A Little O' This And A Little O' That

This
We had thunderstorms all day Sunday. No shuttle launch. At least they scrubbed it way ahead of time so I didn't have to get out.

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That
I guess I never really believed it when people claimed that rainy days made their arthritis or whatever hurt.

I'm a believer now.

I was in agony with my back on Sunday. I mean, hard to get up out of a chair, straighten up and walk across the room kind of hurting.

I could have sat in my chair all afternoon and continued to ignore the urge to go and write a rough draft of a blog post.

But Lovely Wife came in and turned the TV to the movie Steel Magnolias. And there are few things in this world that can clear a room of the men-folk like the movie Steel Magnolias. Being from Louisiana makes it that much harder to watch (it was supposedly set there). Julia Roberts's southern accent in this movie is absolutely criminal.

The only good thing about Steel Magnolias is that Julia Roberts dies in it.

And maybe Olympia Dukakis. She's pretty cool in everything she's in.

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This
Before she started watching the movie, we had been flippin' channels and I noticed that the National Spelling Bee was on ESPN 2.

Huh?

I remember all the way back to the good ol' days when you could count on ESPN to show sports. National Spelling Bee? I mean, really, people!

Don't get me wrong, I think spelling bees are cool. I am a big fan of edumacation and learnin' and whatnot, and when I see twelve year old kids spelling ten dollar words I've never even heard spoken aloud before, I have hope for America.

But a spelling bee on a sports network? Yeah. Whatever.

I also LOVE to watch the Travel Channel. Especially any show with Samantha Brown. (Great Vacation Homes, Great Hotels, etc.) But in the past coupla years, they've shown poker tournaments on there.

I say again. Huh?

I understand that the show might be geographically located in Lost Wages (Los Vegas) Nevada, or some other town that people like to travel to, but all they show is the inside of the building where the guys are playing poker. They might as well be in some warehouse in Peoria for all the TV audience knows. What's THAT got to do with travel?

Nothing. Nothing at all.

Who wants to watch poker on the Travel Channel for goodness's sake?

And as far as I'm concerned, who wants to watch poker, period? Hey. Maybe they could make them play to a two minute play clock like those street chess players do. Quick move. Slap the clock! Other guy quick move. Slap the clock!

Yeah. But it's still poker, you know? Lame.

I'd watch chess WAY before I'd sit and watch poker on TV.

The world has turned upside down.

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That
Speaking of poker, I hate it when people wear sunglasses indoors. I might have gone to Louisiana public schools, but I DO understand that these guys are trying to keep the others from getting a read on what they're looking at, so many of them wear sun glasses.

But I think their Mamas didn't raise 'em right. I don't care why they feel they need to wear them.

People wearing sunglasses indoors are up to no good, I tell ya!

Unless of course they have a valid medical condition necessitating this. And a note from their doctor attesting to this fact must be on their person at all times. Subject to spot checks by me, of course.

Then it's ok.

But that many poker guys can't all have this same eye condition, therefore they annoy me.

I say they're shifty and up to something.