Wednesday, December 31, 2008

SFrye732_Blog Poll


Greetings all,

I've added a new poll gadget feature to SFrye732_Blog, NO not that kind of pole. It's located on the right hand side of the blog. I will be asking for your opinions on a wide variety of topics.

"Preferred saying" has been selected as the maiden polling question. Voting will be allowed and available for one week. Results will be posted when the poll closes.

Please get out and vote, it's your civic duty after all!

Thank you,
SFrye732_Blog

Friday, December 26, 2008

You Might Be a Redneck...

Santa, that portly, fat, stout, jolly, sumbeeach brought me a whopper of a head cold for Christmas - thanks a bunch ole Saint Nick.

In an effort to sooth my sore throat and clear the old head I made myself a cup of tea. I happen to enjoy honey in my tea with a tad bit of milk too. Anyway, I pull out the SueBee Honey and what do I find? Sitting right here under our noses unbeknown to me is the SueBee Honey Collector's Edition and not just any collector's edition but the 8th collector's edition. This edition has a picture of Richard Petty - seven time NASCAR champion and his 200th win NASCAR stock car - sweet! I had no idea we had this item. This bad boy has got to be worth some money, even with it being opened. Feel free to send me an email with your offers.

Now, the only thing that comes to mind at this point is a Jeff Foxworthy line, "you might be a redneck if"...

Check out CountryHumor.com for a list of 300 reasons you might be a redneck. Of course above makes 301

Sunday, December 21, 2008

The Birds

Nope, not an Alfred Hitchcock movie. These bird, starlings, we gathering yesterday as the snow storm (storm #1) was getting underway. They didn't stay too long and moved on as silently as they arrived. I'm glad they're gone, as masses like these tend to leave a bit of themselves behind (no pun intended) if you know what I mean.

Storm #2 is starting now...

Saturday, December 20, 2008

2008 Christmas Tree

Drum roll please...RRLLRRLL RRLLRRLL RRLLRRLL

Ta-da, behold the Frymarco 2008 Christmas!

With a decapitated Santa adorning the top, alas.

All set and awaiting the arrival of gifts for underneath.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Gracie Under the Knife

Here's Gracie sporting her new look - the just fixed and declawed look. One week ago today was her big day and she did just fine. She is still on the mend and almost back to her old self. What do you think of her fancy Dolce and Gabbana neckwear? She needs to wear this to prevent her from getting at and messing with her incision.

Growing up I don't recall any of our puddy cats having to sport such a thing following their procedures. As a matter of fact, back in the day our felines had to walk to the vet to have their procedures performed and then back home afterwards. This was always an uphill walk both ways and usually in the snow. Cats these days, geesh!

Anyway, I digress. If we can just get her to stop pooping on the floor (right in front of her liter box), which is something new she just started following her procedures. Maybe she's trying to tell us that she didn't enjoy the process and misses her front claws? Perhaps, another surgery is in order to address this problem - capesch...

Monday, December 15, 2008

Gotcha

In the absence of a good ole fashion bird feeder this winter I hung a suet feeder out. Certainly not the same as a full blown feeder but it does the trick just the same and attracts the smaller birds, i.e. nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, titmouse's, and chickadees. However, as you can see from the first picture below it also attracted a grey squirrel this morning, that sumbitch. The ironic thing is you can see the trap in the background, which I baited and set a couple days ago, patiently waiting for a curious critter. I swear this dude flipped me the bird when I was taking this picture.



Ah, but then karma struck. The sumbitch was weak or perhaps just hungry since there were next to no acorns this fall and gave in to temptation - temptation called Peter Pan peanut butter :-)



You can see the sumbitch waiting extradition in the above picture...

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Mr. Millipede

This here is a millipede, perhaps of the class Diploda. Gracie (our kitten), already earning her keep, found this dude crawling on the living room rug just the other day. We're guessing it hitched a ride in the house on one of the house plants that reside our doors during the summer months.

Millipedes have two pairs of legs per segment. Centipedes have only one pair of legs per segment - similar jut different.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Friday, December 12, 2008

Here's Your Sign


We're at the tail end of a major ice storm here in New England with flood warnings and wind advisories in effect. We've received upwards of 3" rain already with 2" more predicted to fall in the next couple of hours and many towns in New Hampshire are without power. The Fox25Boston morning news is covering this to death as with any 'breaking news' story.
So I'm sitting here drinking my morning coffee and watching the storm coverage. The two lead anchors are doing a phone interview with a National Grid spokes person about the power loss and the progress on the repairs currently underway.
One of the newscasters asked the following question, "what advice do you have for the people who are sitting at home in the dark without power right now?"
In the words of Bill Engvall - "Here's your sign"!
**Breaking news - This just announced - Governor Duval Patrick just declared a state of emergency for the entire state of Massachusetts!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Good vs Bad

Here is a picture of the seal on a gallon of Lactaid milk. This is an excellent seal to guarantee freshness, however, this is also an extremely difficult seal to open and remove. They provide a little tab on the seal itself which is supposed to aide in it's removal but don't believe it. It's equally as difficult to try and get a hold of the tab as it is to remove the seal all together.

Here is a seal on the a bottle of Hazelnut Nestle Coffee-Mate. It too is an excellent seal to guarantee freshness, however, this seal is extremely easy to open and remove - it has a handy pull tab.

I sent an email to Lactaid customer service to express my displeasure and concern with their seal. In an effort to provide a compelling example of just how difficult their seals are to remove I explained that I am a strapping young man in excellent physical shape and in tip-top condition and work with my hands all day and here I am having difficulties removing a simple seal. Now imagine how an older person might struggle, perhaps one with arthritis, and how difficult it might be for them to open. I closed with asking how many customers they felt they've lost because of the difficulty in removing this seal.

Much to my surprised I received a very nice email in response thanking me for bringing this concern to their attention. They stressed how this seal ensures freshness and that they would keep my concerns in mind moving forward. I was also tickled when I received a second letter via the US mail again thanking me for my feedback along with three coupons each for a free half gallon of Lactaid milk, booya!

One of the companies was thinking beyond freshness...

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Northwest Territory

Northwest Territory - Size 2XL

OK, even though I am leery of the feedback I might receive, especially after some of the narrow minded comments recently received on an earlier post from some dimwit, I still feel the need to reach out to you all for your thoughts on my yard jacket, pictured above. Bear in mind that I love this jacket and have had it for years now; I like the colors for starters, it's super comfortable, light-weight but yet warm and worn to it's ideal look and feel.

Some folks who shall remain nameless have had some negative comments to say about this gem, imagine? So it got me thinking and reflecting on the ole saying, "the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree". You see me daddyO has a pair of yard jeans that just might contain more electrical tape than denim - the tape used to "sew" the holes. I find myself giving him a hard time about this new jean look and style he sports, which technically is hypocritical given the condition of my yard jacket, would you agree? Do you see the dilemma here, I'm torn (no pun intended)?! After all it wouldn't be fair of me to 'encourage' that me daddyO toss out his favorite jeans and than have me parading around in this gem, would it? What's one to do? Did I mention that this is a 2XL Northwest Territory jacket?!?! Wink wink...

Monday, December 08, 2008

New Wine Just for Seniors

I heard this though the grapevine and thought I'd pass it along -

California vintners in the Napa Valley area, which primarily produce Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio wines, have developed a new hybrid grape that acts as an anti-diuretic. It is expected to reduce the number of trips older people have to make to the bathroom during the night.

The new wine will be marketed as ….

PINO MORE

Sunday, December 07, 2008

The Handle Puller


There are always those purchases you make spur of the moment for items that you really don't need or that you'll seldom use and then there are the purchases you make for a certain item that, more than likely, you'll use once or maybe twice. However, in many cases these are invaluable, time saving, stress reducing and curse reducing items to have at your disposal.
I purchased one of these items for which I speak Friday night - a handle puller. The original plan was to buy it, open the package oh so carefully, use it and then return it for a full refund but I can't bring myself to return it - it's a keeper. A ten dollar investment with a better return than the stock market these days...
You see I attempted several times to remove the handle to my shower/tub, which is a key step in the process of replacing the worn rubber washers that were causing leakage and drippage. After all I'm on board with the whole "going green" thing aren't you so wasting water is bad and costly?! The handle simply would NOT come off regardless of what I tried - it just refused, wouldn't do it, wouldn't budge. Ah, but this stalemate came to an immediate and quick end once The Handle Puller was introduced - in a mere 15 seconds the handle was removed! With this road block taken care of I was able to complete the task of removing the handle guts and replacing the worn washers and wallah no more leaky leaky drippy drippy!
The Handle Puller will not be returned to the store but rather will remain with us in the unlikely event I need to remove another stubborn handle. It will be safely stored in my plumbing toolbox or better yet proudly hung on my shop peg board for all who pass by to see.

Schlumbergera truncatus

Here's an beautiful picture of our blooming Christmas cactus. She peaked a little to soon, so we're thinking of now referring to her as our Thanksgiving cactus, which may actually be what she is. In any event she was perdy!

Ed Hume Seed Care of Christmas Cactus
Ferlean Flowers Christmas Cactus Care Information

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Judge's Misconduct Results in Man's Death

Here's a tragic story that I wanted to pass along with the hope of raising awareness to just how old and antiquated and in many, many cases simply unfair (to the father) custody (divorce) cases are. There NEEDS to be a better process and solution for maintaining equal parental rights, as well as time each parent has with their children - NO one parent (in most cases) should have the majority of time with the kids over the other, NONE!

JUDGE’S MISCONDUCT RESULTS IN MAN’S DEATH
Fulton Superior Court Judge Bensonnetta Tipton Lane ’s
Pre-Thanksgiving Ruling Results In Father’s Suicide

(Atlanta , Georgia December 3, 2008)
On Sunday, November 30th, following a three-year divorce and custody battle played out in a Fulton County Superior Court, Alpharetta, Georgia resident Gregory Eisenhauer committed suicide after he received a ruling from family court judge Bensonnetta Tipton Lane one day before Thanksgiving essentially stripping Eisenhauer of any decision-making authority for his three young children.

The case of Gregory Eisenhauer v. Anne Marie R. Eisenhauer was filed in February 2006. When Eisenhauer informed his wife of his plans to file divorce litigation, Anne Marie Eisenhauer filed ex parte charges against her husband for family violence and had him removed from the home, beginning the long and tedious road facing many parents who are victimized by their spouses and subjected to Parent Alienation Syndrome, or P.A.S. After being removed from his home, Eisenhauer's contact with his children was substantially reduced. Though Eisenhauer suffered diminishing relationships with his children, he faithfully pursued an amicable resolution through litigation before Judge Lane . Despite his efforts, Judge Lane taxed Eisenhauer with the substantial costs of litigation and incredulous hurdles to satisfy the court’s examination of his qualification to serve as the children's father. Only one day before the Thanksgiving holiday, Judge Lane essentially ultimately stripped Eisenhauer of his role as the father of his children. Sadly, Eisenhauer committed suicide days later.

The least seasoned human resource managers are taught to never terminate an employee’s employment during the holidays, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, or on an individual’s birthday. While Judge Lane ’s authority as a superior court judge is not in question, her inconsiderate and unconscionable misconduct by issuing a ruling disassembling a family the day before Thanksgiving is. Despite her 22 years of judicial service, serving as a Fulton County Superior Court judge for 13 of those years, Judge Lane's conduct was, at most, wanton and intentional, or in the very least, an example of extremely poor judgment. Judge Lane’s misconduct undoubtedly contributed to the stress Eisenhauer faced while watching his family be torn apart by an unjust judicial system.

Mr. Eisenhauer was an educated man and seasoned business professional, employed in the pharmaceutical industry and rising to the level of Chief Financial Officer. His three small children have now lost a father due to the miscarriage of justice suffered behind the closed doors of Georgia ’s family courts. Judicial and Child Welfare Reform activists, many of whom have suffered similar miscarriages of justice in Georgian courtrooms, understood Eisenhauer's plight and offered him their support.

A memorial protest rally in tribute to Gregory Eisehhauer has been organized by a group of Judicial and Child Welfare Reform activists to raise public awareness concerning tragedies, such as Eisenhauer's death, and the unbalanced judicial system many parents have or will face in divorce and custody disputes.

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Tis the Season

Q: My Christmas cactus has tons of buds, but they fall off before they bloom. How can I prevent this?

A: If the buds drop, the temperature is probably too high or the humidity is too low. Don't let the temperature go above 65 degrees F during the day and 60 degrees F at night.