The Tour de BD Continues!

BD stopped by today, again, this time along with an Aunt (and his 'rents, of course).

Not quite as much of a concentrated gathering as last time, but the crowd still loves him.

Luckily there's no evidence of doping with this guy - no doubt he'll be wearing a yellow jersey soon!

Who knew that you could sprain a tooth?

AZ found out today that it is indeed possible.

All it takes is some corn tortilla chips and bad luck.

Friday Tea

We're working feverishly toward this afternoon's Tea.

We should be ready on time.

Cape Codders and Screwdrivers will be available. Maybe WL should take one home to have at 5:30 tomorrow morning over at Arturo's.

WL Vacation

Off to Minnesota, WL? Taking a troup with you? Canoeing?

Good Luck.

I hope you're practiced in the art of the northern dialect.

Screech Owl Day a Smash!

Cricket really brightened up the start of the day.

Thanks WP!

Birthday Insanity

Someone who has yet to be tracked down found these (and other) pictures and papered the cafeteria with them yesterday. Happy Birthday indeed!

Thanks...

Some new inductees, National Honor Society, 1981:

(Libby Grenier, where are you?)

Rod Cavedon's Posse, circa 1980:

Celebrity Appearances

We have TWO celebrity appearances to talk about today.

First, MGG has promised to show up for tomorrow's Tea. We'll bet he'll love what we've done to the old office.

And sometime NEXT WEEK the screech owl will be flying in to say hello, along with a few friends, and ably assisted by WP. There's quite a buzz about this appearance.

...and speaking of rodents

Did you know that mice love to hitch rides in cars?

Neither did CL, though she found out that they do recently. We guess it had some shopping to do at Lowe's.

What do you do when life gives you rats?

You make Rat-aide with them...

BEIJING, July 16 (Reuters) - Live rats are being trucked from central China, suffering a plague of a reported 2 billion rodents displaced by a flooded lake, to the south to end up in restaurant dishes, Chinese media reported.

Rats had been doing a roaring trade thanks to strong supply over the last two weeks, the China News Service quoted vendors as saying.

"Recently there have been a lot of rats... Guangzhou people are rich and like to eat exotic things, so business is very good," it quoted a vendor as saying, referring to the capital of Guangdong province, where people are reputed to eat anything that moves.

Schlomo

I just found out that Sigmund Freud's middle name was Schlomo.

How's that for a way to start the new week.

The Day of the Bastille

Imagine what good use could be made of it today...

On the road

RD, just what happens on these road trips, anyway?

Friday the 13th Tea

NR has some multi-layered plans for today's tea.

This news just reaching us

Skidboot has died.

A moment of silence, please.

Something new.

CC has a middle initial?

And it's "F"?

That explains a lot!

BD causes a scene

BD (and ID and various other relatives) paid a visit to our humble offices today. He looks well. Not tanned, but rested.

CC just had to disturb his slumber. Imagine his surprise when he woke up to the scene above!

OK, so it wasn't that bad, but a crowd did gather.

Slack Power

You Are 16% Slacker

You are anything but a slacker. You're truly a go getter. You never let laziness get in the way of living your life - and you can't stand to see it in others.

Are You a Slacker?

Running of the bulls "disappointingly slow" this year

Running of the bulls injures 100 in Pamplona

An Australian gored in the thigh was among to 100 people injured when the annual running of the bulls got under way in Spain yesterday.

The identity and condition of the injured Australian was not immediately released.

The 36-year-old was speared in the buttocks and had to undergo emergency surgery, rescue services said.

Five other participants in the bull run were also hospitalised.

The first running of the bulls at the nine-day Los San Fermines festival was delayed for more than five minutes because of huge crowds.

I guess there's always tomorrow to try for a better time.

BBC: In Pictures

Oh, and Happy Friday.

We hope your grass doesn't look like this.

How to Change Mower Oil

According to the lawn mower documentation, every 25 hours, or once per season:

1) Run the mower dry of gasoline.
2) Remove the oil cap.
3) Flip the mower over and drain out the oil.
4) Add 20 oz of SAE 30 oil.

Preferred method:

1) Run the mower until it stalls for no apparent reason.
2) Check the gas.
3) Run the mower until it stalls for no apparent reason.
4) Clean out the air filter.
5) Run the mower until it stalls for no apparent reason.
6) Let the mower cool off - have a bit for lunch.
7) Check the oil.
8) Discover that there basically isn't any left in the mower.
9) Add 20 oz of SAE 30 oil.

More steps, but the preferred method is easier.

Interested in an opinion

on the commutation of Scooter Libby's prison term and its broader implications?

Then listen to MSNBC's Keith Olberman...

Zimbabwe Update

The collapse predicted by the end of the year seems to be happening far sooner than predicted.

From The Guardian:

Shops emptied as panic grips Zimbabwe
By Andrew Meldrum, July 5

Pretoria - Panic buying swept through the streets of Zimbabwe yesterday, as stores ran out of basic goods and shopkeepers complained that they were selling goods at a loss after the government ordered prices to be halved in a last-ditch effort to tackle hyper-inflation.

Shoppers desperate to restock in a country ravaged by shortages cleared out supermarkets in the capital, Harare, and Bulawayo, where shelves were bare of essential items such as maize meal, cooking oil, sugar, milk, soap, bread, chicken, beef and other items.

"I am selling goods at less than what I paid for them. I am selling bread at less than what it costs to bake it," a distraught Harare shopowner said, pleading for anonymity so as to avoid government retribution. "I am following the government's orders. Army soldiers came here this morning to check prices. Mugabe has threatened to seize any business that does not do what he says. I don't know how long this can continue."

Inflation is currently estimated at 10,000% and rising. Armed soldiers and the youth militia are patrolling shops and open-air markets to enforce President Robert Mugabe's price controls. More than 200 retailers have been charged with crimes of charging more than the official prices, police confirmed yesterday.

Sardines...

Sardines:

Sardines or pilchards are a group of several types of small oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. Sardines were named after the island of Sardinia, where they were once in abundance. [1]

The terms are not precise, and the usual meanings vary by region; for instance, to many people a "sardine" is a young European pilchard. The FAO/WHO Codex standard for canned sardines cites 21 species that may be classed as sardines;[2] FishBase, a comprehensive database of information about fish, lists at least six species called just "pilchard," over a dozen called just "sardine," and many more with the two basic names qualified by various adjectives.

Canned "sardines" in supermarkets may actually be sprats or round herrings. The actual sizes of the fish canned varies by species. Good quality sardines should have the head and gills removed before packing.[2] They may be also eviscerated before packing (typically the larger varieties), or not; if not eviscerated they should be free of undigested or partially digested food or feces[2] (accomplished by holding the live fish in a tank for long enough that their digestive systems empty themselves). They may be packed in oil or some sort of sauce.

NOT TO BE CONFUSED with Anchovies:

The anchovies are a family (Engraulidae) of small but common schooling saltwater plankton-feeding fish. They are found in scattered areas throughout the world's oceans, but are concentrated in temperate waters, and are rare or absent in very cold or very warm seas.

The anchovy is a small green fish with blue reflections due to a silver longitudinal stripe that runs from the base of the caudal fin. It is maximum nine inches (22.86 cm) in length and body shape is variable with more slender fish in northern populations. The snout is blunt with small, sharp teeth in both jaws. The mouth is larger than those of herrings and silversides, two fish which they closely resemble. It eats plankton and fish larvae.

Anchovies are abundant in the Mediterranean, and are regularly caught on the coasts of Sicily, Italy, France and Spain. The range of the species also extends along the Atlantic coast of Europe to the south of Norway.

Happy Independence Day!

Of whichever northern North American persuasion you may be.

Dark Chocolate Supplies

Dark Chocolate supplies are getting dangerously low.

Despite this being a vacation week for many, perhaps steps should be taken.

New mints?

The verdict is in - Management does not like the new mints in the board room.

But others do. Yummy.

Kind of like those St. Joseph's chewable aspirins we should all be taking. (Hey! What's JM implying?)

Back to Ordinary Time

The vacation is over, long live vacation.

TS and MG are back with their respective parents. (Actually, TS slept over at MG's last night). MS and RA are back at their jobs. (RA got a promotion - he's now also "temporary receptionist" until RS gets back).

Now, off to the severely attenuated Monday WL meeting.