Giant Albino Pufferfish

I've been up 30 minutes before I recalled my dream last night. I got a mental glimpse of it, then I was able to replay it.

I was standing on a dock with a lure on the end of a fishing line. I had no pole, just the line in my hand. I wasn't there for fishing. It was more like I was just gonna toss the lure in and troll down the dock on my way to whereever it was I was going. All of a sudden several fish came near the lure in a school and were dancing with it as I moved it up and down. In the middle of that, we (not sure who 'we' is, but I wasn't alone) came across a pipe the was broken near the water line. A man near it exclaimed, "These are teeth marks!" ..and whoever I was with said the next line which absolutely has me thinking I better eat a better meal before I go to bed.

He said, "Well, the only thing with a strong enough bite to do that is a pufferfish." At which point, we started speculating the size the pufferfish had to be to be proportionally strong enough to bite thru the pipe. It wasn't long before (of course) I'm in the water and I see the outlined glow of a large 'ball' swimming near me. I managed to get to the side, and we could see this large whie pufferfish swimming below the surface. I'm gonna have to say the fish had about a 6 ft diameter. Then walking away from the dock, some small kid was fishing with a net and pulled up a regular sized pufferfish. As I picked it up to look at it, it started grinding it's teeth and it freaked me out.

Thought I'd share.. If you're looking for me, I'll be on someone's couch explaining about my childhood.

-Gary

Song and Lyrics

Ok, I had to share this. First listen to this song. Specifically, get a grip on what the guy is saying.



Ok, now that I have you smacking yourself in the forehead, wondering 'what the...?' I've made is easy for you. here's a link with the lyrics.

http://www.lyricsandsongs.com/song/595018.html

That should clear it up.

-Gary

The Nutshell

So in the small town of Bury St Edmunds, Donald and I made a trip up to 'The Nutshell'. It's claimed to be the smallest pub in Britain. Here's a blurb about it from Wikipedia.

The Nutshell in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England is thought to be the smallest pub in Britain, although this claim is challenged by several others, including the Smiths Arms at Godmanstone. Whatever the truth of its claim, the pub is certainly diminutive, there being very little room for more than ten or fifteen customers to drink at any one time. In 1984, a record number of 102 people squeezed into the pub [1].

Inside the pub is the suspended dried body of a black cat. Builders used to brick cats up behind chimney hearths, where they died of starvation and heat. The body was discovered during building work.

The pub measures 15ft by 7ft [2].

So, of course, you know me.. Have to go. Here's a picture of Donald and me in the pub. My back is to the wall on one end. The farthest person you can see is on the other wall. Him and I could almost have a conversation.










..and as stated in the article, there really is a dead cat suspended over the bar. Apparently, it wasn't just cruelty of builders to brick these up alive in the bar. It has something to do with good luck. I guess not so much for the cat. PETA members look away now. Here's a pic.











Nasty.. I know..

-Gary

Stonehenge

I met up with Donald at Gatwick Airport in London on Friday. He couldn't really start working till midday Saturday, so I decided to take him over to see Stonehenge. Here's a look...



-Gary

There's Always Time for Tea

This week, David and I are back in the UK finishing up the project we lined out last time we were here. We had a free day, so we headed down to Dover. This is along the English channel, one of the closest points of land to the rest of Europe.










We walked around the old lookout post back before technology told us when enemies were coming and the British relied on men with eyes to watch the distant shore. You can see me pointing at France in this next picture. It's the mountain you can just barely make out in the haze. It's hard to make out with a photograph as it blended in with the clouds.










You have to remember that France was occupied for around 5 years with the Germans looking at England as something to squish the crap out of. When you see it from this perspective, and how really close France was to England (23 miles or so and visible to the eye), you can imagine how nervous it would make someone feel looking across knowing that their land, country, family and way of life was threatened. Having been to Normandy last year, and looking at history from different angles, I've learned a lot about this war and a much larger respect for the ones who fought in it.

-Gary

More Dead Crawfish

Another year, another crawfish boil behind us. We had 48 people show up this year and boiled about 135 lbs of live crawfish. Thanks to all who showed up and made it another fun event.

-Gary

Travel Kharma

Earlier this week I was in San Diego. One evening just before dinner, I went over to Torrey Pines cliffs just North of La Jolla to watch the sun go down over the Pacific. (I can't go to California without watching at least one Pacific coast sunset). On this instance, I was fortunate enought to snap this picture of a paraglider pilot taking off in front of me.










Click it to make it bigger. It's worth it.

-Gary

Plenty of Fathers, Few Daddys

For all you manly fathers out there that think you're too tough to polish your daughters toes, get over yourself. Sharing a quiet moment with your girl at 'her' level is the manliest you will ever be.

Then posting a picture of it on the Internet makes you that much more.












-Gary