REALLY?? I MEAN REALLY??? (3)

 And now coming home it's $3.45/gallon...really??

REALLY??...REALLY???(2)

WOW!!! & Last night it was $3.35/gallon...boy that restless gas is
really something...

FORTUNATELY, I'LL BE RETIRED BY THEN

THE FLASH (GREEN, NOT RED)

These incredible pix were taken by the late Jean Adam, who was killed, along with her husband and two other Americans, by Somali pirates. She had many more fascinating photos of places they traveled on their website, which has now been taken down.

These two photos were part of a series taken of the island of Tonga, and shows the green flash that people talk about seeing from Key West in the right conditions. Always wondered if it was true, so I'm guessing it is after seeing these photos. It's too bad the website wasn't kept up in tribute to Jean and her husband, who sailed all over the world and took fascinating photos wherever they went.

But the green flash, that one I get to treasure...

REALLY?...REALLY??

Today on the 12:30 news, they had a story about how the price of gas was going to go up because of the "unrest in the middle east".

Well, lo & behold, while driving Phyl to the knee doctor, drove past a Sunoco station selling regular for $3.11/gallon. 2-1/2 hours later, it was mysteriously $3.15 - imagine, they'd already received restless fuel from the middle east in that short time span!!. And Phyl's regular Sunoco station when I drove by 1-1/2hours after that...$3.19!!! I guess they received their delivery from an even more restless part of the middle east.

You know, there ought to be a law against raising the price at a gas station until they've actually had a delivery of gas. How many times do you see the price go up and down 3-4 times in one week? Too many.

And yet, the last two times I was in Canada, each time for 2 weeks, the price of gas didn't change one penny, so why is that...?

Though, in fairness, there is a Citgo station in Lakeland that does only change his gas prices after a delivery (about every 2-3 weeks).

And the rest of you...you just oughtta be ashamed...

THE BEER WITH THE COOLEST LABEL

Atlanta Brewing Red Brick Laughing Skull

Got a temporary tattoo of this one for Ryley!!

THE 35 BEERS I TRIED AT BREWZ CREWZ 2011

ATLANTA BREWING RED BRICK HELLUVA BOCK

ATLANTA BREWING RED BRICK LAUGHING SKULL

BLUE POINT HOPTICAL ILLUSION

BOULDER SINGLE TRACK COPPER ALE

BROOKLY BROWN

BROOKLYN PENNANT ALE '55

CIGAR CITY JAI ALAI HUMIDOR I.P.A.

ERIE BREWING RAILBENDER

FAT CAT LAGER BEER

FORT COLLINS KIDD BLACK LAGER

FORT COLLINS MAJOR TOM POMEGRANATE WHEAT

FORT COLLINS 'Z' SMOKED AMBER LAGER

FULL SAIL SESSION BLACK

HARPOON MUNICH DARK

HOLY MACKEREL PANIC ATTACK BELGIAN STRONG ALE

HOLY MACKEREL SPECIAL GOLDEN ALE 2010

LEFT HAND 400 POUND MONKEY I.P.A.

LEFT HAND MILK STOUT

MAGIC HAT VINYL (RED LAGER)

NAPA SMITH LOST DOG RED ALE

NAPA SMITH WHEAT BEER

ORLANDO BREWING OLDE PELICAN ENGLISH PALE ALE

ORLANDO BREWING ORGANIC RED ALE

PALM BELGIAN ALE (BROUWERIJJ BOON)

SAM ADAMS IMPERIAL WHITE

SHIPYARD LONGFELLOW WINTER ALE

SIERRA NEVADA TORPEDO EXTRA I.P.A.

SOUTHERN BREWING AMBER ALE

SOUTHERN BREWING FRENCH SAISON

SOUTHERN TIER 422 PALE WHEAT ALE

SOUTHERN TIER PHINN & MATTS EXTRAORDINARY ALE

SUMMIT HORIZON RED ALE

TERRAPIN HOPKARMA BROWN I.P.A.

TERRAPIN RYE PALE ALE

VICTORY HOP DEVIL

BREWZ CREWZ 2011 & BEER #800

Lakeland's own beer fest, and not too shabby for it's second year. Approx 65 beers to taste, of which I tried about 40 as near as I can tell. Which brings us to my personal favorite of the night, Palm Belgian Ale, which happens to also be beer #800 on the list of beers that I've tried.

Yeah, life is good...

TORTILLA FACE

And speaking of monsters...

Ryley as Tortilla Face...hahaha!

BOWNESSIE

Found this pic on an English newspaper website. Apparently there's a lake somewhere in England where they've spotted some type of swimming monster 8 times in 5 years. They've dubbed it "Bownessie" in homage to the Loch Ness monster.

See for yourself and judge...

OH OH OH IT'S BONOMO

Turkish Taffy, that is. I used to eat this back in my teens when it was popular. It was hard enough to crack, but soft enough to stretch if you worked at it. Then it disappeared, but now it's back. I found mine at the Vermont Country Store website while looking for some maple hard candy Phyl really liked when we in Canada las year. Found it, too.

So if you were a fan of Bonomo's, it's not cheap, but definitely worth it.

Oh yeah, my favorite is banana (in case you couldn't guess)...

OVER THE GARDEN WALL

by Carol Carnac: Published in 1949, you can certainly tell this was written in a gentler age. No real violence (except off-stage) and everyone is very polite, even the police. Russian spies, theft and murder all blend in in a post-war England. And a nice little twist at the end.

Interestingly, my copy (now for sale on Amazon) was originally part of the lending library of Maas Brothers Dept. Store in Tampa FL.

2 cents a day, 4 cents each day after 14, 5 cent minimum!!

IT WAS 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

It was 50 years ago today that The Beatles played their first gig at the Cavern Club in Liverpool - the venue where the band built their reputation and where Beatlemania was born.

RIP: GARY MOORE

Oh, here's a surprise, only 1 year older than me. No cause of death listed yet. Besides his most famous song "Still Got the Blues For You" Gary was known for being in Thin Lizzy back in the day.

Never a big fan of his, I'm still sorry to see him go. Maybe him & Phil can get together and jam once again...

Rock on, Gary, rock on...

IT'S GOOD TO BE WARM (AND SNOW FREE)

See the bottom right; well that's Florida, where I live. See the rest? Well, that's the snowstorm of 2/01/11 covering just about everything else...

Am I glad to live in Florida...you betcha!!!

FEBRUARY BREWERIES

Being my birthday month, here's a list of breweries that opened in Februaries of various years (with thanks to BrookstonBeerBulletin.com)

· Boston Beer Co. (South Boston, Mass.; 1828)

· Berliner Kindl Brauerei (Germany; 1872)

· Rockies Brewing/Boulder Beers (Colorado; 1979)

· Sierra Nevada Brewing (California; 1981)

· Portland Brewery’s Flanders Street Pub founded (Oregon; 1986)

· Catamount Brewing (Vermont; 1987)

· Old Columbia Brewery (California; 1989)

· New England Brewing (Connecticut; 1990)

· Hale’s Ales (Wash.; 1992)

· Old World Brewing (Arizona; 1992)

· Tumbleweed Grille Brewery (NC; 1992)

· Woodstock Brewing (New York; 1992)

· Syracuse Suds Factory (New York; 1993)

· Lagunitas Brewing (California; 1994)

· Randy’s Fun Hunter Restaurant & Brewery (Wisconsin; 1994)

· Bayhawk Ales (Cal.; 1995)

· Beau Ce Broue brewery (Quebec; 1995)

· Browar Belgia (Poland; 1995)

· Draught Horse Pub & Brewery (Texas; 1995)

· Faultline Brewing (California; 1995)

· Flagship Brewery (England; 1995)

· Old Broadway brewery (North Dakota; 1995)

· Trailhead Brewing (Missouri; 1995)

· Triumph Brewing (New Jersey; 1995)

· Bare Bones Grill & Brewery (Maryland; 1996)

· Blue & Gold Brewing (Virginia; 1996)

· Dunedin Brewery (Florida; 1996)

· J.T. Garrison Brewing (California; 1996)

· Main Street Brewing (Texas; 1996)

· Siletz Brewing (Oregon; 1996)

· Treasure Coast Brewing (Florida; 1996)

· Wild Duck Brewery (Oregon; 1996)

· Appalachian Brewing (Pennsylvania; 1997)

· Beowulf Brewing (England; 1997)

· Clocktower Brewing (Canada; 1997)

· Forest City Brewing (Illinois; 1997)

· Kelley Bros. Brewing (California; 1997)

· Mystic River Brewing (Connecticut; 1997)

· Nimbus Brewing (Arizona; 1997)

· North Fork Brewers (Washington; 1997)

· Rio Salado Brewing (Georgia; 1997)

· Seidermann Brewing (Arizona; 1997)

· Southeastern Brewing (South Carolina; 1997)

· Strip Brewing (Pennsylvania; 1997)

· Trout Brooks Brewing (Conneciticut; 1997)

· USA Cafe (Texas; 1997)

· Westwind Brewery (New Mexico; 1997)

· Willoughby Brewing (Ohio; 1997)

· Your Father’s Moustache (New York; 1997)

· Yukon Brewing (Canada; 1997)

· La Lambic du Nord (Canada; 1998)

· Max Lager’s American Grill & Brewery (GA; 1998)

· Silver Gulch Brewing & Bottling (Alaska; 1998)

· Erie Brewing (Pennsylvania; 1999)

· Lightning Boy Brewery (Montana; 1999)

· 5280 Roadhouse & Brewery (Colorado; 1999)

· Mystic Brewpub & Restaurant (Penna.; 2000)

· Spinning Dog Brewery (England; 2000)

RIP: PETE'S WICKED ALES

Gambrinus Discontinues Pete’s Wicked Ales

Wow! What a crappy headline. Apaprently sales aren't high enough for the current owners, so bye-bye Wicked.

Damn shame, I've tried 4 of them - Pete's Wicked Ale, Wicked Red, Wicked Strawberry Blonde' and ESP Lager. So we've got until March 1st (if you can find it, never easy around this neck of the wood) to stock up before they're gone for good.

Hey, maybe Pete'll buy the company back...hey...stranger things have happened!