Hic!, Whoa!, -and- Address Madness

Hic! - distillery to produce 184-proof whiskey
Whoa! - horses given Viagra to make them faster
Address Madness - Psycho Path voted craziest street name

The rain stopped sometime during the night, and the sun is shining! The rain is predicted to return later today, but praise God for this glorious respite from the storm!

Today is sensory day for Laura. She is on the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. tasting discrimination panel and has sensory every Tuesday at 9:30 AM.

Sensory consists of tasting one or two "flights" of beers in a "triangle" test (3 beers per flight). The purpose of the discrimination panel is to determine whether any difference exists between the samples (each flight is always the same beer, but 1 of the 3 has a slight difference to it, perhaps the use of a different variety of hops, etc.) and whether the difference is perceptible enough that the public might notice the difference.

Sierra Nevada strives for extreme quality assurance and consistency in its brews.

Those interested in becoming part of the taste discrimination panel must first submit to a battery of tests to determine if their palates are sensitive enough to perceive differences and nuances in the flavor, mouthfeel, body, etc., of the beer.

So in essence, part of Laura's paycheck involves her drinking beer every week! Sweet!

I just enjoyed an exciting game of Bubble Breaker: I managed to get 36 contiguous red bubbles, creating 1260 points for one move, and ending in a score of 1856--less than my high score of 2018, but an exciting game nonetheless!

Homos on the Range, Biting Mad, -and- I Dare You

Homos on the Range - Moses takes on gay cowboys on new T-shirt
Biting Mad - man gets six years for biting off gang leader's ear
I Dare You - Orlando boy falls from roller coaster

POSER: (Congratulations to Cindy for correctly solving the Poser!)
Q: What do you call domestic insects at their wits' end?
A: Desperate Houseflies!

I enjoyed an exciting game of Bubble Breaker last Friday: While the score of 1780 was well below my high score of 2018, this game had a very exciting moment when I connected 34 red bubbles! This resulted in 1122 points for that single move!

The excellent weather appears to have abandoned us for now. It began to sprinkle yesterday around 1:30 PM. Soon, the sprinkling turned to rain. It rained all day and throughout the night, and it continues to rain today. The forecast (for what it may be worth) is for several more days of rain. Current weather reports call for 4 to 6 inches of rain during the next three days!

Armed and Stupid, Baa, -and- Body Snatchers

Armed and Stupid - teen arrested over image on his blog showing him with handguns
Baa - homeless man caught stealing sheep from zoo
Body Snatchers - four charged with stealing body parts

POSER: (Answer will appear on Monday.)
Q: What do you call domestic insects at their wits' end?

I have no problem whatever watching gory movie scenes, but when it is my blood being spilled, I am considerably less at ease. This morning at 7 AM, I went to the lab to have a sample of my blood taken for diagnosis as part of a routine physical examination. I gritted my teeth, clenched my fist, and looked away as the lab technician impaled me and began to suck my blood. There was a brief moment of pain, followed by a loud "snap" when she removed the rubber tie from my arm. I relaxed and held the cotton swab in place over the puncture while she applied tape to hold it in place. I was very thankful that the ordeal was over and began to rise from the chair. Imagine the horror I felt when she said, "Well, that didn't work out. Let's try the other arm"!

I survived, and here I am!

Do you recall Fat Cat from an earlier post? Well, here is Fatter Cat, a 45-pound domestic cat!

The Wait, Drive My Car, -and- Tase Me!

The Wait - get paid to stand in line at DMV
Drive My Car - driver flees after crashing million-dollar Ferrari
Tase Me! - Kansas man challenges police

On the heels of the demise of NBC's "Book of Daniel," ABC's popular "Desperate Housewives" has become the latest target of a media watchdog organization that will sponsor a boycott of the advertisers.

OneMillionMoms.com, which is affiliated with the American Family Association, calls "Desperate Housewives" "one of the most vulgar and tasteless programs on television."

The group plans to monitor the program from April through June to identify companies that advertise during the show. OneMillionMoms.com will then call for a one-year boycott of one or more of the leading sponsors.

ABC says the show is watched by 15 million people each week. That means that 265 million do not watch the show but still end up paying for it by the products they buy.

The show's website describes the program: "A primetime soap with a truly contemporary take on 'happily every after,' this hit series takes a darkly comedic look at suburbia, where the secret lives of housewives aren't always what they seem."

I am encouraged by outraged groups putting pressure upon the entertainment industry to discourage objectionable programming.

Making News, Stay a Little Longer, -and- The Blob

Making News - anchorman bites chicken during newscast
Stay a Little Longer - execution delayed when doctors refuse to perform
The Blob - mystery goo eating downtown Los Angeles

It is a beautiful day today. The sun is shining brightly, and there is only a gentle breeze. It is already 63 degrees at 9 AM.

I watched the Powerball winners being interviewed at a news conference. All eight workers from a meat processing plant have opted to take a lump sum payoff, which will net each winner $15.5 million after taxes.

Each winner was interviewed individually. For the most part, their responses to questions given them were flippant and somewhat snobbish. One winner commented that he could now afford to drink expensive wine all day, adding that he did not like water. Another winner said the first thing he intended to do was buy the convenience store where the winning ticket was purchased.

In every case, responses given were about what the winners intended to do with their new wealth to please themselves. Not a single winner indicated a desire to help others. How sad this is. Joyce Meyer's phrase, "What about me? What about me? What about me?" echoed in my mind while watching this news conference.