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.