Watch this video. And don’t forget to sing and dance along the way.

h/t COD

I enjoyed the dusk sky last night as the waning moon was joined in the southwestern sky by Venus and Jupiter. Tonight those three will be joined by Neptune, though you won’t see Neppy without the aid of binoculars or a telescope.

Seeing those other worlds shining down on us is a timely reminder that there are things much, much bigger than us.

Kelly’s letter about a highlight of Saturday’s Christmas parade got printed in today’s N&O:

There were lots of highlights to Raleigh’s Christmas parade Nov. 22, but for me the best part came early — and from an unexpected quarter. Behind each group of horseback riders walked someone responsible for cleaning up after the horses. Following Raleigh’s mounted police officers was their clean-up crew — a man in an orange safety vest carrying an enormous shovel. He marched all morning, in front of thousands of people, to clean up horse poop.

This gentleman made the most of his morning. He hammed it up. He played to the crowd. His shovel became a microphone, a guitar, a dance partner. He took an unpleasant job and turned it into a stage from which to entertain thousands.
Continue reading →

So if I don’t get a call from the Obama administration, my backup plan is to become a Somali pirate.

The MT.Net gallery has some pictures of the totaled van (and not-so-totaled trailer). Please be patient and don’t total my cable modem as these pics are hosted at home.

A good portion of the estimated $7000 it would cost to repair it is tied up in replacing the entire left side unibody. Looking at it you would think its just the door that needs replacing.

Google’s Veterans Day logo got me interested in Dixie Cups, as that’s the nickname for an enlisted sailor’s hat. Here’s an interesting article about the history of the Individual Drinking Cup Company, makers of the Dixie Cup.

Incidentally, Dixie Cups were not made in Dixie until 1982, when the American Can Company (which merged with Dixie in 1957) was sold to the James River Corporation of Richmond, Virginia. Dixie Cups actually got their name from a line of children’s dolls from the Alfred Schindler’s Dixie Doll Company.

I opted not to chase the Virginia Autumn Flyer excursion train last weekend. Too much to do around the house. Thanks to the Youtubes, there are plenty of videos of the train.

Looks like your typical Amtrak train until you get about 8 cars back. Then you start to see the vintage rail equipment owned by the museum or private owners.