tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89766998138928201062012-01-24T15:08:49.056-08:00Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.comBlogger1851100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-13633965247027418672010-07-04T21:58:00.000-07:002010-07-04T22:17:34.259-07:00

Ready to go: bamboo sparklers and some sort of Cone of Death. . .It being July 4th, I figured what better lessons could I teach my sons in Being An American than these:Ignoring laws you don't agree with; Buying stuff from the Chinese. Apart from the big spectacular firework shows we'd piled in the car to see on various Fourth of Julys, the dudes have had little experience with fireworks close

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-56869782936462395112010-07-04T14:34:00.000-07:002010-07-04T15:14:06.705-07:00

Here we are, sealed in the Rangers Ballpark aquarium called "The Cuervo Club". And, man, am I filling out that fine leather chair!Mary and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary Saturday night. Since we're not the Jet Set (we're more the Chevro-let set, as George Jones once sang), we didn't fly off to Cancun or Vegas or Oklahoma City to party with the hoi polloi. Not that we didn't think

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-77332548780638646312010-04-08T20:47:00.000-07:002010-04-09T09:51:01.766-07:00

E. is proud of his 1.00 OBP this year with the Braves. . .We've survived winter--that long, cold, horrible Texas winter of 2010--to be reborn once again with the coming of the new baseball season.That means, to our family, anyway, both Major League as well as Little League. And a bit down the road, probably some Minor League as well.E. cheers on his teammates. . ..The Boys are Back in Little

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-44459109178444013952010-03-13T20:09:00.000-08:002010-03-14T00:01:32.800-08:00

A Young Man's Fancy: Train 201, Change Creek, Washington Cascades, summer 1979.In just a few days, March 15, while I'm enjoying the warm sun of the Gulf of Mexico with my family on Spring Break in Galveston, a landmark anniversary will pass for me.While I may not always remember my siblings birth dates, and sometimes confuse my anniversary date with the 2nd of July instead of the 3rd (

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-5322396660360839102010-02-25T20:05:00.000-08:002010-02-25T20:13:49.375-08:00

I'm sick and tired of the divisiveness of politics in America today. Years ago--not too many, actually--folks could disagree about the policies leadership was putting forth in this country and then go about their business. No longer. I've never seen such a foaming-at-the-mouth group of people in America as the right wing--the conservative arm of the Republican party. These folks are delusional

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-33087767418694042682010-02-25T00:51:00.000-08:002010-02-25T01:28:53.759-08:00

A random sampling of the residents of Chatroulette. Some of which, apparently, use their computer while not wearing pants (click for full-sized version). . .It's not French.You don't pronounce it "Chat-roulee". It's "Chat-Roo-let," a combination of chat and. . .well, roulette. Which is exactly what it is: you enable your computer's web cam, click on the website, push "play" and you're connected

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-52678809580482844672009-12-29T22:45:00.000-08:002009-12-30T00:10:31.863-08:00

Upstairs at the Sons, the band shared the room with a big tree. . .Mary dropped the hint a month ago with an e-mail announcing the Old97s, one of our all-timest favorite bands, would be playing four nights at Dallas' Sons of Hermann Hall to close out the year. With the second show on my night off, December 28th, how could we say no?We rode over with friends Lance and Emily and were joined by Wes

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-40852897022562113602009-12-26T14:58:00.001-08:002009-12-26T15:18:53.880-08:00

Our "Texas Sized "blizzard Christmas eve. . .We just enjoyed a Christmas Eve unlike any other in the Dallas-Fort Worth area over the past 80 years: a snowstorm! Indeed, we had a "White Christmas."Light flurries came in with a strong wind from the north on late Thursday morning. By the time we headed out to Christmas Eve church services at 2:30pm, it was a full-blown blizzard. Not quite a Nebraska

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-51571951467662186212009-12-24T00:26:00.000-08:002009-12-24T00:28:21.827-08:00

Remember the "Reason for the Season," and I hope you get lots of presents.

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-50551902242136736082009-12-02T22:18:00.000-08:002009-12-02T22:55:53.737-08:00

I'll say it right off the git-go: I've never been a Tiger Woods fan. He always seemed like too much of robot--so perfect, so bland, so much the corporate shill. Image Is Everything-- and Tiger's image is that of the totally-in-control, unflappable golfer. Over in NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson elicits the same response from me: You want the guy to have a personality, cut loose. Johnson grew a beard for a

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-7747762830779205382009-11-05T09:55:00.000-08:002009-11-05T11:55:50.637-08:00

B-52H flying over Spokane, Washington, 1993. . .The big annual Alliance Airport airshow was a couple of weeks ago, and we dragged the boys down to watch some of the planes fly in for display, arriving just as a big, magnificent B-52H from Barkesdale AFB in Shreveport glided in for a landing.B-52 "Stratofortress" How's that for a name! Though the headline act for the weekend was the Navy's Blue

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-7742493208115456522009-10-27T10:21:00.001-07:002009-10-27T10:34:41.788-07:00

So the computer failed to start up the other morning. Our power got knocked off in a storm, and the computer was dead. My superb trouble-shooting skills led to me believe that the the storm wasn't so much the cause of the problem, but rather coincidentally the power supply had given up the ghost (thankfully not the motherboard). After 20 minutes of on-line snooping off the other computer, I

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-430566519607872962009-10-15T15:45:00.000-07:002009-10-15T22:14:45.891-07:00

E. is a couple of bucks richer today after the tooth fairy paid him a visit last night. He finally lost a front tooth that has been loose for weeks. The new one finally pushed the old one out of the way. He's not normally this goofy looking; Mary's camera just has a really wide angle lens. . .Michael Moore: Not a Left-Wing KookDocumentary film-maker Michael Moore is usually depicted by the Right

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-60627712452280355572009-10-05T03:01:00.000-07:002009-10-05T13:28:48.719-07:00

The Master at work. . .MLB network carried the Dodgers-Rockies game Friday night. The winner would claim the National League West title; the loser, the Wild Card slot in the National League playoffs starting next week. The Dodgers won, 5-0, but the outcome really didn't matter to me, simply because I tuned in for Vin.Vin Scully.He's been the Dodgers' play-by-play announcer now for 60 years. SIXTY

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-49255105075071380632009-09-29T23:01:00.000-07:002009-09-30T22:11:27.829-07:00

Geelong--with horizontal stripes--battled it out with St. Kilda--vertical stripes--in the 2009 AFL Premiership match.Sorry, I didn't catch Monday night's big Cowboys game on the nation-wide broadcast. Football? Oh, yeah, I watched football after work that night, but it wasn't NFL. It was AFL. And I'm not talking about the old American Football LeagueRather, thanks to Lance Lassen's DVR, I watched

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-66650023167194411452009-09-21T14:14:00.000-07:002009-09-21T14:45:50.094-07:00

Jerry Picks a Winner!I didn't watch all of Sunday night's gala opening of the $1.2 BILLION Cowboys Stadium game against the New York Giants, as M. and I were switching channels between the Emmys, the Cowboy game, the Cubs-Cardinals game, and Mad Men. That's where a DVR that would record four shows at once would come in handy.But we did get to see the highlights: the last three minutes of the game

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-84964349072420709272009-09-20T16:24:00.000-07:002009-09-20T16:42:41.092-07:00

I noticed the next-door neighbor's house went up for sale last week. Not too unusual--there's plenty of foreclosures in our subdivision. I just guessed that he decided to either give up his home to the bank or downsize to a smaller place. He didn't seem to be living there anymore. Maybe he just up and moved?Our neighbor was a single guy about my age; divorced, father of three. We didn't know much

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-7908321005575722982009-09-17T00:34:00.000-07:002009-09-17T10:35:26.666-07:00

LONG GONE: The Kingdome, the F-units, even the mainline isn't here anymore; Everett Turn, southbound at Lander Street, July, 1981."Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."Back thirty-three years ago, my family had just moved to Seattle from Salt Lake City. Being awkward and not well socially adjusted, I spent much of whatever weekend time I didn't devote to work or school

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-67329640854285663862009-09-12T15:01:00.000-07:002009-09-13T20:22:44.242-07:00

I'm not surprised by anything anymore, but this one, well, my Incred-O-Meter just about pegged out. So, the school district in Arlington wouldn't allow students to watch President Obama's speech to students because it was. . . .well, politically motivated?Now, it turns out, the district already was planning on busing--at district expense, at a time when schools are in the financial crapper--500

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-29115124195680491012009-09-07T17:39:00.000-07:002009-09-07T19:21:04.301-07:00

To me, the most beautiful of structures: Gateway Arch..Thursday, August 13: Though the theme of this vacation was baseball, we began and ended it, interestingly enough, celebrating two of America's greatest journeys of discovery. We started a week before at a museum dedicated to the exploration of space and now closed it out in St. Louis, where the Parks Service honored explorer Lewis & Clarks's

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-70541277026784372802009-09-05T02:49:00.000-07:002009-09-06T13:05:46.299-07:00

Magical: St. Louis sunset from the upper deck at Busch. . .Wednesday, August 12: By Texas standards, St. Louis is just a short skip down the interstate from Chicago, so we clicked off the 300-some miles after a morning departure with more than enough time to check into our hotel room at the Millennuim in downtown St. Louis. We stayed in the older wing of the place, and paid but $79 a night to

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-68765770933224101182009-09-04T09:59:00.001-07:002009-09-04T10:38:18.876-07:00

Quick, what color are her eyes? Christina Hendricks and some vintage undergarments play head secretary Joan Holloway on AMC's "Mad Men" every Sunday evening.What's on TV?I must say, I've not been watching as much tube as in years past. We're not paying for HBO or Showtime or Cinemax, so series like Hung and Weeds and Entourage aren't on the DVR. What have I been watching?MadMen, AMC: Back for the

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-5187745291310455492009-09-03T00:59:00.000-07:002009-09-04T05:59:50.209-07:00

The Friendly Confines: Right at home with a straw hat and a cigar..August 11: Sorry to spoil how this evening would end, but a familar ending by now to the Cubby fan: on this evening at Waveland and Addison, the Cubs lost in predictable, nail-biting fashion to the World Champions, getting an early lead, giving the faithful so much hope before giving it up through poor pitching, only to come back

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-61109955242920854222009-09-02T23:57:00.000-07:002010-02-26T18:59:15.778-08:00

Our Kind of Town: The Wrigley building and Chicago River. . .This was our third family vacation to Chicago since 2003; I'd been back on my own in 2006 for a Prototype Modeler's meet. It's safe to say that, given my own relative lack of worldliness regarding the great cities of the planet, I'd have to rate Chicago as my favorite city to visit.What a place! Everything about it is alive. What's not

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-44515004471376162582009-08-29T05:23:00.000-07:002009-09-04T06:01:43.521-07:00

A beautiful day--but a hot one--for baseball at New Comiskey Park--US Cellular Field, aka "The Cell.".Sunday, August 9: The Chicago White Sox are meaner, dirtier, nastier, more in-your-face than their north-side rivals, the Cubs. That's the image that's cultivated, at least. The Cubs are the loveable losers--haven't won a World Series in 100 years. Hapless. Wait 'Til Next Year, over and over and

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-18581667572814381572009-08-28T06:30:00.000-07:002009-08-28T08:02:14.527-07:00

My aunts Grace Vandellen, Dorothy Barbour, and cousin Ellen Dec (Grace's daughter). . .Saturday, August 8 (p.m.): Tom and Susan hosted a family get-together the evening we arrived. I'm sure such gatherings aren't too out of the ordinary for the Chicago-area Stobs: most of my aunts and uncles and cousins live a couple of hours from each other, remarkable today given how far-flung most families

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-56219731269729918262009-08-26T22:23:00.001-07:002009-08-26T22:49:01.245-07:00

Mary and the kids at the Dubuque lock. . .Saturday, August 8: We slept in and didn't get on the road out of Dubuque til after 10am. That meant we wouldn't be stopping by the Mississippi River museum in the old train station downtown; no worries--we'd stopped by Mississippi River Lock and Dam No. 11 the night before en route to our motel room and watched a too-long river barge squeeze into the

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-40660075039547528692009-08-23T05:36:00.001-07:002009-08-26T22:23:25.074-07:00

Running for home at the Field of Dreams. . .Friday , August 7:Out of Kansas City and Iowa bound, we endured six hours of corn field after corn field, economic stimulus highway construction projects (how many million orange traffic cones must there be in Iowa alone?), and AM radio (if it ain't a Jesus preacher, it's an angry, Obama-hating conservative). We were boring deeper into the midwest,

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-42699127742147659092009-08-18T17:54:00.000-07:002009-08-20T02:42:16.327-07:00

Composite view of Kauffman Stadium. . .Thursday, August 6th: In 2008, the Kansas City Royals were the second-to-last attendance draw in Major League Baseball, its 38,000 seat Kauffman Stadium averaging only 49 percent of the seats sold over the season.It must be the baseball, as "The Big K" is a a quite attractive venue to see a ballgame. Sadly, the Royals haven't given their fans a winning

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-10962027103871759672009-08-17T18:33:00.001-07:002009-08-28T08:03:25.071-07:00

We've got our tickets: let's hit the road!Only a week until school is back in session! Whatever happened to waiting until after Labor Day? Glad we squeezed in our last outing on the summer, a 10-day car trip to Chicago, what we've termed our "baseball vacation."The main theme of the trip was baseball: We crammed in four major-league games in four different ballparks as well as a stop at a popular

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-21798504590033631522009-08-04T12:57:00.000-07:002009-08-04T13:27:10.306-07:00

Feliz joined the Rangers Sunday, and as the bullpen rookie, is entrusted to carry the "Dora The Explorer" pink backpack filled with snacks/AP photo.Fireball pitcher (100 mph on the gun) Neftali Feliz made his much-anticipated debut Monday night for the Texas Rangers, notching four-strikeouts in two no-hit innings against the Oakland A's in Oakland. Feliz relieved Dustin Nippert, who'd thrown five

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-68597853296831274892009-07-19T15:23:00.000-07:002009-07-19T18:48:36.244-07:00

Do you remember this day, 40 years ago?Through the magic of the internets, the computer the past few days has been streaming "real time" the Apollo 11 moon mission, as it nears 40 years since man first set foot upon the moon. I'm too young to remember where I was when JFK was assassinated (though I vaguely recall the black and white broadcast of the funeral procession), but you can bet the events

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-66864473751493676082009-07-17T08:10:00.001-07:002009-07-17T08:19:33.054-07:00

Okay, so NASCAR has suspended driver Jeremy Mayfield for testing positive--not once, but twice--for methamphetamines. Mayfield, of course, proclaims his innocence. His stepmother, who Mayfield accuses of killing his father a few years back, has thrown him under the bus, saying that she saw him using meth at least 30 times. Mayfield retaliates by calling her a "whore."Now, I can't blame NASCAR for

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-88929290541902654912009-07-15T03:12:00.001-07:002009-07-15T03:47:23.452-07:00

I. enjoys me pirate's booty. Arrrrugh!A happy birthday to son I. who turned 5 yesterday. On Sunday, we braved the 104 degree heat and invited a few of his friends and their parents to our neighborhood pool to cool off in the water, splash around, have some cake and pizza and get otherwise bloated.I. wanted to have a Pirate themed party. Don't know why, as he'd never expressed an interest in

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-41665620172310340182009-07-09T07:23:00.000-07:002009-07-09T08:28:14.791-07:00

Robert Strange McNamara: Hate Him or. . .well, what's the other option?I'm proud to say that I didn't watch one second of the Michael Jackson memorial. Nor have I been following the nearly inescapable media coverage of his death. CNN? Hello? Isn't there any other world news out there? Sure, a great performer and a notable public figure. But, really, does he warrant ALL THIS ATTENTION? A great

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-85817924837764619052009-06-25T23:45:00.000-07:002009-06-26T00:19:13.584-07:00

Rough day for us baby-boomers. First, Farrah Fawcett loses her battle with anal cancer. This really makes me feel old. I'm old enough to remember her from the days of the original "Charlie's Angels" as well as the iconic red-swimsuit-with-nipples poster--I think that was the all-time best-selling poster of all time, and I'm sure it caused lots of teenage boys to later require eyeglasses as a

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-36328200810377891272009-06-24T22:41:00.000-07:002009-06-24T23:41:28.418-07:00

A collage of the great railway logos and emblems we came across. Can you name them all?The Land of Variety. . .Not one to keep statistics, but looking back at the photos, we'd seen 33 classes of locomotives (AN, B, BL, CLP, DL, EL, G, GL, GM, MZ, NR, PL, RL, S, T, VL, X, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 73, 80, 81, 82, 90, 92, 421, 423, 442, 5000). We'd only missed seeing the CLF, LDP, and 600 class of

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-20047118963876744392009-06-24T13:21:00.001-07:002009-06-26T01:11:17.451-07:00

So much for "The First-Place Texas Rangers."After a blistering hot May, our beloved ballclub has slipped into the deepest of slumps. Hell, did I hear that in the past couple of weeks only the Washington Nationals have a worse offensive production than the Rangers? How bad? Let T.R. Sullivan tell you.For the past month or so, the Rangers have been in sole-possession of first place in the American

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-66182745240726795212009-06-20T16:14:00.000-07:002009-06-25T00:26:14.146-07:00

My father, Lou, age 35, in 1961, with my sister Ronnie and one-year-old me. Park Forest, Illinois..A father's day shout-out to my father, Lou, in Plano. He's 83-year-old, and has had some health setbacks in the past few months, but his spirit is strong and he hasn't lost his sense of humor. We're headed over to take him out to dinner tomorrow. We hope to have him around for many years to come,

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-68577250279926234422009-06-19T11:00:00.000-07:002009-06-19T11:11:39.706-07:00

Worth coming home to: The Three Dudes, together again!Thursday, April 23: The bad thing about flying TO Australia is that you lose a day of your life. The good thing about flying FROM Australia is that you get to live a day over again!As much fun as we had Down Under, it really was great to get home to our own "reality." And nothing on the trip compared with the feeling of being greeted at the

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-91335830567186013742009-06-19T09:32:00.000-07:002009-06-19T11:15:26.546-07:00

A Quantas 747 departs Sydney: we'll be on the next one home!Thursday, April 23: We were already packed and ready to go when we pulled out of the Formulae One in Enfield for the last time. Thank God! (I'll post some photos of our various accommodations in an upcoming entry so you can see how tiny this room was.)Our flight home was scheduled for 130pm, so we had a few hours to kill before

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-28170166170895502922009-06-17T23:24:00.001-07:002009-06-21T05:02:36.975-07:00

Nerve Center for Sydney Metro railways: The Rail Management Centre at Sydney Central station.Wednesday, April 22: Parking was non-existent around Sydney Central, so Lance dropped me off to find a place to park while I went inside to meet Bob Stack. Bob is the guy who assembles the TOC Manual data for CityRail and is an expert draftsman and fine model railroader and has an exceptionally sharp

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-74791514672058974522009-06-10T18:58:00.000-07:002009-06-18T10:57:01.089-07:00

Proof we were in Sydney: Lance and Blair in front of the Opera House. A young woman was kind enough to photograph us here; I stood on the ledge above Sydney Harbour and leaped. Lance wasn't quite so free-spirited, though I'm sure the photo might've been better had a gust of wind blown me back into the water. . ..Wednesday, April 22: So, folks back home are asking, you go to Australia and spend

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-71268709125110610222009-06-10T18:17:00.000-07:002009-06-19T11:14:21.812-07:00

915am: Just as the day before, and on the same schedule, the P&OTA T280 trip train throttles up as it charges eastward out of Enfield, again with the 4477 and KL81 for power. . .Wednesday, April 22: After a busy and long previous day, we were right back after it the next morning. This day was going to be even longer: another morning photographing freight trains on the Goods Line, then the

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-32559296096907063842009-06-04T22:42:00.000-07:002009-06-05T02:19:41.259-07:00

Dad's new 1965 Pontiac Bonneville, our new home in Littleton, Colorado, and five-year-old me. .It's been hard to wrap my mind around the idea that industrial behemoth General Motors indeed has gone bankrupt. Sure, it'll survive, hopefully in a leaner, more market-responsive manner, but the very idea of GM broke and unable to continue operation without government assistance just shatters another

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-70510031173254037042009-06-03T23:53:00.000-07:002009-06-04T01:31:07.090-07:00

9:32am: First train of the day: P&O Transport Australia trip train T280 with former CFCLA 4477 and leased CFCLA KL81 at Mascot siding. This train originated at the warehouse terminal at Yennora, on the city's west side, and was the first of three trains in a row from suburban container terminals bound for the docks.Tuesday, April 21: Time was winding down on our Australian vacation; we'd

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-8639281583294215092009-05-28T17:35:00.001-07:002009-05-28T19:45:33.769-07:00

The boobs aren't the only thing here that are fake. . ..I make no bones about my contempt for the American Asshole. It's the American Asshole who is the Poster Boy for everything that is going wrong in this world. Greedy. Self-centered. "Fuck You" to the rest of the world. The kind of guy who is all attitude and stunted maturity. Really. Who actually NEEDS a Hummer? Besides the military, that is

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-82860927508727085892009-05-25T06:25:00.000-07:002009-05-25T06:29:57.529-07:00

Got this in the mail last night:Men Are Just Happier People-- What do you expect from such simple creatures?Your last name stays put.The garage is all yours.Wedding plans take care of themselves.Chocolate is just another snack.You can be President.You can never be pregnant.You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.You can wear NO shirt to a water park.Car mechanics tell you the truth.The world

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-58937151089651565102009-05-22T00:54:00.000-07:002009-05-23T05:16:17.097-07:00

The sunlight barely held on for the shot at Oolong. . ..Monday, April 20: So, we'll give this Main South thing one more try. Skunked the day before from getting not only the QR National train with CL's up front (they finally passed through Gunning westbound around 5am!), but the weather sucked, too.So, this morning it's nice and clear, and we have two eastbound coming our way out of Cootamundra.

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-42538712985871354102009-05-17T16:11:00.000-07:002009-05-19T13:44:59.267-07:00

John, Paul, Charlie, Lance and Blair at Goulburn's favorite photo stop. . .Sunday, April 19: This truly was the most disappointing day of the trip so far. We started with two strikes against us: cloudy skies when we woke up, and no trains. A check of Charlie's Magic Box before leaving the motel in Gunning didn't offer us much in the way of hope for the day's trains. Nothing out of Albury, several

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-20053662829949818982009-05-14T20:49:00.000-07:002009-05-14T22:13:53.363-07:00

A HUGE Panorama of the Ballpark. . . click on it for the "being there" experience! I'm sure it's no Revelation (no pun intended) that many think of Baseball as a form of religion. Certainly, popular media hasn't been shy in drawing parallels between this perfect game and one's belief in a higher being. No less a theologian than Annie Savoy in the movie "Bull Durham" opined that: "I believe in

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-83291078237177261662009-05-13T11:59:00.000-07:002009-05-13T18:33:04.551-07:00

Today's target: Patrick PortLink #1871, grandly departing Lithgow a few hours late behind a matched set of ex-National Rail DL class. Sweet!.Saturday, April 18: We were up and on the road a little later (7am) than we'd originally planned (5am). Charlie was up early, and had been in touch with an engineer friend who was taking the Patrick PortLink train #1871 west from Sydney. This was the train

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-60921913251042443812009-05-11T12:19:00.000-07:002009-05-11T13:40:42.681-07:00

Early success: quad 48s bring a grain train into Narrabri. . ..Friday, April 17: Another clear morning leaving the motel in Narrabri. Supposed to be a number of trains between here and Moree: a PacNational grain shuttle at Edgeroi; an El Zorro at Bellata; another PacNat coming back from Moree; still one more loading at Moree. . .so shouldn't want for trains this morning.We're just short of

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-15340257660797970042009-05-07T20:50:00.000-07:002009-05-07T22:14:07.252-07:00

A nice, clean, freshly painted 81 leads 28-car grain empty at Willow Tree. . .Thursday, April 16: From the hotel in Quirindi, Charlie consulted the "magic box" and discovered three north bounds were headed towards Willow Tree from the south: a grain train, an IRA container train, and a coal train.We intercepted the first, a 28-car PacNat grain empty led by two 81 Class, including 8164 brilliant

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-3543281839957793652009-05-06T22:28:00.000-07:002009-05-06T22:44:34.052-07:00

Well, not exactly. But this early in the season, it's a milesone: On Wednesday evening, May 6, 2009, the Texas Rangers moved into first place of the American League West when they defeated the Oakland Athletics, 3-2. The Seattle Mariners lost 9-1 to the Kaycee Royals to allow Texas to go 1/2 game up. In more good news, the LAAngels of Anaheim also lost, dropping them 2.5 games back.Texas has won

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-62714113085268287282009-05-06T20:20:00.000-07:002009-05-07T06:16:44.325-07:00

Under the milky way at Werris Creek. . .Late Evening, Wednesday, April 15: Lance and I dragged Charlie and Paul along to Werris Creek to take some night shots. I'm sure they'd rather be back in the hotel getting some rest, but they were good sports about it, and Charlie even dragged his tripod out.Werris Creek is the hub of rail operations in the North-West. From here, lines head north to

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-61611050030726682802009-05-06T13:33:00.000-07:002009-05-07T22:13:18.947-07:00

Westbound coalie with 90 and 82 class from Pitnacree Road bridge. . .Wednesday, April 15: Finally, a day that dawned clear-blue! We scarfed down a free Continental breakfast in the "kitchen" area upstairs in the Belmont (toast and jelly, with orange juice; we avoided the complimentary Vegemite spread) and Lance painstakingly packed the hire car for the next leg of our trip. We all had so goddamn

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-84011240216273263902009-05-05T06:38:00.000-07:002009-05-05T10:35:56.925-07:00

Inside the airy, spacious, uncrowded ARTC Broadmeadow Control Centre: they're not overly concerned about pod walls with pieces of paper stuck on them that "reflect noise" and don't "look professional". . .PM, Tuesday, April 14: Since Lance and I are train dispatchers here in the states, it's only natural that we'd be curious as to how our counterparts in Australia do the same job. So, with the

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-56674536217369719122009-05-04T18:14:00.001-07:002009-05-04T18:29:46.991-07:00

Four 48s at Greta. . .check out all that stuff on the roofs: airconditioners, GPS dishes, etc. . . Tuesday, April 14:  A couple of our objectives for the trip were within striking distance of Maitland: the Pelton coal trains which used PL and 48 Class Alcos running on the former South Maitland Railway; and the QRNational Duralie coal shuttles, operating on the North Coast line about an hour

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-19400188275942135272009-05-03T06:24:00.001-07:002009-05-03T17:12:37.218-07:00

A vision from the past, at Georges Plains. . Monday, April 13:We were up before sunup—but really, who could tell when that was with the heavy overcast and light rain falling?—so we’d be ready for the departure of the 14-car Outback Aurora, a leisurely four-day circle trip operated by the Rail Transportation Museum in Thirlmere from Sydney, up the North Coast to Coffs Harbour, back down and

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-27960895592033428702009-05-02T15:10:00.001-07:002009-05-02T15:13:13.124-07:00

In an oddly-metaphorical event, the Dallas Cowboys' air-filled practice bubble collapsed during a thunderstorm at Valley Ranch this afternoon, trapping several rookie prospects and injuring a couple of coaches and media types.Needless to say, the entire DFW media is breathlessly glued to this horrible event, even as the storms have moved east of the area with tornadoes reported. Tornadoes? But

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-15626562092489038702009-05-02T06:09:00.001-07:002009-05-02T06:57:33.673-07:00

We bag our quarry off the overpass. . . April 12, 2009: Our Aussie vacation was unabashedly a Railfan trip. Okay, make it 75% Railfan, 20% Model Railroading, and 5% tourist. That’s not to say we weren’t immune to oohing and aahing at the traditional tourist sites, but they clearly weren’t our prime objective.Now, 50-year-old GM bulldog locomotives—THOSE were prime objectives.So, bright and early

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-22903510315325928952009-04-23T12:28:00.000-07:002009-04-23T12:33:31.103-07:00

Lance and I are back. . .around 16,000 air miles and 4600 kilometers driving and two weeks later, we're sitting in the Burger King at LAX, awaiting our connecting flight on American home to DFW. Traveling on AA, though, it's anyone's guess as to when our filight will arrive. But, we're hopeful.Already, being back in the US of A has been a downer. Typical US: dirty restaurant, indifferent,

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-21245399302622317672009-04-23T11:48:00.001-07:002009-05-05T06:38:04.799-07:00

Morning over the Tasman sea.. .SATURDAY, APRIL 11: A beautiful morning outside the windows of our Qantas 747-400 . We're looking to arrive just about on time--730am local time--after being an hour late out of LAX.Our flight out of DFW once again proved that when flying American, expect a little drama. Our flight was delayed inbound, and high winds delayed our schedued 630pm departure, so we

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-68737312761766672852009-04-08T22:47:00.001-07:002009-04-08T22:47:30.380-07:00

After what seems like six months of planning, I’m off to Australia Thursday afternoon for two weeks of exploring and lots of train watching. It may seem silly to journey halfway across the world and spend most of your time watching trains, but that’s the strange affliction I sometimes succumb to. I’ll be traveling with my friend and fellow dispatcher Lance Lassen, who shares my

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-77497938902658234012009-04-08T22:41:00.001-07:002009-04-08T22:41:25.569-07:00

Some folks are REALLY into it. . . Baseball season is upon us! Both the boys have started their little league seasons—E. with the Cubs, I. with the Rangers, particularly apt since these are their favorite major league teams. But how could we resist the real Rangers—the boys from Arlington? No one is really giving them a strong chance to even make the playoffs this year, but, hell, it’s

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-23992944199222658092009-03-26T22:01:00.000-07:002009-03-26T22:02:49.385-07:00

There's hope for guys like my friend Mike Sawyer yet. I'm sure these will sell like hotcakes as Christmas gifts this year.

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-80056161059137962742009-03-25T23:36:00.000-07:002009-03-26T00:19:57.568-07:00

This gorilla hasn't been shot by the cops yet. . .We headed off to the zoo last week, warily watching the dangerous creatures with bizarre markings on their skin, scary teeth and uncertain behavior--and that was just while riding the DART to Oak Cliff.It was our first trip to the Dallas Zoo after many trips to Fort Worth's version, and it was nice not to deal with crowds and parking getting there

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-80209141121928305412009-03-19T22:21:00.000-07:002009-03-19T23:21:27.540-07:00

Step right up, folks--gift shop inside. Don't worry, that big Dino head is secured by stout guy wires. . .We decided not to help the U.S. economy this spring break by staying near home. Even that seemed like a pretty bleak decision. There isn't much to do in North Texas in March, besides spending a kazillion bucks going to Six Flags in Arlington (fuck them, anyway, with their elitist rich-asshole

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-55741000280934221152009-03-17T21:56:00.000-07:002009-03-17T22:31:13.995-07:00

I LOVE how this portrait of Dad and the boys, E. (left) and I. turned out. I'm sure a print of it will soon be atop Dad's dresser.We went over to Plano Tuesday afternoon to visit Dad. I've been horrible in keeping this blog up to date with "family items" over the past five months, so I guess I've been remiss in updating what's been happening with Dad since then.Soon after his visit in October to

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-3002664574240973502009-02-26T15:48:00.000-08:002009-02-26T16:23:10.927-08:00

Today, management of the Rocky Mountain News, Denver's afternoon newspaper, announced they were shutting the newspaper down. Effective Friday.The Rocky has joined a number of other newspapers in the past few months that have gone under or have plans to go under. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer will soon either be sold (to whom?), shut down, or become an on-line-only publication. The P-I's owner,

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-2595122977534536762009-02-07T15:52:00.001-08:002009-02-07T16:01:02.295-08:00

The Idol of American Yoout.Once a cheat, always a cheat.Could you trust this guy for anything when he was cheating on his wife? Now it comes out he'd been injecting performance-enhancing drugs into his ass (along with Raffy, Gonzo and Pudge) while a Texas Ranger in 2003--the year he won the AL MVP.The New York press, as you'd imagine, is jumping all over this. "Caught Looking: The Yankees Should

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-70837641968569398142009-01-24T17:45:00.000-08:002009-01-24T17:50:16.901-08:00

Was trying out a new lens by photographing the television set the other morning while I. watched one of his favorite cartoons. I ended up being kind of amazed of what subliminally is being fed into the minds of our children. Douglas Wildmon, where are you?Hey, that pink pig? . .he's gettin' him some action. But with penguins and rabbits, too? That's just plain wrong.

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-68821384437283231742009-01-19T18:21:00.000-08:002009-01-19T18:24:00.102-08:00

Today marks the end of eight wonderful years of Bush 43 in the White House. Here's a look back of some of the special moments of his presidency.

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-71962819627783333022009-01-18T06:17:00.000-08:002009-01-18T18:51:53.516-08:00

Sure, Union Pacific can paint up a locomotive to honor George Bush #41. . .but who will be the first to paint up an engine to honor president #44, Barack Obama?Why wait for the REAL railroads to get around to it. . .I know I'm going to rush right out and order this fine collectable today. . .No mention of "Amtrak" Joe Biden on there. . .and I'm really diggin' the bling-o-liscous gold trimwork.

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-80078077896881739022009-01-11T06:24:00.000-08:002009-01-11T07:08:59.255-08:00

Even my four-year-old knows what this means: Don't let your child chase a bumblebee into a bucket of water. . .It's not enough, in our semi-literate, often multi-lingual society, to merely warn people that high-voltage hazards exist inside that green utility box over there on the corner. Instead, such warnings are often communicated using pictographs, dispensing the need in most cases for words

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-17550630074170564682009-01-09T14:29:00.000-08:002009-01-09T15:02:30.217-08:00

The next Surgeon General?President-elect Obama is taking a lot of heat for picking Dr. Sanjay Gupta to be his next surgeon general. He's certainly popular enough, appearing at CNN's Medical Editor, and he's an actual qualified brain surgeon in Atlanta. He was an advisor to Hillary Clinton when she was the first lady and tried to get socialized medicine passed in this country. Folks just don't

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-16188250156198771582009-01-06T05:41:00.001-08:002009-01-06T05:41:42.448-08:00

And you thought Lorena Bobbit was a bitch. Another tale of woe from Australia.

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-61445160651391078902009-01-04T04:53:00.000-08:002009-01-04T05:11:33.455-08:00

I rarely ask my wife for anything for Christmas; I feel if I really want something, I’ll just go and purchase it, anyway, so basking in the glow of receiving a set of Christmas-themed pancake batter molds from my sister and plug adapters useful in several foreign countries from my wife, I thought I’d head over to Amazon.com and treat myself to Jim Shaughnessy and Jeff Brouws' new book, "The

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-76236188964120000942008-12-28T18:06:00.000-08:002008-12-28T18:20:37.395-08:00

Reptile. Billionaire. Loser.Pardon me for a moment.Ha hahahahahheeeheeheeheeohhohoho. Snicker.That felt better.Way to go, Cowboys. Another underachieving season.They'd been teetering on the brink for the past six weeks. . . and Sunday, when they "controlled their own destiny," they couldn't even get motivated to show up against the Eagles, let alone offer them any sort of challenged.HA HA!Another

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-12581042177538393342008-12-13T06:03:00.000-08:002008-12-13T06:12:32.344-08:00

(With apologies to Chris Skow): If one over-under is great. . .I'm not always so blessed, but this week I'm able to say I'm at least SOMETIMES as lucky as my friend Ken Fitzgerald, the celebrated Fort Worth rail photographer who is just as adept at photographing the 15" gauge Trinity Park kiddie railroad as he is hobnobbing with Union Pacific officials on their bidness trains.A few days ago, Ken

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-65131528083465685922008-12-12T15:09:00.000-08:002008-12-12T15:19:55.364-08:00

Looks like the Moustache has left the Ballpark.Rangers utility man Ramon Vasquez has signed a 2-year, $4 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He's worth the money, having his best year yet in 2008, hitting .290.He's a favorite around our house--not just because he's a Fort Worth native--as his very sexy thin moustache became his trademark among Ranger fans and players last year, even though

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-73156717576628811142008-11-22T05:20:00.000-08:002008-11-22T06:42:40.299-08:00

I'm certainly conflicted on this proposed bail-out of the Big Three. It's certainly something unprecedented in my lifetime, seeing the CEO's of GM, Ford and Chrysler all but begging before congress for billions of corporate bailout to forestall the inevitable.There's no winners in this end-game. And every one's to blame. Union Management: I don't blame the worker--for what is wrong with wanting

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-18865892616645933382008-11-13T15:59:00.000-08:002008-11-13T16:00:55.251-08:00

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.I love Olbermann. He's an acquired taste, his bombast. If you don't have time to watch him everynight, here's a minute of him. You get the idea.

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-61398048804774009042008-11-12T20:25:00.000-08:002008-11-12T21:15:29.828-08:00

Is there any candy better than the Necco wafer? It's "the original candy wafer," after all. Thin and compact, I think of them as flavored communion wafers--the Catholic Church actually uses them as stand-ins for children practicing for the Eucharist!Our household is stuck with a mess of 'em following Halloween, so this otherwise bland, nondescript candy got me wondering: Wherefor art thou, Necco

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-63618493305786750162008-11-07T14:04:00.000-08:002008-11-09T18:10:01.508-08:00

I. provides a scary face to accompany our display of pumpkins. My contribution, of course, features the head wound, "x-ed out" dead eyes, and puking guts.We had a great Halloween eve. I brought my dad over from Plano to spend the night, and took that day off work. Dad handed out candy to neighborhood kids while M. and I took the boys out collecting candy; afterwards, we went over to our

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-62780697127252294162008-11-07T10:13:00.000-08:002008-11-07T14:55:34.218-08:00

We bought two.Moments like Tuesday night's historic election of Barack Obama require a newspaper.Not to read; oh no, we've moved beyond that since the advent of the World Wide Web Internets. No one reads newspapers anymore for NEWS--for that, we go to a dot.com.But Wednesday morning, newspapers once again proved their relevance--as a keepsake of nostalgic times. No longer something you'd open to

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-31048863075309791422008-10-30T21:24:00.001-07:002008-10-30T22:21:13.567-07:00

No designer dresses for Pat.It's funny, this big to-do about Sarah Palin and the $150,000 worth of clothing the Republican National Committee shelled out to pretty her up and make her acceptable to America (and there was another $25K or so of makeup and hair stylin' to finish the job).The Obama campaign I don't think has gotten too riled up about it. . .that'd just be a drop in the bucket for HIS

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-43276211092837605912008-10-23T20:07:00.000-07:002008-10-23T20:52:43.147-07:00

Burn Backstreet Boys CD's, not the flag (or the Anthem)!Disrespectful, that "performance" by the Backstreet Boys of our National Anthem in Game One of the World Series. They might as well have come out and burned an American flag.Now, I know there are probably dozens of big Backstreet Boys fans reading this blog, and while it's perfectly okay for you to like their musical stylings, desecrating

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-60211580508280424582008-10-21T13:20:00.000-07:002008-10-21T13:52:16.102-07:00

Baum-chicka-boom!Gotta love that Sports Illustrated "Vault" that one can spend hours and hours of time at work reading instead of working. . . only drawback is that even though EVERY issue of SI from the 1950s is available to read, very few of the photographs are on-line.Fortunately, this super-duper image of Larry Bird from the late 1970s is. . . sorta looks like some cheesey College-themed

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-15439648825346471622008-10-19T05:32:00.001-07:002008-10-19T05:33:32.741-07:00

It's been three days since we've seen a mouse, the longest stretch since we've had our little visitors. No new poops, either. Maybe the traps and filling the gaps into the house have done their job? We'll keep crossing our fingers. . .

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-63783892615674782882008-10-16T15:26:00.000-07:002008-10-16T17:50:26.092-07:00

We dragged the kids--or did they drag us?--out to the Flower Mound Pumpkin patch for the annual gather of the gourds. We got our pumpkins, all right, but the overcast skies and bright pumpkin props all around were too good to resist for a portrait session. So, here's a few views of our handsome dudes. Euuu, I was gettin' kinda' woozy. . .

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-63222806235554651582008-10-16T13:34:00.000-07:002008-10-16T14:22:33.667-07:00

Cute in a sweater behind a car wheel, a pain in the ass shitting all over your kitchen counter. . .We've got mice.More than just a couple of them. It started a few weeks ago when an occasional glimpse was caught of a little shadowy object scurrying across the living room floor in the wee hours of the morning. Then it became more than just an occasional glimpse. Their little droppings were found

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-70803112462491903642008-10-09T19:21:00.000-07:002008-10-09T19:51:22.016-07:00

The Dudes yuk it up at the Legends of the Game. . .Jeez, looks like summer is done. . .and this blog has turned into Huffington Post! So, let's get back on track to what the family has been up to the last half of the summer. . .which is, mainly, not much.To sum it up: Baseball. That's been much of our family focus, recreationally. The kids have pretty much forgotten about rockets and NASA and

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-1071391461316336562008-09-10T02:16:00.000-07:002008-09-10T21:01:57.200-07:00

Last week, I basically called the Republican leadership "stupid" for choosing Sarah Palin to be John McCain's running mate.I now retract that statement.I now think they were brilliant.They clearly have a bead on the American Public that the Obama campaign doesn't have. To go from seven points down in the polls before Palin's nomination to dead even now. . . .well, I guess those Republicans know

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-82033113268791631582008-09-04T11:02:00.000-07:002008-09-04T11:04:45.314-07:00

Did ya see it?I could comment, but this says it far better than I ever could. That's the Republican Party in a nutshell.Oh, and did you catch a glimpse of Cowboy Troy on stage after the speech? I was a bit aghast to see a black man up there entertaining for the white folk. . but he had a cowboy hat on, which must've eased their fears.McCain/Palin: far more right-wing than even Bush/Cheney.

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-4096378216810150782008-08-29T10:41:00.001-07:002008-08-30T10:36:16.543-07:00

The future president?Or, should we just say "Hail Sarah"?John McCain just chose the former mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, population 9,000, Sarah Palin, as his running mate. Palin has been governor of Alaska for a couple of years.Before that. . .well, she held a couple of state offices in Alaska. She is pro-life, pro-death penalty, pro-drilling, and likes hockey. She's an NRA member. She's good

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-64192156347858990192008-08-27T23:20:00.000-07:002008-08-27T23:50:31.360-07:00

Is it just me, or are political conventions of little consequence anymore? When I was a kid, hell, they were knock-down, drag-out battles. Smoky room deals late into the night. Delegate fights. Dan Rather getting punched in the face down on the convention floor. God! I miss those days.Anymore, only PBS carries full convention coverage, which is probably a good thing, because what little I caught

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-19888236308397700492008-08-19T16:49:00.000-07:002008-08-19T16:56:25.717-07:00

ALMOST as popular as Michael Phelps. . .So, congrats to Michael Phelps on his eight gold-medals at the Olympics. Now, quick, Mike, have your agent make you as much money as possible, cause i'd guess the shelf-life of marketing promotion for an Olympic athlete is quite short.Right now, everyone knows who Michael Phelps is. Hey, the NBC broadcast last Saturday night when he won #8 was the

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976699813892820106.post-29835179833514659442008-08-13T16:03:00.000-07:002008-08-13T19:08:37.494-07:00

Nothing specific here, just a few things bouncing around inside my noggin. . . . .We Ain't Got No Stinkin' Tickets: So, the true sports fans who have scrimped and saved their pennies to attend the Olympic games in Bejing get over there to find. . . ticket prices through the roof! Olympic organizers have been saying that there are no tickets available and that the venues are sold out. Hmm. Seems

Blair Kooistrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150888384261119049noreply@blogger.com1