Picture Language

Instead of sign language, I was thinking of coming up with something similar: Picture Language. Rather than writing the word or name you wish to communicate, say it with pictures. So what would these next two pictures together be saying?

Correct! That would be Football.

Let's try another one.

What would the next two pictures be saying?

Yes! We are saying Tiger Woods!

OK, now for a more difficult one.

What would this single picture be saying?

Office Window

Our garden-level office looks southly out under our deck. We call this area: "Down Under". During the winter, it makes a great blind to do some bird watching while sipping coffee, emailing, or blogging.

Earlier today, I observed a turf war between two local patridge gangs. The whole thing was a nice compliment that Down Under was worth fighting for. Hungarian Partridge got their name because they don't like being hungary.

White Christmas

We are definitely having a White Christmas in North Dakota (and numerous surrounding states). The interstate highways are all closed. City officials are advising no jogging. The sound of snowblowers is in the air.

I like to shovel my snow instead of using a snowblower. That way it can be directioned into a nice big pile which will eventually become a snowfort.

It looks like Christmas 2009 will include lots of snow and shovelling, partridge and sparrows in the backyard, indoor nibbling on all the leftover food from Christmas Eve, and of course, there is one NFL football game on TV tonight. There's nothing like a good old-fashioned Christmas.

Wrap It Up

With four days until Christmas Eve (and just three days to Festivus), you'all probably have all your shopping done, cookies made, trees decorated, snowflakes hung up, and cards sent out. If you want an easy, last minute idea, to transform any room into major Christmasland, wrap your hanging framed pictures!

Of course, the back sides don't need to be wrapped like an actual present, but it certainly changes the feel of any room quickly! We first saw this idea at a hotel in Minneapolis. The other nice thing is it covers up pictures that might not be on board with the Christmas holiday theme. The paper can be reused to wrap "future presents" (an unplanned oxymoron).

Floating Tiger Hidden Golfer

Apparently, Tiger's future x-wife told him to shape up or ship out. Since he was already quite shaped up, The Tiger decided to Ship Out.

Golf Without Tiger

Tiger says he will be taking an indefinite break from golf. I wish he wood not.
Watching golf without Tiger is like:
Basketball without Michael Jordan
Spaghetti without sauce
Football without John Earl Madden
Thanksgiving without turkey, dressing, and gravy
Internet without the Drudge Report
A Christmas tree without lights
Global Warming without Al Gore
(or Algore without Global Warming)
Halloween without pumpkins
Corona without a lime
Mornings without coffee
Sunrises without sun
Summer without flowers
Watching a NASCAR race
Paparazzi without Britney Spears
Larry King without suspenders
The Jackson Five without Michael
A blogpost that doesn't include any pictures!

Oh, I supposed I could try to get excited about:
Watching John Daly smoking, drinking, and walking off in the middle of a tournament. Listening to Jesper Parnevik comment on current "affairs". Fred Funk and Dicky Pride just because of their names. Watching Camilo Villegas line up a putt. Waiting to see what color pants and hair Ian Poulter will don. Wondering if Billy Mayfair will lighten his hair. Waiting for the day that Jason Day gets paired with Brian Gay. Watching Phil try to win the U.S. Open. Watching Jim Furyk wow the crowd. Waiting for Ernie Els to turn on his electric personality. Waiting for Bo Van Pelt to win one for Linus and Lucy Van Pelt. Wondering if the fathers and grandfathers are all watching Davis Love III, Charles Howell III, and Tommy Armour III. Watching Steve Stricker win the Fedex Cup, and D. A. Points try to earn a few more. Watching Vijay Singh karaoke. Watching Sergio running after shots from the rough, swearing in Spanish. Watching Boo Weekley running around frightening people. Waiting for Daniel Chopra to get married to Oprah (so she would be: Oprah Chopra). Waiting for Ben Curtis to win the British Open again. Wondering if Jean Van de Velde is ever going to win the British Open. Waiting for David Duval to make a comeback from behind those glasses. Wondering if Greg Norman or Tom Watson can win another major. Wondering what ever happened to Adam Scott? Wondering if Kirk Triplett will add three more children to his family. Watching Chris Couch eating potato chips while watching golf on TV. Wondering why David Peoples doesn't attract much of a gallery. Wondering if Rich Beem has enough support. Wondering if Geoff Ogilvy is related to Joe Ogilvie. Watching Padraig Harrington stare down another approach shot. Watching Mike Weir practice his backswing. Watching Kenny Perry's weird backswing. Waiting for Justin Rose to get into and out of a thorny situation. Watching Ben Crane stand in a water hazard. Waiting for Retief Goosen to lay a golden egg. Wondering if James Nitties will produce a line of scarves named after himself. Waiting for Fred Couples to match people up through his dating service. Waiting for Stewart Cink to clean up in the kitchen. Waiting for Nathan Green to create some earth-friendly jobs. Hoping that Steve Flesch will put on some more clothes.

Like I said, Golf will not be the same without Tiger's Wood.

Bogie Man

As of December 7, 2009, this picture was on the Tiger Woods website with the following caption:

"It's very difficult for Tiger to leave his wife, Elin, and two children to go on the road."

In light of recent events (Elin moves out after #7 was announced), perhaps the caption to this picture should be changed? He might have missed his family, but it doesn't sound like he was lonely for companionship.

Next Generation

This third in a series of Ping Pong posts focuses on the importance of passing on family traditions to the next generation(s). It is widely known that Table Tennis (or Ping Pong in Chinese) is the main sport of the Miles Brothers Corp. A probable distantly-related Dick Miles was some sort of national champ. Our Dad, Dr. James Miles, was the Miles Brothers Corp's patriarch who successfully passed Ping Pong onto future generations of champions.

Dr. Miles passed Ping Pong onto his three sons. Jimmy passed Ping Pong onto his three sons. In the above picture, Reagan is properly being trained by Uncle Scotty in art of Ping Pong. Reagan, along with the other younger members of the MBC, will undoubtedly continue passing all of the Miles Brothers Corp traditions onto future generations of MBC champions.

Nice Sign

Is North Dakota the only state where we have signs like this? Is this why North Dakota folks are so darn friendly?

There are NEWMAN signs on the interstate highways telling us to "Smile" and "Be Grateful". It's actually a nice change from always being sold something or trying to get us to take a certain exit to stop at a particular place. On this Thanksgiving Day (and everyday in ND), it never hurts to be reminded to "Be Kind" to those around you, to "Smile" to brighten up the day, and "Be Grateful" for all the good we have, and all the bad we don't have.

Next Exit

On our way back to Fargo from Bismarck today, we noticed this road sign (on the left side of the highway):

We were wondering if BBQs are served every day at 2PM? Would "they" still be serving at 5PM? Is it worth it to drive one mile North and then two miles East in order to find out? Is this somebody's kitchen we're talking about here? Would there be an extra beer in the fridge?

Memory Lane

Driving back from Bismarck to Fargo this weekend, we stopped in Jamestown, ND. Considering it was November 21st in North Dakota, the weather was quite lovely. There were just two places I wanted to stop to snap a couple quick photos. The first was the first house I lived at in Jamestown: 722 6th Ave SE. From age 2 through 5th grade, this was home. Back then, there were two giant evergreens in front, to the right of the door. I remember one Saturday morning when Jimmy and I woke up to watch cartoons, and discovered that our home was covered in snow up to the roof, from a very potent blizzard.

Then, going into 6th grade, we moved to our new house up on High Acres. This will forever be known as: 212 Hillcrest Drive. This was where Brother Scott first got brought home to, after being delivered by the stork. Dad planted numerous trees at our new place. Dr. Miles especially liked apple trees. Mom loved our new home on the hill. She thought she'd died and gone to heaven.

Jamestown was a great place to grow up.

KaBosch

Today at high noon, we got our new dryer.

The Bosch Nexxt. 500 Series. Model #WTMC3321US.

It is DuoTronic. It comes standard with WrinkleBlock.

There's a Stainless Steel Drum. It is known for its Quiet Performance.

For Better or Worser, For Wetter or Dryer. We're back in business.

We can do laundry again. Happy National Laundry Day 2009er.

New Dryer

This weekend our dryer died. After 22 years of faithful service, the old Maytag kicked the bucket. It sounded like a kicked bucket, too. We drove off to buy a new dryer, but what to do with our wet washer load? We turned our downstairs bonus room into a giant drying rack.

Our new Bosch dryer will be delivered on Thursday.

Fly Bys

Both of these Vs
flew over our trees
photo memories

Haiku Friday

Friday the thirteenth

Doesn't seem so unlucky

But pay attention.

Hawaiian Islands

Do you ever forget the names and locations of all the different Hawaiian Islands? I used to have this problem until I found this map. Now, I just have to learn how to properly pronounce them.

Yes We Can

November Caption Contest

Post a comment with your caption ideas for this picture.

Gold

This is a Golden Post. Everything about it is Gold.

The atomic number of Gold is 79. If Gold had one less proton in its atom's nucleus, it would be Platinum. One more, it would be Mercury. For some reason, 79 protons in the nucleus makes it Gold.

As of yesterday, the value of Gold was a record $1,085 per ounce. That's partly the reason for this Gold Post. The other is how beautiful the Color of Gold is. Gold also find itself in many idioms. Here is a list of some of them:

Go for the Gold.
Golden Opportunity.
Good as Gold.
Goose that lays the Golden Egg.

Heart of Gold.
Pot of Gold.
Silence is Golden.
Sitting on a Gold Mine.

Streets are paved with Gold.

Strike Gold.

The Golden Rule.

Worth its weight in Gold.

Ping Ponging

Schools should start offering another sport: Ping Pong.

Along with all the other sports offered, all middle and upper schools should add Table Tennis for girls and boys, together. Each team would have three singles and two doubles teams. Each match would be two-out-of-three games, with one point awarded for each game won.

Unlike most of the other school sports which are quite injury-prone, being on a Table Tennis Team would provide high levels of competition with little chance of injury. Equipment costs are minimal. State champion teams could go on to national tournaments. Our top national teams could then go on to compete with the Chinese.

Evening Progression

We started out in the late afternoon with Kit's pumpkin on the left, Johnnny's pumpkin (with the monkey ears) on the right, and Baby Pumpkin in the middle, with just the planetarium dots.

As evening falls, the goblins and spooks start to come out.

The Trick-or-Treaters are now gone for another year. The candles burn on into the night.

Ping Pong

The future of Ping Pong is bright. Some call it Table Tennis. Ping Pong is just the Chinese name for the game. Once a backroom parlor game, Ping Pong is moving into the spotlight. In homes of the future, everyone will have a Ping Pong Table in their living room. If you're wondering what's going to be Hot in the Future, it's Ping Pong. Better find a Paddle that you like.

Hot Buttons

One of the perks of running for political office is that you get to make a campaign button. Some candidates choose to include a picture of themselves on their buttons. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. In no particular order, here are some pictorial buttons of political campaigns from yesteryear.