I Hate Spies

I have been attacked by Spies and Secret Agents trying to take over my computer. It's driving me completely crazy, as it can take an hour just to check my emails as the unit freezes up and dozens of popups overrun the Irish Lass.

Tomorrow the Irish nephew says he'll come over and fix me up. Hallelujah!

BTW, wasn't the President fabulous tonight!!!!

The Things You Should Do In California


My 20,000th visitor was sent by the Boi From Troy and looking for the 100 Things You Should Do In California

Here it is ... Is there anything you'd like to add?

1. Sing at the Piano Bar at the Mission Ranch, Carmel
2. White Water Rafting on the Kern River, followed by Prime Rib at Ewing's On the Kern, Kernville
3. Sail the San Francisco Bay
4. Watch the polo matches in Griffith Park
5. Take a night hike in Topanga State Park, Pacific Palisades
6. See a show at Yoshi's Jazz Supper Club, Oakland
7. Make a wish in the Snow White Fountain at Disneyland
8. Have a drink at Yamashiro's watching the blinking light at the top of the Capitol Records Building spell out "Hollywood" in Morse Code.
9. Shop with the musical geniuses on Haight Street, San Francisco
10. Sip some Barbera at Villa Toscano Winery, Amador
11. Drive a Convertible on the 17 Mile Drive, Pebble Beach
12. Hear a Jazz Singer at the park in Marina Del Rey
13. Watch Irma the Ghost play the piano at the Magic Castle in Hollywood.
14. Learn to Race at Thunderhill Park, Willows
15. Tour the State Capitol (will be way cooler when Arnold arrives)
16. Rent a beach cruiser in Santa Barbara
17. Jay Leno Show, Burbank
18. Take a hiking break at the Tourist Club Chalet, Mill Valley
19. Ride the Big Dipper in Santa Cruz
20. Go to Corky Carroll's Surf School, Huntington Beach
21. Rent a Houseboat on Lake Shasta
22. Watch a Whale, San Mateo
23. Enjoy Opera at the Bear Valley Music Festival
24. Hike the Tahoe Rim Trail
25. Fireworks on the Beach in Santa Barbara
26. Visit the oldest McDonald's in Downey
27. Make out in the garden @ the Norton Simon in Pasadena
28. Have a Bolivar at the Grand Havana in Beverly Hills
29. Stay awake at the Buena Vista Cafe
30. Brush Up On Your Shakespeare in Lake Tahoe
31. Be a Hip Chick at a Shag show.
32. Squish some clay at the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach
33. Sing Summer Nights behind the stands at Marshall High
34. Row through the canals of Venice
35. Get certified to officiate at a California wedding at the Norwalk City Hall
36. Let Steven Spielberg's mom cook a kosher meal for you in West LA
37. Sleep on the beach at Pt. Mugu
38. See the Giants beat the Doggies in (newly named) SBC Park, San Francisco.
39. Kayaking on San Luis Obispo Bay followed by soaking in Sycamore Springs
40. Have a beer at Brennan's and watch the turtles race in Marina del Rey
41. Cut a rug with Buck Owens, Bakersfield
42. Watch the planes take off and land while you get drunk at the Encounter in that building at LAX
43. Go old-fashioned to the Victorian Christmas, Nevada City
44. Count Koi at the pond at the Sportsman's Lodge
45. Lose yourself in books in Brentwood
46. See some blood at a Rugby Game
47. Place some flowers on John Ritter's star on the "Walk of Fame" in Hollywood
48. Crash a party in Holmby Hills
49. Cruise by the Governor's Mansion, Sacramento
50. Swingtime at The Derby, Los Angeles
51. Dance at the Sacramento Jazz Festival
52. Have an afternoon beer at the Awahnee Hotel, Yosemite
53. Visit the Donner Memorial at Truckee, CA -- make bad jokes about cannibalism.
54. Go to the Rose Bowl Flea Market and get some really GOOD junk to replace your old worn-out junk.
55. Take your Harley on the Avenue of the Giants
56. Ride the cable cars in SF
57. Watch the Christmas boat parade in Newport Harbor.
58. Go off-roading in Death Valley
59. Place a wager on the horses at Del Mar ("And away they go!")
60. Take a cruise on the Tahoe Queen, Lake Tahoe.
61. Watch the sea otters play in the water at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and read Steinback's Cannery Row while enjoying a bowl of Clam Chowder soup.
62. Feel the celebrity handprints at Mann's Chinese Theatre.
63. Taste a Syrah at the Firestone Winery, Maybe you'll run into The Bachelor and Jen, Santa Barbara.
64. Ride a hot air balloon in Napa.
65. Pan for gold in the American River where John Sutter started the Gold Rush, Coloma (near Placerville)
66. Climb Half Dome in Yosemite (there's a trail up the back side).
67. Watch the sunrise over the Mojave Desert from the (aptly named) Sunrise Highway in the Laguna Mountains.
68. Waterski the Delta
69. Watch the hangliders take off at sunrise from Glacer Point, Yosemite NP
70. Visit the ultimate hands-on science museum, the Exploritorium in San Francisco.
71. Eat a lumberman's breakfast at the Samoa cookhouse, Humboldt County
72. Don't get cheated at Pat O'Shea's Irish Bar, San Francisco
73. Attend Gilroy's garlic festival and learn what good food really tastes like while those around you pass out:
74. Watch the sunset over the San Francisco Bay from Grizzly Peak Blvd in the Berkeley Hills.
75. Hang out on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley
76. Have a pint of quality microbrew in the garden of the Mendicino Brewing Company in Hopland, CA.
77. Shop at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market.
78. Enjoy an In-N-Out double double with grilled onions while watching a drive in movie.
79. Try to figure out the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz.
80. Help assemble next year's Rose Parade float.
81. Ride a boogie board on the waves at San Clemente.
82. Watch the seals sunbathe on the beach at Children's Pool in La Jolla.
83. Celebrate the return of the swallows to Mission San Juan Capistrano on St. Joseph's Day, March 19th.
84. Take the tram to the top of the mountain in Palm Springs and go hiking.
85. Drink and dance the Sunday afternoon blues away at the Whole Enchilada and Moss Landing Inn, Monterey.
86. Roller blade along Venice Beach.
87. Take the ferry to Avalon on Catalina Island.
88. Surf in the Morning, Ski in the afternoon.
89. Have brunch at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego.
90. Visit Julia Morgan's grand design at Hearst Castle, Cambria
91. Go to the Big Game at Stanford or Cal.
92. Pamper yourself at the Golden Door Spa, San Diego
93. Hang with Tiger and Kevin Costner at the Tap Room, Pebble Beach
94. Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge
95. Shop on Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles
96. Celebrate Fleet Week on the Jeremiah O'Brien (one of the last remaining Liberty ships) in San Francisco.
97. Run the Rock-N-Roll Marathon, San Diego.
98. Bike and Drink in Calistoga, unwind with a mud bath
99. Cross the border at the Cal-Neva Lodge where Frank use to hang out, win a big jackpot, bring the money back to California to spend it, and
100. Have a Schnitzel at Schatzi's.

What numbers have you done?

A Party with 20,000 Guests

Just 17 to go before the odometer turns over on 20,000 visitors to the Irish Lass. Thanks for coming! The party's just begun.

Party People - Repeat

I'm thinking about hosting a Bloggers Victory Bash some time in November, with some wine tasting at the American Thinker's winery. The party would be on a Saturday afternoon/evening in November, either November 6th, November 13th or November 20th at the winery tasting room which is located between San Francisco and Sacramento. Out of town bloggers could spend the weekend in San Francisco and there is nothing more beautiful in the world than San Francisco in the fall, when the weather is perfect and all the libs are depressed cuz their guy got whooped.

Update I've gotten some good responses. I hope some of the Angelenos will come North and visit with us. I'm going to try and invite some out of state bloggers too.

Jim Lehrer Stinks

Not a single question about Kerry's 20 year Senate career.

The Annoyance Factor

Back in the day, I served on a special committee convened by Governor Pete Wilson to get support for a fair reapportionment.

I'd always thought Governor Wilson was OK, but when I really started to like him was when he showed his annoyance toward people who were really annoying. It was at that moment that I realized he was a real person who disliked irritating people as much as I did.

So, President Bush showed his annoyance. Wouldn't you?

They're Not Going to Watch Sessions 2 and 3

The debate was not good TV.

Bush did fine. But he didn't look like he was enjoying himself. And I believe the audience didn't enjoy themselves either.

Kerry did fine. He looked better than he normally does and he spoke better than he normally does. No terrible gafs except for the global test which was pretty bad.

No laugh lines. No drama. Important issues but uninteresting presentation.

Extremely bad TV.

The people who will watch the next debate, which will be on a Friday night, are people who prefer C-SPAN to NFL football, who read the Christian Science Moniter instead of People Magazine, who would rather listen to Bach then Frank Sinatra and who follow a Vegan diet instead of eating In-N-Out burgers.

John Kerry already has those votes.

Lots of Funny Friends

As I surfed through the Chicks for Bush, Bear Flaggers and Wictory Wednesday crowd, I found lots of gigls

Driving Instructions

There is less than two months until the election, an election that will decide the next President of the United States. The man elected will be the President of ALL Americans, not just the Democrats or the Republicans.

To show our solidarity as Americans, let's all get together and show each other our support for the candidate of our choice. It's time that we all came together, Democrats and Republicans alike.

If you support the policies and character of President George W. Bush, please drive with your headlights 'ON' during the day.

If you support John Kerry, please drive with your headlights 'OFF' at night.


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Saucy and Sassy

Brother Dear was a dear and grilled up the corn on the cob and scraped off the kernels last night.

So I chopped up the other ingredients (avocado, onion, red bell, jalapeno, pear - also some lime juice - the real thing so the avo and pear don’t turn brown). Was really tasty with the addition of the corn. Brother Dear kept saying - um, the pear! It’s just so good.

I always say - no applause, just throw money. He said, oh I’m with ya on the ‘no applause’. And he really loved the creamy jalapeno sauce. We’re definitely a saucy family.




A Choice of Hymns
One Sunday a pastor told his congregation that the church needed
some extra money and asked the people to prayerfully consider
giving a little extra in the offering plate.

He said that whoever gave the most would be able to pick out
three hymns.

After the offering plates were passed, the pastor glanced down
and noticed that someone had placed a $1,000 bill in offering.
He was so excited that he immediately shared his joy with his
congregation and said he'd like to personally thank the person
who placed the money in the plate.

A very quiet, elderly, saintly lady all the way in the back
shyly raised her hand. The pastor asked her to come to the
front. Slowly she made her way to the pastor. He told her how
wonderful it was that she gave so much and in thanksgiving asked
her to pick out three hymns.

Her eyes brightened as she looked over the congregation, pointed
to the three handsomest men in the building and said,
"I'll take him and him and him."

Michels for Senate

Our pal Stacy Kratt, sometimes known as the Viking Lass, is the finance director for Tim Michels and she tells us that he's going to beat Feingold and become Wisconsin's Senator.

Drop him some cash.

Besides her skill at raising cash, Stacy is famous for her many Ole and Lena jokes and her past as a Minnesota Vikings cheerleader.

Party People

I'm thinking about hosting a Bloggers Victory Bash some time in November, with some wine tasting at the American Thinker's winery. The party would be on a Saturday afternoon/evening in November, either November 6th, November 13th or November 20th at the winery tasting room which is located between San Francisco and Sacramento. Out of town bloggers could spend the weekend in San Francisco and there is nothing more beautiful in the world than San Francisco in the fall, when the weather is perfect and all the libs are depressed cuz their guy got whooped.