Monday Musings...






Necessity IS (still) the Mother of Invention.
Our nation was built upon such thinking, and it's done all right by us.
Find an honest need, and then make something to fill that need.
That's what the people asked for...and received.
Whether it was the incandescent light bulb, or the sewing machine, or the television, or even the mass-produced automobile...America was there.
Gotta love true innovation.
*** With that in mind, we did have an interesting week, weather-wise. (helluva segue, don'cha think?)
Even the last 48 hours saw about an ADDITIONAL 5-7 inches added to the 12 (or so) inches we received LAST week.
Some people were bitching a fit to the local weather people...and it's not really their fault.
Storms can take a turn here and there that even the predicted "models" can't skull out...that's the way Mother Nature is...likes to keep 'ya guessin'.
I mean, it IS HER PLANET, right? We're just all along for the "ride" as it were.
So that meant more shoveling for "you-know-who" around OUR house.
It does grate on one's nerves...after a while.
With cities shut down as we had here last week, we all had some time to THINK...down time - idle time - time to kill....(hmmm).
And let's face it, we've had one hellacious winter SO far, right? (except if you're living the good life in Boca Raton)
When you wind up with so much cold weather and so much shoveling that needs to be done (after it's already BEEN done several times), what would possibly make this laborious task go a lot easier...and even add an element of "fun" into the mix?
That's when I had one of those moments of clarity.
You could practically hear the Hallelujah Chorus in the background.
I immediately went onto the Internet to see if my epiphany had been tried before.
And I was amazed to find that it WAS NOT!
I could not find it anywhere, and I scanned through a LOT of entries and photos. Fantastic...here I have a chance to sincerely "reinvent the wheel", as it were.
I mean, everyone else seems to be doing it...and with a lot LESS success than I potentially have on MY 58 year old hands, I can tell you.
Now if I may, allow me to take a few lines from the first IRON MAN movie (paraphrased) to fit my specific venue:
"They say...the best tool is the one you NEVER have to use. I respectfully disagree. The BEST tool is the one you only have to use...ONCE. That's the way our forefathers did it, that's the way America does it...and it's worked pretty well so far".
With that said...I, the chief cook, bottle-washer and jack of all trades proudly present to YOU, the people who can TRULY find the perfect use for this ground-breaking and utilitarian item that NO household should EVER be without (especially in colder climates)...
The SHOTGUN-SHOVEL!













(or SHOVEGUNEL...your choice...name's not set-in-stone yet)
Imagine an eight pound, 12 gauge, snow-removing can of whoop-ass at YOUR disposal.
If you're busy cleaning your driveway, and some would-be perp with a grudge against humanity in general and you in particular, is wanting to "make your day"...you can now make HIS DAY (end) a lot faster, and NEVER miss a beat while getting that snow off of your property!
Imagine the respect you will command when YOU go out to "clean up", hmm?
This baby takes snow-removal to that NEXT level...of security!
And it's perfectly LEGAL in most all the 48 contiguous states (and definitely in Alaska).
Now, this isn't some photo-shopped POS...this IS the "real deal".
Currently in "prototype" status, I'm sure this could start rolling out into production as soon as some entrepreneur sees the VALUE in owning such a useful tool.
Let's see Paul Helmke piss and moan at THIS, huh?
This is something even RED-GREEN hasn't come up with.
And NOT ONE BIT of DUCT TAPE (aka the handyman's secret weapon) was used in this process!
Goes to show that when a need arises, someone will come along and not only MEET that need...but EXCEED it, right?
Think of the applications that LAW-ENFORCEMENT (alone) could have with this...
Help dig out a "stranded motorist" AND place him/her under arrest for DUI in ONE smooth move...amazing, huh?
Or...you could be digging out and see a flock of geese flying overhead...BOOM! - INSTANT DINNER that comes RIGHT TO YOU...with NO delivery charge, rather than trudging out in bad weather for a meal. Who needs "take out" NOW, right?
And with a quick turn of the "handle", this tool can be adapted with several OTHER "add-on devices" such as a HOE BLADE...a LEAF RAKE, or even a LAWN EDGER. Now I ask you...HOW frigging USEFUL is THAT, hmm?
A truly YEAR-ROUND tool that NO home (in the hood) should EVER be without!
(especially if your neighborhood is becoming or has become a ghettohood)
This WILL keep ANY and ALL "critters" AT BAY...guaranteed!
See...we here at the Bobby G. "Fortress of Reason" (R&D division) are never-ending in our quest to make YOUR lives truly BETTER.
(and for a LOT LESS scratch than our government)
Okay, now that I've solved one of life's problems, time to move onward...
Let's see what else has been happening.
Have a couple random observations...
*** If you're like ME...you like spaghetti...a LOT.
And you also probably enjoy making your OWN sauce (just like Mom used to).
To me, there are few things better than having the aroma of slowly cooking sauce wafting through the house on a Sunday...that's what it was like in OUR house at least ONE Sunday a month.
So, when you bop out to the grocery, you get the needed ingredients FOR that sauce.
But NOW, you have to check the can labels CAREFULLY.
When you go and grab two cans of plain old "tomato sauce", be sure you don't get one of those NEW cans...
The cans that say HOT - MEXICAN STYLE!
(WTF????)
I didn't even KNOW they made this...until THIS week. I thought MEXICAN STYLE was relegated to TACO SAUCE or enchilada seasonings...
Whose "brilliant" idea was THIS?
And WHY did they place these cans RIGHT NEXT to the "regular" and TRADITIONAL AMERICAN (or Italian) SAUCE???
Besides, don't they usually have that "ETHNIC" FOODS AISLE separate from ALL the other aisles?
Believe me, this tomato sauce IS hot, and would go well when making salsa.
But it's not "MY" tomato sauce....word to the wise.
Watch the aisles...look to the labels. You might be grabbing something you "thought" was ONE type of sauce, when it's something completely different.
*** Lastly today, Sunday marked the 100th birthday of the late President Ronald Reagan, and they had a centennial memorial service at his library in Simi Valley, CA.
I have to say it was a very moving event, and took me back to those days in the 1980s when a guy like ME could buy a new car (such as a Firebird) for about $11,000.00, because we could AFFORD it! We had the money in OUR pockets to make our economy grow, instead of having our money in the government's pockets to waste on people such as my lazy-ass "neighbors", who wouldn't know HOW to be productive if their lives depended on it.
Inflation was held to a minimum, communism was dispelled in Russia, and things were looking pretty damn good (imho).
During the ceremony of the color guard at the Reagan grave site, there was one black female who was one of a pair of marines placing a wreath at the site, and while they fired off a 21 gun salute, if you looked closely at her face as she stood nearby at attention, there was a line down her cheek tracing some tears she obviously shed. The camera was only on her for a second or two, but THAT picture told me a LOT more than many of the speakers in attendance.
Here's the link to the video:
http://nation.foxnews.com/media/2011/02/06/us-marine-cries-during-21-gun-salute-ronald-reagan#
It's a damn shame my Dad wasn't alive to enjoy the Reagan years (Dad passed in Feb 1978, on THIS very day...I remember the cold snowy weather THEN, too). I think he would have found them good times for everyone, and thought Reagan was one of the better Presidents in our lifetimes.
At least those times were a lot better than what is being thrown about us these days.
I think I would like to have some of those years back.
Maybe those years weren't perfect, but we didn't wake up each day with the Sword of Damocles hanging over this nation's proverbial head.
Reagan brought about an end to the COLD WAR.
Recent administrations can't even quell terrorist uprisings nor sooth the savage breast of radical Islam.
Maybe this nation needs that "wake-up" call...that bugle that rouses us from the sack of apathy and gets us to hit the deck of motivation.
My hope is that our country does reclaim it's rightful place in the world, and manages to be able and up to the challenge in order to inherit the destiny that Ronald Reagan saw FOR this nation, which would be a much better one for us all.
Would that all of us take up that same banner in some small way to make that truly happen.
Have yourselves a great week.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.