A guy walks into a bar...

(image caption) Glen Mason's football makes a "pffffffftttt" sound. Apparently, so does his wallet. (image courtesy MN State Legislature archives)


A guy walks into a downtown Minneapolis bar and sits down.

A few moments later, a party of four arrive and sit at an adjacent table. The foursome includes University of Minnesota football coach Glen Mason, Mason's son, Mason's daughter, and a fourth individual (adult male).

All four order alcoholic beverages. The Mason trio all order Grey Goose martinis.

Later, Glen Mason asked for a glass of water from his server. A couple of minutes later, the server returns with the glass of water. Mason replies, "What? Did this water come all the way from the Marriot?", referring to his perception of slow service.

After the party finished their lone cocktails, the bill was requested. Upon receiving the bill, the fourth individual announced that he would pick up the tab. No one argued.

Glen Mason makes $1.3 million a year -- I only hope the fourth guy makes substantially more.

Disgusted as I was after witnessing this display, I bit my tongue enough not to ask Mason an embarassing question about his embarassing football team in front of his group.

But know that I wanted to.

A $4,000 Single-Speed

(image caption) Ladies and gentlemen...the one, the only...BRose. (image courtesy Goathork.com)


According to The Man on the Street, BRose (of CRC fame; formerly of QBP ignominy) has come into possession of a 2006 BMC SLC01 frameset. Word is that he intends to build up this $3,500 (MSRP) frame as a single-speed that would weigh in the neighborhood of ten pounds.

I don't know what to think. What the hell do you think?

Alexander Litvinenko

(image caption) Dead Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. (image courtesy CNN.com)


Despite the fact that several high-profile critics of the Kremlin have ended up suspiciously dead, and despite the fact that the KGB commonly used to dismiss of rogue agents and enemies by poison, Russian officials are denying that they had anything to do with the assassination of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London by use of polonium.

The Russians are sticking by their story: that Litvinenko's death was not their doing / that Litvinenko was not a high-profile enough target to bother with assassinating / that Russia is being framed by others of executing the enemies of President Putin.

At least the Russian government has their story straight.

New Grumpy's / Little Guy Racing Kit

Check it...

Tuffy: Consumer Advocate

The Strib ran an info-graphic on the front page of the Source section today regarding shipping rates for parcels.

The paper checked 1, 2, and 3+ day rates from USPS, UPS, and FedEx.

Here's the rule of thumb that the Strib article came to:
--If it needs to be there ASAP, use USPS.
--If it can wait, use FedEx.
--Skip UPS altogether.

Happy shipping from your friends at The Fog of Work!

Brad Johnson Inaction Figure

(courtesy AmericanIdle.net)

The Linear, Legitimate and Universally Recognized Heavyweight Champions of the World

Following the Heavyweight Boxing Championship of the World from the 1882 until 2003...

Richard Estes

Park Row Looking Towards City Hall
1992
Oil on canvas
36 x 72 inches
Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York

By request, more Richard Estes...

Book Source

"Paris Street Scene, 1972" by Richard Estes

A rare and brief look into the mind of Tuffy...

Books currently residing on my bookshelf include:
"My Life In Baseball", Ty Cobb
"The Last Tycoon", F. Scott Fitzgerald
"Diplomacy", Henry Kissinger
"Democracy in America", Alexis de Toqueville
"New Realism", New York Graphic Society

Tuffy, Consumer Advocate

Tuffy Shopping Tip #24: Cough Drops

Did you know that not all cough drops are the same?

On a recent visit to a local bear of a grocery store, I decided to inspect their cough drop offerings. This particular store offered a wide selection of flavors from mainly two cough drop manufacturers, so there was a lot of research.

The research, however, was simple, quick, and time-efficient -- if you know what you're looking for. The active ingredient in cough drops is menthol, and the menthol is there to soothe the throat pain and suppress the cough.

But, guess what? Almost every different flavor of cough drops has a different menthol content. Menthol content levels ranged from a measly 1.1 mg to a whopping 10 mg per drop.

Therefore, look closely before you purchase your cough drops this winter. While that one particular flavor might seem very appealing for the taste buds, another flavor might deliver close to ten times the impact.

PS: One "Euro" cough drop company also has a wide variety on the number of drops they put into the bags of the varying flavors, so keep an eye on that, too.

Good luck, savvy consumer!

10 // 2

Lance is at it again...

Where's Tuffy?

Q: What's Tuffy been up to?

A: About 400 pounds.

Vote NO to the Transportation Amendment on Nov 7

Originally posted by Tuffy on Smithers' blog:

DO NOT VOTE FOR THE TRANSPORTATION AMENDMENT!!!

DEAR GOD! COME TO YOUR SENSES!

Here's why:
1) Our roads/transit are not currently underfunded. This is a solution in search of a problem.

2) This is another case of our representatives shirking their jobs as legislators. If we pass this amendment, it takes part of the job of divvying up our state's tax revenues out of their hands -- thus giving them another excuse for government not working correctly. What are we paying them for if they don't want to do their job?

3) This amendment has potentially disastrous effects for education and state-supported health care. While the proponents of this bill say that these two areas won't be affected, they are using *projected revenues* to make these promises. There are zero dollars currently set aside to make-up for monies lost by education and state-supported health care.

4) This is a business-friendly amendment, heavily supported by companies making their money off of over-the-road shipping and the like. If this is "business-friendly", what isn't it? That's right: people friendly. And if it's "business-friendly", which party brought you this amendment? Yes, that's right: the Republicans.

Do not vote for this amendment! Do not give in to slick advertising! This is a bad bill for the future of the state! Don't do it!

"...by the feather"

I am troubled
immeasurably
by your eyes

I am struck
by the feather
of your soft
reply

The sound of glass
speaks quick
disdain

and conceals
what your eyes fight
to explain

-JM

Yeah! Bang Bang! Yeah!

What was John Kerry talking about?

If "you study hard … you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."
--John Kerry (October 30, 2006)