there's not much evidence that The 2000 Race is anything more than simple smoke and mirrors; there's nothing much of substance on any candidate's part. This may turn out to be a real snore. I am so bored with 2000 Politics, unlike '92 and '96; then, I was in a lather despising all the Clintonista crimes going un-written about in the liberal Old Media, and unpunished by the corrupt (In)Justice Dept. In 2000, the AlGoreBoreScum is still getting away with "it". Possibly, "it" may continue unpunished and rewarded with further public office(s). More than scary. Where's Lee Harvey Oswald when The Nation really needs him?

Around The Garden Center.
Last Friday, we got another snow day: blasted by a massive Winter Storm with treacherous ice, sleet, freezing rain and plenty of snow. Thanks to weather.com, accuweather.com and www.intellicast.com (the best, updated realtime GMT every 30mins) we all knew it was coming and I left plenty of food and water for Pickles, when I closed up and left on Thursday afternoon. By 11am Friday, we had 5-6" in York and the precip was switching over to ice and freezing rain. The local radio warned everyone to stay off the roads, accidents aplenty. At 8am on Friday morning, I made a quick trip to an ATM machine to get cash for my cleaning lady who comes on Saturday (I forgot my checkbook at the office, again), and to the local Rutter's for milk, catfood and cigarettes. No problem; Mr Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 handled it with aplomb. I spent the day inside, on the computer, occasionally napping on the sofa in front of the fire, making lobster newburg and filet mignon, and enjoying some vintage vino and some quality time, with my two cats.
Hey, we needed the fresh snow cover, as the three week old accumulation was melting (good) and turning black (not good) from all the cinders, sand and salt that PennDOT has inflicted over the last five weeks. Lots of tons.
In The Dumber Than Dumb Dept... Yours Truly forgot to turn off the dishwasher when I went upstairs Friday morn to take a shower. (I normally don't mix the two events up.) Well, after 1-2 mins in the shower, the water temp went cold, the flow dropped and I had to duck-and-dodge "unfriendly" water until I finished, as the dishwasher cycles played havoc with my shower. Maybe I shoulda had coffee prior to that? Okay, okay, I don't do brain surgery or build interstellar rockets anymore; haven't for years.
Saturday, I again plowed — did I say I hate snow plowing? — the storm's remnants; luckily, the predictions for damaging ice proved untrue. We were very lucky; it could have been much worse. It's in the 40s and the snow has turned to slush. My ear ache returned after plowing and I had to again cancel dinner at Jeff & Denise's, go home, use the ear drops and go to sleep. Likewise on Sunday, I had to cancel lunch at my Parent's Home; my ear aches were predominating and debilitating.
Although 90% of the snow we got weeks ago has slow-melted into the ground, there's 10"+ of frost in the soils. It's impossible, without very large earth-moving equipment, to do much now. The Landscape Crew Personnel were furloughed weeks ago, until the ground thaws and the ongoing projects are again viable.
I'm working with Lynn, my General Manager, to put together the 10th Anniversary Open House Party, set for Saturday, April 15th. Mark it on your 2000 Calendar, and be sure to attend. It's a once in a lifetime party, baby!
Our new $4,000 thermal transfer printer has been installed and Lynn is inputting data from the in-house horticultural libraries so that price/informational signs and tags can be entered and printed. For 10 years, we've used the inferior GardenWare product tags and signs, and because of breakage, have had to re-do them twice and thrice yearly. I finally decided enough is enough; we have better things to do than re-making tags and signs which keep blowing off in the wind. Not! Problems persist in the hardware category; by next Journal, everything may change. DotCom.
We buried three more cats this week, found dead on the road (Rt 24) just a mile or so north from the Garden Center. I'm so outraged that people don't take care of their animals and allow them to run loose and get hit by traffic. I'd rather bury the idiot people.
The 8th York Flower & Garden Show is underway and our double booth just inside the Main Entrance is spectacular; my crew is really good. I'll put a few pics up in next week's Journal, courtesy of Lynn's new Nikon digital camera.

Signs Of Trouble.
When Amphibians start "disappearing", there's trouble in an eco-system. I've written about this before — sorry, can't remember the '99 Journal's URLs — and it won't resolve itself, and won't go away. It'll only get worse. There's trouble; frogs, salamanders, toads, et al are the Bell-Weathers to abide by when assessing environmental health. When they're "in trouble", we're all at risk. Just like the canary back at the turn of the 19th century, when birds-in-cages were used as "early warning systems" in the coal mines against unseen, deadly gasses.

You Betcha.
The most blatant example of the "US Gummint" trying to interfere in the US Constitution's First Amendment, so far: the 1947 Supreme Court case of Everson vs. the Board of Education of Ewing, N.J., in which Justice Hugo Black outlined the parameters of religious freedom under the First Amendment. "He wrote that neither states nor the federal government can force or influence any person to go to or remain away from church against his will," said Mr. Davis.
This is not a Token Tribute or Proud Celebration; it's a National Joke, and could be written on a 3"x5" card. Pure shit. What "they've" contributed to society — minus welfare, AIDS, alcoholism, drugs, murder, rape, crime, heroin, crack, illegitimacy, illiteracy, stupidity,et al — gets them only a mere mention — over my vociferous objections — in the shortest month of the year. Actually, they shouldn't even be mentioned at all.
In 1979, Mom & Dad took my sister, Becky and I, to see Cats, at The Wintergarden Theater, on Broadway. Dad's company, Allied Chemical, was instrumental in developing the dyes and pigments used in the make-up and costumes and sets. In 1995, I took my wife Zora — now my ex-wife — to see another iteration of Cats, also on Broadway during Christmas. Now, Cats is closing after almost 7,400 performances in 18 years.
Here's a very touching story about a poor, rural community in Kentucky. It was done by a Kennedy — but I won't hold that against her — and it is an excellent and poignant work.
The numbers tell the story: 3 million people watched the South Carolina debates, while 23 million watched FoxTV's "Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire", last week. TV has sunk to a new low, but at least Fox showed some sign of "rehabilitation" when it cancelled the "repeat 25 share show" this week. What does this tell you about the low-brow mentality of Americans? Nope, I didn't watch it.
Leniency for a murderess/ murderer? Nope. Was the dead victim shown any leniency? Nope. So execute the so-called Black Widow already, Texas. It shouldn't have taken 17 years, as it is. Whining, crying, bitch scum: die, just as you whacked your victim, whome ever s/he was.
Die, murdering filth, die. The US Supreme Court has ruled that subhuman garbage who've whacked other people, must die via the Electric Chair. I applaud, nay, I love that decision. They're subhuman filth and need to die for their crimes. I'm just sorry they don't die 24-48hrs after conviction; the appeals process is greatly flawed. They need to die quickly after conviction and sentencing. Like the victim did, lowlifes: did they get a second chance? Pull the switch, push the needle in, drop the cyanide pellet. Full speed ahead.
The dick-sucking sweathog Lewinsky pig is earning a living, instead of taking $20 bills from politicians and other married men. Hooray, the welfare rolls have diminished, somewhat. Now if we can get the white trash, idiots and illegal aliens off the rest of the public dole-rolls, we can save another $3.7billion. And the Lewinsky slut can "earn" a living. Sort of, selling her trash on the Web.
The guards should have shot and whacked all inmates, not merely one. Prison filth are subhuman garbage. Trash, in dire need of death.
Backstage bruising; backstage at the Golden Globes, Michael Clark Duncan suggested that the Oscars should be settled by a wrestling match. “I could take the little boy. Tom Cruise would run away. I would scare Jude Law. And I could beat Michael Caine."... The Dixie Chicks were adamant that their song “Goodbye Earl” is not based on a true story. But, they say, they call the song — which is about some women who whack a wife beater — "Ode to O.J."…. Some performers were grousing that the reason jazz pianist Diana Krall got the plum singing gig of the evening was because of her close personal relationship to Grammy head Michael Greene. Also backstage, (Sir Scumbag, Lowlife, Homo-f*cker Elton John Baldy-Wearing-A-Wiggy, who had just received the Legend Award from Billy Joel, burst into a tirade true to his ever-iconoclastic form. "These awards are bullshit!" he said. "f*ck videos. Videos are bullshit! f*ck the awards!" The crowd of liberal, democrat, lowlife, Old Media, dick-sucking journalists responded with applause. Pity the scenario, Pluto.

Psycho Studio.
Fun with film: here's a chance to edit your own version of the famous shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". All you'll need is Flash 4 to get started: use original footage to redo the scene any old way you like. It's as simple as clicking and dragging, frame by frame. Your very own online film editing device? We — at www.gdnctr.com — like it!