Just Wow

[spenser1058]

OK, it’s time to sing again!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0mNBv5fwdXY
 

From YouTube 

[spenser1058]

The thought for the day from the late Barbara Bush:

“I sat next to her once. Thought she was beautiful. I think she's very happy in Alaska. And I hope she'll stay there.”

Something to ponder as Sarah Palin has decided to run for Congress. The sad part is that, since she left politics for the bright lights of basic cable, she would be far from the wackiest Republican in Congress these days. She might not even make their Top 10. Power up the clown car!

Edited April 7, 2022 by spenser1058

[JFW657]

Anyone celebrate 407 Day today?

https://bungalower.com/2022/04/05/local-governments-and-visit-orlando-want-you-to-celebrate-407-day-with-you/

 

[spenser1058]

I missed that one but it’s also the UCF Day of Giving and I did my contributions:

https://twitter.com/ChargeOnFund/status/1511916675976896527?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1511916675976896527%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=

Charge On!

 

[spenser1058]

Scott M’s doing a Q&A today and someone asked about local legislative workhorse Anna Eskamani. When asked what was after the FL House, she was asked might be next.

Interestingly, she said Orlando mayor. Of course, she’ll probably wait until they carry Buddy out by his boots in 20 years first, but imagine a mayor that DOES something and isn’t an automatic yes to whatever the DeVos’ or developers want. It’s almost worth holding my breath for twenty years…

From The Sentinel 

[spenser1058]

So, the developer that destroyed one of the biggest, oldest trees downtown has sold the lot without doing a thing except arbor homicide. And you wonder why developers (and the mayors who enable them) are regarded as lower than sludge? Now you know. 

[spenser1058]

The More You Know… Ann Turner Cook, USF Class of ‘69, was the original Gerber baby. Saaaaalute!

Thanks to the BullsPen, the USF Fan Forum

Edited April 8, 2022 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

Oakland dropped 10000 plastic Easter eggs (filled with treats) from a helicopter at its “Among The Oaks” event.

Thankfully, no turkeys were dropped…

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-pictures-helicopter-egg-drop-20220409-btcpecf5ovchthadib4yatcdni-photogallery.html 

From The Sentinel 

“As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.” - Arthur Carlson
 

Edited April 10, 2022 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

The New York Times reports people are eating the PLU stickers on unpackaged fruits and veggies.

Yet we keep insisting humans are sentient beings.

The More You Know…

[HankStrong]

They have made a special effort to tell people they are safe to eat, so?

I'm not eating stickers.  That's just not something that would even cross my mind, however, they have said over and over that you can.  I guess I can't fault the people that do.

[spenser1058]

It’s fascinating that almost invariably, when there’s a case of voter fraud, it’s Republicans, including The Donald’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

Voter fraud’s actually insignificant as a percentage of votes, but when it happens it keeps mostly being the party that says it’s a problem.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ne-2020-election-voting-fraud-the-villages-pre-trial-intervention-20220413-ccfyv2u2ozdmrpxdc7ztboczym-story.html

From The Sentinel 
 

Edited April 13, 2022 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

It occurred to me how appropriate it is that Ron DeS (I can’t refer to him as governor because he has yet to govern anything) is a product of the Ivy League since his whole term in office has been something out of Shakespeare:

‘Macbeth says, "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." ‘

One fine day, someone will actually govern the state again. I wonder if I’ll live to see it - it’s becoming quite doubtful if the manatees will.

[spenser1058]

I’ve been binge-watching Season 1 of Spenser: For Hire this weekend and it occurred to me to look around for a college-age @prahaboheme wandering around Harvard Square or something. Then I thought he might not be old enough at the time for that to be a thing so I got back to checking out Boston as it looked before the Big Dig…

[prahaboheme]

3 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

I’ve been binge-watching Season 1 of Spenser: For Hire this weekend and it occurred to me to look around for a college-age @prahaboheme wandering around Harvard Square or something. Then I thought he might not be old enough at the time for that to be a thing so I got back to checking out Boston as it looked before the Big Dig…

I’m old enough to have experienced not only the big dig, but what came before it for decades and divided the city. 
If I wandered around Harvard Square it was usually an embarrassing retreat in the early morning hours  They wanted us more than we wanted them.

Edited April 24, 2022 by prahaboheme

[spenser1058]

It’s interesting how some folks think Orlando didn’t have name entertainment before you-know-who gave a sweetheart deal to City Hall’s favorite multilevel marketers.

This, of course, isn’t true, but why believe me? Instead, let Elton John tell you. At his farewell stop in Orlando this week, he noted the first of his four Orlando visits was Oct 14, 1989, at the O-rena. 

George Orwell called this practice of obfuscation “repainting the barn”, I believe.

Fortunately, some of us have been around long enough to know better.
 

[spenser1058]

Incandescent light bulbs and menthol smokes are both on the way out. Are they connected somehow? Enquiring minds want to know.

I replaced my bulbs ages ago (they last soooo much longer and are better environmentally) and never smoked so I have no dog in this hunt. It does seem to be a bit of progress in the midst of madness. That makes me happy.

[HankStrong]

13 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Incandescent light bulbs and menthol smokes are both on the way out. Are they connected somehow? Enquiring minds want to know.

I replaced my bulbs ages ago (they last soooo much longer and are better environmentally) and never smoked so I have no dog in this hunt. It does seem to be a bit of progress in the midst of madness. That makes me happy.

Other than appliance bulbs, I haven't had a purchased incandescent bulb in my house in 20 years.  I phrase it that way because I have had two homes that had some of them when I moved in.  In both cases, I replaced all the bulbs in the house with CFLs originally and then LED bulbs as those became more reasonable in price. 

• I collected the incandescent bulbs and gave them to a relative who insists (she's in her 80s now so her being 100% wrong is basically irrelevant) that they're the only thing giving her the light she needs to read. 
• I still have a box of partially used CFL bulbs that I'm slowly working my way through and taking to hazardous waste as they die.  They die extremely slowly and I have some that are nearly 20 years old at this point.  They do die, though.
• I think LED bulbs are pretty amazing, but have had varying levels of success with them.  They either die after a few months or have been going strong for a decade or more.  It seems to vary with the application.  I bought dimmable, outdoor rated, and fully-enclosed rated LED bulbs for my porch lights.  Interestingly, they aren't on a dimmer, they aren't exposed to direct weather, and they aren't fully-enclosed, so I should be way overdoing it.  I have been through many bulbs in the last several years.  I bought a 10-pack thinking that was more than a lifetime of bulbs and just put my last in the other day.  I bought some LED floodlights for the backyard and those burned out in no time.  I went back to halogen back there.  Those things last forever, but stink for electricity draw.

[spenser1058]

There’s something about a train … and Florida’s five grandest stations (one will be very familiar):

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/five-grand-railroad-stations-in-florida

From The Jaxson 
 

[spenser1058]

Seminole County is studying whether it should purchase Sunshine Water Services (the sewer/water provider for much of the Sweetwater area)after numerous raw sewage spills into the Wekiva River and its basin. Residents have also complained about   large rate hikes:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/seminole-county/os-ne-seminole-county-sunshine-water-purchase-20220430-mk3cobzznfddrah3rafzt75wvy-story.html

From The Sentinel

Private utilities are rarely helpful to anyone but their out-of-state shareholders. It’s one reason I hesitated to move to WG for so long. Duke Energy is a leech on the citizens of Florida.

 

 

[spenser1058]

Wow - amazon had 501s on sale for $29 - Steve Jobs would like that (I still can’t get into the whole black mock turtleneck thing, though, but then Florida’s a heck of a lot hotter than Cupertino)…

It also seems Disney is trying again with a Haunted Mansion movie - the last version with Eddie Murphy a couple of decades back didn’t have much success.

This time, we get Rosario Dawson and Danny DeVito among others, and since it takes place in New Orleans, it seems this is a Disneyland version. Thanks to Theme Park Insider for the update:

https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/202204/8922/

Edited May 1, 2022 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

One thing rarely mentioned in comparisons with Downtown Tampa is the traditional campus of UT (if you call a historic centerpiece building with Moorish minarets “traditional”)  just across the river from downtown. I’m quite envious and it seems they are growing apace with several new projects underway just this year. It’s a village that’s a heckuva lot more creative than ours…

One other thing I had lost track of was that UT has about three times more students than Rollins - they used to be a little closer in numbers.

Edited May 1, 2022 by spenser1058

[prahaboheme]

6 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

One thing rarely mentioned in comparisons with Downtown Tampa is the traditional campus of UT (if you call a historic centerpiece building with Moorish minarets “traditional”)  just across the river from downtown. I’m quite envious and it seems they are growing apace with several new projects underway just this year. It’s a village that’s a heckuva lot more creative than ours…

One other thing I had lost track of was that UT has about three times more students than Rollins - they used to be a little closer in numbers.

I believe that the Moorish centerpiece of the UT campus was a historic hotel at some point, not unlike, Flaglers hotel in St Augustine (a small college that has done a remarkable job at staying afloat when so many others are shuttering).

I haven’t been to the UT campus in years but always enjoyed that building as viewed from the river.  It would only make sense that they improve and expand as Tampa seems to be on the radar these days.

The difference between say Flagler and Rollins vs UT is that the former  are known for something — Flagler as a regionally competitive liberal arts school and Rollins as a regional powerhouse in business. UT— they lagged behind.

Edited May 1, 2022 by prahaboheme

[spenser1058]

1 minute ago, prahaboheme said:

I believe that the Moorish centerpiece of the UT campus was a historic hotel at some point, not unlike, Flaglers hotel in St Augustine (a small college that has done a remarkable job at staying afloat when so many others are shuttering).

I haven’t been to the UT campus in years but always enjoyed that building as viewed from the river.  It would only make sense that they improve and expand as Tampa seems to be on the radar these days.

It was indeed - Henry Plant’s flagship as he sought to do what Flagler did but inland and on the Gulf (interestingly, he also got the Jacksonville streetcar lines going).

[HankStrong]

23 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Wow - amazon had 501s on sale for $29 - Steve Jobs would like that (I still can’t get into the whole black mock turtleneck thing, though, but then Florida’s a heck of a lot hotter than Cupertino)…

I remember my first pair of 501s as a kid.  Wow, was that a massive mistake.  It's insanely difficult for a lefty to wear button-fly jeans.

[spenser1058]

In his column, Bianchi says Jags owner Shad Khan was shocked, shocked! I tell you, that Urban Liar was an, ummmm, liar and that’s why he fired him. Do you suppose Shad’s been asleep for the last couple of decades?

The only person who probably lies more than Urban is The Donald… of course, a lot of people like to pretend about that , too.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/mike--20220504-qtbuwatf6rgyfdrzxzu6xyfwg4-story.html

From The Sentinel