Friday, September 29, 2006

Da Count #5


It's that time of year again! The time of year when regular bloggers, such as yourselves, post pics of your boobies (does this sound like HNT??) over at the Blogger Boobie-Thon site, all in support of breast cancer awarness. For those unfamiliar with it, the BoobieThon site will be posting boobie pics for the entire first week of October. There's basically two categories--covered and uncovered. The covered boobies (hands, bras, feathers, etc.) will be available for public viewing by anyone. The uncovered boobies will be on a password protected page. To get the password, you need to make a donation of $50 or more to the Children's Hospital Boston or The Susan B. Komen Foundation.

Boobie pics are submitted by both women and men, and remain anonymous. Any identifying text is cropped out. There are lists of participants, as well as lists of donors. The previous 4 Boobie-Thons have raised over $26,000 for cancer research and associated charities.

I remember last year's Boobie-Thon quite well. HNT was just hitting its stride, though only a small number of boobies had been seen. There were probably over a dozen HNTers that contributed pictures last year, and for many of them, it was their first attempt at publicly baring their breasts. I would hope that there's many more HNTers this year that contribute pictures. I already know of two women who have donated above and beyond the call of duty!

Click the banner above to get to the site. You might get a password request, but it's not needed for the information pages. Please consider either a submission or a contribution, or both! It's a hideous disease, but a great way to donate! It's what you have that counts--in this case, a mere $50. Or a set of boobies. Or both (all three?)! Above anything else, your contribution is an important part of "Da Count".

If you want to read more about "Da Count", click on the button below...

dacount

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Porcelain HNT

DAMN BLOGGER!

Be aware--there may be is potty discussion ahead!

I was looking for inspiration for this weeks HNT, and was getting short on ideas. And then it hit me. Specifically, lunch hit me. And this isn't a good thing. I do research/computer stuff for a popular sandwich restaurant in town. I had one of our sandwiches. I got sick. Nothing terribly bad, but let's just say it was an explosive afternoon once I got home. And then I was fine.

So as I was on my porcelain throne (after all, I am the King of HNT), in the midst of chatting and emailing and posting (yes, if I was with you yesterday afternoon, this is where I was...), it hit me--THIS needed to be my HNT! Sorry, this is only a re-enactment of the afternoon done last night. I don't think I had enough safe time to set this shot up at the moment. Hit me with your best shots!





No, this week's Mystery Guest isn't trying to pose like me! Simply a coincidence!

This MG is going to be fairly well known to many of you, but deal with it! Her readers ride the short bus, so we're told! She is a lone star, a musician, an artist, a photographer. And she's obviously a cowgirl!

For those of you who still don't have a clue, I'll reveal her Thursday afternoon. In the meantime, if you know her, go say hi!
No real surprise here. Our mystery cowgirl is the fun and beautiful Spitfire! Be sure to check her out!



I'm not sure if I sent out a memo and forgot about it, or if you guys discussed it amongst yourselves, but the posts over at "...the Other HNT" took an "active" turn this week! Definitely NSFW!! Be ready for open, unedited depictions of sexual acts. Not all of them, of course, but enough! If it's not your cup o' tea, don't head over there!
Bekah asked to have you go over to her site and take a little survey in her sidebar. Seems she and the boy have a dispute that they're looking to settle...
Don't forget to check out the new OsShirt site. Look for new adventures over the next few weeks. Find out how my shirt has a more exciting, fun life than I do!
As usual, please turn off your word verification for the day!

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Fudgems

Remember my post below a few days ago about the newest Domino's commercials and South Park? I'm here to let you know that there's more than just one similarity to Mr. Hanky...

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Odds and Ends

Unless someone steps up to the plate, this week's Mystery Guest will be the last. I'm out of submissions. Hate to see it come to an end, but it's sort of up to you guys!
While you're here, I should give my regular pitch for pics for the anonymous site!
The 5th Annual Boobie-thon is coming up quickly. I'll be posting more about it later!
Some of you have missed it, but the OsShirt has its own site. Follow the exploits of the luckiest shirt in blogdom...
Gas is down to $2.51/gallon up here. I know that many of you are paying less, and we've still got a long way to go, but it still feels good. Isn't that sad?
Something shocking for you--I opened a symhony meeting on Friday by telling them that I was fully prepared to resign at that moment. The absurd amount of time that it takes; the even more absurd amount of money that I get paid for it (not in a good way); the expectations, demands and deadlines based on the fickleness of classical "musicians"; the frustration of not doing my job as well as it should be done because of the flakiness of others--all this had me convinced that I would leave the meeting no longer working for them. Well, I was talked out of it, some concerns were aired, and possible solutions to help out were discussed. I hate it when it gets to this point before people acknowledge that there's problems.
Michelle and I have taken some time off away from each other, but we'll be back at it soon!

Monday, September 25, 2006

Musical Monday #3





It's that time of year around here when the trees in the hills are turning. Alot of people seem to think of Fall as the 'dying' season'. I think I prefer to think of it as a vibrant time, at least around here. Football is in full gear (and all of "my" teams are winning!), there's a crispness in the air, though we can still wear shorts for another month if we're lucky, and scenery like this is commonplace throughout the area where I live. To me, Fall is probably my favorite season. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right. A very contentful time. And I am, at least right now. Hope it's a good long Fall! The music--"Autumn Leaves" by Earl Klugh.


Image hosting by Photobucket


Friday, September 22, 2006

Da Count #4

Most of the time, it's the little things that count. The little cogs in a wheel that keep the wheel turning. Sometimes it's not even that big. But without the little things, the big things become totally unmanageable.

I have had this little solitaire application on my computers since the mid-90s. The game is called "Montana". Of course, I had to check it out. I had no idea I'd get hooked. I have played it literally thousands of times. Sometimes dozens of times a day. Sometimes only once. I find that it's a great stress reliever. On a deeper level, it works some sort of logic function in my mind--always looking ahead, anticipating the next 10 plays, looking for the best outcome. It's actually taught me to do that--my win ratio is significantly better now than it used to be. When I'm playing this very simple game, the rest of my problems disappear. I don't think of the symphony, of my friends, of myself, of music, of photography, of much of anything. It's a simple, but great escape. And often so desperately needed.

It's the little things that count...

If you want to read more about "Da Count", click on the button below...

dacount

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Angles HNT

CastleWithFireworksAnimated


First things first! There's a celebration over at the Castle of Nannbugg. Thursday is Lee Ann's birthday! We've all been the recipient of a kind word or two from her, and she comments on everyone's site. Now it's time for us to stop by to wish her the best! Happy Birthday to my dear friend! Have a great day!


I got excited to try some things with mirrors, just to see what sorts of pictures would happen. You might remember some of the ones that came from my Caribbean trip when I was in that scrunchy little bathroom in my stateroom. Unfortunately, there's a severe lack of mirrors here. Just a little dinky one. Not a whole lot I could do, but I'm definitely intrigued about the possibilities. While this wasn't the best from my efforts last night, the split personality look to it seems to fit me these days (sorry I haven't shaved...).



This week's Mystery Guest is a long-time HNTer who had to come up with a new blog (don't you just hate that??). She's got a great name now, and is still continuing strong! The candles? All very spiritual, and very Chinese. Which fits her new persona! I'll reveal her tomorrow, but if you know who it might be, stop by her new place and say hi!

BTW--I'm down to only one more MG. If you want to be the MG, send in something this week!

This week's Mystery Guest is Ch'i from Esoteric Curiosa. If you go see her, you might recognize her from a previous life! At least go over and say hi!



"...the Other HNT" has fewer participants than usual, but that doesn't mean that we're lacking in quality! NSFW, of course.
Wouldn't you know it? OsShirt has its own blog. Go there to read up on the early days, and find out how an innocent blue Hawaiian shirt has turned into an icon, wanted by one and all. All of its adventures will get posted eventually. Just click the button!
-osshirt

As usual, please turn off your word verification for the night!

Monday, September 18, 2006

Musical Monday #2

Image hosting by PhotobucketOne of the hardest things about getting involved in a new meme is remembering that you decided to do it! And then coming up with something relatively decent....

This past week was very busy for me, with Friday and Saturday being killers. The concert on Saturday night went quite splendidly. It was well attended, and we played the hell out of the music (Mahler's 1st Symphony and Beethoven's "Emperor Concerto", for those keeping score). But during the last couple of days, I felt like I was drowning in incompetence. It reminded me of a song by the Monkees. Tish had sent me some Monkees mp3s, which got them back into my head. One song that didn't even make it to an album, but could be found on the flip side of "Daydream Believer", was titled "Goin' Down". Basic idea--jumping into the river, calling it quits, but finding that he's floating along, and it's not quite so bad. That's what I'm feeling now. I was drowning, but as this week starts--it's not so bad. In fact, there's better things on the horizon. So I offer to you--the Monkees.

Blog Alert

Ran across a new site over here. It looks strangely familiar, yet so long ago...

Sunday, September 17, 2006

They have Domino's in South Park?

Am I the only one who thinks about South Park when the new Domino's Pizza commercials come on? You know--the ones with the new fudge brownies...?

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Two Sunrises

On the left, shortly after sunrise on Wednesday, when the smoke was thick and the temperature approached 90 degrees that afternoon. On the right, shortly after sunrise this morning, on a day we'll be lucky to break 40.


Yes, boys and girls, that's snow on the roof. It won't last long today, but long enough to be the first snowfall of the month. There's supposed to be much more in the mountains...

Friday, September 15, 2006

Congratulations!! It's a Boy!!

Pass out the cigars! Wipe the little tear from your eye! Quit sucking the helium out of the balloons! Aughra, Fodge and Gus are brand spankin' new parents/brother to Rock (not his real name)! According to my sources, everyone is doing quite well, and everything is there that's supposed to be (though he doesn't look particularly happy about things). Mom's already been up and around a little bit.


Details:
8 pounds, 7 oz.
Champion Nurser!

You may remember my Christmas wishes last December, one of which was that Fodge's little buddies would find their way through the storm and start makin' a baby. This after months and months of attempts and failures. Far be it from me to overemphasize my contribution here (actually, that would be normal, wouldn't it?), but I was really hoping that they'd name him Os, or O.B., or Little Basso. Oh, well...

Congratulations to the whole damned family! We expect zillions of pictures! I do hope that sometime in the future he gets to meet his Uncle Os.

Da Count #3

Obviously, music is what really counts in my life. I often take my musical abilities for granted. It's always come easily to me. I may not be the best player around (I'm not!), but I have the understanding. Below are excerpts from 3 of my 4 favorite classical pieces (4th one is hidden in this shot). I have the ability to look at something like this, and transfer those lines and dots and numbers and words into a relative accurate sound in my head, and lead others to produce that sound in a reasonable fashion:

Bonus points if you can name any 2 of the 3 pieces shown. Click it to big it!

Or I can take similar graphic information, and make my lips, tongue, arms, fingers and vocal cords work in a synchronized fashion so that I can help others do this:


I have the knowledge, the understanding, and the ability to be a musician. And in my life, that's what counts. If you want to read more about "Da Count", click on the button below...

dacount

Thursday, September 14, 2006

WNGD HNT

I know I said I wouldn't mention any early posters, and technically I'm not, but tonight's is the last pregnant post for Aughra. Go check her out on her last days of preggers!
First things first--no more "themes" for awhile (maybe Halloween--working on something for that...).
Saturday was World Nude Gardening Day, a fact that was brought to our attention by the lovely Tara Tainton, who is actually the one who suggested it as a theme for HNT. The plan today, then, was to show us how you celebrated WNGD!

As an apartment dweller for most of my adult life, gardening isn't something that I've really gotten into (other than that small hidden room in the basement that I shared with my college roommates, but I think I'll save that story for later...). I used to have houseplants through my two tours of college, simply because I could clip off a piece of whatever plant I liked and transplant it at home. And those all went well with the cactii that I used to have. At some point, I started neglecting my plants, until they all died. So I quit. I had the dreaded black thumb.

Three events happened a few years ago that have changed all that. First, I received a small palm-like tree thing (like how I know exactly what type of plants I have?) for my 43rd birthday. I was in a bit of a dark place at the time, and this simple gesture helped me out of it. No pictures of it for you right now, but it's growing superbly! The other two events had to do with elderly relatives dying and inheriting their plants (saving them from the trash is more like it). My great aunt (whose husband was a florist) died at the age of 90-something. She had a bunch of philodendrons that I took home. Did you know it's impossible to kill a philodendron? The other death was that of my grandmother at the age of 91. She had a jade tree that was over 100 years old. It was an established fact that when she no longer had room for it, I would get it. Well, she killed it. Almost. Not sure what happened, but we took it to the vet and everything. Only one small branch survived. What you see below is what it's grown to from that small branch over the past 10 years. And me hiding behind it.


And just to tease you a bit--a picture of me as I'm watering it. Insert your own little joke here....


This week's Mystery Guest is a long-time HNTer. Some of you might even recognize this picture (I don't think this is the first time it's seen the light of day). He's an avid book lover and a writer. For those of you who don't know who this is, there's a huge, obvious clue in the picture. Mark my words. He's chosen to reveal himself, so I'll do that late Thursday afternoon. As always--if you know who it is, feel free to go to his place and say hi!
Well, apparently that one wasn't too difficult. It looks like quite a few of you knew who this was without a great deal of problem. For those of you didn't figure it out, it's Mark Leslie. The biggest clue? Check the name of the author on the spine of the book (click it if you need to...)
"...the Other HNT" got a good smattering of photos this week, including many new faces. Well, not faces, but you know what I mean! As usual, most are NSFW. Be sure to check out last week's too. Didn't seem like there was much traffic over there last week...

Hopefully I'll have some pics to post from our gig tonight, assuming I didn't get the camera stolen again! What are the chances the little s.o.b. will return last year's camera???

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Busy week

This is another infamous Week from Hell that I get each month. That time when I'm busy with too many projects, and spending more time working on one than what I should be... I've spent every night since Thursday with Michelle, getting reacquainted on a deeply personal level. Looks like we'll be together every night through the weekend, too! We've got our first symphony concert on Saturday, so there's been lots of rehearsals for that. And In Cahoots/Mob Rules Horns (Helena's best local band!) will be playing for Helena's last Alive @ Five party tonight. For those of you new here, it's an open park, lots of beer, lots of food vendors, a couple thousand people, and music. This is also the same event & same location that, 364 days earlier, I got my camera stolen. I won't be letting THAT happen again! Hopefully I'll get some pics for you of the festivities.

Since I'll be playing, I've got a guest host posting HNT for me tonight, so you guys shouldn't notice any difference. I hope to get to a few of you when I get home, but with all that's going on this week, it might be a couple of days.

While you're sitting here waiting for HNT to get going, be sure to check out the posts below, especially the ones about QoA and Trixie. They're doing good things this week. And then click on the handle of the box below. I found this to be funnier than hell!

Monday, September 11, 2006

Bunch o' Stuff

NOTE: This was posted earlier, but got lost below Musical Monday. Please check out the QoA and Trixie parts
Yesterday (Saturday), was World Naked Gardening Day! This Thursday, Sept. 14th, I want to see how each of you celebrated WNGD! Go play in the dirt and show us your garden!
A couple of good things to tell you about. First off, go check out Queen of Ass. As many of us know, she's been dealing with a combination of hurdles over the years, the toughest of which is her struggles with Lupus. But it's so much more than that. She's a mother, a student, a new homeowner. And one of the strongest women I've run across in the bloggerworld. Anyway, she's come up with a money-raiser for the Lupus Foundation of America. Go check out her site where she explains things for you!

The other case of goodness comes from Trixie at Bated Breath. She's helping out a fellow blogger who's down in the dumps. The best part is that half-nekkidness is involved (including hers!) for our benefit for a full week! She's had good response so far, but she still needs another couple of women to step up to the plate for this week. Go to this post of hers to get the details!
Update on Dad--this is an excerpt of an email that I got from my mother (yes, I only live 2 blocks away...)
    Dad saw Dr. 'Smith' yesterday and instead of getting out of the brace, he's in a different one for at least another two weeks. He said it was the most unstable shoulder joint he'd ever seen....
Apparently it's going to be a long, long autumn.
Update on the OsPlates--good news here. I went to the county treasurer to get my new 'work-only' plates, now that my car is being punished for not having proof of insurance (bad car!). Since my plates are personalized, the state doesn't want to make them again. As a result, I get to keep the plates! But my car registration specifically says "For Employment Use Only" across the top. So if I get pulled over in the next 3 months, I'd better be going to/coming from work. Fortunately for me, I can claim that just about any time of day/night! But I won't abuse that. Too much!

My Musical Monday Debut

I've been seeing an awful lot of posts about 9/11 over the weekend. Especially that project where bloggers signed up to celebrate the life of a specific individual killed during that day's events (a WAY cool idea). We all know where we were. Personally, I had just woken up and had won a radio call-in contest (sorry--don't remember what I won...). As the radio is on, I hear a report about something hitting the WTC. I then spent the rest of the day glued to the TV set, bouncing back and forth among all the different channels.

I found myself somewhat unaffected by the events. In Montana, things are a whole world away (I still maintain that if terrorists wanted to cause maximum fear and panic in the US, they would have hit multiple targets in small-town America, where "nothing ever happens"). I'm embarrassed to admit that my initial reaction to the first tower collapsing was one of awe, rather than horror. The horror came immediately after, but it wasn't the first reaction. I didn't shed a tear all day. Not until I saw an image of a German, I believe, sporting a bright green mohawk, at night in the candlelight of one of the numerous worldwide vigils. The horror, sadness, and disbelief in that image is one I'll carry forever. I have seen the look of horror only once in my life--a former student whose baby died within hours of birth with no explanation. It's a look I don't particularly like. And this green-haired, mohawk-wearing punk had it. And that's when the tears set in. And I find that they come anytime I watch footage from that day. Then again, the same thing happens when Spock dies in Star Trek II.

Image hosting by PhotobucketSo how does this tie in with Musical Monday? Well, it just seems like the time to jump in. And my selection for my inaugural MM? The glorious voice of the late Eva Cassidy, singing "An American Tune", written by Paul Simon.


Not much more to say. Except that I won't be playing along with TMI Tuesdays. A guy's got to maintain some dignity...

Friday, September 08, 2006

Moondance

This Saturday, Sept. 9th, is World Naked Gardening Day! Next Thursday, Sept. 14th, I want to see how each of you celebrated WNGD! Go play in the dirt and show us your garden!
Leesa mooned us today, so I figured I should do the same thing. This is from last night as well. I didn't have to fight through all the smoke like she did...


Well, its a marvelous night for a moondance
With the stars up above in your eyes
A fantabulous night to make romance
neath the cover of october skies
And all the leaves on the trees are falling
To the sound of the breezes that blow
And Im trying to please to the calling
Of your heart-strings that play soft and low
And all the nights magic seems to whisper and hush
And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush

Can I just have one a more moondance with you, my love
Can I just make some more romance with a-you, my love

Well, I wanna make love to you tonight
I can't wait til the morning has come
And I know that the time is just right
And straight into my arms you will run
And when you come my heart will be waiting
To make sure that youre never alone
There and then all my dreams will come true, dear
There and then I will make you my own
And every time I touch you, you just tremble inside
And I know how much you want me that you cant hide

One more moondance with you in the moonlight
On a magic night
La, la, la, la in the moonlight
On a magic night
Can't I just have one more dance with you my love

Moondance - Van Morrison

Da Count #2

This Saturday, Sept. 9th, is World Naked Gardening Day! Next Thursday, Sept. 14th, I want to see how each of you celebrated WNGD! Go play in the dirt and show us your garden!

dacount

I wanted to keep "Da Count" separate from the mess from yesterday. You can read all about that in the post below. In spite of the absurdity of it all, I still have this valuable little piece of plastic. And that's what counts!


Click on the button above to see what "Da Count's" all about!

Thursday, September 07, 2006

I didn't have a chance...(and things happen for a reason)

This Saturday, Sept. 9th, is World Naked Gardening Day! There's even a website! This just screams for a HNT theme, so let's do it! Next Thursday, Sept. 14th, I want to see how each of you celebrated WNGD! For those of you with real gardens (and you know who you are...) show us what you've got! For those with just a few houseplants, show us how you love them! And if you have to go buy a dozen roses for your S.O. because of a lack of a green thumb, then show us the roses (but watch out for the pricks!). Go play in the dirt and show us your garden!

Very briefly--I'm not in jail, fleeced of $500, and have a 90-day suspension of my car plates, not my driver's license. But all is not bad. I have a rehearsal and a beer to take care of tonight. I'll fill you in later!

CONTINUING THE SAGA (if you missed the first part of the story, go here to catch up)... I go into court. It's me, the city attorney, the two different cops who ticketed me, and the judge. The cops individually take the stand and state that they pulled me over, ticketed me, etc., etc. I actually have no questions for the second cop, but the first one stated that we discussed the fact that I could not drive without the necessary documents. I questioned him about that, seeing as how I was my own attorney (what? I'm going to pay thousands of dollars for this?). He stated again that we discussed it. Well, from that point on I knew I was screwed. His word against mine. I'm the criminal, he's the cop. There's no other witnesses for the prosecution, and I have no witnesses, other than myself, so I take the stand.

I proceeded to tell my tale. I waxed poetic. I was strong. My voice didn't waver. The city attorney seemed bored by the whole thing. The judge wanted to be elsewhere. I finish. Then there's the final arguments. The attorney says, "He was found to be driving without proper documentation. I don't even know why we're here." Period. That was his closing statement. I got to give mine, and I mustered and channeled all the Jack McCoy that I could. Apparently, it wasn't enough. The judge found me guilty. He asked the city attorney for a sentence recommendation. He said the standard would be fine (reminding him of the forfeiture of my license plates). So he fined me $95 for the second offense of driving without a valid license, and $405 for the second offense of driving without proof of insurance. State law also requires that for the second offense of driving without proof of insurance, my license plates for that vehicle are to be suspended for 90 days from the day of conviction (yesterday).

Many of you caught on to the absurdity of that. It's perfectly legal for me to drive any other properly registered/insured vehicle, if I've got my DL with me. I just can't drive MY car. Nor can anyone else. Does this make sense? Am I aptly punished? There's a new provision in MT law, that says if you show the state that you currently have insurance, you can purchase new plates (only the plate fee, not the taxes), and your registration will say "for employment use only" or something like that. Which means I can drive my own car, with its new plates, to and from work. Now comes the gray areas. I work for the symphony, and am expected to be at their rehearsals. That sounds like employment. I also work in a band that rehearses once a week. That sounds like employment. Can I stop at the grocery store on the way home from work?

The only things I can't do is go out for a beer, or go to a football game, or take a trip if I'm driving. No, that's not right. NOT IF I'M DRIVING MY CAR. For those sorts of things, I can take my Dad's Bronco. Or I can roll the dice and try to drive around for three months and keep my driving record clean, and hope that I don't get pulled over. My karma's not that good. Did I mention that Dad's not going to be able to do any driving for awhile? Things happen for a reason!

Miscellaneous HNT

NOTE: There's been an OsShirt sighting!
FOR THE LADIES: I got a request from Trixie over at Bated Breath to help her help a friend. Has the potential to be a great HNT week coming up!
FOR EVERYONE: I got a request from Px about a little project he's got going. Everyone should go see what he's got going!
FOR EVERYONE #2:This Saturday, Sept. 9th, is World Naked Gardening Day! There's even a website! This just screams for a HNT theme, so let's do it! Next Thursday, Sept. 14th, I want to see how each of you celebrated WNGD! For those of you with real gardens (and you know who you are...) show us what you've got! For those with just a few houseplants, show us how you love them! And if you have to go buy a dozen roses for your S.O. because of a lack of a green thumb, then show us the roses (but watch out for the pricks!). Go play in the dirt and show us your garden!
FOR ME: This has been a bit of a stressful week for me. Follow along:
    --On Friday, Dad ended up in the hospital. The shortest story--he had his right arm ripped right out of its socket. They wanted to perform surgery on him right away, but his heart surgeon nixed that. So his arm has been strapped to his body and immobilized for the next 10 days. "They" say it's the worst pain known to man (notice the gender...). Then after that, he's got 6-8 weeks of rehab. It's going to be a long, long autumn.
    --I spent most of the long weekend on the phone, talking to answering machines, sending emails, not getting the results I need. I'm trying to finalize our personnel for our first symphony concert. I've got the symphony administration on my ass at the same time. My only solace is knowing that once I get this done, the rest of the season will be a breeze.
    --Many of my bloggerfriends are in a funk, or are going through some life-changing events...
    --The smokey air around here has finally gotten to me. I've got the itchy eyes, stuffy nose, minor headaches. Not as bad as some of those around me, but certainly it all builds up. The smoke is mainly from the fires in Idaho and Washington, but I just heard on the news that the big fire in MT (180,000 acres), which is 250 miles SE of us, is responsible for alot of it too. Yuck.
    --The big black cloud hanging over me is my trial, which will be Thursday at 3:30 MDT. There won't be any jail time, and I've resigned myself to having to pay an exorbitant fine, but I cannot afford to get my driver's license suspended! I'll even pay extra if I can avoid that! I'll let you know how it turns out.
    --Last, but not least, Blogger ate this entire fucking post about an hour ago. This will get finished right around 9:30. And I haven't eaten dinner yet...
As you can see, it's been a bit stressful. I haven't had time to take a picture. Hey, after 17 months of this, it happens! So I dug up a picture from this spring that never got posted. It's where I'd like to be right now. Somewhere in the middle of the Caribbean, watching the sun go down. For the purists out there, I was half-nekkid by the pool when I took this (try to get THAT image out of your head!).


This week's mystery guest is one of the scores of submissive female Sex
Bloggers, with one difference: this girl isn't even 21 years old (just
give her a couple of weeks...). Her blog has been quiet for a while due
to a much more important project she's undertaking - the revamping of a popular Sex Blogger directory.

If you think you know who she is, pop across the waters and leave a
comment on her blog. I'll reveal her identity late Thursday afternoon.

Today's Mystery Guest is Mel, one half of "S&M Blog, Sex with Sean and Mel..." (the better half, if you ask me). They are revamping the popular "Blogstormz". Be sure to stop by and check both or them out!
"...the Other HNT" welcomes some relative newcomers to both HNT and the anonymous site. It's on the tamer side, but still NSFW. Be sure to check it out!

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Come To Work With Me!

As originally laid out, I suggested a dozen pics of you on your way to work, or your daily routine if you're a SAHM or retired or whatever, but without showing us your actual work environment. Well, I couldn't keep it to a dozen. Deal with it. I took over 100 pics, and whittled it down as far as I could. Sorry if I bore you. If you want to leave "I'm up!" here like you do for HNT, that's fine with me! And, awaaaayyyyy we go ("click it to big it..."--Leesa)!

I took a bunch of pictures during one of our smokey days, and hadn't realized how dirty and ugly that made everything. Then Friday, the sky was remarkably clear, so I took them all over again. Much better to show off with!


This is coming down the hill (lots of hills) from my apartment. The construction is the new addition to the hospital, but I wanted you to see the mountains in the distance. Helena is primarily built on a hillside, with a wide valley below, and mountains circling the whole works.


These are two different perspectives from the top of another hill on the way (Lamborn St.). On the left, note I-15 coming down from the North Hills. And on the right, a good shot of what is known as the "Sleeping Giant".


Turn west on 6th Ave., and you pass this building. Helena is the state capital!


Top of hill (6th Ave.), going down into downtown Helena. Mount Helena is in the background--one of the largest city parks (if not THE biggest) in the country.


This is the Helena Civic Center. It was built in the early 1900s by the Shriners. It used to house city offices, but is now primarily a music venue. It's got a 2000+ seat auditorium, and an adjoining ballroom. But Helenans are most proud of the large phallic symbol that can be seen from almost anywhere in town!


Just past the Civic Center, going north on Benton Ave. The picture on the left is the approximate position where I passed the cop who claimed I was speeding, and started my current legal situation. On the right is the SW corner of the campus of Carroll College.

Heading home now, but on a different route.


Looking south on Benton Ave., you can see the phallic symbol standing tall!


Looking across downtown Helena from Benton Ave., you can see the Cathedral of St. Helena at the top of the next hill. Built in the early 1900s, it is one of the most impressive buildings in town. I used to be an altar boy there!


This old firetower looked over the young town of Helena in the 1880s, I believe. It's been somewhat restored, though most of the timbers are still original. It's not accessible to the public.


This is the courthouse where I have my trial on Thursday.


On the left, I'm driving up Montana Ave., which runs from the South Hills (which you see), all the way through the valley, out to the North Hills, a distance of about 15 miles. On the right, I'm back on the street that goes behind the hospital (see above).


Coming home on an alternate route, this is the back end of my apartment building. Over there. On the left.


For my final shots--coming down on the alternate route home. The left picture shows the smoke from earlier in the week. The right picture is near the same place, but on the sunny Friday afternoon. Note how bad the smoke really is!! All those mountains in the distance in the right picture should be seen in the left one, too!

Many thanks to Lee Ann for coming up with the idea in the first place, and allowing me to run with it. Hope you all get something put up... Remember to let us know (just like HNT!).