Patty–

good old Jen figured it out– Ernesto and Frank are on the video– so Alberto is their brother in Milan?

duh to me too– smack me on the forehead!

Susan, i sort of understood him with that translation, loose as it was. Even thought at midnight I’m really not at the top of my game! ha

it compliments, (he’s complimenting) I have not understood nothing of the interview (doesnt understand english)but I have inasmuch as it you are cavata much good. (but what he did understand, the brothers are doing well) I have had way to admire your store, tidy and full of dressed. (he’s impressed with their store) I have found much good to you, you always maintain yourselves in shape (another compliment). It embraces, (well wishes) Alberto

Patty–

it doesn’t read right though– I have been struggling on it for the last hour– I am on the new thread-

Alberto:

mille grazie

Adam’s amica-

Adam…
for what it’s worth, not sure how correct it is, i dont speak italian.
translation from http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr

it compliments, I have not understood nothing of the interview but I have inasmuch as it you are cavata much good. I have had way to admire your store, tidy and full of dressed. I have found much good to you, you always maintain yourselves in shape. It embraces, Alberto

complimenti, non ho capito niente dell’intervista ma ho visto che la siete cavata molto bene.
Ho avuto modo di ammirare il vostro negozio, ordinato e pieno di vestiti.
Vi ho trovato molto bene, mantenetevi sempre in forma..
Abbracci , Alberto

These guys are the best they make all my suits. If you are ever in Santa Monica you should drop in and chat. They are both great Americans and Sean Hannity needs to drop in and get sized up for one.

SHORtage IN ISRAEL NOW?? AY KARABA

trickle down affect …

08:27 Supersol grocery chain limits rice sales and raises costs, predicting shortage (Haaretz)

surfdog–

I like your quote– I have to remember that one!

Max- kudos

click on my name @ 6:18 (you all were talking about signs earlier)

Susan: but it’s also an environmental subject.

What to you mean…funny? Funny how? You mean funny ha ha Etc, etc and all the rest of Joe Pesci’s lines in “Goodfellas” Is that how you spell Pesci?

“Man makes a beast of himself in order to avoid the pain of being a man” Samuel Johnson.

Or perhaps a comedian.
Tom

Surfdog—

are you sure you are not John? John, you have competition!
Max– We finally got our food thread! LOL

As a matter of fact, I am headed off to the store to buy some avocados! and cilantro!

xxx

SurfDog

Hope you stay on the blog with us - you are sooooo funny

A gerbil of crack would be a gerbil on crack or crank whichever is handiest

OOPS, that’s Gerbil “on” crack not “of” crack. What would a Gerbil of crack be? Sounds more than a rock or two, perhaps an ounce?????:)

Tom

Susan,

I too like Glen Beck and agree with most of what he says, but I can only take so much of him at once…he’s like a Gerbil of crack…what energy.

Tom

Susan: this is the best time for me, since i know so much about food!

time to go buy avocados! 80 pounds worth!

surfdog–

You are funny! I hope you stay on this blog! I sincerely LIKE you!

New thread– Adam has more bad news– and funny how we were more or less talking about food!

Retread,

My son and I are quite close, but we don’t talk much about our military service except the funny stuff which gets funnier as more and more time passes but I did talk about protecting himself at all times I think my last words of advice were “shoot first and I’ll hire an attorney later.” I did raise Holy H*** with him when he sent me a picture without his flak jacket on…I don’t think they call them that anymore. Whew that’s enough of that…don’t like to even think about it.

On a lighter note…Susan thank you. I’m not that old chronologically, but I have more miles on me than a Tijuana taxi that was used only dirt roads.
Tom

John–

I just saw your first link— LOL!!!!!! I must show it to Ken here!

Jen and Patty–

click on my name so you can see my new pet! He likes to eat rice–

Sunshine–

Here is a picture of my grandparents when they got married– I have it framed here in my home-

John–

great article you posted from Glenn Beck– I really like him- he is so passionate- I try to watch him all the time–

Sunshine and Max–

speaking of signs– this one is here in AZ– click on name–

Derek,

thanks for the info…I will keep list and when I’m called up I’ll keep all of you posted on anything interesting…wonder if Fox news will pay me?

Derek and Tom,

my sons are to young right now, but my Dad is aWWII vet, he doesn’t talk about it to much either. He was in Germany when I flew out for the Sandbox and I will never forget the look in his eyes as I said good bye a mingling of terrible pride, fear and a love that broke my heart, since I had been such an A@@hole to him when I was younger.

Like all combat vets we want peace more than anybody else, because we know that the next war will be our sons…but we all hope that this is the last one.

Oh, Tom I am really glad that your sons got back in one piece…do you share war stories with them?
Hell of a way for men to realize how much they really Love their kids.

Patty–

that is so cool of the post office to do that for the soldier!

Patty–

maybe you can have an auction for your bag of rice? You might get some big bucks for it! And thanks for asking about the Me and Max classroom thread– one can’t post links anymore there either as discard now pops up!

Surfdog– You are not old! And I am glad your sons are home safe! When my daughter was overseas, I too worried about her safety– now she wants to go live in Africa– more worries!

Derek and John– did you see the Wing Man– the future of airborne combat on Fox’s home page? I can just see you two wearing this!

Sunshine– reference to tank tops– I think it is disgusting when one wears one with all the fat hanging out on the sides– yuck!

Sounds like you have a nice home! Greta put up a vote for Wally gator thread– (vote if it is unfair the bear who killed his trainer gets to stay alive while Wally has to go down)

Max– thanks!

LDG– Hope you are resting well!

Derek,

I’m so sorry about your injuries and I hope they can be healed and you’re 100% again. I know what your Dad was going through, when my youngest came home for R&R the first time, he arrived at DFW airport and the VFW and American Legion were there in force and we applauded each soldier as they passed through the corridor…some looked quite embarassed by the attention and I loved it. The arrival was fine, but when it was time for my son to go back his Mother had to take him back to the airport, I couldn’t do it.

Tom

Tom,

I understand what you are saying, my dad is a viet vet and never ever spoke about it. I only know what I know from my uncle, he was a combat engineer and built bridges, went over as an E-3, came back an E-8, became a cook, served a couple more years and got out, never to look back.

I joined up, went infantry, never saw any action, decided to go reserves and finish college, ended up being pulled twice, first time with the 10th Mountain, and that was fine because I had served with 2/87 INF prior, and was welcomed back in.

Second time with a reserve unit from colorado, because of my INF experience I became the subject matter expert quickly for all things combat, we ended up doing combat patrols and that reserve unit saw more action than any infantry unit I have ever been around.

I came back and am now in the process of being medically retired (too many injuries to list)

When I got back off this last tour, my dad just hugged me, and broke down for the first time, said he couldn’t watch me go again.

I have three sons now, and I can tell you that I would rather get up out of bed, sling a ruck and use my walker to ease into battle than to ever have one of them go through that.

I now know why my dad never talked about vietnam, its like a bad dream you can’t forget.

Retread, Derek,

Yes, I am way old now…my oldest son was in Desert Storm and is now at Ft Jackson…my youngest got out 6 months ago and spent a total of 27 months in Iraq thanks to the back door draft which they euphemistically call stop-loss. I’m all for serving your country and my son did the honorable thing and didn’t complain too much, but a contract is a contract and it should be honored.

By the way, I think that being a father and having your sons in harms way is harder than being there yourself. I hated it every time the phone rang. Thank God they are both safe now, at least for now. I wish that all our boys could come home soon safe and sound.

Tom

girls in swimsuits….that is a good thing, and one of the main reasons for going to the beach every weekend, that said, I do not like swimwear or tanktops or anything else like that in my eatery.

I will say this though, i am a leg man through and through, a great set of legs on a beautiful girl, well, that is acceptable anywhere.

Retread-

That trans unit is going to need to strip off any POG habits in a hurry, I spent a good amount of time escorting them (trans units)through Iraq and when it hits the fan, those guys are going to need to be ready.

Any tricks of the trade over there? local food is good, especially the grapes and melons (check for razor blades and glass). Invest in cotton underclothes, works better than the poly and is only going to burn off vs melt to you.

Can you smell Haji? sure can! they stink, and it is wise to smell like them. I call it the 200 meter radius, and its not often that it comes down to this, but when it does, they need to be relying on their soldier skills and not the technology, they need to hone their senses, because it becomes a game of cat and mouse and its soldier to soldier, as you close that gap from 200 to 50 meters, everything is in hyperdrive, if you can smell the enemy, you are gonna be pulling the trigger soon.

I spent lots and lots of time, retraining my guys in the “old ways” of the infantry, and everyone of them thanked me at the end of our tour, we lost no troops (permanently) and we killed a lot of the enemy. Every one of them said it was because they had the confidence to face off man to man and not rely on technology that fails (NVG’s, pluggers(daggers), BFT’s, laser sights) all that stuff is gee golly great, but the difference between the guys doing the killin and the guys gettin killed, is basic soldiering skills that have been forgotten or under used.

Some NEED equipment:

Surefire flashlight and lots of batteries
Cotton underclothes
Leatherman
Good knife (seal pup by SOG)
lots of socks
Camelback (they should issue one)
Wiley X goggle’s (the cheap crap they issue sucks)
Assault Packs (great for grabbing on the go)
good nomex gloves (with leather palms and fingers
Ammo pouches that work (again the issue stuff sucks)

There are some other things, but that is stuff your supply sergeant should be trying to get from day one.

Adam,

just saw you on t.v. but it was at the end of your hit…. somthing about wood and farmers??

Patty ~ that is great article!

Patty - thanks for sharing that story. That is a nice honor.

Since we were talking about soldiers….

http://www.wibw.com/localnews/headlines/18093059.html

Patty -11:06am - ha ha ha ha ha! Very good! I love puns!

John - your 11:05 pun…shame shame

SurfDog,

never got to Viet Nam, too young. But being ’salty’ had and has its advantages when going to war, as you know odor was one of them…trying to smell like the bad guys.

I wonder if that concept works in urban warfare? Is there an advantage to eating what the locals do in Iraq or Afganistan? I would really like to hear about some of the survival skills in those nations from any recently returned or better yet still deployed troop…I figure that my unit in the National Guard will get orders soon enough and even though I am now a POG in Transportation (too old to be a grunt for more than a week or two) I would like any info from our Men from the front.

Retread,

So you liked being grungy:>)…I was a staunch raunch myself…afterall, the more the spit and polished crew could smell you the less the VC could.

Tom

It’s just another of the ways to tell the warriors from the rest.

Max - Retread is out working so I’m playing his assistant….I told him what you posted and he laughed and said YEP!

Retread: you’d much rather have some salty looking boots, right?

@ LDG, DEREK

been gone for a couple of days, but yeah I remember the good ol days of being a grunt in my beloved Corps…but remember that I spent the next ten years in the army as a Redleg (artillery)

I had constant run ins with the geniuses that made up the regular army, so high and mighty with their spit shined boots and knife edge creased BDU’s. I tried unsucessfully to get them to see the wisdom of being clean but sloppy. Even tried your route Derek with reading the lable on the inside of the BDU’s about no press or starch all to no avail…we needed to look professional by THEIR POG standards.

I finally (all though only temporarily) won on Nov 10, 1990 (grinning still at the irony) when we where told that we where deploying for Desert Shield/Storm…much to my amazement I was allowed to have my soldiers strip their boots of their spit shine…until Bn Command Sgt Major Paininmyass come along and said that we did not look professional, our Battery First Sgt Noseuphisbutt made us re-apply the spit shine to our boots. So it went until we hit the sand in Saudi Arabia.

In the Corps and even in the Army, I was always proud of being grungy when we came out of the bush and looked like ‘real’ Marines or Soldiers. It was a blast to see the REMF’s turn up their pretty little noses when we came into the PX or better yet their chow hall stinking from many unidentified odors.

Patty ~ 10:50 comment…LOL! That’s funny!

Max Kon ~ that’s a funny sign…

John ~ LOL!!!

John….

Guys in tailored suits???????? PLEASE give me a man in sexy green uniform and boots and I’m all there! Guys with suits are usually tight butted…snore…boring. I like military men. Especially my retread!

Patty end of comment at 11:06…..*biting tongue*…nope, just leave it alone max!

*winding the bobbins back up*

threads (as in making of, not disrobing of), suit (not swim suits), tailors (not sailors)…….
now back to the subject at hand! *L*

Max………..great sign indeed………and I too enjoy “meat markets”.

Since we’re on the subject, I’m sure many of you have heard this…….
When Mr and Mrs Bates and son, entered the ballroom for the wedding reception, they were introduced by the emcee as….”Mr and Mrs Bates…..and their son, Master Bates.”

Adam just saw you live, well no more $.50 avocados I am sure. We are not able to irrigate, but those that can find it necessary. When I was a newlywed I asked why we didn’t irrigate and my husband’s cousin told me. “when you can find water that can run uphill, then you can irrigate!”. That and no well makes it impossible to do.

Great reporting Adam! This is only beginning of the struggle for food producers I fear.

sleep well LDG

patty: i was just considering how others might read it.
though i was intending it to be an actual meat market. You don’t want your steaks all warm and starting to go off.

Sunshine: Yeah, it just means the guys have to buy more beer after the woman gets a free one.

woo… all work done for today…

I Can Sleep At Night For Once!

Have fun All! Looking forward to our good host’s upcoming stories.
((departs))

Max - ha ha! That might have been taking in Daytona during Bike Week. lol Of course the women that would do that would probably make you NOT want a drink. Scratch that, you’d need a drink to get that picture out of your mind. lol

@Max

That is a GREAT sign!

Max - we failed to talk about the importance of keeping the “minimart” aka “handy way” (and a few names that aren’t PC) cold. That would be because you want to claim “we sell the coldest beer in town”. (at least if you are running your business in FL) lol

@Patty

“…i cant hit the broad side of a barn anyway” –and the barns of the world thank you for that forebearance. ((grin))

Sunshine: That reminds me of this sign: http://www.theperfectsign.com/ProductImages/tavern_signs/1273.jpg

Max at 10:46…..*biting tongue*…nope, just leave it alone patty!

Sunshine: That reminds me of this sign: http://www.theperfectsign.com/ProductImages/tavern_signs/1273.jpg

If i owned a “wet seal”………..i’d throw him a towel!

FL..i cant even tell you the last time i shopped for a swim suit…maby 1902 or something like that! *LOL*

Derek & John…*LMAO* they guys here at work on a roll with that one too!

DLG…yep, thats where i am. Just what we need, a bunch of bitter people with sawed off shot guns and machine guns…oh wait, we already have that! *L*
Serioulsy, she was pushed hard to allow it. Really was a huge surprise that she did. Im all for her doing it. I don’t like it when gov’t tries to take that stuff away. We have weapons, for hunting. It wont effect me, like hubby says…i cant hit the broad side of a barn anyway, its not gonna matter what i have in my hands. He’d much rather i stick to the xbox when rendering my ancient instincts! *L*

John: In some cases i can see it making sense. Like say a meat market, it’d be best cooler so the products are at their best.

Hmm, i seem to have answered all of your points depending how you read that…

John & Max - “too cold is better than too hot” well, I will agree to the point of I’d rather see most people in a restaurant PUT more clothes on rather than take theirs OFF. AND…there’s nothing worse than having a meal out and looking over to see some guys armpit hair because he wore a tank top. YUCK!!! The signs should say, “No shoes, No shirt, No tank top (MEN), No service”.

All this talk of airconditioned shopping areas…

my #1 unpleasant example of modern over-airconditioning: Movie theaters. Even in the mid summer (which is sweltering here), bring a sweater if you are going to the movies.

Max……..true, sometimes it’s just too cold……….but, apparently, too cold is better than too hot, in most situations.

Sunshine………I can see some advantages to having a cold women’s bathing suit store………well, from a guys point of view anyway.

OK, I’ll stop, Adam is going to have to have a cigarette with his morning coffee if I don’t….

@Patty

way off topic, but you are in Kansas, yes?

http://outdoorlife.blogs.com/thegunshots/2008/04/gun-rights-vict.html

If I owned a Wet Seal (swimsuit store), I think I’d turn the temp up to a comfy 77 for my shoppers and maybe have one dressing room with a fan - for the “warm” people. Oh, and I would put carpet on the floor in there too. ha ha. nothing worse than being near naked and standing on cold tile barefoot.

All- yes, I’m aware of the “making the customer comfortable while they shop” (my family owns a furniture business). However - have you tried to shop for a bathing suit when it’s freezing cold? Especially bad for the women. :-I

John: But what about the people who go in to a store, think ‘oh fork, it’s freezing in here’ and walk out to the warmth without buying anything?

Becky: thanks

@John

Yes! Another very good article (gee, I said that about the NYTimes?). The whole issue of how information about commercial debt, like credit card loans, is handled is a *very* touchy subject internationally. It was one of the reasons why (up to the time of the Nagano Winter Olympics) the Japanese banking system strictly segregated their credit card business into domestic and foreign categories, and neither allowed normal domestic cards to work overseas, nor foreign cards to work in Japan (caveat: not all companies. example: Diner’s Club from the U.S. worked in Japan because it was used by U.S. diplomats stationed here).

While foreign Visa and Mastercard ’s now can be used for purchases, cash advances are handled by risk credit companies like Saison who are guaranteed repayment from the foreign Visa or Mastercard issuer, even if that would then result in a credit hold being issued on the user by the foreign issuer.

No Japanese bank or credit provider, to my knowledge, would disclose customer information to the foreign “mother company” (Visa International or such).

But it appears that U.S. arms of those sort of companies are more than content to outsource collection, and that implies a full transfer of customer information.

… and that is likely a largescale blackmailer’s dream come true.

Yuck.

Max Kon ~ I 100% agree with you!

Patty………..I’m gon’na get what? If I practice what that article preaches then I “won’t” get………….you’re right, forget it.

And you’re exactly right about the cold temperatures inside restaurants and shops, etc. Contrary to some beliefs, warm temperatures make people more tired and less hungry than cold temps do………and tired people do not spend money, usually.

@ john,

thank the powers that be for giving us the cure to the most dreaded of cancers. Now I can just say I am practicing preventative medicine, I wonder if I get insurance breaks because of it. Maybe the houses of ill repute in Nevada can just rename themselves clinics, and start billing insurance companies.

This is big, and I mean big news.

LOL

I just think it’s crazy to have to wear winter clothes to go into somewhere when it’s 90 outside.
Patty: i think maybe it’s because it is now over 30 days old so went into the archive.

Patty ~ interesting…I never thought about that.

Good article LDG……………here’s one on a subject that makes me feel somewhat uneasy. Not only because it’s taking more American jobs away from us, but our something doesn’t sit right with me about our “private” information being readily available in foreign lands……
Delete the spaces in the address ( word press is definitely not liking us today )

h t t p: //w w w .nytimes.com/2008/04/24/business/worldbusiness/24debt.html?ex=1209700800&en=b277cce004a96775&ei=5123&partner=BREITBART

People dont shop well if they are overheated….and the same goes with people and eating.
Thats why the temps are so low

Adam…curious…why did the max and me thread fall off of the most commented list on the right side? and why does it have a script error everytime the page loads?

I have a bag of rice in my freezer I’ll sell………..*BG*
it’s been there about 2 years! *L*

‘morning everyone. You’ve been busy!!

Where’s the South Am. post Adam?

John….your gonna get …nahhhh forget it
Susan…meat eaters here!! Gotta have my pork and cow and tators!
We cook on the grill in the summer almost everyday.
Cute pics!!!! Your brother (i presume) looks like “oh crap, they know i did it!” *L*

Avi…I’m with ya on the math thing!

FL Sunshine ~ I also keep a sweater in my car for when I go out b/c it is always so cold in every restaurant and store I go into. I am always cold…even in hot weather I can be cold!

Susan ~ I love the picture of your family! So adorable!

John ~ good article from Glenn Beck

I SO DISLIKE WORDPRESS… dropped links ((grr)) dropped posts ((grr))

er… eh hem.

Here is an article on the Colombia Free Trade Act and why it is so darn foolish of the Pelosicrats to be playing political football with it:

h ttp://w ww.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/opinion/24kristof.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

as WordPress has dropped this link on a previous post attempt, cut and paste it to your browser, please, removing the spaces first of course.

John,

on TVNEWSER it said awhile back that one of the bosses Murdoch or that other guy had lunch with Beck….

Max - Unless it’s mid summer here, I usually have a light jacket in my car for taking into restaurants. I don’t know why all the stores think they have to have the temp in the mid 60s. ??? We set our A/C at 80 for most of the summer but there are a few days when I’m baking in the kitchen and I’ll drop it to 78. I do try to do a lot of grilling outdoors to keep the heat out.