Random crappy pictures:













A Susan Tedeschi guitar sticker on a bus sign?





A pink Rambler station wagon. Heh.













Another Susan Tedeschi sticker?

Hm.

And to break the monotony..



.. a sunrise.

--------------------------
Ive decided. Here is my legend, my cover story.

I have written a book, and Im putting it together to be published. (True.)

I am in the process of writing another. (Also true.)

I dont mention anything about the entreprenurial plans.

Ive been doing that lately.

Interesting the way people light up when you say it that way.

Hm.

Something .. out of the ordinary happened the other day.. made me think of the Cappy, and how it woulda been cool to have her around for it. :-)

So I called her.

After she died laffin, and verified what I thought, told me I was fulla shit.. and died laffin again.

Its always cool to call someone you havent talked to or seen in donkey years and theyre absolutely glad you called.

After they tell you yer fulla shit.

After which they tell you theyre glad you called. :-)
---------
Only in florida...

On the highway, the Broward County sherriff rolled by.. with a bicycle rack on the back of the Crown Vic.

I dunno why, but I laughed out loud at the sight of it.

Its just a different state of mind.

Anyone seen that in Cali?

*sigh*

I miss my little GTI's.

Fast. Zoom Zoom everywhere. Anywhere. Almost Anytime.

Make everything blurry. Athletic, supple moves. That metallic snarl. The shit-eatin' grin.

Whoo. :-)

Much fun.

I HIGHLY recommend 'em.

When I first got one, is when I really started wandering.

When I lost the last one, I stopped.

I first came to Florida in a GTI .

Would be nice to leave this place in another.
-------
Random pretty pictures:

Florida sunsets, have this certain something. I think Ive figured it out...

The color purple. A multi-layered purple haze mixed in with reds and blues and yellows - no sunset ever the same.















And to break the monotony, here's a sunrise.



It looks way better in person.

--------------
Mmm. Scented night air.

I stood by the canal shallows watching the fish..

Kinda lazing about, schools of brightly colored and dark colored specimens. All diffrent sizes and types. From tiny guppy's to 5 pounders to exotics. Some darting back and forth, some cruising, some as couples preparing nests in the silt.

And then *sploosh* *sploosh* *sploosh*

Fish were leaping out of the water toward the shallows en masse.

The multitudes of fish Id been watching scattered like it was a speak-easy raid...

And *swoosh*.. like a buncha ships coming out of warp, dozens of mahimahi appeared into the shallows.

They cruised around, herding the fish theyd been chasing.

And then there was another *sploosh*.. and the circus, just as quickly.. disappeared.

That last *sploosh* was from a homeowner who had seen the dolphinfish and was tossing a flygreen lure into the water.

Apparently, he had heard mahimahi were pretty good eating too. :-)

Clint and I were cubicle mates at AOL..

McClint: DUDE! I got the perfect job for you
JPennant: hm?
McClint: http://www.polar.org/apc/inc/desc.asp?job_id=153
McClint: the catch? It's in Antarctica
JPennant: Heh. Ive troubleshot connectivity in the arctic :-)
McClint: i've done that too but from the comfort of warm sunny Florida via telephone :-)
JPennant: heheh

Its true. We could tell a million stories.. but my favorite story about getting people connected online above the Arctic Circle..

A teacher, calling from Alaska was having trouble STAYING connected, because her satellite uplink was getting interference from the solar radiation of an Arctic summer...

So, as we talked on the scratchy satellite link, she was telling me the procedure on letting kids out for recess...

They sent out one kid to shoo the Polar Bears - so the rest of the kids could come out to the schoolyard and play.

My question was.. what if the bears went after the lead kid?

Shoot. I forget what she said.

I was back testing her connection through the radiation.

I got her connected and stable. The kids could get back online.

So, yeah - work in the Antarctic?

No problem. ;-)
-------

"Elliot?? Elliot is a kid who eats paste. How about a name like Nick. Nick's your buddy, Nick's your pal, Nick's the kinda guy that you drink beer with..."
- John Cusack
The Sure Thing

Heyyy, Nick in Mississippi has redesigned his site. Looks good.

Yes indeedy I read the site daily.

All the "Nick"s I know in real life are hella cool dudes. (The Nicki's tend to be psychos but thats other stories for other days.)

So yeah. Nick.

I got dive-bombed again...

As I walked past the jay's territory, I knew it was up to sumthin - making an angry, low pitched "kreeeeeeeeeee" sound.

Sneaky mofo too. Wasnt gonna divebomb to my face as I approached. Nuh-uh.

Waited till my my back was turned, walking away.

But hey, I had my spidey sense (and common-sense) on, so I kept my head on a swivel and my ears open.

Sure enough, it banzai'd behind me at face level.
*pshaah* Im a Chicagah boy. I dont play that shytte.

I. Dont. Duck.

As it came, I swivelled, waited for it to complete its swoop toward my face .. and ..*SWIFF*

HOO HOO... boyoboy. I never seen such a frantic abort, wings and feathers akimbo, as a 50 lb backpack missed it by nanometers.
Damn. I forgot to swing from the hips.

It tried another half-hearted attack, but it veered off as it saw me cock the bag again. Coward.

Lemme make a contribution to the Sierra Fund now, cause Im on a jay hunt.

This.. is war.

These days, Im trying to remember the perspective Ive gained over the years.. which can be distilled thusly:

"There are times when you dont even realize youre happy."

Heh. Not the most elegant way to put it - but yeah.

Actually, Im just trying to be grateful for experiencing all this, while trying to shake off the negativity.

Mary Forrest actually spun a far more euridite (if wordy) essay on all this, starting with this quote..

"Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember." - Oscar Levant

Now THAT'S true. I gotta remember that.

However, I also remember what a voice said in a dream of mine a decade ago when I asked "Am I Happy?"

The answer I was given?

"Happiness is not the point."

Heh. I guess Id better stop whining, not worry about the negative people, enjoy the challenge of the work, enjoy the area and continue taking the pretty pictures.

Cause soon, all this will pass.
-----------------
The original reason for the Canals of South Florida was flood control in what is essentially swampland and beach.

In Ft Lauderdale, enterprising developers repackaged it and said "WATERFRONT PROPERTY".

And watch the property values rise...















This area is apparently one of Fort Lauderdale's tonier areas, Las Olas Boulevard.

The houses and boats are indeed impressive, where even some of the *canals* are gated.

But, I didnt hang around tho..

I try not to ogle money.

*whawumpf*

THAT seemed to be an odd noise coming from above my head, as I walked down the street with my mugga coffee and newspapers in hand.

The kid standing outside his house said:

"The birds are dive bombing everybody. They were pecking on my head yesterday."

I looked up, and sure enough there was a jay on the wire above my head.

Okie. No wonder the doves have been in a tizzy the last coupla days, making that coo-cooing noise.

Spring. Mating seasons. The eggs musta been laid.

The mustang convertible-driving old lady exercising past me said.. "Ahh yeah, the birds are after you too eh."

She pointed to the cats walking closely, actually skulking behind her heels... "My cats are following me in... they dont wanna stay outside because of them."

Hmm.

As much as I like small animals, if they caused me to drop my 24 oz mugga Toasted Pecan coffee that I WALKED to the 7-11 to get.. I intended to whack them beyond senseless ... screw if they had offspring in the nest to take care of.

I dont give a damn.

Im cranky if I dont have my coffee, donuts and New York Post in the morn.

Wait. My SUNDAY coffee and my SUNDAY Post?? Whoo..

The birds musta sensed the evil intent. They didnt come close again.

----
South Florida news from the sunday papers:

Driver killed after hitting 11-foot alligator

*shrug* What? Havent seen any around here..

Diver's family sues over drowning in golf course lake.

Yes. Scuba-diving for golf balls.

Canals filled with junk. Also shopping carts and the occasional body.

The canals are a flood control measure. In the pricier neighborhoods.. theyre 'waterfront' property.

In my eyes.. 'waterfront' = 'flood zone'.

In Vote Fraud appeal, Court told defendant's wife was lawyer's prize if he lost

Vote fraud.. a tradition in Florida? Hmmmm.

The 'trophy' wife? This IS South Florida where the trophies are willing, sooo...


Elderly golfer gets stuck in swamp, takes a nap, then signals for help

No, really. I couldnt make that up.