• Potty Training

    This very important latrine training video reminded me of my own groundbreaking and unfairly neglected series of posts covering this subject.

    httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKkryfdtMNQ

    I was following along until he started using water. I imagine people in Europe faced with the prospect of pouring icy water on a certain tender region invented the toilet paper.

    And now, as I promised, some relevant links to my own posts.

    Behind the Iron Curtain #1 and #2:

    Part 1
    Part 2
    Part 3
    Part 4

    And now we dance:

    httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TojTlYNNm9w

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  • There, I Fixed It!: Kansas City Style

    Citizen journalism in this town is celebrating a huge victory and I am here to take all the credit. My recent ground-breaking report on a possible contender for the biggest pothole in the State of Missouri sent seismic waves through the City Hall and the solution came swiftly – a bigger barrier.

    Parts of the previous orange obstacle that weren’t swallowed by the pothole were recycled…

    …and replaced with the state-of-the-art early warning system.

    City geologists used the circular cracks around the barrier to size up a new commemorative steel plate which will be placed over the pothole in the near future.

    The City Council ordered the City Attorney to draft a letter to BP demanding reimbursement for the repairs (mostly for the barricade) since the appearance of the pothole is directly related to the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

    On behalf of myself and many residents of the nearby property tax-free building I’d like to thank the City for paying attention and quick decisive action.

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  • The Soviet Army and Navy Day

    This year marks the twenty-year anniversary of the triumphant end of my military service. Shortly after my long-awaited discharge from the Engineer Corps in June of 1990, the American Secret Services sensed a weak spot in the pontoon troops where I had served and used it to break up the Soviet Union. Of course, it was unthinkable while I was still in service; my fierce looks used to send the enemy running for their lives.

    My Mom and Me. …long, long time ago… I can still remember

    Today is the Soviet Army and Navy Day – a long-renamed holiday of a long-gone country. 20 years ago I couldn’t imagine being nostalgic thinking about my military service. But here I am – it was a time uncomplicated by work, taxes and raising kids and now it doesn’t seem like such a horrible way to spend two years of one’s life. So instead of rewriting my last year’s post I will share a few music videos on the subject.

    This song is called “We Are The People’s Army”:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANU2Rz4WNcI

    And lastly – world-famous Kalinka, here you can find the lyrics and sing along.

    httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_A7Hu0uKNw

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  • Kansas Roadtrips: Garnett and Osawatomie

    After our annual trip to the apple orchard we decided to visit Osawatomie – a small Kansas town we passed last month on the way to Galena. As always, I took a wrong turn and, since I was too lazy to get the map out of the trunk, we ended up passing through Garnett as well. Garnett, KS is a neat little town, clean and well-kept. The most impressive building in Garnett, like in many other county seats, is the Anderson County Courthouse.

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  • Old Photos: Sturgeon and Caviar

    A legend my parents always told me that during the hungry post-war years the store shelves had nothing but caviar and people weren’t interested. They wanted the actual food – bread, butter, meat and there is only so much caviar a person can eat even if it’s a prized delicacy. The government even felt necessary to advertize the caviar as a tasty and nutritious product.

    Sturgeon Caviar- Tasty Nutritious Product.
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