2 0 8 4:M i s s i v e 15

Ilion here, taking advantage of the monthly update to the Vitalnet on the last day of your month to send you another quick message on my Facebook page back in 2017 from the future so that you can catch up on the "history" of what happened in 2084's recent past.

I have been told that my papers to get me out of the Florida Isles and into Old Orleans on the Bay of Mississippi that separates East and West America since the 2023 New Madrid Quake should be arriving at any time, so I want to be sure to complete my explanation of the all-powerful Population Control Board as that is the non-partisan governmental agency -- supported equally by the A's and the I's -- that I must fool in order to leave the safety of the refugee camp of IntrasiGents here who are planning the Fourth Uprising.

You probably remember me sharing in my last missive how the PCB was originally formed to address the strain on resources that unchecked population growth had placed on the Americas, and how they took advantage of advances in science whereby a person's EQ, IQ and SQ files could be uploaded to the cloud so that the physical body could be discarded ... and then how they used those files to form the knowledge management system named "The Noble Purpose" to which everyone could connect.  They issued the Fuscia Slips to group after group -- educators, religious leaders, health professionals -- mandating an upload ... after which the leftover bodies were gathered and eliminated.

It was only a matter of time before the absolute power placed in that authority absolutely corrupted ... except luckily there was a back door into the system and the IntransiGents, who have played a role in EACH of the uprisings since your days, exploited it to ensure that the agency was dismantled during the Third Uprising.  Sadly, memories of the political leaders were short-term, especially since that group of professionals was always exempted from the Fuscia Slips and therefore was made MORE powerful as the ratio of politician to citizen grew, and the PCB was reauthorized recently (as related to this era in 2084) to deal with the *opposite* problem in that the birth rate had severely *declined* with the turn to virtual reality for all sexual interactions.

Whereas once the PCB's mission was to eliminate ... the current version is tasked with a careful application of the survival algorithm to grow the exact numbers needed for the next generation that will ensure the right mix of people and resources.  The family as a unit had long disappeared with the incessant focus on the rights and uniquenesses and powers of the individual, and so the PCB in this era is responsible for the training of the future generations and has appropriated various large properties that were once used as zoos for their purpose.

I can assure you that I find that fascinating, and I hope to visit one once I am safely in the country (remember that the Florida Isles [and all of Central and South America that is not underwater] belong to the Chapo-Escobar Cartel).  But until then, I remain Ilion in 2084 (the name given to me so as to minimize confusion now that I've taken advantage of  "astral projection with a corporeal element" and exist in both eras), still hosted and brought to the future by t1a7n72.lif., and still communicating with you through the use of Troy in 2017's social media accounts -- as I will do again on the last day of the month next.

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 4/30/17

What southern Florida is talking about this week:

Keeping track of your neighbors who overdose.

To be fair, it's not in any creepy way or anything -- it's just that the county where I live made an interactive map of everyone who od'd in '16.  So now you can zoom in and see how close the epidemic is to coming to your particular 'hood.  Just one glance will show you that the only way to escape this particular plague of heroin laced with extra deadly goodies is to head out to live with the gators in the glades.

In case you don't know, it's not just happening here -- although it is happening a LOT in this area.  The county just one north of this one is worried it may not have enough morgue space as it deals with record breaking days like the one where they had ten overdoses at one time.  (Which, by the way, actually makes sense as there tends to be a bad batch of drugs that hits the street at the same time leading to multiple deaths in rapid succession.)

Far be it from me to pretend I understand the whole epidemic and whether it's truly just the second coming of the pill mill activity that ran rampant in soFlo at the beginning of this decade or if it's the onset of a little apocalypse-style action ... but it does make me wish that they would hurry up and get the legal weed out to people since overdosing on that wouldn't be quite so deadly (and would be a hell of a lot more giggly).

Stay safe out there people!

"THERE'S A VERY HIGH CHANCE THAT YOU WILL DIE":
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-dff-overdosemap-0419-20170405-story.html

MY COUNTY'S INTERACTIVE MAP:
http://bcgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=0471c198475844cb9e27002ab140c47c

AND THE COUNTY UP NORTH IS ALSO STRUGGLING:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-pn-heroin-emergency-20170322-story.html

Random Soapbox for Saturday 4/29/17

I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...

PUT YOUR DAMN CELL PHONE AWAY WHEN YOU ARE WALKING YOUR DOGS!

So I should probably apologize for what the kids refer to as "screaming in all caps" on the interwebs.  (PS ... apparently, a ??? at the end of an email will also be translated by those same youngsters as "wtf", and could get you in trouble at work if you were unawares [not that I would know about that personally or anything {or do I?}]), but, in the end, I'm in a "sorry not sorry" mood when it comes to that.

Here's the thing.  Your little doggie, when on a walk, should be the thing that captures your utmost attention, because he or she needs to sniff around the way to get the messages that other canines have left for him or her, and if you are so oblivious to the needs of your puppy (irrespective of age) that you are chatting incessantly or app-ing endlessly or screen obsessed constantly, then shame on you for not taking care of those dependent on you appropriately.

And if I see you otherwise occupied on the tiny screen and steal your dog out from under you, then good luck trying to get him or her back -- 'cause I'm fully planning on taking him or her from you the first chance I get.  Just sayin'!

NO!:
http://animalsense.com/2012/07/walking-talking-texting/

NO NO!:
http://anguspost.com/7-reasons-to-get-off-your-phone-when-you-walk-your-dog/

NO NO NO!:
http://thebark.com/content/cell-phone-use-during-walks

Random Flashback for Friday 4/28/17

Tonight's theme for the 35th batch of photos of my father's that I inherited when he passed is "(Grandpa) Paul and Puppy Polaroids", because, quite simply, they are all polaroid shots of my dad's dad Paul (my Grandpa) with the new puppy (pretty sure he's named Fluffy) that popped up in the pics last time we focused on all of the pet photos that were mixed into the collection.  There's not much variety and a few were blurry (as many of these in this series have been), but I think they get the point across that these two were pretty inseparable for a time (and also that Grandma apparently liked to take photographs with that big planter in the picture) ...

#171:  grandpa Paul and puppy in a basket on a bike in the fall
#172:  grandpa Paul and puppy in a basket on a bike in the summer
#173:  grandpa Paul holding puppy behind a big planter
#174:  grandpa Paul in a jacket holding puppy in front of a big planter
#175:  grandpa Paul sans jacket holding puppy in front of a big planter

Random Taste for Thursday 4/27/17

And so it continues ... a brand new set of tastes for 2017 ...

 here's the SIXTEENTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA 

(coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!

Establishment:  Dairy Belle 
Location:  Dania Beach
Website:  http://dairybelleicecream.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dairy-Belle-Ice-Cream-143611982333390/

TroyScore:  44 out of 50 -- aka 88, a B

THE FULL REVIEW (AND ALL THE PHOTOS) CAN BE FOUND HERE:

https://50tastesofflorida.blogspot.com/2017/04/random-taste-for-thursday-42717.html

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 4/26/17

Bacon of the Month (for Apr '17).

Used in a sentence: "The new(ish) super-bacony blog concept for 2017 continues with the next entry in the series -- here's Bacon of the Month (for Apr '17)."

As a reminder, all this year, we'll be working through the "outrageous" bacon treats at the first link below (or to follow if you're seeing this on the Facebook).

The slot for April was dedicated to Bacon Wrapped Oreos -- or, because more is sometimes more, Bacon Wrapped *Double Stuffed* Oreos.  By the way, what with how the "stuff" in the cookies was quick to melt during the frying process, I'd actually recommend using the Double Stuffed ones in the recipe.

Overall, as heretical as it may sound, not everything needs to be wrapped in bacon.  IMHO, it wasn't bad ... but I also don't think that it really "added" anything.

Be sure to come back in late May to see what bacony goodness shows up next month!

THE INSPIRATION FOR THE FIRST 12 BACONS:
http://www.neatorama.com/2015/08/25/12-Outrageous-Bacon-Treats/

THE RECIPE WE USED FOR APRIL:

http://www.ohbiteit.com/2015/04/bacon-fried-oreos.html

Random TNT for Tuesday 4/25/17

TNT ... Chicago 17

1  His text had clearly said that he would be picking her up after class but now that he was no longer answering his phone, she decided to give him another five minutes before taking the first bus to get to the second bus that would get her home where she could lock herself in her apartment and do her best to forget the horrible grade she had gotten on her test that day.  2  If only she didn't have to work two jobs to afford nursing school, then maybe she would have had the quality time to study instead of her usual routine of trying to keep her eyes open on the public transportation to review just enough of her notes from class to avoid failing.

3  Settling for just getting by.  4  *That* was what her life had become.  5  Just a little bit longer.  6  Just a little bit more.  7  Just a little bit of disappointment to get through.  8  Then she'd be on the other side of her goals, with a new job making the big bucks in the fancy hospital in the good part of town.  9  Just a little bit.

10  Sharlene had the skills to cope -- but what she wanted more than anything at that moment was to feel sorry for herself.  11  She wanted to take the gift of having an evening off from everything to cocoon in her bed, streaming some bad tv featuring folks who had it much worse than she did, and crying herself to sleep assuming she didn't doze off from exhaustion midway through the program first.

12  She couldn't wait any longer.  13  He was supposed to be working his other job that evening, so she surmised that he picked up a fare and had to change his plans at the last minute.  14  "He was stuck in traffic somewhere -- somewhere with a weak cell signal like Lower Wacker" is what she convinced herself.  15  The bus was the sure thing, and she wanted a sure thing when it came to getting home that evening as quickly as possible -- so she started walking a few blocks toward the bench for the next bus stop.

16  Deep in her thoughts as she was, she was only paying half attention to the fact that the bus was practically there, waiting at the red light just before the dedicated bench.  17  What snapped her out of her pity party was the car that sped from the middle lane when the light turned green and cut across to park in the place reserved for the bus.  18  Through the honking of the horns, she spotted her Angel, waving frantically at her to get in the car.

19  "Did you give up on me?" he yelled good-naturedly, as she jumped into the passenger seat.  20  The look she gave him in reply confirmed that she had.

21  "I figured something came up.  22 I just want to get home and end today."  23  She didn't offer any details to explain her wish ... but she did offer an explanation for her next move.  24  "You're lucky a cop didn't see you pull that stunt in front of the bus," she said angrily as she punched him in the arm for added emphasis.

25  "I waited a bit at our usual spot in front of the building but there was NO one there, so I figured your class had let out already.  26  Then when the bus went past ..."  27  He didn't need to tell the rest of the story.  28  Sharlene could fill in the blanks.

29  "Yeah -- well -- you're driving more and more like a maniac since you took that job.  30  I think you're spending too much time in the damn car!"

31  That was probably not the best time for Angel to suddenly pull a u-turn.  32  But he did it anyway.

33  "Where are you gooooing?  34  I wanna go hooooome!" Sharlene whined.

35  "One quick stop," he responded.  36  "I promise ... just one ..."

37  There was nothing else for her to do.  38  She turned toward the window and pouted.  39  "This day can't get any worse," she muttered, mostly to herself, but just loud enough that Angel could hear.

Random Memorial for Monday 4/24/17

Gone but not forgotten:  Joe Miller.

So here's the thing.  I've said it before and I'll say it again -- Facebook is hard.  People can go a little crazy on it.  It seems like not everyone gets that one is free to scroll and that one is NOT obligated to comment -- or even like -- content.

Similarly, not everyone gets that, for those whose content you don't want to see, there are options -- from simply "hiding" posts to passively telling FB that you want to unfollow someone but remain friends to aggressively blocking a contact so that you never have to see or hear of them ever again (although friends of friends will still occasionally post pics of the blocked -- diluting your overall attempts at ghosting [allegedly -- I mean not that that's happened to me or anything]).

I know I'm not everybody's flavor.  And I'm 150% okay with that.  If you don't like what I have to say -- if you think I cross a line -- if you get confused by what I'm posting -- if you are unhappy with the volume of stuff I share -- if you can't take me -- then go ahead and exercise your right to remove me from your wall by any of the choices listed above.

What you don't do?  Randomly post these words to me:  "get a job".  Which brings me back to Joe Miller.  Apparently, we were Facebook friends.  And apparently, he felt the need to share that piece of wisdom on my wall.  I was puzzled by his commentary, as I do have a job -- with the same company since 2004, so it's more like a career.  I surmised that it was probably his way of expressing that he was unsatisfied with what he was seeing from me on the Facebook.

The first thing I did was try to figure out who Joe Miller was, because sometimes people end up on your "friends" list and you're not really sure how they got there.  With a name like Joe Miller, which is only just a few notches away from John Doe, there's also a really good chance that the Joe Miller with whom you are connected is NOT actually a Joe Miller from your past life.  Indeed, this was some younger Joe Miller who was also from my hometown of Lebanon but who was a friend of a friend and many years younger than my usual people.

Armed with that knowledge, I had no problem making my Facebook a Joe-Miller-free zone.  He whom I blocked, after replying to his "get a job" post with a "thanks for the offer, but are you giving hand or blow ... regardless, I'll meet you in the back alley as usual" ('cause, you know, this homey don't play), you will NOT be missed.

YOU CAN TAKE CONTROL WITHOUT BEING A DICK:
http://mashable.com/2015/01/10/facebook-news-feed-tips/#B974qcsm7SqC

AH FACEBOOK ... SO ENCOURAGING OF PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR:
http://mashable.com/2014/06/27/social-media-passive-aggressive/#rNYEtKxfHaqR

I STAND BY MY ORIGINAL (AND EVER TIMELESS) RANT:
https://capcognition.blogspot.com/2011/07/random-soapbox-for-saturday-72311.html

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 4/23/17

What southern Florida is talking about this week:

The expansion of the "Live Fresh" program from a county up north down into the FTL.

Lookit, Ft Lauderdale has more than its share of homeless people.  And, after nearly a dozen years in Chicago, I would expect that to be the case.  I always marveled at how many homeless stayed in the Windy City through all the seasons.  Would I ever to be without a home, I'd like to think that I'd spend my first bit of time doing whatever I had to to get to someplace where seasonal temps were a bit more forgiving.

Then, once I did get to somewhere like where my new here is, I'd have to deal with the trade off -- seasonal temps can get pretty darn warm, and what with my tendency toward perspiration (sometimes in the summer months I can be in a puddle of my own sweat just sitting outside reading [reading strenuously, sure, but still]), I would be far far away from that oh-so-fresh feeling.

Enough of my hypothetical homeless scenario, the reality is that there are many in that situation day in and day out -- which is why a local charity does something kind of simple.  They haul a mobile showering station of six stalls that drives around to the free meal sites so that some of the nearly 2300 homeless in the county (approximately 800 of whom are not in overnight shelters, according to estimates) can hop in the shower, and they uphold their mission of helping the homeless to live "fresh", because "Feeling Revitalized Encourages Sustainable Happiness".

Simple ... yet effective.  Kudos to those who are making a difference, one shower at a time.

LOCAL INFORMATION:
http://livefreshinc.org/hsf/

SOURCE OF THE DATA POINTS IN THE POST:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-sb-homeless-mobile-showers-20170215-story.html

SOLVING HOMELESSNESS:
http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/ending-homelessness/proven-solutions/

Random Soapbox for Saturday 4/22/17

I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...

... my damn Android phone is going to get me arrested before too long.

It turns out that, once upon a time, the fine folks at the Google recognized that the need for people to protect their cell phones meant that a homescreen lockdown would be a valued feature BUT that emergency situations would dictate that a caller would, on rare occasion, need to quickly grab a phone and dial 9-1-1 unencumbered by any security features, so they made it easy to do so.

Too too easy it seems.

Here's why -- my old man exercise routine includes one hour walks in the 'hood (on good days, sometimes in the morning AND at lunch -- but never in the evening so as to avoid being murdered by accident [or on purpose]) ... and it seems that my locked down Android phone junk-dials 9-1-1 all too often.  (I carry my phone in my front pocket and it's too hot to wear underwear down here, so ... you know ... it's always a front private area thing as opposed to a back one).

And just to clarify ... unlike that silly lady in Washington (see link below/to follow), I'm not going to be arrested for discussing something illegal on my walks (I use the quiet time to calm the voices in my head, so at the very most, my lips might be moving but there's nothing audible that the cell phone will pick up), but if there are any "phones that call wolf" laws out there, I'm for sure breaking all of them on the regular.

Should I be arrested, I'm fully gonna blame the google people during my trial ...just sayin'!

THE AFOREMENTIONED WASHINGTON CASE:
https://www.aol.com/article/2016/08/17/woman-arrested-after-butt-dialing-911/21453594/

I AM NOT ALONE WITH THIS PROBLEM:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/lg-optimus-g-pro/286677-too-easy-accidentally-call-911-lock-screen.html

ACTUALLY, IT'S A REALLY BIG PROBLEM ABOUT WHICH I WAS UNAWARE:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/05/living/butt-dialing-911-emergency-feat/index.html

Random Posting for Penn State 4/22/17

Here are 9 Nittany Nuggets from today's spring football game:

1.)  Woo-hoo!  Penn State won!  And it was a blow-out!
2.)  You know what was a nice reminder?  Hearing again that we are the current Big10 champs!
3.)  Of course we knew that SAY-SAY wouldn't be playing today (and I'm assuming that I can call him SAY-SAY the way that the announcerpeople do as if we all grew up on the same block) ... but it was great to see him interviewed all the same.
4.)  By the way, I've got nothing against a Kid'nPlay haircut, but I do wonder if the 5'11" SAQUON might not be trying to use it to get above the 6 foot mark to intimidate his opponents.
5.)  Hey announcerpeople -- speaking of SAY-SAY, you guys declaring that he is now "100% man" was a little creepy.
6.)  Note to self:  don't panic.  That's Sean SPENCER and NOT Sean SPICER who will be contributing to the team's success this year.
7.)  And speaking of players being interviewed (as I did in the 3rd nugget), it was ALSO great to hear MCSORLEY interviewed on the field ... and was it me, or did he start to sound like Honey Boo Boo's daddy "Sugar Bear" at the beginning of the conversation?
8.)  Please please please?  Can *every* halftime include media people getting hit in the face while they try to catch punt returns?
9.)  I don't care what anyone else says.  *My* player of the week was back up QB Tommy STEVENS, who got to play the whole second half and show off his long ball skills.  Seeing as how we might only see him in the last few minutes of the games upcoming this season, it was nice to see our "depth" a bit during today's event. 

In closing, thanks to the Big10 Cancer Research Center, which was seen on all the advertisements today -- and which sounds like the *perfect* collaboration for teams that compete during the regular season ... and here's to taking on the Akron Zips in JUST about four short months over Labor Day weekend (summer hasn't started and yet it's already almost over)!

SPENCER NOT SPICER:
http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/sean_spencer_882977.html

MORE ABOUT THE BIG 10 CANCER RESEARCH CENTER:
https://www.bigtencrc.org/

A LOOK AHEAD AT THE 2017 SEASON:
https://www.landof10.com/penn-state/penn-state-2017-high-expectations

Random Flashback for Friday 4/21/17

Yep, we're nearing the end of the set of photos from the 1997 PA Renaissance Faire twenty years ago ('cause that's how the Friday flashbacks work on the alternate weeks I'm not featuring the photos of my father's I inherited when he passed -- we go back in time a whole two decades to see what was happening in that era).

Someone still around central PA will have to tell me if this giant knight still exists on the grounds at Mt Hope, but on this trip, it seemed like a good place as any to take that which passed for a selfie back then.  By the way -- that which passed for a selfie back then was asking the little kid you took to the Faire to take your picture (photo credit:  Jakey W).

Just two more shots from this excursion remain to be posted ... and consider yourself warned now that I'm promising that there will be a big BIG finish ...

Random Taste for Thursday 4/20/17

And so it continues ... a brand new set of tastes for 2017 ...

 here's the FIFTEENTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA 

(coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!

Establishment:  Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza 
Location:  Ft. Lauderdale
Website:  https://acfp.com/location/fort-lauderdale/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anthonyscoalfiredpizza/

TroyScore:  45 out of 50 -- aka 90, an A

THE FULL REVIEW (AND ALL THE PHOTOS) CAN BE FOUND HERE:

https://50tastesofflorida.blogspot.com/2017/04/random-taste-for-thursday-42017.html

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 4/19/17

Thank You Donald Trump:  A Trumptych

Used in a sentence:  "Today, I offer up part three of what is now, when taking in conjunction with the other two posts, a full 'Thank you Donald Trump:  A Trumptych'".

For this final entry in the series, Thank You Donald Trump for showing me the true colors of my Facebook "friends".

I will tell you this -- I never bought into the whole "clean up my friends list" craze that started last year when election things got out of hand.  I did not live in a bubble ... hell, I drove from the south of Florida up into central PA -- on the back roads -- and I cautiously predicted that the game would be changed based on all the signs I saw in the countryside.  But most importantly, I believed in the concept that I needed to know that hatred and bigotry and a fear of the other was alive and well in the divided states of America in order to "stay woke".

I saw what you all posted.  I didn't feel it my calling to comment on every hateful thing you put up on the Facebook and attached to your name ... but I made note of it.  I know which ones of you have been radicalized ('cause, guess what, ISIS isn't alone in its powerful conversion activity -- Huckabee does just as good of a job at turning folks into extremists).  I have looked at your friends list on the Facebook and determined that if the only pop of color I saw on it was the one black kid who went to your high school that  I wasn't going to place so much value in *your* opinion on the Black Lives Matter movement in those instances.

Truth be told, I'm friends with some of you just because I'm hoping that I'll get interviewed when they make the documentary about the day you finally snapped and went on a killing spree, safe in the comfort that I live far enough away from most of you that you'll be caught before you and your craziness make it all the way down here.  (You know who you are.)  I've even practiced my comment:  "We all saw [insert your name here] post increasingly bizarre things, but we assumed that someone who loved him [or her] would intervene."

I'm still watching you.  I know things now about you.  I have Trump to thank for that.  And I expect my friends list might get smaller now that I'm admitting all this.  Spoiler alert:  I'll deal.  I promise.  I always have.  I always will.  Trump or no Trump.

THE CRAZY ALSO KNOWN AS HUCKABEE:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/mike-huckabee-still-talking-crazy-20110505

THE DREADED FACEBOOK "BUBBLE":
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/25/magazine/can-facebook-fix-its-own-worst-bug.html?_r=0

THE BEST OF "THAT FRIEND FROM HIGH SCHOOL":
https://twitter.com/friendfromhs?lang=en

Random TNT for Tuesday 4/18/17

TNT ... Chicago 16

1  Springtime in Chicago was entirely unpredictable.  2  A sneak peak of summer in the afternoon could be chased out of town by a derecho wind storm that would usher in a sudden frost by nightfall.  3  You could leave in the morning in a wind breaker, strip down to shorts for lunch, and be wishing you had a hat and gloves for the trip home -- all in the same day.

4  Angel had grown up in the city so he knew that to be the case.  5  He could afford to bide his time when it came to his plans, and to wait for the afternoon when the temperature slipped above 50 degrees for the first time.  6  He knew that by doing so, he'd have the whole city behind him.  

7  Windows would be opening for the first time in months to take advantage of the opportunity to replace the stale air of Chicago winter with something a little more invigorating.  8  Strangers would be smiling, because everyone was friendly with everyone else when sharing in the communal experience of knowing that winter would almost be in the record books.  9  The city would be crackling with an energy that only came around but once a year -- with the promise of renewal and revival and rejuvenation on the breeze for all to experience.

10  On that day -- on *this* day -- he would revive his plans from New Year's that got disrupted by the emergency birthing that had happened in the back seat of his car being used that holiday night for the ride-share service.  11  Of course, he still had the ring.  12  He had hidden it in a safe place, far away from Sharlene's prying eyes.

13  He had intended to propose on New Year's Eve because that was her favorite holiday -- but he wasn't about to wait another whole year to pop the question.  14  By the next New Year's Eve, he was determined that they would celebrate as husband and wife.  15  Truth be told, if he had HIS way, they'd be at that future party with non-alcoholic beverages as he hoped she'd be pregnant by then.

16  There was just something about how it all went down with little Gabriella being born on his watch that had triggered something in him.  17  He wouldn't let the fact that the two of them lived paycheck to paycheck keep him from expanding their family.

18  But first things first.  19  Before the pregnancy would have to come the wedding.  20  And before the wedding would have to come the engagement.  21  And before the engagement would have to come the proposal.  22  Before the proposal would have to come the first day in Chicago above 50 degrees.

23  Angel grabbed his cell phone and looked at its homepage.  24  The time read 3:15pm.  25  The forecast was "sunny and breezy".  26  The temperature said 52 degrees.

27  He headed to the dining room table and yanked on each side, exposing the cavity in the middle that was the space where the leaf would go.  28  Luckily for him, they had had no guests since the holidays, and so his hiding place for the ring had gone undiscovered.

29  He grabbed the phone, the jacket and the ring and he headed out the door.  30  Springtime in Chicago was unpredictable and the temperature would most certainly fall when darkness arrived.  31  There was but a small window of time for the conditions to be just right, and it was his intention to make the most of it.

Random Memorial for Monday 4/17/17

Gone but not forgotten:  this 24th release from the one and only Reba (who by the time of this cassette was only going by her first name as all the divas do).

I set the stage early on this year -- there were going to be a lot of Reba McEntire cassettes finding their way to the trash can at the beginning of 2017, what with the fact that we had finally cleaned out our musical collection and now the duplicate items of things we also had as CDs were getting purged.

Well, ceremoniously purged, 'cause that's how we roll.  And the tune we'll be featuring for this post is the one that is the sequel of that famous duet with Linda Davis -- or the three-quel if you count the 'On My Own' ditty remake featured last time (two weeks ago) as the one in between.

A duet that doesn't end with a speed boat explosion (but still ends with the women winning), until the 'If You See Him' *CD* makes it into rotation again, you will be missed.

HE'LL KNOW HE'S LOST WATCHING US LEAVING:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOZJ87Z8JRk

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 4/16/17

What southern Florida is talking about this week:

Jamarion Styles, basketball star.

13 year old 8th grader Jamarion made all the news this spring with his buzzer beating three pointer in nearby Boca.  It turns out though that he's been in the news before, due to the special prosthetics that were created to make it just a little easier for all the drumming he was already doing when he wasn't being a baller on the courts.

Of note, though, he doesn't use those when he excels at basketball ... because he doesn't need to ... because he doesn't see the fact that he lost his hands and part of his arms due to a bacterial infection when he was younger as any kind of obstacle ... because perspective is everything.

Congrats Jamarion on living your life with no limitations ...and for inspiring others!

THE AFOREMENTIONED BUZZER BEATER:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WFgeefHd0M

THE AFOREMENTIONED DRUMMING PROSTHETICS:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-teen-gets-new-arms-20161219-story.html

THE AFOREMENTIONED INSPIRATION:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRkv3tOqMPM

Random Soapbox for Saturday 4/15/17

I don't mean to go on a rave here, but ...

... I will.  After I first explain a little something something.

In my Saturday post tagged a week ago, I said it would be the last rave in awhile ... because I was raving during all of Lenten season and Lenten season was over.

Except it wasn't.  I guess that when you write posts in June and back-date them to April because you fell behind in your daily posting schedule back in January and February, you kind of forget exactly when Easter was.

So, for real this time, one more rave (for a few weeks, anyway) before returning to weekly rants -- and it goes to a song on Kenny Chesney's latest album, because mentioning it here is also going to revive an old occasional series from the original capcognition blog called "Country Music has the best ... lyrics ... ever".  It may be the first appearance here, but it's the 11th entry overall.

What exactly is so deserving?  How's about the song with these lyrics:

I made a bucket list, changed the B to an F
I gave my give a damn the finger, so it got up and left
I quit worrying about people's expectations
And ordered up a six pack of chillaxification
If you're a little depressed, and a little bit lost
Maybe write it all down, and then blow it all off
We're all a letter away from per perpetual bliss
Put an F on the B of your bubba bubba bucket list

CHANGE THE B TO AN F:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cZ5OWjQDSg

Random Flashback for Friday 4/14/17

Tonight's theme for the 34th batch of photos of my father's that I inherited when he passed is "first set of grandkids".  When I try to explain my family, I usually start with two things.  First, I tell folks that it will be much easier to understand if they let me draw a picture/diagram.  Second, I mention that I was an uncle even before I was born.  Put another way, in 1972, the year of *my* birth (and I was a baby of this version of our family, although there would be another child of his that came along seven years later in another iteration of the family), my dad was also getting to experience his first set of grandkids, because his daughter Carol Ann (my oldest half-sister) was bringing her children around (and that would make these photos pictures of my first ever nephews and niece [of what would be many]).

#166:  brothers on a couch -- handwritten 1972 on front of photo (the year I was born!) and "Bobby - 2 1/2 yrs" and "Brent - 10 mos" written on the back
#167:  older boy between slide and bike -- May 72 printed on front of photo (1972 also written on front), and "Bobby" written on back
#168:  smiley boy in back yard of Bethel house -- May 72 printed on front of photo (1972 also written on front), and "Brent" written on back
#169:  new baby pic -- handwritten 1972 on front of photo, and "SueAnn Furnier 6 wks old 1972" written on back
#170:  school photo that says "Bobby, 4th grade, 1974" written on the back ... but is it really him or is it misnamed 'cause I don't think it looks like the other pics of (my nephew-who-is-older-than-I-am) Bobby? 

Random Taste for Thursday 4/13/17

And so it continues ... a brand new set of tastes for 2017 ...

 here's the FOURTEENTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA 

(coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!

Establishment:  Sublime Restaurant and Bar 
Location:  Ft. Lauderdale
Website:  http://www.sublimerestaurant.com/home.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sublimerestaurant/

TroyScore:  43 out of 50 -- aka 86, a B

THE FULL REVIEW (AND ALL THE PHOTOS) CAN BE FOUND HERE:

https://50tastesofflorida.blogspot.com/2017/04/random-taste-for-thursday-41317.html

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 4/12/17

Thank You Donald Trump:  A Trumptych

Used in a sentence:  "Today, I offer up part two of what will eventually be a full 'Thank you Donald Trump:  A Trumptych'".

For the second in this series of three (hence the call out to a triptych), Thank You Donald Trump for completely changing the way that arguments play out in these times.

It is now a guaranteed win for anyone in an argument to accuse the other side of "spinning it like Spicer", as that conveys a fundamental foolishness recalling playground interactions of our youth.  Similarly, "you sound just like Trump" is now a "boom, drop the mic" moment.  (Note that there will be no reference to KellyAnne Conway in this post, because comparing your opponent to her is just completely unfair and will be this generation's version of Godwin's Law [if you know, you know].)

BTW -- bonus thanks for regular outrageous behavior that gives us the chance to see Alec and Melissa on a near weekly basis despite '30 Rock' and 'Mike and Molly' being over ... *that's* a gift that keeps on giving.

IN THE VEIN OF "SPIN IT LIKE SPICER":
http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2017/04/07/people-imagining-sean-spicer-spin-favourite-movie-plots/

I'M A JUST GONNA LEAVE THIS HERE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjeOc8TQwXU

IN CASE YOU AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH GODWIN'S LAW:
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/godwins-law

Random TNT for Tuesday 4/11/17

TNT ... Chicago 15

1  There were three months about which they could have been catching up.  2  Instead, they were awkwardly staring at each other, unsure as to who should speak next after they had both just asked each other how the other one had been.

3  Marta was the one who broke the silence.  4  "How's your sister?  5  She would have had her baby by now, right?"

6  The asking of the question was proof enough that they had spent too much time apart.  7  It only highlighted the fact that their tiff on New Year's Eve was a big one.  8  She had no idea that he walked out of that party and into a curbside nativity scene of sorts.

9  Zar was saddened by the realization that his best friend had not been a part of his life for so many weeks.  10  Disheartened as he was, he still felt the need to reply.  

11 "Yep.  12  Baby girl.  13  Gabriella April."

14  The server provided the next interruption to the awkward silence.

15  "And here you go sweetheart," she said as she placed the bowl of noodles in front of him.  16  "You guys need anything else?" she asked.

17  Marta wanted to answer honestly and say that she needed her bestie to be back in her life.  18  Zar wanted to reply and confirm that a boatload of money would satisfy him.  19  Instead, both just politely shook their heads back and forth conveying the universal sign for "waitress dismissal".

20  Each one picked at the food in front of them.  21  It was much easier to do that than to ask for forgiveness.

22  Again, it was Marta who made the effort.

23  "And things are good at work?" she queried.

24  "Good enough," Zar answered.  "Same old, same old."

25  The conversation was almost painful.  26  It shouldn't have been so hard for people who cared for each other deep down inside so so much to speak with each other.

27  "You have to believe me.  28  I wasn't trying to cause trouble.that night.  29  It was exactly the opposite.  30  I was trying to cause peace."

31  Once again, it was Marta who was making the most effort to recapture what was lost.

32  Zar flashed a wan smile.  33  "It's over.  34  It was what it was.  35  But it's also kind of why I asked you here today."  36  Zar pushed his noodles around on his plate again for almost a full minute before continuing.

37  "I need your help.  38  Our landlord is threatening eviction.  39  I need your help in getting some fast money.  40  I need you to help me break into J's house and rob his roommates."

41  They might have thought it was awkward before, but they were truly only getting started.

42  He made direct eye contact for the first time since they sat down together.

43  "You owe me!" he declared almost ominously, simultaneously blowing up the awkward meter of anyone who happened to be seated nearby and taking measurements of their interaction.

Random Memorial for Monday 4/10/17

Gone but not forgotten:  the screwworm infestation in the Key deer.

Gone and good riddance, I say.

[And you're welcome for this cutesy picture I chose to accompany this post, considering everything I found on the google search when I went looking.]

Mind you, we've lived down here over three years and still haven't made it all the way to the end of the road in Key West (hell, we've barely made it past Key Largo), but that doesn't mean we weren't watching how the government handled this first major outbreak of the last thirty years.

Luckily, though, the government "done good", and they have now declared the poor tragedy for the special island deer over -- and they have lifted a checkpoint for any animals that were in a car heading back toward Miami from the islands.  Admittedly, this whole thing did go down with some uniquely genetically engineered mosquitoes that were released that scared a lot of people with how sci-fi real life was getting ... but still.  No more screwworm was the outcome -- and we can trust the government, right?

That which I thought was maybe going to start the zombie apocalypse way to close to where we call home, you will NOT be missed!

WOO-HOO!  WE ARE SCREWWORM FREE!:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/stakeholder-info/sa_by_date/sa-2017/sa-03/fl-nws-eradication

NO MORE CHECKPOINTS NEEDED!:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article139360463.html

IN CASE YOU DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE KEY DEER:
http://www.floridakeys.com/lowerkeys/keydeer.htm

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 4/9/17

What southern Florida is talking about this week:

Mandatory recess for the kiddies.

Disclaimer:  my kiddies don't go to school as they are actual kitties (and puppies).

Additional disclaimer:  my recess prowess peaked in 5th grade when we played snotman (basically a game of tag that included a home base of a flag pole that the "safe" folks could use to form a human chain to save others ... except the one from whom the others were being saved was more than just "it" -- he was snotman [and I went to elementary school back in the 80's when we could be willfully sexist in the naming of our recess games -- I'm sure it will be called "snotperson" and open to all when it gets revived at an upcoming Southeast Elementary class reunion]).

That being said, the problem in my new home state is that recess is being squeezed out by too many other legislative requirements that schools can't quite juggle in the normal school day OR it's no longer unstructured free-for-all time so that it can count towards physical education for those administrators busy keeping score.  The proposal is that there be a mandatory 20 minutes of free play every day from kindergarten through fifth grade -- and with it being Florida, that's likely rain or shine ... or hurricane.

It's only a matter of time before we start hearing the cries of "make recess great again"!

THE LATEST RECESS BATTLES:
http://wfla.com/2017/04/05/legislators-at-odds-on-mandatory-recess-bill/

THAT HAVE APPARENTLY BEEN FESTERING FOR AWHILE:
https://thinkprogress.org/recess-is-under-attack-and-these-parents-are-exercised-8864fe092267

EVERYTHING I KNOW I LEARNED IN RECESS (?):
http://www.gurl.com/2013/01/02/recess-childhood-play-outside/#1

Random Soapbox for Saturday 4/8/17

I don't mean to go off on a rave here, but ...

... I will ... because all throughout the Lenten season, I'm going to rave instead of rant ...

[note:  I know you're likely not reading this until long after Lent, but thanks to the power of post-dating on the blog, I'm going to slip this in to the spot where I had originally intended it to be ...]

And for the last rave for a bit (I'll go back to just one a month like I used to do come "May"), I'm challenging you to be the bison!

Now, when I say that, I don't mean that your loved ones should kill you and use every single part of you for food, heat, shelter, clothes, etc (as every kid who learned about the Wild Wild West knows happened with those beasts back in the day) ... nor do I hope that you become almost extinct (well, maybe one or two of you, but I'm trying to keep this rave something positive so that's all I'll say about that).

I'm talking about the lore (maybe truth?) that says bison sense a storm is coming and, instead of running away from it, charge headlong INTO it, knowing that facing the challenge head on is the way *through* the experience instead of prolonging it -- or worse yet, wallowing in it.  (Science may also have determined that the grass immediately after the storm happens to taste extra delicious.)

So the next time you see the storm clouds gathering on the horizon -- run INTO the conflict.  Be a bison yo.

INTO THE STORM:
https://betterlifecoachingblog.com/2011/06/03/during-the-storm-be-the-buffalo-not-the-cow/

IF ALL THIS BISON TALK IS MAKING YOU HUNGRY:
https://bisoncentral.com/general-info/

SPEAKING OF THE GREAT AMERICAN BISON:
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/facing-the-storm/

Random Flashback for Friday 4/7/17

The jig is, as they say, up.

If you haven't figured out the location for this set of photos from twenty years ago in 1997 (admittedly, the fall of that year and not the spring), what with this shot of Jakey W jousting (yes, I said jousting) ... it should be pretty clear that we were at the 1997 edition of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.

[Although I guess it's true that there's also jousting at an establishment like Medieval Times, I didn't even know that kind of place existed until the big move to Chicago so many many years later and I heard about one in the suburbs.]

There are still three more photos from this trip to be posted soon (every other week as is the shtick) ... but jousting may just have captured it all best.

Random Taste for Thursday 4/6/17

And so it continues ... a brand new set of tastes for 2017 ...

 here's the THIRTEENTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA 

(coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!

Establishment:  Rendez-vous Bakery and Bistro 
Location:  Oakland Park
Website:  http://rdvbakery.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/RDVBakery/

TroyScore:  34 out of 50 -- aka 68, a D

THE FULL REVIEW (AND ALL THE PHOTOS) CAN BE FOUND HERE:

https://50tastesofflorida.blogspot.com/2017/04/random-taste-for-thursday-4617.html

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 4/5/17

Thank You Donald Trump:  A Trumptych

Used in a sentence:  "Today, I offer up part one of what will eventually be a full 'Thank you Donald Trump:  A Trumptych'".

For those who don't know of "triptychs", it's three pieces of "art" that can be viewed individually, but belong displayed together.

As for the "thanks" side of things, I have been faced with a little bit of criticism that I maybe should be more positive about the PresiDOLT (oops -- see -- just like healthcare, who knew that breaking old habits is *hard*).  Hence, I have searched my soul and I have found something (actually, three things) for which I am grateful related to the Trumpster.

To whit, Thank You Donald Trump for bringing a focus on prayer back to my life.  I now have a standard saying of grace for such occasions -- simple and sweet yet decidedly pithy:  "Dear Lord, please protect us all from Donald Trump."

May sweet Arab baby Jesus hear our words ...

OTHER TRIP TYCH IDEAS:
https://www.pinterest.com/explore/triptych/

ON DONALD TRUMP AND RELIGION:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-stebenne/donald-trumps-religious-b_b_11072346.html

ON OTHER FUN PRAYERS:
http://www.reform-magazine.co.uk/2015/04/jumble-sales-of-the-apocalypse-when-prayer-goes-wrong/