Things actually seen in the south

I actually saw the following sights while adrift below the Mason-Dixon line. You can't make this stuff up:

1. A morbidly obese woman roughly inserting a one-year old baby into a shopping cart at a dumpy grocery store. The poor baby was wearing nothing but a generic white diaper and had dirt caked all around her mouth.

2. Golgotha Fun Park (up on a hill). In case you don't know, Golgotha is the biblical name for the hill where Jesus was crucified. Who's up for some mini golf!

3. A "motel" where all the "rooms" were giant plastic wigwams. Now, most motel decor is fairly tacky already, but this just seems to be rubbing it in. Also, wigwams were what some native peoples slept in before the development of modern construction.

4. Many, many gas station attendants with more than one front tooth missing. It must be part of the job description. "Let's see... Accent that makes basic words seem nonsensical? Check. Ability to cackle? Check. Okay, open up and say 'Ahh' for me... oh... uh, well, we'll be in touch!"

5. Speaking of gas stations, I also saw a group of old guys in flannel shirts eating lunch and smoking cigarettes (?!) at the table next to the counter. Why is there a table next to the counter in a gas station, you ask? Presumably to hold old guys' lunches. And their ashtrays.

There is good baseball news after all

A-Rod opted out, and the Yankees brass are standing firm and will not enter negotiations for him. And they offered the managerial job to Joe Girardi, the best candidate.

Other than that, there's not much else going on in the baseball world, as far as I can tell.

Searches to make on YouTube

I will now waste two hours of your life for you. Don't forget to click through the "related videos," too.

You might want to turn off your phone so you won't be interrupted.

1. Classic Sesame Street

2. Football comeback

3. Giant centipede vs. (Trust me.)

4. DUI stop

5. Def Leppard

Ten-Second Thoughts

Postus Frequentus wouldn't really be back without an installment of Ten-Second Thoughts. And true to form, I come up with these things more often during weeks I'm preparing a sermon. (Come hear it tomorrow at Artisan Church at either 10:00 a.m. or 5:00 p.m.)

1. The popcorn button is a cruel liar. Do not be tempted, for you will only get burned. Popcorn.

2. More than "Jeremy" or "Alive" or "Daughter" or any of the bigger hits, "Dissident" is Pearl Jam's most enduring song. Sometimes only "Dissident" will do. (This needs longer than ten seconds.)

3. Crazy old ladies and housecoats: which causes the other? It's a chicken-egg thing in my mind.

4. The only—the only—funny thing about this thing in Turkey with the Kurd rebels is that my mild dyslexia causes me to read the word "turd rebels" about every third time I see a headline about it.

5. Switch-hitting catchers who wear batting gloves are total sissies. Come on, be a man.

6. Get back to work!

Pluralism in the park

I found these networks in the local park here in Rochester, NY. I get a kick out of the tacit acceptance in the second one: "We're not saying you Jews don't rule; we're just saying that you're not the only religious people group who rule."



I guess we can all just get along, at least when it comes to naming our wifi networks.

Mac OS X Leopard Ships October 26

Hey, good news! Apple has finally announced a ship date for Leopard, the next version of OS X. (Check out the feature set here.) Now, I know you're planning on upgrading, so do me a big favor and click through to Amazon and pre-order it right now! It'll save you $20, and I'll make a buck or two on it because of my Amazon Affiliate membership.

The cost is $109 with a low-price guarantee, and shipping is free! How can you get any better than that? So if you were planning on upgrading to Leopard, click the link below and pre-order it today. It will ship out to your house on October 26.

Apple Mac OS X Version 10.5 Leopard

Happy Birthday Tracey

Happy birthday to my wife!

I don't care what I do or where I live. As long as she is with me, I will be happy.

Tennessee hills

When I awoke this morning, this is the scene that greeted me, the first view from just inside the porch and the second view standing on the porch. The house faces east, and the sun had risen just an hour or two earlier. Vacation is good. Click the photos to enlarge.