We'll See How Long This Lasts…

The following would not post for me as a comment on Dmentd’s blog, so it goes here. This follows after the tenth comment to the lively “The eBay days of summer. ” post.

I don’t mind if Mensa and ToppledGod correct and lambaste me, because I know that they are better than me in every way. They can’t help but try to make me more like them by showing me how much worse I am than them in front of my peers. My heroes!

I also don’t mind if GonzO, while trying to show me the error of my ways in a debate, implies that I should have reached the same conclusion he has by conceding, “Milton, you’re a pretty smart guy, so…”. I don’t mind because I know that someday, if he keeps saying that, I will evolve and come to understand his Truth.

I, myself, have been accused of being a nit-picker when it comes to grammar. I have taken that to heart and curtailed such behavior down to a minimum, and never in a confrontational way. Perhaps I give myself too much credit? If you think so, ask yourself when was the last time Milton corrected your language skills meanly, and with an audience. Hopefully your recollection will show great improvement in this area. If not, let’s talk NICELY about it. Many of our group correct each other. I’m trying to not do so in a demeaning way. If you think I’m not doing a good job, give it a second thought. If you still feel the same way about it, you have my permission to call me on it. And, if you’re not a dick about it, you just might help me see it your way.

And while I’m NOT on the subject… when did the Official Snap-Haters Club form, and where did you get such lovely newspapaer pirate hats to wear in your Treehouse? Can just anyone join, or must one already have a superior attitude when it comes to PC skills, job hunting, and sophistication in general? Christ on a Cracker!

(The previous statement was paid for by Campaign for a Snap-Friendly Environment, and is in no way endorsed, solicited, or pre-approved by Snappy J. Snapperson, Esq.)

Despite a few pleasant cool fronts which made the typical New Orleans heat bearable, it has now officially become Summer, to my mind. For most of the folks who live north of the Mason-Dixon line that means a long-awaited joyous season of warm breezes, sunny days, baseball, picnics, and ice cream cones at the amusement park. They can finally come out from under the cold, snowy, white wonderland of Winter and enjoy the Great Outdoors! Yippee!

Whatever.

Here in the surrounded-by-water city of New Orleans that means about 120 days of heat and humidity that lay on you like a heavy, oppresive wet blanket that saps my strength (and missyG’s will to live). Our weather will be, for the most part, hot and wet. Our home air conditioners will run nealry 24-hours a day in and effort to get the inside temperature down to cool, not making it to cold. Our car A/Cs might provide satisfactory climate control, but only after running for more than 15 minutes – to think, up north that item is OPTIONAL in a car. It will rain for about 20 minutes almost every afternoon, more afternoons than not, making the ground and grass yucky. And don’t even get me started on the hurricanes! Ugh.

Yeah, I will go to the occasional, and exceptional, outside party. That will be mainly out of love for the party-givers, and for their good company. Other than that, for the next three months, the only time you will see me Outside is when I am going from Inside Point A to Inside Point B. And it’s likely to be the shortest damned route I can manage. I’ll be in a hurry to get back to my Natural Habitat – air conditioning.

Outside, I’m done with You. At least until God decides to come home from Summer vacation and turn the A/C back on – he thinks he’s saving money that way. See you at Doug’s, then.

Hey, have you tried Coke Zero?

So, most of you should know by now that one of my hobbies is soft drinks. That I know of, I have tasted every soft drink nationally distributed by Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola in my lifetime. This excludes: a) non-carbonated drinks such as waters, juices, sports drinks, b) regional-only products such as Red Rattler, c) energy drinks such as Amp, and, of course, d) products sold only in non-U.S. areas, such as Mexico’s Coke Light, or England’s Pepsi Max (actually, I have had many of those, too, but cannot nearly claim them all). This will exclude, also, U.S’s recent foray into Mexico’s Fanta products.

Here’s the list:

Coca-Cola Products
Coca-Cola
New Coke (now Coke II)
Coke Classic
Diet Coke
Caffeine Free Coke
Caffiene Free Diet Coke
Coke with Lime
Diet Coke with Lime
Diet Coke with lemon
Vanilla Coke
Vanilla Diet Coke
Cherry Coke
Cherry Diet Coke
Diet Coke with Splenda
Coke Zero
Coke C2
Sprite
Diet Sprite
Sprite Remix Tropical Mix
Sprite Remix Mixed Berry
Sprite Remix Aruba Jam
Sprite Zero
Tab
Dr. Pepper
Diet Dr. Pepper
Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper
Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper
Barq’s Root Beer
Diet Barq’s Root Beer
Barq’s Red Creme Soda
Barq’s Golden Vanilla Creme Soda
Canada Dry Ginger Ale
A&W Root Beer
Diet A&W Root Beer
Barq’s Floatz
Fresca
Mello Yello
Diet Mello Yello

Pepsi-Cola Products
Pepsi-Cola
Diet Pepsi
Pepsi Free
Pepsi Twist
Diet Pepsi Twist
Pepsi Lime
Diet Pepsi Lime
Holiday Spice Pepsi
Mountain Dew
Diet Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew Code Red
Diet Mountain Dew Code Red
Moutain Dew Pitch Black
Mountain Dew Livewire
Mountain Dew Baja Blast (Taco Bell Only)
Pepsi Vanilla
Diet Pepsi Vanilla
Pepsi One
Sierra Mist
Sierra Mist Free
Pepsi Edge
Wild Cherry Pepsi
Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi
Slice
Mug Root Beer
Diet Mug Root Beer
Crystal Pepsi
Pepsi Blue
Pepsi Light

Anyone have any others I should know about?

As for all the myriad diet colas, I think we should have a Taste-test night at M-n-R’s. We could each pitch-in a buck or two, buy EVERY diet Coke and Pepsi variant, and compare to see which we like best. Who’s up for that?

*** EDIT ***
I neglected to list the following beverages from the 7Up family:
7Up
Diet 7Up
Cherry 7Up
Diet Cherry 7Up
7Up Gold
7Up Plus
dnL – (7Up logo upside down and backwards – weird drink)