The U.S. Armed Forces K9 Units are now sporting custom doggie kevlar vests that protect against small arms fire and stab wounds. The article has a couple pics of current kevlared K9s in Iraq. I think this is GREAT! I also had to laugh at the following comment: “It has to be pretty disheartening to fight a war against forces who can afford armor for their pets. ”

Armored Pooches On Iraq Patorl

Starting off another new section though I’m not 100% on the name. Back in the day, men sat around and thought about stuff and coined some of the wisdom they found into poetic verse. While this is an art that is quickly being cordoned off to Academia, I feel that the void left by this old art losing its original purpose has been filled by another. Modern day poets have turned bard as they set their prose to music and get their message out to the masses.

I will put forth the best of these for reflection and enjoyment. To earn the right to be here, you must posses both musical and lyrical excellence.

I am starting off with a hip-hop song released last summer. You can’t help but bob your head to the beat of this song. Just like you can’t deny the realities put forth in the lyrics about this world in which we live.
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I wanted to touch on my review style now, so that later on people don’t accuse me of loving everything I review. I will rarely have mediocre reviews on this site, because I will rarely take the time to review mediocre products. If you want mediocre reviews, try Google. There are alreay many sites out there with entire budgets and staff devoted to reviewing anything they can get their hands on (often for free and early from manufacturers that want some press to push out with their latest). ScottSoapbox.com however has not (yet) sold out to the product review machine. I will usually only post reviews of products that I have encountered along life’s journey that are SO excellent (or terrible) as to necessitate my proclaiming them to all the masses… So you might say that I am more of a product evangelist than an a simple reviewer.

The one caveat to this would be: restaurants. I tend to review a wider range of restaurants than other products. Why? Because restaurants are different… trust me, they just are. Restaurant reviews falling more into the mediocre category will tend to take longer to make it to print as seen in the below review of Conners.

I actually tried out Conner's last Sunday (25th), but it took me a while get around to translating my notes to an actual review. Conner's is the latest incantation of the group that brought you The Chop House and Chops Grill. Located in Pigeon Forge TN, Conner's has a nice, but laid back atmosphere. I would rate my service there as above average. So with 2 out of the 3 holes covered on to the food. Instead of bread to start you off, Conner's gives you some scrumptious biskets. This, in hindsight, seems appropriate since your salad that follows will have more bacon than a typical breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Their signature blackberry vinaigrette salad dressing also disappointed. It wasn't sure if it wanted to be a sweet vinaigrette or more of a vinager and oil variety - and so it ended up languishing somewhere in the middle. Their signature soup also failed to impress. The lobster/crab bisque had to strong of a tomatoe element leading it to be overly acidic. Had perhaps a small amount of cheese been substitued here a much more balanced taste could have been created. Their prime rib stood out as second ray of hope (after the biskets) and was, in fact, quite good. The prime rib was not as good, however, as what can be had at the Chop House. So, all in all, if someone was considering Conner's while doing some outlet shopping, I would have to recommend they go across the street to the Chop House, instead. I give them:

This is hillarious and I’m not talking about the pics…. read the text… all of it, it just keeps getting better. And apparently it worked, he added a little net infamy and sold a used $1200 dress for $3850.

Ebay

- Thanks Katie

Spotted in New Orleans, you need to checkout the rims on this bad boy. Look close…. why drop a grand on spinner rims when you get spinning rim covers for much less? I mean they look the same - right?

- Thanks Terona

Rediscovered this little gem recently tonight. Clay Kitten Shooting II is now out. Warning: Not for cat people. Dog people and general sadists, enjoy. PS Shooting kittens isn’t as easy as one might think.

CKS II

– Thanks Rob

Using some new technology, scientists have been able to photograph a previously veiled moon of Saturn. While pics aren’t like what we saw with the Mars lander, it still is always cool to get a glimpse of another world.

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