Apropos of nothing

I’ve always wanted one of these.

Running hot and cold

For my readers in the South, you’re not gonna like this, but I have to report: I’m cold.

I’m wearing a sweatshirt in my house. It’s August. I have to bundle my baby up to take him out. (And I’m not a bundler.)

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I note that Metro Davidson’s [Nashville] school buses do not have AC. I had two thoughts:

Thought One:
Ha – those kids need to suck it up. Try commuting on the Underground when we do get a hot August. It’s hotter than EU regulations allow – if you’re transporting animals – no regulations exist for maximum allowable temps for transporting London commuters. It’s crowded. And there’s the underlying current of concern over the continued smooth running of the line. This concern is ready to tip over into panic at any moment – since the Tube trains have a tendency to stall in any weather that isn’t dry and with temps hovering between 45 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. And there’s not much worse than being stuck for upwards of an hour, stood with your face in your neighbour’s armpit, sweating, straining to understand the driver’s announcements. (Unless, of course, this happened in the Summer of ’05 when we weren’t just worried about trains stalling.)

And the smell… best not to mention the smell.

But, I admit, this is not a charitable thought. And the children…won’t somebody (me?) please think of the children? I mean what would I do if Cletus were faced with such conditions? Knowing me – I’d probably tell him tales of commuting on the London Underground.

Thought Two:
At a cost of $15,000 a bus, I’m not sure Metro should be retrofitting air conditioning. They really only need the AC a few weeks a year. As the bus fleet is replaced, perhaps they could invest in a little cooling.

But I also note that Metro schools are open only half days this week because of the heat. (Here’s Nashville News 2 film on that) – although there is a positive note:

Brunch will be served at all schools.

How civilised.

You know what. It’s the South, it’s August, it’s hot. Yes, I know it’s not usually that hot – not like it has been this year – but it’s usually pretty darn hot. In August, kids should be at the pool, not sweating in school.

So why not roll back the start of the academic year? I don’t really understand how it crept so far forward anyway. (Was it to match up with the semester schedule of the state Universities?) To be fair, the Mayor said a later start would be considered. I think Tennessee parents should push for it.

Holding down the fort

I got my first email from a work colleague in a while.

How’s the world of work?

Dunno.

What’s the latest project?

Dunno.

What’s the future of xxxxxx in xxxxxxxxx?

Dunno.

My colleague sent me a link to this. A cat cam site.

It’s really cool. She’s thinking of getting one.

I can’t decide if they really need me or if I’m really not missing much.

Maybe I should get a cat cam.

Speaking of must see attractions

I posted yesterday about some of the most exciting and most disappointing tourist destinations. I can’t believe that Natural Bridge in Virginia didn’t make the must-see list. Especially with such added attractions as the Dinosaur Kingdom for your education and amusement:

It’s 1863 and Union soldiers have discovered a hidden valley filled with dinosaurs. Now the Yankees plan to use the dinos as weapons of mass destruction against the South.

Something tells me things kinda backfired for the Union Army.

I gotta see this place.

Hat tip: Hillbilly Savants, photo courtesy of The Anti-Zim check out the rest of her amazing Natural Bridge photo set.

Davy’s birthday

It was Davy’s birthday on Friday, and what did I get him? Nothing. But the taxpayers of Tennessee are gonna get him a brand new statue in Nashville.

Sharon Cobb has more on the monumental resolution passed this year.

Col. Crockett already has a lovely monument on the square in Lawrenceburg.

Apparently paid for by the people through the largesse of the Tennessee legislature.

Gone native

Now we all know that the situation in the Levant has been hot for a long time. No matter what side you come down on, it seems like everybody has a side. Personally, I plumped for Israel ages ago. It’s not something I think much about. I don’t discuss it much, because it’s one of those things that I’m not likely to change my mind about. No, in fact, I won’t change my mind. I guess it’s tribal.

I could go on about the Palestinians this, the Israelis that, but if you have an entrenched position on the matter I’m not likely to change your mind either.

Suffice to say, little that the Palestinians do surprises me much. The photos of the wee kids holding some pretty heft weaponry and just waiting for the day that their martyrdom dream comes true is sickening but doesn’t really work me up.

But this video from Palestinian children’s tv showing a man in a bee suit abusing cats and lions in the Gaza zoo just floors me.

And there you go, I’ve gone British. They’re abusing animals now. I may just have to write a strongly worded letter.

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HT: Harry’s Place

Must see

What are the world’s top ten most disappointing tourist attractions? Virgin Travel Insurance asked over 1,200 British adults what they thought, and it turns out they are a jaded bunch.

The top two most disappointing sights globally are in Paris: the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. I visited both for the first time just over a year ago. The Eiffel Tower is a big old open work tower. I had pretty low expectations to start with, but I have to admit it looked pretty darn cool. Now, if you had your heart set on going up in that thing, I guess it would be disappointing to wait for hours and fork out a shed load of money. We just walked up to it and had a look, that was free. The best thing about the Eiffel Tower is seeing it from different vantage points while you’re in Paris. For that, check out Anglofille’s fab collection of Eiffel shots

My crappy picture of the Eiffel Tower

Or you could always go to Vegas.

The Louvre on the other hand. If you don’t like the Louvre, you just have no soul. I guess if you were expecting to find the burial place of Mary Magdalene and get some kind of divine revelation while being chased by an albino monk then I could see why you might be disappointed.

The rest of the list includes the Statue of Liberty, the White House (I was disappointed I didn’t get to go in), and the Spanish Steps in Rome – which I admit were a bit anti-climactic.

The British list of disappointments include Stonehenge. I concur wholeheartedly. And my expectations were lowered time and time again. I will say that Stonehenge is a lot bigger than I imagined (not disappointing), but you can’t get anywhere near the darn things (very disappointing) – and you have to pay a bunch to park. We drove out to Stonehenge during the hundred degree heat wave of 2003 – so it wasn’t that bad since the car had AC but our house – just like pretty much every other house in the UK did not.

There was also a list of must-sees – and on the global list the only thing I have seen – the Grand Canal in Venice, well…I could take it or leave it.

LOLbaby

The Vol-in-Law’s latest kick is the cultural marxists. Apparently, they want to ruin everything. Occasionally, I think he has a point. When you hear the phrase political correctness gone mad – well, that’s my life – working in the British public sector.

He talks about it a lot. It usually sounds something like this:

blah, blah, blah

and now he’s been telling the kid, too.

Blood sugar bonanza

An article in Wednesday’s Tennessean provides recipes using some of the MidSouth’s favorite sweeties. Including a cake recipe using SunDrop , that nectar of the gods, which the Tennessean describes thusly:

Quench that thirst

Another popular local soda pop, Sun Drop, which originated in St. Louis, started like many drinks of the day, with the parent company selling its formula to small bottlers across the country. One of the largest bottlers remains in nearby Pulaski, which feeds a strong and fiercely loyal pocket of fans in the counties south of Nashville that buffer the Alabama line.

Fiercely loyal? Addicted more like. Mmmmm – SunDrop. Once only available in a limited area – now you can order the stuff online. Do you think they ship transatlantic? In exchange for a permanent advertising space on this blog?

Hmmm, I think VolMom might know the Pulaski bottler – hook me up, let’s make a deal.

A death in the [tacky] family

I’ve been “collecting” photos of floral tributes for a while. A great benefit of living near a cemetery. But today I saw the best one ever. A work of art. Seriously.

Sometimes you have to wait a while for someone with relatives tacky enough* to commission a truly elaborate floral tribute to die. But when they do…yeah.

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If you’re wondering if anyone in your family is tacky enough and you’re kin to me – well, you’re just gonna have to wonder which side of my raging internal battle between cheapness and tackiness will win.