Say Goodbye To July...

In some ways, I'd thought this month would NEVER end...what with the burn ban, the heat, the drought, and all such things brought with them.

The really GOOD news is that the weather today fits right in with the London Olympics...it's RAINING...seriously, it really IS.
(well, it was a while ago...maybe more later?)

The BAD news is that for a lot of farmers, any rain is coming too little, too late, so there goes the food prices (into the UPPER realm) for the bottom half of this year into 2013.

So, today would be a good day to go outside, get wet, enjoy the rainfall (as long as it lasts, which probably won't be all that long), and take it all a bit easier on this Tuesday.
In the meantime, we've a couple things to get off the old chest today, so let's get this show rolling...
*** If you look at this picture, it might remind you of flying over some scrub area in Wyoming, or some of the other plains states...perhaps even the southwest.

It might even appear to be some of the low country in Southern 'Nam approaching a cleared LZ...
Nope...sorry - just a picture of part of OUR BACKYARD, actually...fooled 'ya!
When I went out the other day, it caught me off guard...like something you knew you saw before (from the air), so I decided to snap a shot of it.
Goes to show what drought conditions can do to a lawn that used to look a lot more like...well, a damn lawn!
Anyway, moving on...
*** The United States is now in a TIE with China for overall MEDALS at the London Olympics.

China leads in GOLD medals.
The men were not looking as good as they should have in gymnastics, but the ladies came through with gold for the U.S.A.
I spent part of yesterday watching the equestrian cross-country event, and I have to say that since I really like horses a lot (and would own one if I could afford it and we had the space), I found it rather nail-biting.
The event was timed, and included a number of obstacles to jump over...they even had a "water hazard" that the Olympians rode through.

It was held in Greenwich Park, touted as the OLDEST park in existence, dating back to 1433.
And yes, they have a WIKI for it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Park
There were a couple spills coming off of a downward-slope jump, as the ground was soft and the horses wore away the grass, leaving a muddy slide for the riders to navigate.

The final "jump" was through what looked like a STARGATE...
(My inner-geek wanted an homage - Nah, it was just a big-ass upturned HORSESHOE...LOL)
The event was pretty cool to see.
The medal winners were:
1) Germany - Ingrid Klimke - riding Butts Abraxxas - time: 39.30
2) Sweden - Sara Algotsson Ostholt - riding Wega - time: 39.30
3) New Zealand - Mark Todd - riding Campino - time: 39.50
The nearest Brit took 5th place (Kristina Cook), and the nearest American took 12th place (Philip Dutton).
Yeah, that was fun to watch.
*** Last week, I mentioned about how the storm cleanup was going, and cited an article about how the CITY was on "their SECOND PASS" to get all the branches removed from curb strips.

Well, the city DID come through...FINALLY...(as in ONCE), and they picked up SOME of the stuff...but not ALL of it.

Wonder WHY that as, hmm?
Guess the SE side doesn't "rate"...

BUT, the SE side is good for one thing...LOTS of gas stations...so many in fact, that some residents are up-in-arms over (yet) another new one going up at Hessen Cassel and McKinnie, and although the story was covered on the news LAST night, no sign of it today...imagine that.

People in the area obviously KNOW that such venues already bring enough crime to the neighborhood, so what better way to make things worse, than by putting up ANOTHER gas station.
(our quadrant already has the MOST stations per capita and per square mile)

We do also have the MOST liquor stores (and convenience stores) for our quadrant than any other quadrant...and people wonder WHY we have crime in such abundance?
Gimme a break...it's been ORCHESTRATED this way...open your damn eyes.
Take a bunch of lowlifes with NO ambition, out 'em into a new form of "slavery" (government dependency), combine it with a dash of "low-income" housing they knowing nothing about, as far as maintaining it, allow them to procreate out the wazoo for even MORE government money, and then add a dose of drugs and you have the makings of a marvelous criminal casserole...eat hearty, people.
Yes, your TAX DOLLARS working hardly..or is that hardly working ?
*** It's official now...and you all knew as much...RAP is CRAP...well, sort of.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120731/ENT02/307319993/1007/ENT

Actually, they speak about POP music in general...being LOUDER...and SIMPLER.
(oh, it's "simple" all right...for simpletons, that is)
I can say that louder isn't better....AT ALL.
Now, this study was done over music from the last HALF-CENTURY (hey, there's a lot of GOOD songs in that mix).
I'd say the last TWENTY-FIVE years is more apropos to hearing more LOUSY music...fewer and fewer songs come across the airwaves today that have ANY worthwhile staying power...that's a fact.
Maybe that's why I prefer classic rock, and the "ultimate oldies"...CLASSICAL MUSIC.
Ditto for old time JAZZ...and many of the ballads from the golden era of torch songs.
Hell, I've even embraced some "new age" music...(Enya, Vangelis, Michael Stern, etc...)
Perhaps it was those years in music class, and being in a couple choirs that got me into REAL music...

Or MAYBE, it was listening to classical music in ALL those LOONEY TUNES when I was a child...yeah, now that's GOTTA be it...LOL.

Nothing like Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd doing a takeoff on a Wagner Opera, right?
*** Lastly today...I've already gotten way too sick and tired of the whole CHIK-FIL-A story...

I LOVE the place...never got a bad meal from them...EVER. The service is 1st rate, the service staff friendly and they CAN COUNT (change).
Thing is...you have to go to Glenbrook Mall to get fed...the SE side doesn't have one...never did, either.
We just get the KFC and Popeye's or Lee's for the poultry-populace with a hankering for the fried fowl.

I can do without all of THOSE...gimme Chik-Fil-A any day over them.
Good food at decent prices, served fast and hot...what's there NOT to like?
I never had any desire to know the feelings of the OWNER of the chain...not my business.

All I DO know, is that the chain makes a GREAT product...period.
Even the lovely Mrs. Bobby G. rubbed elbows with the mascot at Glenbrook Mall...
Politics or any other BS, whether it's right, wrong or indifferent should not be the basis for being either a customer of a business or the business owner.
You meet or exceed the customer's expectations...and you do it because it's the right thing to do...THAT is what will get me coming back every time.
All this crap going around just steels my resolve to eat there whenever I'm near one
When something is done the right way..applaud it...don't bash it.
And conversely, if something is totally FUBAR...speak your mind...because you CAN effect change where it is needed.

Just something to think about...that's all.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...

Stay SAFE out there, America.