tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63786897380310133952024-03-18T21:36:07.406-07:00Hank the Tank's TomesHank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-19054306181902143732011-05-30T16:42:00.000-07:002011-05-30T16:42:40.206-07:00A Memorial Day Rememberance...Andrew Guy Hanes.Last year I put up a <a href="http://hanktank88.blogspot.com/2010/07/special-salute-to-korean-war-veteran.html">Tribute to a Korean War veteran</a>...and my stepfather, Andrew Hanes. Today on Memorial Day, I wanted to once again remember the man Guy Hanes was and the love he had for his wife...and my mother. God Bless you Guy up There in Heaven.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiithqxRnGCqtFyQIMMB-NSLCKuhs4apVktiqiGKf7mMj6lblWlW2NIoYAar47g1noc7C8eshlHRvJQepqaGFfLGs9rGQ7bwpTQ4a2lAj3NEtaZhziFP_9SAqP0EdrZ86Ks2Y0XD-daZ3tH/s1600/PrintScan_GuyHanesInUniform.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiithqxRnGCqtFyQIMMB-NSLCKuhs4apVktiqiGKf7mMj6lblWlW2NIoYAar47g1noc7C8eshlHRvJQepqaGFfLGs9rGQ7bwpTQ4a2lAj3NEtaZhziFP_9SAqP0EdrZ86Ks2Y0XD-daZ3tH/s320/PrintScan_GuyHanesInUniform.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1FLxN2yhiBmL1iZI9fX9wPafVQ6qFRabW03itNL_ptHmEkk4_NEq5fPlrzfB5xevFD09y8ojVTZdL-WnzXdBDJXll2FgzWp9xfIdH40oH70sMC16UH8TOKtyHofp_Y7ZXaQuDveSbavJ/s1600/Memories1986_Mom-Guy_HomePortrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1FLxN2yhiBmL1iZI9fX9wPafVQ6qFRabW03itNL_ptHmEkk4_NEq5fPlrzfB5xevFD09y8ojVTZdL-WnzXdBDJXll2FgzWp9xfIdH40oH70sMC16UH8TOKtyHofp_Y7ZXaQuDveSbavJ/s320/Memories1986_Mom-Guy_HomePortrait.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-39023950721285327962011-01-29T08:59:00.000-08:002011-01-29T09:08:48.557-08:00First BLOG of 2011...Just some musings.<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Well folks, I've been writing some "Friday Musings" over on the Orange & Brown Report boards (theobr.com) and thought I'd simply post those over here. I've been putting pictures up from fun events last fall (ex: Browns vs Jaguars in Jacksonville, Nov 21st) on my Facebook and Photobucket accounts. Might have to display a couple of those here. Now on with the"musings".<br />
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From Browns vs Jaguars, Nov 21, Everbank Stadium: <br />
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<img alt="" class="media" id="fullSizedImage" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/hanktank88/Memories_2010/BrownsJags2010_GroupPicStands1.jpg?t=1296320488" style="height: 413px; width: 620px;" /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Friday Musings, 21 January 2011:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #003366;">- Beginning to look more & more like its Dick Jauron for our defensive coordinator position. So far Dawg Pound Nation seems to be pleased with the move.<br />
- Once again out in the California deserts close to Edwards AFB. They got a rather spooky "aircraft boneyard" out here to see.<br />
- Well today is our mother-in-law's birthday. Only gift idea I can think of she'd really like, a card with some money in it. We'll try that this year.<br />
- Burrito Place: In Eloy, AZ (I-10, exit 208), right across from the Pilot, there is a little food stand that makes the absolute best chicken burrito I've ever tasted. Its called <i>Rodriguez Taqueria</i>. Great food, and moderately priced as well.<br />
- The Buzzard: Anybody remember the old WMMS Friday monologue by "The Buzzard"? <br />
- Wife forgot to take her phone to the horse barn. Stayed out there most of the day working and nobody could get a hold of her. She finally did call much to my relief.<br />
- Yes I know, time to update my sig line for 2011...that is if we have a 2011 season.<br />
- Along those lines, maybe no season for 2011 might be a good thing for the BROWNS. With no football till 2012, we get two season's worth of draft picks, two seasons worth of FAs to improve the team. Maybe just skip a 8-8 season and go directly to a 12-4 winning season in 2012 and playoff appearance. Think about it.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #003366;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Friday Musings, 28 January 2011:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #003366;">- Helped out at the barn today with the horses. Oh what a fun job.<br />
- Glad to be home in Florida at this time of year. That weather up north is just too cold for me bones anymore.<br />
- Sig line updated. Decided to simply skip 2011 which will either be a lockout or a 8-8 Browns season and go directly to 2012 which should (finally) be a winning season and playoff berth for the BROWNS.<br />
- Anybody seen maxThiNG lately? I know he's "retired" from board moderation but kinda miss the laughs from his usual insults. He's kinda like the old fart living down the road we used to throw snowballs at as a kid (I know that is not right, just describing the situation).<br />
- The first new prints from my landscapes photo collection are printed and mounted, ready for art show display. (everyone who sees them says they're downright beautiful prints and will sell big time. Still got hundreds to go though we'll print them a block or so at at time. Spread out the expenditure over time.<br />
- Along those lines, time to fire up the film scanner. Have a lot of old (30 years old) B&W negatives I shot way back when which could be used, especially shots from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.<br />
- Anybody want a cat? We got one around our house we'd like to rid ourselves of. (I'd prefer a Siamese cat myself or a dog).<br />
- My annual visit to the eye doctor. Easy to do since my opthamoligist happens to be a drop-dead beautiful lady (age 36 for those 2H club tards so wondering). <br />
- Ordered new business cards from VistaPrint. Great deal over Office Despot.err..Office Depot.<br />
- Yes, its annoying to see Pittspuke back in the SB. But I've made it a point to respect what they have accomplished (easier since I have quite a few friends & relatives who are Steeler fans) which helps lower blood pressure. Not that this affects my desire in any way to see the BROWNS crush them the next time we play the Stoolers.<br />
- Finally I do like the direction the BROWNS brain trust seems to be going this year so far. We finally have a FO where everybody is going FORWARD in the same direction. And the talent level isn't bare like it was back in the RAC days. </span><br />
<span style="color: #003366;">- My first look & tryout of a Nook electronic book. Now I want one. Sheesh.<br />
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<span style="color: maroon;"><b>SPECIAL UPDATE:</b> This Friday, 28 January 2011 is the 25th Anniversary of the Challenger Disaster. One of those events where everybody knew where they were and what they were doing. As for me, I was at Kent State University and had just finished a computer systems class and was on my way to my car when my girlfriend caught up with me and broke the news. We both went to my house in Aurora and watched the news coverage.<br />
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Here's a link to Michelle Malkin's Account of that day</span> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#%21/notes/michelle-malkin/the-challenger-disaster-73-seconds-25-years/490965950676" rel="nofollow">73 Seconds, 25 Years</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #003366;">And another photo from Browns vs Jaguars gameday:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #003366;"> </span><img alt="" class="media" id="fullSizedImage" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/hanktank88/Memories_2010/BrownsJags2010_GroupPic1.jpg?t=1296320586" style="height: 485px; width: 620px;" /><br />
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</span><b> </b></div>Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-58040142841894732342010-10-10T08:40:00.000-07:002010-10-10T17:42:52.021-07:00BIRD ROAST AT CLEVELAND BROWNS STADIUM..>WOLFGANG HANK'S Kitchen<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Well folks, today it is the BROWNS vs the Atlanta Falcons up at Cleveland Browns Stadium. I'll have to catch the game on satellite radio but lookin forward to a REAL BIRD ROAST today.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: orange;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Wolfgang Hank’s…Pumpkin Pie Season is here.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">My goodness, Pumpkin Pie season is coming up here (starts in October and goes till Christmas). So its time to dig up those nifty pumpkin pie recipes (and buy up those pre-made pie crusts) to make pumpkin pies.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">And I always use REAL whipped cream for the toppings. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Wonder if Wolfgang has a pumpkin pie recipie I could try this year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Wolfgang Hank’s Smoked Salmon Pizzas, a rousing success.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Well folks, I made TWO smoked salmon pizzas, one that followed Wolfgang Puck’s recipe, the other was a offshoot of a Wolfgang puck pizza recipe that turned out delicious.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">First, Wolfgang Puck’s recipe for smoked salmon/ dill cream pizza.</span></div><ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="ingredient-item-quantityfraction"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-quantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-orgquantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit"><span style="font-family: Arial;">ounces </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit-system-name"><span style="font-family: Arial;">OUNCE_</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-body"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Pizza Dough (see separate recipe) </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span class="ingredient-item-quantityfraction"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-quantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-orgquantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit"><span style="font-family: Arial;">tablespoon </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit-system-name"><span style="font-family: Arial;">TABLESPOON </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-body"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Chili and Garlic Oil (see Sauces & Dressings) </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span class="ingredient-item-quantityfraction"><sup><span style="font-family: Arial;">1</span></sup></span><span class="ingredient-item-quantityfraction"><span style="font-family: Arial;">/<sub>4</sub> </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-quantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">.25 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-orgquantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">.25</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit"><span style="font-family: Arial;">cup </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit-system-name"><span style="font-family: Arial;">CUP_US</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit-type"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Volume</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-body"><span style="font-family: Arial;">thinly sliced red onion </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span class="ingredient-item-quantityfraction"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-quantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-orgquantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit"><span style="font-family: Arial;">tablespoons </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit-system-name"><span style="font-family: Arial;">TABLESPOON </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-body"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Dill Cream (see Sauces & Dressings) </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span class="ingredient-item-quantityfraction"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2 <sup>1</sup>/<sub>2</sub> </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-quantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.5 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-orgquantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.5</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit"><span style="font-family: Arial;">ounces </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit-system-name"><span style="font-family: Arial;">OUNCE_</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-body"><span style="font-family: Arial;">thinly sliced smoked salmon </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span class="ingredient-item-quantityfraction"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-quantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-orgquantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit"><span style="font-family: Arial;">teaspoon </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit-system-name"><span style="font-family: Arial;">TEASPOON_</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-body"><span style="font-family: Arial;">chopped fresh chives.</span></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="ingredient-item-body"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Now the Wolfgang Puck inspired recipe for a tomato pesto, smoked salmon pizza:</span></span></div><ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="ingredient-item-quantityfraction"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-quantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-orgquantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit"><span style="font-family: Arial;">ounces </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit-system-name"><span style="font-family: Arial;">OUNCE_</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-body"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Pizza Dough (see separate recipe) </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span class="ingredient-item-quantityfraction"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-quantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-orgquantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit"><span style="font-family: Arial;">tablespoon </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit-system-name"><span style="font-family: Arial;">TABLESPOON </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-body"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Chili and Garlic Oil (see Sauces & Dressings) </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span class="ingredient-item-quantityfraction"><sup><span style="font-family: Arial;">1</span></sup></span><span class="ingredient-item-quantityfraction"><span style="font-family: Arial;">/<sub>4</sub> </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-quantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">.25 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-orgquantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">.25</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit"><span style="font-family: Arial;">cup </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit-system-name"><span style="font-family: Arial;">CUP_US</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit-type"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Volume</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-body"><span style="font-family: Arial;">thinly sliced red onion.</span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span class="ingredient-item-body"><span style="font-family: Arial;">½ cup of fresh portabello mushrooms.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span class="ingredient-item-quantityfraction"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 small jar Classico Tomato pesto (you can substitute your favorite pizza sauce but the pesto really makes this pizza)</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span class="ingredient-item-quantityfraction"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2 <sup>1</sup>/<sub>2</sub> </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-quantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.5 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-orgquantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.5</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit"><span style="font-family: Arial;">ounces </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit-system-name"><span style="font-family: Arial;">OUNCE_</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-body"><span style="font-family: Arial;">thinly sliced smoked salmon </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span class="ingredient-item-quantityfraction"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-quantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-orgquantity"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit"><span style="font-family: Arial;">teaspoon </span></span><span class="ingredient-item-unit-system-name"><span style="font-family: Arial;">TEASPOON_</span></span><span class="ingredient-item-body"><span style="font-family: Arial;">chopped fresh chives.</span></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Countdown, 43 Days until <span style="color: #783f04;">BROWNS</span> vs. <span style="color: #134f5c;">JAGUARS</span>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">OK folks, the NFL game I’ll be going to on November 21<sup>st</sup>, BROWNS vs Jaguars. Hopefully both teams will bring a winning record to the game and make it one worth watching. Got 8 tickets to the game (bought on NFL Ticket Exchange) and looks like we’ll have quite a group there. Last time in 2008, I had four tickets when my mother, Kyrsten, Gigi and myself all went to the game. This year add Mommy Tina, Laci (hopefully at age 6 ½ she’ll get something out of the game) and our neighbor Leslie with her friend Charly.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Now I had to wonder a bit about Leslie (a very beautiful 16 year old girl) sudden interest in Jaguars football. Then it occurred to me, that game might be Military Appreciation Day. And of course Jacksonville is a big military town and quite a few military folks from the local bases will make it to the game.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Including (and this is key) a large number of young (18-20 y/o), handsome U.S. Navy Sailors and U.S. Marines. Which now explains Leslie’s interest. Oh my!!!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Well you can’t fight romance now can we? And look at it this way, these accomplished guys, heroes of our country are the kind of young men I would want my daughter interested in. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">A lot better than say some teenage horn-dogs at their high school. </span></div>Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-80456826419593190222010-09-06T13:58:00.000-07:002010-09-06T13:58:53.611-07:00Hank - 38, DirecTV- 3: Got SUNDAY TICKET<span mce_style="color: #003366;" style="color: #003366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Well folks, it took a little phone wait and had to get up to Level II (note, Moohead had to get to Level III) but I did get a handsome discount, a VERY handsome discount, off my DirecTV Bill and got the NFL Sunday Ticket for the upcoming <span mce_style="color: #800000;" style="color: maroon;">BROWNS 2010, The PAYBACK the NFL GODS OWE CLEVELAND BEGINS</span> Season.<br />
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And since my profession (that's a career profession you do everyday for pay for those here who still live in Mommy's basement) does take me on the road for some of those NFL weekends, I got them to throw in the <a href="http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/sports/nfl_online_mobile" mce_href="http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/sports/nfl_online_mobile">NFL Sunday Ticket TO-GO</a> in......for........<br />
for <b>FRIGGIN FREE!!!</b><br />
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Which means I'll now be able to watch the BROWNS pound the opponent live on my nifty laptop. Heck I might install a larger hard drive and save entire BROWNS game to my disk for later viewing.<br />
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This all started when I got a nice little card from DirecTV offering me free movie channels for being a loyal butt-kis...err....customer since 2006. Called them and told them since I never watch those movie channels (mostly still watch the NFL Channel, Boomerang and Fox News), it doesn't do be a sweet-goodie two-poops good. But I might be interested in the NFL Sunday Ticket for the right price.<br />
And so it went.<br />
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OK so one week at least (maybe a few more) I won't be using my Sunday Ticket as I'm taking a nice size group to Everbank Stadium for the BROWNS vs. Jaguars (and maybe the BROWNS vs Dolphins as well) but then again if Everbank Stadium has a decent WIFI connection, I might be able to make good use of it even at the game.<br />
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Speaking of that game my wife and the kids are all going. Gigi is particularly thrilled as she really had a blast at the 2008 game. This will be Laci's first NFL game. And two of our neighbors (Leslie and Charly) want to go as well. <br />
I didn't know Leslie was that into NFL football and the Jags in particular. Well JAX being a big military town, it probably doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Everbank Stadium will be chock-full of young 18-20 y/o U.S. Navy Sailors and U.S. Marines for the game......(EGADS!!!).<img alt="pirate" border="0" mce_src="http://media.scout.com/media/forums/emoticons/pirate.gif" src="http://media.scout.com/media/forums/emoticons/pirate.gif" title="pirate" /> Wouldn't be of interest to two very pretty girls now would it. Of course not...............BULLSHEETS!!!!<br />
</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span mce_style="color:
#003366;" style="color: #003366;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A special thanks to Moohead who showed us all that with paitience, like negotiating for a new car, you can get yourself a gr8 deal.</span></span>Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-8115946205321968972010-08-06T11:17:00.001-07:002010-08-07T15:52:56.940-07:00Birthday Bash & Other Fun Stuff<span style="color: navy;">1. We just had a nice birthday party over the weekend which consisted of a pool party cookout at my mother in law's condo located on the banks of the Indian River (right across from downtown Cocoa, FL). Of course plenty of family & friends showed up. Great times, plenty of good cookout food (hot dogs, hamburgers, delicious baked beans, you know the works. Oh a nice big thunderstorm did make its way thru the area which precluded some swimming but the huge rainstorm was very much welcome to a quite dry Brevard County. <br />
Oh and in case you're wondering, our lovely neighbor, Lisa (Leslie's older sister) turned 20. I got her a ruby pendant from Arizona. OK so its not quite the same ruby (corundum) that you get in the jewelry store but it is ruby (aka corundum), second hardest mineral after a diamond.<br />
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Oh and Laci figured that the dish of Brie cheese needed a little powdered sugar (intended for the strawberries) so she put it on. Which of course made a chunk of that Brie cheese rather inedible.<br />
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2. Gigi and Laci start back to school next Monday (August 9th). Gigi going into 5th grade while Laci enters the first grade. At at above mentioned party, we had Gigi's new teacher along with his family at the party.<br />
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3. After what, 12 years of service, the old 1998 GMC van has been traded in (wholesaled due to its age) and we bought a new 2010 Nissan. Nice thing about this vehicle, the AC really works swell.<br />
NOTE, the Stang, which spends a lot of time in the garage (being babied) still runnin well. I'll be replacing (whenever I get around to it) the head unit of the radio as the CD player has conked out. Looking to get something that can play digital music (MP3s, etc).<br />
Oh and our lovely 16 year old neighbor Leslie is nuts about the car. Now that she has her license, she wants that "puuurty little black car" so that her and her friends can go cruisin. Great just what I needed, our neighbors at that car-lovin age all wanting my well-preserved car.<br />
(I have been tempted though by the new 2010 Mustang GT with its 412 HP engine).<br />
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4. Got the girls (Gigi, Lacy and Ilyanna some really nice native Arizona magnetic jewelry (made by an 84 year old Arizona artisan). The girls all go nuts over it, in fact they fight over who gets what piece of jewelry. Oh the joys of parenthood.<br />
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5. I've given some thought to some decent nicknames for the new Browns rookies. Actually somewhat easy this year. How about:<br />
- Joe "Night Train" Haden (that's got a original ring to it eh?)<br />
- TJ "The Assassin II" Ward<br />
- Colt 45 McCoy (geez, can I come up with them or what).<br />
Yeah, I know, real original huh? Hopefully this year's crop of rooks will live up to their draft billing. Seem you could categorize all the "new" Browns drafts from 1999 thru 2006 complete flops.</span><br />
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Of coruse B-Greg has suggest some nickname for all the Browns draft picks from 1999-2006.... "bust", "flopsie", WOM (waste of money), etc.<br />
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6. <b>HANK'S GROOVEYARD UPDATE</b>: Well, here's one from the Grooveyard which will get our feet movin, <br />
<a href="http://www.discomusic.com/records-more/151_0_2_0_C%20/"><i>After Dark</i> by Pattie Brooks</a>:<br />
http://www.discomusic.com/records-more/151_0_2_0_C /<br />
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And a dedication to our neighbor Leslie, a nifty song from the soundtrack of Little Darlings,<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHG__IAvWB0"><i>Shake It</i>, by Ian Matthews.</a><br />
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7. FILM SCANNER UPGRADE: OK, I'm now evaluating a new 110 film holder designed specifically to work with the FH-869G on my Nikon 9000ED scanner. This holder is supposed to work much better with the VueScan software than the earlier FS-816 holder (Why VueScan can't seem to make its software work better with the FH-816 holder is beyond me but I do like this new 110 holder from FilmScanUSA. Running it thru its tests this week, we'll see how well it works.</span><br />
<span style="color: navy;">UPDATE, Well it took a couple of tries but I did get the new holder working and it seems to work as advertised. Thought at first the scan were not as good as the scans done earlier with the FH-816 (using the same 110 frames for comparison). But set the scan passes to 4 and it gets great 110 scans. Plus I now can do 110 frames in batch mode, saving a lot of time.</span><br />
<span style="color: navy;">I'd still like to see somehow if I could also get the FH-816 to work that way as well using corresponding scan parameters. Must keep in mind though when the scanner accepts the FH-816, it thinks it is going to scan 16mm movie film.</span><br />
<span style="color: navy;">(Now whoever at Nikon though there would be such a demand for scanning old 16mm movie frames (those horrid movies we used to have to watch back in junior high and high school)? Hint, there is no demand. How may regular folks have a bunch of old 16mm movie frames laying around as precious memories. Far more old 110 film still around in people's closets and all).</span><br />
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<b>8. AN IDEA FOR PANCREATIC CANCER FUNDRAISING:</b> We're floating the idea to Lisa Niemi (widow of Patrick Swayze) for helping to raise funds for the Pancreas Cancer Center at Stanford University. This consists of getting the movie <a href="http://oddculture.com/movies/roller-disco-cinema-skatetown-usa/"><i>Skatetown USA</i> (Swayze's first feature role film)</a> released onto DVD and Blu-Ray with all sales proceeds going to the Pancreas Cancer Center. <br />
For those who are wondering, apparently music rights for release on DVD seem to be holding up any release by Sony/Columbia. And the soundtrack to Skatetown USA has quite a few hit songs from 1979 on it which normally would make it quite expensive to obtain DVD release musical rights. Our idea is to approach the musical artists involved and see if they would donate their music rights permissions as long as all resulting proceeds go to pancreatic cancer research. Hey, its an idea and everybody wins.</span><br />
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And that's it for now but I'll probably think of something nice I can put on this week's BLOG update. It will be added later.<br />
</span>Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-91493158487516316952010-07-24T13:59:00.000-07:002010-07-24T14:20:48.282-07:00On the Edge of BROWNS 2010<span style="font-family:arial;">Well folks, here it is, the edge of the 2010 Cleveland Browns NFL season. Browns Training camp has already opened for rookies. As for me, I keep on keeping on knowing that God is in control and I know where I'm eventually headed, even if the path there (to Jesus Heavenly Kingdom) looks like a mountain to climb
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<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">NEW FILM SCAN EQUIPMENT:</span> Well after using Nikon's FH-816 holder in the 9000ED scanner for how long, I'll be trying out a new 110 film holder for the Nikon. Made by FilmScanUSA, this could be the holder that makes 110 negative scans so much easier.
<br />Problem with the old FH-816 is that either with VueScan or the Nikon software, framing what you want to scan is a tricky process. I won't bore all you with details. Especially since VueScan's frame offset settings in the newer VueScan versions seem to have no effect (In the older 8.41 version, the offset setting adjusted the scan but now that seems to have stopped working). I've heard some good things about the new holder, let's see if they're true .</span>
<br /><img src="http://filmscanusa.com/cs-cart/image.php?object_type=detailed&image_id=1413" alt="" onclick="window.close();" border="0" height="265" width="800" />
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<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:/Users/Hank/AppData/Local/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:donotoptimizeforbrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1 -369098753 63 0 4129279 0;} @font-face {font-family:"\@Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1 -369098753 63 0 4129279 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} h3 {margin-right:0in; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; mso-outline-level:3; font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Arial Unicode MS";} span.uistorymessage {mso-style-name:uistory_message;} span.textexposedhide {mso-style-name:text_exposed_hide;} span.textexposedshow {mso-style-name:text_exposed_show;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Night at the Observatory:</span><span style=""> </span>Over the July 4<sup>th</sup> weekend, we had a visit from Carolyn Tallman and her two kids Meg and Joe Jr.<span style=""> </span>(Wish Joe could have made it, he had a operation done on his leg recently and couldn’t make the drive from St. Petersburg).<span style=""> </span>After a nice dinner at Thai Thai in downtown Cocoa (along with Marti), we were invited by Carolyn to join them at the Brevard Community College Observatory for a nifty laser light show in the planetarium.<span style=""> </span>Now I’ve been to a couple of the observatory events (the Mars viewing thru their big scope and a planetarium show) and this show was really nifty.<span style=""> </span>Meg (age 7) really enjoyed the show.<span style=""> </span>Makes for a nice educational field trip.<span style=""> </span>Now we have to get Gigi, Laci and Mommy Tina there for a show. (Gigi is visiting Aunt Holly out in California until August so we'll have to wait till then).
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p face="arial" class="MsoNormal">Speaking of Gigi, she wants to play soccer this coming fall (in lieu of Pop Warner cheerleading) so we’ll have our hands full this coming fall.<span style=""> </span>That and my Cleveland Browns on Sundays.</p> <p face="arial" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">New power pack for laptop:</span><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"> </span> </span>If there’s one thing about these laptops that really drives me bananas, it is how the power packs always seem to break at the wrong times.<span style=""> </span>Now I’m shopping around for a replacement power pack for the laptop.<span style=""> </span>Oh mine still works but it has a intermittent break in the wire near the plug which causes it to cut out on occasion.<span style=""> </span>Not fun when you discover that your laptop wasn’t charging up because the power pack wire was screwed up.<span style=""> </span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">No power at the horse barn AAARGH!!!</span>:<span style=""> </span>Two weeks now and the owners of the horse barn where we keep our horses still hasn’t got the electricity going?<span style=""> </span>I’m wondering what the heck is going on?<span style=""> </span>I suspect they (the owners) are saving money by not having the electricity running.<span style=""> </span>Never mind the horses are suffering in this Florida heat.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p><span class="uistorymessage"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:Arial;font-size:12pt;" ><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">From Hank's Grooveyard: </span>I'm not much of a Madonna fan but a couple of her songs I really like, including this one from my junior year in college (1987), "Who's That Girl".</span></span>
<br /><h3><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:Arial;font-size:12pt;" > <span class="uistorymessage">A question I found myself asking quite a bit during my junior year.<span style=""> </span>Now I was engaged to be married at the time but wouldn’t you know, it seemed like every young college freshman girl (and one high school cheerleader) had their sights on yours truly.<span style=""> </span>Which of course left me asking on a number of occasions<span style=""> </span>who’s that girl?</span></span></h3><h3><span class="uistorymessage"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:Arial;font-size:12pt;" >(Now where were they when I was 16 and in a dry spell for a time?).</span></span></h3>
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<br /><h3 style="font-weight: normal; font-family: arial;">Usually I include a musical link here but can't seem to find one for this song. But there's this Wiki article on the song</h3>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who%27s_That_Girl_%28Madonna_song%29
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<br /><h3><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:Arial;font-size:12pt;" ><span class="uistorymessage"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><span style=""><span style="font-family:arial;"></span>
<br /></span></span></span></h3><span class="uistorymessage"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:Arial;font-size:12pt;" ></span></span><span class="uistorymessage"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:Arial;font-size:12pt;" >But the memories that year, a slave in the comp</span></span><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:Arial;font-size:12pt;" >uter lab, my 85 Mustang GT (which my then girlfriend always seemed to be snatching away and driving home to her house, leaving me her car at my dorm) and those dreaded Calculus homework assignments (I knew I should have went the Business Admin route in Computer Science instead of the pure Math/Computer Science). <o:p></o:p></span></span> <h3><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:Arial;font-size:12pt;" ><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></h3> <h3><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:Arial;font-size:12pt;" >Oh and for my Birthday:<span style=""> </span>Well that dreaded birthday is coming up.<span style=""> </span>Dear Lord, how bout a new Canon digital SLR for my photo business?<span style=""> </span>Fat chance.</span></span></h3>
<br />Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-48944982552234182292010-07-08T13:42:00.000-07:002010-07-08T14:14:25.984-07:00A Special Salute to a Korean War Veteran.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Marines_engage_during_the_Korean_War.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 385px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Marines_engage_during_the_Korean_War.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It was sixty years ago this past June that marked the beginning of the Korean War in which the United Nations, spearheaded mostly by U.S. troops defended South Korea against a Communist invasion from the north. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">One of the most decisive battles of this war, the Battle of Chosin Reservior in which 30,000 UN troops fought their way out of a trap in which they were surrounded by 60,000 Chinese and North Korean troops. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">One of the American troops who fought his way out of that deathtrap was my step-father and husband of 30 years to my mother, Andrew Guy Hanes.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">On this, the 60th Anniversary of the Korean Conflict, I pay a special salute to my late step-father (he passed away in July 2006) as one U.S. Military Veteran to another U.S. Military Veteran. Not only was Guy (as we called him) a outstanding U.S. Army officer at one time, he was a loving and caring husband to my mother (they met in mid-1975 and married in the fall of 1976 if memory serves me correctly).</span> <a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zYG7JXL2DOjBBVKsvwR3zYEyOQSPFQd0EmjhHYtqYK-El48Vk151Ezp2DiUdc7Q0Xu3p-oABM842x012a_DrD5DrNiSaBFJSMbAOg00LDEno9PgVK19cWb9AVo2X89cz1GNU1I2-aTrM/s1600/Memories1995_GrampaGuy_FamilyPic3_Hank.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zYG7JXL2DOjBBVKsvwR3zYEyOQSPFQd0EmjhHYtqYK-El48Vk151Ezp2DiUdc7Q0Xu3p-oABM842x012a_DrD5DrNiSaBFJSMbAOg00LDEno9PgVK19cWb9AVo2X89cz1GNU1I2-aTrM/s320/Memories1995_GrampaGuy_FamilyPic3_Hank.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491645395046553762" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br />Here's a family picture from 1995-1996 or so. Guy Hanes is in front, second from the left. That's me there in front in the turquoise-blue shirt. <br /><br /><br /><br />And another photo of "Grampa Guy" with my mother and his grandchildren..</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSj73ssMwhB4mKiaCLh-6pq-tWzvmJB2MikWMoZeDarBWmT7-Zmxl8nItqZ9fYvb3LvP3IVho7ganjZB0ynl5svgaVeCH-BGl6dV4exwfQvpEa_UsBFYpCc606QY55-b-CM0Vf69FaMip2/s1600/Memories1995_GrampaGuy_FamilyPic1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSj73ssMwhB4mKiaCLh-6pq-tWzvmJB2MikWMoZeDarBWmT7-Zmxl8nItqZ9fYvb3LvP3IVho7ganjZB0ynl5svgaVeCH-BGl6dV4exwfQvpEa_UsBFYpCc606QY55-b-CM0Vf69FaMip2/s320/Memories1995_GrampaGuy_FamilyPic1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491646231356053234" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Nowadays, Lt. Andrew G. Hanes is in the care of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ in Heaven. God Bless you Guy and THANK YOU so much for your service in the Korean War.</span>Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-11052451942619971312010-07-07T15:54:00.000-07:002010-07-08T13:13:21.830-07:00Fourth Of July Special Posting.<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Hank/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:donotoptimizeforbrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;">Well folks, we had a pretty wonderful Fourth Of July though I didn't get too many pictures. Guess my shutter finger needs a short rest. But it was a nice family-centered event and we celebrated America's Birthday in Florida style.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGoAP21lsiuc7e_Ycz4zISgs27GnKrhUxwNQkxyA7yIlrcRjpfD6MfnQbBXQm1RBj09w6yURJVX-9KZWhd1VEo36AaSON7Cr_y1yLxIzjsALOm7M4pq93XIEbuA8URt8y3K29ijAI_LoNA/s1600/Memories2010_LeslieSweet16_SharlyHankLeslie.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGoAP21lsiuc7e_Ycz4zISgs27GnKrhUxwNQkxyA7yIlrcRjpfD6MfnQbBXQm1RBj09w6yURJVX-9KZWhd1VEo36AaSON7Cr_y1yLxIzjsALOm7M4pq93XIEbuA8URt8y3K29ijAI_LoNA/s320/Memories2010_LeslieSweet16_SharlyHankLeslie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491302271313716946" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 153);">Sweet 16 For Leslie:</span><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;">Well, here’s a few pics for a little Sweet 16 party</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"> we threw for our lovely neighbor Leslie.<span style=""> </span>It was just us, Leslie and her friend Sharly but it was a nice little shindig.<span style=""> </span>And she absolutely loves the aquamarine pendant (her birthstone) that I got her from Quartzsite, AZ. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;">
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<br /></p><p face="arial" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" class="MsoNormal">NeatImage: <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">This is some neat photo restoration software. Well I gave Nea</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">tImage a try (recommended by my friend<a href="http://www.tedsimages.com/text/scan110.htm"> Ted Marcus (one of his webpages)</a> and color me impressed. I've only tried it once so far but I'm impressed with the quality improvement. I've included
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<br /></p><p face="arial" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Raw Scanned Negative (size-reduced for Web):</span></p><p style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAoN4tjshrDvxsIsOvYufNFExmNQ3yTq4P4gMYGWLOqylr_8pbt7Jm_eVVARGW90IfxbktU1J4QU-im4WshOOSvBKkLhYKgkLGmOj032P9M0Rkfps2tDEHKU4uczock_Fpcx91qYo2j6p3/s1600/Scan-071124-0003.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAoN4tjshrDvxsIsOvYufNFExmNQ3yTq4P4gMYGWLOqylr_8pbt7Jm_eVVARGW90IfxbktU1J4QU-im4WshOOSvBKkLhYKgkLGmOj032P9M0Rkfps2tDEHKU4uczock_Fpcx91qYo2j6p3/s320/Scan-071124-0003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491627656455296626" border="0" /></a></p><p style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">
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<br /></p><p style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">After Basic Photoshop color restoration & some brush work:</p>
<br /><p face="arial" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjg7wfIaikYuoDrrwg8JZSoW3XPOcZd4cA-1gslDVmTDI4f21i15G0MJSNDdrO-wBaUNVcdSgkf-lbUSIajuXHpak8eQbmVHJQzuwNt26ORhtc_LfA9xU4uHmG7r4h-1J9K821NQjPaIN/s1600/Memories1978_CherylConniePepper_1A_25.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjg7wfIaikYuoDrrwg8JZSoW3XPOcZd4cA-1gslDVmTDI4f21i15G0MJSNDdrO-wBaUNVcdSgkf-lbUSIajuXHpak8eQbmVHJQzuwNt26ORhtc_LfA9xU4uHmG7r4h-1J9K821NQjPaIN/s320/Memories1978_CherylConniePepper_1A_25.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491628152358821874" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" class="MsoNormal">After processing with NeatImage:</p><p style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p face="arial" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYakr2hE20ds9DXW0TJEEizlx8UJX6G-TOgIKVXD4WTOOUaKlJLCFr8v2LyGGmdspvo1SwZhfrPY6RmYpKhX64UWIEW0Efg10ls0xO9ZFPJ-mtLFB5SmNPc2gNTtmpO2F1OpIxVWz9Vfc/s1600/Memories1978_CherylConniePepper_1B_filtered.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYakr2hE20ds9DXW0TJEEizlx8UJX6G-TOgIKVXD4WTOOUaKlJLCFr8v2LyGGmdspvo1SwZhfrPY6RmYpKhX64UWIEW0Efg10ls0xO9ZFPJ-mtLFB5SmNPc2gNTtmpO2F1OpIxVWz9Vfc/s320/Memories1978_CherylConniePepper_1B_filtered.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491628760139038802" border="0" /></a></p> OK the improvements may be a little hard to see here but on my screen, the <a href="http://www.neatimage.com/">NeatImage</a> difference is noticeable. Gotta try this on my other 110 scans.
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<br /><p style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Otto Graham Jersey</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;">Well after several purchases of Cleveland Browns jerseys with then-current player nam</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;">es and numbers, only to have to retire them when that player was traded, I decided to go retro-throwback.<span style=""> </span>This time I purchased a white #14, Otto Graham jersey<span style=""> </span>(Otto Graham Hall Of Fame Browns quarterback from 1946 to 1955).<span style=""> </span>This way the jersey will never be rendered “obsolete” due to any trade or anything.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" face="arial">Now to find the Brown version of this jersey which doesn’t seem to be available at this time.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;">
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" face="arial"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">COMING SOON:</span><span style=""> </span>A Special Salute to a Korean War Veteran.<span style=""> </span>I’m working on it.</p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal" face="arial"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal" face="arial"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);"></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" face="arial"><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">
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<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" face="arial"><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">Cursed Sirius…now charging for on-line listening</span>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" face="arial">When I first got Sirius satellite radio, they offered a listen-online feature to all paid subscribers.<span style=""> </span>You could use your laptop or desktop computer as a Sirius receiver.<span style=""> </span>I found this rather useful at times, especially during on-the-job layovers where I had WiFi access (in hotel rooms, or at restaurants). </p> <p class="MsoNormal" face="arial">That was all well & dandy until last year when Sirius announced it was replacing their 64 kb online service with a “CD-quality” service running at<span style=""> </span>128 kbps.<span style=""> </span>And as you probably guessed, they are now charging for what was once a free service ($2.99 per month according to Sirius).<span style=""> </span>But you could still use the old service free for the next year if you went ahead and did early renewal, which I did.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" face="arial">That one-year service expired some time ago this year.<span style=""> </span>So I did look into the $2.99 per month service.<span style=""> </span>That’s where Sirius gets a little greedy, you have to pay a lump-sum payment for about two years worth of this service instead of simply buying it month-by-month.<span style=""> </span>Figuring that I wouldn’t get enough use to justify this expense, I did not purchase this service.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;">Isn’t that typical now, online companies looking to charge for what was once a free to paid subscribers.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;">Dirty rotten skunks.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;">
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<br /></p><p style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal">Those annoying changes in atmospheric pressure.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;">One of the more annoying aspects of land-based travel across the country is the effect of atmospheric pressure on some of your belongings.<span style=""> </span>Like for example when you go up into the higher elevations (nearly 9000 feet in some cases), the change in the atmosphere does some funny things.<span style=""> </span>Like the effect it had on my can of shaving gel, forcing the gel out of its container and all over the inside of my shaving bag.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">
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<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">UPDATE: The Lawn Mower makes a Idiot of me again</span>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;">Well folks, I thought I had the lawn-mower working quite nicely.<span style=""> </span>But my wife informed me that once again she could not get the lawn mower started.<span style=""> </span>So I had Steve Witt take a look. </p> <p face="arial" class="MsoNormal">Turns out I had a screw loose (in the mower, not where one might think).<span style=""> </span>The new pickup coil worked its way loose and got damaged against the flywheel.<span style=""> </span>You guess it, we had to buy another new coil and I let Steve install this one.<span style=""> </span>Oh sheesh.</p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">Well Bruce’s Small Engine Repair in Merritt Island is happy, I had to buy another part from them.</p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">
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<br /></p><p style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">OK, I found the recip\e for Monte Cristos.</p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">At last, after tasting those delicious Monte Cristo’s the NASA cafeteria made, I found a good recipie on-line (at Allrecipies.com) for making those delicious sandwiches.<span style=""> </span>I’ll give it a shot for this Fourth Of July.</p> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >UPDATE:<span style=""> </span>Yes I did make those Monte Cristos for the Fourth.<span style=""> </span>They turned out quite well, not bad for my first attempt at Monte Cristos.</span>Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-24121361079958783052010-06-20T18:33:00.000-07:002010-06-21T12:39:22.868-07:00Grooveyard Feature, First Date with Cheryl.<span style="font-family:arial;">Well folks, occasionally while listening to the Sirius satellite radio, a song will come on that I haven’t heard in, well in this case years. And its one of those songs that takes you back to a time in your life.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">In this case:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">You’re The Love </span>by Seals & Crofts</span> (music link not available)<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://s0.ilike.com/play#Chuck+Mangione:Feels+So+Good:149193:s14098917.9639757.15477794.0.2.141%2Cstd_b3b643a8a5a741ce8ccde37b463391c5">Feels So Good</a> by Chuck Mangione</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">OK, so some folks didn’t like the tune <span style="font-style: italic;">You’re The Love</span> which was supposed to be Seals & Crofts one attempt at a disco record (it really doesn’t sound “disco” to me) but a lot more people liked it as it charted #18 on American Top 40 in mid-1978. And it was one of my most favorite songs ever.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">As for “Feels So Good” this has to be one of my most favorite jazz tunes ever. Enough said there.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Normally I like to include links to the actual songs but I ha</span><span style="font-family:arial;">ven’t found one yet for “You’re The Love”.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">UPDATE</span>: One additional song I might mention, a more recent (2008) song by Kid Rock. <a href="http://s0.ilike.com/play#Kid+Rock:All+Summer+Long:54732200:m26471177"><span style="font-style: italic;">All Summer Log</span></a>. That song kinda took me back to those days as well, though it wasn't 1989, it was 1978 (or 1979 as well). <br /><br /><br /></span> <span style="font-family:arial;">So how do these tie in? They were my favorite songs right about the time of my “First Date” with Cheryl (a really gorgeous blonde) in August 1978. Oh was that ever a memorable day. It was actually a double-</span><span style="font-family:arial;">date with Cheryl’s older sister, Connie and her then-boyfriend (and my then-best friend) Jim. Made for a very convenient chaperoning arrangement, or so Connie thought. Now how many times was it Cheryl and I would sneak in a kiss when Connie and Jim’s backs were turned. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />(In the picture of Cheryl, Connie, with her back turned, is in the background).<br /><br />Anyway, here’s some actual pictures from that first date. Apologies for the lousy image quality but the 110 format Kodacolor 400 film of the day had lousy image quality due to beach-ball sized film grain.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">(NOTE: One image is missing from her</span><span style="font-family:arial;">e, a picture of Cheryl and I together. I have the negative at home but for some reason, that n</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNukekcslLZNBWa3Etwbrz3xLikOrcFC5g0RBzE8VKS2P180eiy-qqhBpyBrNtYeY5oSVXW-ssdcnqMQcngbhdwa3iwd6mKhX6A5HF71bHA-pR_xaCgYgKx9mUvYj7pXZYQGq-5XyxymW/s1600/Memories1978_Cheryl_FirstDate1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNukekcslLZNBWa3Etwbrz3xLikOrcFC5g0RBzE8VKS2P180eiy-qqhBpyBrNtYeY5oSVXW-ssdcnqMQcngbhdwa3iwd6mKhX6A5HF71bHA-pR_xaCgYgKx9mUvYj7pXZYQGq-5XyxymW/s320/Memories1978_Cheryl_FirstDate1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485034997414702162" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">egative scan didn’t make it onto my </span><span style="font-family:arial;">laptop. I’ll upload that image when I get home, may have to re-scan it).</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Yes folks you can see me in my first date dress up in my best <a href="http://www.chrisnoth.net/">Chris Noth</a> imitation…..NOT! Can’t believe I actually got away with wearing </span><span style="font-family:arial;">a t-shirt and orange Cleveland Browns practice shorts on a first date.<br />(while Cheryl is 100% class in her dress)<br /> And those glasses…all the rage of 1978 h</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lU5cO1oheoRrlZ9ySepB47c3_bXiZfmBS-31Q4tFfzgWGKGUJjOegGC4NUstdZ8drlTyQ9I5EitQVZkPNj5lfPilTx2xs-n-9JaE3AZS6ecEJyPiCDQPa7fEsljo2Q_RAn1pFxfUJh7J/s1600/Memories1978_FirstDateCheryl_Hank.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lU5cO1oheoRrlZ9ySepB47c3_bXiZfmBS-31Q4tFfzgWGKGUJjOegGC4NUstdZ8drlTyQ9I5EitQVZkPNj5lfPilTx2xs-n-9JaE3AZS6ecEJyPiCDQPa7fEsljo2Q_RAn1pFxfUJh7J/s320/Memories1978_FirstDateCheryl_Hank.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485035387377672418" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">uh? </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">(I hear uncontrolled laughter coming from my</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">computer).</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Must have done so</span><span style="font-family:arial;">mething right though, Cheryl and I dated for quite some time off and on</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> over the next 3 years (and my dress improved dramatically over that time as well).<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Now some of you younger folks on my Facebook and MySpace Friends lists may need some further information so you can relate to that time. So I’ll give you all further info on an individual basis.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=17496547&albumID=38837&imageID=72528412">Aslin Craft</a>: </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Obvious Aslin you weren’t around yet. In fact you were 14 years from being born. Come to think of it, your mom (Kirsten, not the same as my Kyrsten) was all of 7 years old during this time. Oh now I feel old.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Addie Bagford</span>:</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Ditto you on not being born yet. But your mom (Sally) was about 17 at this time and she actually knew me then (obviously, she’s my step-sister and we were all living in the same house at 176 Hurd Rd in Aurora, Ohio). I don’t remember if I told Sally about this date so she may not remember. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Amanda Dellinger</span>: </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">(Funny how these first 3 all have names starting with “A”). Oh yes, our next door neighbor, you were 16 years from being born. But c’mon, you think my dress and glasses were cool eh (sarcasm).</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/sweetnesss555">Lisa Cameron</a>: (yes, another neighbor & friend) </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">This date happened 12 years before your birth. But I just noticed you and Addie Bagford are about the same age and both of you are in your early college years. Well Lisa, meet <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#%21/aahb1231?ref=sgm">Addie</a>. Addie, meet Lisa, our neighbor.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Leslie Cameron</span>:</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Ah yes, our recent Sweet 16 and Lisa Cameron’s younger sister. Oh how did you like that nifty Sweet 16 gift…oh that’s right we haven’t got it to you yet. We’ll get it to you near the end of this month, it is on its way to our house. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">I think you’ll like it.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">And what do you think of my first date outfit? Cool dude look huh (Leslie breaks into uncontrolled laughter)</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/nessalover95">Vanessa Smith</a>: Now come on Vanessa, would you have dated a guy like me again wearing that kind of first date outfit? Oh come now.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#%21/profile.php?id=1178494854&ref=sgm">Mason Chado</a></span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Well Mason, you obviously weren’t around. But these pics were taken about 18 months before I first skated at your dad’s skating rink (Roller City 2001 in Riverside, CA).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#%21/profile.php?id=100000478920449&ref=sgm">Shannon McPartland</a>:</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Ditto for Shannon, you weren’t around either this being about 16 years before you were born. But I know you’re just digging those stylish glasses I’m wearing (uncontrollable laughter from Shannon). </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">And yes, next time I see you at the barn, I’m going to be mercilessly needled and teased about my first date outfit.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Olivia Vieiralves:</span></span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Yes, you weren’t born yet either but your mom (Tina) and I are the same age so she can relate. C’mon you think my first date dress-up was cool now, don’t you?? </span><br /><br /><br />Be da be da beeee....That's All Folks.Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-8335079730310661322010-06-19T04:28:00.000-07:002010-06-19T22:41:03.410-07:00Crusin At Quartzsite<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" >Hank’s GrooveYard of Musical Favorites:</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> OK so I took the name "Grooveyard" from Rush Limbaugh who had a pre-show feature on his radio show where he played some of his favorite old time music. So I decided to add this little feature to the BLOG highlighting a song and how it influenced my life.</span>
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<br /><span style="font-family:arial;">My first one,a 1978 favorite of mine called</span> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJJQpSzDgC0"><span style="font-style: italic;">Kiss You All Over</span> by Exile</a>:
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<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:/Users/Hank/AppData/Local/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:donotoptimizeforbrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p face="arial" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">Cruisin at Quartzsite.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;">There’s a little town in the southern Arizona desert about 17 miles from the California state line called Quartzsite.<span style=""> </span>It is a favorite stopping place for RV ers during the cooler months of the year.<span style=""> </span>During these cooler times, they have a pretty big flea market going on.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;">This town, Quartzsite, probably has over $1000 of my hard-earned money spent there over the past few years or so.<span style=""> </span>This is because I end up buying lots of gifts there for my lovely wife, Kyrsten and our girls, Gigi and Laci.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;">At Quartzsite, you can buy all kinds of beautiful mineral rocks.<span style=""> </span>I know because my house is decorated with around 200 lbs of these decorative rocks, including large chunks of rose quartz, blue quartz, chrysacolla, amethyst<span style=""> </span>and other colorful rocks.<span style=""> </span>One of the shops there, called T-Rocks is a veritable supermarket of rocks, minerals and even some precious stones.<span style=""> </span>You can buy <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLyQgaSa2Au7qeYtml36eDcmY2rg-RpOFYa6SUdoJF01oR7LzY3HKGssyAHQNN2HsGtwupxxoTeDjgVXy2WvcNxU_LnqU9g8PfqUZZH475ybcYIFKfyGR9gsYxLJyBGajlJMLIbQh_VBw/s1600/KyrstenBrad_LH_AdoptedKid.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLyQgaSa2Au7qeYtml36eDcmY2rg-RpOFYa6SUdoJF01oR7LzY3HKGssyAHQNN2HsGtwupxxoTeDjgVXy2WvcNxU_LnqU9g8PfqUZZH475ybcYIFKfyGR9gsYxLJyBGajlJMLIbQh_VBw/s320/KyrstenBrad_LH_AdoptedKid.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484446798983172002" border="0" /></a>them pretty cheap at Quartzsite, well at least compared to the prices I’d pay if I bought them from a dealer in Florida.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;">On my most recent visit, I purchased three real rubies.<span style=""> </span>OK so they’re not quite the same polished quality that you’d get at a jeweler but they’re also a lot less expensive.<span style=""> </span>Ruby (a variant of corundum) is the second hardest substance found in nature after diamond.</p> <p style="font-family: arial;" face="arial" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" face="arial" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p face="arial" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p face="arial" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">UPDATE: <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Another visit, another $50 down the tubes, but for something worthy. Found a really nice aquamarine stone at T-Rocks which I bought and having made into a pendant for our (drop-dead gorgeous) neighbor, Leslie who recently turned Sweet 16. (<a href="http://www.myspace.com/cuteleslie4you">Leslie's MySpace Page</a>). Aquamarine is Leslie's birthstone)</span>.
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<br /></p><p style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">The Lights of El Paso:<span style=""> </span></p> <p face="arial" class="MsoNormal">Now if there is one sight to see at night, drive thru El Paso, Texas on I-10.<span style=""> </span>Fro<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTp86lWfHgmgulPIfr4M_hMhVEqXsoiLOgYflfR3TktxP4Y2OgStxbvbIJc4zkVLjxmSZ_kcyhTnAGfQBVXBk99B7rvfZQHZ8ZW1z-tDCmL_V5k3EwqyiNQZfE56WOaIB-6DV3xWay6xEI/s1600/RT200707_ElPasoAtNight.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTp86lWfHgmgulPIfr4M_hMhVEqXsoiLOgYflfR3TktxP4Y2OgStxbvbIJc4zkVLjxmSZ_kcyhTnAGfQBVXBk99B7rvfZQHZ8ZW1z-tDCmL_V5k3EwqyiNQZfE56WOaIB-6DV3xWay6xEI/s320/RT200707_ElPasoAtNight.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484446060440407282" border="0" /></a>m a vantage point off Exit 37, you can get quite a view of the lights of El Paso.<span style=""> </span>You can also head up the mountain and get a view from there too.<span style=""> </span>It is one of the most awe-inspiring sights.</p><p face="arial" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Dog days of Florida Summers</p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">Well folks, its summertime in Florida.<span style=""> </span>For my friends up north, this is the time of the year when us Florida denizens wish we could come on up north for a few months (like our snowbird neighbors do).<span style=""> </span>Its feeling like over 100 degrees back home.<span style=""> </span>Not quite like it was back in summer 1998 but getting up there. </p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Who Grows that Little Corn</span>
<br />You usually see them at any well-stocked salad bar located in an establishment that has some class.<span style=""> </span>Or as a selection for the Mongolian grill in those Chinese buffet places.<span style=""> </span>They look like corn-on-the-cobs but they’re about half the size of your pinky.<span style=""> </span>I know there’s a name for them (I’ll look it up later) but I always wondered who grows that little corn?<span style=""> </span>Because most corn-on-the-cob farmers brag about the size of their ears of corn.<span style=""> </span>It’s a macho thing almost.<span style=""> </span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-3627991462843981622010-05-29T08:12:00.000-07:002010-05-30T04:10:28.582-07:00Gigi's 11th. Victory on Land...the mower works.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWEHLSIWGzVoCU49csAuMZr1hLqLrOGWXMTbwofy5_xj1T6xMDAQt9gXS-KIOjoBqRKZx9Ld4rSmZI8ZwevG6-tjWomaMxP8Z5N_QZ5njfKDvWOCiYbOHWT1d6wVI6IY9yBdv4z4Aa27aQ/s1600/GeorgiaBDay_Cakes1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWEHLSIWGzVoCU49csAuMZr1hLqLrOGWXMTbwofy5_xj1T6xMDAQt9gXS-KIOjoBqRKZx9Ld4rSmZI8ZwevG6-tjWomaMxP8Z5N_QZ5njfKDvWOCiYbOHWT1d6wVI6IY9yBdv4z4Aa27aQ/s320/GeorgiaBDay_Cakes1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476731864767494738" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" >Gigi's 11th Birthday,.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">I save the best for first. We had Gigi's 11th birthday party, this time at a campsite in Jetty Park (on the beach), Cape Canaveral, FL. And we must have done something right because Gigi proclaimed this was THE BEST birthday party she ever had. And that's saying alot considering the big bash we had last year at Shore Lanes Bowling Ce</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02tKSIVco1BNOl2l52PBfr7NDr3DeY33w4Jas89dzTb51Udmq4Nog1aJHmuHhVMSBoMEE2OWtgjsenNeCklt8IxZ2RVnONN7lKnwFWnNUK1k8qeVnVf9gubaDozwlFxbQkeCeqTkiBNjC/s1600/GeorgiaBDay_GroupHug1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02tKSIVco1BNOl2l52PBfr7NDr3DeY33w4Jas89dzTb51Udmq4Nog1aJHmuHhVMSBoMEE2OWtgjsenNeCklt8IxZ2RVnONN7lKnwFWnNUK1k8qeVnVf9gubaDozwlFxbQkeCeqTkiBNjC/s320/GeorgiaBDay_GroupHug1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476732326432930354" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">nter. Here's a few pics, the rest are on my Facebook and Photobucket accounts.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/editphoto.php?aid=174052#%21/album.php?aid=174052&id=519479303&upload=1">Facebook Photos</a><br /><br /><a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v90/hanktank88/Memories_2010/?start=0">Pics on Photobucke</a>t<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">OK, I BEAT the Lawnmower, 3-2</span> </span>(and not with a sledgehammer). Well folks the score is now Hank 3, Lawnmower 2. I'm happy to say that I overcame my anxiety about dealing with small engine repair and successfully repaired our lawnmower. Not bad for a guy who might know his way around database system and a computer keyboard but just a little clueless when it comes to small engine repair.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Turns out the "pickup coil" went bad. If you ever tried pull-starting your mower about 20 times and it never turns over (but you smell gas), it means the pickup coil is not providing electric current to the one spark plug (I had just replaced the spark plug two weeks prior).</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">OK so I admit, I had a little help from Scott Witt, our local handy-man who gave me a nice lesson on lawn mower repair. A lesson which saved me somewhere between $100-$150 in repair fees.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-weight: bold;">Pool Maint time & PoolShark:</span> Time to treat our pool with calcium chloride to raise the calcium hardness level of the water. For those who might not recall their chemistry, pure calcium reacts violently when it comes into contact with water. The calcium chloride crystals I have make a bucket of water very hot. Not quite boiling but hot enough.<br />And anyone who has a pool (in Florida like climes anyway) notice how expensive pool maintenance merchandise is getting nowadays. Oh chlorine is still not bad but a stupid part for our PoolShark pool cleaner ran me $32. I'm probably only going to get another year out of this PoolShark anyway before buying a new one but consider a new one cost $400 if you don't get it on-sale.<br />Now when it does go on-sale, it costs $250 after all is said & done. I say that because to get the sale price requires 3 steps. First is the in-store rebate of $50. Then there are TWO, count em, TWO mail in rebates, one of which of course is that rebate you have to send in to that company in Little America, Minnesota. I HATE those rebates, they usually manage to screw it up and it takes 10 weeks to get your rebate. In this age of computers, one would think they might have streamlined the process by now.<br />But of course not, the current red-tape laden process serves someone's interest, namely the company who manufactures and sells the PoolShark. Guess you could call this a "Pool shark" in more ways than one.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">My First Batch of Jambalaya</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">:</span> Cooked up my first-ever batch of New Orleans style shrimp jambalaya. Came out quite nicely, even Kyrsten liked it (and she doesn't like the spicy stuff, great considering she didn't like my gumbo I made last time). Just finished off the last bowl today. I'll definitely have to do that again. OK so I used the Zatarain's recipie mix for my jambalaya but I added fresh uncooked shrimp (like you're supposed to).<br /><br />Today, Kyrs and I will check out, for the second time, that new little seafood place on the corner of Courtenay (SR-3) and SR-520 on Merritt Island. They're having a "Grand Opening" special this afternoon. We were downright impressed with the delicious sushi we got there last time. Compares nicely with the Thai Thai restaurant in Cocoa. This time I know, only order one sushi, they're quite big.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fire up the Scanners</span>:</span> Well I haven't engaged either of the photo scanners (our new HP flatbed color scanner or the Nikon 9000 ED film scanner) since I redid the computer (wiped the disk clean, the reinstalled Windows...XP of course which I like. I HATE Vista and don't feel like giving Bill Gates bookoo dollars for Windows 7).<br />Anyway it took a little time to get the Nikon 9000 up & running. Seems I can't locate the driver CD (don't remember it coming with one) and the Nikon web site doesn't seem to have a driver. But VueScan (my scanning software) does have one and it works beautifully.<br />Also this is the first time I actually tried out the scanner that came with the "all-in-one" photo printer from HP (Photosmart 309-G) we got recently. I was rather impressed, well considering I still have active my old HP 6200 scanner (10 years old now). The 309-G is a lot faster, I must say and dpi resolution is up around 4800.<br />But you never use anything above 600. Any paper print has a max resolution of 300 dpi so anything higher just results in huge files and eating disk space. I did try 1200, the resulting file from a 8x10 print was almost 110 MB....eeeyoowwww!!<br />But I'm impressed so far with the new scanner.<br />As a side note, Nikon hasn't released anything superior to the 9000ED, but they raised the price from the $1900 I paid in 2007 to over $2200 today. Film scanners must be in demand.<br />PlusTek has a nice film scanner they came out with a year or so ago but it can only accept 35mm. My 9000ED can take 135, 126, 110, 120, 220 and a host of other film types.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204); font-weight: bold;">A Theatre of Sexually-Charged Women:</span> Well guess where my wife ended up taking me on Saturday night. You probably guessed by now, to the <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">Sex & The City 2</span> movie. And what a experience as I was one of about maybe 5 guys in a theatre full of women dressed up to kill. Note to any single guys reading this. If you want to score a date, go see this movie. Have your sister or female cousin accompany you if you feel a little self-conscious. <br />Well I guess Iron Man 2 will have to wait.<br /><br /><br /><br /></span>Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-48230023691916953072010-05-23T09:07:00.000-07:002010-05-23T09:36:21.785-07:00Oh Well, taking the Long Way Home Musings.<span style="font-family:arial;">Back in Florida eventually headed for home but first divert over to the Tampa area where MacDill AFB is located, then to Sarasota before heading back across state to Merritt Island, via Orlando. At least that's the plan right now. Kyrsten eagerly awaits my arrival. Oh she is so amazing of a girl to be married to. As the rock group <span style="font-style: italic;">Chicago</span> put it in one of their songs, "what one good woman can do".<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">BR</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">OWNS</span> vs <span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 153);">JAGUARS</span> again: My Cleveland Browns (now being rebuilt by REAL football geniuses Mike Holmgren, Tom Heckert and Eric Mangini) will be making thre</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrKr9-bio326ALMluc4KyjYg2HVEEIxm6_HvGVbrHq3bE8POLT5w2OXEO3unJuI875zZir59VMFVzPRpuHxXyHKqiHlHFGn0h9X2zD3cV7MaQn_u14GUo2HOw7CL9zfXKaFslmAonx-G2/s1600/BrownJags2008_FamilyPic1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrKr9-bio326ALMluc4KyjYg2HVEEIxm6_HvGVbrHq3bE8POLT5w2OXEO3unJuI875zZir59VMFVzPRpuHxXyHKqiHlHFGn0h9X2zD3cV7MaQn_u14GUo2HOw7CL9zfXKaFslmAonx-G2/s320/BrownJags2008_FamilyPic1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474500744847277522" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">e trips here to Florida with games at the Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccanners and Jacksonville Jaguars. I'm making plans to get tickets for the BROWNS vs. Jacksonville Jaguars game Nov 21st in Jacksonville. Last time in 2008, I took my wife Kyrsten, my mother Lois (who is a longtime Browns fan) and our little girl Gigi (Laci was too young for this). Gigi got to meet the Jaguars cheerleaders and all so it was a great time for her. Great time for me and mother too, the Browns won 23-16.<br />Note: last season up in cold Cleveland, the Browns pounded the Jaguars senseless for their fourth victory in a row. Lets see if they can make it 3 in a row over the Jaguars.<br />This time, I'll be looking for cheaper seats as I need more of them. This time Mommy Tina wants to come too. Gigi wants to bring a friend and Laci, now a little older, will probably be coming along as well. Sheesh, this could get expensive.<br /><br />I'll see about getting to the ot</span><span style="font-family:arial;">her games as well but my schedule may not allow for it.<br /><br /><br />CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH: Just had my annual physical and got a full clean bill of health. That's something I can Thank the Lord for. And at my age, that's a true blessing. Just look at how many people (just people I know) have health problems in their 30s and 40s. Heck Lindsay Lohan (the actress, no I don't know her) is 23 and already having problems. That's what a wild life of partying will do to you. <br />Then again, those who read my posting on Saundra knows that health problems can strike suddenly. <br />My mother in law, Marti has had a few problems recently. Not surprising she being in her late 60s but that "high motor" of hers keeps her going. We all pray that the Lord will keep her going for us.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">MOTHER'S DAY: </span> Yes, I remembere</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjlYcpi6zbTVlc1xaBKLYK4d-vlOmitnyl7gJqPdK9vKB2505Q1LGkOM9qq3QNQfilAW9Q6iBk_Pun7rv7Oxq-BanVWmROJcn1_3C_uLcH9NalGa8jhVx8BlL4EEfNuYjARs5ohNUhyphenhyphenKah/s1600/Mother_Portrait_75.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 261px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjlYcpi6zbTVlc1xaBKLYK4d-vlOmitnyl7gJqPdK9vKB2505Q1LGkOM9qq3QNQfilAW9Q6iBk_Pun7rv7Oxq-BanVWmROJcn1_3C_uLcH9NalGa8jhVx8BlL4EEfNuYjARs5ohNUhyphenhyphenKah/s320/Mother_Portrait_75.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474505009548093858" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">d my mother, Lois. And the older I get, the more I appreciate her still being on this earth. In her 70s now and a widow (she's the lady in my picture above), we try to keep in touch. We live about 150 m</span><span style="font-family:arial;">iles apart (Jacksonville - Merritt Island). Lord please look out for Mom and take care of her I pray.<br /><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />FINDING OLD LONG LOST FRIENDS:</span> One of the most amazing things about the Internet is how it has made possible finding old friends (from my high school days) and getting back in touch with them. Gotta be careful though, sitting at the computer can steal your whole day. So I budget my time on our system. Funny considering how much time I spent at computers during my college days, military service days and at NASA. But family is much more important.<br />That being said, its still great. Just found a few more people (one on Facebook) that I'd love to get in touch with.<br /><br />Now time to go update my BLOG postings on The Big Apple as I recalled some other fun items that weren't included in the original posting. Also check up on <a href="http://www.skatelogforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=17">Skatelog</a> ( I have a few threads going over there).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span>Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-40386389327464853092010-05-19T15:39:00.000-07:002010-05-19T17:34:53.540-07:00Dedication to Saundra, High School Girlfriend...Breast Cancer Survivor<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:/Users/Hank/AppData/Local/Temp/msoclip1/02/clip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:donotoptimizeforbrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal" face="arial">A few days ago (May 15<sup>th</sup>, 2010) I was browsing online checking email (of course) and found a message from Classmates.com.<span style=""> </span>I’ve set myself up on Classmates.com but usually don’t check back that much.<span style=""> </span>But on this day for some odd reason, I did and found about 9 new messages.<span style=""> </span>Most were reunion announcements from schools that I didn’t attend (but track as some friends attended them).<span style=""> </span></p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal" face="arial">
<br /></p> <p style="font-family: courier new;" class="MsoNormal" face="arial"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;">And then, one message which froze me in my tracks.<span style=""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;">It was from a girl named Saundra Felix, a girl that brought back a flood of (very nice) memories.<span style=""> </span>Funny though, I had just thought of Saundra a few days before then and wondered how she was doing.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;">Obviously I clicked on the first message, a nice greeting and how are you.<span style=""> </span>I then proceeded to formulate a reply.<span style=""> </span>I also found Saundra’s MySpace page as well.<span style=""> </span>But before sending my reply, I noticed a earlier message from Saundra.<span style=""> </span>So I clicked that.</p> <p face="arial" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p face="arial" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p style="font-family: arial;" face="arial" class="MsoNormal">What I read stunned me, and this time not in a good way.</p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal">Lovely Saundra, a girl I remember as one of the cutest high school freshmen I’d ever met had contracted breast cancer and was going thru a breast cancer operation.<span style=""> </span>Oh my God I thought to myself.</p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal">Then I noticed that Saundra hadn’t logged into her MySpace page since late 2009.<span style=""> </span>Another “Oh My God”, was Saundra even still alive?</p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal">Of course I thought back to my high school days and Saundra.<span style=""> </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal">
<br />We first met when I was a senior and she a freshman as a mutual friend, Jane Weimer (wonder how she’s doing) introduced me to Saundra in the Central Cambria High School library.<span style=""> </span>Before I go on though I must say that Saundra actually had caught my eye about 5 months before that meeting (early April 1976) at the nearby Cicero’s Roller Skating Rink.<span style=""> </span>At the time I was attending high school at Bedford High School in Bedford, Ohio and was back in Pennsylvania visiting over the Easter holidays.<span style=""> </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" face="arial" class="MsoNormal">OK I admit, I was at Cicero’s with another girl at the time but then I noticed this really cute girl skating around with some friends.<span style=""> </span>So cute, she pretty much stuck in my brain the whole week of my visit to Colver, PA (and Ebensburg) and over the next couple months back home in Bedford Heights, Ohio.<span style=""> </span>Oh if I wasn’t already with a girl, I’d be heading over to her and her group begging for a couples skate.</p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" face="arial" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" face="arial" class="MsoNormal">Fast forward to late August of 1976 and my friend Jane introduces me to this girl…and its that beautiful girl I’d noticed at Cicero’s earlier.<span style=""> </span>Her hair was now shorter and it a feathered 70s hairstyle but it was her.<span style=""> </span>And so I first met Saundra.</p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" face="arial" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" face="arial" class="MsoNormal">We talked for as long as we could before hustling off to our next classes but I was sure hoping I left a good impression with Saundra.<span style=""> </span>My “prayers” were answered at home when Jane called me and told me what Saundra said about me<span style=""> </span>“oh that Brad is soooo cute!!).<span style=""> </span>Needless to say I was smitten.<span style=""> </span>So what if she was still a freshman. </p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" face="arial" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" face="arial" class="MsoNormal">Saundra and I started “going together” just a few days later.<span style=""> </span>Saundra may have found this hard to believe but she is the first girl I ever walked hand in hand with thru the halls of Central Cambria High and walking her to her next class.<span style=""> </span>Even today, I might still “moon” a little about that.</p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" face="arial" class="MsoNormal">That and meeting her at Cicero’s, skating together all night and even slipping out of Cicero’s a little early so we could slip in goodnight kisses (Mrs. Cicero would throw you out of the rink if you dared kiss your girlfriend inside her rink).</p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">Of course as just about all high school romances go, it didn’t last.<span style=""> </span>It might have had I been more mature in those days but Lordy what a idiot I was in those day.</p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">.</p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">.
<br /></p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">Now back to the present and after three days of wondering (with some sadness mixed in that a precious memory may no longer be alive on this earth,<span style=""> </span>I got a new note from Saundra.</p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">This one has a happy ending.<span style=""> </span>The operations were successful and she’s now free of cancer.<span style=""> </span>Thank You Lord.</p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">Amazing how time flies and that sweet cute girl who caught my eye and imagination back in 1976 is now in her forties and a breast cancer survivor.<span style=""> </span>But I Thank God that Saundra is still here and that we’re back in touch after 34 years.<span style=""> </span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:180%;">So today, a special dedication from my wife (Kyrsten), my girls and I to my good friend and high school flame Saundra with a song special to my heart.<span style=""> </span>OK so the song came out 12 years after I dated Saundra but it is one that still makes me cry whenever I hear it.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p>
<br /><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:/Users/Hank/AppData/Local/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:donotoptimizeforbrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --></style><span style="font-size:180%;"><a href="http://vodpod.com/watch/1456113-phil-collins-we-said-hello-goodbye">To You Saundra</a></span> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> (Link to video “We Said Hello Goodbye” by Phil Collins).</p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.classmates.com/profile/user/view/story?registrationId=8706278881#profileMain">Link to Saundra's Classmates.com page</a></p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.myspace.com/foxyfelix47">Link to Saundra's MySpace page</a>
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-77841496686676992932010-05-14T16:09:00.001-07:002010-05-15T21:35:59.233-07:00First Post 2010, Take 2: The Big Apple Disco Days===========================================================<br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Back in late 2009 on the website Discomusic.com, I had noted their listing of disco clubs of the 1970s and early 1980. Missing though was my old disco hangout, a Cleveland area disco known as <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span>” (nothing to do with NYC other than the obvious reference). So I joined the site and listed <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span> on the chance that other folks who used to frequent the place might comment as well.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Well now I’m stunned (in a happy way) with the responses, including the former club owner (Les Bortel, now known as Lee Bortel) and the drummer (Billy Smith) who used to drum to the music (which really added something to the experience).</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.discomusic.com/clubs-more/9504_0_6_0_C/">Link to DiscoMusic.Com listing for "The Big Apple".</a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This of course takes me back to my days when I frequented <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span> (1977-1979) as a fresh-faced 18 year old (you had to be 18 to get into the club which dovetailed with the then State of Ohio drinking age (18 for products containing 3.2 percent alcohol or less). Oh the memories from those days. From my first visit shortly after turning 18 with a group of friends (first Night Out with The Guys) to my 1979 visit right after graduating from USMC Boot Camp (which was my last visit), that disco holds special memories. During the Fall of 1977 and Spring of 1978, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span> would become a near-weekly ritual for our group. We’d go to socialize, drink a little…OK…more than a little in some cases and, of course, to meet girls.<br />And that's where sometimes things got a little tricky. OK so there were plenty of lovely young ladies there. But being only 18 and a new 18 at that meant that most of the ladies were a few years your senior and probably not that interested in a guy fresh out of high school. They were mostly either there with their friends or looking for a guy a few years older, and old enough to buy highball drinks. But I did manage to hold my own there, meet some nice girls and overall had a great time. But us 18 year olds found ourselves a little overmatched at first.<br />(I will admit I did much better back in the "minor leagues" at Skateland (more on this concept later) with the girls, most of whom were younger than me. Unfortunately none of those younger girls were allowed in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span>, except on the occasional teen night (where a young guy like me had a better chance), but I never got there for teen nights (I didn't know they existed at first)).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Also at <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span>, the owner (Lee Bortel) wanted patrons who showed class. So you had to dress up which meant no blue jeans, t-shirts or football jerseys (there went my old high school wardrobe). Most guys wore the silk shirts & nice pants of the day (polyester pants of course). A few dressed up in suit & tie (in retrospect I wish I had). So you had to look decent, well-groomed and all. Of course a lot of the guys got roaring drunk, thereby losing that well-groomed look late into the night. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" >(UPDATE, 14 May 2010: Twenty years later in 1999 during my Single Again days, I briefly frequented the clubs over at Universal Citywalk in Orlando, FL, in suit & tie of course. At first as a single, then later with my then-girlfriend (now wife) Kyrsten.<br />Of coruse I drew some comparisons with my days at <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span>, especially how the ladies outfits had changed over the years. Oh boy had they changed, some leaving little to the imagination (backless outfits, tight black pants, etc). I did wonder though what if some of these "scantily dressed" ladies traveled back thru time and tried to get into The Big Apple with these outfits on. I'm imagining that the bouncers at the door probably would deny them entrance as their outfits were too revealing. I could be wrong though, Lee Bortel could probably better address this).<br />Presumably, they would easily get into at <span style="font-style: italic;">Nite Moves</span>, another Cleveland disco. I have more info on this a little later on.<br />I also compared the clubs at Citywalk with <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span>, notably <span style="font-style: italic;">thegroove</span>. OK so <span style="font-style: italic;">thegroove</span> benefited from a 20 year technology gap in club special effects but still in my mind <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span> compared quite favorably. But I'm quite biased on this.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Since I was 18, I was in-between two worlds when it came to night life. The “minor leagues” represented by my time at <span style="font-style: italic;">Skateland</span> in Johnstown PA (I commuted a lot between Cleveland and Ebensburg, PA in those days) and the “major leagues” represented by <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span>. Obviously the crowds were quite different, the younger crowd at Skateland (<a href="http://www.skatelogforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16814"><span style="font-style: italic;">Skateland</span> Story on this link</a>) and the adult crowd at The Big Apple.<br />Now we did see some wild times at <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span>, including the inevitable make-out sessions in a dark corner. But that was pretty much limited to kissing your girlfriend. Nothing at all like the "wild times" witnessd at another Cleveland area club known as <span style="font-style: italic;">Nite Moves </span>where outright sexual behavior went on. Lee kept that from happening at <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span> for the most part. I never knew of any outright sex or cocaine use going on, though I'm sure some addle-headed patrons gave it a try.<br />For further info on the long-defunct <span style="font-style: italic;">Nite Moves</span>, check these information links by Erin O'Brien:.<br /><br /><a href="http://erin-obrien.blogspot.com/2008/02/cleveland-nite-fever.html">Erin O'Brien's Blog on Nite Moves</a><br /></span><br /><a href="http://www.freetimes.com/stories/15/41/goodbye-sister-disco">Goodbye Sister Disco, Nite Moves article by Erin O'Brien</a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">One note, I was the only one of our group who took the additional step of learning how to dance disco. It made it a lot easier to get a girl out on the dance floor if you knew your steps as well.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">From here on in, I’ll just list some of my most vivid <span style="font-style: italic;">Big Apple</span> memories instead of a long boring history of my days at the club. And I’ll keep it as factual as I can remember and not embellish them with BS. Like for example “I walked into<span style="font-style: italic;"> The Big Apple</span> one Friday night and came out with a girl on each arm, and 3 or 4 to spare (as a Cleveland area musician put it in one of his songs).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">First Night And Beginner’s Luck:</span> My first night at <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span> with my friends..and guess who is the only one to score a date with a girl there. None other than yours truly. OK so it was only that night, I never saw the girl again and all that but still. And I found out how irritating it was to have drunk friends of yours constantly saying, “c’mon Brad, friends share & share alike”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">The Billards Room and winning those drinks:</span> Now for the 18-20 y/o girls it was relatively easy for them to get a “highball” drink. All they had to do was charm some older guy out of it. This was before there were stiff penalties for such.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">My tactic, win a drink at a game of pool from a older patron. At home I practiced a lot on our pool table so I became a pretty decent shot. Decent enough to win a lot of pool contests in the Big Apple’s billards room and win my fair share of drinks.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);"><span style="font-style: italic;">NY, You Got Me Dancing</span> by Andrea True Connection</span>: This song was a favorite at <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span> for obvious reasons. What I didn’t know at the time was who sang the song, I was surprised to find out it was Andrea True as I remembered her 1976 smash hit “More More More”. Come to find out later (on Sirius radio 70s channel) that “NY, You Got Me Dancing” itself charted in late 1976 (#23 I believe), but I never heard it played on the Cleveland or Pittsburgh pop radio station.<br />I remember how the DJ's would hit the strobe lights when a certain instrumental refrain of the song played. Made for quite the dancing experience.<br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Update note: In 2003, my wife Kyrsten and I took a young couple, Carri-Anne and her boyfriend Robert, both 18, (I'd known Carri-Anne since she was 9, the daughter of a military buddy) to Universal Citywalk. On the way over, I said to the couple, "hey give this a listen, this is what I used to rock out too when I was your age". I popped in the Andrea True Connection CD and played <span style="font-style: italic;">NY, You Got Me Dancing </span>for them. Their reaction, "you really partied to that?". </span><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">Dance Practice:</span> Some nights I went to <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span> to simply practice my dance steps and routines. Now I didn’t want to look like a dork out there by dancing by myself so if I didn’t have a partner at the time, I’d sort of “blend it” with some group of girls who were out there on the floor dancing, pretending I was with them. This worked quite well and I actually met a few ladies this way.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">The Visitor From Out Of Town:</span> That was the role I played on one <span style="font-style: italic;">Big Apple </span>visit in late 1978 when I commuted back to Ohio from PA. Met a whole new set of people outside in line. They then invited me to their table (in exchange for what I called the price of admission, one pitcher of beer). This turned into one of the best nights I ever had at <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">That Waitress, Who Was She:</span> During that "Visitor from Out Of Town" visit, I distinctly remember this waitress with short blonde hair, who waited on our table. Especially because she kept giving my arm a squeeze every time she waited on us. Now I'm really not sure if she was interested in me, or just doing the flirtatious gesture as a way of getting the dollars to flow but anyway she was quite nice. I never did find out who she was. (Note to Lee Bortel, if you remember her by chance, I'll say she deserved a big raise and big tip).</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">My last visit after</span> <span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 0);">USMC Boot Camp</span>, July 1979: Right after I graduated from USMC Boot Camp, I paid what turned out to be my final visit to <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span>. I had wanted to bring my new girlfriend Cheryl but she, being under 18 could not get in. And her parents at the time weren't too keen on her, age 15 dating a 19 year old (yes, I know kinda young but Cheryl was a blonde knockout. They would be far more accepting of us later when Cheryl turned 16). </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So I ended up going just for old times sake. Got some nice compliments and thank yous about my being in the service from other folks there and it was nice to see the place again after the hell of USMC Boot Camp. But it just wasn’t as much fun without Cheryl being there with me. Of course I spent the rest of my 10-day leave glued to Cheryl whenever possible.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Apple</span> is long since gone (though the building may still exist) as it went thru several transformations, last I knew it was a country-western place called the Boot-Scootin Saloon but the memories remain of a very special and fun place during the days of youth (late teens, 20s) for my age group.</span>Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-2931830097697053302010-05-14T15:38:00.001-07:002010-05-14T16:08:43.649-07:00First Post 2010, Disco Memories, Skate Memories, Soccer time for the Girls<span style="font-family:arial;">I know, its been ages since I updated this BLOG. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">But now that my lovely wife, Kyrsten has given me somewhat of a break from helping her out at the horse barn, caring for those horses, and a little inspiration from a golden romantic song I just heard on Sirius, well....</span> <img style="font-family: arial;" src="http://www.skatelogforum.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Biggrin" class="inlineimg" border="0" /><img style="font-family: arial;" src="http://www.skatelogforum.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Biggrin" class="inlineimg" border="0" /> <span style="font-family:arial;"> ====================</span> <span style="color:DarkRed;"><span style="font-family:arial;">ONLY SIXTEEN by Dr. Hook:</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">The song and the memories it brings back: Oh yes that song... </span><i style="font-family: arial;">Only Sixteen</i><span style="font-family:arial;"> by Dr. Hook. Yes that song does bring back some great memories...memories of a beautiful girl who had my attention at this time back in 1976. Oh my....</span> <i style="font-family: arial;">She was only Sixteen (or 15 in this case)
<br />Only Sixteen<span style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGIuioxg48GL7NdDQGldqHn4ehHbOelA4LIFSOGP3yzl5k2Nc05PMqEBi_Jiv0Zbtu4JOIOYz2zXIfDyY6GSUzSvUTlwR3qdbsD8Oa8Jf-pfkLk7haZyBBe-8loojgiXlCTTfk2xQOMkj/s1600/GL_Soccer_GeorgiaInAction_25.jpg">
<br /></a></span>But I loved that girl so.
<br />
<br />She was too young
<br />to fall in love
<br />And I was too young to know
<br /></i> <span style="font-family:arial;"> Song Link: </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://popup.lala.com/popup/576742254328634485" target="_blank">http://popup.lala.com/popup/576742254328634485</a> <span style="font-family:arial;"> YouTube: </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QChPG1rSOU0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QChPG1rSOU0</a> <span style="font-family:arial;"> Well it was April 10th of 1976 and yours truly here, all of age 16, was visiting relatives in Colver, Pennsylvania, and checking out the teen nightlife at Cicero's Roller Rink in nearby Ebensburg. But there I was standing at the admissions window waiting in line to get in. And then she caught my eye (of course), a beautiful girl with gorgeous blond hair,feathered in the 1970s feathered style of the day, the cutest facial features topped with beautiful blue eyes, and of course as I couldn't help but notice (as some of my friends also noticed) she was quite "well-endowed" (translation...big breasts, how lucky was I in those days). Well I was a teenage guy so what could I say. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"> As the door opened, we all poured into the rink after paying our admission. And this is where it pays off to have friends in the right places, one of my buddies overheard that girl talking to her friends and heard her mention about this guy who to her looked like a real man. Guess who she was talking about….</span> <a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.skatelogforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28037">THE REST OF THE STORY at Skatelog.com. </a>
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<br /></span><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:/Users/Hank/AppData/Local/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:donotoptimizeforbrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal">Gigi and Laci go at it in soccer.<span style=""> </span>
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<br />Well its soccer season and we have Gigi and Laci in the local Cocoa, FL soccer league.<span style=""> </span>And they are taking to the game.<span style=""> </span>In fact since they started last month, both girls have really got into the game.<span style=""> </span>Laci really likes to take out her aggression on the field.<span style=""> </span>We tell her, this is one place where she can be aggressive.<span style=""> </span>Gigi too is getting into it.<span style=""> </span>Oh but Gigi took a direct kicked ball to the tummy which did draw a few tears.<span style=""> </span>But she’s OK and has a nice mark to show off for a little while.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><span style="color:DarkRed;"><i style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGIuioxg48GL7NdDQGldqHn4ehHbOelA4LIFSOGP3yzl5k2Nc05PMqEBi_Jiv0Zbtu4JOIOYz2zXIfDyY6GSUzSvUTlwR3qdbsD8Oa8Jf-pfkLk7haZyBBe-8loojgiXlCTTfk2xQOMkj/s1600/GL_Soccer_GeorgiaInAction_25.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 231px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGIuioxg48GL7NdDQGldqHn4ehHbOelA4LIFSOGP3yzl5k2Nc05PMqEBi_Jiv0Zbtu4JOIOYz2zXIfDyY6GSUzSvUTlwR3qdbsD8Oa8Jf-pfkLk7haZyBBe-8loojgiXlCTTfk2xQOMkj/s320/GL_Soccer_GeorgiaInAction_25.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471260603265782578" border="0" /></a></span></i></span><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDzVLAniUbLLMvJFE1Kee0uZO9SRXx3mjs_0k5JMM29zcEQ-ct2XiAuuCFIspA385FTQeqDKXjkNAikbFYJcyOnwBOBXVty0HlwObBBWgkS7_pRrcBH5ZXMehF8XVsCB-6csGEE1CkeIo8/s1600/GL_Soccer_GigiInAction3.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDzVLAniUbLLMvJFE1Kee0uZO9SRXx3mjs_0k5JMM29zcEQ-ct2XiAuuCFIspA385FTQeqDKXjkNAikbFYJcyOnwBOBXVty0HlwObBBWgkS7_pRrcBH5ZXMehF8XVsCB-6csGEE1CkeIo8/s320/GL_Soccer_GigiInAction3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471260615589866626" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQlxgYkwBZxSlxcq9qMHNBJDWcGCm3tbziXhExBb8DEXm0z4q01N7eDX5xo4HytQMJ5iibBpfviucKUYhEz7jI0_lx858IHi1jwie-QjPLWAHhsB1v7Df9QpmV0GpzWtiB9KIjbjOK4sm/s1600/GL_Soccer_LaciPlay1_25.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 257px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQlxgYkwBZxSlxcq9qMHNBJDWcGCm3tbziXhExBb8DEXm0z4q01N7eDX5xo4HytQMJ5iibBpfviucKUYhEz7jI0_lx858IHi1jwie-QjPLWAHhsB1v7Df9QpmV0GpzWtiB9KIjbjOK4sm/s320/GL_Soccer_LaciPlay1_25.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471260612571115826" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwG_7xY55lujgX69piAG6kpZS-Kq8ipPCb2pLw_Vn5B8AhrGrprTqTTCD5rNJMv_W0LiO0fxG-c6j2_86MW2zr57rv8BzPqo-umkrLSJ5uwTNkoRQnjwMaFcVb5GEdn2J-Qlk71ZcqEjpB/s1600/GL_Soccer_Hank2_25.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwG_7xY55lujgX69piAG6kpZS-Kq8ipPCb2pLw_Vn5B8AhrGrprTqTTCD5rNJMv_W0LiO0fxG-c6j2_86MW2zr57rv8BzPqo-umkrLSJ5uwTNkoRQnjwMaFcVb5GEdn2J-Qlk71ZcqEjpB/s320/GL_Soccer_Hank2_25.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471260610528406834" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">
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<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Laci’s 6<sup>th</sup> Birthday :</p><p class="MsoNormal">We had a small birthday party for Laci who just turned 6.<span style=""> </span>Amazing how time flies, when she came into our lives, she was only 3 ½.<span style=""> </span>And she’s growing up fast, in fact catching up to her 10 year old sister Gigi.<span style=""> </span>But we expect a big growth spurt from Gigi soon as she closes in on 11 and 12.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And I must say, both girls are just so beautiful…they both have that early Jessica Simpson look down so when they get to be teenagers,<span style=""> </span>time for the old Hankster to dig up the M-16 as they’ll both be guy magnets.<span style=""> </span>But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here yet, that time will no doubt come.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The big party for both girls (with all their friends) comes in June. Time to get some birthday gifts.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyihZiQEkLMCYuDModcA2L3BM7kr0YEgl-OieihV2bIJc3JLHroXLxe964v6AMgzREog6rxrkJj2yNy-2CTjbZVWMQb3XWK2dQ8AoIEoe1pkZdEgLsBefnZYg7Hu7VOEDJJQD2w7-kYkZT/s1600/LaciBDay_MommyTina1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyihZiQEkLMCYuDModcA2L3BM7kr0YEgl-OieihV2bIJc3JLHroXLxe964v6AMgzREog6rxrkJj2yNy-2CTjbZVWMQb3XWK2dQ8AoIEoe1pkZdEgLsBefnZYg7Hu7VOEDJJQD2w7-kYkZT/s320/LaciBDay_MommyTina1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471262038099393250" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YJ3KD99dzEW1CMVmPz4XZneg_R08J-TIbEtxzxJaXeI4Yt3U3rDet6sW2oKOmHLRoO-RLoHbS5mwRXFa1wJdq9lX9GRJ34iEEvfsuIwc7X5FhDQnpJYeGtXWMWIiWuAkla315vGu4VYf/s1600/LaciBday_Ilyanna1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YJ3KD99dzEW1CMVmPz4XZneg_R08J-TIbEtxzxJaXeI4Yt3U3rDet6sW2oKOmHLRoO-RLoHbS5mwRXFa1wJdq9lX9GRJ34iEEvfsuIwc7X5FhDQnpJYeGtXWMWIiWuAkla315vGu4VYf/s320/LaciBday_Ilyanna1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471262033699351826" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDPICZ3g870u5yFzVq5UfXprU5rLVtSdbLYGbFb3iSPl6akW9c0B4t96Bj4WLp2hv4pylYc9vWnxe4G1ubPzY54_vs-FOMGQ9C0tEZfJqUfHFuIYE7macJx1BrLUQzh6j4Sb1M6fxyhkgc/s1600/LaciBDay_HankKyrstenIlyanna.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDPICZ3g870u5yFzVq5UfXprU5rLVtSdbLYGbFb3iSPl6akW9c0B4t96Bj4WLp2hv4pylYc9vWnxe4G1ubPzY54_vs-FOMGQ9C0tEZfJqUfHFuIYE7macJx1BrLUQzh6j4Sb1M6fxyhkgc/s320/LaciBDay_HankKyrstenIlyanna.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471262025294040738" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjqqDmApsvPmLYZKIwS6p7KXUjqMJAGhuaawy51TOkqZUbBaI1vaxPUjfkRLmQrfHvTRHtj9WnUuoHEY9RtdfTsG_6_XVI88KnGJUOV_qS6WUYcQXkKFIDPbcpX010nxrfxyJLJox-Bhln/s1600/LaciBDay1_Candle6.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjqqDmApsvPmLYZKIwS6p7KXUjqMJAGhuaawy51TOkqZUbBaI1vaxPUjfkRLmQrfHvTRHtj9WnUuoHEY9RtdfTsG_6_XVI88KnGJUOV_qS6WUYcQXkKFIDPbcpX010nxrfxyJLJox-Bhln/s320/LaciBDay1_Candle6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471262017995027154" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal">
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">===========================================================</p> Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-79123236991860499952009-11-10T05:56:00.000-08:002009-11-10T06:56:41.787-08:00Happy Sweet 16 AmandaWell folks, its been awhile since I updated this. Halfway thru the NFL season and my Cleveland Browns are a Federally-declared disaster area with a 1-7 record so far. And now with a chance to totally embarass Dawg Pound Nation on the national stage with a Monday Night game against our arch-rival Baltimore Ravens. If the Browns play hasn't improved dramatically, this could be a slaughter. But then some good might come of it and our sorry excuse for a front office might finally get that football genius (such as Marty Schottenheimer) for a GM or President. A guy who can finally rebuild this team into a title contender. That is the hope of Dawg Pound Nation.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJVyufKVpZmlGycnY9ux15WM8h-UuxGp-uMGN00qVL3lj2KN9p8bgMwiNJXhc3WMjGmjwW7mpm83hIPtTzWjUlBUePviiINTAwaeDI2i9jlJIFQc8l_VbVAHAABUHI1G-ycHygwTEmDC1/s1600-h/AmandaSweet16_008-25.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJVyufKVpZmlGycnY9ux15WM8h-UuxGp-uMGN00qVL3lj2KN9p8bgMwiNJXhc3WMjGmjwW7mpm83hIPtTzWjUlBUePviiINTAwaeDI2i9jlJIFQc8l_VbVAHAABUHI1G-ycHygwTEmDC1/s320/AmandaSweet16_008-25.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402475693399245746" border="0" /></a>Onto a much happier topic. Our lovely teenage neighbor, Amanda celebrated her Sweet 16 Birthday (Monday, Nov 9th). And we got to celebrate it with her. FYI, Amanda is becoming one beautiful classy lady who (along with her mom and her sister Vicki) helps keep my lovely wife company when I have to go out on the road. Here's some Sweet 16 pics of Amanda (which we sent to her over MySpace as well):<br /><br />Oh and that new dress she's wearing, we got her for her birthday. Well actually we gave her the $$ for it and she picked it out. Isn't she a knockout?<br />(A definite guy magnet. I hope she lands a totally classy boyfriend who treats her right).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaSc62MnXpBmP6zodstErrq-jSIUCDkBb2stRl1eYGSOozyPY3QfM6S4DCTEfCh0sgvMylt-Eb66pu3y7wgZWf4m0zMavu4bl2fjKRkC4jY77wNYIO2W34YMntAqRvGTJKEWY3yEa3ymCT/s1600-h/AmandaSweet16_003-25.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaSc62MnXpBmP6zodstErrq-jSIUCDkBb2stRl1eYGSOozyPY3QfM6S4DCTEfCh0sgvMylt-Eb66pu3y7wgZWf4m0zMavu4bl2fjKRkC4jY77wNYIO2W34YMntAqRvGTJKEWY3yEa3ymCT/s320/AmandaSweet16_003-25.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402476195317594306" border="0" /></a>My lovely wife Kyrsten with Sweet 16 Amanda.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDiw4eyrPwpEGTWTV9n6qnnDNaZ1MOqT68Rqm26-XdPtQAXxmRWQvpXlhJyqXOC_WswQULpeLgYseOkUogFo0zEFyy09Y1M_7SVZU1QWUOZOnMcZjhU-KKjzYSlaiBCwkoTxAXJuG8PkIm/s1600-h/AmandaSweet16_028-Elizabeth1_25.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDiw4eyrPwpEGTWTV9n6qnnDNaZ1MOqT68Rqm26-XdPtQAXxmRWQvpXlhJyqXOC_WswQULpeLgYseOkUogFo0zEFyy09Y1M_7SVZU1QWUOZOnMcZjhU-KKjzYSlaiBCwkoTxAXJuG8PkIm/s320/AmandaSweet16_028-Elizabeth1_25.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402476786357208146" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioh4VVrdL64rzVDeKzqhCmEhGevqDTxdiTIIWTDqvlQWzjDiExs4rw9h9yxxxV3o693MfwPriEciZimP3ix_t8Njwi_dd-mllK6-OG8x57X7WhocfpqPzHMUQKwRJ2qAqavrYgvQccrD3f/s1600-h/AmandaSweet16_023-HankLexiElizabeth_25.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioh4VVrdL64rzVDeKzqhCmEhGevqDTxdiTIIWTDqvlQWzjDiExs4rw9h9yxxxV3o693MfwPriEciZimP3ix_t8Njwi_dd-mllK6-OG8x57X7WhocfpqPzHMUQKwRJ2qAqavrYgvQccrD3f/s320/AmandaSweet16_023-HankLexiElizabeth_25.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402477753907537218" border="0" /></a><br />Amanda with her newborn niece, Elizabeth Rose (who's mom is her older sister Vicki). As you can see, I got to hold little Elizabeth as well.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUr9OMl5qMEWlhpvwheRbUlfoRBbl1s0SpxbEQ8ZX1gIF90m4vtfxnCnrggDaZ-sZLFNRXgsc8acUVbSeKLhP1Ydcjv-_RO9kbWZ4QTGCD8dunlzphfe1trPIgWA5gpOzEkDQvgEpsoT9U/s1600-h/AmandaSweet16_014-Lexi2_25.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUr9OMl5qMEWlhpvwheRbUlfoRBbl1s0SpxbEQ8ZX1gIF90m4vtfxnCnrggDaZ-sZLFNRXgsc8acUVbSeKLhP1Ydcjv-_RO9kbWZ4QTGCD8dunlzphfe1trPIgWA5gpOzEkDQvgEpsoT9U/s320/AmandaSweet16_014-Lexi2_25.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402478716132510530" border="0" /></a>I just had to include this picture of little Lexi (Amanda's niece as well). Just look at that expression as she contemplated digging into Grandma's choc cream pie.<br /><br /><br /><br />And that's our Happy Sweet 16 for Amanda.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Oh and I sent this nifty YouTube video ( as a birthday card) to Amanda. She had never heard this song by the Beatles before (gee you know you're getting old when today's teenagers don't recognize the Beatles) but Amanda absolutely loved it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztoSUhbNntQ&feature=related">Birthday Song for Amanda, by The Beatles.</a><br /><br />I think we'll also send her Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little 16". After all your Sweet 16 only comes around once in a lifetime.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnmQ3EL2U3juU0SnyotCGG90gvinMLRwRb_R3fEHhwXfNKAq5mQPAMrFL1xKXlcoZSsb7hn5TnFS7cJCgirH_kDm83vj43cXszZLgov-amWFAZsn7uYp3Xws0W2oQBxWHuthg5wgyotTTr/s1600-h/AmandaSweet16_019-Kyrsten4_25.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnmQ3EL2U3juU0SnyotCGG90gvinMLRwRb_R3fEHhwXfNKAq5mQPAMrFL1xKXlcoZSsb7hn5TnFS7cJCgirH_kDm83vj43cXszZLgov-amWFAZsn7uYp3Xws0W2oQBxWHuthg5wgyotTTr/s320/AmandaSweet16_019-Kyrsten4_25.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402481306840743218" border="0" /></a><br />Next Sweet 16, our other lovely neighbor, Leslie which is next March.Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-82226081280503954672009-09-21T13:56:00.000-07:002009-09-21T15:12:28.407-07:00Its Been Such a Long Time...and my BROWNS still suck!!!Well folks, like the old hit song Long Time from the classic rock group Boston, its been such a long time since I actually updated this blog. Just haven't really felt like it as there's always something more important. Like my family (wife & girls), this road-trippin job , Browns games....well maybe not so much this season.<br /><br />Speaking of my Browns, well they're off to their usual sucky start, 0-2 after two games and a lackluster performance against the Denver Broncos last Sunday. I know this is going to be a rebuilding season for the team but sheesh, can't they at least generate some freakin touchdowns?<br />No wonder the defense gets so gassed in the 4th quarter, they're on the field for most of the game because our offense can't generate any freakin offense.<br /><br />In other news, I may a possible career change opportunity come up over the course of the next 12 months or so. I won't comment on it much more than that at this point but in involves people we know who know other people who are in a position to help. Which is something I haven't had with past career "possibilities".<br />The drawback, I may have to take a cut in pay. But it would offer two things I find quite valuable and worth the reduced pay. One is the fact I'll be home most of the time. Two, there are possibilities for some honest to goodness career advancement. <br />A few years ago I wouldn't have been interested. But funny how a job that has you away from home can change one's perspective.<br /><br />In a update to a previous blog, my old teen hangout Randall Park Mall has now closed down for good. What was once a fun place for a guy in his teen days to hang out, shop and meet girls is now a dead hulk of a empty building. <br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randall_Park_Mall">Informational Wikipedia Article on RPM.</a><br /><br />Well our girls continue to grow up and get taller (and prettier, <smile>). Gigi is now 10 years old, Laci is 5. My how the time goes by so fast. <br />Well if I think of anything else....well Kyrsten (my wife), I love you dearly.Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-88252766555261109842009-01-20T17:03:00.001-08:002009-01-20T17:03:46.410-08:00First Blog for 2009.<span style="color:#000080;">Well folks, while Lane is scratching his head looking for my original Ruby Tuesday Thinkings posting, thought I'd put this up to summarize as much as I could, the original posting (which I was going to copy over to my Blog but somebody got a stinky fin...err....itchy delete finger before I could copy it.<br /><br />Inauguration Day: No I did not watch it, I just got the quick 1 minute version as during the ceremony, I was out on a fitness hike thru the California desert mountains. We're spending some time at a shopping center in Rancho Cucomonga B4 heading towards Edwards. My candidate (Mitt Romney) didn't get in so I could care less about the 170M party the Democrats threw for the Obamessiah Coronation. Instead I've decided to set my sights to the future, namely 2012 and the hope that a Sarah Palin/Michael Steele (B-Greg knows Mr. Steele rather well I think) would bring back to this now-bankrupt government.<br />And that's all the political commentary I have here.<br /><br /><br />Much happier, taking my family ice skating (for the first time ever) over the Christmas holidays. I was quite a scene all of us getting used to the ice skates. Since I have a roller skating background (from my teenage days), I managed to master the ice skates rather quickly and helped my girls do the same as you can see.</span><br /><span class="outline"><img class="media" id="fullSizedImage" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/hanktank88/Memories_2008/Christmas2008_HankSkate3_4x6.jpg?t=1232499181" alt="Christmas2008_HankSkate3_4x6.jpg picture by hanktank88" galleryimg="no" style="width: 432px; height: 350px;" /></span><br /><span style="color:#000080;">Oh well, I'm not quite Brian Boitano but hey.<br /><br /></span><span class="outline"><img class="media" id="fullSizedImage" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/hanktank88/Memories_2008/Christmas2008_HankGigiSkate_5x7.jpg?t=1232499340" alt="Christmas2008_HankGigiSkate_5x7.jpg Me and Gigi cutting the ice picture by hanktank88" galleryimg="no" style="width: 640px; height: 426px;" /></span><br /><span style="color:#000080;"><br /><br />All the Christmas lights, the ice rink in downtown Cocoa and family members (including some family from St. Petersburg joining us) made for a real nice Christmas evening.<br /><br /><br />Also a couple days later, the lovely lady of the house and I went to see the Lippizaner Stallions show as their annual tour stopped in Orlando. Kyrsten had been wanting to see this show for a long time but never did until this Christmas season.<br />At the arena before the show.<br /><br /></span><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/hanktank88/Memories_2008/Lippazaner_Show008_4x6.jpg" alt="Lippazaner_Show008_4x6.jpg" id="imageTag_0" class="imageTag" style="width: 262px; cursor: crosshair;" /><br /><span style="color:#000080;"><br /></span><br />More coming as I think of it but for now, time to rest up for Edwards.Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-26144413980301144342008-12-10T16:55:00.000-08:002008-12-10T16:56:08.236-08:00Randall Park Mall memories<span style="color:#000080;">Well folks, I was busy passing the time and did a search on one of my old favorite shopping venues (back as a teenager), Randall Park Mall up in North Randall, OH. Found the Wiki entry for RPM and the entry on Deadmalls.com <br /><br />Sad to see the place is now pretty much a empty, falling apart hulk. <br /><br />Back in 1976 when it opened, the place was packed to the gills with shoppers and it was THE place to shop in Northern Ohio. In fact it was briefly the world's largest shopping mall. While it wasn't my normal everyday hangout, I do have some memories of the place (along with the now vanished Richland Mall in Johnstown,PA).<br /><br /></span><span style="color:#000080;">Over the next few years, I'd do a lot of Christmas shopping there, see some great movies at the triple theater there and enjoyed the mall Christmas decorations. <br /></span><br /><span style="color:#000080;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Randall Park Mall Memories:<br /></span><br />- My first date (where I actually got my mom's car for the date) was to Randall Park Mall (a girl named Rita) and my first viewing of<i> Star Wars</i> back in July 1977.<br />I did something right because I got kissed out in the parking lot after the movie.<br />and I ended up putting a dent in mother's car (I just got my license a week ago).<br /><br />- I got my first tux from Diamonds Men's store (for a Christmas dance, 1977 with my then-girlfriend Michelle, ) at RPM. It was a white dinner jacket tux with black pants.<br /><br />- Saw the movie <i>Animal House</i> for the first there at RPM. Joined up with the gang for the movie. This one was memorable because... well a little background here. My friend Jim had his girlfriend Connie with him. Well Connie's sister Cheryl and I liked each other and Connie was really protective of Cheryl (the girl in my USMC picture). <br />During one of the movie's romantic scenes, I commented , hey, there's Cheryl and I, which of course Connie overheard.<br /> I almost didn't get out of the theater alive.<br />(Cheryl and I liked each other but weren't dating quite yet).<br /><br />- Bought all my BROWNS jerseys at the Koenigs in RPM.<br /><br />- Bought a pair of Adidas tennis shoes at the RPM Koenigs for the then-unheard of sum of $38. Boy did I get some razzing from the gang on that one. Wore them over to Connie's birthday party.<br />Well, Cheryl thought they were cool.<br /><br />- In fall of 1977, I bought my own weight set at the Sears at RPM. Included 225 lbs of weights, a bench press, long bar and two dumbells.<br /><br />- Last movie I saw at RPM was <i>Superman III</i> back in 1983.<br /><br />- Memory is hazy but my last visit to RPM was in 1985 or so. Even then the place was starting to show wear & tear. With other malls opening closer to Aurora OH (or high-class malls like Beachwood Place) , RPM started to lose shoppers, especially to Beachwood.<br /><br />- I still have some old 110 slides that I shot inside the mall back around Christmas 1976. <br /><br /><br /><br />Anybody here from the Watercooler or other boards remember this mall? Its pretty much closed down now with only the Sears store, a handful of local shops and the Ohio Powersports Institute still there. It was supposed to close in June of this year but seems a religious group wants to buy it and convert it to something.</span>Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-66105820461043400562008-10-19T08:51:00.001-07:002008-10-19T08:54:31.649-07:00A Harvest Moon Dedication to My Lovely Wife, Kyrsten<center><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Well, thought since I'm home with my lovely, I write a nice little song for her and post it.<br /><br />Actually, the song was written by Roland Kent Lavoie, better known in the artistic world as "Lobo". It was one of my favorite songs back as a 13 year old teen guy with budding romantic thoughts streaming thru the windmills of my then-teenage mind.<br /><br /><br />For Kyrsten:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></span><b><br /></b></div><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);font-family:Comic Sans MS;" >I'D LOVE YOU TO WANT ME</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"> </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);font-family:Comic Sans MS;" >written by Lobo</span></center> <pre style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;">When I saw you standing there<br />I bout fell out my chair<br />And when you moved your mouth to speak<br />I felt the blood go to my feet.<br /><br />Now it took time for me to know<br />what you tried so not to show<br />Now something in my soul just cries<br />I see the want in your blue eyes.<br /><br />Baby, I'd love you to want me<br />The way that I want you<br />The way that it should be<br />Baby, you'd love me to want you<br />The way that I want to<br />If you'd only let it be.<br /><br />You told yourself years ago<br />You'd never let your feeling show<br />The obligation that you made<br /></span><span><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;">For the title that they gave.</span></span><br /><span><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;">Baby, I'd love you to want me<br />The way that I want you<br />The way that it should be<br />Baby, you'd love me to want you<br />The way that I want to<br />If you'd only let it be.<br /></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;"><br /></span></pre>Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-61524532599207839492008-10-09T17:39:00.000-07:002008-10-09T18:11:00.891-07:00Thursday ThoughtsJust thought I'd type out whatever knucklehead idea comes into my cranium.<br /><br /><br />BROWNS vs New York Giants: A Monday Night game and everyone (in the sports media) picked the Browns as their surprise team for 2008. Alas, <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" >watching my Browns this season is kinda like watching the stock market lately or the Presidential Debates (nothing political now). Its just plain depressing and you end up feeling like that time wasted watching the debacle could have been better spent on some other activity. Like maybe trimming my mustache with a weed-whacker or something.<br /><br />Well folks, here's hoping that somehow the Browns can pull a Miami Dolphins and defeat one hell of a football team (uh, that would be your Giants) or at least give them one hell of a game. (I'd rather not think now what will happen if the Giants duplicate the butt-kicking from that pre-season game).<br /><br /><br />On another note, I hate to think that $500 I spent for near-front row seats to the Browns vs. Jaguars game in Jacksonville (Oct 26th) was not money well-spent (I hear laughter somewhere). Then again the Jaguars have been having their problems as well so that could actually be a decent game. It will be the first one for my little 9 y/o cheerleader. BTW, the Pop Warner games she cheers at had a lot more intensity than that Browns vs Bengals Lunesta pill I watched a couple weeks ago, even if we did win.<br /><br /><br />WHY CAN'T IT BE SARAH: I listened to the second POTUS debate and McCain put me in the mind of my Spanish professor back in college. Nice guy and all but he could rival Lunesta as a sleep aid. If McCain does end up winning this election, it will be because Sarah Palin dragged his butt first across the finish line.<br />Oh how I wish it was Sarah running for POTUS.<br /><br /><br /></span>Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-59851005992539718942008-08-29T10:50:00.001-07:002008-08-29T14:40:03.132-07:00Way to GO McCain, Sarah Palin....UPDATEDYou know folks, this is getting real interesting. For once I'm writing about John McCain and actually praising the guy instead of beating him on his white-haired head (figuratively speaking of course, please no Secret Service visits). As a Reagan Republican, I wouldn't have given a wooden Butch Davis nickel for McCain's chances in the election a couple months ago. But Lordy, he's been running one smart campaign and Sarah Palin is a GOP winner all round. He might yet win this thing.<br /><br />I must say now with Sarah Palin and Cindy McCain, he sure surrounds himself with beautiful classy ladies. He might yet get my vote and save us from Obama and $10 a gallon gasoline.<br /><br />Reading Sarah Palin's record as Alaska governor, I do have to say, why isn't this classy lady at the TOP of the GOP ticket and running for President herself? Us Reagan Republicans have been shouting for over 20 years for another Ronald Reagan and the Good Lord may have just sent us one, and she's a lady.<br /><br />Its been a long time that I've felt this happy as a Reagan Republican but Lordy, it feels good.<br /><br />John McCain and Sarah Palin have a big trump card in their Election Day quiver, that being a decent energy policy if they run with it. Which McCain seems to be doing (smartly) in his campaign and his selection of Sarah Palin who is a big advocate of drilling for oil, particularily in Alaska where her constitutents want the jobs. And we still get the research into alternative energy resources (wind power, solar power, nuclear fusion) that Obama is making such hay about. McCain realizes that we still need oil, preferably our own oil, to run the economy until such niceties as electric/fuel cell cars and nuclear fusion reactors become practical and affordable.<br /><br /><br />I see on the net that the guys are noticing she is attractive. And happily married with 5 kids. I'd say we got quite the family lady for a VP (and perhaps later, President). And about time as well.<br /><br />To quote the late James Brown...."I Feel Good".<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">UPDATE: Well folks, I've been perusing the politically liberal sites (such as Daily Kos) and in a nutshell, a lot of Obama supporters are losing their sausages over this. <br />However, one Obama supporter had a decent intellectual take on Sarah Palin's selection. No real surprise as Russell Glasser is quite the intellectual (Master's degree in computer engineering which trumps my Bachelor's in Computer Science). You can read his take at "Kazim's Korner" <br /><br /><a href="http://kazimskorner.blogspot.com/">Russell's Take on Sarah Palin</a><br /><br />He even gave me a mention. Thanks.<br /><br /></span>Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-68959014389487831492008-08-27T10:58:00.000-07:002008-08-27T11:21:28.811-07:00Late Suimmer's Night Musings, Browns Pre-Season, the OlympicsWell folks, I know its been awhile on the blog. Haven't had much chance to simply sit and type more fun non-sense but hey:<br /><br />First of all, the stinkin power supply on my laptop died. Well it was 3 years old but still.. I ended up getting a new laptop from Best Buy for half the price of the one I got 3 years ago, and with more than triple the performance. That's what 3 years of tech progress gets you. Really hated to buy another one but the display was starting to get a slight flicker when I adjusted the screen and as anyone who knows about laptops can tell you, once the LCD screen goes, time for a new laptop.<br />(And yes, I did order a new cheap power supply for my old laptop which I'll keep for now as a backup. Hope the screen holds out. <br />Did I mention that I still hate Microsoft Vista. Wish I could have stayed with XP but at least this one seems to run OK).<br />Sheesh, this laptop (HP Pavilion dv6000) has more memory and power than my home desktop, and is lighter to boot.<br />Also my older laptop had trouble with incoming digital TV signals, it was simply too slow to process them. No problem with analog TV but analog goes away in a few months anyway. The new one has a digital tuner and software built in.<br /><br />Only what, 10 days or so till the 2008 NFL Season opens. A lot of people pick my Cleveland Browns to be a playoff contender (I hope). Unfortunately they have really stunk in pre-season but pre-season games are worthless anyway. You can look great in pre-season, then stink up the joint when the regular season gets underway. Here's to a 2008 Browns playoff team.<br /><br />The 2008 Olympics are over but I always enjoy watching, especially the swimming competition (having once been a competitive swimmer). Its so great seeing the hard work and dedication of our Team USA athletes pay off with Olympic medals. I managed to get our little girls, Gigi and Laci to watch as well, especially the female events such as gymnastics, swimming and diving. Trying to teach them early what hard work can do for you. Hope the lessons take hold. I always feel a little melancholy when the Olympics are over as I know its two years till the next one (or four years till the next Summer games) as I enjoy watching them.<br />My wife, Kyrsten enjoyed the Equestrian events which we were able to watch online, her being into equestrian sports herself.<br /><br /><br />Well one of our girls got to try on her new cheerleading outfit. Gigi (9) was so excited to try on her outfit for the first time (and I got the pics to prove it). She's cheering on a Pop Warner cheerleading squad for kids. I like to encourage her into athletic endeavors as the lessons learned will carry on with her (which is why I encourage her to watch the Olympics as well).<br />I might post a pic here later but I'm always concerned about posting pictures on the Internet so I'm not sure yet. Just so beaming proud of her though.<br />Her sister Laci (4) goes to the practices to watch as well, which I encourage. Hey you never know, we might have the next Nastia Liukin, or Dara Torres here.<br /><br />The Jacksonville Jaguars NFL site is now offering their single game tickets for sale and after seeing the prices for our section for the Browns-Jaguars game in October, I see I got a decent deal on the 4 tickets I already got. Guess getting my tix early paid off.<br /><br />I'll add more to this posting as I think of it. Right now my brain is toast and its hot outside. Despite that, I always feel sad when summer ends, even in Florida.Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-41027628434593803862008-07-12T05:02:00.001-07:002008-07-12T05:03:37.347-07:00GodSpeed Tony Snow (1955-2008)Sad to hear this morning that one of my news reporter heroes, Tony Snow has passed away due to cancer. He was only 53.<br /><br />May God watch over his family he leaves behind. <br /><br />God Bless You Tony.Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378689738031013395.post-9274918478178988252008-07-11T18:53:00.000-07:002008-07-11T19:26:16.165-07:00Grooveyard Update, ABBA & "Jam Up & Jelly Tight"Well folks, its a special July here for yours truly. Our first Fourth of July with our girls, or actually just one (Laci). Gigi is in California with Aunt Holly, she'll be back next week. So we had our Fourth of July with Laci. And did she ever love the fireworks in the sky over the Indian River in Cocoa, FL. We watched from my MIL's riverfront condo and even got to put her new telescope (Christmas present from yours truly) to use.<br />And add two more children's DVDs to our collection. First <span style="font-style: italic;">Diego</span> and the Sea Turtles adventure. That was Laci's pick. I picked one for the girls though this time, <span style="font-style: italic;">Speed Racer, The Next Generation</span><br />Kind of interesting when comparing it with the original Speed Racer.<br /><br />===========================================================<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">And now a Hank's GrooveYard of Old Time Favorites Special.</span><br />This month seems to be dedicated to the music of ABBA (remember them?). Well Sirius has dedicated an entire channel (Channel 3) to ABBA's music. This is all in celebration of the movie release of the musical Mamma Mia.<br />I have a confession here, I actually like some of ABBA's music (which sends my friends from the Cleveland Browns DAWG POUND into fits of laughter) but really they were quite the talented group. I've just added three of my favorite ABBA songs to my MySpace page, these being:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Does Your Mother Know</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Ring Ring</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Summer Night City </span>(couldn't find that one on MySpace though).<br /><br />Its kinda cool listening to the ABBA channel on Sirius and hearing versions of ABBA songs I've never heard before. The Swedish version of <span style="font-style: italic;">Ring Ring,</span> live version of <span style="font-style: italic;">Does Your Mother Know</span>, and the full-length version of <span style="font-style: italic;">Summer Night City</span> which I never heard before.<br />And for my wife, I added that ridiculous ABBA song <span style="font-style: italic;">Honey Honey </span> which I know she likes. Egads, gag a maggot hearing that song. Its one of those brainworm songs.<br /><br />Speaking of the Lovely Lady of the House, she got to try out her new Victoria's Secret bikini over at the condo pool (while taking Laci swimming). Got some pics, I'll see about putting them up here.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />"Jam Up & Jelly Tight"</span><br />This I believe was Tommy Roe's only hit song of the 1970s as he was a known 1960s era crooner & rocker. His big hits were <span style="font-style: italic;">Sheila</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Dizzy</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">Jam Up & Jelly Tight</span> is my favorite though where he got the title, I just don't know for sure. But this link might provide a clue:<br /><br /><a href="http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_jam_up_and_jelly_tight_mean">Jam Up & Jelly Tight by Tommy Roe</a><br /><br />Also, Tommy's official web site (glad he's still with us):<br /><br /><a href="http://www.tommyroe.com/The_Official_Tommy_Roe_Web_Site/Home.html">Tommy Roe's Official Web Site</a><br /><a href="http://livepage.apple.com/"></a><br /><a href="http://livepage.apple.com/"></a><br />Well back out to the van, a storm is on the horizon here somewhere in the middle of Indiana. Time to shut the NASA van down for the evening and get ready for the next day's fun activities. Could be interesting at times.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></span><br /></span>Hank the Tankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063418686924926094noreply@blogger.com0