God Bless America

This is my new favorite video.   It doesn't get any better.

Big News: Jack White to release solo album

Jack White is going to release a solo album.  Here a song from it here:   Hear "Love Interuption"

(you have to click the "Play" arrow near the top of the page)



There is no question that the album is going to be good.  It is afterall Jack White his ownself.

JK Harris In Liquidation

Seems like the pennies on the dollar settlement once promised by JK Harris have come full circle:

http://www.loansafe.org/jk-harris-in-liquidation
JK Harris and Co., at one point a nationwide firm offering to settle people’s tax debts for pennies on the dollar, came to a humble end in a Charleston courtroom Tuesday.
Dogged by consumer complaints and large legal settlements, deeply in debt and unable to find a way out, the Goose Creek-based company’s proposed bankruptcy restructuring was converted to a liquidation. A trustee has been assigned to scrounge up what assets she can find to repay creditors.
Many creditors, including consumers who are collectively owed millions from settlements of claims that the company misled them, will get nothing.

Who's Next?

Video of the week - Betcha can't do this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yojUpMPt2vk&feature=related

"Oops"

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57321982-503544/rick-perry-fails-to-remember-what-agency-hed-get-rid-of-in-gop-debate/?tag=contentMain;contentBody

If you have not seen it yet, click on the link above to see Rick Perry self destruct during the debate earlier today. 

La Quinta Daytona

Above are pictures from the La Quinta at Daytona.  It was originally another hotel/motel that is about 30 years old and was purchased by the current owner who got a La Quinta Franchise so it is not completley similar to most La Quintas as far as facilities.   It has the mexican clay roof, good sized rooms, a heated pool, and a great view of the ocean. 

Gopher Tortoise

Above is a picture of a Gopher Tortoise taken at Ponce Inlet which is about 9 miles or so north of Daytona.   They have a nice park there with a pier, a beach, and we also saw some dolphins in the inlet.  The turtle was eating lunch and not too concerned about much else.

Atlantic

Above is a picture I took looking straight out into the Atlantic on Daytona Beach.   There was a good breeze but the air was envigorating.   The ocean produces some good breathing air and I was really feeling it here. 

Venice Florida

I don't know if I took any pictures at Venice.  Maybe I have some I took with my phone.  I will add them later if I find them.   We spend a couple of days at Venice and it was very nice.  Again the weather was just about perfect and the beach was great.  It is a little farther south so we were able to take a dip in the ocean.   It couldn't have been more relaxing.  Whenever it got a little warm, I would just plunk in the ocean for a little bit and splash around.   We had to walk a little bit to get to a quieter section of the beach but we still ended up chatting with several really nice folks who strolled by.  Everybody seemed to be high on the fresh air.  On the way back from the beach one  day, we stopped to pick up a sandwich at the KT deli at 454 E. Venice Ave.  When I went in I met Toan, the owner and his wife who's name I don't remember but she had a very cute personality.  Toan did most of the talking but his wife would smile and also make comments that didn't agree 100% with Toan.  Toan offered me some home made eggrolls to sample and I asked him what else he recommended.  I ended up getting a french vietnamese sandwich and some eggrolls.  This is the place to grab a sandwich in Venice.  He told me he recently updated the menu to include homemade eggrolls and other vietnamese choices but a lady who was in there getting lunch told me that the Cuban press sandwiches were good also.   Toan also told me where to get the best vietnamese buffet food here in Houston at our local chinatown.   I am going to check it out and will update the blog when I do.

Roses are red, the sky is blue...

Above is a picture from when I was sitting at the campsite one day at O'Leno.   I was sitting there relaxing and the sky really looked blue and beautiful so I clicked a picture of it.   This was perfect weather for camping.  No misquitos or humidity.  A little too cool in the evening but we had a fire so it was about as good as it gets.

Destin Florida & Grayton Beach State Park

We stayed one night at Grayton Beach State Park.  When I looked online at the specific picture of the campsite that I reserved also online, it looked very private because it appeared to be fenced in by vegitation and trees.   However, when we arrived, there was a campsite directly behind it that bordered the back of our site.  There was a clear view if thier RV which was facing us, a fire burning, and also a loud radio playing Southern Rock.   I have no problem with Nascar and Nascar fans.  I enjoy a good Nascar race myself.  Still,  A nascar party was not what I imagined when I booked this campsite.  We went to the forest ranger and the moved us to another site but it was till pretty close to the nieghbors.  Also there were trails all around our campsite that lead to the the restroom shower area so people were walking by at all times of the night with flashlights.  There was also a neigbor who treated us to several hours of classic rock.  We could clearly hear the conversations from two of the nearby campsites.  Grayton Beach Park is a nice place as far as the beach and park area but the camping experience is more of a place to stay or somewhere you would want to have an RV.  Not good for tent camping.    In the middle of the night I was dreaming along and I woke up into a sleepy haze hearing animals walking around our tent and then thrashing around on our picnic table.  I thought I had put all food items in the car's trunk but I left a lunchbox and a can of nuts out.  As I looked out the window, it looked like there were two bears trying to claw my lunch box open.  I was half asleep and I was thinking to myself, "are there black bears in florida?".   Then I woke up a little bit and realized that it was two very large and fat racoons who must have gotten that way by eating well from what they stole from campsites.   I shined a flashlight at them and they marauded off to pillage the next campsite.


The next day we cut this particular venture short went over to Destin and checked in to a Motel 6.  It was as sparse as most motel 6's but this one had a kitchenette and the room was actually pretty large compared to any Motel 6 room I had seen before.

Below are a couple of photos I took when we were eating lunch under a public Gazebo.   I should have clicked a few more but I was busy enjoying the really beautiful beach.   It was perfect weather.   This part of our trip was actually the day before we camped O'Leno which I have already posted pictures of in the previous post.

National Lampoon Vacation

Above is a picture of our outdoor hotel for our recent visit to O'Leno State Park in Florida.   Florida has a great state park system.  Very well organized and all facilies are well maintained.   The campsites are set up for RV and also Tent with some being tent only.   Most have electrical and water at each individual site.

O'Leno has an interesting history.   Originally it was a town called "Keno" after the gambling game but back in the 1800s  it was change to "Leno" because of pressure from religious elements and also business people that didn't want to offend anybody.   Then when the railroad was built,  it passed by Leno and it became a ghost town.  Later on in the 1930s, the forestry department made a state forest out of it and it was referred to as "Old Leno" and is now called O'leno.   Within  the boundaries of the park, the Santa Fe River goes underground and resurfaces down the line.  They have an amazing system of hiking trails and I took a few pictures which are posted below:

Above you can see some of the palm tree type shrubs that are all over the are and concentrated in this particular area where I snapped th photo.  I imagine that there was some clearing done and the palm shrubs took over. 

Below is a picture of a suspension bridge build back in the 30s:

If you are ever in northern central florida I would highly recommend a visit to this park.  Camping is $18 and a day visit is $5 per car.  They have hiking and biking trails as well as plenty of fishing and also swimming area.   Be careful not to swim in the wrong place or you might come across a gator. For more info, check out the Florida State Parks web site which is very good.

big easy

The French Quarter is alive and well.   Below are a couple of pictures I took during a recent daytime visit.   It was a good time which was made even better by the guy who works the door and seats people at the Royal Cafe.  We were walking by about 11 am and he was hawking the passerby's with an invitation to eat blackened chicken, shrimp creole, etc and he also hawked out that our dog was welcome.  We had a dog stroller and thought it was funny.  When  we got hungry we decided to take him up on the invitation.  The guy loves his job.  He made sure we felt right at home and sat us at a table with an open air street side view where we could watch the goings on and interesting people.  No matter what you look like or how you dress, you will not feel out of place at the French Quarter.  Give em a visit and enjoy yourself while supporting some great culture.

R

Time for a Party

I think it is great that people have the opportunity to voice thier opinions and participate in peaceful protests.   However, I do think it is a good idea to know exactly what it is that you are protesting about.   In the "Occupy Wall Street" movement the participants are saying that they are fed up but it isn't really clear what they want "Wall Street" to do.   Are they wanting to shut down the stock market and the banking system and possibly bring in a new group of capitolists who are not driven by greed?   It just doesn't work that way. 

The problem is that if they got rid of every member of "Wall Street", there are plenty more who will come in and do whatever it is they can get away with.  AIG, Enron, and every other type of scandal or fraud will repeat itself as long as people can get away with it.  That is just the nature of people. 

The solution isn't to ask the players to start playing nice.  The answer is in the officiating.  Washington, and the state legislatures, should be the primary focus.  As long as people put up with a system where elected officials can be paid off without concequence, then they will continue to get the kickbacks.  People do need to take to the streets.  Particularly on Tuesday in early November.   We need to elect representatives who are not part of the current two party system because it is broken. 

The time is right for a real third party that is not just the extremists from an existing party like the "Tea Party".   Thier answer is to "revolt"  and be hard core Republicans.   We need a true "Tea Party", one that doesn't just hi-jack the name but actually represents something different which is honest representation.  It is time that American Citizens have more representation than multi-national corporations.

Basically, it is time for America to be America.