The Conch Christmas Present

What? Christmas... isn't that over already? Well my wife had one last Christmas present for me (she actually forgot to give it to me on Christmas... but since this is in the spirit of giving... I'll let it slide), it was a conch shell that has been turned into a trumpet. Well more accurately a horn.

If you have ever been on a cruise you've seen them, and probably heard them too. I went on a cruise for my honeymoon, which was about 5 years ago, and we saw them, and of course I wanted one, but it seemed rather silly, so I passed. Well for 4 & 1/2 years I've regretted not getting the conch horn. And my wife can tell you how much grief she has had to endure because I didn't get it the first time.

So fast forward to about 6-8 months ago (or is that rewind?). My brother-in-law and his wife were taking a cruise for their anniversary, my wife told him to get a conch horn, and viola... I have what maybe considered the best Christmas present ever (even better than the HD sunglasses).

So now I have to learn how to play it, or rather how to blow into it. I was trying to remember 1985 band class, in which my instructor is teaching how to blow into a trumpet/trombone/tuba. But that was nearly a quarter century ago, and I think (I could be wrong) me having a stroke may have something to do with it as well. I haven't found that conch sound yet. But in me trying to find it, I have scared the hell out everybody, and I have been called shenanigans... which now that I think about it, is one of the reasons I did not get the conch horn way back when...

Piss on `Em Too

The Trip (Photoblog)

So most (but not all) of these pictures are 1. from the inside of the car, because it was cold outside and 2. taken on the way home. It was a lot harder to take pictures when it was in the single digits outside, all I really wanted to do is get under the covers. Strange how being three makes you immune to the cold, but I looked at it as her problem (the songbird) not mine.


Here it is actually snowing... which it may here later this week...




Here you can see massive icicles, and if you look closer, the road is literally carved out into the mountain.




This is on the boarder between Kentucky/Virginia.

There was nothing special in Tennessee, this is in North Carolina, at a scenic overlook.



Finally this is my old stomping grounds, the dam at Glendale in the Upstate of South Carolina. It was maybe 2 or 3 blocks from my home.

The Trip

So my epic trip from Bluffton to Kentucky, is forever ingrained in my memory... but not for anything that good:

I'll start out on my journey with what I'm now calling "the worst drive-thru food ever". We stopped at a Hardee's in Orangeburg. We should have just kept going. And it wasn't even our first choice, heck it wasn't even our second choice. But it was available, and so we stopped.

The burgers were ok, not horrible, not excellent, just blah.... But they did not have any fries... they ran out or something... I really don't know. Their chicken strips... were questionable. I'm not saying I ordered chicken and they gave me ham, but I am saying the chicken was suspect. Also the soda machines needed a recharge. Seriously, worst meal of all time.

The rest of South Carolina was uneventful, besides a little rain. Once we got into North Carolina, the rain turned into snow, and the snow got heavier and heavier. Then it turned to rain, then sleet, then snow again. It was not supposed to do that until the next day... according to the weatherman anyway.

It was all good, until we got into Virginia and we had a tractor trailer jack-knifed across the whole highway, (this was around Pound, VA). We took a back road, and were on our way again. Nothing more happened, other than driving on some questionable roads, but I think it is adversity like these things that make the trip memorable. Sure I could do without them, quite well actually, but there is no such thing as a trip without some kind of event happening.

Like the trip home, in which we left, it was 9 degrees outside, I don't care where you are from, that is cold. We made it all the way through the ice and snow and cold, only to be stopped before Walterboro. The I-95 jinx hit us again. The fix was in, I swear every time we go some where there is always a wreck on the way home. We wound up taking 17 home. Thank god for the GPS.

The Beatles

One of the Christmas presents that I got was Rock Band, The Beatles. I love this game. But I can say that the songs are rather simple. I have actually completed some songs on hard, and that is something I never could do before. This really isn't "new music" but I can't help but wonder if we will ever have another group like this again? Enjoy the videos...

HD Vision

So here it is. Yes the HD Vision Wrap Arounds. Notice that these will fit over your prescription glasses. They offer maximum protection!


Here are the glasses taken out of the box, and as you can see, they've sweetened the deal with the sun glasses clip... though I don't know why, I mean would you ever take these off? Maybe to sleep, maybe.



Here you can see me, wearing the HD's. I know you can't see me in HD, (unless you happen to have a pair of HD sun glasses too) but trust me, everything looks so much better in HD. I actually feel sorry for all you SD (standard definition) people out there. Not sorry enough to buy you a pair of HD's, but sorry enough to suggest/recommend that you pick up your own pair...

Classic Film Friday: Sherlock Holmes Scarlet Claw

So this Friday I had my daughter the 14-year-old to write a movie review. Here it is, a Sherlock Holmes flick:

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are battling the supernatural in Canada. The death of Lady Penrose messes with Holmes and Watsons' departure back to Britain, because she has been murdered by some sort of animal with claws. Sherlock investigates the surprising murder. The people of the town think the murderer is apart of the supernatural. Holmes and Watson set out to find some answers. They come across a man named Judge Brisson, who sentenced a man named Ramson to jail.

Ramson kills Judge Brisson and Maria, the daughter of the Innkeeper,because of a grudge he has held against the town. Sherlock and Journet (innkeeper) make a trap to capture the killer once and for all. Ramson got what he deserved, he was killed by his own weapon , the five pronged garden weeder.