Happy National Knife Day 2026!

And for this year's Knife Day I am featuring a knife that my

mom bought for me probably forty years ago. This is not a real

souvenir of the World[sic] Fair Chicago 1933. These knives were

apparently produced in the early 1970s and would fall under the
counterfeit category. Nowadays (and to my surprise) they seem to
be selling for $30 to $300 depending on their condition.

The knives were made in the USA, but in this case
I don't think that means much. Anyway, I treasure
this knife because my mom gave it to me!

Have a great National Knife Day!

I love chickens. I used to have chickens.

I bought This Schleich farm animal figurine
rooster at a Michaels store in 2006.

Hey, look! It's Ned and Maude
Flanders' kid, Todd!
(From 2005!)

Another decal I bought during our cross-country travels
when I was pretty dang young. This decal is from Bryce
Canyon, Utah. The Queen's Court formation.
Bryce Canyon is unbelievably beautiful.

Reggie Bannister

1945 - 2026

~ Rest in Peace ~

I love me some late night nachos!

Yeah I don't care.

How did you ever get to join
the Big Four anyway?

The other day I went to a supermarket that I don't usually

shop at. They had Habanero peppers. I bought two for my

son and I to try. We've never had them fresh and we both love

hot stuff, a lot. I cut off the portion you see in the picture
and we we split it. We are starting out in safe mode.

Holy cow! I hate to admit it, but this pepper was too much

for us. When it hit, we were thankful we started out with such

a small portion. Oh man. Anyway, we are down, but not out.

P.S. After I ate my portion, I did not drink anything for about
fifteen minutes. So I did get a semi-full experience.

For twenty-one dollars and ninety-seven cents...

...I wonder who thought this was a good idea.
I'd pay two dollars for it... max.

(Bendy Frankenstein's Monster at Walmart)

TRANSMISSION #132

Some folks don't know what to make of it

when they see you wearing one of these.

Adventure Mouse!

Yes, let us strike each other with fake swords.
Savvy?

This picture I took at a Mexican food restaurant is making
me hungry. I can just imagine the taco chips and HOT sauce
sitting there on the table, daring me to eat them all before
anybody else can get their paws on them. I posted another
photo of this place before, a long time ago. This is from
a visit on February 17th, 2009.

I bought this resin horse head Christmas ornament last year

and, well, you know me. Some decorations are made to be

displayed all year long. I finally hung it up on my wall today.

That's it.

That's the tribute.

I found this fun picture of the Death Star at a thrift store
for about $3.00. I think it's called a "lenticular" picture.
When you move your hand toward the center of the
Superlaser Focus Lens, it looks like it
sinks right into it.

Impressive. Most impressive.

Happy National Hot Dog Day, 2026!

(I love me some hot dogs and
that's the way I like 'em!)

And we could probably cook our hot dogs

out on the patio today. And I mean right ON
the patio! 105 degrees at 4:59 PM.
Wo doggies! It's a HOT one.

This is the back of the old Panasonic 7.1 surround sound Blu-ray

player at Borden Cinema. This thing sounded F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C

and it was beyond fun hearing things all around you. Scary movies

were next level, but it was kind of a pain in the butt. All the wires, and

when one part of the system went south, it was all over.

I do miss it but a GOOD soundbar is much less complicated and when

and if it goes down (please no), only the one component needs replacing
as opposed to the whole system.

I love going to Borden Cinema.

If you've been using COVERGIRL CG Smoothers
Hydrating Makeup as your foundation and, like me, can
no longer find it in stores, or can only find it online at
outrageous prices, you may be looking for an alternative.

This.

COVERGIRL Clean Invisible Foundation. I know
Walmart has it and Target my have it as well.
There ya go.

How cool. My semi-newly planted cactus
(Saturday, January 3, 2026) looks like he
is happy in his new (for now) home!

He gave us a flower.

Beautiful.

!!! BONUS PHOTO !!!
⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇

I wanted the movie Novocaine when it was first

released but I didn't want to pay what they were
asking for it. Today I found it in the $5.00 bin at
Walmart and tonight it will be playing
at Borden Cinema!

Take a drink whenever I type the word "it".
Have fun!

There are birds around here that build their
nests in the same spots every year. Last night
something annihilated two of those nests. I don't
know if it is too late for them to start again,
but it is possible. I am hoping they do.

TRANSMISSION #130

Happy 250th Birthday, America!
1776 - 2026

Welcome back to Cactus Central.

I spotted this cactus along the road. We don't have any
like this on The Ranch. I need to fix that.

I can't believe America's 250th

birthday is just one week away.

WOO HOO!

I found SCREAM 7 on 4K Ultra and Blu-ray today and I will be

watching this one tooooNIGHT. I don't know how, but I have managed

to stay away from every possible spoiler out there. Either I was very

lucky, or absolutely nothing noteworthy happens in SCREAM 7. I hope

it is the former. Anyway, my popcorn is waiting and will find out soon!

Okay, I found just one more cactus pup that I am
going to put into dirt. I am posting this because
I want to be able to look back and see how
much he has grown.

And here he is in his new home, hopefully to be very
happy. He was watered really well and now I won't
touch him for a few weeks. Take in the sun, my friend.

Take in the sun.

Here is another something else
I bought a LONG time ago.

Opera-Singer Homer and a Leprechaun. I bought

these at Toys "R" Us when I am sure that there was

nothing else I wanted and money was burning a hole

in my pocket. There were times that I just didn't want

to come home empty-handed. Yeah, not good.

But you gotta get 'em all. (I didn't.)
I do love The Simpsons though.

Check out this little hand crank paper shredder.
I have no idea where it came from.

It's pretty cool until you realize that it doesn't

accept anything bigger than a standard size business

envelope. And it doesn't cross-cut the paper.
Still, for little things I guess....

And for the more litigious folks dreaming of a big payday,
they may want to look elsewhere. This company appears to
have thought of everything.

For your safety:
- Do not insert hands into the shredding slot.
- Do not insert ties or necklaces into the shredding slot.
- Do not insert paperclips into the shredding slot.
- Do not insert gingerbread men into the shredding slot.

I was walking through the parking lot on my way in

to buy some postage stamps and I spotted this in a car.
They must REALLY be lovin' some baseball butts.

Happy National Fishing Day, 2026!

And no catch and release in this family. We catch it, we clean it, we eat it.

I grew up fishing. But it has actually been a long while since I have fished.
Just not been in the cards. But I love to fish
and I love me some rainbow trout.

Celebrate the day!
Go catch a fish!

And here is another picture that I took with my Swinger Polaroid Land

Camera in 1968. This is at Prop Plaza, the halfway point on the Universal

Studios Tour (Los Angeles) at that time. You were able to exit the tram and

walk around to see a lot of props used from movies and TV shows before

boarding another tram to continue the tour.

The prop in the photo above is a giant (you will have to take my word
for it) bus bench that was used for the TV show,
Land of the Giants (1968–1970).

~ National Flag Day, 2026 ~

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America,

and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under

God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

On the last day of my First Ever Mid-Year Vacation
I decided to go to town and eat at Tom's. One final time
to let myself totally. oink. out. I made my way inside and placed
my order at the counter. I then chose a table and took a seat.
Minutes later as I was looking at my phone I felt a
presence to my right. I looked over and...

...well well well. Tom's has some robot action goin' on. This

threw me for a minute. When my bewilderment subsided

(this WAS my first ever restaurant robot encounter), I removed

my order from Mr. Robot's shelving, pushed the "FINISHED" button

on his face, he smiled, beeped something I couldn't make out
and I bid him a farewell as he rolled back
to wherever it was he came from.

And this is what he brought me: a double bacon burger with

a side of french fries. Major oink out and SO good. Anyway,

that was my Blade Runner moment. Never saw it coming.

But you know what I DID see coming? All of this
poundage from so much vacation food. Yikes. Now the
time comes to work it all off. Not my first rodeo
as they say.

I can't wait to see what my NEXT
vacation has in store!

I also went to the new REI location and found

something that I have been looking for in the wild

for a few years. This is an Opinel #8 Knife. I really

wanted a carbon steel blade, but I will take stainless

for now (especially since it is all they had in a #8).

And here is the nice little knife out of it's package.

From end to end the knife is about 7.5 inches long.
The blade measures 3.25 inches. The blade is INOX.
"Inox is a shortened form of the French word inoxydable,
meaning "stainless" or "resistant to oxidation (rust)."
Oooo la la. Fancée!

I love the way the wood ages on these knives.
So glad to have this knife in my collection.
Oh yeah... I paid $22.00 for the knife.

That's right! I did it!

A Jack in the Box chocolate shake.

Vacations were MADE for chocolate shakes.
(I guess they don't put cherries on top anymore.)

Good.
Home Depot for the win.

This is the saddest looking
lollipop I have ever seen.