Hey Everybody!

I know it's an old joke, but in honor of National Pi Day, what is this?



UPDATE: Answer (Dave got it): It's the Pi Ollie mowed.

All right, officially pissed off right now

UPDATE: Well good for them. I realized after originally posting this that the Darn Fool Kids at the Sackamenna Bee had helpfully provided a nice list of earmarks. In Excel format, all earmarks, and in Word format, the thieving locals (to me). I have downloaded these on the chance they disappear from the Sackatomatoes website, and will post independently if that should happen (assuming I notice or someone tells me).

So I finally get home from work, where I HAVE A JOB with which to PAY MY FRICKIN' TAXES to fund OUTRAGEOUSLY OVERBLOATED SPENDING BILLS, and I take care of some emails and such (while getting suitably beered up) and then I notice a "Breaking News" notification from the Sackatomatoes Bee:

Obama signs spending bill; California scores big on pet projects

Ending another long battle over federal spending, President Barack Obama today signed a $410 billion appropriations bill that includes funding for more than 8,000 pet projects for members of Congress, including hundreds in California.

Oh joy. More of my tax money WHICH I PAY going to fund PET PROJECTS for the pukes in Congress.

And what kid of projects?

WASHINGTON - Ending another long battle over federal spending, President Barack Obama today signed a $410 billion ...

In addition to the $787 BILLION or so in the previous bill

... appropriations bill that includes funding for more than 8,000 pet projects for members of Congress, including hundreds in California.

Puke. Thieving bastards, and I don't care if it's in this state.

The bill includes at least $69 million for Sacramento ...

Home, of course, to the cash-hemorrhaging SacBee

... including money to target methamphetamine sales, ...

Let the turds do themselves in

... raise Folsom Dam ...

Yeah, like the envirofreaks will let that happen

... repair erosion sites along the Sacramento River, widen levees ...

Okay, this one's not so bad, but I don't want to make out-of-staters pay for California's problems

... extend the city's light rail system ...

Which I will never use, despite its being paid for with my tax dollars

... and pay for school programs aimed at reducing the risk of obesity and chronic diseases.

Look, just quit giving them free lunches and make them run a few laps. It won't kill them. And it's FREE!

Obama, who vowed to clamp down on earmarks during last year's presidential campaign ...

Another campaign promise down the toilet

... said that he backed the bill to keep the federal government operating. But he made it clear that he wants Congress to change its ways.

Yeah. Good luck with that.

"So let there be no doubt: This piece of legislation must mark an end to the old way of doing business and the beginning of a new era of responsibility and accountability that the American people have every right to expect and demand," Obama said.

Yeah. Good luck with that.

California scored big with Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer ...

Dimmest bulb in the Senate, by most accounts.

... and Dianne Feinstein ...

Advocate of disarming the plebes but holder of a CCW permit (at least until the hypocrisy was pointed out)

... advancing projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars, rejecting bipartisan criticism -- from Sens. Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, Claire McCaskill of Missouri and John McCain of Arizona, among others -- that earmarks bloat the federal budget and should not be used by members of Congress.

"They support bureaucrats making all of these decisions," Boxer said. "But as elected officials, it is our job to know the priorities of our states.

Says the rich bitch picking my pockets to fund her "pet projects".

As long as we ensure that the process is transparent ...

Yeah. Right. Transparent. Earmarks are ALWAYS transparent, aren't they?

... and there are no conflicts of interest, I think a small portion of our budget expenditures can be determined by members of Congress."

So now a trillion and a half is a small portion. You thieving puke.

Boxer, who heads the Senate's environmental committee, got 115 California projects worth $178 million tucked into the bill.

Well, how nice. $178 million, not a penny of which will benefit me, the taxpayer paying for it.

With backing from both Boxer and Feinstein, the Senate approved the measure Tuesday night, sending it to Obama for his signature. It provides funding for nearly all government departments and agencies, which have had their funding frozen since October.

Here's a thought: Why don't we just fire a few million bureaucreeps. Their unemployment checks would be cheaper.

As a result, none of them have been able to initiate new programs.

"None of them have been able to initiate new programs." I'm crying here.

Really, I am. As I write the checks and weep for my children and grandchildren.

Interesting observation

Here's an interesting conundrum. I just noticed this evening that when I mix up a Bloody Mary tonight, a work night, I only get 1-1/2 drinks out of a standard 12 oz. can of V-8, and have to supplement the rest of the can to have a second.

When I mixed some over the weekend, I got two full drinks out of that size can.

I wonder why the difference?

"You mean it's in the house?"

Heh. Major chuckle. And a minor flashback to this post.

So each day, the Sainted Bride does some physical therapy, often to some exercise vids on DVD. And when the DVD is not on, the regular TV feed comes through.

On Sundays, early on, this TV feed tends to be religious programming, as is so common on Sunday mornings. Not sure why, but the channel that's usually on happens to have some preacher by name of Joel Osteen. Okay, evangelistic religiosity aside, he's actually pretty entertaining for the small amount of time I see him. But after his show (and after the SB finishes her exercise work) that channel carries reruns of "I Love Lucy".

Today, the episode that showed up was the one with Tennessee Ernie Ford. And as soon as I saw him (and realized which episode it was), I said very loudly, "You mean it's in the house?"

Chuckle. Rest easy, all of you funny folks from that show. Lucy. Desi. Vivian. William. And Ernie, even if you were only in one episode. We miss you and your great comedy.

Damn, it's hell to get old

Because you tend to forget stuff.

So I was listening to this Utah Phillips clip again, knowing that there was something missing. And there was. I finally got my po' li'l pea brain to recollect it. A joke was chopped off the front of the clip. A great joke. One of those jokes that comes along only once in a lifetime.

Well, maybe that's overstating the case a smidge, but I love this joke, sadly cut off of the video previously linked:

"Went down and got a job with the Rural Electification, running power lines to all of the Navaho outhouses. I was one of the first people to wire a head for a reservation."

Heh. I do loves me a great pun.

Damn, but I love Larry Groce

Subtitle: Does anyone else besides me actually remember "Sweet Betsy from Pike"?

Another subtitle: I like Strother Martin too

Yet another subtitle: God Bless Doctor Demento

And another: There may be some food blogging involved here, but maybe not

So I was on my bike ride today, after starting the soup we're having for dinner tonight. I had originally planned to make some pumpkin soup, but the can of pumpkin ("Ingredient: Pumpkin") had apparently been in the pantry too long. It was unusable (several years in the pantry will do that) but I had already put some chicken broth on the stove so shunning soup was not an option. I decided to just make my Sainted Shrimp and Corn Chowder. I got some ingredients simmering and went for a ride, with this book in the earphones. I'm one away from finishing the series.

Anyway, on arriving home, I sautéed and added onion to the soup, then sat down at the computer. For some reason, Larry Groce's song "Junkfood Junkie" had popped into my head so I went a-youtubin' for it. Found it. Unfortunately, I didn't find some other songs on the sole Larry Groce album I own, so I can't embed them. Some great songs as:

Bob Dylan's "You Ain't A-Goin' Nowhere" (N.B.: Someone really needs to cut Bob's vocal chords out and limit him to songwriting, he should not be allowed to sing)

"Like the Trout Dart About" (Can't find a Youtube version at all, great song but apparently not well known)

"Little Old Ldy in Cowboy Boots" – Again, no Youtube version. Perhaps someday when I get my turntable that turns vinyl into mp3, I will post it. Along with "Like the Trout Dart About".

But I did find a couple of versions of Larry's signature tune, "Junkfood Junkie". I was originally planning to embed one and link the other, but both are far to great to just link, so herewith, embedded, in only the order in which I first saw them, are two excellent versions:



And this one:



Haha! Larry, you are great!

Oh, and the "Betsy from Pike" reference? Larry did a cover for Disney that I stumbled across while researching this post. I love the song, and early remembrance from elementary school. Strother Martin? What a great character actor. Who, oddly enough, sang "Betsy" in the great flick "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".

And the circle is complete.

Eh, I got nothin' new

So I'm going to crash. Enjoy, kids.



Sorry, Dave. It could only be worse in Milwaukee.