Clubbing Auctions

Saturday night, Robb and I went clubbing. We started at Georgie's Alibi with a margarita. It was somewhat weak, but much better than the last one we had there. We finished our drinks, and walked over to Bill's Filling Station, passing the open Gay Mart on the way. It didn't even occur to me until right now, that it was after midnight and the store was open. In Bill's, we came across a signed poster of RuPaul from 2007. It just happens that we went there for that show with our friends from Toulouse. We waited and waited, but after a couple hours, (s)he still hadn't appeared and we (the audience) were told it might be a couple more hours, so we did not get to see RuPaul. Neither did we get our money back. We had another margarita. It was stronger than the one we had had at Georgie's. We left Bill's and started walking down to The Manor.  But Robb had picked up some gay mags and wanted to leave them in the car, so we detoured. Once we got to the car, we decided we might as well drive down to The Manor, because it was a bit further than either of us wanted to walk. We got lucky and came across a guy pulling out just across the street. After we had parked, four young girls (think early 20's) came over to ooh and ahh over the car and us. Lordy, I can't believe we're so old that young guys and girls think we're just so cute. The Manor was jumping with the biggest crowd we'd seen so far. I ordered our margaritas, we found a table where we could check out the action and hung out. The drinks at The Manor were nondescript and served in a small plastic cup.  They were also the most expensive.

I was sitting on the balcon the other day and just happened to notice that one of the palm tree spears I showed before, was in the process of opening into a frond.

There's a whole new business happening online now. They're called “Penny Auctions”. Some clever person took the idea of eBay and figured out a way to make more money while giving less. In order to "bid" on an item, you have to purchase "bids". If you run out of bids before you win the item, you have to purchase more. Their big draw is the low bids that "win" the items; like getting an iPad for $30.

This asshole will just not give up: OAKLAND, Calif. — Here we go again. A California religious radio impresario who predicted — wrongly — that the end of the world would begin on May 21 revised his prophecy on Monday, saying now that the end is due in October. 

Top 10 New Species Discovered in 2010. 

Dumb Law of the Week: In Arizona, it is illegal to hunt camels!

Bad Choice Logo of the Week:

À bientôt, mes amis

Blah Blah Trees

Sunday was a horrific day. Two of Robb's cousins (twice removed) came in to visit their mother (Helen, who lives on Miami Beach). Elandra flew in from Dallas and Claudia drove down from New Jersey with a stop in Atlanta to visit her daughter. Elandra, was getting into the Fort Lauderdale airport around 13h00. She and Robb agreed to meet at the airport and drive to the Sage restaurant, where we would wait for Claudia. Of course, our car only holds two people, so Robb had to drop me at the restaurant first. It took a bit longer than any of us anticipated, but they finally showed up. Then we had to order lunch. I checked the menu and decided the best thing for me would be a crêpe, so I ordered the Crêpe Nanette (with apples and brie). I was hoping for a regular crêpe, but this thing was big enough to feed a family of four. Then the real horror began. Elandra started talking. Mother blah blah blah...sister blah blah blah. It seemed like hours until Claudia called and said she was very close. I guess they're all so used to putting each other down that they don't realize how very boring it can be for someone outside the family to listen to them. Especially if you can't just get up and walk away.

We have four new trees in our 'garden' area (the area between the buildings). I'm not sure what kind of trees they may be. One appears to be some kind of palm tree, another is kind of gray-ish, and the other two look like regular trees. Two of the trees were planted where we had lost trees. The palm-like tree replaced the one that died because of the cold, and the other one replaced a tree whose roots were damaging the pool.

If I should suddenly disappear from Open Diary, you can find me at Le Rêve Français.

I never liked the Sperminator from the first time I heard of him, many years ago. It just seems appropriate that he's a homophobic Republican who cheats on his wife.

Dumb Law of the Week: In Arizona, it is illegal to hunt camels!

Bad Choice Logo of the Week:

À bientôt, mes amis.

Flashing Music

Flashes Light Up Sky Over Fort Worth. This video is fantastic!

I don't know about you guys, but I found this to be hilarious: Delaware Adopts Civil Unions. The bill, which passed the state house and senate by wide margins last month, was signed into law at the Queen Theater in Wilmington....

I hope you all will have a happy last week of your life. Oh, haven't you heard? According to Harold Camping (the same guy who predicted the end of the world in 1994, be sure to scroll down to the reviews) the world is coming to an end on May 21, 2011, at approximately 18h00. So, if you were planning to watch the six o'clock news this Saturday, too bad, you will be the news. According to the dimwits at ebiblefellowship.com/, it's true.  Of course, that doesn't mean you should stop sending your donations.   So, happy End of the World, folks!

While shopping in our local discount warehouse, I came across Magnum Ice Cream Bars. You may remember how I raved about them last year in Europe, so I was extremely happy to find a place that sells them in the US. Then I got the idea to check our local supermarket, and sure enough, there they were. But no one sells, nor have they even heard about (apparently) my favorite, the Magnum White.  So, of course, as I am wont to do in these times of email, I fired off a bunch of emails to various markets around the area. A few contacted me wanting to know where I had seen, or eaten, these delicious treats, which is how I discovered this particular bar was unknown to them.

Robb and I watched the Eurovision finals live online. Only one of my top three choices made it to the top ten; Georgia.  Robb liked Greece.  The winner was Azerbaijan, which we had to Google to find where it is.  The one thing that always stands out when I watch Eurovision, is that almost all the songs are performed in English. I say almost all, because France refuses to speak English, even though it's mandatory in their schools. Italy didn't do that well, but I know at least one other person who will like them.

If you hate flying, you're going to love this video.

AquaNotes Waterproof Notepad Captures the Great Ideas You Get in the Shower!

Dumb Law of the Week: In Alabama, it is illegal to wrestle bears.

Bad Choice Logo of the Week:

À bientôt, mes amis.

Two SIM Cards

I bought two SIM cards from different companies. The first is from Roam Simple, a Canadian company, although the card they sent me is for O₂, a UK company. I got that one, even though their rates are a bit high and you have to pay for everything; incoming, outgoing, texts in, texts out, even voicemail. But I have an $18 credit from the last time I used them, so I will use that until my credit is gone and then I'll switch to the other. The other is from Roam4Zero, a slight misnomer, and another UK company. But their rates are rather fair. These rates for the Czech Republic are pretty much standard throughout Europe; Incoming $0.00 / min, Outgoing to local landline $0.50 / min, Outgoing to local Cell $0.50 / min, Outgoing SMS $0.70, Incoming SMS Free. There are two distinctly different Roam4 websites. Roam4Less and Roam4Zero. Roam4Less is very similar to Roam Simple, with which you pay for everything, and the Roam4Zero which has rates like the ones I've shown. There is another company named Roam4Free, which is in no way connected with the other two.  Oh, the Roam4Zero card is usually about $29, but I got them on eBay for $10 with no shipping charge.

Saturday, Robb and I did another thing we haven't done in a long time. No, again it wasn't that. We met Wendy (Robb's neice) and Steve (her husband) for lunch at a place named D'Angelo's. I don't know if I've ever mentioned it, but I don't eat breakfast or lunch. It's usually much too late for breakfast, by the time I get up somewhere between 11:30 AM and 13h00. At the restaurant, which was very nice, we had a bunch of stuff from the Tapas menu, including roasted sweet Italian sausage over escarole and beans, turkey & chicken meatballs in roasted pepper thyme sauce, polpo – octopus carpaccio, olives and tomato pesto. I ate a couple pieces of calamari and a couple of pesto covered french fries. But I ate quite a bit of the polpo because it was very like the polpo we had in Barcelona. Steve and Wendy didn't care for it. We had a nice, long chat (about an hour and a half) and then we left.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about seeing bushy palm trees for the first time. Some people got the idea that they're bushy because they needed trimming. But that's not the case, because as far as I know, I've never seen anyone trim a palm tree. Nor have I ever seen one that needed trimming. Here is a picture of a 'regular' palm tree and here is a 'bushy' palm tree. Can you now see the difference? These 'regular' palms have been here since long before we moved in, and in fact, were barely up to the balcony of the apartment below us. The palm trees don't need trimming because they 'trim' themselves. It's not easy to see, but in this picture, you can see what appears to be a spear sticking up from the middle of the tree.  You can also see one in the picture of the bushy trees.  This will eventually become a new frond. Shortly after that happens, one of the older fronds on the bottom will fall off.

Intel Debuts First 3-D Transistor for New ‘Ivy Bridge’ Chip. 

Dumb Law of the Week: In Alaska, it is illegal to tie your pet dog to the roof of a car.

Bad Choice Logo of the Week:

À bientôt, mes amis.

Twenty-Two

                                                 

Monday night, Robb and I did something we haven't done in a long, long time. No, not that. We went to a bar after eleven PM. Normally, Robb would be getting ready to go to bed around midnight (I usually don't go to bed until about one or two AM). But at midnight on Monday night, we were sitting on the outdoor patio at Georgie's Alibi drinking margaritas. They weren't very good, but they were considerably less than I remember paying for drinks in the good ole days. It was nice to be out and about for a change, but we didn't get to bed until about three AM and I really felt it on Tuesday.

Friday afternoon, Geoff invited a bunch of us to his place to watch the Royal Wedding of Kate and William. I could not care less about the Royal Family and their affairs, but I loved being able to see the beautiful buildings both inside and out, not to mention the beautiful carriages after the wedding. Also, the champagne we drank didn't hurt at all.    Of course, that was three days ago, so now Geoff is not speaking to me again because I agreed with something he said.  I think I'm pretty much done with him this time, it takes too much effort to befriend him; you just never know what's going to set him off.

Saturday night, we had dinner again at the HiLife Cafe.  I had the Pasta Purses, "delicate purses stuffed with creamy goat cheese and roast hazelnut in a mushroom Madeira wine sauce with a hint of Brie cheese".  The HiLife now features "half-portions" for people like me who cannot eat the huge mounds of food served in restaurants.  I considered getting the half-portion of the Pasta Pockets, but changed my mind.  It's a good thing I did because what I was served would have equaled a half-portion in any other restaurant.  Robb had the Blueberry Hill, "Grilled NY Strip Steak served with our homemade Mashed Potatoes and Smoked Blueberry Sauce topped with Bacon dressed Arugula Salad."

I saw this headline today: Medicare's Math Problem: Taxes - Benefits = Trouble. The REAL problem with the Medicare program is the incompetent people running it and the amount of money stolen from it (and Social Security) to support other favorite programs of the Washington politicians.

NEW YORK (AP) - Apple denied that the iPhone has a privacy problem Wednesday - and then promised to fix it. It took the technology giant a week to respond to a brouhaha over how the devices log their owners' movements. So, tell me, how do you fix a problem that doesn't exist? Will Apple lovers ever get it? This is what Apple claims cannot be done.

Bad Choice Logo of the Week:

À bientôt, mes amis.