Just a half mile away due north...

A half-mile or so from my house, just off of State Route 25 in northernmost Lake County and in to Marion County there are any number of dirt side roads that go off in to God knows where, mostly single family homes and farms. It's horse, cattle and citrus country. It's quiet - except for the occassional weekend target shooting and fireworks. Perfect rural America, just a few miles away from every and any stores and services you could ever want. A great combination. I love this part of the world...

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Centrum Silver Men's 50+ Multivitamin with Vitamin D3, 

B-Vitamins, Zinc for Memory and Cognition - 200 Tablets. 

Perfect for men over 50. That's .10 cents each!

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She's paying it off a lttle at a time...

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Let me tell you a little bit about these. I bought two for my kitchen cabinets.

 They're rechargeable, held on by self stick magnets, and were real easy

 to install (like five minutes). Trust me on these - they work great...

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The Florida Experience: A Three-Act Play

 

This is the gospel according to Life in Florida. 

 

Act I: “Is This Cold?” (45°F)

Floridians break out the hoodies, locals panic-buy jackets, and somehow everyone’s acting like it’s winter. Meanwhile, visitors from up north are still in shorts. It’s chilly… for about an hour.

Act II: The Dream (78°F)

Sunshine, ocean breeze, zero complaints. Beach days, boat days, patio nights—this is the Florida everyone imagines. You remember exactly why you live here… and try not to think about what’s coming.

Act III: The Soup Bowl (95°F+)

Hot, humid, and instantly sweaty. Step outside and it’s like walking into a sauna. Afternoon thunderstorms roll in like clockwork, the AC never turns off, and yes - someone is still outside grilling like nothing’s wrong.

So which one are you - the “bundle up at 45°” Floridian or the “grill in 100° heat” legend? I guess ya gotta live here to answer those questions. Wuddya think? There's room for just a couple more of ya. C'mon down...

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Ronald McDonald, the clown character and McDonald’s mascot, performed a rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” and left some in disbelief at Truist Field in Charlotte. A few Knights players couldn’t keep a straight face during the song, as seen in a video online.

“You never know what you’ll see in the ballpark,” the Knights captioned an Instagram post, including a video of Ronald McDonald in full costume and face paint while on the field.

 

Barstool Sports shared the viral clip and wrote, “You could have 1000 tries and never guess who is singing this national anthem.” Spectators rose in front of their seats, admiring the sight of America’s No. 1 fast-food chain’s iconic mascot reciting the national anthem before the start of the game. The baseball fraternity was quick to notice the viral video from Truist Field and share their reactions on social media.

Hey, man - it's a friggin' jungle out there. I want back in...

 

He wanted a fresh slice of jail time. A freed convict said he robbed an Arizona Domino’s pizza shop just to get delivered back to prison. Dusty Tyrone Porter, 38, had spent more than seven years in prison for an armed robbery before he was released in 2017 - but seemingly missed his old digs, 13 News reported.

He held up a Tucson pizza joint at gunpoint Monday - and waited around to hand himself in and confess, according to a criminal complaint. In court, he said he only did it “because I want to be locked up, I don’t want to be out there.” Porter allegedly stole $300 in the robbery, then tossed the gun in a trash can. 

 

Police found it without a magazine, which the convict admitted to dumping behind protein bars at a local convenience store. Porter was arrested and charged with armed robbery and prohibited possession of a firearm. A judge ordered he be held on $150,000 bail. He was previously convicted of armed robbery in Pima County in 2010.

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This is one helluva deal.

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Hats off for this extraordinary HillBetty. Yowza...

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"I knew that about the polio vaccine - did you"?

 Jonas Salk led a team at the University of Pittsburgh to develop the first safe and effective vaccine for poliomyelitis in the mid-1950s. Upon the vaccine's success, Salk chose not to patent it, which could have made him immense personal wealth. When asked on television in 1955 who owned the patent, Salk famously responded, "Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?". This decision prioritized global access, helping to dramatically reduce polio cases worldwide.

Dr. Salk was instrumental in  the creation of the March of Dimes, which was headquartered in New York City. My paternal Grandmother was his secretary there. That's how I knew about it. Pretty somethin', huh?

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This is a great bag at a great price. Click on the picture or the description here:

DALIX 21" Sports Bag w' Adjustable Strap

Great overnight bag too - under $ 20.00! I have one and use it often.

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She's back-paddling...

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 Birthday or Anniversary coming up?

Here's a great idea for a gift for her.

Click on the picture for more information on this bracelet

It's simple yet elegant - and comes to you with free shipping!

 https://www.etsy.com/shop/BjacksonJewelry

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Out busking? Keep an eye on that busk, pal...

A social media video captured a brazen teenage thief swiping a veteran Chicago street performer’s donation box filled with cash in broad daylight on one of the city’s busiest corners, and to make it somehow worse, the thief was not what we'd refer to as a 'usual suspect'. 

Singer Andrew David was busking Ed Sheeran’s hit “Perfect” in front of the One North State building in Chicago’s business district on Monday afternoon when the teenager approached his setup.

 

The teen, wearing a gray hoodie and a black face mask, waited for the right moment before he grabbed the tip box filled with cash collected from passersby and fled down the street. “Apparently it’s one of those days,” David titled the video, which has nearly 3 million views on Instagram.

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Click the banner ad for more information. Get yours today!

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Or you could just pay them more, Jackwagon...

Saw a sign yesterday that literally made me stop and read it twice: “DO NOT order if you’re not leaving at least a 25% tip.” Not suggested. Not appreciated. Not earned. Required. And at that point… is it even a tip anymore?

Because last time I checked, a tip was supposed to be something you leave after the service based on how you were treated. That was the whole point. It was meant to reflect the experience. But when a business demands it upfront before you’ve even ordered, before anyone has served you, before you know if the service is good, bad, or nonexistent, that stops feeling like appreciation and starts feeling like a forced charge with a nicer name.

And that’s where this whole thing gets weird. Why are customers being expected to guarantee part of someone’s pay before the service even exists? If the real cost of running the business is higher, then just raise the prices and be honest about it. Put it on the menu. Build it into the cost. Stop pretending it’s optional when you’re clearly treating it like a requirement.

 

Because once a “tip” becomes a condition of ordering, it’s not really a tip anymore. It’s just an extra fee dressed up to sound more acceptable. Am I wrong for thinking that the second a restaurant demands 25% upfront, the whole meaning of tipping is gone? Would you still order there, or walk right back out?

 

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Imagine if you will a big-city Mayor so evil...

 
I wanted to sound like Rod Serling doing the intro to this but I doubt if most of you remember what I mean. Anyway - how fuckin' scary is this guy? That's not funny - it's almost demonic. And he fuckin' means it. New York leaders are desperately trying to stop billionaire bigwigs from hightailing out of the Big Apple with their cash, businesses and thousands of jobs — as fears mount that Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s policies will accelerate the Empire State’s nation-leading loss of wealth.

The splashy one-two punch of Citadel CEO Ken Griffin (moving Citadel to Miami)and Apollo Global Management honcho Marc Rowan (establishing a second U.S. headquarters in either Texas or South Florida) pledging to expand outside New York City has been coupled with a silent wave of businesses “quiet quitting” the city over its hostile environment.

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Someone's gonna have to 'splain this to me. Lucy...

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Trump talking about changing the name of the agency may be one of the greatest trolls in the history of trollage. He does havew fun, doesn't he?

The graphic was posted on Truth Social by Donald Trump on May 5, 2026, as part of a suggestion to rename the agency. The stated intent behind the proposed rebrand is to influence media coverage, specifically so that news outlets would be required to refer to agents as "NICE agents". While shared online, this rebranding effort appears to be a proposal rather than a formally enacted change to the agency's name.

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Talking about the produce here is a no-brainer 'cause it is that good. They grow basically everything here as good or better than they do in Commiefornia or anywhere else. Certainly Jersey's known for it's tomatoes (and bluberries and cranberries) and Cali is known for it's garlic, but if you've never tasted a Plant City strawbeery in season, you haven't lived. I had no idea that strawberries, when fully ripe, are actually red all te way through. If we stopped buying commercial gased, red on the outside, white in the middle store branded shit they tell us are strawberries, we'd be better off. Think seasonal and thing local. A great way to go, if ya ask me.

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The White House will begin releasing the long-awaited UFO files today - months after President Trump ordered top administration officials to get the ball rolling on the out-of-this-world intel, The Post has learned.

The timeframe was disclosed during a West Wing meeting on Thursday attended by Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), a member of the House Oversight Committee’s task force on the declassification of federal secrets.

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We've all seen ads similar to this one. Ya gotta believe there's some kinda nefarious shit going on in there somewhere, but fuck me if I'd ever click on it just to see what it was. My curious streak isn't as bad as some others.

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 Birthday or Anniversary coming up?

Here's a great idea for a gift for her.

Click on the picture for more information on this bracelet

It's simple yet elegant - and comes to you with free shipping!

 https://www.etsy.com/shop/BjacksonJewelry

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This graphic accompanied an article in the California Post the other day, basically bitching about how fucked up it is in Los Angeles to do the simp[lest of things - park your car. According to the artcile, 'parking in Los Angeles should not be this hard!'

The city has an estimated 18.6 million parking spaces, covering 14 percent of all incorporated land in the county. That is roughly 3.3 spaces for every single registered vehicle. Yet, LA drivers spend an average of 85 hours a year searching for parking, wasting about $1,785 in fuel and time per driver. So if the city has all this space, why does parking in LA feel like a full-time job?

The issue isn’t a lack of parking; it’s that the curb is being asked to do six different jobs at once. Between bus stops, delivery zones, rideshare pickups, street sweeping, fire lanes, and resident-only zones, the dizzying array of signs is simply the city’s attempt to “schedule chaos.”

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I saw this posted on my 'wall' yesterday and was taken aback 

just a bit by whatever friggin' algorhythm could come up with this 'factoid'.

According to Facebook, my wife of 42+ years and I have been friends for six years now. I cannot disagree per se, I just wonder if they mean consecutive or cumulative six years. Juss' sayin'...

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Cades Cove...

Cades Cove is a lush, mountain-surrounded valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (TN) known for its 11-mile one-way loop road, rich history, and abundant wildlife viewing, including black bears and deer. It features historic cabins, churches, and a working grist mill. The area is heavily visited, with access available daily from sunrise to sunset. An 11-mile, one-way paved road provides access, typically taking 2-4 hours to tour due to slow traffic.

From May 6 through September 30, 2026, the loop is closed to motor vehicles every Wednesday, allowing only pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

Best times to spot black bears, white-tailed deer, and turkeys are early morning or late afternoon.

Visitor Center is located halfway through the loop (near the campground), offering souvenirs and historical information. Popular activities include touring historic cabins, hiking (e.g., Abrams Falls Trail), bicycling, and horseback riding.

 South of Townsend, TN, roughly 31 miles from Pigeon Forge.Camping: The Cades Cove Campground is open year-round, offering sites for tents and RVs
 

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I keep mine in my shop - great for the car & truck and for the little stuff around the garage.

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