Monthly Archives: February 2015

Undisputable Cuz

Perfect for cooking four tons of meat at a time

A BBQ pit about the size of a whale — and almost large enough to cook one — is on sale for the equally hefty price of $350,000.

Terry Folsom, a man in Brenham, Tex. who says he acquired the 40-ton behemoth in a business transaction, is now looking to sell it, the Houston news source KHOU-TV reports. The pit is listed on Ebay with a sell price of $350,000.

“It’s the world’s largest barbecue pit,” Folsom’s wife Kim told KHOU-TV.

Undisputable Cuz

The pit, dubbed the “Undisputable Cuz,” stretches 75 feet and is large enough to cook four tons of meat at a time. Seven smokestacks extend from the top and 24 doors open into it. Of course, the pit is also equipped with a walk-in cooler with room for beer kegs.

Storm Trooper Selfie

They miss every shot!

Storm Trooper Selfie

Tundra Lodge

The Tundra Lodge, located on the subarctic tundra outside the small Canadian frontier town of Churchill, Manitoba, is a unique custom rolling hotel that is placed in an area of high polar bear density at the beginning of each polar bear season, which runs from October through November. The lodge has 32 rooms. Each room is a single compartment similar to sleeping quarters on a train with either an upper or lower berth. With six shared toilets and four showers, as well as a lounge area for viewing bears and a dining car with sliding windows for viewing and photography, the Tundra Lodge offers an authentic and personalized Arctic wilderness experience without sacrificing comfort. Raised outdoor viewing platforms also facilitate excellent polar bear viewing and photography opportunities, as well as aurora-watching when the northern lights are visible. There’s no opportunity anywhere else on the planet that affords the chance to be in prime polar bear habitat around the clock!

RIP Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple Black (April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) in Curly Top (1935)

Shirley Temple was an American film and television actress, singer, dancer and public servant, most famous as a child star in the 1930s. As an adult, she entered politics and became a diplomat, serving as United States Ambassador to Ghana and later to Czechoslovakia, and as Chief of Protocol of the United States.

Temple began her film career in 1932 at the age of three. In 1934, she found international fame in Bright Eyes, a feature film designed specifically for her talents. She received a special Juvenile Academy Award in February 1935 for her outstanding contribution as a juvenile performer to motion pictures during 1934, and film hits such as Curly Top and Heidi followed year after year during the mid-to-late 1930s. Licensed merchandise that capitalized on her wholesome image included dolls, dishes, and clothing. Her box office popularity waned as she reached adolescence, and she left the film industry in her teens. She appeared in a few films of varying quality in her mid-to-late teens, and retired completely from films in 1950 at the age of 22. She was the top box-office draw four years in a row (1935–38) in a Motion Picture Herald poll.

Temple returned to show business in 1958 with a two-season television anthology series of fairy tale adaptations. She made guest appearances on television shows in the early 1960s and filmed a sitcom pilot that was never released. She sat on the boards of corporations and organizations including The Walt Disney Company, Del Monte Foods, and the National Wildlife Federation. She began her diplomatic career in 1969, with an appointment to represent the United States at a session of the United Nations General Assembly. In 1988, she published her autobiography, Child Star.

Temple was the recipient of awards and honors including Kennedy Center Honors and a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. She ranks 18th on the American Film Institute‘s list of the greatest female American screen legends of all time.

Thank you, Shirley for many evenings with my wife watching your works of art

Wikipedia Link

Six Moose

Two Irishmen flew to Canada on a hunting trip. They chartered a small plane to take them into the Rockies for a week hunting moose.

They managed to bag 6. As they were loading the plane to return, the Pilot said the plane could take only 4 moose.

The two lads objected strongly. “Last year we shot six. The pilot let us take them all and he had the same plane as yours.”

Reluctantly, the pilot gave in and all six were loaded. The plane took off. However, while attempting to cross some mountains, even on full power, the little plane couldn’t handle the load and went down.

Somehow, surrounded by the moose bodies, only Paddy and Mick survived the crash.

After climbing out of the wreckage, Paddy asked Mick, “Any idea where we are?”

Mick replied, “I think we’re pretty close to where we crashed last year.”

I’ll save us hooman!

Snow Plow?! We don’t need no stinking snow plow!

Life Explained

On the first day, God created the dog and said, “Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.”
The dog said, “That’s a long time to be barking.

How about only ten years and I’ll give you back the other ten?”
And God saw it was good.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said,”Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I’ll give you a twenty-year life span.”

The monkey said, “Monkey tricks for twenty years? That’s a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did?”
And God, again saw it was good.

On the third day, God created the cow and said,”You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer’s family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.”
The cow said, “That’s kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I’ll give back the other forty?”

And God agreed it was good.

On the fourth day, God created humans and said,

“Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I’ll give you twenty years.”
But the human said, “Only twenty years?

Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?”
“Okay,” said God, “You asked for it.”

So that is why for our first twenty years, we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves.

For the next forty years, we slave in the sun to support our family.

For the next ten years, we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years, we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.

Antonov 225 taking off

YouTube account HD MSP Spotting captured a rare appearance by the Antonov 225 aircraft at the Minneapolis – St. Paul International Airport back in July 2014. With six turbofan engines and a maximum takeoff weight of more than 700 tons, the Antonov Design Bureau plane is the longest and heaviest ever built and boasts the largest wingspan of any currently operating airplane. According to The Minneapolis StarTribune, the giant plane was in the Twin Cities to pick up air conditioning equipment before heading to the Middle East by way of France or Switzerland.

Road Zipper

A couple of weekends ago the Golden Gate Bridge was closed to allow installation of a new safety barrier between northbound and southbound lanes on the San Francisco Bay Area landmark. A key aspect of the $30 million-system is the Road Zipper–a highly specialized truck built by Lindsay Transportation Solutions that can rapidly shift the barrier one lane over to accommodate various traffic patterns throughout the day. It’s no simple feat as each of the system’s 3,500 steel-reinforced barriers weighs 1,500 pounds. The system was tested during the bridge closure, and a number of people caught the truck (the bridge authority has two) in action. The zipper-like action of the truck is curiously mesmerizing.

The new safety system replaces the plastic tubes that were in place for more than 50 years. Crossover accidents were common with the old system–16 people died in 128 head-on collisions between 1970 and 2015.

50 Years of Mustangs

50 Years of Mustangs

Krispy Kreme Waffles

Krispy Kreme Waffles Krispy Kreme Waffles

We are all going to DIE!

Pair climb frozen Niagara Falls

Red Bull has created stunning video of Alberta, Canada adventurer Will Gadd’s historic ascent up a frozen portion of Niagara Falls. On January 27, 2015, he and fellow climber Sarah Hueniken became the first climb up the falls, though Gadd claims that in the end, it was Niagara that won.

That climb beat me up. I may have reached the top, but Niagara won the war. At the end of the day I was hypothermic. That waterfall did a lot more damage to me than I did to it!

According to National Geographic, the climb’s sponsor, Red Bull, had planned to keep the event secret until after the Super Bowl, but word of the feat got out early.

Steven Wright

“Last year I went fishing with Salvador Dali. He was using a dotted line. He caught every other fish.”

Happy Groundhog Day!

Groundhog

In Remembrance – Space Shuttle Columbia & Crew

On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry on its 28th mission; all seven crew members aboard perished.

Columbia Launch STS-107

Columbia launches on its final mission, STS-107.

Columbia STS-107 Crew

The crew of STS-107. L to R: Brown, Husband, Clark, Chawla, Anderson, McCool, Ramon.

Columbia STS-107 Mission Patch

Columbia STS-107 Mission Patch.

Wikipedia Link