Saturday Musings

Thoughts from an August Saturday in 2009.

01. Justice Sotomayor was sworn in this morning. A big win for Mr. Obama.

02. A New York newspaper headline read: Bill Can Still Get Women!

03. Former Westminster, Maryland mayor, Kevin Dayhoff, has a very interesting piece about President Warren G. Harding, in the Carroll Eagle for Sunday August 9, 2009. I enjoyed the article, but I would have liked to have also read something about the "money pit."

According to some accounts, members of Warren's White House team purchased a DC row house and dug a big hole in the yard. People wanting favors from Washington would stop by the house and drop money into the hole. Of course, that was back in the "old days".. money is now placed in less obvious places, such as refrigerator freezers.

Take a look at Kevin's pieces, you will like them, and I think you can access them at his website: www.westminstermarylandonline.net, or www.explorecarroll.com. I don't think he would mind me mentioning these sites.

04. I've been wondering how Government statistics handle those kids who have been working all Summer, and will now leave to go back to school.

05. DC lawyers are suing to allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons. This may work in Texas, but in DC? One of my uncles carried a concealed weapon in Massachusetts because he had been robbed a couple of times. He told me that he was very glad that he never had to use it. He did practice target shooting.

In my own thinking, carrying a weapon, concealed or not, can cause some macho guys to become more macho and arrogant. However, as I may have mentioned in a blog entry before, I had a run-in with a guy during an accident and was restrained from hitting him by a State Trooper. The Trooper saved my life, because the man I was aiming at carried a shotgun in the cab of his truck, just at arm reach level. Since then, I have been overly polite in driving situations, and have even taken the blame for problems to avoid confrontation.

06. Why are light bulbs in the Florida Edison museum still burning after 80 years, when mine burn out in a few weeks?

07. Good news for texters in Iowa: Now, if you text while driving and have an accident, you can text the accident information to 911 by texting, rather than by telephone.

08. Some people believe that alien reptiles are ruling our world.. a couple of rulers mentioned as being alien reptiles in disguise are Queen Elizabeth and George W. Bush.

09. Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me (WWDTM) suggests a "cash for chunkers" program. Set a goal for yourself to love weight and get paid if you reach it. I wonder if they could detect people who use liposuction.

10. WWDTM reports that the most hated word in English is "moist" .. apparently there are Facebook sites for people who don't like it. I wonder why? I like that "oi" sound... I especially think that the phrase ""Oy Weh!" is a perfect way to comment on bodily aches and pains.. and when one hears a particular lousy joke, "OY!" seems to me to be a very appropriate response.

11. Hurry and sign up for the caravan leaving for the Gobi Desert to track down the elusive acid-spitting Mongolian worm.

12. The word "caravan" reminds me of an Arab saying that is appropriate for the current situation of rude hecklers at Town Meetings.. "The dogs bark, but the caravan travels on." That could also pertain to the negative activity following the Sotomayor nomination.

13. WWDTM also reports that a thong tied to many helium balloons got tangled in electrical lines in England and caused a large power outage. (Larry the Cable Guy calls thongs worn by women: Hiney Floss.)

14. Vladimir Putin continues to be a daredevil and exert his manhood. Recently he dove one mile down in a submersible to the bottom of Lake Baikal. Hey, that is a long way down. I wonder what he did about the "bends"? Now.. think about that, and also think about the fact that Russian atomic subs have been spotted patroling the Atlantic near the US. What is going on? Where is Jules Verne when we need him??

15. Finally... The two Austrian towns that bear names that are naughty words in English have decided not to change their names, even though they hate all those crazy "Englishers" coming to town to have their pictures taken under town signs.

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