BigDog Speaks

What happened to movies you could SEE? Why are we now being shown takes that are done in the dark? A little darkness establishes a mood, too much darkness and you are just straining to see what is going on. If I am struggling to SEE the movie, I am NOT enjoying it.

Read more! »

Manatees are totally and completely passive animals. They have an innate curiosity that draws them to explore us as we explore them. The profit mongers have again seized the opportunity and you can now dive with the manatees. A great tourist draw that lines the pockets of many outfits who for a nominal fee, will take you and set you up to swim with the manatees.

Read more! »

It always amazes me the liberties we take with history. Kublai Khan sent 4,400 ships to invade Japan. A scale of invasion comparable to D-day in world war two. An archaeologist has found 10 wooden anchors and claims he has found the invasion fleet wrecks. OK, the general location is right, the wood is foreign to Japan, and the time frame is correct. Many facts point in the right direction but 10 anchors from 4000+ ships? Isn't that jumping the gun a bit?

Read more! »

Shark fin soup is a traditional dish and folks are willing to pay for it. In pursuit of their tradition, sharks are obviously the main requirement. Yes, I am a JAWS fan and have seen the movie(s) numerous times. My version of reality states it is a wonderful exploiting of inner fears and should not be accepted for reality. I have no desire to eliminate sharks from the oceans and I doubt most people want to.

Read more! »

The majority of us live high on the hog compared to the rest of the world. The grocery store where we shop carries the food we like, the shelves are almost always full and we have the money to buy what we like rather than what we must. Our version of staples goes beyond beans and rice and we BUY what we eat. The majority of us have the option of GROWING some of what we eat, we just don't want to.

Read more! »

You can pick your friends and that is a luxury. Family however, it just is what it is. The lucky ones have no black sheep oddities hiding in the closet. The almost lucky ones have the closet dwellers who only come out on occasion. The rest of us unfortunates have SHOULD be closet dwellers, running around in the open. The best you can say with a resigned sigh is, they are family.

Read more! »

Long ago childhood memories of great sleeping under a tin roof while it rained. I love the sound of rain on a tin roof. Sleeping while hearing the rain is something I have always found pleasurable. Unfortunately my hearing isn't what it once was so hearing the rain to sleep by means it is gale force, complete with thunder that rattles the windows.

Read more! »

For some folks, being organized is just a fact of life. They know exactly where the car keys are, yesterdays mail, the dog leash, and of course their glasses. They can deftly walk to the file cabinet and pull out last years electric bill, the owner manual for the TV, and effortlessly grasp the remote without even looking for it. For the rest of us, it is another story indeed.

Read more! »

It is hard for me to fathom there is still a demand for body parts from so many of our endangered species. Surely with all our technological advances we can prove that all the hype about the various body parts id false? PROVE they don't do as claimed and you remove the demand? If we fail to remove the demand, we WILL see extinction of these various animals and probably sooner than we think.

Read more! »

If you have not seen this movie, you have missed a good one. I say this from my own perspective and figure if you are past 50, you will probably appreciate the movie more than those under that age. By the time you have reached 50, you have realized you are not invincible, and the odds are overwhelming that the majority of your life has already been lived.

Read more! »

For all you guys out there that are doing the Father thing, this is YOUR day. A salute to all the behind the scene diligence that Fathers tend to do naturally. Countless bike repairs, little league games, soccer games, a gazillion questions, a few tears, and a lot of smiles. You just can't beat dear old Dad. My hat is off to you, this is YOUR day and you deserve it to be the best day ever! Congrats to all the Dads out there!

What is up with TV providers? It is bad enough I pay an arm for the privilege of watching TV, it seems like I should be able to find something to watch!

Read more! »

OK, so I am a meat and potatoes kind of guy. I like my steak medium rare, my chops thick and juicy, and chicken pretty much any way you fix it! A frugal aspect of living could be reducing your meat intake. Eating meat is costly and even if you manage just one meatless meal a week, you will see it in your budget.

Read more! »

Stuff can easily overcome our current living space and invades every nook and cranny that we own. We are born to accumulate, and we are very good at it. Having the most stuff is NOT an enviable goal even though a lot of us think it is. Take 20 minutes and watch the "Story of Stuff" and you might just change your mind.The Story of Stuff Enjoy!!

The GREEN movement is afoot and now has it's very own TV channel, Planet Green. I have watched a few shows and for the most part I am disappointed. Movie stars, celebrities, and the mega-rich are going green all over the place. THEY can AFFORD to. Solar panels are not for the light of pocket, these systems cost MONEY! Remodeling an existing home to be a green home is an expensive undertaking.

Read more! »

How many of us are being forced to forgo our vacations just to support our gas habit? The idea of loading up and hitting the open road no longer has the appeal it once did since I can afford the fuel to go only as far as half a tank will take me. I have to plan things this way just to make sure I can get home again. Somehow, that just isn't much of a vacation.

Read more! »

Watching a show this morning about an ancient emperor I was struck by the oddity of the situation. Here were scholars, carefully digging open the tomb of a long dead emperor, complaining about the fact that "pillagers" had already been there and looted it. The evidence of the looting was based on the discovery of a stag antler that had been used in opening the casket.

Read more! »

The temperature in my shop is HOT, and HOTTER. There is no good way to be comfortable since my smarter half won't let me work in the living room. The poor little box fan is working overtime and all it is managing to do is stir around hot air and sawdust.

Read more! »

Yesterday my router on my router table crapped out. It has seen a lot of use but I still wasn’t ready for it to die on me. I had another router to replace it with, bigger, badder, and not near as well suited for the way I use the router table. It is much harder for bit changes and such.

Read more! »

Everybody knows one of the best ways to sell things is through a classified ad. You do your write up, set your price, and submit the ad. In THEORY, those responding are actually interested in your item and are willing to pay your price or at least be reasonably close to your price. Then, there is the lowballer. The lowballer will generally offer half or less of your asking price and assume you are really willing to give the item away. In my case I have a 6 inch jointer listed for 100 bucks and since I would really like to get rid of it, I would accept 75. My ad does not say I will accept 75, that is just my mental bottom line price. Anything below that and I feel like I am just giving it away which means any offers below that price are basically an insult. As fate would have it, the first offer I get is for 50 bucks and the guy has the nerve to add, "provided it works." OK, that is like saying I'll screw your wife provided she's good looking. Yes, I was insulted with the offer. NO, I will NOT sell it for that, I'd rather use it for a boat anchor than let you have it at that price. The art of negotiation is indeed an art and it means negotiating, not insulting. I could of course answer the lowball bid back with, "I will consider 125 to you." By doing this, I would set MY margin for negotiating down to MY price. Of course, nobody does this, the lowballer either actually gets an item for an incredible price or they are simply ignored. In my case I decided to ignore them. Next time you make an offer for something, consider what you are about to say carefully. Make it too low, you run the risk of insulting the seller. Make it too high, you make the seller happy and shoot yourslef in the foot. Negotiation is an art and it SHOULD be learned.