Music While Sailing

Today was a great day for sailing.  Sunny.  About 75 degrees on the water.  A slight breeze.  Picnic lunch.  Music system and all four speakers cranked up a bit.  Wifey and I living the life.

At one point Nat King Cole and his rendition of Candy played over the boat's music system.  Appropriate.

Here's yours truly waiting for the wind to come up (no, not that kind), listening to music and "thinking".

The Rental

Turned the keys to the rental over to the tenants yesterday.  Glad the ordeal of readying it for lease is done and I can get on to the fun parts of my life.  Now if they can only stay in it for at least two years.  You see, it takes one year to recover costs associated with the repairs and upgrades,  The second year is all gravy. 

Before I left the rental I shot this video for future use next time it becomes vacant.  Prospective tenants always want those pictures worth a thousand words and this video does just that.  Note the sounds of the squeaky door midway through.  One thing I forgot to oil. . .damn that squeaky wheel!

Off to have fun.  

It's Raining! It's Pouring!!!

Hard to believe but it's June 4th and raining in California.  Yesterday it was sunny and 90 degrees in Cowtown.  Today. . .not so much of any of that . ..unless you call buckets of rain liquid sunshine. 

So much for sailing today.  Sigh.

What Floats My Boat (and fills the sails)

I often get this question from those we take sailing:  What makes a sailboat 'go'?  Here's a pretty good answer.



It's the Wild West on our highways and city streets.  And it's not my imagination either.  It's kill or be killed. . . drive like there's no tomorrow.  Hang the rules of the road and common civility, it's every driver for themselves.   Take for example, red light runners.  I'm talking not just going through a yellow soon to turn red light but folks entering the intersection after the light has turned red.  Idiots.

Have you noticed that no one seems to know what a solid white line means.  Do you?

Then there's those who take "cuts" and barely miss hitting the front of my truck in the process.  I want to yell, "Feel better now?  You've shaved all of 2 seconds of your driving time!!"

Those passing over a solid double yellow line should be shot.  Period.  It's bad enough they're liable to kill their passengers but how about the car they hit head on?

The guy who works for our painting contractor has a bumper sticker on his truck that reads:  NEUTER THE STUPID.

I'd vote for that.  That might solve a lot of problems.

Have Another Hit!

Fresh out of the military it took but one visit to the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco to twist my mind.  It was the Summer of Love.  And an unforgetable song. . . this one...

A Love Letter?

This is the real deal . . . a letter from Michael Jackson to his then wife Lisa Marie Presley.  It was to be auctioned off to the highest bidder but pulled by request by Ms. Presley herself.

If I knew that love letters were this easy to write I'd be writing one a day.  I'd have to come up with a love nickname better than Turd.  Turd?  Really Michael, what were you thinking. .. and drawing a box at the top of your "love letter" to Lisa with the notation to "smell here"?  Ha.  I like that. Hmmmm how about scratch sniff love letters? 

Hello Hallmark?  Do I have an idea for you!

Half Pint and Pint Size

Kinzie (half pint) and Kiri (pint size) pictured in a rare, stand still, no fooling around photo  They're both waiting for Wifey to toss a treat their way. 

Kinzie weighs in at exactly five months today and 2 1/2 pounds.  Kiri's 2 1/2 years and 12 pounds. 

Ain't they cute?!

The two have become pals and spend endless hours wrestling and playing chase. 

In dim light it's often difficult to make out Kinzie's facial features.  You can see why.

Shoot Me A Cool One!

It's baseball season.  Hate to get up and miss some action.  Then comes football season.  Hate to get up and miss an important play.  Then it's NASCAR. ....hockey, basketball.

Me in the living room.  TV remote in one hand, a shootabrew remote in the other.  Wow.  The glass is now longer half full. . . it's filled to the top!!!

A gift for the guzzler who has everything.

Roof Surfing

Don't try this at home.  Actually, don't try this?  One just has to wonder what the hell this guy was thinking. .. . or was he?

Memorial Day weekend has always been a favorite.   Apart from the obvious, the observance of those who gave everything for their country (coupled with the three day non stop war movies a few movie channels present), Memorial weekend marks the beginning of "summer fun".  If you haven't noticed most everyone has piled into their car or RV and headed out of town.

Me?  I'm a stay in town guy for holidays like this.  Avoid crowds at all costs is the motto.  It's like New Year's Eve where many go on the town determined to have fun regardless of the consequences. 

Besides, there's work to do.  We're in the final stages of readying one of our rental properties for lease.  Paint.  Carpet.  Ceiling fans.  Kitchen counter tile, sink, disposal and faucet.   Tree trimming.  Carpet cleaning.  Landscape irrigation repair.  Replace the window coverings in one room and install Levelor blinds. Smoke detector replacement.  Replace each toilet seat (a must in my book).  And today hauling 4 yards of medium sized bark chips from the driveway for disposal into backyard landscaping.  Not a back breaking affair but a tedious back and forth with the wheel barrow sort of thing. 

Sunday/Monday it will be time to put the finishing touches on cleaning.  Tuesday the new tenants inspect the home, sign the lease and plop down the first month's rent and security deposit.

If there's time, Wifey and I'll sail Sparkle Plenty Monday. 

When the smoke clears we'll sit back, smile and be happy that once again we're leased the home.  And then we'll pray that the tenants take good care of the home as if it were their own. 

That's how I'm spending the long weekend.  Some holiday, huh?

Oh, Oh.....

I'm doing my best to post on What About Bob? everyday.  Unfortunately, life gets in the way and this place plays second fiddle.  Or, maybe it's fortunate there are priorities that circumvent sitting in front of a 30 inch screen and making shit up. 

Have you checked out Yelp?  It's an Internet site where you, I, your neighbor, the backyard cat (if computer literate) rate retaurants, medical professionals, the next door plumber or what have you.  Dial in Yelp on Google and then list the town you're living in and Bingo! 

A lot of people like to bitch and moan.  Some do a hatch job on a business that pissed them off.  Others rave about place because the owner asked them to post a favorable notice on Yelp. 

Check it out then write your own reviews. 

How Much Is Enough?

Booked: 5/20/12

Booked: 5/18/12

Booked: 5/02/12

Booked: 4/19/12

Booked: 2/23/12

Booked: 12/24/11

Booked: 12/08/11

Booked: 11/25/11

Booked: 7/02/11

Booked: 6/26/11

Good old Cowtown. .. land of catch and release criminals.   Some say our tourist slogan is Cowtown-----Come On Vacation Leave On Probation....har har har. ... anyway I wonder what the dollar amount has been to arrest, book, incarcerate and/or release this clown.  How much is enough already. . .put this idiot away or run him out of town on a rail. Geeze.  How I yearn for a little Old West justice.

Ya think?

This is a real scream!!!!

Love what the Coen brothers bring to the silver screen.  This clip is toooo funny. AHHHHHHH!


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

At Least I'm Enjoying The Ride

The Sky Is Not Falling

Last evening brought a panicked visit from the daughter.  Seems like some of her friends are crying the sky is falling . .. the stock market is failing and that anyone with investments in the market are going to lose them. Talk about 1930's thinking, especially from "that" generation.  Wow.   In keeping with that theme the friends suggested that the daughter cash in her 401K, put it in gold or a money market account and better yet, stuff it under the bedroom mattress. 

Better yet, the suggestion also had it that soon it would be every person for themselves.  Money would be worthless and barter the rule of the land.  Everyone would not have enough to eat and needed a loaded weapon to bring home the bacon or to protect the family from someone stealing the bacon.  We're talking Mad Max living.  Lord, how I'd love that.  The dawn of each day would bring the comment, How I love the smell of gunpower in the morning.

She asked my opinion on what to do which in itself a rare occasion.  I know a lot about many things meaning my intelligence has great breadth but not a lot of depth.  Scratch the Surface Bob.

Simply put I advised the daughter to look at the present state of affairs with logic.  Yes, things are a shitmess from sea to shining sea and around the world.  Yes, our economy is not only hinged with what happens in our own country but that in other countries, too.  Yes, there has been major Bozo decisions coming from the White House, the governments of each of the 50 states and in Europe as well.  And yes, it's all looking bleak today.

We're hit not some bumps in the road but a lot of major potholes which playing hell on most all of us. 

Without going into detail (goes with Scratch the Surface Bob thinking) there will be a better day.  The stock market will recover.  Europe, like the USA, will find a way to fix things though they may be a lot less and not more of or the same of what we're used to.  It's gonna take time.

As I told the daughter, ride this out and everything in time will be fine.  Or, there are options in what to do with the money in her 401K.  Do nothing.  Move it to a money market account.  Cash it in and either pay down the mortgage on her home and refinance the loan with a lower percentage of interest OR, purchase a rental which if bought at the right price will only reap more rewards compared to paltry interest earned in a 401K account.

My sense is that things are going to get worse before they get better.  Just be prepared to enjoy the ride.

I kind of feel that way about pancakes.  Take 'em, leave 'em or F 'em.  This IHop place pretty much zeros in on the latter.  Bet the manager didn't know that most of his sign had gone south.

Breakfast is not my favorite meal.  In fact, I really don't like a traditional breakfast meal in the morning.  An Asian noodle soup.  Sushi.  Anything Mexican.  Lunch for breakfast.  Pizza, too.  Anything for breakfast that's not for breakfast.

Oatmeal (the steady "stay alive until you're too old to walk diet).  Cereal with lots of fiber.  Eggs.  Bacon.  Sausage. Pancakes. French toast.  Etc.  All things I could and can do without.  Boring.  I like Eggs Bend My Dick.  But like everything else that's tasty, tooooo much of what's bad for the body.

Usually I skip breakfast and "fast" until lunch.  Two meals a day does a lot to maintain a boyish figure (well maybe 10 or 15 pounds south of boyish). 

It's too bad someone doesn't invent some new food that's called breakfast.  Like our dining habits, at least for the first meal of the day, are intrenched in the 1700's or earlier.  What did the Roman's eat at 7 in the morning?  Cavemen? 

Wanna make a billion?  Invent a new menu of breakfast food. . . something that's unheard of.  Patent it.  Sell it.  You'll be set for life.

Music For Dusting (the house)

I need music to move to, to live to, to celebrate with, to cry to, to rant and rave with.   Likewise, there has to be fitting music with the just right rhythm to clean bathrooms, mop the floors (yeah, i do that shit) and dust all the freaking objects Wifey has displayed around the house.

Here's one that struck my fancy for dusting.  Dusting kind of puts a spell on me. . . like I took stupid pills or something.  That kind of spell.  Wifey hates dusting.  I hate dusting.  Something has to put a spell on me to get the lead out and DUST! 

This kind of helped.

Oh, and the movie Holy Smoke where the Angels version of I Put A Spell On You appeared?  Well, it's like a 4 out of a scale of one to ten unless you really want to check out Kate Winstead's body cause she's buck ass nekked in this deal.  From a male point of view, she's smoking hot (as well she should have been being all of 24 when Holy Smoke was filmed. ... we were all hot as hell at 24. .. right?)

Nice Balls, Bob!

Instead of using "fenders" to buffer the boat from the dock I came up this idea.  Four of these little jewels (2 per side) hooked to the dock.  This eliminates putting fenders over the side on while the boat is docked and then removing them while sailing. 

I like easy.

It's not uncommon for sailor friends to yell out, "HEY BOB!!! NICE BALLS YA HAVE THERE!"

Check the last photo out.  See the lifeline hanging on the side of the boat?  I disconnect the lifelines while it's docked to eliminate the many nesting swallows from sitting on them and taking a crap.  Saves a lot of clean-up that's really not necessary if you know how to out fox the birds. 

One Amazing Dog!

Fast forward to 2:30 to see one amazing dog and his owner do their "thing"...Wow!!