Ah, reality. I have imagined you all!
Reality is the cruelist concept.
You are what you think you know. Fantasy rules, OK.

Hi Nadeau Clan et al!

Fine by me! Cheers, Patrizzio, but a figment of everyone's imagination, including his own!

Ayn P

Make love, not war...xoxo

- Patrick James Dunn Shower with a friend!
  
  Ayn P Good one Green Poppa!
  
  Patrick James Dunn You 'ain't seen nnnnnnothin' yet! (10 extra Canuck chocs if you guess the reference. Clue: Think roots! NO GOOGLAGE!!!)

Hi Peggster!

Trust you are well. Mr Fixit tells me that you are becoming the Bridge Queen of St John's! We've had
a number of games since he has been here and enjoy learning at the foot of the Master, although it would be great if you were here to keep him in check! Cheers, Patrizzio!

Ride on Wednesday!

Hi guys, Not sure about myself going and will have to play by ear, the weather did look promising but now not so much. Will check in manana. Al

Happy Valentines day to you!!!

Thanks for the newsy report of goings on and bikings etc. Also for those
wonderful dessert pics. Makes my drool to think of them, but must say that
I particularly enjoyed ( actually not the appropriate word here) the close
up of Corinne's foot. Could you not do a Macro? cheers M

Hi MQS!

Happy Valentines Day to you as well!!!

I'm working on an exhibition of candid shots of The Royal Foot and plan to have a grand opening once we are back at The Island Inn at the end of May. Have attached a few less graphic images for the squeamish. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Agneta would have a fit!!!

FIFTH ANNUAL ‘CROWN AWARD’ PRESENTED TO COCA-COLA FOR RESPONSIBLE ADVERTISING

Company Recognized by Crown Media Family Networks and the Parents Television Council for Leadership, Integrity, and Responsible Corporate Citizenship

Atlanta, Georgia – The Coca-Cola Company, the world’s largest beverage company, has been named the recipient of the fifth annual Crown Media Family Networks/Parents Television Council “Crown Award”, honoring companies that align with quality, family-friendly programming through responsible advertising. The award was presented to Annis Lyles, Vice President of Connections Planning and Investment, Coca-Cola North America, on behalf of the company, on Tuesday, February 7, 2011 at the Company’s Atlanta, Georgia headquarters. Ed Georger, Executive Vice President, Advertising Sales for Crown Media Family Networks and General Manager for Hallmark Movie Channel and Tim Winter, President, Parents Television Council (PTC) were on hand to bestow the honor, which recognizes Coca-Cola’s ongoing support of and commitment to wholesome television programming that is appropriate for a broad family audience.

Crown Media Family Networks, a leader in family-friendly programming, and the PTC, the nation's most influential advocacy organization protecting children against inappropriate and excessive portrayals of sex, violence and profanity in television entertainment, partnered to create this award in 2007. The award is bestowed annually to an advertiser who exhibits extraordinary leadership, integrity and responsible corporate citizenship.

“Coca-Cola is a long-standing and highly valued advertising partner that has demonstrated an unwavering dedication to quality entertainment all members of the family can enjoy,” said Crown Media Family Networks President and CEO, Bill Abbott. "On behalf of Crown Media Family Networks, I am delighted to present them with the 2012 Crown Award, which honors their ongoing commitment to trusted, responsible programming. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Coca-Cola for many years to come.”

Hi Goils!

Dateline Guayabitos, Nayarit:

Apparently The Yoga Queen of La Peñita is being rushed to the hospital as I file this field report, babbling about mothers mixing Coke with pre-mixed baby formula instead of using ancient grains for Pablum-like feedings! We have a source in the Psych Unit there and will keep everyone posted. Rumour has that she is in a straight-jacket but with her flexibility staff are worried she will be able to slip her bonds so they are putting tranqs in her herbal tea. When George heard the news he mentioned it to Clarisse and Dusty. Coat Hanger had to have a triple rum 'n coke, (light on the latter out of respect for the Agneeeeeeeeeta), to calm his nerves!!! Cheers, Your Roving Reporter, Patrizzio, "Have Laptop. Will Travel"!

Blue Man Group: Talk about turning blue in the face!

Some time around the year 1800, a man named Martin Fugate made his way to eastern Kentucky, smack in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains. He married a woman named Mary. They had children, as couples often do. So did a nearby couple — Robert Smith and his wife, Alicia Combs. Some of the Fugate children ended up marrying some of the Smith children, and they, too, had children. Some of their children were blue.

These blue people, a handful pictured above in what is apparently a family portrait, were a byproduct of a coincidence of reccessive genes meeting, and, after that, intermarriage and inbreeding. Mary Fugate was a carrier of a hereditary disease known as methemoglobinemia, or, for short, met-H. So was someone on the Smith/Combs side. Met-H is recessive, so in order to be anything other than a carrier, both parents need to have the gene, and in the case of subsequent Fugates, that’s exactly what happened. Over the next fifty or so years, the isolated Appalachian families carried on their lineage in a straight-line-ish family tree, with a large amount of inbreeding relative to the rest of the United States (but probably typical for Appalachia at the time). A few children were born with met-H, a disease which causes blood to have a higher than normal level of methemoglobin, and therefore, a reduced ability to carry oxygen. In turn, those afflicted with met-H have darker looking blood and many Caucasian ones therefore also have off-colored skin, typically with a blue hue to it. And the gene pool, undisturbed, yielded generation after generation of blue-tinted people.

The Blue Fugates, as they’d later be known, were first discovered by the medical community in 1958, according to a report from the Tri City Herald, but it would not be until the 1980s that science found a treatment . According to an article in Science magazine, the treatment is entirely counter-intuitive — it involves drinking blue dye. Specifically, the afflicted person drinks a chemical compound called methylene blue which, when dissolved in water, turns into a blue solution (as seen on its Wikipedia entry). The methylene blue acts as an “electron donor,” converting the methemoglobin into regular (red) hemoglobin, and thereby turning the person’s skin to the typical hue, quite literally right before their eyes. Unfortunately, the effect of the methylene blue is temporary, requiring daily doses to keep the blue away.

But with Appalachia modernizing and the gene pool expanding, this probably will not matter much longer. It is likely that hereditary blueness due to met-H is going to become even more rare.

A Thoughtful Gift

Jim asked his friend, Tony, whether he had bought his wife anything for Valentine's Day.

'Yes,' came the answer from Tony who was a bit of a chauvinist, 'I've bought her a belt and a bag.'
'That was very kind of you,' Jim added, 'I hope she appreciated the thought.'
Tony smiled as he replied, 'So do I, and hopefully the vacuum cleaner will work better now.'

Henny Youngman on Romance
Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays.'

Great Expectations
A young woman was taking an afternoon nap. After she woke up, she told her husband, "I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace for Valentine's day. What do you think it means?"

"You'll know tonight," he said.
That evening, the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it--only to find a book entitled "The meaning of dreams".

The One About the Barnyard
A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?" "Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."

Hi Champagne!

Great jokes! I have attached one for you and O Susannah!

With respect to medical questionnaire, I won't be able to answer it truthfully, (one question), until after next Tuesday as that's when I have my medical. I trust this will be okay. Cheers, Patrizzio!

That's fine. We just need to submit before you leave.

How's the Queen of Scotch's foot?? Charlie

Hi Champagne!

Foot's Fine, Disposition Difficult! Cheers, Suffering Manservant!