Meme: Phocus - Candy

UPDATED: 12-16-08 Thanks to everyone who played along. Click READ MORE to see the full picture. :)

OK, here is an easy one if you know me, tough if you don't. This is a crop of a photograph of a retail box of one of my favorite candies. :) I will upload the complete picture once enough people have guessed.



Click Read More to read the rules.

In this particular Meme you can do 1 or 2 things.

1. You can just play along and guess at what the picture is of in the photo above.

OR
2. You can guess and play along on your page too by taking a picture of something you find interesting, cropping it almost beyond recognition and uploading it with a small hint on your own page. Then just come back here to post the link to that blog so we can all play and get to know each other in the process.

Are you game?

Rainy Days

When I was a kid, I used to love the rain.

At school, it meant indoor activities. Sometimes we wouldn't do ANY work and would just talk or play little games.

I remember even playing indoor spelling baseball. The teacher would give us a choice of difficulty level (1, 2, 3 or 4) and we would have a time limit to correctly spell a word on the chalkboard. If we got it right, we would go to another corner of the room depending on the difficulty of the word. If we made it home, we could pick a prize out of the "prize box."

The darkness outside would make the classroom environment exciting. Riding the bus as it blew through puddles and soaked the pedestrians was a great way to end a fantastic school day.

At home I would make origami boats and float them down the gutter until they got stuck under the tire of a curbed vehicle (most likely driven by someone's wife ;) or I would just sit in the kitchen watching the water pile up and splash in the corner of our backyard walkway.

I remember my mother's answer to my question regarding the origin of rain. She told me that it was God's tears. Even at this young age, that answer seemed highly unlikely and illogical. It only served to confuse me and I believe eventually played a significant part in the process that led me into the atheist life I would eventually come to lead in my teenage years.

The idea of a crying God devastated me. I locked myself in the bathroom, stood on the toilet and stared out the window. This was my safe place. Our bathroom window faced a wall and you could barely see the house next door. I like this window during rainy days because you could stare out of it looking up at the sky, protected from the raindrops by the screen. You could "smell" the rain. I distinctly remember the scent being a combination of grass and metal screen. I'm sure I ended up with a dirty nose more often than I can remember.

Now an adult, as a homeowner, commuter and family leader, my simple joys have been eradicated.

I still like the rain. I still like the smell as long as you aren't anywhere near garbage or pavement but I worry.

I worry about the roof on my home. Water erodes roof tile.
I worry about the flooded roads and hydroplaning. Water hates cars.
I worry about the driving skill of all those people in SUV's that pretend they can handle like sports cars. Humans think water is weak.
I worry about my dog. He doesn't really know how to take care of himself in the rain. Water likes plants, sill dogs, not so much.
I worry about my wife. She drives really well and very careful, but the people that work near her do not. Neither do the engineers behind the crash-happy Metro link trains that pass right by her work everyday.
I worry about my brother-in-law that has to ride the bus and walk for two hours every day. Water hates students.
I worry about those fancy houses on the hills. Their million dollar losses will mean increased fees for the rest of us taxpayers.

I worry about global warming. Who's igloo is this raining on me today? We must hate water to do this to the Earth.

Enjoy this Cackle on Me

My brother sent me a joke this morning and I thought it was worth sharing with some minor modifications. I hope you all have a great day!

Ralph came home drunk one night, slid into bed beside his sleeping wife, and fell into a deep slumber. He awoke before the Pearly Gates, where St. Peter said, "You died in your sleep, Ralph."

Ralph stunned, replied: "I'm dead? No, I can't be! I've got too much to live for. Send me back! PLEASE YOUR HOLINESS."

St. Peter said, "I'm terribly sorry but there's only one way you can go backeth and that is as a chicken."

Ralph was devastated, but begged St.. Peter to send him anyway, at least to a farm near his home. The next thing he knew, he was covered with feathers, clucking, and pecking the ground. A rooster strolled past and Ralph immediately tensed. "So, you're the new hen, huh?" he asked. "How's your first day here?" "Not bad," replied Ralph the hen nervously, "but I have this strange feeling inside. Like I'm gonna explode!"

"You must be ovulating," explained the big red Cock. "Don 't tell me you've never laid an egg before?"

"Never," said Ralph.

"Well, just relax and let it happen," says the randy rooster. "It's no big deal." Ralph did, and a few uncomfortable seconds later, out popped an egg! Ralph was overcome with emotion as he experienced motherhood. He soon laid another egg -- his joy was overwhelming.

As he was about to lay his third egg, he felt a smack on the back of his head, and heard his wife yell.....

"!!RALPH!! YOU DUMBASS, WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SHITTING IN THE BED!?!"

Digital TV Coupons

For those of you in the U.S. that have somehow missed the bombardment of advertising for the Digital TV conversion...

Go to DTV2009.org and apply for up to 2 $40 coupons good for the purchase of a digital TV to standard converter box. It can take a few weeks to get them so apply for them while you still can. I haven't heard anything about any expiration on the offer itself though the coupons DO expire after 90 days.

Get these coupons. Buy the box and hook it up to your standard definition Television (or even HDTV if you don't have cable or an HD antenna) and you never have to worry about missing commercials again.

Really, why else would you think they make it seem as if it would be a disaster if your T.V. went blank next year?

Neither Lacking nor Slacking

If you have noticed that the quantity of blog posts on this page have slowed a bit, don't worry. I'm not out of ideas. I have too many actually. Some have unfortunately been lost forever by my inability to type whilst driving. :)

I have recently had an influx of responsibilities both at work and in the home. I will be back up to speed soon. I will continue to post just as I have been the past few days but don't expect to see 3 to 4 posts a day like a few months ago at least for a few more weeks.

My wife and I have some major projects at home, work has become increasingly hectic and I have also taken on a few side projects. So please don't stop following just yet. I promise to post a few doozies before year's end. ;)

Do You Play Spurts?

(This was originally going to be a really short blurb because its such a busy day then I couldn't stop typing.)

I was on the can. Don't picture that.

I was reading a newspaper like I guess men are supposed to when they are in the restroom. I wasn't touching the paper though it was just hanging on the handicap balance bar. Yes I used the handicap stall WHAT?!? You'll never see me parking in one of their spaces.

As I read the paper that someone left hanging there I read what I can only assume was the sports section. Surprised?

They were talking about a boxer named Oscar De La Hoya. Apparently they erected (*snicker) a bronze statue of him just outside the Staple Center in Los Angeles. The controversy was that he has never won a fight there and some people are complaining. I'm not even really sure if they hold fights in the Staples Center. There are two other statues there. Wayne Gretzky (a long time Los Angeles Kings hockey player) and Magic Johnson, the worlds most famous AIDS victim who also played for the Los Angeles Lakers Basketball team. Neither of those two sports greats ever played there in the Staples Center and no one seems to be complaining about them.

Apparently the company who paid for the statue and worked hard to get it erected (*snicker2) is associated with Golden Boy promotions which belongs to...Oscar De La Hoya. So, some of the protesters claim this is self promotion. Aren't they all though?

Personally I don't care either way but it got me thinking. Why don't people in L.A. like Hockey?

How does this possibly make any sense? Well the Los Angeles Times article claimed that the Hispanic community which is so proud of their (not our L.A.) "Golden Boy" overlook these little nuances because they are so in love with him. No mention of the millions of dollars he has given to charities and hospitals in the Los Angeles area. They also go on to say that Hockey will never be as popular as Basketball or Boxing in the Southern California area.

I'm not a fan of any but considering that Hispanic folk here in Los Angeles go ape-shit over soccer, I can't for the life of me understand why they don't like Hockey.

They have goals. Usually 1, 2 or 3 in an entire game. Just like soccer.
They have a guy who's sole purpose is to block the goals. Just like soccer.
They go back and forth incessantly. Just like soccer.
Fans are insane. Just like soccer.
The good players are all foreigners (ay Canada?) Just like soccer.
The players are known for fighting. Just like soccer.

The rules are pretty similar though for obvious reasons, like terrain and equipment, some specific ones had to apply.

You would think at least the brainwashed Americanized Hispanics would be mad into Hockey, but no. The last time I went to a Mighty Ducks game (years ago) I was the brownest face in the audience.

Weird.