Maybe the kid had IBS

Went to IHOP for breakfast last Saturday.

IHOP had hired a guy to roam around the restaurant making colorful balloon animals for customers' kids.

Balloon animal guy stopped at the table next to ours, asked the kid what he wanted him to make.

Kid said, "A diaper."

True story.

Worst. Painting. Ever.

And by worst, I mean that it's so terrible that it must be studied for how terrible it is. Never before have I encountered such an atrocious piece of artwork. It nearly makes me cry.

I don't recall who the artist is, but I can find out next Monday when I go back to work. That's right, the original painting is hanging on one of the walls at our corporate office, no more than 25 feet from Nicole's desk. (No, we do not choose the art for the walls.)

Here's the link to the large version, so you can study it for yourself. Behold the tackiness.

Because it's Friday the thirteenth . . .

Here's a question about bad luck.

If a black cat crossing my path is supposedly bad luck, and walking under a ladder is bad luck, what happens when a black cat crosses my path under a ladder?

Happy 4th of July, it's time to get a new watch

We just got back from seeing the fireworks at Joplin tonight. We didn't really go down to where they were being shot off, mainly because we didn't want to be stuck in traffic forever, but we could still see them from where we were parked.

Like a lot of professional fireworks displays across the country, there was a local radio station playing an accompanying medley of patriotic songs. (Thankfully, we didn't hear Lee Greenwood's "Proud to Be an American," which I never have to hear again because it's kind of annoying to me, which I say with all due respect to my wife who loves the song). At about five minutes to 10 o'clock, they played a nice rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner," which was apparently supposed to be the finale because after it was over (and after I said "Play ball" which caused Nicole to chuckle), the announcer came on to say thanks for listening, drive safe, etc. followed by a forgettable 80's song.

However, the fireworks continued for another twenty minutes. That's right, folks: not 30 seconds, not one minute, but a third of an hour after the music was over, the fireworks finally ended.