Weedeaters are Fun

I never participated in the great McMansion, biggest lawn tractor, biggest gas grill competition of the last few decades so I buy cheap weedeaters. I just don't see any need for Joe Blow to spend a small fortune on an industrial weedeater and lawn mower to cut his 7/8th's acre of suburbia once a week. The John Deere "lawn tractor" seems to be the status symbol of choice these days. Interesting that there's almost nothing John Deere on any of them except the name and the green paint. Most lawn tractors bought at box stores are made by only a handful of manufacturers. Same with weedeaters.

The cheap little Weedeater brand weed whackers that I've been using for the past few decades are manufactured by Poulan and have many brand names slapped on them. They're definitely not made for industrial usage but for less than $90, you can't beat 'em. To get the best performance from your own unit, you will need a Poulan carb adjustment tool to tune the fuel mixture and just a little bit of common sense and technical ability to keep it running well.

My newest Weedeater is a FL25 that I bought in the spring and it ran absolutely great until a few weeks ago. A little troubleshooting led me to the fuel filter which looked like the aluminum was disintegrating and actually left a stain in the plastic fuel tank. Weird. Of course, the guy at the small engine shop blamed it on ethanol blends. It sounds feasible but I've been running ethanol blends in everything for more than two decades and have never seen this happen before. Ethanol blends are not supposed to be stored for more than 90 days so I'm wondering if the age of the fuel may have contributed to the problem along with the extreme heat this summer.

$2.50 for a new filter and an hour spent disassembling, cleaning, and tweaking the Walbro carburetor got her back in primo condition. Stay tuned for a future entry detailing exactly how to tweak that carb!

Christmas History

Men dressed as Krampus, the companion of St. Nicholas and one of Austria's unique Advent traditions, are seen during a traditional Krampus procession in the city of Munich, southern Germany, on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008.

Debate on Christmas was taking place hundreds of years before the so called "war on Christmas" in which modern secular society is supposedly stripping Christ from the holiday. Early Puritans in New England went the opposite direction completely banning the holiday for awhile and especially wanted to rid the celebration of all of the pagan traditions that have been assimilated as various peoples were conquered and sometime forcibly converted to Christianity.  

Our modern version of Santa Claus is an amalgamation of various traditional givers of gifts across Europe. In the Alps, some customs that would seem very shocking to modern Americans survive to this day. In those regions, Saint Nicholas is accompanied by an incubus demon called the Krampus who gives warnings and punishments to the bad children or even takes them to hell in a bag or basket. That will give your kids nightmares!

The word Krampus originates from the Old High German for claw (Krampen). Traditionally, young men dress up as the Krampus in the first two weeks of December, particularly in the evening of December 5, and roam the streets frightening children and women with rusty chains and bells. In some rural areas the tradition also includes birching (spanking with a birch rod typically on the bare buttocks) by the Krampus, especially of young females.

Here's a good article on the Krampus from Utica, NY's WKTV entitled Naughty or Nice - Santa's Helper, Krampus, deals with the naughty children.

Rockin' Christmas Songs

John Lennon's Happy Xmas/War is Over is the second song on our list from a former Beatle. Lennon, Yoko Ono, and the Plastic Ono Band recorded the now Christmas classic at Record Plant Studios in New York City in October 1971. The children singing are the Harlem Community Choir.

The song is based on a 1969 billboard campaign by Lennon and Ono who rented billboards and posters in eleven cities around the world that read "WAR IS OVER! (If You Want It) Happy Christmas from John and Yoko". Of course, we were fighting the very unpopular Vietnam war at the time and the government was following Lennon everywhere.

Enjoy your Christmas Eve! Our former employer gave us the day off so Knology made an exception for our small group. Marrazzo was kind enough to take call this morning at 8AM so I hope to rest and recuperate and wait for Santa.

Happy Festivus!

Seinfeld was a true cultural phenomenon and Festivus has oddly become part of the American lexicon thanks to the series. Put up your aluminum pole, air your grievances, and participate in feats of strength! Surely, you can pin your old man by now. Watch the story of Festivus!

Cool Commerical!

Verizon has the better coverage. AT&T has the most popular phone. Go figure. Great commercial for the season!

Rockin' Christmas Songs

In 2006, the Goo Goo Dolls released Better Days making it the newest release on our countdown. The songs hopeful lyrics made it a Top 10 hit and an instant Christmas classic. John Rzeznik and crew have always been activists supporting efforts to relieve hunger both abroad and domestically and especially in their own hometown of Buffalo, NY. 

Rockin' Christmas Songs

In 1996, a Danish Beatles cover band called Rubber Band put out a Christmas CD entitled Xmas! The Beatmas. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree is based on the lyrics/instrumentation of I Saw Her Standing There. The band really sounds like the Beatles! Great stuff.

Rockin' Christmas Songs

Jingle Bell Rock has been covered numerous times but this version from 1983 by Hall & Oates is particularly endearing to a 40-year old guy.

Rockin' Christmas Songs

Everyone of my generation will really enjoy watching this video! In 1984, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure brought together leading Irish and British musicians to form a super band called Band Aid. They produced Do They Know It's Christmas? to raise money to fight starvation in Ethiopia and it went straight to the top of the charts. Check out Sting and Bono! Enjoy.

Rockin' Christmas Songs

Annie Lennox was born on Christmas day so it's quite fitting that the Eurythmics Winter Wonderland is such a great song. According to the the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Winter Wonderland (written by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith in 1934) was the most-performed Christmas holiday song (based on radio airplay) and the Eurythmics version was “the most popular artist version played today” over the past 5 years. This year ASCAP have announced that the Eurythmics Winter Wonderland is the most performed holiday song of the decade!

Rockin' Christmas Songs

Paul McCartney's Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime is the first song on our list from a former Beatle. The year was 1979 and it does look like Paul, Linda, and crew were having a great time.

Robert Downey Jr on Letterman

Robert Downey Jr. converses with Letterman about his recent detention in Japan while promoting Iron Man II. Downey is great per usual. I caught him on Bravo's Inside the Actors Studio last weekend and the man is just freaking entertaining. Sherlock Holmes hits theaters on Christmas day and, of course, Iron Man II is due out next May! Robert Downey Jr. IS Tony Stark! He's just absolutely perfect for the role. Rhodey will be making his first appearance as War Machine and Mickey Rourke will make an interesting Whiplash! Here's the trailer. Bitchin!

Rockin' Christmas Songs

Here's another Christmas classic from a very alternative band. The Barenaked Ladies' God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings is sure to get you in the spirit!

Rockin' Christmas Songs

John Cougar Mellencamp's I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus is the fifth Rockin' Christmas Song on our holiday season countdown. Mellencamp's son has created a Facebook page in an attempt to get his father to stop smoking. John has agreed to quit the lifelong vice if a million people join. If Jack & Diane and Hurts So Good were part of your adolescent experience then please join at 1,000,000 to join, my dad john mellencamp will quit smoking  I hope you're enjoying the Holiday Season as much as I am.

Rockin' Christmas Songs

I grew up listening to Elvis Presley. While my father was almost strictly a country fan, my mother still listened to rock 'n roll. Elvis Presley was a 45-rpm staple in our home and the man loved Christmas. Elvis made two Christmas albums and I have both. Thanks for introducing me to the King of Rock 'n Roll Mom!

Elvis' Christmas Album, the fourth album by Elvis Presley on RCA Victor Records, was released in October 1957 shortly before he was drafted into military service. The LP consisted of eight Christmas tunes and four gospel songs. One of my favorites is Santa Bring My Baby Back (to Me). Enjoy.

Way!

The tattoo on this soldier's back spells kafir, the Arabic word for infidel. He is a member of the 10th Mountain Division, serving in Wardak province, Afghanistan.

Courtesy of Time.

Rockin' Christmas Songs

Weezer apparently cut six Christmas songs for a video game... Kinda weird... but I like Weezer and their version of We Wish You a Merry Christmas is way cool! Unfortunately, there is no live video that I could find but I did find this version with lyrics and slide show for your Christmas enjoyment.

Rockin' Christmas Songs

One of our Christmas favorites is Billy Squier's Christmas is The Time To Say I Love You and, thanks to YouTube, the actual MTV performance is available for the world to see! Enjoy.

Rockin' Christmas Songs

My collection of Christmas music has greatly expanded in the last few years thanks to the digital revolution and, thanks to YouTube, you can now check out Bruce Springsteen performing Santa Claus is Coming To Town live in 2007. Watch for more as the day approaches!

Incredible VISTA of the cosmos

Astronomers with the European Southern Observatory have just revealed the first images from their new telescope called VISTA: the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy.  This image is of the Flame Nebula, a star forming gas cloud in Orion. The image itself covers about half a square degree on the sky (twice the area of the full Moon) and shows details of the nebula, including the core made up of stars invisible to optical telescopes. The bright star in the image is the monster blue supergiant Alnitak, which is the easternmost (left, to northern observers) star in Orion’s belt. Get a good look at it, because in a million years or so that star is going to blow!

Incredible VISTA of the cosmos