to the streets across France on Saturday to press the conservative government to scrap a new law they fear will erode job security.

Job security????

What job? Hey, man -- they're serving lunch before the parade protest! I don't have a job YET, but when I get one, why should I have to prove myself to an employer????

The marches were mostly festive and peaceful, but dozens of youths pelted police with missiles, overturning and setting fire to a car at the end of the main protest in Paris.

The next time you read about the plight of the French economy, remember unemployed students protesting labor laws while frolicking in the streets of Paris.

Oh yeah -- and feel their pain.

Cheating at Pogo?????

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 16:58:31 GMT

I had the pleasure of meeting (I'll call them) Shooo, Uzzie and Burn Saturday morning in Pogo. They were playing Texas Hold'em Poker (10,000 token stake).

But they weren't playing according to the rules most of us take for granted -- i.e., fair play.

They played as a team, using IM's to either drive up the bidding, to tell each other when to fold or to designate "fair" winners for harassment or intimidation ....

If one of them had a "legitimate" hand, they alternately ran up the bids until unsuspecting players folded, then continued to raise and re-raise for thousands of tokens until one folded to give their partner the pot. This continued until legitimate players left the table. Then the culprits moved to another table.

Associates and I monitored them until late Saturday. Burn (a new "team" player, obviously) had increased her/his token count over 200,000 tokens by evening -- playing at 10,000 token maximum tables.

Honest players can play for months around the clock before amassing 200,000 tokens.

Approximately 11:30 pm at a subsequent table, Burn and Shooo argued over "how many tokens she/he owed." (It sounded as if Burn was supposed to bid and subsequently fold a portion of her winnings ....) I'm not sure why they chose to argue in an open chat, but they did. Maybe they were tired or assumed that no one would understand .....

I reported the entire scenario -- with table links and copies of the reports I had filed throughout the day -- to Pogo.

Why?

Danged if I know. It just pissed me off that something I enjoyed was being so flagrantly (?) abused. Folks who play in Pogo are generally layed-back, easy-going down-home folk -- not arrogant pushy foul-mouths who taunt others via profiles and in person.

Tokens are actually useless outside Pogo. You can use them to "buy" (yes, buy) a chance to win Pogo prizes or Pogo mini faces, clothing, accessories or backgrounds. The more tokens you win, the more games you can enter and the more fashion mini accessories you can garner .... Otherwise, the tokens are useless.

I had the feeling that I was witnessing a virtual gang-bang. Shooo and Uzzie were rude and disrespectful, mocking and belittling regular players. Plus stealing tokens.

So I reported them.

I doubt anything will be done, however. I'm not even sure Pogo tags illegal "spin" programs.

After all, I (and others) choose to pay to play. I figure that, like the

other services we pay for online -- if you don't like what's going on -- leave!!

Except I don't like paying to be harassed or cheated.

I'll wait to see if Pogo responds. I'll continue to monitor the names. And their winnings.

I'll make other decisions later. I hate to make decisions when I'm pissed off AND on a legitimate winning streak .....

T.O. in Dallas

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 15:09:04 GMT

An un-favorite image of one of the most controversial pro athletes is of (T.O., aka, Totally Obnoxious) Terrell Owens strutting on the Dallas "star" after scoring a touchdown.

Now he will play there.

Applying football terminology (which connotes the physical violence within the sport and not a wish for physical harm to the individual), somebody shudda re-arranged that guy's head long ago. Maybe then we wouldn't have to endure his mouth, which, coincidentally, is large enough to accommodate his over-sized cleated hoof.

But I digress.

Will Totally Obnoxious survive in Dallas?

Can Bill Parcells mold the ego-driven Owens into a team player?

Will T.O.'s propensity to pass his incompletes to others shatter Dallas decorum?

I predict that by season's end, Parcells will give owner Jerry Jones an ultimatum: the Dallas mid-field star ain't big enough for a control-freak coach and a mouthy man-child who catches footballs.

::::humming:::::

Take me out to the brawllllll game.
Take me out -- make it loud --
Feature a coach and receeeeever,
But hide the gun and the cleaver!

Add one more ....

Sat, 11 Mar 2006 15:55:00 GMT

There's No Crying in Cricket!!!

Sun, 05 Mar 2006 16:05:49 GMT

Wait. Just wait. Give them time to think of something....

The moonbats will soon be showcasing an out-take of the Prez being zinged by a high school kid tossing a [tennis] cricket ball.

Possible Headlines/Captions:

President Hit by Object in Pakistan
Bush-Leagued in the Middle East
Bush Takes Hit from the Left
President Hits Pakistani Youth
Bush Battered
Pakistan Thows Bush a Soft Ball
Bush Swings from the Right
Bush Beaned by Bumper ....
Bush Blasts a Googly
Googly THIS, Mr. Bush!
Bush Spins a Sweep

Enough already. You get the picture ....

Deliver us, however, if Gore takes the stump and declares himself an all rounder who actually invented the game of cricket!

from: GabbyGoat at the GoatGazette posting at Perish the Thought

What Went Right

Sat, 04 Mar 2006 20:46:22 GMT

A must-read for those who continue to question how main stream media reported the aftermath of Katrina:

What Went Right