The curtamous page
January 2007 Archived Notes
Jan.
29, 2007 - Jak se Maj! Holy cow! Its CRAZY around here... its 10:30 and I'm only STARTING the update... Gotta love being busy!
Not a ton of stuff going on as the winter doldrums continue, but at least work has been busy. I had Friday off so you'd think I'd be in a little better mood, but it is what it is...
Got my snow blower upgraded last week. What a fiasco... Nephew (and supervising brother-in-law) came over Thursday to put on a new muffler, the correct one, and adjust the carb. Pretty simple, right? Until we found out that the correct muffler wasn't on there
because they twisted of the bolt that held it on... We couldn't get it out, so we had to bring it to his place of employment to work on it. What a mess... Gotta remember to make sure I settle up with him. Might end up costing me more than I paid for the damn thing... But it works good!!!
Did I mention its busy... I just got interrupted AGAIN! Can't they see I'm busy here...
Went to see my other nephew play hockey again Saturday morning. (8am hockey isn't the greatest after going to CTap the night before, but I survived...) Pretty fun... It was his turn to play goalie... And the team they played was REALLY good... Shots on goal were 28-3, and he only gave up 7, so it wasn't too bad. Good time... makes me wish I gotten my boys into hockey... oh well...
The CTap trip Friday night was fun... The in-laws came to the boys BBall game and then we headed there. A bunch of the JV parents showed up as well, including the FM and his beautiful bride, so we got to see them as well... Good time, and got home reasonably early... 8am the next day was still WAY too early though...
Speaking of the FM, he owes me a "editorial" on the current state of the Denville BBall program... Hope he's working on it...
What's out drinking schedule this week?
29
W.C. Fields Birthday (1880). “‘Twas a woman who drove me to drink, and I never had the courtesy to thank her.”
Gimlet.
30 Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Birthday (1882). Raise one to the drunkard who whipped up on Prohibition, the Depression and the Nazis.
Wet gin martinis with a lemon twist.
31 National Brandy Alexander Day. Think the brandy distillers had anything to do with this one?
Brandy Alexander
1 1/2 oz brandy
1 oz dark creme de cacao
1 oz half-and-half
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
Shake the brandy, creme de cacao, and half-and-half with ice. Strain, garnish with nutmeg.
1 Boris Yeltsin’s Birthday (1931). Doing multiple shots of vodka on stage was one of his populist campaign tricks.
Chilled double Stolis.
2 Groundhog Day. If he sees his shadow, get loaded. If he doesn’t see his shadow, get loaded.
The Shadow Knows
1 oz black sambuca
1 oz Bailey’s Irish Cream
1/2 oz Bacardi 151 Rum
Layer Bailey’s over sambuca. Top with Bacardi.
3 Heroes Day (Mozambique). “Claret is the liquor for boys; port for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy.”—Samuel Johnson.
Heroic amounts of brandy.
4 The Bacardi Distillery is founded in Cuba (1862). There’s a bat on the label because bats would pass out in the distillery’s vats.
Bacardi and Coke.
Holy cow! What a great week! Between Roosevelt, Yeltsin and rum, we're looking pretty good!
I'll admit, I prefer DonQ rum, but anything made in PR is OK with me...
On a sadder note, Normy Watruba passed away... Wake was last night and funeral today... Good friends of Ma and Pa... thoughts and prayers to his family and friends...
What's coming up? Well, the Superbowl... yawn...
Oh yeah, we'll looking at 2/17 for the annual Fish Camp Winter Meeting. Got approval from senior leadership on the date, so I'll send out invites as soon as I can... Hope to see you there...
The newsletter is coming along... Got one more article to insert and then the draft is done... Hoping to have it done and ready to distribute at the Fish Camp meeting... I can save postage that way. It newsletter is looking good, but I really feel bad for you poor suckers that didn't submit an article... I can't imagine what The President has in store for you.
Well, I got more people lined up wanting a piece of me, so I better go...
So, that's it... Short, rather poor, but none-the-less completed update... But before I go, the first words of wisdom for our junior members...
"Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool." ~ Unknown
Now
that's PERFECT advice for our junior membership...
Until next time, take care...
As Red would say, "Keep your stick on the ice!"
curtamous
Jan.
22, 2007 - Jak se Maj! Howdy folks! Happy Monday... Not a bad day despite only half of the football games yesterday turning out as desired. You know, "The Bares Still Suck!!!", but enough of that... I'm sure we'll hear enough about the darn Superbowl over the next two weeks to make everyone puke...
You know, its January, so its kind of a slow time of year. Days are short and cold, not a lot of outside activity, etc. So it takes some real effort to get into trouble... Last week I failed. Nothing much going on really, but its also a nice time of year because of that...
We did have a good day yesterday, despite the snow! It was Zumbo's beautiful bride's (and my sister's) birthday, so we got together to celebrate, crutches and all. The snow was pretty wild... Went into church at 9:30ish, and not a flake... came out at 10:30 and there must have been 2 inches down already. That's a pretty good snowfall! Made
for a fun ride out to Pott's. They do have a heck of a good brunch out there, so we had a nice time re-celebrating her 39th... Wish her a good day if you see her. With her broken leg, you'll probably have to stop by though...
Some guys were trying to get a card game in yesterday before the game, and look what happened...
I think the guy's beer on the far side is going to spill if he doesn't watch it...
What's on special at the bar this week:
22 Lord Byron’s Birthday (1788). “Man, being reasonable, must get drunk; the best of life is but intoxication.”
Brandy.
23 Humphrey Bogart’s Birthday (1899). Last words: “I never should have switched from scotch to martinis.”
Scotch rocks.
24 First canned beer sold (1935). Science occasionally comes up with something useful.
Twelver of your choice.
25 Nut’s Day (Egyptian). Nut was an Egyptian goddess, but you can interpret it anyway you like.
Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale.
26 Anniversary of the Australian Rum Rebellion (1808). Armed drunkards responded to oppressive liquor laws by overthrowing the government.
Fosters.
27 Water Conservation Day. “I never drink water because fish have sex in it.”—W.C. Fields.
Hard liquor, neat.
28 National Kazoo Day. Bring one to the bar to entertain your friends!
Three Stages of Friendship
1/3 oz Jack Daniels
1/3 oz tequila
1/3 oz Bacardi 151
Mix and shoot before they shoot you.
The drink of the day for the 27th gives me the shivers for some reason... reminds me of the water at the cabin...
but Friday's a good day for me... I'm a big Foster's fan...
The coming weekend should be good for local sports... Friday night Denville BB game followed by a trip to CTap... Then an EARLY 8am Saturday hockey game for my nephew in Depere... Mite hockey is AWESOME! But 8am after a trip to downtown Hebel's Corners the night before might be a little tough... We'll see...
Not much else going on... Still working on trim in the shop... that's going well, but tedious... Some progress on the newsletter, but I need to get a big push on it and get 'er done! There was talk yesterday about have a "Florida Trip" meeting, which brought up the annual Fish Camp meeting, so we'll have to start thinking about that... Otherwise, business as usual... If anyone has anything, send it in and we'll make these mid winter updates a little less boring...
So, that's it... But before I go, the first words of wisdom for our junior members...
"Sex is like snow, you never know how many inches you're going to get or how long it will last" ~ Unknown
Sounds right, but my memory isn't that good...
Until next time, take care...
As Red would say, "Keep your stick on the ice!"
curtamous
Jan.
15, 2007 - Jak se Maj! Happy MLK Day!!! How unfortunate you're getting this update... I SHOULD be out bunny hunting RIGHT NOW!!! With us having the holiday off every year, the tradition has been to head out to Zumbo's and shoot a few bunnies... But I have two issues... 1) Our clients at work don't have the freaken day off, so they expect me to be available. I've dealt with three of them already this
morning. 2) More importantly, as I can always ignore work, is that there's a freaken snow storm. We have one snow fall all season, and the day I want to go bunny hunting is the 2nd... Well, if it calms down, I might head out this afternoon... No sense heading out otherwise... Bunnies
aren't dumb enough to be out in this... Why should we be? Don't bother
answering that...
Gonna be a quick update today, as I'm doing this from home... So, obviously I have better things to be doing...
Football... 3 out of 4 games sucked... I hate the Bares, for obvious reasons, I hate the Patsies, for
different reasons, and I hate the Dolts, cause I think that Manning is a pod... So I'm left with the Saints... and if they lose, I think I may have to pull for the Bares in the SB. What the hell is the world coming to????
The
Badger roundball team rocks!!!
On that note, lets see what we should drink this week...
15 Feast of the Ass (Roman). We’re 90% sure they were talking about a donkey.
Jamaican Ass-Kicker
2 oz Barcardi 151 Rum
6 oz chilled Jolt Cola
Pour the rum over ice, top with cola.
16 US Prohibition begins (1920). AKA What the Hell Were We Thinking Day. Rum Runner.
17 Benjamin Franklin’s Birthday (1706). Said: “Beer is proof that God loves us.”
Anchor Liberty Ale.
18 Festival of Women as Cultivators (Persian). Bet the ladies were excited about this one.
Farmer’s Cocktail
1/2 oz dry vermouth
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1 oz gin
2 dashes bitters
Stir ingredients with ice, strain.
19 Neon advertising sign patented (1889). Never again would drunks wonder, “Is that a bar?”
The first alcohol you see advertised in neon.
20 International Hat Day. Your chance to finally wear that fedora in public.
Mad Hatter
1 oz vodka
1 oz peach schnapps
1 oz lemonade
1 oz Coca-Cola
Shake with ice, strain.
21 National Hugging Day. Don’t forget to hug your toilet at the end of the night.
Get acquainted with the liquor you hate the most.
Hey, the Jack/Ass team should LOVE today!!!
I booked our tickets to Florida this weekend... This is already turning into a major pain in the ass... Cost me over $200 more cause I waited to book them until the dog situation was
figured out...
On to better news... The Comptroller celebrates another birthday, tomorrow... I think...
Its sometime this week... Wish him a good one in Mad-town!!! I'm trying to remember the place down there where you drink for free on your birthday... I can picture it, but can't remember the name... Any help out there???
I also believe its Zumbo's beautiful bride's annual 39th birthday this week as well. She had her ankle re-done last week, so she's back on drugs, so be sure to wish her a happy birthday as well.
Well, that's all I got... But before I go, the first words of wisdom for our junior members...
"When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money." --Susan Heller
Obviously that Susan chick never shopped with my wife... twice
won't get us through day one...
Until next time, take care...
As Red would say, "Keep your stick on the ice!"
curtamous
Jan.
08, 2007 - Jak se Maj! How is everyone doing in this new year? I hope all is well... This is the time of year that's typically pretty slow... Holidays are over, so its kinda quiet... Not much going on in the outdoor world... etc... But we'll see what we can come up with...
Me? I've been doing more work on my shop. I'm starting to put trim on the attic doors now. I bought some cheap 1x3 furring strips that I'll at least "try" to use. If you know anything about furring strips, they're not the highest quality, so I'm not sure they'll work or not. Even if they're close, as long as they're functional, they'll be fine. Got the first set almost primed and painted over the weekend, so I'll let you know how the first set turns out.
Oh, I know what else I got done in the shop... I finally got the three "panel" heaters installed. They are 24x24 thin panels that are advertised to heat up to 100 sq. ft each. Three of them should handle my shop perfectly, right? Well, Saturday I finally got them all mounted. I didn't want them mounted right against the OSB, so I made some 25x25 panels out of drywall. Taped the edges and skim coated them. The whole works, and they look pretty good. Saturday night I installed the heaters, and Sunday I tried them out. I fired up the kerosene heater, because I figured it would take them a week to actually heat the place up. Got it up to 60 degrees, shut down the kero heater, and went in to watch football. The idea was to see if these heaters could maintain 60 degrees. Keep in mind, it was like 40 degrees outside, so I wasn't asking much here... Went back outside a couple hours later, and it was 54 degrees. In other words, they suck... They "seemed" like such a good idea at the time... damn...
Trying to think if I came across any other follies this week, but nothing comes to mind...
Oh, the Chief Inspector messed up his ankle at a ball game Tuesday, so we had that to deal with all week. Just a
sprain thankfully... I'm pretty sure he was milking it, as he was walking on it just fine by the weekend...
Here's one... Genie jokes are always funny...
Very, very, very true...
Sports... I don't know, but I thought the NFL playoffs were kinda boring this weekend. Maybe next weekend will be more interesting... Here's hoping the Bares get spanked... College championship tonight... yawn... Badger BB killed the gophers Saturday and the Badger Hockey team split in Denver... Really nothing very exciting...
I did get out in the woods this weekend. I ran out to Zumbo's ranch Saturday and took down my tree stand. Zumbo was on his way out to try for another one... He never stops... Anyway, I was on my way out to the stand, walking down the trail, and looked over and realized I was about to be busted by one of Zumbo's deer cams. It hadn't flashed yet, but my first reaction was to moon him... But I didn't... That might have been kinda funny... I did get my stand out without further incident though. The strangest thing was the weather though. ITS JANUARY! I'm out there in a ball cap and sweatshirt, and I'm SWEATING! Seemed more like
Indian summer than January, that's for sure... Better than what they're dealing with in Denver though...
This week's drinking schedule:
8 Elvis Presley’s Birthday (1935). Hail to the King.
Hunka Hunka Burnin’ Luv
6 oz vodka
6 oz water
2 tblsp Cherry Kool-Aid
Combine and shake it like Elvis for 30 seconds.
9 Chingay Procession in Honor of Kwan Ying (Chinese). Best Chingay Procession of the year. Trust me.
Procession of Pink Elephants
2 oz vodka
1/2 oz Midori Melon Liqueur
4 oz pink lemonade
2 tblsp sugar
Mix, drink fast, wait for the parade.
10 National Day of Loneliness. Elvis recorded Heartbreak Hotel (1956). Whiskey sour.
11 First American discotheque opens (1963). Another gift from the treacherous French.
Harvey Wallbangers.
12 Jack London’s Birthday (1876). Answer the call of the wild. Yukon Jack Whiskey.
13 Blame Someone Else Day. Shift that accumulated shame elsewhere. Your roommate's good scotch.
14 Sanford & Son debuted (1972). When you get your bar tab, pretend to have a heart attack. Ripple.
I didn't know it was Elvis's birthday today... Here's to The King!
Speaking of needing a drink, we're thinking about heading to Florida this spring. The SEC-State and his family have a condo down there and we're looking at heading down. The whole fam-damily, including the SEC-HSS's
roommate, would be going down. If you've ever met my beautiful bride, you should have an idea of what kind of a mess this will be. When I finally agreed to move on this, I was told we might not be able to go because of the dog... That should give you an
idea of how this will proceed... I'll try to keep you posted on the progress of this project, if its not too painful...
Hey, pretty boring update, but better than I expected when I started... Go figure...
Before I go, the first words of wisdom for our junior members...
"My wife has a slight impediment in her speech. Every now and then she stops to breathe." -- Jimmy Durante
Jimmy's not the only one with that problem...
Until next time, take care...
As Red would say, "Keep your stick on the ice!"
curtamous
Jan.
02, 2007 - Jak se Maj! Happy New Year!!! Two days into it, and we're
doing OK here... Today's update is a little off schedule, but I figured better to get one in today than to wait another week. There's quite a bit to cover, what with no update last week, the holidays, and all that jazz... So lets get started...
The holidays were pretty good. Personally, I got some stuff I actually needed, a couple things I wanted, and a couple things that were just nice... Overall, a pretty darn good year for me present wise. On the giving side, I don't think my beautiful bride crushed her spending record by too big a margin, so that's all good too...
Here's a gift one of the junior members rigged up... seems they always wanted a "flatpanel" screen to impress their girlfriends...
The cool part of the holidays are the fun traditions, like the Nelson caroling, Christmas Eve mass and post-mass libations, the AWESOME Nelson Christmas day feast (this year held at the
FDA's, and he is a culinary God), football games, tree hopping, New Years Eve, etc. Its all good for the most part, unless you get certain in-laws involved... :-)
The only real downer this year was the business trip to Tampa the day after Christmas, but even that went OK. It was not nearly as bad as it was made out to be, so sometimes, when your expectations are REALLY low, anything better than that is a major victory... Plus, we had a good time out on the company...
The football part of the holidays was almost all good. The Packers started it out by beating the hated ViQueens, and followed that up with a New Years Eve ass kicking of the Bares. The absolute "BEST" part of the Bares win? When they got SOOOO
desperate that they had to resort to a fake punt. THAT was awesome!!!
Then the Badgers followed thru with a tough, but well deserved win over Arkansas. Despite a relatively poor second half, they held on for a close win over a pretty darn good team. I've heard a lot of crap about if not being a convincing win, but I doubt you hear Arkansas claiming it as a moral victory... A win is a win baby... If stupid Michigan hadn't screwed up royally in the Rose Bowl, we might have still had hope for a 1-2-3 Big Ten finish... Now the Badgers could actually DROP in the polls... we'll see...
Oh, one last note on holiday gifts... You know its a good year when you get gifts from your CCD students, especially if one is a 12 piece libation of Aussie decent... The BEST gift of the YEAR!!!
Couple big birthdays over the holidays... The AG and FM Jr both turned one and six, but I haven't heard word on whether either are legally driving yet. I haven't heard a higher than normal rate of police sirens in Denville, so I doubt it... Good luck to both of them at the DOT, and Happy Birthday(s)!!!
Well, I had no lack of libations over the holidays, but that's no reason to stop while you're on a roll... here's this week's schedule:
1 National Day of Resolutions. Can’t break ‘em unless you make ‘em.
Bloody Mary.
2 Drinking Straw patented (1888). Fact: You get drunk faster if you drink through a straw.
Mind Eraser.
3 Sergio Leone’s Birthday (1929). Perfect day for a spaghetti western
boozefest.
Italian vino.
4 Electric blender invented (1910). AKA Annoy the Bartender Day. Blender drinks.
5 Ulysses S. Grant elected president (1872). Fullbore drunkard seizes power.
Presidential Margarita
1 1/2 oz El Presidente Brandy
1 1/2 oz Cointreau
1 1/2 oz Tequila
Juice of 1 Lime
Pour ingredients into a large glass. Add ice and let sit while preparing drinking glass. Rim glass with lime and salt, fill with ice and add a lime slice. Pour contents of large glass into salted glass.
6 Anniversary of Jimmy Carter’s encounter with a UFO (1969). Swears he wasn’t drunk.
Crazy Horse Malt Liquor and a bowl of peanuts.
7 Flying V guitar invented (1958). Like musicians weren’t getting enough chicks already.
Vodka tonics.
I like today's, but did they ever make a "curly" straw the hard way?
Hey, did I mention the BBC now has venison? Yep, thanks of course to Zumbo... He called yesterday morning to report there is one less doe on the ranch, but that he's all set for next year's "Earn-a-Buck" season... Zumbo asked if we wanted it, and since the BBC doesn't get venison too often, we figured what the heck. Luckily The President and Zumbo had time yesterday to get it to a processor, so we'll be all set soon... Thanks again to Zumbo, hunter
extraordinaire!!!
Speaking of Zumbo, his beautiful bride is still cooped up at home, broken ankle, crutches and all, so if you're bored too, stop over and visit her... I'm sure she'd
appreciate it... You could fetch her beer!!!
News from the Comptroller... sounds like he has new employment, and its in Madtown... If I remember right, he'll be moving this week and starting next Monday... It can NEVER be a bad move if you're heading toward Madtown... Good luck!!! Maybe we can schedule a BBC Meeting once you're
settled...???
Speaking
of moves, moved the eldest, the SEC-HHS, out over the weekend... Nice place in
Denville... Lets hope this one lasts longer...
Good news on the newsletter front! I've got 8 submissions, so we're pretty close to starting
construction... I think we're going to waive the penalty on anyone that got their article in during 2006, but I'll have to check with The President on that... Otherwise, if you're article isn't in, you better get hopping!
On a last note, President Ford is being laid to rest today... Good guy who got a bad rap... RIP...
Well, I think that's it... I'm sure there's a lot more going on in the world, but its all I got for now... But before I go, the first words of wisdom for our junior members in 2007...
"The proper behavior all through the holiday season is to be drunk. This drunkenness culminates on New Year's Eve, when you get so drunk you kiss the person you're married to." -- P.J. O'Rourke
Happy New Year everyone!!!
Until next time, take care...
As Red would say, "Keep your stick on the ice!"
curtamous
Last Updated: Wednesday, April 30, 2008
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