Icewind's Ramblings

Paul Newman died yesterday at 83, thanks for the work in so many great movies . . . The racing over the years . . . and the countless charity you have given to so many. You will be missed. "Sometimes nothing can be a pretty cool hand." RIP & God speed. Ice

It jumped right out at me while watching the debates and McCain tried to use a bracelet of a fallen U.S. soldier given on the campaign trail to drive home his point that he would not withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq based on an arbitrary time line. After he finished talking Barack Obama quickly added . . . “I have a bracelet too!” and when he tried to tell his story Obama forgot the name on his bracelet! Watch the tape . . . he had to look down at the bracelet to remember the name. He had to read the name . . . It made the stunt of the bracelet wearing he is doing even clearer. It seemed like he almost was going to say that the dead soldier gave it to him. It was obvious that he had forgotten the name. If Obama were wearing a bracelet for any other reason than to say he is wearing a bracelet like McCain does, he would have known the name of ‘his’ soldier. But he didn’t. It is moments like this that reveal the true character of a man. McCain leads ...

Bearly Funny! Now one for the Democrats so we keep an even keel on this political season. The photo below shows a disturbing trend in animals in the U.S.A. Animals that were formerly self-sufficient are now showing signs of belonging to the Democratic Party . . . as they have apparently learned to just sit and wait for the government to step in and provide for their care and sustenance. This photo is of a Democrat black bear in Alaska nicknamed 'Bearack Obama'! Ice

Palin Implicated In Bullwinkle Assassination A little fun sets in as I am sitting here watching “Almost Famous” and can’t really get my mind into writing anything serious tonight so this little ditty just for the fun of it . . . and there’s a line in the movie, “I didn’t invent the rainy day . . . but I do own the best umbrella!” We’ve had the rain falling a lot here in Anchorage with it raining each day over the last 22 days so we need something to laugh about. The possible successor to Dick Cheney is getting out ahead of the game and shooting things up before she even takes office. The full "story" is found here at Sarah Palin Kills Bullwinkle - Bambi Is Next It's just a joke folks . . . seriously . . . I couldn’t resist. Ice

The first ‘official’ day of fall finds termination dust making its way down the Chugach Mountaintops in Alaska . Termination Dust is what Alaskans call the first dustings of snow on the mountains signaling the oncoming winter, hence termination of summer. Oh yeah, it’s that thing we have had in the past but not this year. The changing of the leaves in fall is quick. Blink and you may miss it. The landscape both in the neighborhoods and on the hillsides is dotted with lots of yellow and very few oranges. The cranes are flying overhead in formation beginning the long journey home. Geese are following suit and making their way across the sky. Alaskan snowbirds are planning their trips to warmer climates, as well. The exodus of motorhomes hitting the highways is just beginning as the tourist and the snowbirds make their way south. Hawaii , Arizona and Mexico are popular destinations for Alaskans fleeing the onset of winter! After the third coldest summer in history...

Well, I got to spend a little time at the airport recently, and I think out of the many hours spent in transit my favorite part was baggage claim. I know you thought I was gonna say a bathroom stall . . . but nope, it's baggage handling & claim. There is that quick check to make sure you have everything in the right place . . . and that you do not have anything on the current “unapproved” list before you head to check in your bags. The things we do now in the name of airline safety can get almost comical if the realities of why we must endure this weren’t so real. Off we go to check in . . . After you've taken your shoes off and put your travel-size minoxidil in a little baggie (yeah like I would really use it), unpack the laptop and place things in the baskets while you still think flying makes you part of the elite . . . the "jet set" . . . well baggage handling & claims should shatter that myth. Going into the airport your luggage is treated li...

This post will close out the Cancun Vacation 2008. Time has crept up on me and trying to complete this has been hard to get things done to spend the time to finish writing this out. This will cover the last few days of the trip and there will only be a few pictures this time as I know the load times are hard on some of you. Friday –August 22, 2008 was a laid back day for some of us while Scott & his family rented a Jeep and drove themselves into the city of Cancun . Another adventure in Mexico and another great blog in the making as the first policeman they passed once downtown while seeing their Avis rental changed the light to red and proceeded to pull them over. Avis provided only one rear seat belt for the kids leaving two unbuckled so there were the possible tickets for two seat belt violations. Add another charge for the traffic light violation with total fines of $ 250 US dollars. The policeman quickly noted that there would be a $ 50 US dollar ‘fee’ to make t...