Frantic Friday : The reason Edition.... (NSFW)

I just put today's post together, to sum up why I like my Frantic Friday's so much. You see, Frantic Friday's have really become quite the popular day around these parts, so I really want to keep them up for you. I'm almost treating them like a little business of sorts and you all know, it's all about :


in todays market! A bunch of you out there are also telling me very clearly, that you can't wait until it's Frantic Friday. So Frantic Friday's are here to stay for at least a little while longer I guess, and we'll try our best to run with the following theme :


So let me set my drink down on a :


and get myself down to business!

After all, no one comes here on a Friday to see :


Everyone is always after the same thing! You all want me to get to the :


and :


So since it's always been one of my :


to keep bringing you fine readers the best of some great :


I'll do my very best, to satisfy your ever incereasing needs.

Now I do have one little housekeeping item to get out of the way, before we really get started on this Frantic Friday. So bear with me for a moment, if you'd be so kind.

Has anyone else out there noticed the amazing similarity between :


Maybe it's just me of course, I don't know. I just thought I'd put it out there for everyone. Feel free to discuss it amongst yourselves.

So now here's the reason I love Frantic Friday's so much. In my twits and tweets and the odd e-mail here and there, some of you have told me why you come here all the time or more specifically, why you make sure to stop by on a Frantic Friday.

So here's the short list with a 'couple' of reasons.

Some say they stop in for the :


while several out there continue to stop by, just to see some great :


Now I did have one blogger comment that he, "can't :


what he'd do, if I started looking for :


with :


on his behalf."

He also said that he and his boy, "always check out these Frantic Friday's together." It seems his son is a pretty big fan of some :


as well. Good on ya' son. Good on ya'!!

So if you've commented, tweeted, I/M'd or e-mailed me about your favorite Frantic Friday, I really want to thank you for your support. If you just happened to stumble across this little page on the intertubles and are still reading this right now, I thank you and ask that you consider the following if you would. It's sort of a motto that this kid chooses to live by, at all times!


My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Oops, I did it again....

Often as I go about my business throughout the day, things can arise that make me take a hard look at myself and some of the decisions that I make to get me to where I want to be. Yesterday I received an e-mail, that caused another one of those moments of inner reflection.

= = = = = =

From: XXXXX [mailto:XXXXX@mapquest.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 4:45 PM
To: bambamofcan@gmail.com
Subject: Trip plans on MapQuest


Hello bambam,

My name is XXXXX and I am the Director of Operations for MapQuest. Occasionally we do reviews of how users are utilizing our product, so that we can continue to improve it as we go. It was through this process that I found a route that you have been working on for several days now.

This is in no way meant to be an invasion of your privacy or intrusion into your personal business. Should you feel that we at MapQuest are in any violation of either, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at (XXX) XXX-XXXX ext. XXXX and I will ensure that any and all documentation regarding this subject, are removed from our companies files immediately.

Upon my review of your most resent work with our MapQuest product, your plans appear to be a trip starting in Barrie Ontario and continuing on to Cornwall Ontario, by way of Wiscasset Maine and Sydney Nova Scotia.


Naturally a trip description such as this has peaked my interest, on quite a few different levels. I can say that I have been fortunate enough to see just about every variation of travel plan imaginable in my time with MapQuest. But none have sparked an interest in me, the way that your trip plans have!

As curiosity has definitely gotten the best of me, I was wondering if you would mind if I asked the question outright. Is this is in fact an actual trip plan and if it is, how did such a wondrous adventure happen to come about?

Should you choose not to respond to this note, I would like to apologise for any feelings of intrusion that I may have caused. I can ensure you that this was never my intention at all.

Yours in great curiosity,

XXXXX
Director of Operations
MapQuest

= = = = = =

As I went about writing my response to this fellow at Mapquest, I actually had to sit back in wonderment at myself.

How the hell did all of this come about?

Peb's simply requested a nice Lobster Dinner someday.

Hmmmm.....

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Go fast, turn left OH... and live longer please....

One of the most vibrant, alive and blithe human beings I've ever had the privilege of knowing in my life, went down for the count yesterday. BUT... it's hopefully only a T.K.O.

It better be ! I don't think Barney is ready to lose such a good friend!

And I certainly know I'm not !

When cars just didn't have the performance that said, "Yeah. It's a HEMI." Dad and Uncle Bob were the guys to see.


When someone thought, "the damn thing might just go faster, if all the weight was at the back!" Dad and Bob just went and made it happen.


When the race was only a few day's away and the car needed that little extra something to make it say I am Canadian, Uncle Bob wouldn't leave until my Dad did.



When Dad had that smile that would last the whole night through and our car was on pole for 'The Classic,' you just knew Uncle Bob also had something to do with it.


When it came time to defend a bad decision at the bar, Uncle Bob had Dad's back all the way. Right or wrong, ( and in my Dad's case, probably wrong! ) my Uncle Bob always had Dad's back, every single time.

They built race cars together.

They built families together.

They built all of my early memories together.

Go fast, turn left. It just become a way of life.

It was always simple as I grew up really. When guy's wanted to go faster, they'd show up at our house and they'd always turn to Dad and Bob.


When guy's dreamt some wild shit up but weren't sure it was possible, I'd spend a week or so away with Dad and Bob.


When relatively 'famous' loud mouths came to upstate New York for a race and wanted to go faster than the rest, you guessed it!


The phone was ringing in Bedrock.

I spent most of the 60's and 70's in a little place called Oswego NY.

Not many would understand why, but that's always been OK with me. The fastest cars on this side of the planet and more famous drivers than you can shake a stick at, hardly held any appeal to anyone back in the day.

The facts were, Indianapolis was where you went fast.

Oswego was just a little spot on the map by Lake Ontario, where you went really, really fast.

"Uncle Bob" was never called that, as I grew up at the track. He was always just plain old Bob. I've said it before I know, but all of my Dad's buddies were "Uncles." The more I look back now, the more I know that folks like Uncle Bob are the main reason, I am the way I am today.

Go fast, turn left and live one hell of a lot longer than you have so far Uncle Bob. I plan to hear and relive a few more of those stories, from our oh so golden day's.

So forgive my selfishness if you can and hang around the garage for just a little while longer if you wouldn't mind. In fact, I have a great idea! Dad just gave me two whole dimes for welding on that old frame! I'll put'em in the machine over there and grab us both a Pepsi. We can cool down while we're talking.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Learn to lose with the under nuts....

Played a little Poker last night and definitely got my azz handed to me. I constantly ran second best into the nuts. Just a night where I seemed to do it one way or another, over and over again as well.

Oh and if it wasn't a case of having the second best hand, it usually went something along these lines instead. Flop a monster and.....


After that flop, I was amazed that I still managed to make the 80 chips I did on the River. I slow played it all the way down and got what had to be a crying call from yanks517, with the small two pair he held. I really don't get that call considering I bet on the eight, but it was appreciated just the same.

The point is, I was dealt dozens of quality hands during the game. On about 3/4 of them, I could get no play. On most of the other 1/4 of them, I was either up against another monster that had me covered or, a draw heavy hand that seemed to always get there. Here's one that didn't get there on me though, as I had just enough curiosity about the betting pattern during the hand, to put a few extra chips in on seventh street to see what I was actually up against. The hand was folded and the claim was, it was a smaller two pair that mucked.


Then in this hand, I was either crushed all the way by sixth street or was really unlucky on seventh. I say that because I was either dealt the third Ace at the same time as his boat was made or, if the cards are flipped the same way for each player upon showdown, my 7 was switched with the deuce meaning, his Jack and 8 were flipped to give him the boat on seventh. My read from 6th. st. on was always going to be a set of 8's against my set of Aces so, I really wasn't going anywhere in the hand. I'd considered the boat but chose to ignore the thought, a big mistake on my part. But either way in the end, it doesn't really matter. It was just me running a hand into a hand once again.


Then my bust out hand was just another case of more of the same. I had a good split starter that turned gold, only to see it lose to what looked an awful lot like a seventh street chase to the flush and my gold was all tarnished. Maybe in reality, I was always beat in the hand. But with no chips and a disguised set on fourth street, once again I was going nowhere for the remainder of the hand. One thing I do know! To lose to a Flush after betting the set on fourth street myself, I got the bulk of my stack in on the good side of the race! With the limit game in full effect, I couldn't ask for much better than that. The rest of the stack was going in no matter what, as paltry a stack as it was at that time. Oh well, Ces't La Vie !

I have to say, I hate the feature that always kicks you out of a tourney immediately after a bust out. I didn't get to say it last night when I busted but, good game to all that played.

It was apparently just one of those nights as it turned out! As I went and joined up with one of my new favorite games that I had been crushing of late, only to bubble the cash with flopped Quad 10's. It seems the pocket Jack's that I was up against flopped the boat and wasn't going anywhere with that. But the River case Jack gave me that jolt in my flopped under nuts that said, it may be time to just walk away little Bam-Bam.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Spring's wants to Sprung....

What a weekend!

Despite the 10' x 20' pile of snow still in the center of the deck, it was so nice out yesterday afternoon that Peb's and I had our first cocktail of the year out there. At one point with the Sun just blaring down on the two of us, the thermometer was reading 30 C, or 86 F which was just fabulous!

Now the one thing about Spring getting all sprung in the country? Critters!

At about 3:00am Saturday morning I woke up to the sounds of the pitter-patter of little feet, as in, little feet running across our roof! That can only mean one thing. Raccoons! I'd gotten a couple of them earlier in the week, but the others just spread out a bit and had been staying away. Obviously one of them felt the need to make our home, his home as well.

I needed to get him off of the roof, but shooting him off wasn't much of an option! That's where the old reliable pellet gun comes in! Not enough to do any "real" damage to the hide of a Raccoon for sure, but with enough accuracy and repetition, it should help motivate him along his merry way. It would also do slightly less damage to the shingles than say the .022, should an accident occur. The trick would be to get a few clean shots. No problem! The cave is a side split and there was no great mystery as to where the little bugger was trying to set up shop. Right at the upper and lower roof split, just at the back of the house. BINGO! Just four clean shots later, and I had a 'coon on the run on the roof. Now to just keep plugging away at hitting as close to the same spot as possible. All was going according to plan and I had him actually hanging right at the edge of the roof at one point! But a neighbours dog came running through and scared him right back up to the top once again.

With the dog long gone and the Raccoon definitely looking to get off of the roof, I backed down just long enough to give him a chance to do just that. About 20 minutes later, I went back out to check things out. Roof clear and tracks to the trees beside the house. Mission #1, accomplished. Mission #2 would be, to get the little bugger and take him down the road a piece! Somewhere that wasn't my home, looking an awful lot to him like his home too! So the neighbours were informed that hopefully shots would not be required, but that they should also set up the live traps just in case. If we catch him, we'll spare him his life and give him a new home in a far less lived in surroundings. But if a few day's pass and he's managed to avoid the traps, other "options" will definitely be brought to the fore.

Two other key points to this past weekend.

Firstly, I got a new toy! A big shiny red lawn tractor with 18HP and a 42" cutting deck! SahweeeeeeeeT !!! The local TSC was having one hell of a Managers Special on clearing out all of the floor models of everything! So this is a two year old machine that has been sitting on their floor @ $1899 for that entire time. I took it out to the back lot of the store and with a little quick fire shot down the carb to speed up the process, I managed to get the thing running in about one minute flat. All this thing will need is a good cleaning out of the gum and gunk in the carburetor, after all of that sitting around and doing nothing. Oh.... and the price?...... How about $900 cash and it was mine! I <3 big ticket items at 1/2 price !!!!! I got it home, did the clean up like I wanted to and shazaam! Fired at the first turn of the key! Can you say Bargoooooooon !!!!

The second item is on a much more personal note. When the hell did I get so chicken shit about being on a roof? Twenty years ago, I was still jumping off of a two storey building into a great big pile of snow with the kids! But yesterday as I was preparing to get some plywood up in the area the Raccoons had shown some interest in, I was shaking so much at just the prospect of leaving the relative comfort and security of my trusty old ladder, and setting foot upon that "dangerously slanted and slippery roof." Now I noticed as well, it wasn't the height. It was the thought of falling off the roof! A thought that had never crossed my mind before, on any of the dozens and dozens of roof's I'd ever been on before.

Don't worry, I didn't let it overwhelm me or anything. Just a little personal note to myself, that I may have actually done a small amount of aging over the last several years. Aging that seems to have caught me a little off guard as I attempted to do something that the kid in me, would have just flown right up and back down again to do only a few short years ago.

I know from years of living here in Bedrock, that I best not get my hopes too terribly high that the snow is almost once and for all done. Too many times has it happened, where one or two more Wintry blasts come late in March or early April, just to take one more kick at the cat. It sure looks, feels and smells like Spring is trying to make it's grand entrance once and for all. But I'll only truly believe it, when I have my Golf Clubs in my hands and I'm thinking about playing the back nine as well!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....