Holy crap!

Check out these crazy bastards. It looks like they're wearin' cheap rubber flip flops. See, this is what happens in a culture when you can't get a date (all the women are segregated away) nobody needs to get a job (everyone is rich from oil money and they have foreign workers to do everything) gas is cheap as hell (subsidized, to keep the masses happy and docile), and there's NOTHING to do but screw around in a fancy foreign car... Or maybe go to Iraq and join the Jihad. Somethin' to do.

And this may well be the stupidest mother fucker in history. Runner up anyway.

Wow, how bizarre!

Tell me this doesn't look like something out of Johnny Quest.

These first pictures were taken in the Port of Ilwaco on the coast of Washington State. The crew of this thing wore civilian clothes but guarded the boat closely and would not answer any questions.



The boat had no name or number.



It was suggested by some observers that it may be something Boeing is working on. The pontoons appear to be made of very thick rubber and some said that they might be fuel cells. People noted that each of the steel spider-like legs are jointed in three places, looking like windshield wipers, and that perhaps the boat could be lowered in calm seas and raised when it is rough.





A person who lives there said it arrived out of the fog the night before. The crew would not say who they were or where they were from, and were not allowed to discuss the craft.









Then, on October 6, in San Francisco Bay ...







From a local paper... "Marina Bay's newest tenant. A number of readers alerted us to the arrival of this unique craft on Tuesday, so we did some research - or at least tried to. Precious little is publicly available about this craft, but we were able to dig up a few facts: It was designed by prolific Bay Area yacht designer Jim Antrim from Ugo Conti's original concept; it's 100 feet long and 50 feet wide; it's powered by twin diesel engines; the inflatable hulls were built by Arcata's Wing Inflatable's; the craft was assembled in Anacortes, WA (where it was spotted several times during apparent sea trials); and it's capable of crossing oceans with 'as much, if not more, stability than a normal catamaran,' according to Jim Antrim."

Cool, but you couldn't get me out in the ocean in that damn thing. What the hell would it be used for, other than as some sort of technology test bed? Bizarre.

Wait, holdup!

Check this dude out. Always interesting. New link on the left.

Ok, it's Fatty Friday, and EVERYONE should be a little fatter since we all ate so much yesterday, so I won't point any fingers at anyone...

But tradition is tradition, damn it. So here's somethin' to make you want to spill your guts, so there'll be more room for leftover turkey and dressing. Consider it a favor. I mean, granny's got to get some too, after all that work in the kitchen. Wait a minute, where's grannies cooter? Eeeeeew.

And here's this...

Sex is the tabasco sauce which an adolescent national
palate sprinkles on every course in the menu.
--Mary Day Winn 

OK, I'm sufficiently bloated and tanked up now...

You can cart me away. Mom's feed was excellent. Turkey and ham, cornbread dressing covered with gravy, green peas, cranberry sauce on the side, and fruit salad covered with home made whipped cream. And the Cowboys beat Tampa Bay like step children. A hell of a nice day. Hope your day was just as good. We'll be having leftovers Sunday, if you can figure out where the house is, you're welcome to be there. Ha, I'm such a tease.



And finally, here's something serious, in the spirit of the holidays, in thanks and gratitude to all the folks who have served, in memory of all the folks who've fallen overseas. Go ahead. It's not nasty. I promise.

Oh my God, You've GOT to click on this link.

I swear it isn't gross, I promise. There you go.

Finally, pictures from Terlingua.

Remember the trip back a few weeks ago? Here we go. The
folks we camped with had mowed a stretch of ground and
we set up our tents on it. Click on any of these shots to see the
larger versions. Not sure you need to see the larger version
of me... but here goes.


This is the dean (in the hat) setting up his tent. The other
guy is a cook we work with on the campus who came to
compete. These guys are a lot of fun, I'm tellin' ya.


The set up. That tent is old as hell, but works for him.


Some fat hairy bastard, setting up his palatal yurt-like dwelling.


This is what it looks like when it's set up, from a set of pictures
taken on a river trip on the Buffalo National River a few years ago.
Imagine if you can, a twin sized air mat covered with a down duvet,
flannel sheets, and a down comforter and pillow. I live well, period.


The dean and one of the San Angelo cooks from our camp,
supervising the set up of the CTC teams main tent shelter.


The previous cooks wife, supervising the setup from a buddies
new truck tent. He'd never used this tent before, and it set up
easy as hell and was really nice. Makes me want to buy a truck
just to get one of these.


Tryin' to figure out how to set that tent shelter up. Lots of
"supervision". The t-shirt says "Start Slow, Taper Off."
One of my favorites. A few days later I switched to another
one with a picture of a gun and the line "Thin The Herd". It
went over well.


Figuring out the right way to put it up. Took a while. Several
beers later...


Finally. Being tall comes in handy every once and a while.


The main camp, with four campers forming a U shape, and a
tent shelter over the cook sites. Chairs circling the fire pit. An
awesome time was had by all, I wanna tell ya.


The main BBQ cooker/smoker. This thing was amazing to behold.


The camp, Friday morning, the morning of the first cooking
contests. The day would see huge amounts of Beans, ribs,
brisket, and other sundry snacks consumed with glee.


Some fat hairy bastard, grazing in the wee hours of the morning.
Eggs, bacon, sausage, etc. Mmmmmm.


One of the San Angelo guys, cooking bacon and taters over
one of the gas cookers.


Mmmmmm. Very nice. Nothin' like eating breakfast out in
the open. Nothin' like bacon cooked this way. Sheesh.


Chillin' in the AM. The day would be busy for these two. The guy
on the left is the older brother of the guy with the truck tent. He is
from San Angelo, and has won many cooking trophies. He provides
the credentials that allow us to come and compete.


The camp pooches. Sweeties. I called them Hoover and Eureka,
because all they did was wander the camp looking for things
that had fallen on the ground.


One of the ladies in our group (who took many of these pictures)
who got a ride back to our camp one day from some fun guys with
a customized vehicle.


First contest on the first day... "Silliest Hat of 2006". Gotta love
these people.


That's pretty silly. The lady, second from left, was one of the
cooks in our camp. The covered patio behind them is the main
stage where the cooking contest is held, and where the evenings
entertainment took place. Live bands played each night, Gary P.
Nun the last night. Got to hear him sing "London Homesick
Blues" live. Wonderful night. Great times.


Here's the silly hat lady, in her glory, at her cooking site. This woman
turned out to be a huge pill, once she got a few cases of
booze into her. Her poor husband was constantly on watch
to make sure she didn't make too much of an ass of herself.


The dudes, in typical repose. The guy on the left is the guy
with the truck tent. He runs the hospitality department on
the campus. His brother, the guy in the previous picture, is the
connection that allows us to go to Terlingua and enjoy the fun.
He turned out to be the only cook in the camp to win a prize...
for his BBQ chicken wings. They were to die for, I'm tellin' ya.
I was an official taste tester.

Somethin' to do.


The dean and another guy cutting the brisket...


And sampling the brisket. The guy on the right is Weldon,
another San Angelo cook with a lot of awards in his resume.


Not this time though. A hell of a nice guy. His ribs are amazing,
and won the prize last year.


The throne. Well set up. Well used.


Cooking burgers the first night. That cooker is a great little
number they picked up at Academy. I had three cheese burgers
that night, and fries. What? So, do you think I'm just playin'
around with this fat hairy bastard thing? Please.


The road to camp, at dusk, with Big Bend in the distance.


The river that flows into the Rio Grande, west of Big Bend.


Another shot of the river, from the overlook near some hot
springs.


Purdy. See the mountains in the distance.


The desert terrain near Big Bend.


Some of the folks, ready for the floor show on Saturday, the
day of the big time, 40th anniversary chili cook-off.


The floor show commences. These folks were contestants in the
cook-off, who set up this entertainment to have fun and kill time
during the cooking day. At the other camp, down the road, they
were having wet t-shirt and chili wrestling contests. Hmmm.
See a previous post about that. We may be shifting operations.


Elvis was there...


And the Blues Brothers...


And the... Who the hell? Who knows? Nice 'fro though.


Audience participation. Note the bubble machine. Spare no
expense, right?


Nurses. Gotta love nurses. Some stereotypes do play out,
sometimes.


And finally, the Grand Ol' Opry singers, or not. The lady in the
light blue dress is a former Marine pilot from WW2, 78 years old,
who flew combat planes to the front to replace those lost to
damage or downed in combat.