This is not a Feline Friday entry

Whew!

It's not as warm here as it is at Buck's.
But the Sun's shining and there's a light breeze.
So we're all outdoors.
That's because, by the weekend, it it supposed to get hot

Somebody slipped me another award

At least I think it's an award because when it was presented he called me a magnificent %@$+@&*
That is almost as complimentary as being called a demented %@$+@&*
I live for those moments when my real talents are recognized

That's exactly how it was presented here
I gotta say nice things about him because he's a loyal stalker  follower

There are a lot of others who were also honored
I agree with the Sarge
They earned it

Yeah... remember the living, too

Yep... it's a rerun, only bigger

Day three

Day two

Let's make it a four day weekend

Sure... why not?

Gives a whole new meaning to the term "search engine"

I'd better mention

The image of the planes in the two previous posts is famous
It is by Roy Lichtenstein and is displayed at the Tate Modern in London

Well that was something

I think that's only the second time I have presented an award?
The first time it was a one off
Way off
This time it was a lark
I more than likely won't do it again ...unless I can find an image that draws comments all by itself

Buck v. IT
 Sarge v. IT wasn't much better

Very interesting

Watch What Drones Can See on PBS. See more from NOVA.

Suldog v. IT

One does not necessarily have anything to do with the other

I wasn/t gonna post today

So I looked at what's next

It's the thankless part of this award stuff
I have to nominate five pigeons bloggers

It's a given that I have to nominate Suldog
That's because he deserves to take another shot at me now that he knows me better
Then I might as well nominate the Ol' AF Sarge
The Cranky Old Man gets nominated
Ooh, yeah, and Buck gets it because the other three are here
I was gonna nominate Uncle Skip, but he's got a full plate right now
So we'll ask for volunteers

Now I'm supposed to ask the nominees 11 questions
Unlike the Daft Scots Lass I can count that high
My problem is I don't have the kind of imaginations that can come up with that many really good questions

1. when did you realize you were no longer a child ?
2. do you think it's necessary to shave every day ?
3. indoor sports or outdoor sports ?
4. Memphis, KC, or the Carolinas for barbecue ?
5. Dinner or Supper ?
6. Favorite movie ?
7. Ideal vacation ?

And because I got a break y'all get a break
You can choose to create your own next four questions or stop there.

Just grab the icon at the top left of this blog
Or take this

kinda wish this fit in the sidebar

Or you can go search the web for another image if ya want
Or you can even choose to ignore it
Life is all about choices

Am I done now?

Seventh question

I had to laugh when I read #7
I'm fairly certain I have no one single role model
There a large number of folks I attempt to emulate
For one thing I don't always pick the best characteristics to copy
Sometimes... many times I find the quirks more attractive
I'm always looking to see if there's approval from someone
Fortunately, I'm not into illegal activities... just stirring the pot
It's more fun to go comment on other blogs than it is to dream up posts for this one
I find it absolutely amazing that I have any followers

What I have to do now is decide if I am gonna skate for a couple of days because we're short four questions (thank you)
I suppose the first thing to do is go back an look at what come after the questions

Number six

So then we're asked,

Winter or Summer?

As one who tries to live one day at a time, in the moment as it were, I am forced by the nature of things to accept summer
This is because, at the moment, here in the northern hemisphere, summer precedes winter, which has recently departed
I also have a preference for summer because I find it easier to cool off than to warm up

Still on the short list

The Daft Scots Lass is was way too easy on those to whom she presented the award
First off, she didn't give a time limit, and
Secondly, there are only seven questions to answer

That's exactly how she put it (it's a screen capture)
We're on number five now
I have no idea what the answer is
What I mean is this blog is it, unless email and telephoning count
I just don't know why, other than it's the closest thing to having a job that I do
I really don't like writing emails or talking on a phone
Oh goodness, face to face... I really do like face to face conversations and meeting new people
That would be my favorite social platform
Blogging is a poor substitute
But I have met some pretty fine people here

Really... you have to ask

We're on number four

Think real hard, if you've been following this blog for any length of time
You tell me which it is
Don't get me wrong
I like 'em both
But it should really be a no brainer
About the only thing I like more than bacon is sex

...and maybe chocolate covered bacon

Next question

Okay, okay
We'll do these in order... all of them

One and two have been answered
So what's my most embarrassing moment?
I had to think long and hard because the career has lasted longer than dirt
I've come to the conclusion I have to go all the way back to the fifties
The memory still stands out though it must be a shadow of the original memory
There was some kind of classroom assignment
I think we were supposed to write a sentence using something like a pluperfect past participle in the present tense
Whatever...
I said something to one of my deskmates as an aside
I never could do anything without commenting
It was along the lines of how much I kinda liked a certain person of the female persuasion in our class
Each of us was then supposed to tell the class our sentence
My deskmate used what I had said as his sentence
That ended that assignment for the day
It also embarrassed the crap outta me
The young lady in question moved out of town

Tomorrow's question is almost too easy

 

How long's this been goin' on

I looked at the whatsit page
Where the statistical stuff and nuts & bolts of the blog are kept
Suddenly the numbers of pageviews are up by about 50%
I'm thinking it was that little exercise I did last month, corresponding letters of the alphabet with blog posts
I also notice I have a bunch more followers on the sidebar
I'm sorry
I think you may be disappointed
That may not be until after I have completed the current exercise
Today's post is not a part of that
Most bloggers do responses to those awards in one continuous post
I'm not prone to following rules unless I've made them
I also try to watch my language
We'll get back to answering questions tomorrow

BTW - uncle Skip stole a graphic from my sidebar the other day on Friday

Go read it

Question two

The second question of the eleven that turned out to be only seven is:

Dogs or Cats?

Why on earth would anyone capitalize cats when it's not the first word in a sentence
Not that I don't like cats
I like them at least as much as dogs
I have had both
Dogs are like dependents
Only you can't claim them on your taxes
Cats are relatively self-sufficient
They just look vulnerable sometimes
I know people who have both dogs and cats
They have to find someone to watch their dogs when they go away (or take them with)
They just put the cats outside and leave

So I guess my answer is No!

Question three:

Your most embarrassing moment

I need awhile to think about that

11 questions?

I guess the best way to do this is to show you the questions?
This is how they appeared

Seven is a good number
It's easier than anything but six, five, four, three, two, or one
Here's one:

1. My favorite sports team pretty much relates to whatever season it is
   - right now it is the San Francisco Giants If this were November it would be the 49ers
   During the lull between baseball and football, I actually follow and cheer on the Golden State Warriors and the San Jose Sharks
   I have also been known to root for the San Jose Earthquakes
   I have a favorite college, whose teams get my support
   But right now I have pretty much settle on baseball until football starts grabbing my attention sometime in September and baseball will dominate because it's a game I played until the wheels fell off 
2. Monday is soon enough... maybe tomorrow

 

This is fun

I suppose, if I wasn't the lazy sort, this could all be done at once
But then it would be a huge ginormous post and you'd have to scroll down to read it
Right?

So, yesterday left off with the first five of eleven random things about me
Today I will make up a few more
Isn't it true that since I am not a real person I can fabricate facts?
So far I haven't

1.  one 
2. two
3. three
4. four
5. five
6. I had a brief military career, cut short by a desire to have a life
   I was good at following orders
   I just didn't like it
7. I don't like to preach or to be preached at
8. I really dislike folks who judge
   Opinions are okay, though
9. Some punctuation is optional - it's my blog
10. I like soft women who smell good
11. Suldog called me a demented bastard
    I will cherish that 

The next part is a little harder

We'll manage

Okay... what's next

I thinks it's kiss a giant spider or somethin'
Where'd I leave my cheat sheet?
Okay... eleven random facts about myself

1. My name isn't really IT(aka Ivan Toblog)
2. There are at least two other bloggers who know who I really am (and still talk to me anyway)
3. I started this thing because just commenting on other blogs didn't seem fair and, besides, an outlet for my sometimes bizarre outpourings was needed
4. I have lived in California since it had a lower population than Pennsylvania
   ...sometime back in the first half of the last century
5.  Old, normal, always and never are words I really, really try to avoid using... along with profanity
6.  
7.  
8.  
9.  
10.  
11. 
    

Well, tomorrow's another day

Maybe I should do this all at once

That way it isn't necessary to go back to see what I've already posted
I have to find a place to hang the award now
I suppose I should put it with the rest of them down at the bottom of the page
It will look good by the Bacon
First, though, it gets a couple of day of top billing on the sidebar
A to Z is done... thank goodness
It started well enough, but toward the end it was a bit tedious
I probably won't do it again.
At least not formally
About the only plus is I have more tiny heads on the sidebar
And pageviews were up almost 50%

Since I only do this for me, that's pretty amazing

Oh I suppose I should tell you what I am doing to completely earn this award?

Okay... so that's two out of the way

The way I figure it, it will be June by the time I'm finished

I'm not sure I can do this

Accept the award the sweet young thing gave me
But I will do my best
It will take time because I am not going to do it all at once

When someone hands out an assignment with no deadline...
Well, it's an opportunity to fill blog space for an eternity

Besides, she called me a goathead

I should maybe explain the origin

In one of my circle of acquaintances it gets a little testy at times
If someone says they're going to do something another might say, "Go ahead."
The automatic response is always, "Who you callin' a goat head?"


See... this post is already longer than usual and I haven't even started yet

So... first things first
Thank you to the Daft Scots Lass for the Liebster Award

If you have been over to her place, you will immediately notice I have found a different award image
This one works for me

A award... well it's about time

A young lady has given me an award
I haven't totally absorbed what this may mean
But, I am certainly going to try to milk it for all it is worth
I am not going to go "all Suldog" on the presenter
I will need some time, though, to put together my response
Maybe a week...
...or so
We'll see how this works out

Does anyone think the federal gov't might be trying to do too much?

Not that this isn't something they should be handling

If I had to make a choice...

I don't know which of these I would pick for today's post

"...there is nothing especially laudable about working your ass off on the 12 Steps.  In fact, I'm reminded of a saying attributed to Bill Wilson: 'Congratulating an alcoholic for not drinking is a little bit like praising a cowboy with hemorrhoids for staying off the horse.' "

~ MS

or

When a soldier is killed in the line of duty, his family eventually gets a flag and a note conveying sympathy and respect and  from the  United States Government.

        
When a Black pro basketball player announces he is gay, he immediately gets a personal phone call from the President congratulating him for his courage.
        
Am I missing something?

I'm glad I don't have to choose today

Sports

What's with my favorite baseball team?
They can't beat last place San Diego
But then go to AZ and sweep the D-Backs

Maybe Uncle Skip knows?

In honor of the occasion*

*May Day