Light the Sky!
From the Hillwood Country Club, West Meade in Nashville - 2006. Happy Fourth of July!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Sparkler Fun
Grab some sparklers and set your camera with a long exposure setting; add some imagination like Alexia did!
Alexia Abegg Flickr Set
Monday, July 03, 2006
Long Live Rock & Roll
Courtesy of Advertising For Peanuts
"These print ads for Rockaxis Magazine are hard to comment on. They're eerie, sad, and glorious all at once. They're bold to say the least. For music fans, these images are their dreams come true, bringing life back into the dead. They makes you wonder what Jimi Hendrix would have been like as a Grandfather. But in the same moment they remind us how sad it is that we will never know. In the end, these images tell us that these late greats have grown up, aged and still live - through their music. It's rare that advertising stirs up such strong emotions and for that alone they're worth mentioning. However, some might feel like some kind of line has been crossed. What do you think?"
Agency Unknown
Holiday Hot Dog
Diggy Woo, dressed up for the Fourth of July -
We just grab our lawn chairs, head down the street to Hillwood High School and watch the fireworks courtesy of the Hillwood Country Club. It ain't downtown Nashville, but the crowds are much more easier to deal with.
Happy Fourth everybody!
Declaring your independence - are you sure?
If you have been a member of the Second Continental Congress in 1776, you were a rebel and considered a traitor by the King. You knew that a reward had been posted for the capture of certain prominent rebel leaders and the largest British armada ever assembled was just outside New York Harbor.
Affixing your name to the document meant that you pledged your life, your fortune, and your sacred honor to the cause of freedom. 
Declaration of Independence 
Join the signers of the Declaration of Independence
Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.
-- words written on the Liberty Bell
"Independence Day is regarded as the birthday of the United States as a free and independent nation.
The holiday recalls the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. At that time, the people of the 13 British colonies located along the eastern coast of what is now the United States were involved in a war over what they considered unjust treatment by the king and parliament in Britain. The war began in 1775. As the war continued, the colonists realized that they were fighting not just for better treatment; they were fighting for freedom from England's rule.
The Declaration of Independence, signed by leaders from the colonies, stated this clearly, and for the first time in an official document the colonies were referred to as the United States of America."
Celebrating Independence Day
"On July 4, 1776, we claimed our independence from Britain and Democracy was born. Every day thousands leave their homeland to come to the 'land of the free and the home of the brave' so they can begin their American Dream.
The United States is truly a diverse nation made up of dynamic people. Each year on July 4, Americans celebrate that freedom and indepen-dence with barbecues, picnics, and family gatherings. Through the Internet we are learning about and communicating with people of different nations, with different languages and different races throughout the world. Bringing the world closer with understanding and knowledge can only benefit all nations.
We invite all nations to celebrate with Americans online this Fourth of July.
Happy Birthday, America!"
4th of July - Independence Day
Superman Returns; razor blade fun
In honor of the new Superman movie coming out, I decided to have some arts and crafts fun using standups I've been stashing in my garage for probably two decades.
By the way, Big Orange Michael is organizing a Superman Returns Blogger Viewing
Clean this (really good) crap up!
After years of piled up (really good) crap * by the garage door, Mrs. Wonderdawg exercised her freedom of speech this holiday weekend. Sufficently motivated and after relocating the stuff to its proper place, I power washed the metal door. 
Ready to prime and paint, I remembered a great tip from Tricks Of The Trade:
After opening a new can of paint, use a hammer and a slender nail to punch holes about an inch apart around the bottom of the circular groove around the can opening. The lid seals on the sides of the opening, so any paint that drips into the groove will flow back into the can. This makes it much easier to open the lid the next time (as it won't be glued shut) and reduces drips on the outside of the can when the groove overflows during painting.
It works!
* (really good) crap defined:
Two large tubs of purple iris to plant by the new shed
Four bags of hardwood mulch
One Homer 5 gallon bucket and brush to wash cars with
Sprinkler
Four coffee mugs
Plywood "tables"
Lawn chairs for relaxing
One container of tarps
Another container of misc. basketballs and soccer balls
Jumper cables
Half filled gas grill propane tanks
Pump sprayer
and...
Two useless 55 gallon plastic drums obtain during the Y2K global scam of January 1, 2000 perpetuated upon mankind
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Digging holes (no fun intended)
One of the drags of planting flowers and schrubs here in West Nashville is the all too familiar sound of "clink" when the shovel hits the sound of rock 2 inches down in the dirt.
So I start poking around with the shovel and pretty soon a massive rock is uncovered...
Not that I'm building a pyramid, but using wood planks, chains, a 8 foot pry bar and a pick up truck... one can eventually extract the big rock out of the ground. I can't imagine what those Egyptians went through!
Here's one of five that I have pulled out of the ground - if you're not careful, you can yank not only the rock out of the ground, but the transmission clutch on the lawn tractor, so it's best to use a pick up truck for the pulling. It's times like these that I wish I had a bobcat in my shed.
Gotta go dig some holes, head to Walmart or Home Deport for dirt and build some planter boxes for the iris. That's my assigned 4th of July project!
Customer Service heaven and hell
I'm at Target at White Bridge Road today, looking for patio furniture that was on sale. The clerk on the floor knows what Mrs. Wonderdawg and I are talking about since the item was moved during the remodeling of the store.
After searching the store, the units are nowhere to be found. The rep gets on the line with another store, and says I can give you a call when two units come in later at 7 pm. Fair enough!
So we're eating dinner and I get a message that the patio furniture has arrived at 6:30 pm. The message said all we have to do is to visit the customer service department to claim the item - (they will hold the item for 24 hours); gave us the store hours and thanked us for shopping at Target.
So we head over to the store and just as we are parking, my daughter sees a motorcycle fly out of a parking spot and wacks the rear end of a SUV, sending the driver flying into the back of the car, shaken up with the bike pinned underneath the right corner of the bent bumper. Apparently, the bike was in gear when started which sent the driver flying in the air like Evil Knievel. But he's alright considering he didn't have a helmet on!
Then we go inside after help arrives for the cyclist and at the customer service desk, some guy is just laying into the rep there. As part of the audience, I gathering that he's looking for a desk and didn't want to wait or go driving to another store to go get it. The rep is patiently giving him options and apparently he wasn't a good listener, as he starts going into the fact that he's a "consultant", and the ideas she was suggesting bordered on stupidity.
"I want to speak to the manager!"
"I am the manager."
Staying claim, she said if you want to settle down we can resolve this to your satisfaction. Whether it did or not, since we saw him leave and come back later, our service was pretty darn good.
I think God gave us an opportunity to be the ying to whatever demon was yanking this "consultant"'s yang...
The patio furniture was retrieved, we got a chance to open the box, look inside, pay for it at the counter and had help loading it. I did ask the manager why she didn't whack the guy on the head with the red phone! I think she was ok about it, saying something to the effect that people just don't have to be that way... in this guy's case, being a consultant, a unknown source says "Some consultants are like the bottom half of a double boiler: They get all heated up but don't know what's cooking."
Some perspectives:
Demonizing the Customer
"Some Company Help Staffs Disdain the People They Serve" - Don Oldenburg writes about a bizarre Comcast story.
CustomersSuck.com (slogan: "The customer is never right!") where "frontline retail types" tell their horror stories.
Are you a bad customer?
The Art of Sucking Down or, why you should treat people with a modicum of respect. by Guy Kawasaki
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