Good morning, Gerbil Nation!
It’s Monday, once again, and spring break is over. No time for lolly-gagging! We’ve got to hit the ground running! Onward!
Monday gaaaaaaaaaahreetings from sunny Happy Larryville, GN.
I’m relieved to see the urethane looks reasonably good in the sunlight; here are a couple of shots from my carpy cell phone camera:
Off to buy some quarter-round moulding to be primed and painted for installation -- along with the crown and base -- after the urethane’s fully cured later this week…*poo-t*
Cold and windy out here this morning. Expecting sustained winds in the 30 mph range with gusts up to 50 mph. The deserts tho, expecting 50 mph sustained with gusts possible to 100 mph. Not a good day to be in the Palmdale or Victorville areas.
Was flipping channels last night while watching the Kings game and came across the movie The Crow starring Brandon Lee. I love this movie-Mrs Sven, not so much. To me, it’s a great film filled with revenge, love, and really good action scenes. For Mrs Sven, it’s too dark and depressing. I love this scene between the police detective who becomes Draven’s ally and Eric Draven:
Albrecht: Police! Don’t move! I said, Don’t move!
Eric Draven: I thought the police always said, “Freeze!”
Albrecht: Well, I am the police, and I say, Don’t move, Snow White. You move, you’re dead.
Eric Draven: And I say, “I’m dead and yet I move.”
Anyhow, we got into this discussion about those movies that you tend to watch whenever you come across them. My first three were The Crow, The 13th Warrior (Antonio Banderas-Viking flick), and The Replacement Killers (a very hot looking Mira Sorvino and Yun-Fat Chow).
I could add the first Die Hard which never gets old no matter how many times you watch it. Desperado, with Antonio Banderas, is another one, along with From Dusk Till Dawn-altho in that one, I feel cheated if I miss Salma Hayek dancing to Tito and Tarantula:
T’anks for the kindly flooring words; I’m giving myself a solid B+ on teh finishing.
At this point, there are very few movies I “tend to watch” under any circumstances; ditto TV programs. The only two which come readily to mind are “Animal House” and “Blazing Saddles”; guess I have puerile tastes in cinema. 😉
The original “Die Hard” was a decent action flick. (I have a jaundiced view of its successor, as that one was my first exposure to teh big-budget film score “sausage-making” process. It was a real eye-opener in the sense that highly-paid “creative” types were found to be exponentially more clueless than I thought possible…)
Off to paint 12′ lengths of quarter-round…which I transported home from Lowe’s in a subcompact car; har!
Youre missing out, Fatwa. Cook up a batch of popcorn, turn on teh teevee, grab Mrs Fatwa, sit on that ugly couch you guys have, and watch any of the three movies I mentioned.
Got a nail gun for the mouldings? Or are they illegal now? I can’t keep up with all the new laws.
“The Shawshank Redemption”
Morgan Freeman’s a loon, but his voice-over makes that movie, as does the soundtrack.
“The Blind Side” has become another one.
For Mr. X, name any Clint Eastwood movie and he’s all in.
Fatwa…that floor looks beeYUtiful!
Here you go, Paddy…sorry I’m late with it:
Happy Birfday 4/7, Rabeet!
For me it’s the usual work nightmare, another release, another missed deadline (the books were supposed to be sent to the printer last Friday).
::sigh::
And I can agree with Mr. X re select Eastwood films, including the first three “Dirty Harry” flicks…before they started getting too silly.
Sven --
I used to love going to the movies and liked watching TV. Alas, being in teh radio promo business where most of what I was “selling” were films and TV shows kind of did me in…too many hours spent watching utter garbage and having to pay close attention so that I could find enough dialog to write a spot around.
I’d much rather read a book or be on teh intertoobz than watch television or films these days.
I used to love going to the movies and liked watching TV. Alas, being in teh radio promo business where most of what I was “selling” were films and TV shows kind of did me in…too many hours spent watching utter garbage and having to pay close attention so that I could find enough dialog to write a spot around.
Give some serious thought to “Justified” on FX. Should all be on NetFlix, Hulu, whatever.
The dialogue can be freakin’ awesome.
For example:
Tim: “…all I know is I’m having a full-on PTSD episode.”
Art: “What are you thinking, IED?”
Tim: “Well, I’m not thinkin’ confetti cones.”
Art: “How often do you have these episodes?”
Tim: “Only when I’m in public and heavily armed.”
Yeah, good dialogue in Justified. That’s a decent to great cable teevee show.
Con Air with Nicholas Cage. The Replacements with Keanu Reeve, the first two Harry Potter films, all three of LOTR. All films that you can just pop in at any time, pick up the story, and zone into it.
I’ll definitely consider your (and Sven’s) recommendation re “Justified”.
When I was Promo Lad, it was often challenging to find a few dialog lines which could be forced into a :30 spot; sitcoms were the worst, as it was hard finding actually funny lines.
Favorite opening line I ever got away with in a promo (for “Miami Vice”):
ANNCR: WEATHER REPORT FOR MIAMI: 87 DEGREES…AND SNOW!
Followed by an explosion and Tubbs saying, “Nine people got killed in a coke lab last night”. I was sort of surprised Universal approved that script…
MSNBC is in full blown hysterical mode in advance of Obama speaking in Connecticut on gun control. Us opposed to new laws are gutless, heartless, cowardly, and fully in the thrall of the evil NRA and their nefarious twin, Pratt’s GOA.
This whole debate is a crock of crap. Obama in particular. Just when I think the guy can’t sink any lower, he wallows down there with the whale shit just to prove me wrong.
Oh well, I guess count us in with the “fully enthrall”ed. We just joined the NRA. GoA is next.
And, and, and! We’re meeting three people from SoCal at their convention here next month. Well, two we’re not really “meeting” since their staying with us…but the third is riding his motorcycle (a Buell) from San Diego to Galveston.
Oy.
But that’s dedication for you.
And bless your heart Sven, for watching MSNBC. Mr. X took it out of the lineup. He couldn’t stand it anymore.
Beyond the NRA and GOA, we financially support SAF and the local CA groups. For all the good that it does.
Which convention is going on in TX next month, X?
I see the GRPC is in Houston in September-if I aint gainfully employed by then, might try to go to that and see some folks in Houston at the same time. BTW, AoS has a nice post up about Texas today.
It’s the NRA convention, Sven. Glenn Beck’s doing a presentation Saturday night, and one friend has tix for that, but I think us and the other two will go in search of steak instead. 🙂
I truly am going to try to get the voting machine cranked up and posted tomorrow. We’ll have to see how that goes, because I only know one way to do that and I don’t know how well it will post here. I reckon we’ll find out!
I need the help of my fellow Gerbs. I am speaking tonight at a county meeting, trying to keep them from going back 100 years with a very cutsie trolley system. Here are my cons. Any others?
Safety:
Longer stopping distances than a bus.
Cannot swerve to avoid a car or pedestrian.
Collisions with pedestrians can be far worse and way more gruesome. Also, more expensive if trolley at fault.
Rail flange groove is very hazardous to bicyclists, causing them to flip into traffic or parked cars.
Space between rail and center pavement just about the size of a high-heel.
Would you let your children play or cross an active railroad yard?
Operational Ability:
Cannot steer around a disabled vehicle. Must wait however long it takes to clear the obstacle.
Cannot detour around a block if a tree/light pole/accident is blocking the roadway. Must wait however long it takes to clear the way.
Cannot operate with ice in the flange groove.
Aesthetics:
Multiple overhead wires unlike picture are unattractive.
Overhead wires are suspended by a network of supporting cables and feeder lines.
Trees will have to be trimmed to well above the overhead wires.
Sparks and loud noise from pickup bar to overhead wires are common. Very distracting to people living in upper floors of buildings fronting the line.
Cost/Efficiency:
Not as efficient as you might think.
Powered by coal fired plants.
Parts not as readily available as bus parts. And more expensive.
Requires special training. Skills as bus driver not transferable to trolley and vice versa.
Special maintenance crews/training required for the power distribution system (overhead wires), track system and the trolley cars.
Criminy, Jerry…why do so many liberals think the solution to 21st Century urban transportation is 19th Century technology???!?
It’s also inflexible as the transportation needs of the municipality change (compared with buses).
You’ve listed every other con I can think of…aside from the fact it’ll cost at least twice as much as they claim and will be a Monster Magnet™ for graft, corruption and union payola.
The cost of disruption to the business and tourist areas will far outweigh (by orders of magnitude) whatever benefit they hope to receive. Unless those trollies will not be going to the business and tourist areas — in which case, the whole thing is just another money hole.
It’s also a good bet that the projected construction and maintenance costs were pulled from someone’s squeakhole; ditto projected ridership and revenues.
The public subsidy per individual trip (that is one person boarding and riding one way) is $32.73!! No one would pay this amount if it were the fare. This equates to a public subsidy (beyond the fares paid) of $3.82 per passenger mile. Remember, this is not a hostile analysis, but based on the numbers Valley Metro itself submits to the FTA. Note the IRS reimbursement rate for the total cost (capital and incremental expense) of driving a car is 50 cents per mile, which drops even lower per passenger mile when the car has more than one person in it. The average occupancy of a car is something like 1.5, which would make the cost per passenger mile of the average car to be about 33 cents per mile. Ignoring the passenger fares, the public subsidy alone for light rail in Phoenix is 11.6 times larger [note: and yes, this includes the gas tax, so it includes a lot of the maintenance of the road infrastructure. To include full cost of maintaining and building highways, it might have to be a few cents higher, but its not going to come anywhere in the ballpark of the light rail number].
Another possible con: If the tracks are going to be run down existing traffic lanes in both directions, that will likely increase congestion; moreso, obviously, if the trollies get their own dedicated lane.
This will also be a problem during track construction.
But the sign said “Shirt and shoes required”! It didn’t say squat about pants!
Editor
Kate
11 years ago
It was a beautiful and even productive day at KFH&BBQ in spite of being Monday. Continuing my spring cleaning, 2 of the knights and I cleaned out our storage shed. We now have about 3 truckloads of stuff to trade at the used restaurant supply place, space to store things in such a way we might find them later, and some metal for our cook to scrap to add to her wedding money. We also worked in some R&D on a signature drink with Grand Marnier and Tequila. Testing will continue until it is perfect . . . or the Gran Marnier is gone.
always good to see people volunteering for a good cause.
BTW, this friday we are starting Hugh and Kate’s Not Every Friday Adventure. The bar will be open and Keith will be testing appetizers from 5-8 pm. Please join us.
Now I know what we will be testing Wednesday ( our real volunteer day. they do the hard cleaning -- vents, fryers, ovens; they fix things; and they paint!) I think they will thank you, Paddy!
Editor
Kate
11 years ago
Prepare to laugh, Sven. The movies I will always watch:
Paint Your Wagon
Kiss Me Kate
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
(more but you see the pattern, I’m sure)
Philadelphia Story ( both versions)
Desk Set
Much Ado About Nothing ( used to be my laundry folding entertainment)
My Girl Friday
I don’t get many chances on those so I actually watch the following more:
The Replacements ( Thank you X! I would have , for the 10,000th time, have said either The Substitutes or The Alternates)
Remember the Titans
The Sandlot ( Best ever coming of age movie, plus sandlot baseball and a huge gorilla-dog beast!)
Club Paradise
Surf Ninjas ( Family cult classic. Yeah, my family is weird. Money can’t buy knives. )
Any Cary Grant Movie
Any Hepburn/Tracy Movie
Any Hitchcock Movie
Off to see if my video player still works . . .
Good morning, Gerbil Nation!
It’s Monday, once again, and spring break is over. No time for lolly-gagging! We’ve got to hit the ground running! Onward!
Moar kawfee, plz.
Forward!
Monday gaaaaaaaaaahreetings from sunny Happy Larryville, GN.
I’m relieved to see the urethane looks reasonably good in the sunlight; here are a couple of shots from my carpy cell phone camera:
Off to buy some quarter-round moulding to be primed and painted for installation -- along with the crown and base -- after the urethane’s fully cured later this week…*poo-t*
Fatwa, the floor looks really good. Nice job.
Cold and windy out here this morning. Expecting sustained winds in the 30 mph range with gusts up to 50 mph. The deserts tho, expecting 50 mph sustained with gusts possible to 100 mph. Not a good day to be in the Palmdale or Victorville areas.
Was flipping channels last night while watching the Kings game and came across the movie The Crow starring Brandon Lee. I love this movie-Mrs Sven, not so much. To me, it’s a great film filled with revenge, love, and really good action scenes. For Mrs Sven, it’s too dark and depressing. I love this scene between the police detective who becomes Draven’s ally and Eric Draven:
Albrecht: Police! Don’t move! I said, Don’t move!
Eric Draven: I thought the police always said, “Freeze!”
Albrecht: Well, I am the police, and I say, Don’t move, Snow White. You move, you’re dead.
Eric Draven: And I say, “I’m dead and yet I move.”
Anyhow, we got into this discussion about those movies that you tend to watch whenever you come across them. My first three were The Crow, The 13th Warrior (Antonio Banderas-Viking flick), and The Replacement Killers (a very hot looking Mira Sorvino and Yun-Fat Chow).
I could add the first Die Hard which never gets old no matter how many times you watch it. Desperado, with Antonio Banderas, is another one, along with From Dusk Till Dawn-altho in that one, I feel cheated if I miss Salma Hayek dancing to Tito and Tarantula:
So, which films have I missed?
Sven --
T’anks for the kindly flooring words; I’m giving myself a solid B+ on teh finishing.
At this point, there are very few movies I “tend to watch” under any circumstances; ditto TV programs. The only two which come readily to mind are “Animal House” and “Blazing Saddles”; guess I have puerile tastes in cinema. 😉
The original “Die Hard” was a decent action flick. (I have a jaundiced view of its successor, as that one was my first exposure to teh big-budget film score “sausage-making” process. It was a real eye-opener in the sense that highly-paid “creative” types were found to be exponentially more clueless than I thought possible…)
Off to paint 12′ lengths of quarter-round…which I transported home from Lowe’s in a subcompact car; har!
Youre missing out, Fatwa. Cook up a batch of popcorn, turn on teh teevee, grab Mrs Fatwa, sit on that ugly couch you guys have, and watch any of the three movies I mentioned.
Got a nail gun for the mouldings? Or are they illegal now? I can’t keep up with all the new laws.
“The Shawshank Redemption”
Morgan Freeman’s a loon, but his voice-over makes that movie, as does the soundtrack.
“The Blind Side” has become another one.
For Mr. X, name any Clint Eastwood movie and he’s all in.
Fatwa…that floor looks beeYUtiful!
Here you go, Paddy…sorry I’m late with it:
Happy Birfday 4/7, Rabeet!
For me it’s the usual work nightmare, another release, another missed deadline (the books were supposed to be sent to the printer last Friday).
::sigh::
Drive-by --
TeX --
Cheers re teh floor compliment.
And I can agree with Mr. X re select Eastwood films, including the first three “Dirty Harry” flicks…before they started getting too silly.
Sven --
I used to love going to the movies and liked watching TV. Alas, being in teh radio promo business where most of what I was “selling” were films and TV shows kind of did me in…too many hours spent watching utter garbage and having to pay close attention so that I could find enough dialog to write a spot around.
I’d much rather read a book or be on teh intertoobz than watch television or films these days.
Painting quarter-round sucks!
Give some serious thought to “Justified” on FX. Should all be on NetFlix, Hulu, whatever.
The dialogue can be freakin’ awesome.
For example:
Tim: “…all I know is I’m having a full-on PTSD episode.”
Art: “What are you thinking, IED?”
Tim: “Well, I’m not thinkin’ confetti cones.”
Art: “How often do you have these episodes?”
Tim: “Only when I’m in public and heavily armed.”
/fangirl off
Yeah, good dialogue in Justified. That’s a decent to great cable teevee show.
Con Air with Nicholas Cage. The Replacements with Keanu Reeve, the first two Harry Potter films, all three of LOTR. All films that you can just pop in at any time, pick up the story, and zone into it.
Kaaaaate-y and I love “The Replacements”.
“Thunder ska!!!!!”
Heh. I knew you both were good gerbils.
TeX --
I’ll definitely consider your (and Sven’s) recommendation re “Justified”.
When I was Promo Lad, it was often challenging to find a few dialog lines which could be forced into a :30 spot; sitcoms were the worst, as it was hard finding actually funny lines.
Favorite opening line I ever got away with in a promo (for “Miami Vice”):
ANNCR: WEATHER REPORT FOR MIAMI: 87 DEGREES…AND SNOW!
Followed by an explosion and Tubbs saying, “Nine people got killed in a coke lab last night”. I was sort of surprised Universal approved that script…
MSNBC is in full blown hysterical mode in advance of Obama speaking in Connecticut on gun control. Us opposed to new laws are gutless, heartless, cowardly, and fully in the thrall of the evil NRA and their nefarious twin, Pratt’s GOA.
This whole debate is a crock of crap. Obama in particular. Just when I think the guy can’t sink any lower, he wallows down there with the whale shit just to prove me wrong.
Oh well, I guess count us in with the “fully enthrall”ed. We just joined the NRA. GoA is next.
And, and, and! We’re meeting three people from SoCal at their convention here next month. Well, two we’re not really “meeting” since their staying with us…but the third is riding his motorcycle (a Buell) from San Diego to Galveston.
Oy.
But that’s dedication for you.
And bless your heart Sven, for watching MSNBC. Mr. X took it out of the lineup. He couldn’t stand it anymore.
Beyond the NRA and GOA, we financially support SAF and the local CA groups. For all the good that it does.
Which convention is going on in TX next month, X?
I see the GRPC is in Houston in September-if I aint gainfully employed by then, might try to go to that and see some folks in Houston at the same time. BTW, AoS has a nice post up about Texas today.
It’s the NRA convention, Sven. Glenn Beck’s doing a presentation Saturday night, and one friend has tix for that, but I think us and the other two will go in search of steak instead. 🙂
BTW, who won the captioning contest? My postal guy just came and went without me getting a prize, so I know it wasnt me.
CaptionContestK says that she’s “working on it” and will announce teh winner tomorrow. (She also said, “oh, sh¡t!”)
(Signed)
Gutless, Heartless, Cowardly Fatwa
I truly am going to try to get the voting machine cranked up and posted tomorrow. We’ll have to see how that goes, because I only know one way to do that and I don’t know how well it will post here. I reckon we’ll find out!
I need the help of my fellow Gerbs. I am speaking tonight at a county meeting, trying to keep them from going back 100 years with a very cutsie trolley system. Here are my cons. Any others?
Safety:
Longer stopping distances than a bus.
Cannot swerve to avoid a car or pedestrian.
Collisions with pedestrians can be far worse and way more gruesome. Also, more expensive if trolley at fault.
Rail flange groove is very hazardous to bicyclists, causing them to flip into traffic or parked cars.
Space between rail and center pavement just about the size of a high-heel.
Would you let your children play or cross an active railroad yard?
Operational Ability:
Cannot steer around a disabled vehicle. Must wait however long it takes to clear the obstacle.
Cannot detour around a block if a tree/light pole/accident is blocking the roadway. Must wait however long it takes to clear the way.
Cannot operate with ice in the flange groove.
Aesthetics:
Multiple overhead wires unlike picture are unattractive.
Overhead wires are suspended by a network of supporting cables and feeder lines.
Trees will have to be trimmed to well above the overhead wires.
Sparks and loud noise from pickup bar to overhead wires are common. Very distracting to people living in upper floors of buildings fronting the line.
Cost/Efficiency:
Not as efficient as you might think.
Powered by coal fired plants.
Parts not as readily available as bus parts. And more expensive.
Requires special training. Skills as bus driver not transferable to trolley and vice versa.
Special maintenance crews/training required for the power distribution system (overhead wires), track system and the trolley cars.
Criminy, Jerry…why do so many liberals think the solution to 21st Century urban transportation is 19th Century technology???!?
It’s also inflexible as the transportation needs of the municipality change (compared with buses).
You’ve listed every other con I can think of…aside from the fact it’ll cost at least twice as much as they claim and will be a Monster Magnet™ for graft, corruption and union payola.
Also…monorail!
The cost of disruption to the business and tourist areas will far outweigh (by orders of magnitude) whatever benefit they hope to receive. Unless those trollies will not be going to the business and tourist areas — in which case, the whole thing is just another money hole.
What your town really needs is high speed rail. Like what we are doing in California.
What are the pro side points, Jerry?
Um…teh environment, good-paying union jobs, better transportation for the economically disadvantaged and…shut up! 😉
OK, those are good. Especially teh union jobs part.
What does it replace? Buses?
I don’t think I’ve ever been on a trolley-
It’s also a good bet that the projected construction and maintenance costs were pulled from someone’s squeakhole; ditto projected ridership and revenues.
A few years ago, Warren Meyers at CoyoteBlog was vindicated in his objections to a new light rail system in Phoenix:
More at teh link.
Another possible con: If the tracks are going to be run down existing traffic lanes in both directions, that will likely increase congestion; moreso, obviously, if the trollies get their own dedicated lane.
This will also be a problem during track construction.
Remember, Jerry, no farting sounds during your presentation tonight. And pants; pants are good.
Good luck
Excellent advice, Sven. i wish someone had told our early visitor 2 weeks ago.
But the sign said “Shirt and shoes required”! It didn’t say squat about pants!
It was a beautiful and even productive day at KFH&BBQ in spite of being Monday. Continuing my spring cleaning, 2 of the knights and I cleaned out our storage shed. We now have about 3 truckloads of stuff to trade at the used restaurant supply place, space to store things in such a way we might find them later, and some metal for our cook to scrap to add to her wedding money. We also worked in some R&D on a signature drink with Grand Marnier and Tequila. Testing will continue until it is perfect . . . or the Gran Marnier is gone.
Teh yay for beautiful and even productive days!
Also for spring cleaning, trade goods and better-organized storage.
Lastly, I like tequila; if you need an outside taste-tester, you may rely on me, madam. 😉
always good to see people volunteering for a good cause.
BTW, this friday we are starting Hugh and Kate’s Not Every Friday Adventure. The bar will be open and Keith will be testing appetizers from 5-8 pm. Please join us.
What are you going for in re the cocktail.
Officially, we are going for drinks the women will buy to boost our bar sales. Unofficially we are going for more R&D.
Peach nectar
Light rum
Orange juice
Float of dark rum
Now I know what we will be testing Wednesday ( our real volunteer day. they do the hard cleaning -- vents, fryers, ovens; they fix things; and they paint!) I think they will thank you, Paddy!
Prepare to laugh, Sven. The movies I will always watch:
Paint Your Wagon
Kiss Me Kate
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
(more but you see the pattern, I’m sure)
Philadelphia Story ( both versions)
Desk Set
Much Ado About Nothing ( used to be my laundry folding entertainment)
My Girl Friday
I don’t get many chances on those so I actually watch the following more:
The Replacements ( Thank you X! I would have , for the 10,000th time, have said either The Substitutes or The Alternates)
Remember the Titans
The Sandlot ( Best ever coming of age movie, plus sandlot baseball and a huge gorilla-dog beast!)
Club Paradise
Surf Ninjas ( Family cult classic. Yeah, my family is weird. Money can’t buy knives. )
Any Cary Grant Movie
Any Hepburn/Tracy Movie
Any Hitchcock Movie
Off to see if my video player still works . . .