Scanners! Weather Ball Red....

The title of this post should be more than ample hint as to the location of this town setting from my college days in 1974. My feeling is that many, if not most of the buildings in this shot are long gone.

History Quiz. Clue #1

Come on, people! These quizzes aren't any fun if nobody plays! So here's an altered version of the photo of the 1964 debate team, to help you focus. Our conservative-appearing mystery personality also played on the tennis team.

A Little Quiz.

So... I took this picture on my mountain hike yesterday.

From Up and Down the North Floridas

It was on the side of the road up the mountain.  I know what it is.  Do you?

(click on image for larger view)

What Was It?

Even when you're underneath it, the T.A.R.S. Aerostat doesn't look twice the size of the Goodyear blimp. That's because this "weapon" in the so called "War on Drugs", is on a 25,000 foot tether.

The one in my picture is one eleven that the Air Force operates from the Carribean to Arizona. It is located, as you might guess, outside of Deming, New Mexico. It's purpose is not to catch "il-ee-gals" (sorry Todd), but "radar interdiction" of planeloads of illicit drugs coming from the south. So, while Rick correctly identified what it is, Cindy was the only one who got the hint.

There is no prize... you all should be proud of a job well done.

What Is It? (With Hint)

Just a fun diversion from all the seriousness here lately. This is a little game that Patrick play over at Terrierman blog. Just post your answers to the comments section, and all will be revealed in a couple of days.

Playing isn't a requirement, and you don't need to whine about it. You can just say "no".

Are You Sitting Down?

Before I forget, we need to return to the story of that clunker Pontiac Tempest I blogged about a couple of weeks ago. The question I posted was, "What would you pay for it?" To review, it's 45 years old, and has no motor or transmission.

We had a pretty spirited conversation going on in the comments section (check it out if you weren't one of the commenters), so we know what you'd pay. What did someone actually pay last month? Well, before I let you know, I should point out that at one time that clunker looked very much like the car above. In fact, after reading the history of these vehicles, there's a 99% chance I saw that very same clunker running at the Detroit Dragway back in the early 60's!

OK.. you've read the history. Sit down. Here's the real deal. It's fun to read through the posts where the seller kept adding information as he began to realize just what he had on his hands for sale. Moral?: If it's rare, it's worth it, no matter what it looks like. Now wasn't that fun?

A Real "Deal".

Time for one of those fun quizzes we like to do around here... this one is automotive related.

Question: What would you pay for this 1963 Pontiac Tempest? Oh.. it has no motor. Or much of anything else... except dents and rust. Oh.. the windshield is plexiglass. (Hmmm. That must be a hint.)

Send your guesses to comments section below. (Googlers are cheaters!) I'll post the answer in a day or two.

So That's What They Look Like...

...when it's too late to eat 'em...
...or too soon.

Mile "0"

It's been a while, hasn't it. I could lie and say I was waiting for more guesses on the previously posted "quiz". Guess three is all I'm going to get, and all three were correct. The answer was, of course, "Twin Peaks". "But what about the Harry S. Truman clue, Dan?", you ask. He was the sheriff. Margaret's son, Tony posted the most creative answer. Check 'em all out.

Meanwhile, in just a couple of hours, we'll embark on our longest trip in 2 years- (thus, the "Mile 0" title... ). We're going to the Scottish Deerhound Club of America's national specialty in Lompoc, California. We've got 10 days to get there. I really wanted to leave earlier this week, but before we tackled the heat and long climbs of the trip, the Express had to get a new radiator. So for the past two days we sat at Margaret's brother Rob's shop, getting the job done.

That's Rob under the Express. (Note to Sherita: be glad... be very, very glad... there was a lot of profanity under there.) Rob's happier working on E-type Jaguars, so this was a bit of a challenge. But it's done, and we're running around 50 degrees cooler. Mission accomplished.

We'll try to chronicle the trip on a regular basis. Our route will take us through IN, IL, MO, OK, TX, NM, AZ (I-40 mostly). If we're going past your house, get out on the overpass and wave! Better yet, invite us to dinner.

We'll leave you with a nature image of a very cool moth:

UPDATE: Since inquiring minds wanted to know, I did some googling and can now tell one and all that this is a Great Leopard Moth, (Hypercompe scribonia), as if that shouldn't have been immediately obvious. ;-)

"She's Dead....... Wrapped in Plastic!"

It's quiz time, kids! Having nothing better to do last night.. (Margaret's still in Ann Arbor selling everything).. I decided to start watching my Christmas present.

Margaret originally got me the first season of 30 Rock (see? not a jealous bone in her body). But I had already watched it on Netflix, so she had to get something else. What did she get me?

(I'd prefer not to get Google-assisted answers... let's just hear from the folks who actually know without looking it up) ;-)

UPDATE: We've got two guesses so far... I'll post all the comments when I decide we've had enough fun. I think, though, it's time for a hint: One of the main characters is Harry S. Truman.

A Week in the Life...

It's been an interesting past few days.. you might say from the ridiculous to the sublime.

We shot the River Raisin Rhodesian Ridgeback Club's AKC lure trial last weekend. Saturday was soaking waves of cold rain, all... day... long. That was fine; I've worked in the rain before. Could be worse.



Sunday, it got worse. The snow in and of itself wasn't bad, it was the 25-30mph gusting Northeast wind that was driving it that really sucked. Of course, in typical coursing irony, the snow moved on, and the sun came out... 20 minutes after the trial ended. The wind didn't go anywhere, however.

This is one of the great fields we shoot at. It's a private farm, and there are great rolling hills that are actually grass.. not a mowed hay field. Makes a natural bowl. Take a look when we get the pictures from the weekend uploaded to our website. (Should happen later today). I think the Saturday Borzoi runoffs give a pretty good look at the topography, as I moved into the bottom of the bowl.

From the trial, I drove into Ann Arbor to drop Margaret off at Weber's Inn and Restaurant, a legendary local establishment. She was going to get to spend the night there, in one of the nice poolside rooms, adjacent to her parents' room. I could have stayed, too... but somebody had to go back to Jackson and take care of the dogs. I would join up with them all on Monday morning.

Why? I probably haven't mentioned this before, but Margaret's parents are HUGE Michigan sports fans, and longtime members of the M Club, the folks responsible for the "Go Blue" banner any sports fan who watches football on Saturdays will recognize. They attend countless basketball (men's and women's), hockey, baseball, softball, swimming & diving, gymnastics, meets every year.

The guest speaker at the M Club luncheon (poached whitefish or grilled chicken) would be Michigan's new head football coach, Rich Rodriguez. This was his first meeting with "the club", and it seemed he started off on the wrong foot, with a group you really don't want to piss off. He was late, leaving the host to stall for time, while the natives got restless. And dessert was not a part of the lunch. WTF??

Well, "Rich Rod" finally showed up, to a lukewarm standing ovation... I overheard one of the men at our table say, "He doesn't deserve a standing ovation.. he was late". Tough crowd. They would warm to him, though; I knew they would. This guy is a favorite of ESPN, and we were about to find out why. For a kid who grew up in a tiny coal mining town in West Virginia, he's certainly a fabulous extemporaneous speaker. I hazard to say he can probably out-charisma any coach in the Big 10.. and a majority in the rest of the country.

But why take my word for it? Just watch this clip Margaret shot.. this was his "wrap up" story, about how fortunes can change in the business of college football coaching..





Needless to say, at the end of the hour the crowd was a bunch of pussycats, and they were eating out of his hand. More fun than I've had in a couple of years.

Tuesday, I had to finish up my article on the Pack Hunt and Desert Hare Classic for PSJ . Finish, did I say? I had to start and finish it.. already past the deadline. What the hell... I always work better under pressure. By Wednesday morning, I got it finished up and, not to boast,... (OK... I'm boasting), it may be my best stuff yet, so make sure you get your subscription started if you don't already have one. The issue should be out in about a month. Should be a good one, because Dutch will also have a piece about lamping jackrabbits, with some of the pictures I posted here during our Winter in New Mexico.

Anyway, Jackie, the editor, had a fabulous idea. We met her at Chicago Water Grill in the little burg of Jonesville, MI. We've met her there before and we were looking forward to it, as it's one of those incongruous places: fine dining at it's best in a little town far from any bustling metropolises. It gets its name from the fact it sits on US12, known as the Chicago Road... the way you got from Detroit to Chicago before the advent of the Interstate System. I had a Grouper sandwich.. I've mentioned here before my love of grouper haven't I? I'm sure I have. Desert was a "Old Fashioned Tin Roof Sundae". They even do Bananas Foster at your table, (which, by the way, was the answer to the last little quiz, not that anybody cared apparently.) Great restaurant if you're ever in the area. Go out of your way if you have to.

And for a final little restaurant tip... how about the place we just had lunch? Los Tres Amigos. In the Top 5 of all the Mexican and Tex/Mex places we've written about in the past. We try to get there at least once every trip into southeast Michigan. Try the Enchiladas Pacifico- 3 enchiladas stuffed with at least 2 dozen large, grilled shrimp, covered with green sauce (not green chiles.... damn!), rice, guac, beans, and sour cream. The best. Really good margaritas, too- you know that's important.

Tomorrow we'll be off to Stony Run County Park near the town of Crown Point, IN. This will be our first ASFA trial in quite some time.

Another Easy Quiz.

Since the movies are uploading so quickly here at the library in Hugo, here's another easy quiz. (Post your replies in the comments section)

What dish is being prepared here? Certain people can't play... you know who you are. ;-)

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

We hit the road yesterday morning, and drove the Express out of New Mexico for the first time in 2 months. Signal's been spotty, so not much new added here. When we get to Louisiana, I'll have time to catch up. Meanwhile, here's an easy little geo-quiz to keep you occupied. Where is this? Post your answers to "comments".

UPDATE: Had a correct answer already... took about 2 minutes, but I did say it was easy. I'll hold publishing comments for a few days, so others can post their- correct- responses.