Jack’s Old & Busted Blog

(panoramas.dk): “Each week panoramas.dk features a Full Screen QTVR panorama from a photographer some where in the world.”

This is amazing stuff.

(amcpets.com): “Tail chasing is a common playful behavior in normal puppies and kittens. It seems that they do not recognize their own tail as a part of their body. A tail is an entertaining distraction when no other playmate is nearby.”

Entertaining distraction is a code word here for “none-too-swift critter IQ.” We have three cats, but one of them, sweet as she is, chases her tail a couple of times a day. What funny about this is we always point it out to one another in hushed tones, as if we don’t want to hurt her feelings. It’s a good thing we humans don’t do anything meaningless like that . . . oooh, look, the Internet!

I think you can add “Loser” to the list of this guy’s “disabilities.”

(nctimes.com): “The city is unrepentant,” Espinosa said. “They are violating the rights of people allergic to cats.”

(Yamaha-Motor.com): “Imagine the thrill of a 300hp V6 HPDI - or even twin or triple 300’s with Yamaha’s famous counter-rotating props. Now, today’s larger boats can have the muscle to slice effortlessly through rough seas, to go farther and faster than ever before - with quicker power to plane, a quantumleap in top-end speed, and a whole new level of excitement.”

I didn’t see any of these behemoths at the big ‘ol FLW tournament this week, but I don’t doubt they’re the future*. Professional fishing is a motorsport more than anything else. It’s fun and challenging to catch fish and all, but it’s more fun and challenging to race your competitors at 70 mph to the best fishing spots. I mean, hey, give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day; give a man a 300hp 21-foot bass boat with a GPS and depthfinder, and he’ll fish till you have to pry the rod out of his hands. You gotta earn the fish’s respect, ya know. It would majorly cool if they had to fish while completing laps of the lake or something, sort of like pit stops.

*Maximum horsepower for all outboards used in tournament competition will be 250 HP, not to exceed the horsepower limitations as set by the U.S. Coast Guard. Each boat must have a U.S. Coast Guard horsepower rating plate attached to the boat by the manufacturer. The horsepower of the outboard engine must not exceed the rating specified on this rating plate or the 250 horsepower maximum set by FLW Outdoors. By signing the entry form, each pro agrees to submit their boat and/or motor to an inspection by factory trained personnel. Falsifying information on entry forms or altering the horsepower numbers on the motor or rating plate will be cause for disqualification from the tournament and may result in ineligibility to compete in future FLW Outdoors events. Fuel may be carried only in factory installed (built-in) fuel tanks. Any additional fuel used during the tournament day must be purchased from a retail facility open to the public. (from tournament rules)

Ever see your congressperson or senator on teevee and think, “They’re only saying that because someone paid them to say it”? Well, now you can prove (or disprove) it!
(opensecrets.org): “Feeling overwhelmed? We can empathize. Campaign finance is a  complicated subject, and can be confusing to the uninitiated.”

Speaking of water creatures, I will be down at Lake Okeechobee for a few days to cover a major fishing tournament. I’m not much for bass-fishing, but I admire anyone who’ll strap 250 screaming outboard horses to the back of their fiberglass boat to find one. I love the smell of premix in the morning.
(sfwmd.gov): “It is the second-largest freshwater lake in the continental United States, second only to Lake Michigan. Lake Okeechobee’s drainage basin covers more than 4,600 square miles (11,913 km2).”

(WFTV.com): “After a 20-minute struggle, he was able to land the 60-inch long blue catfish.”

Growing up around Lake Hamilton, I used to “snorkel” under the dock, where catfish as big as german shepherds would lurk, cthulhu-like, under the shadow of the grey boards. A friend who used to do underwater welding on dams at night told me he saw more than one catfish big enough to swallow a small child. Freaky things, catfish.