The Mystery Revealed...

Well now, that clears things up nicely.

The Black Baron's Random Fact of the Unspecified Time Period - #27

A female ferret will die if it goes into heat and cannot find a mate.

From the files of the Black Baron: Casefile #091030 - The Klunk Saga.

In the not too distant past I spent a six month period visiting with a friend that lived in a small town in Indiana.

Now while the nature and purpose of this visit is really no one's business but my own there were a handful of episodes well worth sharing with the world at large.

Among these is one I like to refer to as "The Klunk Saga".

Read the rest here>>>

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'...

Got myself sorted out with a new (for me) vehicle for a decent price and got something in decent condition, all things considered.

Read the rest here>>>

The Black Baron's Random Fact of the Unspecified Time Period - #26

On April 24, 1898, Spain declared war on the U.S., thus starting the Spanish-American War. The U.S. declared war the very next day, but not wanting to be outdone, had the date on the declaration changed from April 25 to April 21.

The Alleged Van.

The Alleged Van

Ok, looks like my alleged van is dying a slow painful death, between the transmission that was never right to begin with, the fact that it now needs a brake rebuild that'll cost more than was originally paid for the blasted thing, I'm down to the point of having to use the parking brake to stop the damned thing.

I'm on the lookout for something cheap (as in way way under a grand) and in decent enough shape to pass state inspection.

Craigslist is proving to be as useless as usual, so if anyone in the Northern New Jersey area knows of someone trying to offload a cheap van, mini or otherwise, pickup with a cap, or even a station wagon, or pretty much anything that will run, stop, & hold a bit of cargo like a couple bikes, please shoot me an e-mail, especially if they'd be willing to let us pay it off over a couple months. (Yeah, I know that sounds lame but my options are just that limited right now)

I need something cheap and I need it relatively fast.

Boredom rears it's ugly head...

I managed to get myself bored last night so I made up a badly comped piece of fanart for one of my favorite webcomics, Monster Commute.

And here it is...


Try not to make too much fun of it, art is not really my thing.

I'm fully aware of the fact that I couldn't even draw flies if I stopped bathing, so save your scorn for the more deserving.

Carry on, Patriot.

The Black Baron's Random Fact of the Unspecified Time Period - #25

Duracell, the battery maker, built parts of its international headquarters using materials from its own waste.

From the files of the Black Baron: Casefile #090908 - The P.C. Police have arrived.

In my travels I've seen many a strange thing, attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion, C-beams glittering in the dark near the Tannhauser gate... no, wait, I've done that gag before...

The point still stands, however.

I've seen a myriad of strange, wondrous, and, sometimes, horrifying things during the length of my interminable existence and, while most are noteworthy, some are truly beyond the ken of mortal man.

Case in point, it would now appear that a local constabulary is taking lessons in manners and decorum.

Read the rest here>>>

The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated...

I'm not dead yet, just been lacking in the urge to post anything.

Don't worry though, there is snark to come and it'll be here shortly.

The Black Baron's Random Fact of the Unspecified Time Period - #24

Americans, on average, spend 18% of their income on transportation as compared to only 12% spent on food and only 7% of that is for food at home.

The Awesomest Thing Ever.

You know it had to happen sooner or later...


Here endeth the internet.

The Black Baron's Random Fact(s) of the Unspecified Time Period - #23

In Connecticut you can be stopped by the police for biking over 65 miles per hour.

Also, you are not allowed to walk across a street on your hands.

New Banner! (With apologies to Charles Schulz)

As I'm sure you've noticed by now, I've recently been provided with a shiny new banner graphic for this blog whatsit by the amazing Spiderfox.

Clicken to embiggen.

I've been wanting a pic like this pretty much since I started this blog thing and now, thanks to Spiderfox and a small amount of begging, I have it.

Watch the skies... for you never know when The Black Baron shall strike!

The Black Baron's Random Fact of the Unspecified Time Period - #22

Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.

Another Tale of the "Hole In The Head Gang"... Sort of.

This tale is only "sort of" a tale of the Hole in the Head Gang in that it just involves yours truly...

Allow me to set the scene for you...

I'm driving along in my mucus green 1973 Ford Galaxy two-door... well it was mostly mucus green, the nose was white since it had been replaced after my aunt killed a VW Rabbit a couple years before I inherited the vehicle in question...

As I was saying, I was tooling along the highway at a nice sedate 65-70mph, minding my own business, while avoiding any law enforcement types.

Read the rest here>>>

The Black Baron's Random Fact of the Unspecified Time Period - #21

On September 10th, 1945 a Colorado farmer attempting to dispatch a chicken for dinner ended up with one of the biggest non-hoaxes of the era and a place in the Guinness World Book of Records for the headless chicken who survived the longest.

Lloyd Olsen had been sent out to the yard to sacrifice a plump young rooster of about six months.

And guess who was coming to dinner to eat it... His mother-in-law.

Knowing how she favored the neck, Olsen went about his task with the idea of keeping on the mother in law's good side, by keeping most of the neck on the chicken.

He succeeded in a way he'd never have expected in his wildest dreams.

Read the rest here>>>

I love days like this...

Took the Old Man out for a spin today for the first time in way, way too long and realized a few things...

Foremost among them is the fact I'm criminally out of shape and am in incredible pain at the moment, but that's only a temporary thing.

Secondly, most folks are still idiots... now I know this is pretty much considered standard knowledge but every once in a while I like to be reminded of the fact lest I get complacent.

Read the rest here>>>

Dear Sir...

Dear Sir:

We have the distinction of being members of a committee to raise $200,000,000 to be used for placing a statue of George W. Bush in the Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C. The committee was in a quandary about selecting the proper location for the statue.

It was thought unwise to place it beside that of George Washington, who never told a lie, or beside that of Richard Nixon, who never told the truth, since George W. Bush could never tell the difference.

Read the rest here>>>

From the files of the Black Baron: Casefile #090419 - Highway Hijinks

On a recent excursion for items varied and sundry, it was required that I make use of one of the several interstate highways in the area, a task I'm not entirely fond of on a good day... and it's been rather a long time since I had a good day.

It was during this particular excursion that I saw a sight that, once again, made me wish I had a camera small enough to keep with me at all times...

I came up on a family minivan appropriately loaded with various younglings and other animals some keep about their domiciles, which would explain the fact the driver was carrying a boxed item atop the roof of their vehicle, since it obviously wouldn't fit inside it with all the wildlife taking up room.

Read the rest here>>>