The buzzing wood-chipper voice of Johnny Most; Treetop cat falls 80 feet; Tiger Woods commits to play World Match Play Championship

Andrew Ayres writes in The Daily Dime (on ESPN.com) about wanting to see the glory days of the Celtics in the 80s, with Magic, Larry, Lakers and Celtics. What I liked in the article was his short but sweet mention of listening to Johnny Most announcing the game. Johnny did have a voice like a wood-chipper. A 2 pack-a-day wood chipper.

I watched a video of a cat falling 80 ft., then running away after bouncing off the ground. I thought it was going to be gruesome and would have regretted launching the video, but the cat lived. And, he/she didn't land on his feet. He/she landed on his/her back.

And finally Tiger Woods commits to play in the World Match Play Championship for the first time since 1998. The tournament occurs a week before the Ryder Cup which is in Ireland this year. I predict a huge year for Tiger (easy prediction).

And one final story: Chicken are Feeling Better. They did have the devastating Bird flu but are starting to recover with the help of some rest, medication, love, and attention.

It’s Duck time

Actually, it’s getting a little past Duck time. Ducks have been migrating through New England for a few months now. The past couple of months I’ve taken trips to Rhode Island and Cape Anne and caught some great glimpses of ducks on their way through to the Artic, Nova Scotia, Canada and Maine.

Common Eiders are our largest sea duck. My brother thinks the ducks resemble a battleship. That makes a flock of them an armada. I saw a lot of these on Cape Anne and Rhode Island. These ducks are always on open ocean. They climb up on rocks as well which I witnessed off the Cliff Walk in Newport RI.

I’ve also seen Common and Red-breasted Mergansers. The Common is a little larger than the Red-breasted. Common Mergansers like deep, clear lakes and rivers while the Red-breasted prefers shallow, sheltered salt water. I’ve seen them in both settings (ocean and fresh water). I’m not an expert but I think this could be due to migration where the Eiders are always on open ocean water.

Common Goldeneyes I’ve seen off of Cape Anne and inland on some local large ponds. They’re beautiful ducks that are distinguished by their dark head and golden eye. According to The Sibley Guide to Birds they nest in tree cavities near ponds and lakes during the summer. To see this you would have to travel to Canada which is their summer home.

During the winter you can see ducks up and down the New England coast. I’ve had a lot of great luck in Rhose Island at a place called Sachuest Point. It’s right next to Second Beach which is a little ways east from Newport.

Just last weekend my brother and I were checking out the local ponds in Westboro and saw thousands of Hooded Mergansers on Lake Chauncy. It was pretty impressive. We also saw a flock of Ring-necked Ducks. These are easily identified by a ring around their beak.

Bird watching is a hobby of mine and spotting ducks is a part of the year-round fun. In the late summer (mid-August) through November you can catch ducks traveling (through New England) south for the Winter. Then starting January through March, catch them again heading north. Of course this isn’t an exact science and you may catch some ducks during off months.

This just gets me psyched for the Spring migration of song birds.

Some favorite red wines from an amateur

I love red wine but will not profess to being any kind of expert on the subject. My 78-year old Father loves red wine but I think his reasons are simple as well. The taste, the buzz, and the…buzz. I can never taste the oak and blackberry flavors or the chocolate finishes but I do know a decent red wine when I taste one. And most of my choices are below the $15 threshold.

Here are a few:

• Ca’del Solo Big House Red – from the Bonny Doon vineyards in Santa Cruz CA, I was introduced to the wine by my best bud in San Francisco. Easy drinking and about $10-11 a bottle.
• Primus – a blend of Carmenère, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. From Chile, it’s $15 and delicious.
• Limestone Coast Cabernet Merlot – From Greg Norman Estates, another blend (I like ‘em) that is easy to drink (I like easy) and about $11 a bottle.
• Gato Negro Cabernet Merlot – the Wine Slob didn’t care for it but for $6 a bottle it’s pretty darn good. From the Viña San Pedro S.A. winery in Chile.

There’s many more I like but I’ll wait until I’m a little more refined in my tastes.

Saturday right

Playing online poker can be very satisfying. It can also be very frustrating. And it costs money—if you happen to be playing for real money. Pacific Poker also allows you to chat during the games to other players. Lately, there hasn’t been much chatting during games. Go back about a year and chatting during games was common. Sometimes the conversation would turn nasty: “…what idiot would call the big blind with a 3 – 7 suited? I’m playing with morons…”. The chat mechanism will not allow swear words—you could type ‘em, but they wouldn’t appear. But users would sometimes get around the programing: “fu kk ewe” would shoot across my bow after I’d won a hand, and I’d respond to the jerk with a level immaturity that would make Jim Carrey proud.

If you’ve decided to play online poker, first try the sites where you play for free. Then become a decent player and start playing the real money tables.

East coasters struggle for better weather
Today hit the 60’s in tempature. People came outside their obodes armed with a little more friendliness and smiles than usual for this time of year. Kids were walking around the streets with basketballs and cars were lined-up at car washes. The tolerance for Winter weather seems to grow thinner. Or, impatience for Spring is growing.

Three more weeks and the Falcon Convertible comes out of storage. I can’t wait for the the fresh, warm, exhilarating air to rush by me while driving a 1964 4-speed V8 car! Oh yeah…

Sifting through the link pool

I’ve had many links in my day. Some good. Some bad. I’ve had one night stands with links. On a rare occasion, I’ve had a long-term relationship with a link. So I thought I would share a small sampling of my links:

• Mark Harden’s Artchive - a classic art resource. Great for wallpaper or partying with your classic art friends.
• Country Classic Cars – if your looking for a great resource to buy cars between the 1930’s – 1960’s, this is it. Located in south Illinois.
• CSS Zen Garden – a great site for seeing the potential of CSS. All tight-wad white collar companies should view this site to loosen-up on their web site design.
• Vintage Swank – when I  lived in San Francisco there were all kinds of shops with vintage stuff from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. I see some of that on this site. Check out the furniture section. Cool.
• Ultra Lounge – this is the world I want to live in. Actually, I think I do live in this world.
• Hubble Site – just a big fan of pics from space. Kids love this stuff.
• Font Diner – awesome site for finding 50s style fonts. I bought the ‘In-Flight Meal‘ font set.
• Jones and Jones – one of the first sites I loved in 1996. Hasn’t changed much since then.

These are just a few samples of my pool. Many more will be coming soon to Borgy101.

Barry Bonds, Republican-dominated House committee approves amnedment to block port deal, Iran covertly developing nukes

Barry Bonds. Do you think he’s wrongly getting pummeled by the media on a witch hunt? Or do you think he is finally getting caught doing the thing we all know he’s been doing? Juicing. When it comes to baseball matters, I always look to Peter Gammons. The man-on-the-top-of-the-mountain of baseball wisdom.

Republicans starting to distance themselves from George W.
The CNN.com hed: “House panel fires shot over White House bow on ports deal“. Yep. That House panel. The Republican dominated one. Here she comes in 2008. Hilary Clinton, we’re ready.

Iran and the nuke program
Tough one to debate. We don’t want them to have nuclear weapon capabilty but ironically, the U.S. posess 10’s of thousands of nuclear weapons. Counter point: any country posessing nuclear weapon capability and then calling for the elimination of Israel, as well as stating the Holocaust was a lie, needs a second look. A long, hard second look. Read the latest from Haaretz.com on Iran.

American automakers humiliated again! What’s new?

Japanese automakers captured the top positions in all 10 vehicle categories rated by influential Consumer Reports magazine. At this point in time, is this news? Any educated (High School level) person knows the best vehichles are Toyotas and Hondas. Chevy Monte Carlo over a Toyota Camry? Nahhhh. Dodge Neon over a Honda Civic? I don’t think so. Not if you care about dependability, reliability, and resale value.

I used to be a die-hard Volkswagen dude. I’ve owned a 1975 Rabbit (in blazing orange), two 1983 Jettas (Rabbits with a trunk), a 1990 Corrado, and finally a 1994 Jetta GLX. The Rabbit was a carburated 4-speed. First year for this ground breaking model. A blast to drive. Same with the ‘81 Jettas, even though they were fuel injected.

The Corrado I bought used. Anybody that knows Corrados, knows most used ones were beaten to a pulp because they were killer cars. Mine had the supercharged 4-cylinder (G60). It was fun when it ran. A lot of fun.

The ‘94 Jetta was a 6-cylinder 5-speed and was made in Germany. I bought it with 90,000 miles and it lasted until 136,000 until I sold it. A great car that could seat four adults.

Volkswagen lost me when their car lineup prices went over the 20k barrier (the 16k basic Golf/Beetle is a joke) and became known to me as ‘Audi Jr.’ Their service level is sub-par as well when compared to Toyota/Honda.

Then in 2005 I bought a Scion xB at the age of 43. Scion is the youth division of Toyota. I love the car. The ride is a little rough but I get 35 miles to the gallon and have the Toyota comfort level of: dependability, reliability, and resale value.

American vehichles need a comfort level.

Once upon a time they did. My favorite car is my 1964 Ford Falcon Spint Convertible 4-speed. From a time when American automakers were never humiliated.

 

24 degrees (but feels like 10)

The weekend weather in Worcester, Ma. Friday Feb 24, 06 9:00pm: 

• 24 degrees but feels like 10
• Clear and windy
• Low tonight of 12 degrees
• Visibility 10 miles
• Moon in last days of it’s phase

What’s there to do in Worcester on a Friday night when it’s 24 degrees (but feels like 10)?

• Watch the Olympics
• Give your Yorkshire Terrier attention
• Drink some Red Wine
• Take care of your sick wife
• Write something in your blog

New Englanders get tired of the Winter weather sometime between Xmas and February. And I don’t mind speaking for everyone. When a 50 degree day hits in the middle of January, people go outside and yearn for the ending of Winter.

The number one thing people in New England do when it’s 24 degrees (but feels like 10): stay inside.

 

…uhh…my first entry…

My first blog entry. What should I blather on about…my first entry is on the same day that the Lotto winners came forward. $15.5 mil a piece after the US Government is done with the winnings ($365 mil). It’s also on the day that Nstar announced it was cutting gas rates by 36%, citing lower-than-expected costs. Just in time for Spring!! U guys rock!

I can always find solace looking at “Astronomy Picture of the Day“. It reminds me that we’re just a little spec on the butt of the universe. Stuff like HTML, Seinfeld re-runs, Manny Ramirez, fueding speed skaters, doesn’t amount to a hill of beans if some arbitrary asteroid doinks us out of our orbit.

This just in: “Documents support Cheney’s shooting account“. Was there any doubt? Please….

First blog entry out of the way.