Jul
31
Donate the boat to Boat Angel
Filed Under Interesting | Leave a Comment
Several years ago, I had an old car that had been handed down several times. By the time I was ready to spring for a new (to me) vehicle, the old beater was hardly worth the money it would take to list an ad. Instead, we chose to donate the car and take a deduction. Sure, we didn’t have the cash, but we still got enough credit for it that the tax savings were about equivalent to the value of the car. No negotiating with strangers, no worrying about who was going to call my house and convince my wife to let them see the car while I was at work, no muss, no fuss.
And, we got to do something nice for a deserving local charity.
Did you know you could do the same thing with a boat? Boat Angel is a 501-c-3 non-profit specializing in handling the necessities of a Boat Donations. The organization is a clearinghouse really, allowing you to donate a working or non-working boat and specifying the charity you’d like to see receive the proceeds. Just like my experience with the car, you have none of the hassles associated with selling the boat. Taking it a step further, you also don’t have to search out a deserving charity that meets the requirements of the IRS. Simply choose from the list of deserving partner charities, and Boat Angel will take care of everything, including picking up the boat.
If the question is “How Do I Donate my Boat? Boat Angel would be the place to start.
Jul
31
I almost titled this an “Only in FLA” post, but who are we kidding? These monsters are everywhere, unfortunately. Allegedly.
This hideous ogre (allegedly) adopted 9 kids out of NY’s foster system under 5 different aliases to get the payments, moved them to Florida, then kept them chained up and starved as though they were feral animals that needed to be contained. Allegedly. Actually, you’d feed an animal, wouldn’t you?
I would offer up a few suggestions as to how justice might be best served for this fiend, but someone might actually do it and I’d get prosecuted under some arcane law about inciting vigilante justice. Or a reasonable facsimile.
I try to stay away from subjects that could lead to heated political debate, but if there were ever a non-homicide case where the death penalty ought to be applied, this is it. These 9 PEOPLE will never recover from this torture.
Jul
30
Florida bloggers are BIG-TIME!
Filed Under Great Blogs | 1 Comment
Several Florida bloggers have blog-radio shows to go along with their various and sundry websites, because they are budding Web 2.0 media moguls while I’m still farting around with Blogger and learning WordPress.
Meh.
I STRONGLY suggest you head over to Colleen’s site to listen to the replay of the Colleenie-Weenie show. The first 15-20 minutes or so is a fairly graphic discussion of porn terms.
I learned a two new ones. I’ve lived a sheltered life.
No, I’m not going to tell you what they are ‘cuz you’ll just google them and skip listening to the show. Consider it a teaser.
Next up is Mr. Fab’s Pointless Drivel Live! show. We get a preview of Mr. Fab’s upcoming poop-posts. Gold, Jerry, Gold!
Jul
26
How to save money on a vacation
Filed Under Interesting | 3 Comments
Hey, I understand that a Florida vacation isn’t for everyone. To be honest, a lot of Floridians would like to see a couple of you go somewhere else. Have you thought about Hawaii?
I have always stayed in hotels when traveling on business or vacation. I knew there were private rentals available, but it was too much trouble to find them and then you have to go through the hassle of scheduling. I also thought they’d be a little more expensive.
I was wrong about the expense, and found a website that makes finding private rentals a piece of cake. If you were going to Hawaii and wanted to check out Maui vacation rentals, you’d find unbelievably low prices - try $89 for this oceanfront 1/1 that sleeps 4. There is even a scheduling calendar on the web page to show you availability, so you aren’t calling around, leaving messages, and waiting for callbacks.
Too cool!
And, if you absolutely insist on coming to Florida and leaving your life savings in our care, they have listings for Florida vacation rentals, also.
Jul
25
I may be the most retarded blogger in the world
Filed Under Administration, Great Blogs | 5 Comments
Mr. Fab posted yesterday that I’m a blogging madman.
Nope, just retarded.
Why do I speak of myself in this manner?
About two months ago I created this domain name and assigned it to this blog, which used to be called Florida Yard Dog, and was a free blogspot blog. A lot of people don’t realize this, but when you have a domain name, you can still host your blog on blogger. Once it’s set up, it’s completely seamless to you.
However, I also had an e-mail address specifically set up to receive comments from this blog. When I changed the domain name, I stopped checking that e-mail account.
Unfortunately, I never changed the e-mail address in my settings to send those comments to a different e-mail address.
Doh!
So, I remembered this morning about the e-mail account and figured I’d go in and clear it out. As expected, I appear to have won 75 international lotteries in the last two months, so I’m HUGE now, y’all!
I also saw… comments. After I got done with some well-deserved self-abuse, I read them.
I see now that Cheryl was commenting a month before we ever met in Orlando, and had even asked to trade links. My cousin, my own flesh and blood, who reads this blog even though she doesn’t even live in Florida (is that even allowed?) took it upon herself to insult something like 12 million people (I keed, I keed!). Nicusor took the time to point out that the DoFollow image I created points to a different blog (I meant to do that). Mr. Fab tried to play virtual alpha-dog and I suspect may piss on my leg when we next meet (and, to pre-empt the comment I KNOW is coming - No, I am not into that). Finally, Granny gives us the scoop on that minor train wreck (I’m comparing to the trainwreck that is the Brit/Lind/Paris triumvirate) that used to be Mindy McCready.
So there. Just a little link-love to anyone kind enough to take the time to drop by and comment during my retardation. Enjoy!
Jul
24
City folk are so funny
Filed Under Humor, Miami | Leave a Comment
It made the news in Miami when a cow got loose and started running through the streets. Some idiot security guard got in it’s way and it charged.
Duh.
Used to happen all the time in Brooksville. I lived in a neighborhood that bordered a large ranch just north of town, and a black bull would just show up in our front yard and start eating the grass.
Hey, I wasn’t complaining. Less grass to mow.
Eventually, the folks at the ranch would drop by and chase him back. No big deal. You don’t bother them, they don’t run terrified through the streets charging random folk.
Jul
24
Putting out some good vibes for Florida mortgage companies
Filed Under Florida Business, Interesting | Leave a Comment
Well, we had a little bad news last week - my youngest brother lost his job when his company closed their office here in Florida. He worked for them in NY, and when they decided to try an office near Tampa, he volunteered to make the move back to FLA. Six months later, they shut it down and he’s high and dry. Ironic, because he’d actually generated more business for them since he moved down here, in the midst of an implosion in the sub-prime market.
Damn Yankees.
So, if you know of anyone looking to hire someone that knows the market for Florida mortgages, drop me a comment. He’s also told me he can sell in a lot of states, so maybe the Washington Mortgages market also?
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Jul
23
Only in FLA: Hemingway look-a-like contest
Filed Under Humor, Key West | 4 Comments
Papa Lives! **
A Floridian took home the grand prize at the Hemingway Days Hemingway Look-A-Like Contest over the weekend. The event was held at Sloppy Joe’s in Key West, a Key West institution famous for the fact that I was once thrown out bodily into Duval Street by six bouncers.
Also, Ernest Hemingway used to drink there, so there’s that too.
**Funny story: While living in Gainesville during college in 198… well, too long ago, my roommate was a buddy from home who looked like a 5′11″ Ah-nold. I’m told women considered him very attractive. I wouldn’t know, what with being straight and all. Anyway, he was approached at the Florida Bookstore but a man claiming to be the photographer for the “Men of Florida” calendar and asked if he’d like to take some test shots. Might have been the muscle shirt and Daisy Dukes he was wearing. He agreed, and even accepted a ride home from the photog, where I found them engaged in a deep conversation in the guy’s car when I came home from class. I may have the most finely-tuned gaydar on the planet for a straight-guy, and I knew immediately what was happening. My buddy went over that evening to do his shots, after being warned that he was being set up, and returned an hour later VERY angry and VERY embarassed.
He told me it started with some innocuous head shots, then progressed into shirtless shots, then he was asked to get in a sauna and get sweaty. When he came out, the guy started posing him and let his hands wander a bit. Meh.
So, my buddy shoves him and heads for the door, with the photog trying to apologize and convince him to come back. He hopped into his 1964 red Ford Galaxy (the coolest car in Gainesville at the time, IMO), revved the engine, flipped the bird, and shouted at the top of his lungs,
“Papa Lives!”
Yeah, a long way to go for such little payoff, but thanks for reading. Sorry, I can never see or here anything about Hemingway without that story popping into my brain.
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Jul
23
Mindy McCready does it all the time
Filed Under Florida Crime | 1 Comment
Oh man, that train wreck known as Mindy McCready is cutting another swatch across the state of Florida again. This time, she was arrested in Ft. Myers for beating on her mama after getting blotto on booze. Apparently, the Lee County deputies saw fit to putting the beat-down on her
TMZ has the most complete article (and a great picture!) I’ve found yet on this walking disaster:
Mindy McCready gets faced and maced
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Jul
22
It’s tough being loved and in demand
Filed Under Great Blogs, Orlando | 2 Comments
I had an opportunity to spend my Saturday terrorizing drivers on I-95 and I-4 as I drove from Jax to Orlando and back.
An hour and forty-five minutes. A new record, thankyouverymuch…
I was part of a focus group for PayPerPost. They paid me and in exchange I agreed not to talk about the new gay porn production facilities they’re creating. Ooops!
I also got to meet Mr. Fabulous, Cheryl, Kat, and Colleen, all Florida bloggers that sometimes blog about Florida and most times not. I have so many updates to make to my blogrolls. A couple are already over there.
PPP is where an advertiser can go to get some buzz going on the intartubes about a new product or service or whatever. Can’t discuss what I saw on penalty of losing my first-born, but trust me, you want to be there and be a part of it.
If you’re a blogger… ignore the previous paragraph. Too. Much. Competition.
By the way, hasn’t Writing. Like. This. jumped the shark?
On the agenda today is a trip to Gainesville to visit the parental units, who are driving back from their mountain-top bunker in NC and stopping off at l’il bro’s house for a Sunday afternoon pizza or some such thing. I’ve seen them recently due to health issues with my father, but the kids haven’t seen them in almost three months so this will be nice for everyone.
No speed records will be attempted while driving with kids.
