Are we in Ames?

or...California? Current unseasonably warm temp: 79 deg.
Oh and wait, it's only in the 50's-60's in Calif right now!

almost caused an upset...

...as a busload of elderly shoppers from the Green Hills retirement home disembarked at Hyvee supermarket today... they were all coming into the entrance/exit vestibule with their shopping carts, as I was trying to exit...
In other local news, we went to our first "All you can eat" pancake breakfast... I always feel like
the next line here should be that lawyer in the episode of The Simpsons who says..."Do these really look like the actions of a MAN WHOSE HAD ALL HE CAN EAT?"... I actually don't remember why there was a trial going on in that episode, except Homer was on trial for some reason. Something about an all you can eat seafood dinner.

What are my neighbors doing?

That's the name of my game today. Help me figure it out.
They are loud.
They are downstairs.
There is a sporadic loud thumping sound.
Are they jumping up and down? No, probably not, because the sound reverberates, it's echoing off the floor. Are they throwing something on the wood floor? Must be, not that carpeted part. Wouldn't make this noise.
Maybe it is an exercise machine? But the timing is off.
It might be a ball, like those heavy balls you used to throw in dodge ball.
Seriously though, what are they doing. Thump, thump thump.

stores

I'm pretty sure I saw a brand of soda (or as it's called here pop) named:
Hillbilly Holler or maybe it was Holla.
Why I don't have my camera on me for moments like this is beyond me.
I saw it on the shelf, I think it's a store brand at Fareway. Not to be confused with Fairway,
which is apparently a trendy East coast chain. (I just read a whole NY'er article about different
upscale supermarket chains). The one here is more like an aldi's/economical type chain. Nothing wrong with that. I like to compare the best prices for avocados across the lines... except sometimes those "bargain" ones, even though they seem like a great deal, take about 4 weeks to ripen..hmm

weird links

I picked up a book in the library about teaching English and the author's name is Mosteller. I wonder if he's related to the late famous statistician.

smells like ...?

the university bookstore has Cyclone cologne. Scary or just weird.
Considering the cyclone (named, in a feat of originality, Cy) is some weird
bird/cyclone amalgam, what the scent of Cyclone is supposed to be, is a mystery.

self

self-deportation? Really?