Dad at Village Inn

Dad foots the tab for breakfast at an Omaha area Village Inn. Thanks for the French toast!

Rainbow

We had rain showers today and all the snow is now melted! Pretty quick for 17 inches to disappear. Here's a rainbow although it doesn't show up too well in the pic.

The Tale of the Dogs

Well the dogs they had a meetin'
And they came from near and far
Some came by automobile - and i'll be damned if some didn't come by car

Before they could go in
or even take a look.
They had to take their asshole off and hang it on a hook

When they were all nicely seated
Every mother, son and sire
Some dirty son of a doberman pincher came in and hollered "Fire!"

Well they all ran out in bunches
Not even thinking to take a look.
They just grabbed any old asshole, hangin' on any ol' hook

And as might be expected
These dogs were mighty sore
Because they were wearin' an asshole that they'd never wore before

So when you see two dogs
out on the street alone
they'll smell each other's asshole
and hope to find his own.

Bill is NCAA Tourney Family League Champ!!!

Standings Member List
Rank Team Points
1 Jayhawks #1 (Bill's Team) 73 (Bill)
2 Wolverines for Me! 65 (Steph)
3 EEL 59 (Erin)
4 Go Hogs...GT '07!!! 55 (Robert)
5 g 44 (Aaron)


Congrats to Steph on a second place finish! Shame on both Robert and Aaron for letting 2 girls beat you. I believe the rules stipulated that each person was to subtract 1 from their final position and the number you're left with is the number of steak dinners you owe the winner.

I suppose it is possible that Dad won the thing. At this point we don't know.

Gonzaga Basketball Underwhelms

It is hard to believe that we witnessed the peak of Gonzaga basketball under the Adam Morrison era. In Las Vegas, about one and a half years ago. Gonzaga beat the #3 ranked Georgia Tech Yellowjackets.

Sadly, that game in the Las Vegas Shootout was the best Morrison, Raivio and gang could muster. Not bad for a mid-major program I guess...Night Night

Sandhill Crane

It's that time of the year. Thousands of sandhill cranes are stopping along the Platte River in Nebraska.

All you need to know - plus a "Cranecam" is here: http://www.rowesanctuary.org/

Aftermath

The storm is finally over. I think we got 17 inches. 2 days off of work has made for a nice long weekend!

Snow Canyons

Yuki had fun playing in the driveway snow canyon I dug.

No work!

Courthouse is closed. The snow is pounding. Yuki and I contemplating blizzard walk.

Weather woes!!!!

Rest of Tonight
Snow...brisk. Snow will be heavy at times after midnight. New snow accumulation of 5 to 6 inches. Lows in the mid 20s. East winds 20 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 100 percent.

Monday
Snow. Areas of blowing snow. Brisk. Snow will be heavy at times. Snow accumulation of 8 to 13 inches. Highs in the mid 20s. Temperature steady or slowly falling. Northeast winds 20 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 100 percent.


Monday Night
Areas of blowing snow in the evening. Snow in the evening...then chance of snow after midnight. Brisk. Snow accumulation of 2 to 3 inches. Storm total snow accumulation 15 to 22 inches. Lows around 17. North winds 20 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 90 percent.

I'm hoping for a courthouse closure. I gots me a good feeling!!!!!!!!!!

V for Vendetta

We saw the latest effort from the makers of "The Matrix". "V for Vendetta" is a comic book based movie you gotta check out. I give it 2 thumbs up. The Hero battles a corrupt government always wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. Dad might like it. Remember remember the 5th of November...

Snowy Joey

All signs were pointing to Spring having arrived. We had days in teh 70's! The weather was fine. But then this. We are now right in the middle of a nasty snowstorm. Somewhere between a foot and a foot and a half expected by Tuesday. Bah!!!

More Dark Chocolate

Last week we tried Hershey's Extra Dark Chocolate with 60% cacao. This week we ramp up to another extreme: 70% cacao. These tiny little Lindt Dark Chocolate Squares are potent. It's the darkest chocolate I've ever eaten. The flavor is almost overpoweringly strong. They're good, but the flavor is so strong and sharp that it begins to detract from the enjoyment a litttle. I prefer the Hershey's Extra Dark, but try these Lindt Squares for a flavor adventure!

Dogpile!

Sometimes I'll drape a piece of clothing over Yuki like a saddle. He doesn't seem to mind too much. This weekend I decided, why stop with one t-shirt? I put a load of clothes on Yuki to the point he was swaying from the weight. You can tell from his eyes that this wasn't the animals favorite game.

Bingo's Boys Episode two

Traffic was light, and in fifteen minutes or so we pulled up to Evergreen Downs. The building was old red brick, nicely maintained and landscaped. It was cordoned off with yellow tape, and a uniformed guy named Blanchette let us in. I knew him a little. Another cop led us up to 3G. It was small, maybe nine hundred square feet, but very well finished, with upscale furniture. There were two tiny bedrooms and a nice little kitchen, perfectly neat except for a dead blonde lying flat on her back next to the stove. She was wearing a flannel granny-style nightgown. The bed was turned back and looked to have been slept in. No sign of any struggle. Just that weird bullet hole in the crown of the skull, with a little dried blood around it. There was no stain of any kind on the floor or anywhere else.

The time of death would later be established at around three A.M. Four was probably closer. A small person, lightly clad, loses heat faster than the charts would indicate.

Bingo and I looked around. He knew enough not to touch anything, but was otherwise way out of his element. I sent him to the car for the camera, and when he got back I took pictures, maybe forty of them. Then I told the duty cop to call the morgue to haul off the body, and ordered a complete autopsy. It seemed a little pointless, but who knows? You might get lucky and learn something. I told the cop I particularly wanted blood alcohol and stomach contents.

Bingo took me home, and I called Buster on the way. I felt a lot better than I had half an hour ago. There’s nothing quite like a murder to clear the senses.

Buster had already started a detailed background check on Ms. Horton. She hailed from Illinois, and had spent twenty years or so in Vegas, hooking, dealing blackjack, and buying real estate. She had been married, for five years, to a casino flunky named Benton. She never took his name. Two kids came from the marriage. Annette is now thirty and living in Seattle. Works in sales for a small software house. Never married.

Ramona’s other offspring is a son, Charles Horton. Known around Reno as Chopper. Chopper has worked as an errand boy for the mob, and does some small-time independent book on the side. Mostly high school and college sports. He was always into drugs, first as consumer and then, on a small scale, as dealer. Just a bag here and there, to help support his habits. Chopper is a loser, and has gotten little or no financial help from his mother over the years.

Buster and I ended our conversation just as Bingo pulled up to my apartment. Buster agreed to stay off my back until the next morning. I had the flu, which was surprising in view of the substantial antitoxic powers of the seven or so gin and tonics I had enjoyed the night before at Mandalay Bay. When I was a kid we called that drink ‘Atomic Jim.’ The drinks were free and I only lost a hundred or so in the dollar slots. By Reno standards, a real bargain for a night out.

------------ to be concluded -------------

JAYHAWKS!!!

THE UNDISPUTED KINGS OF ONE-AND-DONE!!!!!!

Tourney Update for Dad

Seems dad somehow failed to sign into the tourney. If you still want to play the old fashioned way, you can calculate your picks giving yourself a point for each correct pick and see where you factor into the mix

Standings after first day

1 Erin 13
2 Aaron 12
2 Bill 12
4 Robert 10
5 Steph 9

Wacky Weather: Funnel Cloud / Big Snow

We woke up this morning to 4+ inches of snow on the ground. Not a big deal for Nebraska or even Arkansas but in Cameron Park, CA this is a once every 20 year thing by my understanding. The first thing I did was to leash up the beagles and take off on a long hike. They have always seemed to enjoy the snow.



I then shoveled the driveway which was way slick and went out to play in the all wheel drive BMW325XI. It was fun and really the first material snow the car has been in with the exception of a few ski trips in Tahoe. It did well and was fun

Only 3 days prior to the snow there were severe thunderstorms throughout the region. After flying in from the Bay area I saw a funnel cloud over the Eastern Sacramento/Ranch Cordova region. Here's a snap of the cloud that I didn't take.

Dark Chocolate Revolution

More and more studies seem to show that dark chocolate is healthy. It may lower blood pressure and/or contain antioxidants or whatever. Thanks to this information, we are on the verge of a golden age for dark chocolate lovers, one of which I am. Two new products from Hershy's are fueling the dark chocolate craze. Hershey's Rich Dark Chocolate Sticks, and Hershey's Extra Dark Pure Dark Chocolate Bars featuring 60% Cacao.

Both are very good. The sticks aren't quite as dark, but the long stick makes them fun to eat and a healthy 60 calorie snack. The Extra Dark Bars are very good. Maybe some of the best dark chocolate I've ever eaten. Bucky says, "check it out!"