Smitty's World

• The House Next Door

  This is a picture of the house next door. It seems pretty benign from this far away. But it is drab and grey. And you might some things that seem a bit awry. For example, the giant pile of garbage by the back door. At the left edge of the [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 10:33am EST
  

• The Neighbor, Part I

  I've decided to start blogging about my neighbor. Since I have no regular readers any more this should be an amusing restart to the blog. Reviewing the laundry list of books I've read since I ceased regular updates was just daunting. This will be more fun.Today I'll tell you about' [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 8:28am EST
  

• Dutch Bank Bankrupt As Sale Fails

  Who exactly is writing headlines for the BBC these days? Though the article itself is given a different head, links to it from elsewhere on the BBC have the amusing tongue-twister above. Is this deliberate or are they just not paying their algorithms enough? [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2009, 9:27am EDT
  

• Not What It Was Intended To Do

  I saw one of those faux-inspirational posters on line today, on Facebook (one of my very very Republican friends), a picture of George W. Bush waving as he steps out of Marine One, with the caption, "Miss me yet?"And I thought, oh my goodness no! Wow. Nothing like a little [...]
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  Posted: October 16, 2009, 8:54am EDT
  

• Changes

  Changes are afoot in Smitty-blog-land. I'm going to ditch the Library blog, which was in retrospect not a very good move in the first place. Since all the reviews that were here are there I'll have to port most of those back.I have a huge list of books I've read' [...]
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  Posted: September 04, 2009, 12:57pm EDT
  

• Morning Glories

  I know they're just weeds, really, but who can complain about these weeds? These morning glories are growing wild in the back yard. I have to weedwhack later today but I don't plan to cut these. Why should I? How many weeds are this pretty? [...]
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  Posted: August 26, 2009, 4:16pm EDT
  

• Menagerie Redux

  Per request by Rambling Speech, I am uploading a few pictures from yet another addition to the Smitty Petting Zoo and Animal Shelter (admission free, parking $2). These would be the Smittychix. They don't have names yet but of course they need them if you have suggestions. In this picture' [...]
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  Posted: May 24, 2009, 9:35am EDT
  

• Puppy Pictures

  Well. The Smitty household has a new member, and some pictures are in order for those of you who haven't already met her. Her name is Lily. She came from Laurens County Animal Rescue. And here she is. Isn't she a cutie? Here's another picture. Lily is about three months [...]
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  Posted: May 22, 2009, 8:11am EDT
  

• Nobody knows...

  ...the trouble our septic system has seen. But I have some ideas.First of all, and you can consider this a public service announcement: if you have a septic tank, do not flush condoms down the toilet! I mean, really. They should cover this in sex ed. They clog up the [...]
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  Posted: May 14, 2009, 12:36pm EDT
  

• ... And Then the Sky Fell In

  No, really, I had the best intentions of posting here Monday and yesterday. Monday I worked, but it wasn't an insane day. However, Monday night the septic tank backed up into the house.Yeah. Thank goodness our plumber (thank you Josh!) installed a relief point outside. Smittywife took a bath Monday' [...]
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  Posted: May 13, 2009, 8:06am EDT
  

• Rambling

  I have a lot of time to think at work. In a ten hour workday, at least four hours of the FedEx Ground driver's time is spent behind the wheel. The truck has no radio. Even when I ride with somebody, oftentimes the truck is so loud you have to [...]
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  Posted: May 07, 2009, 9:06pm EDT
  

• A New Attempt To Blog Daily Begins... Now!

  Whether it will last remains to be seen. Theoretically I should be leaving for work in about four minutes but I haven't even had breakfast yet, haven't packed a lunch, don't even have my boots on. But I did throw the puppy blanket in the wash on the "sanitize" setting' [...]
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  Posted: May 07, 2009, 7:56am EDT
  

• Neglected but not forgotten

  I've been working a lot of 11 hour days lately, and when you come home after eleven hours--twelve with commuting, roughly--you don't want to sit down at the computer and blog. That's all there is to say about that, really, the days are just very long, and unfortunately you don't' [...]
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  Posted: April 22, 2009, 9:20pm EDT
  

• Animal Husbands

  From the Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale, Smitty's former employer, comes this little piece this morning. Seems Florida is one of 16 states that does not outlaw bestiality (which raises the following two questions: 1) what are the other 15, and 2) why not?), and one of our state senators feels [...]
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  Posted: March 11, 2009, 7:43am EDT
  

• Something Old

  I was digging through my Giant File O' Crap (it's like a File-o-fax except not) for something specific today relating to Lauderdale. I did not find what I was looking for (did it ever exist? Good question), but as usually happens when I dig into the File O' Crap I [...]
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  Posted: March 05, 2009, 5:54pm EST
  

• Bail Me Out!

  I read a few articles in Florida newspapers this morning about the mortgage bailout plan and how it will affect Florida homebuyers. I don't claim to be an expert here, but I did buy a home in Florida just a few years short of the top of the housing price' [...]
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  Posted: February 19, 2009, 9:11am EST
  

• Three Things

  I checked this book out of the library when I lived in Valdosta. I don't remember the name of it but it was something along the lines of Finding Happiness in America or some such (editor's note: he has no idea, he just made that title up). Some years later' [...]
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  Posted: February 13, 2009, 5:53pm EST
  

• Romantic Dinner?

  I just had an ad pop on gmail while I was reading a message from Smittywife. It saidLive Maine LobstersRomantic dinner for two delivered right to your front door!Seriously? Live Maine lobsters? Is lobster romantic? More to the point, is boiling a live invertebrate to death romantic? I mean, I [...]
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  Posted: February 05, 2009, 2:03pm EST
  

• A bit premature, perhaps

  Maybe the previous post was a bit premature. Smitty's Library is up and running, but perhaps it was too early to give up on this blog just yet. Smittywife and I had a come to Jesus talk last night. (Actually, she did the talking and I did the listening, and' [...]
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  Posted: February 04, 2009, 9:47am EST
  

• Blog Movement

  I haven't posted to this blog in quite some time. Probably will not continue with it, either. Sorry. It's just... I don't know, I guess I lost interest, or at any rate I haven't felt like writing here in so long I don't know that the desire is going to' [...]
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  Posted: January 31, 2009, 12:38pm EST
  

• Oi

  vey.I don't know what to say but I can't let a whole month go by without a post. Truth is, I get this way sometimes. I want to write, I feel better when I do, but I'm unsure how I feel about... almost everything. And therefore I don't know what [...]
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  Posted: December 22, 2008, 6:04pm EST
  

• Well, shit

  The kittens have entered estrus (that is to say, they're in heat). Orange Pop does not appear to be bothering them, which I find remarkable and, probably, not actually the case. But a neighbor cat across the street has been coming around and they are fighting back. Thing is, I'm [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2008, 12:18pm EST
  

• Predictions Follow-up 1

  Well, some races are yet to be decided still, so I won't have a full scorecard available for a while... though I'll post one sooner than that. But I think I can generally say that I did pretty bad. Obama won, at least, which means that on the whole I [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2008, 10:27am EST
  

• Political Post V: Predictions

  You may recall that I ran predictions in 2006, and I plan to do so again, even though I didn't do so great that year... I'll start with this nifty little graphic I whipped up in about five minutes on Photoshop:That's my prediction for the presidential race. That amounts to' [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2008, 8:45am EST
  

• Political Post IV

  So, what about the big race?Well. Here's the way it's going to go. Polls close in waves, starting at 7 pm eastern. I'll list all times as eastern because that's where I live but you can do the math if you live elsewhere. I'm also supporting Obama, so I'm discussing [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2008, 8:41am EST
  

• Political Post III

  Ah, the Senate. Supposedly the "deliberative" body of Congress, responsible for approving judicial nominees, home of the filibuster, and of people like Robert Byrd who've been there for so long more than half of their constituents were born after they started serving. Damn. Presently, the Senate has 49 Dems, 49' [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2008, 8:36am EST
  

• Political Post II

  Every seat in the House is up for election, all 435 of them. Maybe 67 or so are actually in question. The GOP will hold 125 of their seats for sure, and the Dems will hold 200 of theirs. Another 26 GOP seats and 17 Dem seats should be safe [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2008, 8:34am EST
  

• Political Post I

  Hey there. I know I've been neglecting the blog, and I have pictures to post and all, but finding gainful employment comes first. Sorry for the layoff but, hey, I'm laid off. Give me time.I would normally preview the upcoming election on this blog, so I'm going to. For the' [...]
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  Posted: October 31, 2008, 3:05pm EDT
  

• "He doesn't trust me any more."

  A teenage girl referring to the boyfriend she cheated on?No. Me referring to our adopted orange and white cat. Our only tom, he was scheduled to go into the humane society this morning to become and orange and white not-tom. It's tough to bribe him since he's not supposed to [...]
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  Posted: October 08, 2008, 10:10am EDT
  

• House Stories Part II

  Today I will return to the theme of "What a difference a can of paint can make." Or in this case about six cans. In one room.When we bought the house we knew several of the interior rooms were due for a change. The bathroom was the worst, and the [...]
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  Posted: October 07, 2008, 9:17am EDT
  

• Autumn!

  This morning we stepped out onto the porch as Smittywife was leaving for work, and we just paused. And the wind blew through the treetops. Rustle, rustle. Whoosh. Ahhh... There's just a hint of color on the leaves on our oak trees this morning, and I'm sure it wasn't there' [...]
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  Posted: October 07, 2008, 9:15am EDT
  

• At Last! The House Series Has Begun!

  Question: What is the cheapest, fastest, and easiest way to improve the look of a house?Answer: Turn on the light! Ha ha ha ha!! Oh, man. Gets me every time. But seriously, most decorators and other types will tell you that a good quality paint job will do a lot [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2008, 2:15pm EDT
  

• Short Short Book Reviews

  I've been meaning to review these books forever and haven't got round to it and at this rate I won't for ages. So here's the abbreviated version in order of the first read. As always any of these are available for checkout from the Smitty Library.1. An Embarrassment of Mangoes, [...]
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  Posted: September 30, 2008, 9:32am EDT
  

• College Football!

  Okay, so this isn't what I said I was going to post about but I MUST talk about this!USC lost to Oregon State last night. Lowly Oregon State, which, before last night, was considered in the bottom half of Pac-10 teams. Why was everybody so freaking in love with USC' [...]
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  Posted: September 26, 2008, 8:21am EDT
  

• Um... The House Comes With These... Things

  Many older houses come with animals inside. Ours is absolutely infested with spiders. Not the bad kind of spiders, but kind of creepy all the same. They're getting better, though, now that we live here. A friend of ours bought an older home a few years ago and found a' [...]
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  Posted: September 25, 2008, 10:26am EDT
  

• Wow. A Whole Month.

  So it's been 33 days since my last post. I can't say I didn't warn you, but then, even the warning was rather sunnier than this.I have lots of updates I want to post. We have a new house, of course, and we've done SO MUCH work to it. I [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2008, 8:27am EDT
  

• A period of wandering

  Tribble appears to have been involved in precipitating the events that led to the ultimate demise of my laptop recently. I can't blame her much since it was such a piece of junk already, but in any event, posting has lagged recently at least in part because I don't have [...]
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  Posted: August 22, 2008, 4:38pm EDT
  

• Sticky

  Did you know, it's hot in a house without air conditioning (or electricity of any sort) in the middle of the afternoon when it's 98 degrees outside? It is. In case you were wondering. I've been working on a few little projects, which I'm attempting to document with photography, but [...]
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  Posted: August 06, 2008, 9:10pm EDT
  

• Live on Location

  This week, Smitty's World will be coming to you on location from Anderson, South Carolina. If I remember to post, that is. I'm getting some work done on the new house to make it move-in ready, so we can get up here soon and I can get a job. Yaay, [...]
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  Posted: August 05, 2008, 8:04pm EDT
  

• An August 3 Celebration

  Let's see. About, oh, 516 years ago today, a fellow by the name of Cristoforo Colombu (or Christopher Columbus to us Anglophones) departed Portugal on his first voyage to what would turn out to be the Americas. Not that he was the first person to site the Americas, nor even [...]
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  Posted: August 03, 2008, 11:54am EDT
  

• Um...

  Hi there. Sorry about the loss of the daily updates for the last few days. Smittyworld has been undergoing a lot of deep thought and potential changes and things like that, and I don't always feel comfortable talking about financial and employment issues here, at least not right now. It's [...]
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  Posted: August 01, 2008, 10:41am EDT
  

• Celebrate 29July

  Today in 1868 Secretary of State William H. Seward officially certified that the 14th Amendment was a part of the Constitution. The 14th is the equal protection amendment, guaranteeing the rights to life, liberty, and property to all citizens. It was passed as a response to the disenfranchisement of blacks [...]
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  Posted: July 28, 2008, 8:02am EDT
  

• Celebrate 27 July

  Theatergoers on this day in 1940 were introduced to Bugs Bunny for the first time, in the one-reel short "A Wild Hare." Elmer Fudd costars. Although Warner Bros. had been putting out shorts of a hunter and a rabbit for a year already, this was the first film in which [...]
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  Posted: July 27, 2008, 7:32pm EDT
  

• Celebrate 25 July

  Today is the 30th birthday of Louise Joy Brown, of Bristol, UK. You don't know who that is, do you? I think she rather prefers it that way. Mrs. Brown was the first baby ever born who was conceived via in vitro fertilization—she was, in the parlance of the time, [...]
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  Posted: July 25, 2008, 8:33am EDT
  

• The Victors

  Over the last week I slogged through The Victors, by Stephen E. Ambrose. Slogged is the wrong word, though, because it was actually a good read. Not always easy. Books about war never are. I could write thousands of words about this book. I think we're in danger of forgetting [...]
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  Posted: July 24, 2008, 3:16pm EDT
  

• Celebrate 24 July

  Today marks the 58th anniversary of Cape Canaveral's use as a space launch facility; on this day in 1950 the Air Force launched a V-2 rocket from a launch site at the cape. Then they blew it up over the Gulf Stream. I think lighting off a few bottle rockets [...]
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  Posted: July 24, 2008, 1:57pm EDT
  

• On The Wealth of Nations

  I've been reading a bit lately. Good thing, too. There are a lot of good books out there and at the pace I've been reading this year I'm not going to get read them all (or even very many). Most recently I managed to pick up and finish P.J. O'Rourke's [...]
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  Posted: July 23, 2008, 8:15pm EDT
  

• Celebrate 23 July

  Today is the 25th anniversary of the famous (in aviation circles, anyway) Gimli Glider incident, the only aviation accident known to be caused by the metric system. Well, partially. I'll tell you now, no one was seriously hurt in this accident, so you can read this as it's intended: for [...]
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  Posted: July 23, 2008, 6:31pm EDT
  

• Celebrate 22 July

  On this day in 1933, Wiley Post completed the first solo round-the-world flight. He had set the world speed record for round-the-world travel two years earlier in the same aircraft with a navigator, and sought to use that fame to open a flight school of his own. But Post was [...]
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  Posted: July 22, 2008, 9:09am EDT
  

• Celebrate 21 July

  Today marks the 39th anniversary of mankind's first footsteps on another world. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left the first human footprints in the dust of the moon on 21 July, 1969. [...]
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  Posted: July 21, 2008, 8:05am EDT