Purley Gates Ranch

My friends, family and regular readers of this blog know I love to look at real estate ads and I've posted a couple of times about properties I'd love to own.   I first noticed this one on the Hortenstine website a couple of years ago.  One of the realtors was nice enough to answer some questions that had "bothered" me about the listing.

The price of the property was recently reduced to $6,500,000. (from over 7 million) To be honest, I was surprised it didn't sell at the higher price and I expect it won't last much longer at that price.  Of course, there's no way I could afford it...unless I won a BIG lottery.  Even if I did win a hundred million bucks, I don't think I'd buy it now;  I'm getting too old to try to keep up such a huge property.  If I had had the money ten years ago, sure, but now?  I'd have to move my entire family and THEIR families in with me to maintain the place.  Who knows?  They might be all for that.   With three large homes and several manufactured homes for employees, there'd be plenty of room for all of us.  I'd even build a home for my big sister.

Being several miles from the nearest town of any size, I'm not sure it would have good broadband internet, though.  That might be a deal breaker!

With it being on the market for a substantial time, I'm wondering why it hasn't sold.  From looking at maps and Google Earth, it appears that one leg of the Keystone pipeline went very close to the property, but that shouldn't be a deal breaker.  I don't think there's much oil/gas production close by and part of the royalties convey.  There are coal deposits not too far away, but I doubt they'll be developed and I think the sub-surface water (springs) are in no immediate danger of drying up.  I dunno;  I'm such a pessimist and there's GOT to be some reason it hasn't been snatched up already. 

I've got my Megamillions ticket for tomorrow night; the cash option jackpot is right at 47 million after taxes, so I would have close to 40 million left after buying this place.  Maybe if my family wouldn't want to quit their jobs and move there w/ me, I could talk some of my Internet pals into it!

What Constellation Are You?

You Are Phoenix

You are incredibly resilient, and no one should count you out, ever. When you're at your worst, you rise up and surprise people. You are constantly remaking yourself and rising from the ashes. You haven't failed more than most people, but you have had more comebacks. You are driven to be independent and self-reliant. There is nothing you hate more than being trapped. You are a natural healer, and you know how to overcome your wounds - both physical and emotional.

What Constellation Are You?

The Show - Lenka

I've posted a couple of her songs in here and really like them as well as this one, too.  It's been out for several years and I'm surprised I hadn't seen this video before.

I finally got around to watching Moneyball last night, the story of how Billy Beane turned around a major league baseball team, the Oakland Athletics. Great movie, but there was a scene in the movie where Beane (played by Brad Pitt) is buying a guitar for his young daughter Casey (Kerris Dorsey) and she sits down and sings a little bit of the song for him. The melody is pretty and I felt as though I had heard it before and it didn't take but a few minutes of searching to find that it was originally done by Lenka.

Here's the clip from the movie:

Ms. Dorsey is a cute young woman and I predict she'll have a bright future with her acting career and maybe even singing with a little bit of coaching. What really struck me was how much she resembled a good online friend's daughter - they're not identical twins by any means, but the shape of their faces and their smiles are similar.

I like kids and particularly when they're that age;  they're (usually) still sweet and yet old enough to treat as older and fun to talk to.  I really enjoyed the few scenes with Pitt and Dorsey in them and especially the last scene of the movie, was heart-warming and I felt like shedding a tear when Pitt was tearing up.  Of all the things I regret in this world, especially the things I DIDN'T do, I wish I could have had children. -sigh-

Let's Get to Cooking

Up some links that actually work, OK?

The page should have worked; the post hit my reader while I was going through the other subscriptions.  The webmaster must have decided to take down the recipe.

Too much salt, I reckon.  Next time, thrown a slice or two of potato in it.

You Make Loving Fun - Fleetwood Mac

Stevie Nicks was pretty and talented, but Christine McVie was the one who made my heart beat faster.

ad hominem

ad hominem ad ho·mi·nem [ad hom-uh-nuhm -nem, ahd‐] adjective

1. appealing to one's prejudices, emotions, or special interests rather than to one's intellect or reason.

2. attacking an opponent's character rather than answering his argument.

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Most certainly a word I'd never heard of until I got on the 'net and then I saw it used as a counter-argument/accusal in forums and on message boards.

Personally, I feel if someone's character is less than desirable - evidenced by their comments and behavior in said forums and message boards - then I don't give a lot of credence to their argument.  I often see the term used as a rebuttal to someone ridiculing an argument, but the problem is the original point made appealed "to one's prejudices, emotions, or special interests rather than to one's intellect or reason".  It's hypocritical to start out a point with an ad hominem then be offended when one is used in return.

That said, an ad hominem reply is something to be avoided if possible.  On the other hand, sometimes it's very satisfying.

Don't agree with me?  Yo momma.

Sweatin' Like a Pig

So says the old description for someone profusely perspiring, but pigs don't sweat.  Pigs do not possess sweat glands in their skin, which allow for the body to cool down in hot temperatures.  Pigs use mud to wallow in to lower their internal temperature, preventing them from overheating.

F-18 Supersonic Flyby

From AIRBOYD, a YouTube channel I just discovered and subscribed to:

Titanic: Rose vs Jack

Funny video on the often annoying habit of screenwriters overusing character's names.

Ooops

On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents every day.*

*Note:  That's a world-wide average, not in the U.S.

What is That?

Since I love The Big Bang Theory, I clicked on this link on my Bing start page: ‘Big Bang Theory’ engagement: Leonard and Penny spark emotional Twitter reaction

I then clicked on the video, thinking I'd see some comments by Kaley Cuoco or her real-life husband, Ryan Sweeting, but it was just a clip of last night's show where Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Penny (Cuoco) get engaged.

What really piqued my interest was this, the "cover" photo of the video:

No, not Sweeting and Cuoco being newlywed lovebirds, but this in the background, top left:

What the hell is that?  I'm thinking it's probably just the angle of the photo, but if it's not, then that guy is with a female Wookiee.

What My Mother Taught Me

From the archives:

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE:
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside -- I just finished cleaning!"

2. My mother taught me RELIGION:
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL:
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me LOGIC:
"Because I said so, that's why!"

5. My mother taught me FORESIGHT:
"Be sure you wear clean underwear in case you're in an accident."

6. My mother taught me IRONY:
"Keep laughing and I'll give you something to cry about."

7. My mother taught me about OSMOSIS:
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"

8. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM:
"Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck!"

9. My mother taught me about STAMINA:
"You'll sit there 'til all that spinach is finished."

10. My mother taught me about WEATHER:
"It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."

11. My mother taught me how to solve PHYSICS PROBLEMS:
"If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming toward you, would you listen then?"

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY:
"If I've told you once, I've told you a million times -- don't exaggerate!!!"

13. My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE:
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION:
"Stop acting like your father!"

15. My mother taught me about ENVY:
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do!"

TV Dinner Trivia

The first TV dinners were invented in 1953. Someone at Swanson severely overestimated the amount of turkey Americans would consume that Thanksgiving. With 260 tons of frozen birds to get rid of, a company salesman named Gerry Thomas ordered 5,000 aluminum trays, recruited an assembly line of women armed with spatulas and ice-cream scoops and began creating mini-feasts of turkey, corn-bread dressing, peas and sweet potatoes - creating the first-ever TV dinner. Thomas later said he got the idea from neatly packaged airplane food.

Chinese TV Dinners

I'm not sure how long my favorite supermarket has carried them, but I recently discovered Tai Pei frozen dinners. My favorites are Beef & Broccoli, Pepper Beef, and the Combination and Chicken Fried Rice varieties.  I've also had their egg rolls, but there are only three small ones in a box.

TV dinners sure have come a long way, especially Chinese food. I wouldn't have bought these, thinking of bad experiences from years ago, but Tai Pei was on sale, 2/$4 and I bought just one, thinking I wouldn't be losing much by trying it.  I've really been craving Chinese food, particularly rice...and that's one of the things that really raises my blood sugar. -sigh-

So, I put it in my shopping cart and brought it home, popped it in the microwave and less than ten minutes later (cook and resting time), I was munching down on some pretty darn good Chinese food.  It was just enough to satisfy me and not so much I went into a carbohydrate near-coma.

Plus, I wasn't hungry again 30 minutes later!

I wholeheartedly endorse this product!

TV Dinners - ZZ Top

The TV Dinner Test

You Are Sweet

You are an ambitious person, but you temper your ambition with compassion and cooperation. You would like to be successful, and you'd also like to help others as much as you can on the way up. You seek balance in your life. You know you have a dominant personality, and you avoid coming on too strong. You are more sensitive than you seem. You take criticism personally, and you are easily hurt.

The TV Dinner Test

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Not sure this fits me, but the thumbnails were so small on the selection page, I couldn't tell what was what. I'm still not sure what this is, but I thought it was chicken nuggets and rice w/ bits of carrot...not a bad meal, IMHO.  The image info says it's sweet and sour chicken, so that's OK by me. (I'm sweet sometimes, sour others and chicken all the time) Most of the rest, even though I couldn't tell what they were by the image, sounded good by their info.

The one dinner I didn't consider was the Mexican food one;  I like Mexican food just fine, but I never had a Mexican TV dinner that was any good.  For one thing, they don't evenly heat in the microwave, not even with a rotating turntable - the rice or beans will be scalding hot and burnt while the burrito is still frozen in the middle. 

Out of this World Error

Not a 404 page, but one of the better ones I've seen lately.  (and I've been getting a lot of them lately) This one was on Livestream for the Grit chick cam, but when I tried again later, I got the link I intended to visit.

The cool thing about this one was it was interactive; move the cursor and the planet and cloud moved, too.

Leery of Leaning

The exact number isn't known, but it's believed that around 250 people have died after falling from the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Chattanooga Choo Choo

Today in history: Glenn Miller recorded "Chattanooga Choo Choo", 1941.

Dorothy Dandridge / Nicholas Brothers

Time. Worst Wasted.

I clicked on a link under a thumbnail of a storage shed I was looking at on the Sears website:

We're here to help you find just what you need.

Apparently not.  Yikes.

The title of this post?  A rebuttal to the Sears slogan: Life. Well spent.

coterie

coterie co·te·rie [koh-tuh-ree] noun

1. a group of people who associate closely.
2. an exclusive group; clique.
3. a group of prairie dogs occupying a communal burrow.

---

I've seen loads of prairie dog towns, but never heard them called a coterie. I've also been around people who acted like adult life was like it was back in high school, with groups of kids forming cliques.* I went to a small town school, so thank goodness there weren't that many cliques, but there were the outliers, the kids who just didn't fit in. I felt like I was on the cusp of both groups, the "in crowd" and the "outsiders". It didn't scar me for life or anything like that, though and if I had it all to do over again, don't think I would have changed a thing...at least not socially.

*Since I've been online I've joined and participated in quite a few message boards and forums and I've found there are cliques in those, too.   They're usually split along political lines, though.  I'm often on the cusp of both those groups, too...not socially conservative enough to be accepted totally by that side and not nearly liberal enough to be accepted by that one, either.  Just like back in school, I'm not much bothered by being on the cusp of both sides.  I'm content with my political views....mainly because they're the best ones. -grin-

Google Error

Not a 404 page, but the link was bad. Not sure why that was, the explanation didn't make much sense; it was at the top of the results on their own search engine, so....

The broken robot reminded me of the one in MSN Groups.  I used to have all of those animations such as the conveyor belt while the file was uploading (and there were some clever animations made from that one) and the shuttered groups graphic.  I lost them all in a hard drive failure of one of my first computers.

Smooth or Chunky?

You Are Chunky Peanut Butter

You think there are many true paths in this life. You don't expect anyone else to follow yours. You are a very visual person. You don't judge a book by it's cover, but you definitely notice the cover! You are shy at first but talkative with people you know extremely well. You open up over time. You are always keenly aware of your environment. You notice every sight, sound, and smell.

Are You Creamy or Chunky Peanut Butter?

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Actually, while I might be a little chunky, I prefer smooth peanut butter. Also, in case you missed it, Jan. 24th was National Peanut Butter day.

Alliteration Sentence Generator

A site geared towards alliteration lovers such as myself, Alliteration Sentence Generator lets the user input a name/word and in just a few seconds, a set of alliterative words appears.

I plugged in my name and got this:

Moving Mike miss mutagenically machinator

Not sure if that's really a sentence...or where I could use all of the words in a sentence, but it DOES give me ideas for new forum nicknames.

Alliteration Sentence Generator
 

An aide at alleviating all alliteration aspirations

The Most Seconds

The Most Seconds is undoubtedly the most deserving of any time waster label we've ever posted here in ToTG.  The premise is simple, doing it is simple and honestly?  To enjoy it you'd have to be simple-minded.  It's pretty much pointless, but there's a lot of that on the world wide interwebs, huh?

As you can see, I stayed only long enough to get a screen shot:

The Most Seconds

Gold - John Stewart

There were other videos, some in concert and on TV, but this had the best sound quality of the several I viewed/listened to. I've always liked this song, love the back beat and also the story it tells.

Reading about John Stewart, I was surprised to learn he was once a member of The Kingston Trio and the songs he had written, namely Daydream Believer.

That's Stevie Nicks singing backup.

sally

sally sal·ly [sal-ee]
noun, plural sal·lies.

1. a sortie of troops from a besieged place upon an enemy.
2. a sudden rushing forth or activity.
3. an excursion or trip, usually off the main course.
4. an outburst or flight of passion, fancy, etc.: a sally of anger.
5. a clever, witty, or fanciful remark.
6. Carpentry. a projection, as of the end of a rafter beyond the notch by which the rafter is fitted over the wall plate.

verb (used without object), sal·lied, sal·ly·ing.

7. to make a sally, as a body of troops from a besieged place.
8. to set out on a side trip or excursion.
9. to set out briskly or energetically.
10. (of things) to issue forth.

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Back when we were young men, an old friend of mine and I met a couple of girls who we found attractive, but we were perplexed by their nicknames for each other: "Holly" and "Sally". Those weren't even close to their real names and when we'd ask why they called each other that, they'd just giggle. I finally got it out of the one I was dating; it was "Sally Slut" and "Holly Whore". They really weren't those types of girls and it must have been some private, inside joke.  I hoped so, anyway.

I never see or hear the word "sally" used - other than a proper name - these days;  it's always in some old book and usually refers to a battle "Sally forth!" cried the commander of the fort. (or something like that)  Come to think of it, I don't think I personally know a Sally.