I loved the Mario Brothers games

I really enjoyed the Mario Brothers games when they first came out. I just found this really fun Mario video on YouTube that cracked me up.

Entertaining outdoors

I’m really looking forward to the party we’re planning to have this Labor Day weekend.  Over the past several months we’ve lined up a DJ and a professional belly dancer to entertain our guests, bought several canopy tents, new Barbecue tools and cleaned up and tuned up the propane grill that we bought last year.

My wife bought a new outdoor swing that has an awning over the top of it and cup holders in the arms.  She’s been wanting one of those for a few years now, and was using the party as an excuse to buy it.  I wasn’t very happy about it at the time, but it sure is more comfortable than the folding chairs we’ve been using the past few years.

Now the countdown begins.  I’m looking forward to a great time!

The Ocean & A Good Game of Golf

I’ve heard that Myrtle Beach is getting a large amount of people this summer season. Since the major oil company, B.P. has trashed so many of the other beaches, folks are finding that Myrtle Beach has nice clean water and beaches to offer the general public and is welcoming them with open arms.

Summer is almost over and I don’t have any vacation days left for this year, but I would like to look into visiting Myrtle Beach next summer. I have not been there for a good long while and it would be good to see how it has changed since I’ve been there last. I enjoy the ocean and enjoy a good challenging game of golf and Myrtle Beach has both of these qualities.

I was online earlier and found a website http://avistaresort.com that is advertising some nice looking and sounding resorts in Myrtle Beach that I’d love to stay at next year. It is great that the Internet makes find a good Myrtle Beach hotel a much easier task to tackle. I have plenty of time to find the perfect accommodations and will keep you posted on what I discover.

Survivor

I have always enjoyed watching the hit reality show Survivor. I have only missed 3 episodes since the beginning, thanks to my DVR. I just saw a commercial saying that they were switching to Wednesday evening. Survivor has always been on Thursdays, since day one. This will take some adjusting, I’m just glad that I saw the commercial.

Heard That

Shutter Island

One of the new releases at Redbox is the thriller called, “Shutter Island.” It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, one of my favorite actors. So I went to the local Walgreens and rented it this afternoon.

I like renting a new release for just one dollar. You can’t beat the price and honestly, why would you need to keep it longer than 24 hours? Sometimes I can watch the rental that night and watch it again the next morning, but I can always get the movie returned by 9:00 the next night. No problem.

Shutter Island is really hard to follow as a casual viewer. You have to watch it closely and pay attention to all the clues. I was just starting to get frustrated with the story when they finally wrapped it up. Wow -what a strange movie.

FNL in High Definition

Guest post from: Winston Stewart

Friday Night Lights is my favorite TV show. I love to watch it in high definition. The picture is clear, and I have speakers set up around my basement so that I can also receive the best possible sound. Friday Night Lights airs on NBC, a channel that has broadcast many shows that I’ve enjoyed in the past. Once Friday Night Lights ends next season, I look forward to watching whatever new show takes its place.

Tim Riggins is my favorite character, not just on Friday Night Lights, but possibly my favorite TV character ever. My friend makes fun of me for admiring this character, and with good reason. Tim is a womanizing alcoholic. However, I do think he has a good heart and that if he gets himself out of the chop shop operation scandal, then maybe he can turn his life around. Tim is also super cute and very sexy, so watching his face in HD is always fun. They seem to find a way to get his shirt off every episode, so that’s always fine by me.

My friend likes to watch the show in HD because she likes taking advantage of the latest technology, and NBC’s HD channel has the best resolution of any that we’ve seen. We watch the show on Friday nights on spanish channels on direct tv.

Roll With Them

I love being spontaneous. I do try and plan things out but sometimes things just happen and I have learned to roll with them as best as possible. I don’t mind getting a last minute call from someone and running out the door in order to get somewhere in the shortest time possible. I did grow up here so I know all of the roads like the back of my hand and I’m sure that I know each and every shortcut that is possible around my hometown and the cities that surround it as well, so I can get places pretty darn quick if needed.

I love going to sporting events, even though I’m not really active in very many. I do however enjoy playing a game of golf every now and then. My folks brought us up playing golf and I’m grateful for that. It is a nice easy going game that just about anyone can play and they have golf courses and tee times just about everywhere.

My folks just got back from their annual Myrtle Beach vacation last week. They wanted me to come but I couldn’t really take the time off of work and I all ready have a long weekend planned for the last part of September. My mom was telling me last night that they had a good time, the weather was a bit wacky but all in all it was a success. My dad found a website at www.48hourteetimes.com that they had to utilized during their stay in Myrtle Beach. They are a full service hospitality group that helps people with their accommodations and their 48 hour tee times. Since so many people are flocking to Myrtle Beach S.C. this year due to BP ruining so many of the other beaches on the east coast a lot of the hotels and golf courses have been slammed with customers that need some help finding their way around and finding what is available and for who.

I’m glad that my folks are computer literate. Many people their age are a bit timid when it comes to maneuvering around on the Internet, but they have mastered it quite well and use it to their best advantage when possible. And I’m glad that they are spontaneous, that must be where I got it from, a double dose of it, to be sure.

Pit Boss

Has anyone else watched the new TV show on The Animal Planet Channel called Pit Boss. I haven’t been able to watch a full episode of it yet, but have seen bits and pieces of a few of them in the last couple of weeks. So far I like what I see, it is an interesting concept that I’m thinking will go far. It’s good for little people and good for pit bulls, a two for one so to speak!

Rubbing elbows

This past weekend I felt like I was completely out of my element. I was invited to a party by my brother-in-law. The party was being held by some friends of his, and he thought that it would be a good opportunity for me to network and expand my business contacts. The music was good, the food was good, and the drinks weren’t bad either. But I have to admit that I found it a little bit difficult to engage in conversation with most of the people there. Seems as if everyone there was a major computer geek.

I’m not all up to date with all of the aspects and terminology of computer and the Internet. Sure, I have a computer, and I blog, but when it comes to carrying on a conversation with a group of folks about topics such as a web hosting hub review I have to admit that I’m rather lost. I’m assuming that they were talking about a website that reviews and rates web hosting services, but I was afraid to open my mouth and stick my foot in it! A wise man once said “‘Tis better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt!”

Someplace exotic

One of the best deals in vacation travelling can be found in holiday packages that offer trips to more than one location.  I’ve personally never taken advantage of any holiday packages in the past because I’ve had a tendency to be late for everything!  I’d hate to book some holiday packages with non-refundable deposits and then end up missing the cruise boat or the airplane!

So I usually try to drive myself where I want to go.  The timetable of driving tends to be a lot more flexible, especially when I can guarantee my destination room with my credit card for a late arrival!  And if I arrive a few hours late, well then that’s no big deal, I still have the room waiting for me and the holiday plans can continue.

My wife, however, is always talking about going on a vacation someplace exotic, like Australia or the South Pacific.  I think if we were to plan something like that we’d have to plan to leave our place a whole day earlier than most normal folks would!  Get to the port (or airport) and book a room right there to spend the night so we don’t miss the ship!

Cable and Internet Systems in the South

Guest post written by my friend Will Blackson

I moved to a southern state to avoid the horribly cold winters I have endured for 30 years of my life. I figured this was going to be great since I would be outdoors most of the year, I really wouldn’t have much need for Internet and cable services like I needed when I lived up north.

Boy was I wrong. Okay so here’s the deal, some of the year, yes it is just gorgeous, and sunny. Then it doesn’t get frigid cold, it goes the opposite way and gets boiling hot. So hot indeed, you cannot enjoy the outdoors at all. Inside I go again, now with central airbecause this is a must have. Now that I am stuck inside again, well its time for cable.

You really cannot rely on rabbit ears in this rural community, you can’t get a signal. You have to have cable to be able to watch a show. I called the cable company and guess what? They are actually pretty fast at getting out right away, thank goodness. I informed them that I have a computer and they asked me if I wanted a Clear TV Bundle. They explained how it is always cheaper to do cable and internet bundles together the first time, although the cable company can add a service into a bundle at any time. The cable company provided all the tools I needed to get hooked up. And having one bill to pay is just awesome. The more you can bundle the more you save in the end. I love this service and it is very convenient for me. They were fast, on-time, and courteous to do this all on the same day. Thank goodness for bundles, you need them no matter where you live.

Supernatural is a Super Show!

This is a guest post by Jones Baker

Several months ago, I was channel surfing on the satellite TV at my office we got from directv for corporations looking for something good to watch. A channel that I scanned quickly past caught my eye and I had to turn it back. At the time I skipped over it, what appeared to be a man in a graveyard was apparently fighting a zombie or something with a shiny chrome knife. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I’m a big fan of zombie movies. With this vision passing quickly by my eyes, you can easily understand why my interest was peaked.

Well, when I landed back on the channel, it was exactly what it appeared to be and I thought to myself that I finally found something really good on. The surprise to me was that it was on a regular channel and not on a premium channel. The name of the show is “Supernatural” and it is by far the best science fiction TV series on the air today.

The show follows two brothers named Dean and Sam that are demon hunters. They travel all across the United States looking for demons to fight and send back to the dark realm. All the while, demons and a few angels are chasing after Dean and Sam trying to stop them. Dean and Sam are on a mission to stop the war between Heaven and Hell by all means necessary and the angels and demons don’t want them to stop it. The angels believe that this war must take place in order to finally put Lucifer to rest. The demons simply desire to take over the world. Lucifer has even made a few special appearances. The great thing about this show is that it is so well wrote and directed, it doesn’t look like the normal ugly, brutal demons you would expect and the angels don’t even have wings. Very good show and I highly recommend watching at least one episode to give it a try.

My family and I now have a normal Thursday night ritual. Pop a bag of popcorn and settle in to watch Supernatural.

Too Funny!

This email was sent to me by a good friend last night. I thought it was too hilarous to keep to myself.

This man, 73, is wearing a protective flap over his ear while Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi addressed the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

I wish I could shake this man’s hand.. I just want to know where he got it…..?

Rod Stewart

It’s cool to see that Rod Stewart is still going strong. Remember Maggie May?

And then of course there is Forever Young. I couldn’t find the video for this song but I did come up with this one that shows the lyrics.

Last but not least I Don’t Want To Talk About It

YouTube.com

I really enjoy the music and the videos that is offered on YouTube.com. I could spend hours looking up music to listen to. Remember this one “Take A Walk On The Wild Side”  song by Lou Reed. And the colored girls go……………..

Hey babe, take a walk on the side!

Garden shows

This is the time of year when my wife and I start seeing advertisements for flower and garden shows.  We have made it a tradition to go to them if it all possible.  We set aside the day and drive to the show and take our time and walk around the displays.  There are usually some really spectacular landscapes put up!  After we go through the landscape displays, we like to go through the vendor area.  The vendor area is full of trade show booths filled with all sorts of goodies.  Some are actually garden related, but some are just food, or crafts.  That’s OK, though.  The food vendors usually give away free samples!  And my wife enjoys looking at the crafts and getting ideas on expanding her own crafty interests!

Most of the booths are very well appointed with table skirts.  A few are not, however, and I have to say that those tables really look naked in comparison to those that do!  Some of the larger vendors that sell equipment go all out with the addition of banner stands and pipe and drape dividers.  I always find it interesting to see who is doing what with their display booths.

The Saints Kick Some Super Bowl Butt

Last night’s Super Bowl game was a great game. I think that I actually enjoyed the game more than the commercials this year, that is a first. I did enjoy watching The Who perform some of their hits at half time, their music and the light show was fabulous, where as their singing voices left a lot to be desired. But then again we are all getting older.

I’m glad that the Saints won.

Vanity plates

One of the things I really enjoy doing when I’m driving around is reading other people’s private number plateson their cars. For example, the pictured plate in this post reads “Idiot.”  When I see something like that I have to laugh because most of the vanity plates that I see are a comment about the driver of the car!  So for this particular plate, I am thinking that the driver is an idiot!  Although I suspect the person who bought the plate meant to imply that the OTHER drivers out on the road are idiots, I think that it back-lashed.

I think that one of the funniest plates that I’ve ever seen was in Maine, the plate read “PB4UGO”  – something that my mother always used to tell us kids right before we left the house to go anywhere!  Another good one was “IOIO”, which made me think of the Seven dwarfs going off to work.

Not as clever, but still memorable are plates that are on company vehicles that have some reference to the business – such as a plumber’s truck having the plate “PIPES” or “FLUSH.”  Or a home decorating business have a plate that says “DKR8.”  Yes, I do enjoy trying to figure out a lot of the weird plates out there – makes sitting at a traffic light or traffic jam a little more entertaining!

Boxing match

One of my wife’s best ideas ever was to buy my father a couple of Mayweather boxing tickets for the big fight coming up in March in Las Vegas.  I know that Dad and Mom have been wanting to go to Las Vegas for a second honeymoon for a long time now, and we think that this is a good time for them to finally take it.  Now we’re trying to get them a good rate on a nice place to stay and make up an itinerary for the rest of their travel arrangements.  Dad has been a big boxing fan for as long as I can remember, and he’s really excited about the trip and the match!