Icewind's Ramblings

Personal Digital Breathalyzer Today one of my Groupon ads was for a personal digital breathalyzer, $129.98 now $11.99. What I found interesting is that it showed over 25,000 had been bought. This must be nationwide but either way that is a whole lot of a**holes out there drinking too much that they need a pocket one to test themselves. Highlights:           Pocket-sized breathalyzer uses police grade sensors to measure your blood alcohol content, then displays the number on its LED screen. Fine print:           Free returns, does not ship to PO Boxes/AK (Alaska)/HI (Hawaii)/Canada/Puerto Rico. There were several questions and comments, including: “Garbage! Bought this and it didn’t work, got busted coming out of the bar parking lot.” I offended on several levels:  1.  They do not ship to Alaska and I know there are some power drinkers up here that use...

Life is busy, life is good. Wish you all lived in my neighborhood. I've been thinking about a certain hammock on a beach in Mexico, wishing I was there . . . I know a place with many hammocks. Ice

In many bathrooms, work and at home there is oftentimes air freshener to make our daily pooping rituals mask or remove the smell.  At home I have several aerosols in various scents.  Two are Fabreze® Air Effects; Hawaiian Aloha and Mediterranean Lavender. At work someone replaced my aerosol can of air freshener in the bathroom with some harmless looking spray that comes in a pump bottle, apparently that person was very conscious of our environment.  So, I went to the bathroom and after almost completing my moronic pooping ritual, I grabbed for the air freshener.  I picked up the spray pump bottle and eyed it suspiciously.  What the hell?  I'm okay with someone messing with everything else, but when you change my bathroom routine, you're only trying to magnify my anxiety.   I read the label.  Cinnamon.  Okay, I can deal with that.  I sniffed at the nozzle.  I don't know why.  I guess I wanted to make sure whoever didn't r...

On my recent trip to Mexico something totally unexpected happened.  I have carried around different burdens on my shoulders for the last forty years and while on vacation had the opportunity to release those burdens in a most unexpected and unusual way.  The area I was visiting was in the Rivera Maya in Mexico.  This area is approximately an hour and half south of Cancun and about twenty miles south of Playa del Carmen.  There is a rich Mayan culture here with many temples and ruins within a short drive.  The Mayan influence is everywhere, in the food, the art work, and most importantly the people who are proud of their heritage.  I was staying at the Hard Rock Rivera Maya a large sprawling resort with two sides to accommodate everyone.  Hacienda is the family (kids) side of the resort and Heaven is the adult only part of what I jokingly called “the compound”.  When you turn off the main highway there is a large guitar lighted in red and ...

For me and many others music makes up the story of our lives. Music is always with us, in our mind, on the radio, in movies, and songs you know by heart that no one can take away from you.  Music is always there to get you through the good and bad times in your life. Sit back; think about your music for a few moments Let the music take you where ever it may and picture your life as a playlist, and see what your top ten songs would be in the story of your life. Music makes pictures and often tells stories All of it magic and all of it true And all of this pictures and all of the stories And all of the magic the music is you . . . (John Denver concert opening song) Here is the story of my life through songs and is my top 10 playlist. 1. Old Friend - Terry Edwards (Cullowhee) 2. One Particular Harbor - Jimmy Buffett 3. Chances - Five for Fighting 4. Walk Away Joe - Trisha Yearwood 5. Somewhere over the rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole 6. The Prete...

I've been a bit of a slacker lately not getting new tires for my car before winter set in so I purchased them yesterday and went to get them installed this morning.  In Alaska it's done a little differently than the Lower 48 where you just go and have them swapped over.  Many people use studded tires here so every fall there is a massive rush to the tire stores at the first sign of snowfall.  I waited so I found myself going to Costco at 6:45 am this morning the temperature was minus 5 degrees to be outside waiting for them to open around 8:30 am.  I was number 5 in line at that time but was prepared.  I had my Margaritaville chair, my thermos of Bailey's coffee, and warm clothing.  The conversations with those there turned out to be quite interesting at that time of the morning waiting for someone to show up. The line grew to over 50 people by the time the doors opened.  I met several people, mainly the other 4 in front of me and once vehicles w...

I've been away for awhile with real life and haven't posted for awhile now.  I almost forgot how to start a new thread and had to create a new email so I could access my dormant account again. Much has changed within my life but the same outlook on things, encounters with others and taking away a slightly tilted look at things remains the same.  Hopefully I have found my writing voice once again. If you are not familiar or new to my posts please take a look through my archives for some funny stories and outlooks on life in Alaska and things in general. Thanks for playing, Ice