Nice Spring day in July.. 75 degrees and lots of sun.
01. Uber .. How does it work?
Perry Garfinkel of the NY Times interviewed Lucas Evans who drives for Uber and when he was asked how it works, said:
"Passengers who have the Uber application on their smartphone can post a message requesting a ride. The driver closest to the passenger has up to 15 seconds to accept the request or not. The passenger also sees the driver's name and location and can decide whether to accept the ride. It feels a little like a TV game show when you have to hit the buzzer quickly or lose your turn."
02. *Lizzie Borden .. Ballet and Operas
The NY Times mentioned some entertainment options for those interested in the infamous Lizzie Borden case. (I am one of those.)
a. Agnes de Mille's 1948 ballet: "Fall River Legend"
b. Jack Beeson's 1965 opera, "Lizzie Borden." The Times says that Beeson and his librettist, Kenward Elmslie, created a memorably anxious, creepy work, its three acts all but ensured it would remain a rarity."
c. Last year, Boston Lyric Opera presented a condensed version by Todd Bashore and John Conklin. It is being played in Tanglewood this week.
03. *Voice Recognition .. Frustrations
A. The CVS Caremark mail order prescription service uses voice recognition. When you call them, you may never get to talk to a human being. I have a problem with this system. For instance, when I called and was waiting for a response:
I cleared my throat..
A sweet but stern female voice suddenly said: "I didn't get that."
So, I said.. "I was just clearing my throat." The voice said: "Please repeat your message. I did not understand it."
I'll leave the rest to you.. I never did get through to a human so I left a message and a human did get back to me after a few hours.
B. When I call my General Practitioner I always get a recording that says:
"We are having an unusually large volume of calls and you will have to wait."
In a few seconds, another voice always says, "We apologize for the wait."
In another few seconds, the voice returns to say, "You are number one in the queue."
(I'm always number one in the queue.. how can that be if they are having an unusually large volume of calls?)
04. *TV Shows .. Nature Plus
Elaine likes to watch "nature" shows, where animals eat other animals. "Survival of the Fittest!'
Last night she was watching honey badgers eat cobras, and cheetahs eat warthogs, and then cheetahs trying to eat honey badgers. Who eats the cheetahs?
What ever happened to funny shows on TV.. like Bob Newhart or Frazier?
Although, I do like to watch one show, and only one show on TV.. no, it's not Duck Dynasty anymore, and definitely not the Bachelorette... instead, I love America's Got Talent, even with Howard Stern as a judge... he kind of keeps his obnoxiousness at bay on AGT.
05. New York Advertisements for the Rich and Powerful
The New York Times weekly magazine always bends my mind with its ads.. like the one for HSBC Premier, an investment company that requires you to open a checking account with them and maintain a $100,000 equity balance... or, an ad for One Riverside Park, "A Luxury Condominium" with 4 to 6 bedroom residences, with "expansive terraces" and private pools... priced from $8.4 million to $26 million.
06. *Nixon .. John Dean's New Book
John Dean was on the Diane Rheem show this week to plug his new book: "The Nixon Defense, What He Knew and When He Knew It." Dean said, among a lot of other things:
Nixon set up the environment for Watergate to happen.
Nixon told Holderman to place a bug in McGovern's office, but the "plumbers" got caught first at the Watergate. They were a bunch of "amateurs."
Nixon made horrible decisions, including trying to cover it all up, offering hush money and suborning perjury.
Dean said that he spent years of research for this book and had access to some material that had never been seen before now. I'm not sure if I want to read the book. Maybe.
07. Marriages .. Who officiates?
I've noticed in the New York Times, lots of the marriage notices indicate that the person acting as the marrying official becomes a Universal Life Minister for the occasion. Many people do not realize that the only thing required for a valid marriage is a paid-for license, and two persons, of any gender who love each other and say that they are willing to spend the rest of their lives together.
08. *Rogue Cows Acting Up Again!
Our local 4H and FFA Wild West Show did not quite go off as planned because some of the participating cows never showed up. Apparently, they thought that they were going to the slaughter house, and jumped out of their truck. Members of the Carroll County Sheriff's Office spent last evening trying to round them up, as they cavorted through State Routes 140 and 31, near our house. I suppose tomorrow morning's paper will let us know what happened.
09. Trickle Down Dammed Up
Tom Zirpoli writes in his monthly column about Kansas' attempt at "Trickle Down Economics." they gave large tax breaks to rich folks, expecting the extra money would cause a trickle-down effect and increase funds to the State. Just the opposite happened, and now Kansas finds itself in another "recession." I like Tom's final words:
"...the rich in Kansas are happy with their 25% tax break! They can now move to California for a higher quality of life."
10. Ninja Nonsense
A new violent movie designed for the childish among us is about to be released. It is called, "Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtles." There was a glitz in the posters for the movie that were readied for Australia.. it showed Ninja's jumping out of an exploding skyscraper.. unfortunately, all that activity appeared above the date of release: September 11. Lots of people considered the poster to be thoughtless and troubling and it was recalled so that another thoughtless and troubling poster could be designed for this thoughtless and troubling movie.
11. Crime .. Cheating the Crooks
A guy and his buddy drove a box truck to two Postal Service bulk mail centers near DC and stole 2,000 "over-the-road" metal containers. They sold them to a metal recycler for $323,000, for an average of $116 each. The containers were worth $2.8 million, which is about $1,480. each. So, it looks like the crooks got taken. They have now been taken to jail, and will have lots of time to think about their adventure.
12. VA Head Guy
Robert McDonald, the President's pick to head the Department of Veterans Affairs was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday. He now holds a job that pays less than $200,000 a year, while the compensation he earned as chief executive of Proctor and Gamble had to have been in the millions of dollars. Well, money ain't everything.
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