rockpile

I am still drinking my shakes: yogurt, milk, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, bananas, sometimes apples, pears, grapes, fresh pineapple - whatever is available. I am eating more unsalted peanuts and almonds. I also switched to dark whole grain wheat bread with tuna or salmon. The secret to making the shakes tastier is natural vanilla extract. I make my own "flavored' vitamin water by mixing some grape or cranberry juice with filtered water, and using it to take a vitamin! It tastes as good and is about half the calories.

Reading is no longer a required subject in High School. Actually reading for entertainment was never a requirement. In high school they twist your arm and make you play parrot on a final exam so they can push you through the system. You are just a tick mark. NOT ALL TEACHERS ARE THIS WAY - I do not want the good teachers out there getting all riled. If what I said made you angry, maybe you did not read my post. Heh. I just love to read. I have to thank old Grandma Rockpile - she read to us every night. Once we could read - we read to HER every night, at least when we were still "kids".

THIS deserves a bump. I donated over $25 myself, so I am getting ESPN the magazine. What are you all waiting for??

The National Endowment for the Arts is promoting a program called The Big Read, to encourage people to read books for pleasure (what a concept). This month they are suggesting Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Part of the idea is if everyone reads or RE-reads the same book, maybe they will discuss it... I have read it a few times but checked it out of the library to read again! I started reading Bradbury, Clark, Heinlein, Asimov, and many more, when I was still in elemenetary school. I do not have as much free time but still try to read as often as possible. Being a Gemini, it is not surprising I just finished Vonnegut's A Man without a Country and Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone - I had never read a Potter book before. With Vonnegut I would start off on maybe Welcome to the Monkey House or Cat's Cradle. A Man without a Country is like a series of blogs and excellent, but written near the end of his life. "You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them" Ray Bradbury "1492. As children we were taught to memorize this year with pride and joy as the year people began living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America. Actually, people had been living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America for hundreds of years before that. 1492 was simply the year sea pirates began to rob, cheat, and kill them. " Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions

and I thank you ! Thanks for the bump. Clump !

I am officially in the Rochester Chapter Top 100 Club and will get VIP parking. That is good because sometimes the parking is a mile from the starting line. But MS does not own me, and I will make it on the "long" walk - about 6 miles. I have been walking 20 minute miles on a two mile course to get in shape. If they take pictures, I will be wearing my Two Bills Drive cap! Current total is $1,885. I just got in a couple boxes with a Travis Henry autographed football with a cert of authenticity, some large uncut football card sheets, and some other magazines from Bob Lamb. Those will get inventoried and added to the prize list in a day or two. That is why I held off on the weekly drawing. That and a distraction called the NFL Draft! Next drawing Sunday will be May 4th - after the walk! HOW IT WORKS: ANYONE who donates - or has already donated - at least $10 to the MS Walk on my page (see my sig) by NOON Sunday May 4th EST will be eligible for one of about TEN prizes. Donor Names and Prizes will be pulled from a hat, and winners announced Sunday or maybe Monday if I am wiped out. This week is your last chance to get your name on the prize list. Partial list: 2000 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. Autographed by Jeremy McDaniel, Shawn Price, Chris Mohr 2002 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. 2003 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. 2006 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. 2006 Training Camp Keepsake Guide (50 pg) Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Last week's winners: 1. Brian F 1989 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. Last year before Super Bowl Run - lots of stars! 2. Rev and Rich 1992 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. Autographed by Glenn Parker, Henry Jones, Phil Hanson 3. The Tomcat 12/3/2006 Bill Digest Official Game Day Program (vs San Diego) 4. Art in RTP 2004 Training Camp Keepsake Guide (50 pg) Rochester Democrat and Chronicle 5. Fezmid 2004 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook.

I have 4 children and 5 grandchildren and have not lost one yet! If you are careful you have very little to worry about. Every access to the pool is a padlocked gate or keyed deadbolt door. I was a tyrant about controlling access to the pool by little ones, especially since my wife has a daycare and NO they are not allowed in it. We are inspected regularly by the state gestapo and they are very strict on this kind of safety, especially after Alysa's Law was ennacted requiring barriers to pools and ponds: There were four children in the Archibald house when Alysa was left there Oct. 23. It was during an eight-minute telephone call that Archibald received from a prospective customer just after noon that Alysa slipped away unnoticed. She wandered into the back yard and apparently fell headfirst onto the water-covered plastic cover. When Archibald finished the phone call, she went looking for Alysa and found her lying face down in four inches of water on the pool cover. She pulled the child out and called 911, but paramedics couldn't save the child's life. This was a case of pure neglect by the daycare provider. I do not know what the final sentencing was (financial and/or judicial). The worst scare I had was finding out years after the fact, that my "children", all in the 18-25 range had a party when we were out of town. They were drinking heavily, and jumping off the roof into the pool. I discovered the party had occurred and at the time assured them all that they were one f* up away from eviction. So do not worry about your toddlers, lock up the "almost adults" !

My house came with the pool, so I cannot help with costs to install a new one. We removed the old concrete patio had a new one poured. The pool is 16 x 32 with a four foot patio on one side, 10-12 foot patio on the other three sides. I also had the pool drained, acid washed, and a tile border installed. That was several thousand $$ but I figure the demolition and clean up was probably as much a a NEW pool! We spend half the summer on the patio. I agree with the "no liner" advice. Liners do not seem to last and are expensive to replace. I would guess I spend about $1,000 a year on electricity for the pool filter, water, chlorine tablets, algaecides, and so on. Figure replacing solar and winter covers every three or so years and keeping the pool primed just right as a summer hobby.

I have an in-ground pool, and the insurance really is nothing. You MUST have a fence with locked gates or no access from the yard. It is gunnite (concrete) surrounded by a concrete patio deck. One thing to think about is resale. It is one of those things some people consider an asset and others a turn off. In WNY the season is short and there is a significant amount of time and money to maintain it. I have no heater, just a solar cover, but I like the water cool anyway. Did you consider an above ground? They make some nice rectangular pools that are very nice if the deck and patio are well planned. When you go to sell, if someone does not want a pool, they can remove it. That said - I LOVE my pool!

The same might be said of some of your posts, or mine. Why take cheap shots at someone who is obviously just trying to pass along information to the masses?

Were you on acid?

I have been in ISO 9000 audit recertification hell all week and just saw this. There was sadly NO WAY I could have made it today. I was thinking about it for the last couple weeks, wondering it anyone would call for a "draft plate", but I did not want to say anything because I could not go!

Too bad they do not have a better picture of the entrance, with the standing Buffalo logo in the upper corners. I went back there several years ago and it was odd to see the stadium gone. The thing I remember most as a kid was hoping we would not get seats behind a pole in the covered end zone, how BIG it seemed even though it was tiny by comparision to the Ralph, and the crowd chanting "Lamonica" every time Kemp made a mistake. Funny how the Bills allowed QB controversies way back then - some things do not change. As a teenage dishwasher in a lakeshore restaurant (Foit's) , I remember players coming in for dinner every now and then.

Sponsor Rewards Bonus! Current Prize list: 1. Brian F 1989 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. Last year before Super Bowl Run - lots of stars! 2. Rev and Rich 1992 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. Autographed by Glenn Parker, Henry Jones, Phil Hanson 3. The Tomcat 12/3/2006 Bill Digest Official Game Day Program (vs San Diego) 4. Art in RTP 2004 Training Camp Keepsake Guide (50 pg) Rochester Democrat and Chronicle 5. Fezmid 2004 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. Next week: 2000 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. Autographed by Jeremy McDaniel, Shawn Price, Chris Mohr 2002 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. 2003 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. 2006 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. 2006 Training Camp Keepsake Guide (50 pg) Rochester Democrat and Chronicle HOW IT WORKS: ANYONE who donates - or has already donated - at least $10 to the MS Walk on my page (see my sig) by NOON Sunday April 20 EST will be eligible for one of FIVE prizes (yeah I changed the rules a little). Donor Names and Prizes will be pulled from a hat, and winners announced Sunday April 20th. NEXT WEEK Next week there will be more prizes and more winners. There will also be a grand prize announced the day of the walk, but I am not saying what it is yet! Oh, by the way - collected sponsor total is now $1,585 and for now I am the #1 individual sponsor in the Rochester Chapter- Thanks to YOU!

Doc and Blz, there is only one kind of tequila worth having. It must be made from 100% blue agave cactus, preferably from the Jalisco province of Mexico. If it is white, sometimes marketed as "silver", it was aged in aluminum barrels. If it is golden it has either been aged on blackened (scorched) oak barrels, or they added caramel coloring. I avoid the caramel coloring. The important thing is that it is 100% Agave. I have never gotten a hangover no matter how many shots I have. Both the white and oak aged tequila are very smooth.

Sponsor Rewards Bonus! Current Prize list: 1989 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. Last year before Super Bowl Run - lots of stars! 1992 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. Autographed by Glenn Parker, Henry Jones, Phil Hanson 2000 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. Autographed by Jeremy McDaniel, Shawn Price, Chris Mohr 2002 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. 2003 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. 2004 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. 2006 Buffalo Bills Official Team Yearbook. 12/3/2006 Bill Digest Official Game Day Program (vs San Diego) 2004 Training Camp Keepsake Guide (50 pg) Rochester Democrat and Chronicle 2006 Training Camp Keepsake Guide (50 pg) Rochester Democrat and Chronicle HOW IT WORKS: ANYONE who donates - or has already donated - at least $10 to the MS Walk on my page (see my sig) by NOON Sunday April 20 EST will be eligible for one of FIVE prizes (yeah I changed the rules a little). Donor Names and Prizes will be pulled from a hat, and winners announced Sunday April 20th. NEXT WEEK Next week there will be more prizes and more winners. There will also be a grand prize announced the day of the walk, but I am not saying what it is yet! Oh, by the way - collected sponsor total is up to $1,485 and as now I am the #1 individual sponsor in the Rochester Chapter- Thanks to YOU!

Rationing kept gas prices down in the 70's.

I never used to when they were in a glass container with a lid that screwed on tight. Things grow on those plastic flip tops.

Interesting story "Now consider Kubrick's famous use of Richard Strauss' “Thus Spake Zarathustra.'' Inspired by the words of Nietzsche, its five bold opening notes embody the ascension of man into spheres reserved for the gods. It is cold, frightening, magnificent."

I am not a philosopher. I did however see the movie and read the book (both several times), along with 2010, 2061, and 3001. 2001 was co-written by Clarke and Kubrick. They fed off each others ideas a lot. Clarke wrote the next three novels himself. My take is that when one "tribe" of apes found the monolith, the experience triggered a genetic code of some kind that tweaked them from simian to Homo sapiens. Ironically their first tool also became their first weapon, used for food and killing the "other" apes. It immediately fast forwards to the moon and the monolith there. This one is not a "trigger" it is signal to a civilization an unimaginable distance away: "the apes made it to the moon!" Along with this activity is the detection of another monolith out near Jupiter. Dave Bowman eventually encounters the monolith and is transported in some way to a place where he has HIS genetic code tweaked. The result is a Star Child, as far above Homo sapiens as Home sapiens was to simian. The next level of human evolution, perhaps.

I second that. Lori!

No, Jack.

They are the ONLY team to desert the AFC when the NFL realligned. They were not an original AFL team (they were an "expansion". They took Howard Ballard away (free agency actually did) and edit: In one of the earlier AFLs or AAFC, the Miami team was the Seahawks!

Yer welcome! I still love the image though. I like my current avatar (larger view in my profile). A buffalo reading Bills history seemed to fit. The artist is a friend who used to do cartoons for SHOUT! and had a featured section on Two Bills Drive back in the earliest days. His art was on some of the beer cups at (then) Rich Stadium in the SB years. His stuff still shows up in various papers and ads from time to time in Buffalo. When my kids were in cheerleading competition, Fairport Moms were some of the most obnoxious I have seen. They would be in the face of anyone not wearing a "Real fans wear red" shirt. Pittsford (Sutherland) were pretty bad too. I am all for cheering on your kids but stay don't JEER their competition! Has it changed in 5 years?

So what does the town of Irondequoit do - increase my assessment for TAXES by about $30K. I am contesting it but ... Inkman you are an elitist! (I work in Fairport and it is very nice)