New Years Eve Breakfast

Time for an Earthquake, Earthquake cookies that is. I had to take a picture quick because there is no telling how long these babies will last.

Items Needed:
Oven.
Box of saltine crackers.
1/2 cup of brown sugar.
1 teaspoon of vanilla.
2 Sticks of butter (or the equivalent in cups)
1 Bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line the bottom of a cookie sheet with foil.

Line the bottom of pan with saltines (you may have to break a few of them
to make it so there are no spaces in between the crakers.)

In separate bowl (microwavable, or on stove top) mix the 2 sticks of
butter, half cup of brown sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla. Mix together and
put in microwave or on the stove to melt together.

Pour the melted mixture of the crackers. (you now should have a pan with
crackers and the sugar mixture on top...no chocolate yet)

Bake the pan and cracker thing in the oven for 10 min (at 350).

After 10 min, take it out and spread 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
over the crakers and sugar.

Put back in oven for 3 min or until chocolate is melted.

Take out of oven and spread the chocolate evenly around with a spatula.

If it's cold enough you can now just put the pan outside to harden, or
simply place it in the fridge or freezer.

Once it's hardened, you can break them into cookie sized pieces...and
enjoy!

T-Shirt Of The Day

I'm not much of a gamer, maybe some "SNOOD" or "TEXT TWIST", but I have thought of getting a Wii (for the kids of course).
If I was to get a Wii I would have to get the shirt on the left.
Wii is sweeping the country, there is even a Flickr "Wii Motion Pool". Besides it looks so fun to appear so damn uncoordinated.

An Arts And Crafts Friday

It's a rainy Friday morning and the office is closed. What better way to stay connected to the office than to break out "The Executive Coloring Book" and my 8 pack of crayons.You can have your own executive coloring book by following the "LINK"

You Need A License Too

....drive a car, get married and even catch a fish, but you don't need a license to be a parent or even a grandparent.

Baby put into X-ray machine at Los Angeles airport

LOS ANGELES, Dec 20 (Reuters Life!) - A woman sent her one-month-old grandson through
an X-ray machine at Los Angeles International Airport, security officials said on Wednesday.

The woman, who spoke little English and was traveling to Mexico, put the infant in a plastic bin used to hold loose carry-on items for security scanning at the busy airport on Saturday morning.

Security screeners saw the baby as it started to pass through, pulled the bin out, and immediately sought medical assistance for the child, Transportation Security Administration spokesman Nico Melendez said. "LINK"

I could just see the TSA employee watching the monitor: shoes, purse, laptop, carry on, baby, shoes..... reverse the belt..... shoes, baby. "Attention, Attention I need a supervisor"

Two things I must ask:
1) How come Non-English speaking Grandma didn't notice that she was the only one, THE ONLY ONE placing an infant, no make that her grandchild in the plastic bin. Did this women think to herself "Look I'm the only one following the rules"
2) Why did no one in line reach over and place their hands on Non-English speaking Grandma's shoulders and say or yell "What in the hell are you doing?" then as they get the I don't understand your English look just grab the baby. Have we as a society become so jaded that we can't intervene when someone is being stupid.

Airport officials said it was an innocent mistake by an inexperienced traveler This had nothing to do with someone being an inexperienced traveler it had everything to do with someone being stupid. And I'm not so sure about the inexperienced traveler part cause she traveled from Mexico to here.....

War Is Not The Answer, Rehab Is…..

Miss USA Tara Conner gets to keep her crown, (Thank God cause I’ve been loosing sleep over it) but of course she has to go to rehab.
Rehab is now the official scapegoat for anyone that does not want to be accountable for their own actions, cool.
If you decide to loose your ever loving mind and flip the cop at the corner market the finger, guess what? after your done ramming your skull into the cops billy-club you can check yourself into rehab and more than likely walk away with a reduced sentence. It’s easy and everyone’s doing it.
The nation was all up in arms over OJ Simpson’s defense team using the race card and now it’s oh so very in to pull the “Rehab Card”.
Just because someone is 20 years old and gets busted for having a drink or two doesn't mean they need "Rehab" yes, they may need a good kick in the butt and yes, they are stupid but that does not automatically qualify them for a trip to "Rehab" .
What was even better was Donald Trumps performance. I am generally a fan of Trump and understand publicity/marketing/positioning but this publicity whore appeared to be on the fence as he mused over the “Do I pull the crown or not” when Trumps main focus was to get himself (as always) and the Miss USA pageant in the spotlight as long as possible.Then the Reverend Trump called his press conference to announce the verdict and to deliver his heartfelt “I Believe” speech and guess what? he has decided to give Tara a second chance. I guess I’m in store for a good nights sleep…..

Attention Fellow Fliers

You are in an airport and no this is not your own personal airport you are sharing it with lots of other people and one of these people is me. Sooooooo to make my life less painful and allow me to get home and see my family quicker. I have a few airport suggestions.

When using the kiosk to check yourself in you are going to either have to scan a bar-coded piece of paper or insert a charge card, ATM card or something with a magnetic strip containing your information. Be prepared because this is a rule there is no getting around it.

When going through TSA security lines you will need photo identification and your boarding pass. Have it ready, you back the line up and I am forced to wait while you rummage through your purse, laptop case wallet etc... looking for your photo ID. This another rule there is no getting around it.

You will need to remove your shoes and send them through the x-ray machine. We all have to do this. The government has not decided to single you out and make only you remove your shoes. Can you smell that rank odor? It's my feet and my shoes are off and in my hand ready to be laid on the x-ray belt. This another rule there is no getting around it.

You know those coins and keys in your pocket? Guess what they need to come out of their cave and into the white and blue bowl. These items will cause the screening systems alarm to sound. Do you know why? I am thinking it's because keys and coins are metal and so are guns, this is just a hunch and I might be wrong? When the alarm goes off this means that you have to go through the screener again, this takes more time away from me getting to see my family. This another rule there is no getting around it.

You know that really hip urban style jacket your wearing? That is going to have to come off your lumberjack sized back and go through the x-ray machine. Waiting for you to be told "Sir? Sir? Hey dude, you have to loose the jacket so it can get x-rayed." makes me have to wait and waiting takes more time away from me getting to see my family. This another rule there is no getting around it.

After going through the screening machine please do not stand at the end of the belt and bitch and moan about how you now have to get dressed again. Look down at the ground do you see all the feet with no shoes on them? We all have to "get dressed again". It's no ones fault but your own that you're such a dumb ass and wore 14" lace up boots to airport.

Pick your belongings up off the belt and then quickly move away so that the rest of us can claim our crap and get on with our life. While you are standing there struggling to fit your size 10 EEE foot into a size 9EE shoe you are causing the line to back up and this takes more time away from me getting to see my family.

Do not argue or piss off the TSA folks. Yes, it is quite possible that just last week at their old job they were asking customers "Do you want fries with that?". Alas these folks are the gate keepers to the terminal when they get mad they slow down, when they slow down it takes more time away from me getting to see my family.

I know in the big picture my happiness is not that big of a deal to you folks, but think of this as what you can do to spread some happiness to a bunch of people and it won't cost you a single cent. Not a bad thought during this expensive holiday season.

Have Fun With Flickr

If you use "Flickr" add a note to a photo with this tag ho ho ho hat or ho ho ho beard and you can add a Santa hat or beard to your photo. via "Whole Lotta Nothing"

Puff The Magic Dragon

It seems as if poor lil' old Nicole has gone a got herself in a mess of trouble "LINK" and of course this isn't the first time:
In 2003, Richie was arrested for heroin possession and spent time in rehabilitation. I'm not much of a medical type dude but it appears to me that rehab DID NOT WORK.
She admitted to officers that she had smoked marijuana and taken the painkiller Vicodin, said CHP Sgt. Mark Garrett. Again it appears that rehab DID NOT WORK.
Earlier this year, production of "The Simple Life" was postponed because Richie had entered a treatment facility to deal with her inability to gain weight. OK so now we're trying to gain weight and I understand that smoking dope can lead to the munchies but somehow this unconventional style of treatment is not going to be widely accepted by the medical community.
Besides how tough is it to gain weight? And don't give me the excuse "I had a hard life", your the daughter of Mr "All Night Long" Lionel Richie. How hard was it growing up? Your main focus thought should be "Damn, I've got a really good thing going here with my Dad and all, I don't want to screw anything up", guess what????
And what the hell is it with these celebrity types that get all jacked up on booze or pills hop into their SUV and set out on the highway driving in the wrong direction?
And another thing this chick must have been stoned out of her ever loving skull to stop in the carpool lane.

Worth The Read

Road warriors tend to have an interest in what other road warriors have to say, where other road warriors stay and where other road warriors eat. Deep down I think we want to know who has the best and loosest expense account.
Check out "This Blog Title For Sale". Rich is a fellow road warrior and takes a hell of a better picture than I do so give him a read and a view.

Still Fresh In Our Minds From Last Year

Last Tuesday my traffic increased 10 fold (from 2 hits to 20 hits) and every hit was from Google searching the word "Pornament". I am thinking what brought all this traffic on when "CB" calls me saying that "Drudge" or "Slashdot" had an article about someone selling pornaments, mystery solved. But here is what's bugging me "CB" coined this phrase, on his own, last Christmas and for a good 6 or 7 months Frick's World was #1 on Google when you searched pornament. Now poor "CB" is soured on this whole internet thing as well as he hasn't even decorated his office for Christmas yet.

So here is the original post from last year and maybe this will help our pornament ranking.

I'm hanging around this morning when "CB" comes bounding in with his contribution to the annual Christmas (that's right it's Christmas not holiday) spirit. It's was a sad sack of a tree, decorated with a lone ornament. "Hey "CB" what gives with the single ornament?" I utter. CB bounces back "Ornament? " "What ornament?" "That's not an ornament, that my bald friend is a PORNAMENT."
We are under the belief that someone at the ornament design company made a prototype as a joke and somehow it made it to the production line, overseas and down the street to the local holiday discount store, but that's just our belief.......

por·na·ment (po´rn-mnt) n.
1. Something that decorates or adorns; an embellishment visable to the naked eye
2. Any adornament that makes me laugh
3. Something made in Taiwan of a sexual nature that Americans unwillingly purchase

Still MoreProof That Drugs Can Kill

Woman shoots self after mistaking pistol for cigarette lighter

The Associated Press
Dec 8, 2006 5:02 PM (1 day ago)
Current rank: Not ranked
LAVONIA, Ga. - A woman staying at a northeast Georgia motel this week shot herself while trying to light a cigarette with a pistol she mistook for a cigarette lighter, police said. Police said Olivia Hutcherson, 21, of Anderson, S.C., had been arrested for fighting at a Waffle House shortly before she shot herself in the hand with a .22-caliber pistol she had tried to use to light a cigarette. Lavonia Police Chief Randy Shirley said Hutcherson was staying with two other people at a Best Western motel at about 6 a.m. on Sunday. When she reached onto a nightstand for what she thought was a lighter, she instead grabbed a pistol owned by Bobby Brown, 56, of Royston, Shirley said. About 90 minutes earlier, Hutcherson had slapped a man in the face three times after she said he touched her inappropriately, according to police reports. Five witnesses told police they never saw the man touch her. "She stated that someone had grabbed her from behind and she turned and struck the first person she saw," an officer wrote in the report.
"LINK"
Here we go go again kiddies. Drugs are just bad for you.
Lets examine this story more in depth because at first read there are key points that should just leap off the screen at you.
arrested for fighting at a Waffle House -this should be the first clue that it's going to be a long night.
to light a cigarette - I'm not 100% convinced that she was trying to light a cigarette. Maybe she was lighting some that rhymes with crack pipe, maybe.
Best Western - When have you ever read a feel good news story that mentions Best Western.
pistol owned by Bobby Brown - Hasn't this girl ever seen "Being Bobby Brown"? After what Whitney did to Bobby's career you just know this guy on the edge and probably packing some heat.
slapped a man in the face three times - Now here is a girl that simply put knows how to communicate.

I Get By With A Little Help From The Net

Ever had to put together a PowerPoint (lol) and just flat run head on into writers block?
Then try "Sloganizer", give it a phrase and let genterate your slogan. Build a whole ad campaign based on you new slogan. Ain't the internet grand.............
Refresh the page (F5) to see a new slogan.

View From Here

Monday
Orlando FL
Wyndham #1400
Tuesday
Birmingham AL
Hampton Inn #412
Wednesday
Lumberton NC
Holiday Inn #123
Thursday
Clinton NC
Comfort Inn #105
Where someone decided to beat up the vending machine at 12:30 AM
I hope he finally got his "*#@!~^$" peanuts.

What I Did Over My Weekend Break

Every so often, like most American families, we clean out the refrigerator. Believe me it's a royal pain in the ass. We start by pulling out the stuff that's at the front of the shelves. These delicious culinary delights are at most a couple of weeks old and not all that scary, but as we migrate our way towards the back our gag reflexes start to kick in.
Take for example this petri dish reject from the freezer, you see the date, can you see the freaking date "6/22/2005" and guess what Ground Turkey was only $1.99 per pound. This tells me it that it's been at least again at least 18 months since we last cleaned out this beast.As we're busy throwing out a $100.00 worth of old food I notice that we have 15 bottles of salad dressing. Now "H" refuses to eat anything that's both green and leafy so he doesn't need any salad dressing. I only use "Lite Done Right Italian" so that leaves 14 bottles between "Goose" and "The Wife".
Like I said Every so often, like most American families, we clean out the refrigerator I guess in our case it's not often enough.

Can You Say Lawsuit/ I Knew You Could.....

So there I was with a set of jumper cables and a can of Crisco...
Get this I check in my hotel room last night bump on the bathroom light and what do my eyes behold but the above little electrical ergonomics mix.
Now I haven't used a hair dry in lets say a few years but damn this hotel must have some mighty fine liability insurance to risk installing this 110 volt wall mounted death trap.
If I did have hair I think I'd risk a bad hair day versus and bad electrical shock day.

Damn Girl

By now everyone has heard about "Britney Spears" and her apparent lack of panties as she heads out for a night on the town. A night on the town with the new Hollywood brain trust (Spears, Lohan & Hilton) I might add.
According to Google it seems that lack of panties, a short dress and low slung sports cars can thrust a girl into the same situation that Britney is now in (there are websites dedicated to just this situation, imagine that)
It looks like K-Fed got all the underwear during the divorce and in addition to that who would have ever thought that K-Fed would be the responsible parent................

Another Life Tip

Looking to save some money during the holidays? Try This....
Don't spend $1 to dry-clean a shirt. Donate it to the Salvation Army instead. They'll clean it, put it on a hanger. Next morning buy it back for 50 cents.

More Proof That Crack Can Kill You

Deputies: Man on crack when alligator attacked
Deputies rescue Polk man from jaws of alligator.

Amy L. Edwards | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted November 29, 2006, 6:58 PM EST

LAKELAND -- A man who was attacked by an alligator this morning was naked and smoking crack at the time, Polk County deputies who rescued him said today. The alligator had the man in his jaws when deputies arrived at Lake Parker in Lakeland about 4 a.m. today. They were called by nearby residents who reported hearing a man yelling for help. The first deputy on the scene was unable to free the man, Adrian J. Apgar, from the alligator's mouth. It wasn't until 3 or 4 of them were in chest-deep water that they were able to pull him free after the tug-of-war. Apgar, 45, of Polk City, suffered a broken arm, partially amputated left arm and trauma to his left leg. Doctors are trying to reattach the arm at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, where was listed in critical condition. "We don't know whether he'll make it or not," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. According to a news release from the Polk Sheriff's Office, "The very dark conditions and risk of injuring the victim made shooting the alligator impossible, leaving deputies to contend with their own safety after becoming exhausted in waist deep mud. All deputies made it out of the water without injury." Read More "LINK"

Maybe another "Life Rule" - Nudity, crack & alligators they just don't mix........

Life Tip

Baby Names
Once you have decided on a name for your little bundle of joy get in the car and drive to the local tourist trap. Once inside look at all the coffee mugs, key chains & mini license plates. If you don't see the name you've decided on don't use it, it's only an invitation to therapy for your little bundle of joy. This tip is for you Matt Lauer "LINK"

A Couple Of Days Off

Last week we loaded up the "Land Yacht" and headed to KY for a few days of rest and a few days of hardcore eating. The table had more candles than my Dad's last birthday cake. We somehow managed to squeeze 10 of us around the table.

This was the bird, so fresh that it was on the farm yesterday morning.

We made our way to Cincinnati the day after Thanksgiving for the sole reason of obtaining the liquid gold in the above picture. No not really "I'm just living the dream". We feasted at "Rock Bottom Brewery" and left with a little sample of "Tall Stacks Ale". The walk back to the car actually required protection as the local homeless attempted to steal my liquid gold.

We stopped by the Duke Energy building for the 61st annual "holiday train display"

And in case you didn't know "Cincinnati's the chili capital of the world"

View From Here

Montgomery AL
Springhill Suites #311
Taken from the parking lot

View From Here

Simpsonville SC
Hampton Inn #421

Marketing 101 or Sales 101

Unless you've been (once again) under a rock you couldn't have missed the "PS3's" hype and then final release. Where did the hype come from? Was it the marketing department that created it? Was it the sales department that demanded the product to fill a void in the video game wasteland? Was it both departments working in concert? Who knows, but Sony has managed to release a hit.
What a feeling it must be for a manufacture to have a product (and not an essential to life product) that has people are lining up 4 days in advance of its release so they have a shot at buying one. What a feeling it must be for a manufacture to have a product that the demand is so great that the secondary market is generating 7 to 8 times MSRP, just check "eBay". What a feeling it must be for a manufacture to have a product that is the lead story on most news casts, free publicity, it doesn't get any better than that.
So how did Sony pull this off? Did they listen to what their customers wanted and then added in some features and benefits that were "outside of the box" (God I hate that phrase)? Maybe.
Did they let to much time pass since they released PS2? Doubtful. Did Sony create enough hype/demand for PS3 before it was release? You tell me.
Maybe video games are nothing more that crack or crystal-meth for 13 year olds and all you have to do as a manufacture is release a new product every 24 months. Maybe content is really not all that important. Will "H" manage a PS3 for Christmas, doubtful, and he knows that, because we're trying to get the monkey off of that biys back.

View From Here

Greenville, SC
Hampton Inn #212

View From Here

Garner, NC
Hampton Inn #238

Where my safety is their greatest concern, note the locks.

Should You Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth?

One of the things that I have learned to accept with business travel is "If you can catch a break and make it home early, especially on a Friday take it". Even if your new flight lands just an hour before your original flight take it, you have to it's the law of the land. Even if means negotiating on the phone with the Delta rep when your speeding towards the airport in your sweet rental while simultaneously trying to program the GPS you have to take the earlier flight. Even if means your in such a hurry that you leave your cell phone charger in the rental you have to take the earlier flight.
Now taking the earlier flight also means that you will no longer have your preferred window seat, more than likely you'll be squeezed into the dreaded "Middle" seat. Usually you can kiss any shot at an upgrade bye-bye as well. But remember you're getting home earlier.
Well last Friday I was not prepared for my earlier flight out of Myrtle Beach. Now I have learned that anytime you have to walk across the tarmac to your plane it means your flying on some sort of a commuter type contraption. Well when I saw my flight it was indeed a commuter, a commuter with a big propeller hanging off the front of each freaking wing, dear God.
Talk about a noisy ass flight "The Wifes" Taurus was quieter than this albatross, but hey I did make it home early and on a Friday.

Hotel Designers Please Take Note.

It seems that I spend the better part of my evenings in hotels. I am amazed at what gets by for hotel room design. It seems that in most rooms the desk is facing the opposite direction of the TV. This forces me to jump into my HG TV mode and re-design the room so that I can see the TV while I'm working, I have priorities. Most rooms don't have enough electrical outlets, most trips I'm rolling with a laptop, cell phone, PDA, camera & MP3 player and all I can find is one or two open outlets. One of the worst designs is the bathroom towel rack, most times it sits directly above the toilet and most trips I manage to dunk a towel or two right into the bowl. You would think that the house keeping crew would raise a voice or two and mention to management "Hey we're tired of dragging 10lb towels out of these damn toilets, why doesn't someone move the towel rack to another wall?"


Another room another wet towel, of course I guess I could manage to be a little more careful. But then I wouldn't have anything to moan about.

Soccer Season Is Over

View From Here

Wilmington NC
Hampton Inn #325
Got to my room late at night heard banging noises the next morning, opened my curtains to find this.

Black Warrior River

An early fall morning on the fog drenched "Black Warrior River"

View From Here

Tuscaloosa AL
Hampton Inn #318

Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors?

Looks like we are going to get an additional 700 mile worth of Mexican border fencing. I guess the guy that has to decide which 700 miles gets fencing sure has some pressure on him to pick the right 700 miles. "LINK"
Now I'm not a very smart, hell I've never even been to college, but I have an idea that just might work. It seems that this new fence addition is going to cost "BILLIONS". Well we've been known to pay students to stay in school, now stay with me on this, what would be wrong with paying these border hoppers not to hop the border? Simple, so many of these immigrants are sending money back to Mexico anyway lets just cut out the middle man. We would save millions maybe billions of government funds that we are now funneling into these immigrants pockets and purses.
Oh course the only real loser in all this is the fence manufacturers and installers, they'd be pissed, so lets kick them a few bucks while we're at it.

Panda Cam

Here's a quick (and cute) way to waste an hour "LINK"

Eat A Pizza, Please

It seems that Nicole Richie has gone and checked herself into a treatment facility "LINK" .
This girl does not need a team of doctors, what she needs is the phone number for the nearest "Papa Johns".
Richie is the only person that I have ever seen that actually weighed more when she was addicted to cocaine than when she was off the stuff.

View From Here

Hampton Inn #328
Brimingham AL

My PSA (Public Service Announcement)

"Goose" now has her license, you have been duly warned/advised. Now you shouldn't be that nervous I'm nervous enough for everyone. "Goose" has been to "Taggart's" (not the D.U.I. part, just the Drivers ED part) and passed. They even made her drive to the Atlanta airport and on I-285.
It's not so much her that makes me nervous, it's the other idiots on the road that make me nervous (all parents say that, I think it is a parental requirement).
After spending the morning at the DMV I now have a better understanding of what's wrong with this country. We should now make it a requirement that before you can vote you must drop by the DMV for a few hours just to observe, because this, in my opinion is where most of the idiots hang out and maybe seeing these peoples behavior might influence you on what issues you need to really pay attention to when casting your vote, then agin maybe it won't. I also have a feeling that most of these idiots also vote. There are people there that can't follow directions: "Please wait here for your number to be called", "Please remain in this area while the driving test is being performed" and once again I add most of these idiots vote.

"Goose" was a bit concerned with the whole "Will I pass my driving test?" and I being the best parent that I could assured her "Yes, you'll pass" while in the back of my mind just hoping that she would. Well after waiting for our number to be called and listening to all of the different dialects being spoken because these people knew little or no English ( I'm on the side of that they knew no English, but damn they knew they needed a drivers license), I was convinced that she would pass. The DMV is the cultural melting pot of our country.

As "Goose" was taking her driving test and while "The Wife" and I stayed in the designated area I spied this genius leaving the DMV with what I'm sure was his nice new shinny license in hand. He decides to pull out onto "Beaver Ruin Road" on the left side of a double yellow line and a cement divider. I could only imagine that "Genius Boy" is thinking "Everyone is honking at me because they are so excited that I just got my license" no they're honking at you cause your an idiot and you probably vote..................

The above picture was not "Photoshopped" just ask "The Wife" she saw this as well.