Florida Factoid Friday

Ed Frank of Naples, using parts from a Model-T Ford and a World War I airplane, built the first swamp buggy about 1919 to navigate the Everglades.

L-R: Paul Frank, Henry Espenlaub, Ed Frank, Roy Smith
photo credit and more

Mystery Solved

KellyRae got it. It was a feral peacock I shot in Pinellas County. There was a small flock roaming the woods near one of the Anclote River parks.

Thanks for all the well-wishes for my computer, Hoping to get it back soonly.

Borrowing bytes. 8-\

Monday Morning Mystery

My computer is still infected, so I borrowed DS's, which still has some very old pictures in the attic. This was from April of 2005. I have been reminded how different things can look on different monitors. Hope this isn't too dark for y'all.

Mystery Solved

FC, once again, was right on. These little guys like to build in the middle of our driveway. We pretty much leave them alone, as they're about half a city block from the house.



I've spent the past 2 days trying to get rid of a trojan. So much for my provider's super-duper, don't use any other protection after downloading ours security. It let 6 trojans and a trojan downloader through sometime in the last few days. Malwarebytes killed all but the one evil varmint that keeps regenerating itseslf. *sigh* I've tried 3 recommended solutions and still it persists. Looks like I'll be without a computer for a few days once I scrounge the cash to take it to a professional hitman. Maybe DS will let me borrow his for a bit each day. Time is money in the coupon game and I've already lost too much this week.

See ya when I see ya.

Have a JESUS-filled week!

Monday Morning Mystery

Better late... been having computer issues. It's always sumthin'. 8-}

Florida Factoid Friday

At the time of her death in January, 2010, Dorothy Geeben was the oldest mayor in the US. She presided over the city of Ocean Breeze Park for the last 9 years of her life. She was approaching her 102nd birthday.

Mystery solved

Y'all were on the right track. KellyRae nailed it. It was a Luna Moth. I wish I could've gotten better pics. He was hanging on our pollen-covered sliding glass door the other night. I snapped a couple zoomed shots, then kneeled for a close-up. Reckon he was phobically camera-shy, coz just as I aimed, he swooned and dropped to the ground. I wasn't too keen on crawling under the back steps in the wee hours, so this is as good as it gets. I don't know if it was the extra-long, extra-cold winter or last months monsoon, but we seem to have an abundance of lunae this year. This was the third in 2 weeks.

Monday Morning Mystery

Florida Factoid Friday

Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas National Park, on the Dry Tortugas islands west of Key West, is the largest brick fort in the Western Hemisphere. (It was built with more than 16 million bricks!) The fort’s walls are 8 feet thick and about 45 feet high.

Mystery solved

Suze was first to correctly guess that it was, indeed, a hummingbird beak. Two, actually. These two beauties were making use of the blooming wisteria vine just outside my kitchen window.



These two beauties were making use of the blooming wisteria vine just outside my kitchen window.

You wouldn't believe how wonderful those wisteria flowers smell! It's so nice to be able to open the windows again and let the sweet aroma flow through the house. Spring is far too quickly, though, edging into summer. Temperatures here hit 90 yesterday. Already! I do hope we have at least another month of windows that are open 24 hours.

Monday Morning Mystery

Florida Factoid Friday

New Smyrna Beach, in Volusia County, was founded in the late 1700s by Andrew Turnbull. The Scottish doctor named the community in honor of Smyrna, Greece, his wife's home.

Rant - re shooting at Publix

I blame Big Brother. After all, he's the one who has taught us that we're all not only created equal, but we should all forever remain equal. And that we should never ever say or do anything that might offend any other equal. And that anything that doesn't completely agree with everything another equal thinks/feels/believes is offensive.

It might appear a cut and dried case of pre-meditated murder when equal A threatens to kill equal B... then equal A goes home, gets a gun, comes back and shoots and kills equal B. But NO! As equal A's mother-in-law now informs us, equal A is a good person and there is 'more to the story'. It has been alleged that equal A was 'bullied and teased' by her equal co-workers. (I, for one, am curious to know how equal A defines bullying and teasing. They asked her to do her job, perhaps?) Equal B reminded equal A that working off the clock is a no-no at Publix and suggested she stop doing same. Equal A, apparently, ignored equal B's advice. Equal B later reported equal A for said violation. Equal A was offended by this and threatened to kill equal B. Equal A was fired for said threat. Poor, poor, misunderstood equal A. Can we really blame her for taking the time to go home and get her gun? Should we really believe that, given the time it took her to go home, get a gun and come back, she should have had time to cool down? And that having had this cooling off period, then walking up to the man and shooting him anyhow, she is actually guilty of first degree/premeditated murder?

Honestly, if I went postal every time somebody disagreed with me or hurt my feelings, the gene pool would be a lot cleaner by now. I don't care how good a person she was, or how mean she thought her co-workers were, you don't go around shooting people. It boggles my mind that anyone would actually try to defend her.

On another note: grief counseling. Don't even get me started!