What is it about nice people that attract total idiots?Nice people are martyrs. Idiots are evangelists.

SOCK IT TO ME BABY!!!

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Life approaches 2017 normal

Okay, so we got all the holiday stuff here out of the way until Friday, so now I can catch you up on things at the Martin Safety Zone.

First of all, for Christmas the kids got a discounted DVD player for Laurie at Wal-Mart.  And when Laurie opened the somewhat mussed box, it was bent in the middle as if one min-wage employee had hit another over the head with it.  All is now well, the offending machine has been replaced, and just in time.  Apparently the semi-annual culling of shows swept through Netflix, and all the stuff Laurie had been watching- Columbo, The Rockford Files, and Emergency- have been replaced by newer stuff.  Funny thing is, a month or so ago, I was on a diary study that was asking about what we watched on NF, and whenever they asked what the appeal was with these shows, the answer was the same- the writing back then was so much better.  Thanks for listening, NF!

"One more thing- you thought they LISTENED?"
Which brings up the survey thing- I get surveys from this outfit called Opinion Outpost.  They pay off in points that you can convert into among other things, amazon gift cards.  This is how I restock my book larder on the cheap, and right after Christmas gifted myself with a stack about 2 feet high.  The current reading material is Robert Payne's The Gold Of Troy, featuring a Heinrich Schliemann bio that has me expecting him to rip open his shirt and fly away any moment now.

Next up should be the story of our new years debacle.




Our cast of characters included Jessica's good friend Chuck, for whom I spent the night seeking an appropriate nickname.  After he shot a ball off the pool table, I dubbed him Cannonball.



I got drunk.  And a hat!


 

 Mr. Stud Pool player. We went oh-fer-the night.  But we got to watch that lovely performance by Ohio State in the playoffs- which spurred our first contestant in best meme of 2017...



The pool brigade and eventual celebration of the new year- which I topped off by wishing it on the way out to a young lady that was far from expecting it and nearly jumped across her table- was followed up for some stupid reason by going to a local "gentleman's club".  The only redeeming thing from that adventure was one certain "entertainer"- who was approximately three times the size of any of the other ladies- giving KC an unwanted-by-him dollar dance.  This girl, who was built approximately like Chuck (see above) with much bigger boobs, climbed onto KC's lap and promptly buried him in an avalanche of bosom.  With KC gasping for air, she told him, "I'm doing this wrong, you're still breathing!"  To which he told one or the other of her breasts, "I'm SUPPOSED to breathe!"  In any event, Chuck, who picked the venue, told Jessica to tell KC he'd make it up to him.  I suggested proper penance would be a Chuck-vs- Big Bertha mud match.


Prior to that, we had a much tamer event over at Bobby G's, where we got to meet his adorable kittens...



...and I received a Doctor Who Character encyclopedia, which currently occupies the venerable Throne Room Position.  We had a great discussion of old cartoon characters and I did a soliloquy on the current affairs of the Marvel Universe that would have led a lesser man to kick me out.

Oh, and I may have mentioned Scrappy got a treat-gun for Christmas.  While he has yet to grasp the principle of the thing, he is enjoying my attempts to get it to fire right.


And speaking of Scrappy, we started out the year yesterday with a just-under-4 mile walk...


And here we have the 2017 Goose Soccer extravaganza at the IPFW pitch.  Had to have been close to 100 participants.  Unfortunately, nobody brought a ball, so they were just sorta milling about.



"Whattaya mean, I'm gonna fall in... oops..."



This left the Boofus quite unwilling to get up this morning, and as I had to re-learn how to get up at 5 AM for tomorrow anyway, I took a 3.7 miler in the darkness this morning.  We've been keeping track since our little Peanut came into the world, and since then I have racked up about 120 miles and Scrappy close to 72.  Oh, and speaking of Peanut...




...he turned 2 months on NYD!


And that should have you all sufficiently caught up on all the doings hereabouts.

18 comments:

  1. Chris:
    ---Glad the DVD player was replaced. Don'cha HATE when stuff like that happens?
    ---Love Columbo. Falk was magnificent.
    ---Schliemann...gotta watch out for that guy. The word SCRUPULOUS doesn't readily come to mind when I think of him (you'll find out why).
    ---Cannon ball (looks more like "Cannon" aka William Conrad...heh)
    ---Please tell me you got THE HAT first.
    ---"Stud-pool-player"...LOL!
    (only when you bring your OWN cue)
    ---Yep, a damn FINE meme!
    ---Chuck v. Bertha...oh, good Lord!
    ---Very nice picture of you with our "kids".
    ---Yes, and DW tomes belong where they can garner the MOST attention (throne rooms work well)
    ---A "lesser man"? Hell, I just love GOOD STORY-TELLIN'!
    ---Gotta get some pics of the "treat gun".
    ---GOOSE SOCCER...ROFL. And nobody brought a frigging BALL.
    Sounds about right for that spot.
    ---Cripes, the pair of you are piling on the miles.
    ---Peanut's got a marvelous smile...not bad for being in the world a whole TWO months.
    (nowhere near the age of accountability...thank God).

    Excellent catch-up post.

    Stay safe (and somewhat dry) up there, brother.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I was trying to not make Cannon-type names for Chuck as I don't know him that well. At one point KC got called Snowflake, so I did start calling them Snowflake and Snowdrift for a while.

      Nope, drunk first, begged for hats after.

      Picture of me and Kitties was Donna's, I lifted from FB.

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  2. I wish Canadian geese tasted better, there's so many of them....

    YAY KITTENS

    Netflix is horrible for deleting shows when you're halfway through them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Netflix is also horrible for getting you hooked on UK shows and then getting hosed by the BBC...

      If geese tasted like cheeseburgers they'd be extinct.

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  3. I remember the first time my daughter saw Columbo she was shocked that we knew who did it from the start but after watching it she agreed it was a good show.

    Ending the post with a photo of a baby is always a good way to end a post, babies are amazing and so adorable

    ReplyDelete
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    1. And that's just what I mean about the writing was better.

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  4. Hoarding books now? Me too .... Ugh, those won't be possibly ridden of, ever. Anywho.. I've been watching Serendipity and Must Love Dogs on NF. I think they took away Must Love Dogs. Working GIrl is on there, love that one too.

    Speaking of books.. Have you read "The Historian" is vampire, I have an extra copy and what about "The Art of Racing in the Rain".. Oh so good. Let me know.

    Sorry so random, you had me a books... and netflix I guess. We haven't had cable in a few years.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. One does not hoard books, one assembles a Library.

      The Historian prolly wouldn't be good fit for me, my attitude on vampires changed for the worse about halfway through Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. I looked at the wiki for the other one and for some reason immediately thought about Johnathan Livingston Seagull, still one of my top ten.

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    2. Abraham Lincoln:vampire hunter wasn't bad. I'm a sucker for vampires though. It was actually one of the only books we read in this book club thing I joined a few years ago. I think they shut it down though. too bad, it was fun.

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    3. Art of Racing in the rain is awesome!! So so good. You would like it Chris!

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    4. Okay, I guess I will have to remember next time I get enough surveys done...

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  5. CW,

    Wow. So glad I wasn't drinking anything while reading this. That Chuck vs Big Bertha comment resulted in an unbecoming snort of laughter, which could have been a gagging fit had I been drinking.

    Your grandbaby is adorable.

    You and Scrappy are seriously racking up the miles. Bravo!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. You shoulda been here when I suggested it and KC started chanting, "Mud pit! Mud pit!"

      Yes, each new gen Martin gets better looks. Of course, I set the bar pretty low...

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  6. Wow, it's not a party until you get drunk, play pool, and someone gets smothered by a she-beast. And here I thought our dingy back alley 'gentlemen's clubs' were the only ones housing such fleshy atrocities.

    Also, I had to laugh at the Opinion Outpost reference, because I'm a member too. I also do Survey Savvy and Valued Opinions sometimes, and daily Bing searches. I'm all about those free Amazon gift cards. At least I get something out of it, since they don't listen to me either. I'm pretty sure I got that same NF one, and I said the same damn thing (I just like the old shows).

    "Your opinion matters!" - Yeah, sure

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I've often thought of doing a post on "stupid questions asked on Opinion Outpost". Maybe I should keep a list this year....

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    2. I am now taking so many surveys I'm falling behind in other things I should be doing. Because itunes gift cards.

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  7. I used to do surveys all the time for Opinion Outpost and some others but after getting booted out of several and not getting points, I stopped. Now the only I'm in is Pinecone. They rock. Happy New Year!

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    1. I may have to try them out. Do they do the Amazon cards?

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