Brain Farts IV

• Was making a Bloody Mary the other day. Got the Tabasco, shook the bottle and added. Got the Worcestershire Sauce, shook the bottle and added. Got the V-8, shook the bottle and added. Got the Vodka, shook the bottle and added. I don't think Vodka needs shaking. Just to be safe, I also shook the pepper mill. 
• Another drink related faux pas. Got out the booze, mixer, shot glass, and the glass with ice. Poured a shot of mixer over the rocks. No, I didn't then fill the glass with booze. Is it good or bad news that it was the first drink and I was completely sober?
• Went to a restaurant, Tio Carlos, with my son for dinner. I forgot my reading glasses and it was a large menu with small type. He pulled the menu up on his iPhone but I couldn't zoom in far enough to read it. He then pulled it up on my Pixel phone and I could read it but could only get about one entree at a time on the screen. Not ideal, but it worked. The salmon tacos were delicious. Being old and with poor eyesight is no fun.
• Sometimes I clean the hell out of my reading glasses only to realize it's my eyes that are blurry.
• I've been known to drink a Greyhound cocktail on occasion. That's vodka (or gin) and grapefruit juice. It's a Salty Dog if you salt the rim. The other night I mixed one, then put the vodka in the fridge and the grapefruit juice in the cupboard. I swear it was the first of the evening. 
• I can't count the number of times I've taken off my hat with my sunglasses still on the bill. Of course, I always do it in the entryway or kitchen which are tiled. Never in a carpeted area or out in the grass. 
• Saving coupons is pretty much useless if you never remember to take them to the store. Thankful for those automatic digital e-coupons. 
• Was streaming music on my Google Home speaker. Found out the TV remote volume button has little or no effect. 
• I am good about turning the lights off when I leave a room. Didn't do it the other day when I left the kitchen. So, next time I went into the kitchen, I automatically reached for the switch and turned it off. There I was standing in a dark kitchen.
• I sometimes compose a wonderful text and then turn off the phone instead of hitting send. Of course, I get pissed at the person I "sent" it to for not responding. 
• Most evenings that I'm home I close the blinds of my patio sliding door at dusk and turn on the lamp next to my recliner. The other night, at dusk, I got out of the recliner, walked to the kitchen, and turned on the light. That light is way too far away to read or type on the PC and the blinds were still open.
• The other day, I went to the bathroom to take a couple of aspirins. I opened the medicine cabinet, grabbed the toothpaste and proceeded to brush my teeth. Toothpaste is the only reason I open the medicine cabinet about 99% of the time. Guess muscle memory overrode brain memory, which gets weaker every day. Yes, I did then remember to take the aspirin with my freshly clean teeth.
• I have timers on my Google Home, Echo, microwave, phone, watch, a tablet, and a couple of PCs. Unfortunately, you have to remember to set at least one of them to actually time something. 
• I need a smarter oven. One that sets the temperature and turns on automatically when I insert food. Regardless of the temperature set, unless you turn the oven on it takes an eternity to bake or broil stuff.
• For men only. Have you ever gone to a public urinal, unzipped and then been unable to find the slit in your underwear, a moment of panic? Me neither.
• I was putting on some athletic pants the other day. They have a drawstring. I somehow managed to catch my big toe in the loop and almost fell over. Luckily I regained my balance. Maybe at my age, I should sit down to put my pants on. 
• One early evening/late afternoon we went to a local burger joint to eat. As we pulled into an almost empty parking lot I remarked, shouldn't there be more people here on a Saturday? Then she informed me it was Tuesday. Close.
• I've set up different ringtones and text notification tones for a few of my regular contacts. Unfortunately, I can't remember which tone goes with which person. 
• I was watching TV on a primary election night when a political ad came on. I wondered why were they showing political ads hours after the polls closed. Then I realized it was a program I had recorded the day before. 
• Today I got home from the grocery store, grabbed my two bags, went in the door, walked past the kitchen and proceeded to the living room. Don't know about you, but I rarely store my groceries in the living room. 
• I have also determined that you can not fold your reusable grocery bags flat when you leave items in them. 
• It's official, my home technology is smarter than I am. I put something in the oven and said "OK Google set alarm for 30 minutes" it replied, "OK, setting timer for 30 minutes." 
• Stupid oven. I set the temperature to 425° but failed to turn it on to BAKE. It didn't get even warm. Shouldn't it know what I meant? This appears to be a repeat of an earlier item. Neither my oven or I am getting any smarter. 
• I usually have a mug of hot tea in the morning. I brew it in the microwave. Today I put the teabag and water in the mug and then put it in the fridge.
• You would think it almost impossible to misplace your reading glasses 57 times in one day. Maybe not.
• There is at least a 50/50 chance that when I leave the house, I have forgotten something. Phone, glasses, etc.
• Sometimes it takes multiple return trips because apparently if you forget two or more things you can only retrieve them one item at a time. 
• When walking to the office to pay the rent, it helps if you actually take the check with you. 

wjh

Bedford Blues & BBQ - 2018

A short review of another outstanding Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival. I have been going to this event for years and have never been disappointed. The food is always good, the beer is cold and reasonable and the music outstanding. It is always a fun crowd. Every year I wind up in a conversation with friendly strangers. The crowd ranges from infants to old geezers like me. 

Sunday is the big night and has the top headliner. A couple of years the star has kind of coasted through. Some years the Saturday night closing act has been better than the bigger name Sunday star, sometimes it's the Sunday early evening act that shines. This year, everybody was really good. In addition to the main stage, there were several pretty good lesser known bands who perform on the secondary stage. Nonstop music from around 2:00 until close to midnight
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On Saturday we got there around 6:00. Lil Ed was OK but to be honest, we were still checking out the craft and food vendors during some of his set. The laser show was something new this year. They had big smoke machines to help highlight the lasers, but it is Texas and the wind blows. Still, pretty cool. Ted Benoit did not disappoint. He did a solid set. 

I got there around 5:30 on Sunday, early enough to hear part of Buddy Whittington's performance. He is a local guy who spent 15 years playing with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, a band Eric Clapton once played with. He rejoined Mayall in 2013 at the Bedford BluesFest for Mayall's appearance. Buddy plays the festival every year and is always very good. For me, the very pleasant surprise of the weekend was Samantha Fish. I had never seen her live but had heard her music and seen some YouTube videos. I thought she was OK, a better guitarist than singer. She has certainly improved. Her voice was much stronger, more on key, and less screaming. She has also beefed up her band. It had a couple of horns, congo drums, backup singers, an organ, and a violinist in addition to the normal bass and drums. Her performance was outstanding. The song selection and execution had the crowd rocking. I was talking to a guy before her set began and we agreed that her voice and presentation needed work. Then she started and we both looked at each other in amazement. Samantha was way above expectations. The second stage band, Wallace and Branch, was good too while we waited for the headliner. Kenny Wayne Shepherd had a couple of tough acts to follow but he was up for it. The guy can sing and he can certainly play a little guitar. Go see Samantha and Kenny Wayne if you have the chance. 

So, another enjoyable weekend at Bedford's premier event. I'm already looking forward to next year. For about 10 hours of music per day, it is $10 admission, $7 in advance online, and $5/day for a weekend ticket. Beers are only $5 or $6 and decent vendor BBQ and other food is reasonable. You can also buy tasting/voting deals for BBQ samples. There were 125 entrants competing this year, mostly professionals. This is not your backyard Weber grill competition. Beat that deal.

Come join us in Bedford next Labor Day Weekend. We'll have fun.

wjh 

Very Random Thoughts - August 2018

• Why is the name Ann also spelled Anne, do we really need that E?
• Sara and Sarah are the same deal. I'm sure you know others.
• Who decided that the name John needs an H?
• Why I'm at it, why is there an L in the middle of my last name?
• Don't base your plans on a weather forecast you see on a program you recorded a week ago.
• I often get mad at the guy in charge of gluing those foil lids onto containers. A little dab will do you. The lid should be stronger than the glue and come off in one piece, not 25. 
• Instead of all those gas and oil pipelines, we need a network of water pipelines. Invariably, when there is a drought in one part of the country, there are floods in another part. 
• The new Texas Live entertainment complex just opened. One of the food venues is Pudge's Pizza. The Pudge is Ivan "Pudge" Rodríguez from Puerto Rico, a place known for their pizza. Maybe he picked pizza because of the alliteration. 
• The Little League World Series truly is a WORLD series. The MLB World Series, not so much. At best it is a ⅔ North America Series. 
• If beauty pageants go the way of the dodo bird, where will we get the future football sideline reporters?
• Fitted sheets are not only impossible to fold, they also hide other laundry items in their corners. 
• A good day for MSNBC is usually a bad day for Fox News and vice versa.
• Do people who do half-ass work not care, not know how, or not know the difference?
• When she's gone, you really will regret not calling Mom more often. 
• What used to be self evident isn't anymore. Now it is a conspiracy theory.

wjh