Some Complain (happily?), Others Whine

First of all, this winter season has been no fun at all. The weather started out bad and has stayed that way since late November. As a traveller, it has been especially tough for me. PJ and I have both posted about this. Hopefully with a bit of humor.

Some people in this state take it all too seriously. Here is a bit of a letter to the editor that appeared in the Des Moines Register February 28, 2008:

Is this Hell? No, it's Iowa

I've never had as little freedom as I have not after moving back to Iowa from the Southwest. Control of my life has been seized by Iowa's ridiculous weather. In the wintertime, the weather decides how much I walk for exercise and how much weight I gain. It determines how often I attend church or if I attend a fundraiser or sports event. In the heat of summer, humidity and insects determine if I can be outdoors in the evening.

Thanks to PJ for the tip on this. Without her and the H, this blog would suck!

Dinner on the Road

Tonight's dinner:

One 10" oyster pizza from Poor Richard's in New Hampton, Ia.

Three* bottles of Leinenkugels's Sunset Wheat.

*four now

**five

***six
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Jackie and Dunblap have an interesting view of Senator McCain

Saving Energy

Baseball

The 1st game of spring training starts in: read more

March 23, 1989

Prince William Sound changed forever on March 23, 1989. The Exxon Valdez, a tanker loaded with crude oil left port and ran aground, spilling 11,000,000 gallons that eventually spread over 600 miles. The devastation was incredible. For more pictures, go here.

In 1994, a court ordered Exxon Mobile to pay 5 million dollars in punitive damages. An appeals court reduced that to $2.5 million, about 3 weeks of profits for Exxon Mobile today.

But, they still haven't paid, while more tham 6,000 of the plaintiffs have died since the court decision.

The Supreme Court will finally here oral arguments in the case this week. Here's more.

Bird Watching in South Dakota

I wish I had a better camera!

A Different Side of the Crab

"Little House on the Prairie" has never been that important to me, but H loved it when she was young and I would guess lots of other young ladies did also, so these pictures are for you. Flenker had Whiskey Marie do a guest post in which she brought up Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Now, I know of six states that have Laura Ingalls Wilder homes: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota and Wisconsin. These pictures were taken near DeMet, South Dakota.

Captain Crab's Joke of the Day

A skeleton walks into a bar:

Bartender: "What can I get you?"

Skeleton: "A beer and a mop."

Well, I Know Now

A clear lesson I learned in the museum was that outside forces that tend to divide people up inside their country are unbelievably counterproductive. In other words, people came from other countries — I guess you’d call them colonialists — and they pitted one group of people against another.

President Bush on why sending US troops to Darfur would be a bad idea.

Apparently he forgot all about Iraq!

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Has Senator McCain a serious mistake? This New York Times article has the story.

The Washington Post has this take.

A Pirate Lesson

Thanks to PJ for alerting me to this. She's a fine Lassie!

Another Travel Tip

When it's cold the door on your motel room should be just a bit tighter than this one. Granted the room rate was very good, but the nearest place to eat is at least 10blocks away and this door is letting the wind blow the sub zero air into my room.

Not an intelligent decision on my part, eh?

There is a solution however: Plastic bags stuffed into the offending cavity with your room card!

McCain Endorsements

Jackie and Dunlap have an interesting view on Sen. McCain's endorsements.

Snow vs. Cold

It is supposed to be -24F in Brookings,SD tonight with a high of -2F tomorrow.

I almost drove my truck one block to the bar tonight.

To Be or Not to Be........

.....an author, that is the question.

Driving and Photography

Driving wasn't much fun yesterday. Photography was exciting!

The Official Captain Crab's High Seas Adventures Cat

G from Super Happy Funtime Blog suggested, and I completely agree, that I should have an "Official Captain Crab's High Seas Adventures Cat". And here he/she is:




For an added "cat" bonus, stop over at the H and check out her cats.

Island Home

Total area of the island is 9 hectares (22 1/2 acres).

There is also abundant marine life

Planted with coconut, cashew, mango, and banana trees.

PJ and I are interested in buying this island. It is located in the South China Sea just off the coast of the Palawan Province in the Phillipines. Temperature varies from the mid 70s to the mid 90s. There is a rainy season, but NO SNOW season!

What we need is serious financial help. We are not looking for investors, just money. If you are willing to donate $250,000 we will gladly let you come for a visit occasionally. We need at least twenty of you to step up to the plate.

Donations of $100,000 will also be accepted, but visiting will not be allowed.

Fight the Evil Doers

The Iraq war has cost an American family $16,000 since the war began. Following is a fantastic ad.

Why Jane had to Apologize

Jane Fonda had to apologize today after she said something on the "Today Show" on NBC.

Happy Everything

To H and PJ, I love you!

the Crab

Happy Birthday H!

H: Something special for you on your birthday tomorrow.

Anniversary Special

For Pj on her wedding anniversary tomorrow:

A Nice Drive

If it's Wednesday, This Must be New Hampton

The title of this post has absolutely nothing to do with the actual content.

A couple news things that I have added are "Comedy and Politics" and "H's Cousin A". Be sure to check them out.

For Friends

Some dead, some alive, some in prison.

Planning a Wedding?

For all of you that will be planning weddings soon, you may want to attend radio station KUNJ's Bridal Fair 2008. Admission is only $2.00, but all of the brides and grooms to be, GET IN FREE! To read more or register on line, just click here.

It Snowed................................Again

No Need to Worry

In 2001, Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki of the University of Sydney, Australia, undertook a systematic survey to determine the ins and outs of navel lint. His primary findings were as follows:

Navel lint consists primarily of stray fibers from one's clothing, mixed with some dead skin cells and strands of body hair.

Contrary to expectations, navel lint appears to migrate upwards from underwear rather than downwards from shirts or tops. The migration process is the result of the frictional drag of body hair on underwear, which drags stray fibers up into the navel.

Women experience less navel lint because of their finer and shorter body hairs. Conversely, older men experience it more because of their coarser and more numerous hairs.

Navel lint's characteristic tint is likely the averaging of the colors of fibers present in the same color as clothes dryer lint

The existence of navel lint is entirely harmless, and requires no corrective action.

Cpatain Crab's Really Bad Joke of the Day

Two ducks go on their honeymoon and stay in a hotel.

As they are about to make love, the male duck says, ''Oh, we haven't got any condoms. I'll ring down to room service.''

He calls and asks for some condoms.

The woman says, ''OK sir, would you like to put them on your bill?''

''No,'' he says, ''I'll suffocate!''

Presidential Candidates and Squirrels

Mike Huckabee isn't my choice for President, but you have to love his sense of humor. Here is a bit of the transcript from his appearance on "Meet the Press" yesterday:


MR. RUSSERT: ..."and we would fry squirrel in the popcorn poppers in the dorm room."

GOV. HUCKABEE: Yeah. Yeah. We really did that. We really did.

MR. RUSSERT: Did you eat them?

GOV. HUCKABEE: Well, of course you--we ate them.

MR. RUSSERT: What does it taste like?

GOV. HUCKABEE: I should say it tastes a lot like chicken, but it doesn't.

MR. RUSSERT: What's it taste like?

GOV. HUCKABEE: It, it tastes like squirrel. It's not the best thing in the world but, you know, when you go squirrel hunting, you got to do something with those things. And part of it was just to say we could do it. I mean, it was a college thing. I mean, but fried squirrel is a Southern delicacy. You got to know that.

MR. RUSSERT: But you're off the squirrel now?

GOV. HUCKABEE: I haven't eaten fried squirrel I think since college. Thank the Lord. I don't...

MR. RUSSERT: This may help you in Virginia.

GOV. HUCKABEE: It may kill me up--in other states, however.

America's Conservative Sweetheart

Such a good Christian, too!

"I'm a Christian first and a mean-spirited, bigoted conservative second, and don't you ever forget it."

She has also said: "... Christianity fuels everything I write. Being a Christian means that I am called upon to do battle against lies, injustice, cruelty, hypocrisy — you know, all the virtues in the church of liberalism."

"God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, 'Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It's yours.'"---Hannity & Colmes, 6/20/01

"Originally, I was the only female with long blonde hair. Now, they all have long blonde hair."---CapitolHillBlue.com 6/6/00

"Let's say I go out every night, I meet a guy and have sex with him. Good for me. I'm not married."---Rivera Live 6/7/00

Sometimes Turtles

Since my time in Southeast Asia and summer school in Florida, where "turtle patrol"* was part of the curriculum, I have fascinated by sea turtles. This morning I came accross an interesting article about a leatherback turtle that set out on a voyage of monumental proportions.

Leatherback Female

Baby Leatherback

* we were in southwest Florida during loggerhead turtle nesting season. Teams of 2 each were given an area to walk and look for nesting females. My partner and I were lucky enough to see a female lay over 100 eggs.

Who's Next Crab?

Willard looks a bit sad doesn't he?

Since my "Just Say No to Willard" crusade single handedly brought the Romney presidential campaign to a screeching halt, there has been keen interest in who the Crab would go after next.


First let's look at the remaining* candidates and what I can make fun of :

Barrack: Now no white guy with any sense is going to make fun of Mr. Obama, even though he has big ears.

Hillary: No married guy is going to make fun of Ms. Clinton if he ever wants to have a happy home.

John: As a veteran, I cannot be making fun of a war hero/POW. Even though Senator McClain has said some nasty things in the past, including this so-called joke about Chelsea Clinton in 1998:

"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno."

Read the entire story here.

Mike: My late brother Stephen was a minister also, so the Huck is out. Having lived in a dry county in Arkansas, the possibilities are endless though!

What I will do is go after the right wing pundits who are soiling themselves over the fact that they will not have a "true" conservative as a presidential candidate. First up:

Yes, America's Conservative Sweetheart, Ann "ain't I sexy" Coulter!

* these four are the only candidates with a remote chance of becoming the next President

SUX

I stopped by the Sioux City Airport and Picked up a new hat today.

Friday Morning Music

Whoopee, we're all goin' die!

Willard, We Will Miss You

Well, my work is done. Willard "Mitt" Romney is suspending his presidential campaign. Now, I know that we will have an historic run to see who guides us into the new decade, but I have sort of an empty feeling. Obama or Clinton against that republican guy.

But, after drinking several beers, I have decided that a "Mormon" against a "Woman" or a "Black Guy" would have been much more exciting, since "Mormons" don't like "Black" folks that much and they think that "Women" should be barefoot and pregnant and have several other "Women" share the same husband.

I guess we will have to wait for 2012 for that one!

Civic Duty

The boys over at Redstate Update have an excellent piece about doing your civic duty.

I Think it's Thursday?

The following is from EllisWeiner writing about a Bill Kristol Op-Ed. The complete post is at the Huffington Post:

It's not easy to encourage self-reliance in the era of the welfare state.

Here, in a mere 13 words (assuming "self-reliance" counts as one), is a book's worth of "conservative" hypocrisy and self-serving. First, the lofty moral intent, so beloved of missionaries and imperialists. Kristol has manfully taken it upon himself to encourage right behavior in others. No, don't bother thanking him. Virtue is its own reward.
But, as is always the case when reading neo-con prescriptions of how others should live, some vocab clarification proves helpful. Clip and save for future reference:

When billionaires get tax breaks, they receive "incentives." When working class families get food stamps, they're the perpetrators (and the victims, really) of "the welfare state." When government serves corporations, it's "a partnership." When government serves individuals, it's "socialism." When William Kristol rides his father's contacts and reputation to a sinecure insulated from any commercial or marketplace consequences -- and suffers not an ounce of setback for having been wrong about everything -- he's showing "self-reliance." When you ask that the FTC at least protect your children from poison in Chinese toys, you're encouraging "the nanny state." Clear?

From 23/6, a photo collection (with great captions) of Super Tuesday.

A bad editorial from the Ottawa Herald, Ottawa, Kansas.

Here is a snippet:

To elect Barack Obama to the highest office in the land would be nothing less than spitting on the graves of the victims of 9/11, as well as the memory of the countless thousands of American loyalists who have pledged and given their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor in defense of the greatest nation on earth. In many cases, these things are all that is left to families of American heroes who heard the call and stepped forward and defended not only their heritage, but the legacies of millions in foreign lands.

Growing Older

Parenting is an interesting thing: 1st of all, you don't now how you've done for years and years and 2nd, you're never really done thinking and worrying about your children.

Every so often something happens that makes you lean back and smile and be proud of your child and yourself. My Daughter sent me this simple one sentence e-mail:

Thanks for not raising me to be a Weepublican!

There was also a link to a story about parents party-training kids. (read more)

I'm happy!

Investing Advice (a few years too late)

On February 6, 2003 Exxon Mobil stock was worth $33.35. On February 1, 2008 the price per share was $85.95. Here is a nice fun little chart to play with.

Not only would your wealth have increased due to the price increase, but your dividends would have increased from .23/share on that February day in 2003 to .35 on December 21, 2007.

Now, not being an economist or having an MBA or any other sort of finacial education, what exactly has Exxon Mobil done to deserve the massive profits ($40,600,000,000) they have reaped?

* that's a lot of zeroes

The Beer Store

Saturday Morning Roundup

Nearly a month after the Iowa Caucus, Obama is still present at the Iowa Events Center. Is this an omen?


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Sometimes the editing process at small town newspapers isn't quite thorough enough. An example is this obituary for Richard "Dick".
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Ann Coulter does not like John McCain. Or the "terminator":

Schwarzenegger endorsed McCain yesterday at a "solar energy plant?! ... Why not an abortion clinic?" (read more)
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Don't drink too heavily at the Iowa Events Center: