Hot and sunny.. summer day.
"Many man smoke, but Fu Manchu." Charlie Chan
No entry yesterday. Elaine and I took her grandkids to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Lily is 7 and Luka is 4. They were very good. Lily takes good care of Luka... like a little mother. Anyway, we expended a lot of energy walking (and me pushing) for almost six hours. Good exercise.
The Baltimore Inner Harbor is even cleaner than it was a couple of years ago when I last had business down there. The old Candler Building is all spruced up.. I'm told that it still has the old Social Security pictures showing. I was involved in a program there a little while ago.
We ate lunch (fast food) at the Hard Rock Café.. my ear drums are still ringing. One thing surprised me though.. they played a video of Willie Nelson singing "You are always on my mind." I didn't think that was a rock song. (We need to remember not to get chocolate ice cream next time for Luka. Vanilla covered clothing doesn't need to be changed as much.)
On the walk over a bridge to get to the aquarium, we saw thousands of fish in the water, wheeling around and around in an ever increasing circle.. an amazing sight that I thought I would never see in Baltimore's harbor.
They no longer have a Dolphin Show.. but you can watch them fooling around in their watery home. We didn't even get splashed. They do have a special exhibit on jellyfish that is spectacular. How come I never heard of blue ones, and brown ones, and ones with star points, and ones that race around, etc, etc... this alone is worth the trip.
It is rather expensive to tour the aquarium, park, and get something to eat. I think it cost $230 for the four of us before the day was over, and that was without giving in to the kids on toys to buy for them and the $39 that the aquarium charges for a "keepsake" picture of yourselves. Enough is enough.
But... all in all.. it was a great day and I think the kids enjoyed it. Elaine and I passed out early in the evening and slept very late... worn out completely.
01. How's it waggin'?
National Geographic: NG sez that the way a dog wags its tail can tell you more than you thought about what the dog is thinking. If the wag leans to the right... a dog is excited.. in a nice way. If the wag leans to the left, it means the dog is nervous and may be perceiving a threat. They say that watchful dogs can recognize each other's moods based on subtle flicks of the tail.
What about cats? And what about dogs without tails? What does a pit bull do. Yesterday, there was a large pit bull near where we had to walk in the Inner Harbor. He kept a wary eye on me and, as I've been told, to never never never look a pit bull in the eye, I did not.
02. Are you bored too?
National Geographic: NG also sez that a dog who sees his master yawn, will yawn too.
How about cats? I don't think so. Cats are not so in tune to their owners. I'll try it, but I doubt our cat would even notice. Besides, she sleeps most of the day, gets up and yawns, and then goes back to sleep.
03. An icy buzz?
National Geographic again: NG also sez that male bumblebees can fly higher than Mt. Everest. Why would they want to? Ain't no pollen up there, man.
04. Volunteer Hours
Carroll Lutheran Village, where we live, likes to know the number of hours residents spend in volunteer activity. The more volunteerism, the higher the score for the organization in the land of the Continuing Care Communities. For August, I gave 53 hours to the groups that I volunteer for. That is not very much.. averages only 14 hours a week or 2 hours a day. So, I guess I am a part-timer.
Of course, as an old dude, living with a Baby Boomer, we have lots of doctors' appointments and drives to the store to pick up prescriptions. Plus, we have some entertainment activity that we like. And also, we go swimming at least twice a week. Elaine needs some help, but not much. At least we do not sit in our rocking chairs and wait for "the End" like people used to do back in the "dark ages" (before Social Security and Medicare.).
05. Burger, ey?
Yes, it probably will occur. Another "inversion". To hell with U.S. taxes, let's pay Canadian taxes, sez Burger King, as it gets ready to merge with Tim Horton's and move to Canada. I was surprised to learn that Tim H is bigger than Burger King. Tim had sales of 3.2 Billion Dollars last year, while Burger King had only 1.1 Billion Dollars in sales. Like I said before, I have Tim Horton stock from some other merger and Tim is very good about sending me regular (but small) dividend checks.
06. *Guns .. BB?
Carroll County Times: Rick Blatchford of Mt. Airy, wrote some more on the "BB gun in WalMart" story. According to the AP, the guy in custody "waved an air rifle at customers". Several scared customers called 911. The so-called non-lethal gun was a Crosman MK-177, useful for target practice and shooting small game.
(I've seen those machine-gun looking "toys" at WalMart and I could not believe how much they look like the real thing. In a "carry" State, somebody might have engaged the guy in a "shoot-out. Can you "carry" a machine gun?")
It's funny, I hate gun violence, but my favorite "old time radio" show remains: "Gunsmoke" and I seldom miss a Sunday episode on a DC station.
07. Hamas Victory?
Tribune Reporter Lauren King: "With word of the Egyptian-brokered truce, thousands of Palestinians poured into the streets of Gaza and the West Bank, many waving the green flag of Hamas to celebrate what was proclaimed to be a victory."
(Over 2,100 Palestinians are dead, electricity is gone and clean water is lacking. Around 70 Israelis are dead and society functions as it has been functioning. How is this a Hamas victory?)
08. A Little Bit Fit?
Well, maybe I told you... I bought a Fitbit.. now, if I could only figure out how to get it charged and put together and used. The company recommends a YouTube video of instructions. I looked at it and saw a pretty English girl speaking rapidly with an accent that I don't recognize.. and no closed captions. I'll figure it out.. I have talked to other people with Fitbits and they all bemoan the lack of a manual.
09. Freedom of Information .. Disappointment
Somewhere online I got information and sample letters to allow me to file freedom of information requests with the FBI and the CIA. Why? Because I had a Crypto Clearance when I was in the Air Force, and I was told at the time that it was higher than Top Secret and required surveillance of my peregrinations (good word?) throughout Europe.
I got two identical official letters today from the FBI, saying that there is no normal file of records on me. (However, records could still be kept on me, if I met some extremely rare requirements.. which I do not now and never have.) So.. I have to realize that I am not the important personage that I thought I was (or pretended I was) all these years.
10. *Crime .. Losing Again
Carroll County Times: Two ladies awaiting trial for shoplifting hardware from Loews, were arrested yesterday for stealing $69 worth of school supplies at WalMart. I'll bet these ladies have been shoplifting around the area for years and are only now getting caught because they are getting older and slower.. also, surveillance cameras are probably more technically proficient these days.
11. *Immigrant Kids .. Finding Jesus?
A Gentleman wrote the Carroll County Times a rather confusing letter (at least to me). He said that the immigrant kids don't need to come to the U. S. to find Jesus. He says he has been a missionary for many years and when he goes "into the world, to spread the gospel", he finds Jesus there, waiting for him to bring him (Jesus) home with him.
(I'm afraid that religion is being now invoked on both sides of the issue. However, these kids are here legally, whether some people believe it or not. There is a U.S. law that says so. Signed by none other than George W. Bush, with bipartisan agreement, when there still could be bipartisan agreement.)
12. *Afghanistan .. Good Impact?
The Week: Did we really have any impact on Afghanistan?
When the U. S. invaded in 2001, fewer than 1 million Afghan children were enrolled in elementary schools, and only 5,000 were girls. In 2014, 8 million Afghan children go to elementary school, including more than 3 million girls!
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