On Tuesday, May 19, I had shown a picture of these cactus

pups that I ran across and wrote that I was going to plant

them in a pot soon.



Well, I did. It's going to be fun watching these guys
grow up. In a short while I will buy a clay pot to put
them in. I didn't find one around

here that I could use.

Happy National Hamburger Day 2026!
(Pictured is a Tom's burger.)

The right front tire of my car had a slow leak

so I headed over to Discount Tire to have it
repaired. I like this place. It is clean, it is well

organized and it smells like tires.

Their magazine collection is GREAT if you

enjoy reading about tires. Smelling tires is one thing,
but reading about tires is another story, so...

...I watched a movie on my phone. Tim Holt

in The Fargo Kid (1940). I love Tim Holt

Westerns and this was a fun movie.

(I am old enough to remember when you either
stared at the walls or read tire magazines while
you waited. So being able to watch a movie
is just an awesome thing in my book.)

Discount Tire repaired my tire free of charge

and the day turned out to be pretty dang good.

Memorial Day 2026

~ Remember and Honor ~

In 1784 Philip LeMarchand created a puzzle box known as the
Lament Configuration. This is a recreation of that puzzle box.
I bought it at a seasonal Halloween store many years ago.
It came flat and was assembled with some difficulty and a
little Super Glue. It sits on the Horror Shelf
in my curio cabinet.

Again with the cactus, Tex?

Yeah, I know. But I just found these today and I think

they are beautiful and I cannot wait to put them into dirt

and see what they do.

I will name this picture:
“Three Dollars to Put Six
Pounds in One Tire.”

I came across a deal at Walmart. I never would have paid

$29.97 for this. Not because I wouldn't want it, but because

I have too many figures as it is. At $12.00 I can almost
afford to give it away if I want to. So I brought it home.

Culturefly's Big Chap Xenomorph Deluxe

Vinyl Statue from the movie ALIEN.

He's pretty cool. I don't think they spent much time
on the acrylic background though. Some of the text
even seems to be repeated in spots. His feet are on
pegs so he can be removed from the base if needed.
The figure is about 8.25 inches tall.

Here is his lovely face. His secondary jaw is extended
and fierce. The translucent dome covering his skull
 is a little off, but hey, for $12.00, this guy is great to
own. I had seen him (at Walmart) for a few weeks.
He was the last one. That is probably the reason
for the mark down. Once again, HUZZAH!

My mom made some corn on the cob (which was

about the best I have had in my entire life) so I made

a ham sandwich on sourdough bread along with some

BBQ beans to go with it.

I am posting this photo because sometime in the
future I want to look back at this and think,
oh yeah, THAT was good.

I keep forgetting what this button in our car does.

At this point I’ve decided it probably just quietly alerts

The Avengers that it’s time to assemble.
I hardly ever press it.

What a beautiful castle.

Hole 14!

Happy Star Wars Day, 2026!

May the 4th Be With You.

The circus is coming to town!

I just now noticed that Tom taped his 2025

Halloween costume to my curio cabinet.

He is so sentimental.

My son gave me this little pink skull years

ago. I can’t even remember how long.
He (the skull, not my son) now lives on the
Pirate Shelf in my curio cabinet.

Now, I'm no plumber, but I am betting that

one of those is for hot and one is for cold.
I probably just saved us some dinero.

TRANSMISSION #121

~ Random Around the Ranch Photo of the Day ~
Scarlet geranium flowers just hangin' out.

Chuck Norris Nights at Borden Cinema was G-R-E-A-T!

It was a blast. We started out on Tuesday night with Good

Guys Wear Black (1978). John T. Booker's (Chuck Norris) old Army

buddies are being offed one by one and it is up to him to find

out why and put an end to it. Will he? I think you know.

This movie is even better than I remembered. I rated GGWB
8 out of 10 Silencers on a Revolver.

Next up, on Wednesday night Borden Cinema showed Missing

in Action (1984). Braddock (Chuck Norris) is absolutely positive that

there are still prisoners of war in Vietnam and by hell or highwater

he is going to bring them home... against all odds. This movie was
directed by Joseph Zito who also directed Friday the 13th: The
Final Chapter. That puts a checkmark in the Plus Box. I rated
MIA 8 out of 10 M60 Machine Guns. A Chuck Norris
staple to be certain.

And then? On Thursday night we saw Silent Rage (1982). This is

the Chuck Norris "slasher" movie. Small town sheriff  Dan Stevens
(Chuck Norris) battles a genetically engineered, monstrous man
comparable to Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees. He is also having
a love affair. Ooo la la. Silent Rage has some great co-stars as
well: Ron Silver, Steven Keats and the late great William Finley.
There IS one weak point in the movie and that is Deputy Sheriff
Charlie (Stephen Furst). You will know why when you see it.
I love the movie and I rated it 7.5 out of 10 Silver Jumpsuits.

And finally, on Friday night at Borden Cinema, probably my all time
favorite Chuck Norris movie, Lone Wolf McQuade (1983). Chuck plays
J.J. McQuade, a badass Texas Ranger. And he is out to bring down drug
lord Rawley Wilkes played by another of my all time favorites,
David Carradine. No more setup than that is required to make this
a dang good show. The music composed by Francesco De Masi
is reminiscent of a Spaghetti Western and as a matter of fact,
the whole movie has that SW flavor. I rated LWM 10 out of 10
Huge Gun Belt Buckles with Eagles on them.

And that’s a wrap on Chuck Norris Nights at Borden Cinema!
Looking forward to doing it again soon with more favorite films!

We love you Chuck Norris!

Happy BURT GUMMER Day 2026!

Welcome home Artemis II's Orion capsule, Integrity!

Welcome home NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor
Glover, Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency

astronaut Jeremy Hansen! Splash down off the coast

of San Diego at 8:07 p.m. Eastern Time. Beautiful!

I have questions.

In honor of the legend...
Starting tomorrow! Only at Borden Cinema!

CHUCK NORRIS NIGHTS!

Good Guys Wear Black, Silent Rage, Missing in

Action and Lone Wolf McQuade! Tuesday through Friday!
No mercy. No limits. All action. All fun!

Happy Easter 2026!

Every once in a while, a friend will bring over some lilies for my
mom. One or two will be open, with another three or four yet to
bloom. And when they do? They fill the ranch house with the most
wonderful scent. I love the scent of carnations.
I love the scent of jasmine. And man,
do I love the scent of lilies. Yum.

ARTEMIS II

Artemis II successfully lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida

today! This will be the first trip to the (not ON the) moon for us in 53 years.

This is all in preparation for an eventual moon base. And my name along
with 5,647,888 others will be on this journey with them on an SD card. Above
is my boarding pass. I have been waiting for this for months.

Godspeed Artemis!

TRANSMISSION #119

This picture is not in black and white.

It is dead stuff, I think.

Alive stuff.

I hung the cross I bought at

Hobby Lobby for my birthday.

A deer and some cacti at Aptenia Parklands.

Holy cow!

I've been looking everywhere for you!

Chuck Norris

1940 - 2026

TRANSMISSION #114

Cheers and Happy St. Patrick’s Day, 2026!

Would you care to take a stab at what will be showing
at Borden Cinema tonight? Excellent guess! That

is right! Leprechaun! This will be fun.

Get your green on and party safely!

I was at Walmart and they had in stock the Ghost Face figure that

I thought I might like better than the one I bought. This one has Mr. Face

in a theater setting and he is wiping the blood off of his knife as only

he can do. But you know what? I like the figure I got a little more.

I like the pose more and the hallway background of my figure works fine.

I know that this is not a great picture. I tried to take a couple in the store

and it was just not working out, but for better or worse I decided to

post one of them. So there ya go.

Happy Friday the 13th, March 2026!

And as is tradition at El Rancho De LA Tex, on Friday the 13th,

a Friday the 13th movie plays at Borden Cinema. Up tonight
was Jason Voorhees in space. That's right, Jason X. Uber Jason.
Most people don't seem to enjoy this one, but here at The Ranch
we are all over it. Jason is played by Kane Hodder and everybody 

does at least love Kane's Jason. That's him up there onscreen
getting ready to... to... well, you know.

"Guys, it's okay! He just wanted his machete back!"

My grandmother gave this tin matchstick dispenser to me.

I have had it for many years. There are no markings on it so
I don't know how old it really is, but I don't think they are
uncommon. I really enjoy having this and using it.
It is a great little device. And the fact that my mom's
mom gave it to me makes it special.

Tax day went so well that I celebrated

with a Fanta Orange Zero soda.

Alfred Hitchcock Drive, Universal Studios,

Universal City, California, 1987.

Week Four of the 2026 Month of Musicals!

All Musicals all month continued on! First up this week

was Muppet Treasure Island. This movie is fantastic.

Tim Curry as Long John Silver. Holy cow is he a fun

pirate! Tim Curry, am I right? Yes. I am. The Muppets

are hilarious in this one. Lots of wink-wink jokes for the

grown-ups. I rate Muppet Treasure Island 10 out of 10

Tim Curry Piratey Hearty Pirate Laughs.

Next up was The Greatest Showman, kind of the story of

P.T. Barnum. I enjoyed this quite a bit. Good music, a pretty

good love story and just kind of a feel-good (most of the time)
movie. Hugh Jackman is really good as usual. He sings. He dances.

He makes ya weepy. TGS is worth a watch and I will watch it

again someday. I rate this movie 9 out of 10 Top Hats.

And then, Shall We Dance starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Classic. You want to see some of the most inventive dancing ever?

If so, you want to watch Fred Astaire. That guy is awesome. And

Ginger Rogers is just pretty dang adorable. And when they dance

together? Not much else like it. Lots of humor as well of course. Don't

miss them on roller skates, the OLD kind that attach to your shoes.

Yikes. I rate Shall We Dance 10 out of 10 Linda Keene Masks.

And now, the one that I have been waiting for, the movie I was

saving for last, the movie that I have not seen for six years: La La Land.

I absolutely LOVE this movie. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are

so enjoyable to watch together. And the music? From the

first scene on the freeway featuring the song Another Day of Sun
to the Epilogue scene featuring Mia & Sebastian's Theme,

City of Stars and a bit of Another Day of Sun, my eyes and ears are

glued to the screen. The two very last shots of this movie could not have

been a lovelier way to end this Month of Musicals. Needless to say, I rate

La La Land 11 out of 10 George Michaels.

And that's it. The curtains have closed on the February 2026 Month of

Musicals at Borden Cinema. I had a great time watching all of these shows.

As these movies were pretty long I can't do this again very soon, but

in a couple of years?

Happy National Pig Day 2026!
(I don't like to brag, but
I drew that pig.)

~ Random Around the Ranch Photo of the Day ~

How about a little wooden shark sitting on a shelf?