2012 — The Numbers for IB December 30, 2012
Posted by Michael in News.comments closed
Hard to believe this site started as a joke by Retired Geezer over six years ago when WordPress was brand new.
Click on the graphic below and scroll down for a full report, which just might mention YOU.
Here’s an excerpt:
About 55,000 tourists visit Liechtenstein every year. This blog was viewed about 300,000 times in 2012. If it were Liechtenstein, it would take about 5 years for that many people to see it. Your blog had more visits than a small country in Europe!
Online Shopping in Real Life December 29, 2012
Posted by Retired Geezer in Art, Crime.comments closed
Anybody get as frustrated as I do with the Online Shopping Experience?
Guns vs. Violence December 29, 2012
Posted by geoff in News.comments closed
The proliferation of eeeevil guns hasn’t had much effect on violence in California:
Gun deaths and injuries have dropped sharply in California, even as the number of guns sold in the state has risen, according to new state data.
Dealers sold 600,000 guns in California last year, up from 350,000 in 2002, according to records of sale tallied by the California Attorney General’s office.
During that same period, the number of California hospitalizations due to gun injuries declined from about 4,000 annually to 2,800, a roughly 25 percent drop, according to hospital records collected by the California Department of Public Health.
That’s actually a precisely 30% drop, but close enough for a CA newspaper. That trend is true for the nation as well:
This gives the lie to the standard gun-grabber mantra that the presence of guns leads to more violence, and a greater likelihood of death when violence occurs.
Two other points:
Radio Flyer Car December 27, 2012
Posted by Retired Geezer in Man Laws, Sports, Travel.comments closed
Charles Durning: Badass December 25, 2012
Posted by digitalbrownshirt in News.comments closed
He was among the first wave of U.S. soldiers to land at Normandy during the D-Day invasion and the only member of his Army unit to survive. He killed several Germans and was wounded in the leg. Later he was bayoneted by a young German soldier whom he killed with a rock. He was captured in the Battle of the Bulge and survived a massacre of prisoners.
In later years, he refused to discuss the military service for which he was awarded the Silver Star and three Purple Hearts.
Weirdest Christmas Morning Ever December 25, 2012
Posted by Michael in Personal Experiences.comments closed
All times approximate.
2:00 a.m.
There was a loud clap of thunder. The alarm system started shrieking all over the house, along with the siren outside. Peaches (dog) hates thunder and hid in the laundry room, which is her safe spot. I turned off the alarm, which is odd, because the system was not even armed. Thunder at exactly the right frequency can trigger the glass breakage detectors, but this shouldn’t happen if the system is disarmed.
2:20 a.m.
Doorbell rings. Two firemen in full gear are standing in the pouring rain at my front door, water dripping off their helmets. Big fire truck is in front of my house. The firemen had already looked for evidence of smoke or fire, and could find none. Really good response time, in my opinion. I tell them everything is OK and wish them a Merry Christmas.
Have you ever considered what a remarkably complex and expensive machine a fire truck is? However, they do have a Christmas-like appearance, especially when all the lights are flashing.
5:00 a.m.
Alarm company called and woke me up, wanted to know if everything was OK. I said yes. I also observed that this was not a false alarm caused by me, there was no heat or smoke, and I should not get dinged by the city with a fee. If anything, they should have sent the police. She said she will report this to her supervisor.
5:30 a.m.
Couldn’t sleep, so I decided to make potato bread. In the process, I noticed that refrigerator shelves needed to be wiped down. While wiping down the shelves, I noticed that some bacon was getting a little mold on the edge, so I cooked the bacon.
7:00 a.m.
Peaches is still hiding in the laundry room, but this house is now going to smell great for Christmas, and my refrigerator looks good. And you can’t beat a grilled bacon, egg and cheese sammich on potato bread while you watch a bowl game. All because of thunder.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!
My Favorite Time of Year December 24, 2012
Posted by Retired Geezer in Music, Pop Culture, Religion.comments closed
Brewfan will probably like this newer Christmas song because it shows people drinking beer.
They received no funding for recording it or making the video which was filmed at a museum in Shropshire, UK. Many of the characters in the video are museum staff, I actually make a cameo appearance in the beginning*.
You can get more information at the Florin Street Band website.
*not really
Random Kindness at Walmart December 22, 2012
Posted by digitalbrownshirt in Personal Experiences.comments closed
My wife has an overnight job as the main cashier at a local Walmart. Early this morning a lady came in with with six crisp $100 bills in her hand. She used them to buy six gift cards worth $100 each then left. During the next 30 minutes Sandra (Mrs. DBS) had six customers come up and tell her that a lady had given them gift cards and a “Merry Christmas” while they were shopping in the store. They were shocked to find out that the cards really were worth $100 each. Sandra knows most of her regular customers. $100 is huge deal to many of them at this time of year.
Anyway, I thought it was a neat story.
Goat Romping December 22, 2012
Posted by Retired Geezer in Ducks, Literature.comments closed
I’m setting this to post on Saturday, assuming we’re still here.
Hot Tub Nirvana for $100 (Re-Post, Not The Crap Tree, But ‘Tis the Season) December 21, 2012
Posted by skinbad in Family, Gardening, Personal Experiences, Sex.comments closed
I can’t do better than the actual title. The other night, after some bloggy reading about “worst Christmas presents ever,” I asked Mrs. Skinny what my biggest Christmas failure was. She’s polite and demurred. But I convinced her to lay it on me.
Here is the graphical representation:
To address your question, the answer is “No. I did not have Lauraw crate Dave in Texas and ship him to my wife 13 years ago.” If you care for the back story, I’ll continue it below.
7 Day Forecast December 20, 2012
Posted by Retired Geezer in Entertainment, Nature Shit.comments closed
Watching Obama Fail December 17, 2012
Posted by geoff in News.comments closed
It’s not often you have a President make a concrete promise, and then get to watch him blow it in real time. That’s about the only silver lining in this particular situation, where President Obama promised to add 1 million manufacturing jobs by the end of 2016. That’s not that impressive a goal, but even so, it’s not happening:
This President is like Kryptonite to jobs – everything gets worse whenever he makes a verifiable prediction or tries to make jobs his “top priority.”
Which, sadly but fortunately, is not that often.
Innocent Bystanders 