A nice 5th of July... low 70's, low humidity and sun. It got me motivated enough to plant my two cucumber plants in earthboxes. I will need to fertilize them profusely, since I did not completely clean up their new homes.
01. Newspapers
Today, as I looked at my digital edition of the Baltimore Sun, I noticed that the stories and the pictures were exactly the same as those in the Carroll County Times. Luckily, I realized that before and have made arrangements to have the New York Times delivered. Hopefully, I will also be able to access their digital edition. (Time will tell.)
02. Campaign Signs
It looks like we will have to live with ugly campaign signs littering the by-ways. In Carroll County, Maryland it is legal for such signs to remain up on storefronts and lawns for as long as the property owner wishes. The signs can even be for persons who lost in the latest election.
03. Burp!
Joey Chestnut (30) won his 8th consecutive hot dog eating contest at Coney Island in New York. He ate 61 wieners and buns in 10 minutes. The women's winner, Miki Sido (28) managed to down 34 hot dogs. The contest was sponsored once again by Nathan's.
04. Presidential Respect?
The Carroll County Times displayed another cartoon bashing President Obama, showing him as a crybaby. The cartoon is by "Lisa" from the Washington Post Writers Group. I think that we should be encouraging him, rather than be constantly knocking him down. I know. We bashed George W. too and perhaps even more mercilessly... but then, he deserved it for any number of reasons, one of which was by getting us into a war with Iraq for false reasons. Obama's goal has always been the good of the nation, especially our young people, the disabled, and senior citizens.
05. Not getting Malled any more.
Bloomberg writer, James Greiff writes about the disappearance of malls in the United States. He mentions that the "second biggest mall in the US is The Mall of America in Minnesota." Wait a minute... I thought that the Mall of America was the biggest mall in the world. Wrong, dumbbell!
The biggest malls in the world are in China and the Phillipines. The Mall of America comes in 21st, beaten out by the King of Prussia mall in Pennsylvania! My illusions are shattered.
06. Vacation Bible School
I remember Vacation Bible School (VBS) from my youth and I thought that they lasted all Summer. There are 5 of them advertising in the paper today, and the time frame is 5 to 6 days only. I remember VBS as a time to play and have fun.. I don't remember anything about the Bible teaching. But, what I learned is probably hidden in the deep dark recesses of my heathen brain.
I like the names that the advertisers have given to their sessions in order to get more business than the others:
1. Wilderness Escape - Where God Guides and Provides (Has a nice ring to it.)
2. Weird Animals.. ending each day with the Tail End.
3. International Spy Academy Agents of the One True God.
4. Son Treasure Island.
5. Workshop for Wonders: Imagine and Build With God.
This one-upsmanship reminds me of a story of ancient China.. where farmers needed scarce manure to fertilize their fields. They would set up elaborate outhouses on the edges of their properties, close to the by-ways. They tried to make their free conveniences look better than their neighbors' and that way get more deposits.
I suppose the VBS's rely on free-will donations to cover their expenses, although one charges $10 per child (with a "special" of $25 for all the kids in a family.)
07. Theodicy?
Neighbor, Reverend Lou Piel published his monthly religious column today, which causes me to ask: "Lou, why is there evil in the world, if God is all powerful?" I think Lou would respond: "God gave us free will, so we alone are responsible for the evil in the world." Nice try, Lou, but I think its a "cop out." Sorry.. but I will "think on it" some more.
08. Useful Champagne
If you were the Queen of all Britain, what would you expect the biggest warship built to date to be called: Of course: HMS Queen Elizabeth. Christened in Scotland last Friday.
09. A Likeness? No way!
Prince William had his royal visage painted recently, and it has made royalty lovers in Britain angry, because it is not a good likeness. I agree. William kind of likes it, or says he does. I think that Henry VIII would have locked the artist up in the Tower of London for this "wreck of art."
10. Revenge!
Palestinians attending the funeral of the 16 year old that may have been murdered to avenge the three murdered Israeli teen agers, shouted: "They killed our friend, and now they have to pay for it!" It goes on and on and on and on. (When.. when.. when will they ever learn!)
11. Freudian?
I think I heard a church person on NPR.. announce "The Feast of the Holy Uterus".. I must have heard that wrong.. could it have been the Holy Eucharist? .. You see.. I'm not a Catholic so I don't know about these religious things.
12. Tony's Brother
Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me had a repeat of their interview with Tony Shalhoub.. you remember: Mr. Monk. This was the show where he owned up to having a brother named Dan, who invented the ShaPoopie. The ShaPoopie is a telescoping dog poop catcher that sells for $24.95. A great invention for those afraid of being arrested by the poop police.
This is not to be confused with the song Shipoopi for the Music Man musical by Meredith Wilson.
A Shipoopi is a girl who only will allow a kiss on the third date. (The word was coined to be something that would appeal to the naughty minds of eleven year olds.)
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Saturday, July 05, 2014
Friday, July 04, 2014
Gun Fire; Finding Bodies; Brutal Friends; Karnak; Dow Jones; Child Killer; IRS; Obamacare; Car Doors; DC and Andy; Postum; Trust
Nice sunny Fourth of July .. our flag is proudly flowing .. we each just got through eating three jumbo crabs washed down with a couple of beers... we can see flowers everywhere outside our windows and doors.. green tomatoes are growing on our plants .. the cat is contentedly snoring.. all is right with the world... at least here... however, around the U.S. people are shooting each other.. Chicago especially. What a way to celebrate the fourth. It's supposed to be fireworks not gun fire. (When.. when.. when.. when will they ever learn?)
01. Finding bodies
Another dead body has been found in Westminster, Maryland, our home town. Second in a week. But this one might just be from acute alcoholism.. maybe. (Time will tell.)
02. With Friends like that...
Two 18 year olds have been arrested after they beat and robbed their "friend" of money from an automobile sale. According to the report, two other teen agers may have also been in on the beating and robbery. The victim had $1,000 hidden in his socks, but his "friends" found it and took it away.
Sounds like more drug-related crime. (Time will tell.)
03. The Great Karnak Questions Answers
Answer: The Fifth of July
Question: What do you drink on the Fourth of July?
04. Happy Stock Market
The Dow Jones Average was able to close over 17,000 yesterday and the unemployment rate of 6.1% is almost back down to what it was before the Recession. Will economic conditions continue to improve? (Time will tell.)
05. Is this an evil manifestation?
Was it murder when a father in Georgia allowed his 22 month old child to die in an overheated car? Circumstantial evidence points that way. (Time will tell.)
06. I'm looking for Clarity
A critic of the IRS reported on NPR that the IRS publishes what is called a simplified guide to features of the Internal Revenue Code. It is 94 pages long! And a document written with suggestions to make the Code easier to understand is 794 pages long!
07. No Clarity here
Maybe I'm just too old to understand some things. An article from the Tribune Washington Bureau seemed to say that the Administration offered some kind of position for religiously affiliated nonprofit employers who would not have to pay directly for contraceptives, but the Supreme Court granted Wheaton College permission to not comply. Wheaton says its religion precepts forebid it from paying for the Morning After Pill, so they will not sign a form. Huh! What the hell does that mean?
It seems to me that the person who wrote the article could have maybe been a little clearer on this. I also heard an NPR newsperson attempt to talk about this so that it could be understood.. with no success. So.. I'll just have to wait and read about it in The Week magazine or The Nation.
08. Lock your damn car doors!
Once again, car thieves are targeting cars with unlocked doors in the Sykesville, Maryland area. (When.. when.. when will they ever learn.)
09. Andy, Andy! Give it up!
As I mentioned before, Maryland's only Republican Representative Andy Harris is amending House Bills to try to sabotage DC's attempts to decriminalize Marijuana. DC folks are calling for a boycott of Ocean City, which is in his gerrymandered legislative district. To fuel the fire, Representative Harris says: "We don't have the crime problem that DC has." Harris wants to head the Republican Study Committee and I feel he is now trying to show just how Conservative one can be, even when one lives in a Democratic State.
10. Give up Caffeine?
The current Vermont Country Store catalog announces: "Postum Lovers, Rejoice! Your beloved Healthful Coffee Alternative is Back."
Years ago, coffee was making me shaky, so I switched to Postum, a drink that I remembered from Summers at my Aunt Ella's home in the Country. That's all they drank, and it tasted a little like coffee. It was a grain drink developed by Mr. Post (Post Cereals) and advertised as a vibrant health drink.
When I bought it, the price was about 59 cents, a lot less than for an equivalent amount of coffee. At some point, the coffee growers decided that they were not making enough money and suddenly coffee became scarce and the price went sky-high. Guess what.. even though Postum was not even coffee, and even though it had always cost less than coffee.. it's price shot up too and became the same price as coffee. I thought that this was "dirty pool" and gave the drink up.
The Vermont store ad says that Postum died in 2007. But now its back! They say: "You're sure to perk (!) up now that its original formula is available again." And the price now: Almost ten dollars for 8 ounces of non-coffee. Forget it!
11. Never Trust a Millionaire
Nick Paumgaten writes in the New Yorker about a Chinese millionaire who staged a lavish self-promotion at the Boathouse in Central Park for 200 homeless New Yorkers and then failed to fulfill a promise he had made to give each of them $300 in cash.
12. Never Trust a Lover
When confronted with the finding of the bodies of two women in his suitcases, a former policeman said that he accidentally killed them during sexual activity.
...........................................................................................
01. Finding bodies
Another dead body has been found in Westminster, Maryland, our home town. Second in a week. But this one might just be from acute alcoholism.. maybe. (Time will tell.)
02. With Friends like that...
Two 18 year olds have been arrested after they beat and robbed their "friend" of money from an automobile sale. According to the report, two other teen agers may have also been in on the beating and robbery. The victim had $1,000 hidden in his socks, but his "friends" found it and took it away.
Sounds like more drug-related crime. (Time will tell.)
03. The Great Karnak Questions Answers
Answer: The Fifth of July
Question: What do you drink on the Fourth of July?
04. Happy Stock Market
The Dow Jones Average was able to close over 17,000 yesterday and the unemployment rate of 6.1% is almost back down to what it was before the Recession. Will economic conditions continue to improve? (Time will tell.)
05. Is this an evil manifestation?
Was it murder when a father in Georgia allowed his 22 month old child to die in an overheated car? Circumstantial evidence points that way. (Time will tell.)
06. I'm looking for Clarity
A critic of the IRS reported on NPR that the IRS publishes what is called a simplified guide to features of the Internal Revenue Code. It is 94 pages long! And a document written with suggestions to make the Code easier to understand is 794 pages long!
07. No Clarity here
Maybe I'm just too old to understand some things. An article from the Tribune Washington Bureau seemed to say that the Administration offered some kind of position for religiously affiliated nonprofit employers who would not have to pay directly for contraceptives, but the Supreme Court granted Wheaton College permission to not comply. Wheaton says its religion precepts forebid it from paying for the Morning After Pill, so they will not sign a form. Huh! What the hell does that mean?
It seems to me that the person who wrote the article could have maybe been a little clearer on this. I also heard an NPR newsperson attempt to talk about this so that it could be understood.. with no success. So.. I'll just have to wait and read about it in The Week magazine or The Nation.
08. Lock your damn car doors!
Once again, car thieves are targeting cars with unlocked doors in the Sykesville, Maryland area. (When.. when.. when will they ever learn.)
09. Andy, Andy! Give it up!
As I mentioned before, Maryland's only Republican Representative Andy Harris is amending House Bills to try to sabotage DC's attempts to decriminalize Marijuana. DC folks are calling for a boycott of Ocean City, which is in his gerrymandered legislative district. To fuel the fire, Representative Harris says: "We don't have the crime problem that DC has." Harris wants to head the Republican Study Committee and I feel he is now trying to show just how Conservative one can be, even when one lives in a Democratic State.
10. Give up Caffeine?
The current Vermont Country Store catalog announces: "Postum Lovers, Rejoice! Your beloved Healthful Coffee Alternative is Back."
Years ago, coffee was making me shaky, so I switched to Postum, a drink that I remembered from Summers at my Aunt Ella's home in the Country. That's all they drank, and it tasted a little like coffee. It was a grain drink developed by Mr. Post (Post Cereals) and advertised as a vibrant health drink.
When I bought it, the price was about 59 cents, a lot less than for an equivalent amount of coffee. At some point, the coffee growers decided that they were not making enough money and suddenly coffee became scarce and the price went sky-high. Guess what.. even though Postum was not even coffee, and even though it had always cost less than coffee.. it's price shot up too and became the same price as coffee. I thought that this was "dirty pool" and gave the drink up.
The Vermont store ad says that Postum died in 2007. But now its back! They say: "You're sure to perk (!) up now that its original formula is available again." And the price now: Almost ten dollars for 8 ounces of non-coffee. Forget it!
11. Never Trust a Millionaire
Nick Paumgaten writes in the New Yorker about a Chinese millionaire who staged a lavish self-promotion at the Boathouse in Central Park for 200 homeless New Yorkers and then failed to fulfill a promise he had made to give each of them $300 in cash.
12. Never Trust a Lover
When confronted with the finding of the bodies of two women in his suitcases, a former policeman said that he accidentally killed them during sexual activity.
...........................................................................................
Thursday, July 03, 2014
Arthur; Target Guns; Dow Jones; Hairy Burglers; Poor Crooks; Revenge; Healthy Howard; Auto Deaths; Gun Deaths; Tea Party; Newspapers; Hobby Lobby
Well, today started out as a sunny 85 degree summer day... but at 3:45 pm, all hell broke loose. Wind and heavy rain.. not Hurricane Arthur though. Lots of thunder and lightning hitting nearby. A good day to stay inside and not risk getting zapped by a big bolt, like two of my relatives, years ago.
Lots of stuff to think about though.
01. Don't Take Your Gun to Town Son...
Target has asked shoppers not to bring guns into their stores. However, Texas gun nuts are saying they will exercise their right to carry arms in public and will take them where ever they want to. Some fast food places are echoing Target, but WalMart is weaseling on this one.
Can't you see where this is leading? People killed in shoot-outs in McDonald's or WalMart. Even the NRA sided with Target until they got lots of emails from the most rabid gun nuts and caved.
(When.. When.. When... ???)
02. The Magic Number has been Reached
The Dow Jones Average sailed over the 17,000 mark early this afternoon.. I'm rich!
03. Hairy Burglers
A couple of supposedly homeless jerks took advantage of some persons being out of town and broke into a camper parked in their driveway. They must have had a ball therein because lots of stored food was used and glassware was broken. They must have also needed some dessert, because they then broke into the empty house to get some. After the owners came home and reported the theft and damage, it took the police a very short period of time to catch these guys based on hair samples they left behind. (Just like CSI?)
04. Poor Narcotics Seller?
Police stopped a guy for speeding on one of Westminster's country-like roads and found that he had lots of narcotics ready to be sold. They also found that he had a grand total of $58. cash in his pocket. What! This is the first time that I have read where a narcotics seller had such a small amount of cash in their possession. Usually, these guys have thousands of dollars in their pockets. Was this guy a lousy salesman, or had he just started out for the day, and this was "chump change?"
05. Tit for tat
Hamas reports that the Israelis kidnapped and killed a 17 year-old Palestinian, in retaliation for the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli youths last week. Hamas swears revenge, just as Israel swore revenge. Here we go again.. both sides escalating violence. (When.. When.. When.. ??)
06. Arthur
Hurricane Arthur was aiming at North Carolina and evacuations were underway earlier today.. I hope that Arthur decided to hurry out to sea after meeting a strong cold front. I'm reading Dan Rather's book where he talks about his work at Galveston, Texas, where the germ of the current hurricane warning system was nurtured and the use of which has borne great fruit in the last few decades. It's a shame we did not have a warning system for the 1938 Hurricane that I lived through in Massachusetts.
07. Healthy Howard
Howard County (Maryland) Executive Ken Ulman has issued an executive order banning sugary drinks and junk food in County buildings and at County-sponsored events. The ban is for non-diet sodas and certain high-calorie packaged snacks. Sweetened cold beverages can contain no more than 40 calories and sodium content of food sold must be 200 mg or less.
As expected, some letters to the Baltimore Sun by readers express a little anger over this directive.
08. Baltimore Pedestrian Deaths by Automobile
There were 700 pedestrian deaths and injuries inflicted on Baltimoreans in 2013. This is three times the homicide rate and two times the national average for cities the size of Baltimore.
09. Baltimore Citizen Deaths by Gun Fire
There have been 97 homicides in Baltimore for the first half of this year. That is the lowest figure since 1983, when the half year total was 94.
Dan Rodricks advises us not to be too happy about this statistic, because in 1983, Baltimore had 150,000 more inhabitants than it does today. So.. Baltimore is therefore more violent than in 1983. And... why are there so many fewer people living in the city? Where are all those empty houses?
10. Tea Party Rant
Mississippi Tea Party backed State Senator Chris McDaniel is not going lightly into the loser's column. He blames his defeat for the U.S. Senate in the recent Primary Election directly on the Democrats. Who else? He claims that they voted illegally for his opponent. He's now asking for cash donations so he can sue.
11. Newspaper Content
Now that the Carroll County Times has been sold to the Baltimore Sun, a close comparison can be seen in articles appearing in both newspapers. I guess I should have expected that. For example, this morning early, I read articles in the Times, that were repeated, word for word, in my online version of the Sun. Luckily, this week, I ordered home delivery of the New York Times so that I can get a slightly different slant on National and World events. I hope that the Carroll County Times continues to cover local news.
12. Hobby Lobby Lawyers
Susan Reimer writes that The Alliance Defending Freedom (defending Hobby Lobby in the recent Supreme Court appearance) was founded by Civilian Right leader James Dobson, whose goal is to "keep the door open for the spread of the Gospel by transforming the legal system." They want to create a "Christendomic" State in the U.S. As stated, they were involved in the Hobby Lobby case and suits against Planned Parenthood. They fund the Blackstone Legal Fellowship, which trains "sleeper lawyers" and places them in high level places.
.......................................................................
Lots of stuff to think about though.
01. Don't Take Your Gun to Town Son...
Target has asked shoppers not to bring guns into their stores. However, Texas gun nuts are saying they will exercise their right to carry arms in public and will take them where ever they want to. Some fast food places are echoing Target, but WalMart is weaseling on this one.
Can't you see where this is leading? People killed in shoot-outs in McDonald's or WalMart. Even the NRA sided with Target until they got lots of emails from the most rabid gun nuts and caved.
(When.. When.. When... ???)
02. The Magic Number has been Reached
The Dow Jones Average sailed over the 17,000 mark early this afternoon.. I'm rich!
03. Hairy Burglers
A couple of supposedly homeless jerks took advantage of some persons being out of town and broke into a camper parked in their driveway. They must have had a ball therein because lots of stored food was used and glassware was broken. They must have also needed some dessert, because they then broke into the empty house to get some. After the owners came home and reported the theft and damage, it took the police a very short period of time to catch these guys based on hair samples they left behind. (Just like CSI?)
04. Poor Narcotics Seller?
Police stopped a guy for speeding on one of Westminster's country-like roads and found that he had lots of narcotics ready to be sold. They also found that he had a grand total of $58. cash in his pocket. What! This is the first time that I have read where a narcotics seller had such a small amount of cash in their possession. Usually, these guys have thousands of dollars in their pockets. Was this guy a lousy salesman, or had he just started out for the day, and this was "chump change?"
05. Tit for tat
Hamas reports that the Israelis kidnapped and killed a 17 year-old Palestinian, in retaliation for the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli youths last week. Hamas swears revenge, just as Israel swore revenge. Here we go again.. both sides escalating violence. (When.. When.. When.. ??)
06. Arthur
Hurricane Arthur was aiming at North Carolina and evacuations were underway earlier today.. I hope that Arthur decided to hurry out to sea after meeting a strong cold front. I'm reading Dan Rather's book where he talks about his work at Galveston, Texas, where the germ of the current hurricane warning system was nurtured and the use of which has borne great fruit in the last few decades. It's a shame we did not have a warning system for the 1938 Hurricane that I lived through in Massachusetts.
07. Healthy Howard
Howard County (Maryland) Executive Ken Ulman has issued an executive order banning sugary drinks and junk food in County buildings and at County-sponsored events. The ban is for non-diet sodas and certain high-calorie packaged snacks. Sweetened cold beverages can contain no more than 40 calories and sodium content of food sold must be 200 mg or less.
As expected, some letters to the Baltimore Sun by readers express a little anger over this directive.
08. Baltimore Pedestrian Deaths by Automobile
There were 700 pedestrian deaths and injuries inflicted on Baltimoreans in 2013. This is three times the homicide rate and two times the national average for cities the size of Baltimore.
09. Baltimore Citizen Deaths by Gun Fire
There have been 97 homicides in Baltimore for the first half of this year. That is the lowest figure since 1983, when the half year total was 94.
Dan Rodricks advises us not to be too happy about this statistic, because in 1983, Baltimore had 150,000 more inhabitants than it does today. So.. Baltimore is therefore more violent than in 1983. And... why are there so many fewer people living in the city? Where are all those empty houses?
10. Tea Party Rant
Mississippi Tea Party backed State Senator Chris McDaniel is not going lightly into the loser's column. He blames his defeat for the U.S. Senate in the recent Primary Election directly on the Democrats. Who else? He claims that they voted illegally for his opponent. He's now asking for cash donations so he can sue.
11. Newspaper Content
Now that the Carroll County Times has been sold to the Baltimore Sun, a close comparison can be seen in articles appearing in both newspapers. I guess I should have expected that. For example, this morning early, I read articles in the Times, that were repeated, word for word, in my online version of the Sun. Luckily, this week, I ordered home delivery of the New York Times so that I can get a slightly different slant on National and World events. I hope that the Carroll County Times continues to cover local news.
12. Hobby Lobby Lawyers
Susan Reimer writes that The Alliance Defending Freedom (defending Hobby Lobby in the recent Supreme Court appearance) was founded by Civilian Right leader James Dobson, whose goal is to "keep the door open for the spread of the Gospel by transforming the legal system." They want to create a "Christendomic" State in the U.S. As stated, they were involved in the Hobby Lobby case and suits against Planned Parenthood. They fund the Blackstone Legal Fellowship, which trains "sleeper lawyers" and places them in high level places.
.......................................................................
Wednesday, July 02, 2014
Happiness; Corbit; Arthur; Dow Jones; Russian Obscenity; Sarkozy; UBER; AIRBnB; Dandelions; Grocery Delivery; Civil Rights; Dove; Cosmos; Cheers
Kind of rainy day at 94 degrees.
"The world is so full of a number of things,
I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings."
Robert Louis Stevenson
01. Corbit's Charge
Stalwarts of the Pipe Creek Civil War Roundtable put on their uniforms and performed at the annual reenactment of Corbit's Charge, last week. Some of these good folks look exactly as they would have looked in 1863, especially Ned Landis.
Captain Corbit and his Delaware Regulars engaged Jeb Stuart's men in Westminster, Maryland, and caused them to be late in reaching Gettysburg to help General Lee. The brave but costly delaying tactic helped the North achieve victory in that battle. Bullet holes from that encounter can be seen here and there in one of the buildings that is still standing.
02. Hurricane Arthur
The first hurricane of the season is getting ready to hit North Carolina and people are evacuating.
03. The Dow Jones Average
The Dow Jones Average is once again nudging the 17,000 mark. Within 50 points of reaching that target.
04. Nyet, Tovarich!
On Tuesday, Russia instituted a ban on swearing in films, plays and books. I guess they will never get to see an American movie again. "Films with filthy language will be banned from 'wide release' and books containing swear words will be sold in sealed packages containing warning labels."
Once, when I was taking a spoken Russian class, I had to recite a story I had made up. I wanted to spice it up, but I didn't know any Russian swear words. I still don't.. and now I never will.
05. Hey, Nick!
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is back in the news. He's being investigated for influence paddling and other election time crimes. (I wonder if he is still summering in New England?)
06. Uber Alles
Diane Rheem hosted people talking about UBER, AIRBnB, and other APPS, and new ways to do things in this Cyber Age we are in. UBER takes over from taxi service.. one can use one's cell phone to access UBER to get a vehicle of your desire to come to your home, pick you up, and take you where you want to go. AIRBnB allows you to look through files of thousands to find someone who would like to either rent a room from you, or swap locations with you, or move into your house while you are on vacation. Elaine's daughter and her family are doing this right now. They are vacationing in Canada, while another family is renting their home so they can vacation in Baltimore.
They like this peer-to-peer activity, either with new friends or with people they already know.
This kind of activity doesn't work with old folks who have lived through the Great Depression. We know what it is to not have many possessions, and so, we don't want non-family folks living in our houses and perhaps damaging our hard-earned "stuff."
UBER is probably a great enhancement of city living.
Some drawbacks:
Some people lie on questionaires and applications.
The picture you see, may not be your renter's picture on his application.
There may be problems in handicapped accessability.
There may be insurance problems.
etc.
07. More Dandelions
On the radio, someone said they couldn't decide on whether to buy red dandelions or green dandelions. Huh? I thought that all dandelion leaves are green and all dandelion flowers are yellow, and all dandelion seeds are white. What a beautiful flower!
08. Grocery Delivery
On DC's Kojo show today, they discussed organic food in the DC area. In that venue, people go crazy for kind-of hard to get organic food, while we in Carroll County, Maryland, have lots of it, for sale at small tables in farm driveways. We are lucky that we have such good food in our neck of the woods. That reminds me of the equality of things... like ice...
Rich folks have ice in the Summer
Poor folks have ice in the Winter.
DC people are rich, so they can buy organic food in any season and they don't even have to leave home. They can use an APP to order food and have it delivered. Soon by Google and Amazon.. on drones.
09. Equality for 50 years?
Today was the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. It's funny, but Congress was quite different then than it is today.
In 1964, Southern Democrats were dead-set against this legislation.
Today, Democrats think it was a good thing and don't want it to be chipped at.
In 1964, Republicans were still "the party of Lincoln" and wanted the legislation passed.
Today, Republicans are working overtime to weaken voting and other civil rights.
10. Dove for your Skin
My daughter, Diane, gave Elaine a coupon for a Dove "beauty session." (Read: day at the spa?)
The coupon had a code and instructions to go online and submit the code. I did so.. but nothing happened. I waited a little while and called their 800 number. They had no record of me entering the code, and the time period was closing that very day. After they listened to my crying and whining, they gave me another code and told me to submit it around June 30th. However, in the website, there was no place to key in the code.
So, I called them up today, and of course, they told me that the ending date was June 30th. I explained that I had tried 20 times to key in that code in the last little while... and now they did find a record of my email address and somehow knew that I did try to submit the code. They told me that they would do me a favor and let me try to enter the code again, but the "beauty session" would now be reduced to just a "facial" and it would have to take place in Walkersville, Maryland, wherever that is. I told the nice lady to forget it. I'll pay for Elaine to have a "beauty session" somewhere around where we live.
Why am I telling you all this... because, even though this cannot be called a "scam", what you have to go through to redeem a coupon, in this case, is a super pain in the ass!
11. The New Cosmos
Astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson is the host of the new relative of Carl Sagan's Cosmos series. The show will have 13 episodes, on the Fox Channel, of all places. Rob Patterson, noted Texan reviewer writes about the new show and Atheism. He says: "It in no way disputes atheism, and the weight of the atheist accent on verifiable and provable facts about our existence is a welcome force against the all but childishly moronic belief that the Bible, a book ridden with contradictions, is all actual fact and composed by the inerrant hand of God. Cosmos basically explains what is and why and how within that as we can best ascertain or theorize through use of the scientific method."
12. Cheer Wisdom
"Hey, what's goin' down, Mr. Peterson?"
"My cheeks on this bar stool."
................................................
"The world is so full of a number of things,
I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings."
Robert Louis Stevenson
01. Corbit's Charge
Stalwarts of the Pipe Creek Civil War Roundtable put on their uniforms and performed at the annual reenactment of Corbit's Charge, last week. Some of these good folks look exactly as they would have looked in 1863, especially Ned Landis.
Captain Corbit and his Delaware Regulars engaged Jeb Stuart's men in Westminster, Maryland, and caused them to be late in reaching Gettysburg to help General Lee. The brave but costly delaying tactic helped the North achieve victory in that battle. Bullet holes from that encounter can be seen here and there in one of the buildings that is still standing.
02. Hurricane Arthur
The first hurricane of the season is getting ready to hit North Carolina and people are evacuating.
03. The Dow Jones Average
The Dow Jones Average is once again nudging the 17,000 mark. Within 50 points of reaching that target.
04. Nyet, Tovarich!
On Tuesday, Russia instituted a ban on swearing in films, plays and books. I guess they will never get to see an American movie again. "Films with filthy language will be banned from 'wide release' and books containing swear words will be sold in sealed packages containing warning labels."
Once, when I was taking a spoken Russian class, I had to recite a story I had made up. I wanted to spice it up, but I didn't know any Russian swear words. I still don't.. and now I never will.
05. Hey, Nick!
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is back in the news. He's being investigated for influence paddling and other election time crimes. (I wonder if he is still summering in New England?)
06. Uber Alles
Diane Rheem hosted people talking about UBER, AIRBnB, and other APPS, and new ways to do things in this Cyber Age we are in. UBER takes over from taxi service.. one can use one's cell phone to access UBER to get a vehicle of your desire to come to your home, pick you up, and take you where you want to go. AIRBnB allows you to look through files of thousands to find someone who would like to either rent a room from you, or swap locations with you, or move into your house while you are on vacation. Elaine's daughter and her family are doing this right now. They are vacationing in Canada, while another family is renting their home so they can vacation in Baltimore.
They like this peer-to-peer activity, either with new friends or with people they already know.
This kind of activity doesn't work with old folks who have lived through the Great Depression. We know what it is to not have many possessions, and so, we don't want non-family folks living in our houses and perhaps damaging our hard-earned "stuff."
UBER is probably a great enhancement of city living.
Some drawbacks:
Some people lie on questionaires and applications.
The picture you see, may not be your renter's picture on his application.
There may be problems in handicapped accessability.
There may be insurance problems.
etc.
07. More Dandelions
On the radio, someone said they couldn't decide on whether to buy red dandelions or green dandelions. Huh? I thought that all dandelion leaves are green and all dandelion flowers are yellow, and all dandelion seeds are white. What a beautiful flower!
08. Grocery Delivery
On DC's Kojo show today, they discussed organic food in the DC area. In that venue, people go crazy for kind-of hard to get organic food, while we in Carroll County, Maryland, have lots of it, for sale at small tables in farm driveways. We are lucky that we have such good food in our neck of the woods. That reminds me of the equality of things... like ice...
Rich folks have ice in the Summer
Poor folks have ice in the Winter.
DC people are rich, so they can buy organic food in any season and they don't even have to leave home. They can use an APP to order food and have it delivered. Soon by Google and Amazon.. on drones.
09. Equality for 50 years?
Today was the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. It's funny, but Congress was quite different then than it is today.
In 1964, Southern Democrats were dead-set against this legislation.
Today, Democrats think it was a good thing and don't want it to be chipped at.
In 1964, Republicans were still "the party of Lincoln" and wanted the legislation passed.
Today, Republicans are working overtime to weaken voting and other civil rights.
10. Dove for your Skin
My daughter, Diane, gave Elaine a coupon for a Dove "beauty session." (Read: day at the spa?)
The coupon had a code and instructions to go online and submit the code. I did so.. but nothing happened. I waited a little while and called their 800 number. They had no record of me entering the code, and the time period was closing that very day. After they listened to my crying and whining, they gave me another code and told me to submit it around June 30th. However, in the website, there was no place to key in the code.
So, I called them up today, and of course, they told me that the ending date was June 30th. I explained that I had tried 20 times to key in that code in the last little while... and now they did find a record of my email address and somehow knew that I did try to submit the code. They told me that they would do me a favor and let me try to enter the code again, but the "beauty session" would now be reduced to just a "facial" and it would have to take place in Walkersville, Maryland, wherever that is. I told the nice lady to forget it. I'll pay for Elaine to have a "beauty session" somewhere around where we live.
Why am I telling you all this... because, even though this cannot be called a "scam", what you have to go through to redeem a coupon, in this case, is a super pain in the ass!
11. The New Cosmos
Astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson is the host of the new relative of Carl Sagan's Cosmos series. The show will have 13 episodes, on the Fox Channel, of all places. Rob Patterson, noted Texan reviewer writes about the new show and Atheism. He says: "It in no way disputes atheism, and the weight of the atheist accent on verifiable and provable facts about our existence is a welcome force against the all but childishly moronic belief that the Bible, a book ridden with contradictions, is all actual fact and composed by the inerrant hand of God. Cosmos basically explains what is and why and how within that as we can best ascertain or theorize through use of the scientific method."
12. Cheer Wisdom
"Hey, what's goin' down, Mr. Peterson?"
"My cheeks on this bar stool."
................................................
Tuesday, July 01, 2014
Target; Tattoos; Maryland Laws; North Korea; Israel; Spying; Newspaper Format; Saint Eligius; Hobby Lobby; World Cup; Free Scam; Dandelion; Taxi
A nice 95 degree Summer day.
Before I get into the news, I want to talk about how Elaine and I spent this afternoon. First, we went to see Kim and get haircuts.. and coloring for Elaine. My hair is all white and I am not going to color it, because people expect us old dudes to have gray or white hair. However, a woman can drop 20 years off of her perceived age by getting some color, usually blond. Elaine looks quite young with her blond hair.
After seeing Kim, we went to our newly renovated Target store. It appears to me that they upped their prices for groceries to cover their renovation costs. As far as I can see, their prices are higher than Giant Food and WalMart. There is a notice on their wall that reads: "By shopping at Target you help us give 5% of our profit to the community. That's over $4 million per week."
If my math is right, that equates to a yearly profit for Target of 4 Billion 160 Million dollars!
The only community group that was shown as a recipient was the Maryland Food Bank. However, there is a website where you can go to check up on them: www.target.com/community
As I get older and more judgmental every day, I also made this observation: A beautiful blond girl, who looked to be a teen-ager, came in to shop with a person, who I assume was her mother. The girl was wearing what could be considered to be a bikini if it were worn at the beach. And on her arms and legs were black tattoos of dragons and other mythical creatures. Why oh why did her mother allow her to disfigure herself that way. Will she ever get a husband? A job? Any one to take her seriously? Perhaps she may be old enough to make her own tattoo decisions.. but obviously not old enough to foresee the outcome for her future.
OK.. I got that out of my system.. and remember, I do have a tattoo.. although it is just my late wife's initials on my arm. And of course, I was lucky that my present partner has the very same initials.
I promised Elaine that I will not be so judgmental in the future.
On with the news:
01. New Maryland State Laws
Some 200 new Maryland State laws took effect today, including a 1/2 cent gasoline tax, the right to a State-supplied attorney for poor defendants when bail is being set, preparation for raising the minimum wage to $8 (headed to $10.10), raising State Estate Tax exemption to $1.5 million (heading to $5 million), banning the selling of 95% alcohol to drinkers age 21 to 24, etc.
02. North Korea Detainees
The first American who will be tried by North Korea for acts against the State is Jeffrey Fowle, who left a Bible in his hotel room.
The second American who will be tried is Mathew Miller, who Korea said tore up his visa while yelling that he was seeking asylum.
Now, we find out that there was a third detained American. I don't know his name or what his crime was specifically, but he was a Christian evangelist sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for "trying to topple the Government."
03. Israeli Kidnapping
The three kidnapped Israeli teenagers were found murdered today. Israel will enact strong vengeance on Hamas for this act.
04. Spying Permission?
The Carroll County Times reports that the United States has long had no-spying arrangements with Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. This group of Nations was called The Five Guys. However, the ACLU says that the US also has certain "certifications" that allow it to spy through companies and agencies in any entity in the world. Huh?
05. New Format
Speaking of the Carroll County Times.. they have a new format for the newspaper. It may take me a while to get used to it. I'm sure they received guidance from their new boss, The Baltimore Sun.
06. Troubled Saint?
Saint Eligius lived from 588 to 660, and is the patron saint of goldsmiths, and these days of bitcoins and litecoins.
However, Eligius Wachter, of Westminster, Maryland is not so revered. He was arrested twice yesterday for three separate incidents:
a. Disorderly conduct;
b. Pulling a fire alarm;
c. Throwing a rock through the door of a deli.
In addition, he is charged with "panhandling." Hardly lives up to his name, does he?
07. More on Hobby Lobby
Judge Alito says that the ruling addresses only the contraceptive mandate.
One can opt out only if the organization has a "sincere religious belief that life begins at conception."
Justice Anthony Kennedy, fifth vote for the majority, says that "the Administration has already found alternate ways to guarantee contraceptive coverage for women who work for explicitly religious non-profit organizations." Huh? How?
On the Diane Rheem Show this morning, Nina Totenberg (sp?) and some other notables hotly discussed the Hobby Lobby decision. Some quotes from the show:
" The decision concerns FDA approved contraception material only."
"Hobby Lobby doesn't have problems with their retirees investing in companies that create contraception material and they buy from China that abuses Christians."
"The decision will be a great money-raiser for Democrats because it is another assault on women's rights."
"Five male catholic judges decided this one."
"In the U.S., the government protects people who switch religions; in other countries, they kill you."
"What about women whose conditions mean that a pregnancy would kill them?"
"One use of IUD's is to prevent bleeding, rather than prevent pregnancies."
I could have recorded some of these comments erroneously, so don't take my writing of the quotes as exactly as spoken.
08. No Joy in Mudville
The United States team lost today in the World Cup. (As expected, but disappointing still for many.)
Will soccer become as popular now in the US as it is around the world?
09. Free Medical Equipment Scam
"Congratulations! You've been selected to receive, absolutely free, a (name of a medical device)..."
This came from Maryland telephone number: 410-123-6548. I picked it up because my "Caller ID" showed "Maryland" and that number. I thought that maybe it was a local friend calling. Instead.. it was that scam that probably everybody in Maryland is being subjected to.
First: there is no free lunch! A company might send you a free alarm system in return for either your Social Security Number or your Medicare number.. They will, in turn, submit a claim for a large amount of money to your insurance company or Medicare. This is Medicare Fraud. Don't get involved, because you will pay in the end.
10. Scam Avoidance Advice
If you do not have the following, you need to arrange to get it, and soon.. otherwise the scam artists will get you, believe me.
Get "Caller ID" placed on your phone. And make sure that your phone has an answer machine attachment, either built into the phone, or separate from it.
Now.. when someone calls, you can look at the number and decide if it is worth your time to answer the call. If you do not answer, and it is an important call from a relative or friend.. or even from the drugstore calling about a prescription... they will leave a message and you can call them back.
11. A Beautiful Yellow Flower is in Danger
Today, our development was sprayed to control weeds and kill insects and spiders. People with pets were advised to keep them inside for a while. One of the weeds that people think they need to kill is a beautiful yellow flower called the dandelion. I love this flower and made sure that I had a lot of it in my last house in Gamber. Besides being beautiful, the dandelion's green leaves make a great salad ingredient and can be cooked like spinach... in fact, during the Great Depression, one of my jobs in the early Spring was to pick bags of the plants and greens so that my Grandmother could cook it up. Sometimes, that is the only solid food we had to eat. What harm does the plant do? Let it live!
Richard Lederer wrote the following in the Mensa Bulletin in 2012:
"The English used to call the yellow, shaggy weed a 'lion's tooth' because the jagged, pointed leaves resemble the lion's snarly grin. During the early 14th century, the lion's tooth plant took on a French flavor and became the dent-de-lion, 'tooth-of-the-lion.' Then it acquired an English accent: dandelion."
12. Taxi!
A stark-naked woman jumps into a cab and gives the driver an address. The cabbie just looks at her and makes no attempt to drive.
"What are you staring at?" the woman asks. "Haven't you ever seen a naked woman before?"
"I'm not staring," he replies.
"Well, if you're not staring, what are you doing?"
"Wondering where you're keeping the money to pay me."
(Borrowed from Readers Digest.)
.....................................................................................
Before I get into the news, I want to talk about how Elaine and I spent this afternoon. First, we went to see Kim and get haircuts.. and coloring for Elaine. My hair is all white and I am not going to color it, because people expect us old dudes to have gray or white hair. However, a woman can drop 20 years off of her perceived age by getting some color, usually blond. Elaine looks quite young with her blond hair.
After seeing Kim, we went to our newly renovated Target store. It appears to me that they upped their prices for groceries to cover their renovation costs. As far as I can see, their prices are higher than Giant Food and WalMart. There is a notice on their wall that reads: "By shopping at Target you help us give 5% of our profit to the community. That's over $4 million per week."
If my math is right, that equates to a yearly profit for Target of 4 Billion 160 Million dollars!
The only community group that was shown as a recipient was the Maryland Food Bank. However, there is a website where you can go to check up on them: www.target.com/community
As I get older and more judgmental every day, I also made this observation: A beautiful blond girl, who looked to be a teen-ager, came in to shop with a person, who I assume was her mother. The girl was wearing what could be considered to be a bikini if it were worn at the beach. And on her arms and legs were black tattoos of dragons and other mythical creatures. Why oh why did her mother allow her to disfigure herself that way. Will she ever get a husband? A job? Any one to take her seriously? Perhaps she may be old enough to make her own tattoo decisions.. but obviously not old enough to foresee the outcome for her future.
OK.. I got that out of my system.. and remember, I do have a tattoo.. although it is just my late wife's initials on my arm. And of course, I was lucky that my present partner has the very same initials.
I promised Elaine that I will not be so judgmental in the future.
On with the news:
01. New Maryland State Laws
Some 200 new Maryland State laws took effect today, including a 1/2 cent gasoline tax, the right to a State-supplied attorney for poor defendants when bail is being set, preparation for raising the minimum wage to $8 (headed to $10.10), raising State Estate Tax exemption to $1.5 million (heading to $5 million), banning the selling of 95% alcohol to drinkers age 21 to 24, etc.
02. North Korea Detainees
The first American who will be tried by North Korea for acts against the State is Jeffrey Fowle, who left a Bible in his hotel room.
The second American who will be tried is Mathew Miller, who Korea said tore up his visa while yelling that he was seeking asylum.
Now, we find out that there was a third detained American. I don't know his name or what his crime was specifically, but he was a Christian evangelist sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for "trying to topple the Government."
03. Israeli Kidnapping
The three kidnapped Israeli teenagers were found murdered today. Israel will enact strong vengeance on Hamas for this act.
04. Spying Permission?
The Carroll County Times reports that the United States has long had no-spying arrangements with Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. This group of Nations was called The Five Guys. However, the ACLU says that the US also has certain "certifications" that allow it to spy through companies and agencies in any entity in the world. Huh?
05. New Format
Speaking of the Carroll County Times.. they have a new format for the newspaper. It may take me a while to get used to it. I'm sure they received guidance from their new boss, The Baltimore Sun.
06. Troubled Saint?
Saint Eligius lived from 588 to 660, and is the patron saint of goldsmiths, and these days of bitcoins and litecoins.
However, Eligius Wachter, of Westminster, Maryland is not so revered. He was arrested twice yesterday for three separate incidents:
a. Disorderly conduct;
b. Pulling a fire alarm;
c. Throwing a rock through the door of a deli.
In addition, he is charged with "panhandling." Hardly lives up to his name, does he?
07. More on Hobby Lobby
Judge Alito says that the ruling addresses only the contraceptive mandate.
One can opt out only if the organization has a "sincere religious belief that life begins at conception."
Justice Anthony Kennedy, fifth vote for the majority, says that "the Administration has already found alternate ways to guarantee contraceptive coverage for women who work for explicitly religious non-profit organizations." Huh? How?
On the Diane Rheem Show this morning, Nina Totenberg (sp?) and some other notables hotly discussed the Hobby Lobby decision. Some quotes from the show:
" The decision concerns FDA approved contraception material only."
"Hobby Lobby doesn't have problems with their retirees investing in companies that create contraception material and they buy from China that abuses Christians."
"The decision will be a great money-raiser for Democrats because it is another assault on women's rights."
"Five male catholic judges decided this one."
"In the U.S., the government protects people who switch religions; in other countries, they kill you."
"What about women whose conditions mean that a pregnancy would kill them?"
"One use of IUD's is to prevent bleeding, rather than prevent pregnancies."
I could have recorded some of these comments erroneously, so don't take my writing of the quotes as exactly as spoken.
08. No Joy in Mudville
The United States team lost today in the World Cup. (As expected, but disappointing still for many.)
Will soccer become as popular now in the US as it is around the world?
09. Free Medical Equipment Scam
"Congratulations! You've been selected to receive, absolutely free, a (name of a medical device)..."
This came from Maryland telephone number: 410-123-6548. I picked it up because my "Caller ID" showed "Maryland" and that number. I thought that maybe it was a local friend calling. Instead.. it was that scam that probably everybody in Maryland is being subjected to.
First: there is no free lunch! A company might send you a free alarm system in return for either your Social Security Number or your Medicare number.. They will, in turn, submit a claim for a large amount of money to your insurance company or Medicare. This is Medicare Fraud. Don't get involved, because you will pay in the end.
10. Scam Avoidance Advice
If you do not have the following, you need to arrange to get it, and soon.. otherwise the scam artists will get you, believe me.
Get "Caller ID" placed on your phone. And make sure that your phone has an answer machine attachment, either built into the phone, or separate from it.
Now.. when someone calls, you can look at the number and decide if it is worth your time to answer the call. If you do not answer, and it is an important call from a relative or friend.. or even from the drugstore calling about a prescription... they will leave a message and you can call them back.
11. A Beautiful Yellow Flower is in Danger
Today, our development was sprayed to control weeds and kill insects and spiders. People with pets were advised to keep them inside for a while. One of the weeds that people think they need to kill is a beautiful yellow flower called the dandelion. I love this flower and made sure that I had a lot of it in my last house in Gamber. Besides being beautiful, the dandelion's green leaves make a great salad ingredient and can be cooked like spinach... in fact, during the Great Depression, one of my jobs in the early Spring was to pick bags of the plants and greens so that my Grandmother could cook it up. Sometimes, that is the only solid food we had to eat. What harm does the plant do? Let it live!
Richard Lederer wrote the following in the Mensa Bulletin in 2012:
"The English used to call the yellow, shaggy weed a 'lion's tooth' because the jagged, pointed leaves resemble the lion's snarly grin. During the early 14th century, the lion's tooth plant took on a French flavor and became the dent-de-lion, 'tooth-of-the-lion.' Then it acquired an English accent: dandelion."
12. Taxi!
A stark-naked woman jumps into a cab and gives the driver an address. The cabbie just looks at her and makes no attempt to drive.
"What are you staring at?" the woman asks. "Haven't you ever seen a naked woman before?"
"I'm not staring," he replies.
"Well, if you're not staring, what are you doing?"
"Wondering where you're keeping the money to pay me."
(Borrowed from Readers Digest.)
.....................................................................................
Monday, June 30, 2014
Kindness; Drug Deaths; Lobster Stew; Bigfoot; Older Drivers; Boomers; Tattoo; Bergdahl; North Korea; Caliphate; Guns; Hobby Lobby; Union Dues
Nice day... Summer temps are edging up... may get to 100 tomorrow. Welcome to Central Maryland.
01. Random Kindness
The Carroll County Times has a cover story today about a nice blogger named Amanda Costley (sweetlemons.net), who invites all people to do one random act of kindness every day for 30 day. Very nice, Amanda, but there are already people who do so every day of their lives. Some of us have been trying to do nice things for many years.. why? Because we are members of the human race. For those to whom doing kind things is something new.. let me recommend it.. you will feel much better for yourself and feel that you are contributing to the betterment of the world. Amanda, keep up the good work.
02. Drug Deaths
The newspaper also reports that heroin overdose deaths have risen 88% in three years. A lot of these deaths are attributed to heroin users finishing their jail terms and going back to their addictive ways. Unfortunately for them, when their addictions ended in jail, they also lost their tolerance for the amount of dope they took before incarceration.. and so.. they die of overdosing.
Also, addicts may be combining drugs these days.. especially with potent stuff like fentanyl. When I had constant 10 level pain with my legs, I took oxycodone and also had a very strong fentanyl patch. When Hopkins cured my legs, I had to endure a long period of drug withdrawal so that I would not get addicted. During the withdrawal period, I also lost 30 pounds of weight. Guess what.... its back.
03. Yum Yum!
I saw an ad today for Lobster Tail Stew. This stew is a so-called "fish and seafood stew" guaranteed to please. It is served on Tuesdays at the Shamrock Restaurant in Thurmont, Maryland. The telephone number is 301-271-2912. The cost? $21.50. Not a bad price for lobster lovers like Elaine and me. (or is it Elaine and I? Get out the grammar book, Joe.)
04. Sasquatch?
I can hear loud Sasquatch yelling on TV. Elaine is watching one of her favorite shows... something like "In Search of Bigfoot." The searchers are always upbeat and seem to just miss finding their prey by a few hours or days. They have been searching for years... surely somebody will have bumped into one of these 8 feet tall behemoths in their travels by now. Maybe he only comes out late at night and early in the morning jumps into a lake and travels through underwater caves and tunnels to where he spends time with Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster.
05. Older Drivers
First, let me give you my credentials. For seven years, I taught safe driving for AARP. Toward the end of that time, one of the leaders realized that I was not having my students prepare action plans to carry in their cars and refer to as needed. As I do now and did then, I thought that was a ridiculous thing to require adults to do. But, since I didn't do it.. they fired me. A few days later, they called me up and asked me to be in charge of all the AARP driving instructors in Maryland. Go figure.
However, the AARP Driver Safety Course is a good one, and I would recommend it to any driver, regardless of age.
An opinion piece in today's paper talked about older drivers and suggested that their relatives should discuss driving with them if they feel the older driver is not performing properly when behind the wheel. This is, of course, a good idea, except, what older driver who has been driving for 60 years without an accident is going to listen to a young whippersnapper who hasn't anywhere near as much experience?
This has been a problem for years. The Maryland legislature studies the situation almost every session and sometimes comes up with the idea of a test for drivers aged 65 or older. The idea of a test goes nowhere because how many older voters would vote for one of their representatives who suggested they didn't know how to drive.
Well, what most people do not know is that all State Police Officers are given a red-colored brochure that lists things to look for as automobiles drive by. Some of the "things" relate to how people are driving. State Police are allowed to stop drivers they suspect of erratic driving and investigate. If they feel that the person is too old or disabled to be driving, they can make a recommendation to the MVA for them to ask the driver to attend driving classes. (I may not have the details exactly right on this.. but you get the picture.)
06. Lots of Boomers
Baby boomers, those people born between 1946 and 1964 (like Elaine) now represent 24% of Maryland's population.
07. Decoration
One of Carroll County's "most wanted" has an identifying feature.. a skull tattoo on his stomach.
08. Five Year Term
Five years ago today, Bowe Bergdahl went missing from his base in Eastern Afghanistan and was captured by insurgents. He's home now, and facing another five year imprisonment.
09. North Korean High-jinx
Two American "tourists" are about to be "tried" by North Korea for "hostile acts against the Country".. perhaps they laughed too loudly at the stupid action of their "fearless leader."
10. Bow Down
A new Islamic Caliphate was created today by Radicals who expect Muslims worldwide to support it. This action caught even our Government by surprise and more information is needed before the US would know how to handle it.
11. Guns
During a gun fire duel in New Orleans yesterday, sixteen people were caught in the crossfire and nine died. When? When? When? When?
12. The Supremes Rule
a. Hobby Lobby wins a 5 to 4 "very limited, closely held decision".. whatever that means..
The issue: Can a for-profit corporation claim that its religious freedom allows it to be exempt from a law?
Ruling: Certain not for profit companies can claim a religious exemption to the Obamacare requirement that they provide health insurance coverage for contraception.
b. Unions lose in another 5 to 4 decision that non-union employees do not have to pay union dues, even though they will profit by union initiated management changes.
........................................
01. Random Kindness
The Carroll County Times has a cover story today about a nice blogger named Amanda Costley (sweetlemons.net), who invites all people to do one random act of kindness every day for 30 day. Very nice, Amanda, but there are already people who do so every day of their lives. Some of us have been trying to do nice things for many years.. why? Because we are members of the human race. For those to whom doing kind things is something new.. let me recommend it.. you will feel much better for yourself and feel that you are contributing to the betterment of the world. Amanda, keep up the good work.
02. Drug Deaths
The newspaper also reports that heroin overdose deaths have risen 88% in three years. A lot of these deaths are attributed to heroin users finishing their jail terms and going back to their addictive ways. Unfortunately for them, when their addictions ended in jail, they also lost their tolerance for the amount of dope they took before incarceration.. and so.. they die of overdosing.
Also, addicts may be combining drugs these days.. especially with potent stuff like fentanyl. When I had constant 10 level pain with my legs, I took oxycodone and also had a very strong fentanyl patch. When Hopkins cured my legs, I had to endure a long period of drug withdrawal so that I would not get addicted. During the withdrawal period, I also lost 30 pounds of weight. Guess what.... its back.
03. Yum Yum!
I saw an ad today for Lobster Tail Stew. This stew is a so-called "fish and seafood stew" guaranteed to please. It is served on Tuesdays at the Shamrock Restaurant in Thurmont, Maryland. The telephone number is 301-271-2912. The cost? $21.50. Not a bad price for lobster lovers like Elaine and me. (or is it Elaine and I? Get out the grammar book, Joe.)
04. Sasquatch?
I can hear loud Sasquatch yelling on TV. Elaine is watching one of her favorite shows... something like "In Search of Bigfoot." The searchers are always upbeat and seem to just miss finding their prey by a few hours or days. They have been searching for years... surely somebody will have bumped into one of these 8 feet tall behemoths in their travels by now. Maybe he only comes out late at night and early in the morning jumps into a lake and travels through underwater caves and tunnels to where he spends time with Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster.
05. Older Drivers
First, let me give you my credentials. For seven years, I taught safe driving for AARP. Toward the end of that time, one of the leaders realized that I was not having my students prepare action plans to carry in their cars and refer to as needed. As I do now and did then, I thought that was a ridiculous thing to require adults to do. But, since I didn't do it.. they fired me. A few days later, they called me up and asked me to be in charge of all the AARP driving instructors in Maryland. Go figure.
However, the AARP Driver Safety Course is a good one, and I would recommend it to any driver, regardless of age.
An opinion piece in today's paper talked about older drivers and suggested that their relatives should discuss driving with them if they feel the older driver is not performing properly when behind the wheel. This is, of course, a good idea, except, what older driver who has been driving for 60 years without an accident is going to listen to a young whippersnapper who hasn't anywhere near as much experience?
This has been a problem for years. The Maryland legislature studies the situation almost every session and sometimes comes up with the idea of a test for drivers aged 65 or older. The idea of a test goes nowhere because how many older voters would vote for one of their representatives who suggested they didn't know how to drive.
Well, what most people do not know is that all State Police Officers are given a red-colored brochure that lists things to look for as automobiles drive by. Some of the "things" relate to how people are driving. State Police are allowed to stop drivers they suspect of erratic driving and investigate. If they feel that the person is too old or disabled to be driving, they can make a recommendation to the MVA for them to ask the driver to attend driving classes. (I may not have the details exactly right on this.. but you get the picture.)
06. Lots of Boomers
Baby boomers, those people born between 1946 and 1964 (like Elaine) now represent 24% of Maryland's population.
07. Decoration
One of Carroll County's "most wanted" has an identifying feature.. a skull tattoo on his stomach.
08. Five Year Term
Five years ago today, Bowe Bergdahl went missing from his base in Eastern Afghanistan and was captured by insurgents. He's home now, and facing another five year imprisonment.
09. North Korean High-jinx
Two American "tourists" are about to be "tried" by North Korea for "hostile acts against the Country".. perhaps they laughed too loudly at the stupid action of their "fearless leader."
10. Bow Down
A new Islamic Caliphate was created today by Radicals who expect Muslims worldwide to support it. This action caught even our Government by surprise and more information is needed before the US would know how to handle it.
11. Guns
During a gun fire duel in New Orleans yesterday, sixteen people were caught in the crossfire and nine died. When? When? When? When?
12. The Supremes Rule
a. Hobby Lobby wins a 5 to 4 "very limited, closely held decision".. whatever that means..
The issue: Can a for-profit corporation claim that its religious freedom allows it to be exempt from a law?
Ruling: Certain not for profit companies can claim a religious exemption to the Obamacare requirement that they provide health insurance coverage for contraception.
b. Unions lose in another 5 to 4 decision that non-union employees do not have to pay union dues, even though they will profit by union initiated management changes.
........................................
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Squash; Tea Party; The Draft; Benghazi Villain; KKK is back; Pizza Stabbing; the Globe Theatre; Small Change; Snakes; Immortality; Migrant Kids; Working Man; Iraqi Freedom
Nice warm sunny Summer day with a refreshing breeze. I got to plant yellow squash and zucchini squash in two of my Earth Boxes. I didn't follow the Earth Box rules, just used them as growing pots.. we'll see if that works. Maybe I can do the other two boxes tomorrow and plant two cucumber plants.
Let me try something I used to do today and see if it works. I'll do a dozen things to think about.
01. Attack on the Tea Party
Jim Lee, editor of the local newspaper, the Carroll County Times, wrote a scathing editorial about the Tea Party and their my-way-only philosophy that is killing the Republican Party. I like his statement:
"Compromise is not a dirty word. It is not something that should be avoided at all costs. In fact, our ability to see past our differences and forge a way forward based upon a shared common vision is what has always contributed to our greatness." Amen!
02. Reinstitute the Draft?
David J. Iacomo wrote a letter to the Times advocating a renewal of the Draft, with very few deferments... "... to eliminate draft dodgers like former Vice President, Dick Cheney, from getting five deferments." I didn't know that. But Mr. Cheney has always had heart trouble. Maybe that was the reason for the deferments. Surely he wasn't afraid to go to war. (Did you know that in the Civil War, a young man could sell his place in the draft, and not have to fight?)
03. Benghazi Villain?
Stop blaming Hillary for Benghazi, Abu Khatala is here now. The Lybian is in DC to be tried for masterminding the attack on the 11th anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. He has said that he is not guilty.. He may make a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. ..
04. The KKK is Back
On June 28th, members of the Maryland Traditional Rebel Knights met and expounded at the Gettysburg battlefield. Their Vice President, Albert Fike told the crowd of 50 people that "minorities" would never be equal to white people, and denounced inter-racial relationships, homosexuals, and President Obama.
05. Pizza Stabbing
The pizza guy that was stabbed by 3 persons, was actually stabbed by 4 hungry teen-agers, who will now get to have their food delivered to their cells by Chester Proudfoot.
06. I didn't know that.
On this date in 1613, London's original Globe Theatre was destroyed in a fire caused by a cannon shot during a performance of Henry VIII.
07. Click and Clack Survey
The automotive experts wanted to find out why men never pay with change, while women will root around in their pocket books until they find the right change. So, they did a survey. These are some of the results:
a. Men can't count.
b. Men like the feel of heavy stuff in their pockets.
c. Women are better able to handle details.
d. Men put change on their bureaus every night and it gets stolen by their kids, so they don't have change to put into their pockets in the morning.
e. Women keep every bit of change ever received, in their pocketbooks, forever.
Well, it sounded funny on the radio. Sorry.
08. Do snakes like music?
A bagpiper called Click and Clack for advice on how to get snakes out of his car.. they have found a home behind his dashboard. (He should have contacted Tammy McCormick, who I mentioned yesterday, who has a snake catching company.) C + C advised him to sit in the back seat and play Amazing Grace over and over on his bagpipes while a front window is left open.. It won't take long before you will see those slithery creatures racing to escape the sound.
I wonder if snake meat is one of the ingredients of Haggis?
09. Immortality?
We talked a bit about this yesterday and today NPR had an hour long show that I was only able to listen to sporadically. A man caught a 50 pound lobster! Why so big? Because Lobsters have no cell breakdown material (whatever that is called). So, their cells keep being rejuvenated.. and theoretically they could live forever.. unless hungry humans capture them.
Tortoises have been found to have 120 or so of rejuvenation material for their cells.. after 120 rejuvenations, their breakdown material kicks in and they get ready to die. Tortoises can live to be way over 100 years... Humans, unfortunately, have only 50 or so of rejuvenation material, so we get the proverbable 70 years, or a few more if we retain our ability to reproduce. When we are no longer able to reproduce, nature may feel that we are no longer important in the chain of life... at least that might be true for men... what about women who lose their eggs and still live long lives?
A scientist who studies worms with a 14 day life span, has been able to manipulate their rejuvenation material and give them a 28 day active life span. She says that eventually she will be able to give them a much longer lifespan. She has formed a company to look into somehow doing the same thing to humans. With the worms, she takes the "Grim Reaper Gene" and replaces it with the "Fountain of Youth" gene. Her company is called The Elixir Company.. look for it on the stock market.
I warned you that I did not hear all of this program, so some of the information above may not be accurate. However, I think there is enough there to allow you to do some Google searches, if you are so inclined.
10. Immigrant Kids
In 2008, George W. Bush signed into law a bill that says we have to take care of any kids who appear from other countries on our "doorstep." We have to get them together with their relatives or find a way to send them back home. (What? back to abject poverty and gang violence? What does it say on the Statue of Liberty?)
The President is trying to follow the law with all of these kids who are suddenly coming to America, so why is he being ridiculed by the GOP?
11. The Working Man
With the increasing distance between the "haves" and the "don't have much of anything" in the good old US of A, country music is trying to talk about it. Check out Toby Keith's song: "Get Drunk and Be Somebody." The verse about the boss: "I give him forty hours and a piece of my soul..Hell, I don't even think he knows my name." And the chorus: "Well, all week long I'm a real nobody/But I just punched out and its paycheck Friday/Weekend's here, good God almighty/I'm going to get drunk and be somebody."
12. But are we out?
The Nation Magazine quotes a tweet from Senator John McCain. "Last American combat troops leave Iraq. I think President George W. Bush deserves some credit for victory." The Nation says "the Republican senator from Arizona, remembers to thank the man who launched Operation Iraqi Freedom." (looking for non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction. says me.)
.............................................................
Let me try something I used to do today and see if it works. I'll do a dozen things to think about.
01. Attack on the Tea Party
Jim Lee, editor of the local newspaper, the Carroll County Times, wrote a scathing editorial about the Tea Party and their my-way-only philosophy that is killing the Republican Party. I like his statement:
"Compromise is not a dirty word. It is not something that should be avoided at all costs. In fact, our ability to see past our differences and forge a way forward based upon a shared common vision is what has always contributed to our greatness." Amen!
02. Reinstitute the Draft?
David J. Iacomo wrote a letter to the Times advocating a renewal of the Draft, with very few deferments... "... to eliminate draft dodgers like former Vice President, Dick Cheney, from getting five deferments." I didn't know that. But Mr. Cheney has always had heart trouble. Maybe that was the reason for the deferments. Surely he wasn't afraid to go to war. (Did you know that in the Civil War, a young man could sell his place in the draft, and not have to fight?)
03. Benghazi Villain?
Stop blaming Hillary for Benghazi, Abu Khatala is here now. The Lybian is in DC to be tried for masterminding the attack on the 11th anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. He has said that he is not guilty.. He may make a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. ..
04. The KKK is Back
On June 28th, members of the Maryland Traditional Rebel Knights met and expounded at the Gettysburg battlefield. Their Vice President, Albert Fike told the crowd of 50 people that "minorities" would never be equal to white people, and denounced inter-racial relationships, homosexuals, and President Obama.
05. Pizza Stabbing
The pizza guy that was stabbed by 3 persons, was actually stabbed by 4 hungry teen-agers, who will now get to have their food delivered to their cells by Chester Proudfoot.
06. I didn't know that.
On this date in 1613, London's original Globe Theatre was destroyed in a fire caused by a cannon shot during a performance of Henry VIII.
07. Click and Clack Survey
The automotive experts wanted to find out why men never pay with change, while women will root around in their pocket books until they find the right change. So, they did a survey. These are some of the results:
a. Men can't count.
b. Men like the feel of heavy stuff in their pockets.
c. Women are better able to handle details.
d. Men put change on their bureaus every night and it gets stolen by their kids, so they don't have change to put into their pockets in the morning.
e. Women keep every bit of change ever received, in their pocketbooks, forever.
Well, it sounded funny on the radio. Sorry.
08. Do snakes like music?
A bagpiper called Click and Clack for advice on how to get snakes out of his car.. they have found a home behind his dashboard. (He should have contacted Tammy McCormick, who I mentioned yesterday, who has a snake catching company.) C + C advised him to sit in the back seat and play Amazing Grace over and over on his bagpipes while a front window is left open.. It won't take long before you will see those slithery creatures racing to escape the sound.
I wonder if snake meat is one of the ingredients of Haggis?
09. Immortality?
We talked a bit about this yesterday and today NPR had an hour long show that I was only able to listen to sporadically. A man caught a 50 pound lobster! Why so big? Because Lobsters have no cell breakdown material (whatever that is called). So, their cells keep being rejuvenated.. and theoretically they could live forever.. unless hungry humans capture them.
Tortoises have been found to have 120 or so of rejuvenation material for their cells.. after 120 rejuvenations, their breakdown material kicks in and they get ready to die. Tortoises can live to be way over 100 years... Humans, unfortunately, have only 50 or so of rejuvenation material, so we get the proverbable 70 years, or a few more if we retain our ability to reproduce. When we are no longer able to reproduce, nature may feel that we are no longer important in the chain of life... at least that might be true for men... what about women who lose their eggs and still live long lives?
A scientist who studies worms with a 14 day life span, has been able to manipulate their rejuvenation material and give them a 28 day active life span. She says that eventually she will be able to give them a much longer lifespan. She has formed a company to look into somehow doing the same thing to humans. With the worms, she takes the "Grim Reaper Gene" and replaces it with the "Fountain of Youth" gene. Her company is called The Elixir Company.. look for it on the stock market.
I warned you that I did not hear all of this program, so some of the information above may not be accurate. However, I think there is enough there to allow you to do some Google searches, if you are so inclined.
10. Immigrant Kids
In 2008, George W. Bush signed into law a bill that says we have to take care of any kids who appear from other countries on our "doorstep." We have to get them together with their relatives or find a way to send them back home. (What? back to abject poverty and gang violence? What does it say on the Statue of Liberty?)
The President is trying to follow the law with all of these kids who are suddenly coming to America, so why is he being ridiculed by the GOP?
11. The Working Man
With the increasing distance between the "haves" and the "don't have much of anything" in the good old US of A, country music is trying to talk about it. Check out Toby Keith's song: "Get Drunk and Be Somebody." The verse about the boss: "I give him forty hours and a piece of my soul..Hell, I don't even think he knows my name." And the chorus: "Well, all week long I'm a real nobody/But I just punched out and its paycheck Friday/Weekend's here, good God almighty/I'm going to get drunk and be somebody."
12. But are we out?
The Nation Magazine quotes a tweet from Senator John McCain. "Last American combat troops leave Iraq. I think President George W. Bush deserves some credit for victory." The Nation says "the Republican senator from Arizona, remembers to thank the man who launched Operation Iraqi Freedom." (looking for non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction. says me.)
.............................................................
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Burnie; Snakes; Fines; Drugs; Prize; Cancer Detection; Paid Parental Leave; Pop Up Weddings; Georgia Guns; Green Dot Scam; Voting; Immortality
Hot and windy but nice and sunny. Only problem, our "neighbor" down the hill that we call "Burnie" is at his favorite nighttime sport... burning pine pallets outside on his patio... the smell is very bad and the wind always pushes the smoke up to our house and we have to keep the doors and windows closed in order not to breath in the fumes. What do you do about that? We can tell that if we complain, we will have bigger problems with him because he has lived in this vicinity for many more years than we have, and resents our development anyway. I don't begrudge him doing his "macho" fire thing, but I wish he would do it when the wind is not blowing. Unfortunately, that is not very often.
I spent a long time reading the local paper today.. lots to think about.
Eek! A Snake!
Today's Carroll County Times had a front page article about Tammy McComrick, who is a Frederick-based snake catcher. She has a busy schedule from March through November, the time when snakes like to visit human's houses and barns. I'm afraid of snakes because I don't know which ones are venomous.. Tammy says that only the rattlesnake and copperhead are poisonous in Maryland... those are the same two that inhabited Massachusetts when I lived there.
When I had a big garden in Gamber, I would go down my rows of pea plants, picking pods. One day, I suddenly looked up from my picking and saw what looked to me like a cobra about to strike. I immediately did a complete backflip and scooted out of the snake's vicinity. My son, Chris, and his friend were nearby and saw the action... they had a hard time stopping their laughing.. it was just a harmless big black snake. Well... it could have been a cobra.. well.. maybe not.
Carroll County Pays another Fine
Actually, we taxpayers are on the hook again because of what our representatives do or don't do. This time the fine was for $40,000 after the County failed to comply with Federal water pollution and quality standards.
Crime in the Country
The Westminster Police, acting on a tip, arrested three Westminster residents in the act of preparing drugs for sale. One of these guys had close to $1,000 in his pocket. That's why these guys keep violating the law and are willing to take the risk.. because it's lucrative. What other profession allows 20 year-olds to walk around with so much cash?
Boring Advertisement
For a long time now, the Carroll County Times has run the same ad, proclaiming that Michele Carroll won a $100 grocery gift card by accessing their online newspaper site. Hey, guys, this is boring.. its nice that she won, but stop reminding us about it every single day of the week.
Prostate Cancer Detection
Fellow NARFE member, Dave Pyatt, wrote an important column about Prostate Cancer testing. As he says, sometimes the search kills more that the condition, and men over 70 should avoid being tested. I agree. At my age, I would probably not live long enough anyway for a cancer to reach maturity.
Paid Parental Leave
Harold Meyerson, editor at large of the American Prospect, had an interesting article in the Carroll County Times today. Harold lambastes the Republicans for holding back progress in providing paid parental leave. He cites a study of 185 Nations and Territories, where representatives were asked if they have some kind of paid parental leave. 182 did have. Only 3 did not.. guess who: yes, the good old US of A again, in a league with Oman and Papua, New Guinea. For shame !
Surprise Wedding Bells
Good news! To save money, contact this young couple: Very tall Officiant, Steven Gaudaen and very tiny, pink-haired photographer, Maggie Winters, will arrange a "Pop Up" wedding for you. PopWed Company lets you skip the usual expenses and instead helps you "pop up" some place interesting, often where weddings are never held.. like museums and the like. Maybe even in front of the White House, if they can get away with it. (Incidentally, an Officiant is someone who is willing to marry you, and who probably is not a preacher or a Government official. Bob Leffler and I are able to be Officiants at times, if we feel it is appropriate.)
Guns!
By law, Georgia will be allowing school staff to carry guns while in school. However, Georgia teachers are not too happy with that.
Also, I'm not sure, but Georgia might also be allowing hunters to put silencers on their rifles. Home owners in the Country are not in favor of that.
The Green Dot Scam
A new scam has been reported in Maryland: BGE Customers are being contacted by telephone and told that their service will be terminated unless they make a payment to purchase a Green Dot Visa Credit Card. If you get contacted, you should contact BGE's Customer Center at 800-685-0123.
Why Vote?
The candidates for the District 2 Council in Prince Georges County are separated by only 13 votes. The outcome will be determined by provisional ballots. (The Kennedy campaigns in Massachusetts recognized that voting counted.. and they would provide buses to Nursing Home residents and carry them to the poling places, giving them a little coffee or treat while on the bus... guess who those people voted for? A few trips like that could get out enough votes to tip the scales in an election.)
1914! 2014! 2114!
Radio Lab did an interesting retrospective on the year 1914.. 100 years ago! So many amazing things have happened in that period .. just think of what changes will probably occur in the next 100 years! Hopefully, there will be a cure for cancer and other nasty bodily problems... in fact, people may even be able to trade in their old bodies for newer, younger ones. Why not? We're almost there now. Wouldn't you like to have immortality?
................................................................................
I spent a long time reading the local paper today.. lots to think about.
Eek! A Snake!
Today's Carroll County Times had a front page article about Tammy McComrick, who is a Frederick-based snake catcher. She has a busy schedule from March through November, the time when snakes like to visit human's houses and barns. I'm afraid of snakes because I don't know which ones are venomous.. Tammy says that only the rattlesnake and copperhead are poisonous in Maryland... those are the same two that inhabited Massachusetts when I lived there.
When I had a big garden in Gamber, I would go down my rows of pea plants, picking pods. One day, I suddenly looked up from my picking and saw what looked to me like a cobra about to strike. I immediately did a complete backflip and scooted out of the snake's vicinity. My son, Chris, and his friend were nearby and saw the action... they had a hard time stopping their laughing.. it was just a harmless big black snake. Well... it could have been a cobra.. well.. maybe not.
Carroll County Pays another Fine
Actually, we taxpayers are on the hook again because of what our representatives do or don't do. This time the fine was for $40,000 after the County failed to comply with Federal water pollution and quality standards.
Crime in the Country
The Westminster Police, acting on a tip, arrested three Westminster residents in the act of preparing drugs for sale. One of these guys had close to $1,000 in his pocket. That's why these guys keep violating the law and are willing to take the risk.. because it's lucrative. What other profession allows 20 year-olds to walk around with so much cash?
Boring Advertisement
For a long time now, the Carroll County Times has run the same ad, proclaiming that Michele Carroll won a $100 grocery gift card by accessing their online newspaper site. Hey, guys, this is boring.. its nice that she won, but stop reminding us about it every single day of the week.
Prostate Cancer Detection
Fellow NARFE member, Dave Pyatt, wrote an important column about Prostate Cancer testing. As he says, sometimes the search kills more that the condition, and men over 70 should avoid being tested. I agree. At my age, I would probably not live long enough anyway for a cancer to reach maturity.
Paid Parental Leave
Harold Meyerson, editor at large of the American Prospect, had an interesting article in the Carroll County Times today. Harold lambastes the Republicans for holding back progress in providing paid parental leave. He cites a study of 185 Nations and Territories, where representatives were asked if they have some kind of paid parental leave. 182 did have. Only 3 did not.. guess who: yes, the good old US of A again, in a league with Oman and Papua, New Guinea. For shame !
Surprise Wedding Bells
Good news! To save money, contact this young couple: Very tall Officiant, Steven Gaudaen and very tiny, pink-haired photographer, Maggie Winters, will arrange a "Pop Up" wedding for you. PopWed Company lets you skip the usual expenses and instead helps you "pop up" some place interesting, often where weddings are never held.. like museums and the like. Maybe even in front of the White House, if they can get away with it. (Incidentally, an Officiant is someone who is willing to marry you, and who probably is not a preacher or a Government official. Bob Leffler and I are able to be Officiants at times, if we feel it is appropriate.)
Guns!
By law, Georgia will be allowing school staff to carry guns while in school. However, Georgia teachers are not too happy with that.
Also, I'm not sure, but Georgia might also be allowing hunters to put silencers on their rifles. Home owners in the Country are not in favor of that.
The Green Dot Scam
A new scam has been reported in Maryland: BGE Customers are being contacted by telephone and told that their service will be terminated unless they make a payment to purchase a Green Dot Visa Credit Card. If you get contacted, you should contact BGE's Customer Center at 800-685-0123.
Why Vote?
The candidates for the District 2 Council in Prince Georges County are separated by only 13 votes. The outcome will be determined by provisional ballots. (The Kennedy campaigns in Massachusetts recognized that voting counted.. and they would provide buses to Nursing Home residents and carry them to the poling places, giving them a little coffee or treat while on the bus... guess who those people voted for? A few trips like that could get out enough votes to tip the scales in an election.)
1914! 2014! 2114!
Radio Lab did an interesting retrospective on the year 1914.. 100 years ago! So many amazing things have happened in that period .. just think of what changes will probably occur in the next 100 years! Hopefully, there will be a cure for cancer and other nasty bodily problems... in fact, people may even be able to trade in their old bodies for newer, younger ones. Why not? We're almost there now. Wouldn't you like to have immortality?
................................................................................
Friday, June 27, 2014
Tomatoes; Mr. Cate; Governor's Race; Climate Change; Prayer; Boehner's Lawsuit; Supreme Court; Buffer Zones; IRS; Pedophiles; Church; Phyllis Diller; Death Squads; Tulips and Feynman
Nice partly sunny Summer day at 80 degrees. I was able to push my big fat butt to put the rest of my flowers from Daughter Diane into individual pots and to put another tomato cage up. In so doing, I found 3 rather large green tomatoes hiding out under the foliage. Nice.
Politics
The other day, I wrote a quote attributed to "Henry Cate VII". The quote was: "The problem with political jokes is they get elected."
I had never heard of Mr. Cate, so I attempted to track him down. I found that he had submitted this quote to a 1987 Usergroup titled .Rec.Humor.Funny I think that the Usergroup is still in existence. Jokes were accepted on a daily basis for this group and Mr. Cate's submission was not questioned. Now... 27 years later, it is. More on this... maybe.
Governor's Race
Well, as expected, Larry Hogan has started his campaign to win the Governorship of Maryland by fiercely negative advertisements. Looks like a long stretch of crap coming down the pike from him and his election committee. Mr. Hogan has no political experience to brag about, so he will try to draw attention away from that fact and on to Mr. Anthony Brown's problems with Obamacare. When he gets tired of that, he will probably somehow involve Brown in the situations with Benghazi and Bergdahl.
Climate Change
Also, as expected, Michael Zimmer finally got around to disputing Climate Change and Global Warming in his monthly newspaper column.
Some More Prayer Nonsense
The Carroll County Commissioners seem to think they understand it all now and will have one of the Commissioners open each meeting with a prayer, and then they will say something like "now I will pray" instead of "now, let us pray". But.. once again, they have not read the Supreme Court's Decision. It said that it would be ok for a Preacher or Priest or Rabbi or Imam to recite a prayer, not a Government official. The goal is to have the opportunity for prayer extended to all clergy.
Boehner's Suit Against President Obama
Hey.. who will be paying for Boehner's law suit? Why, the taxpayers of course. The Speaker is asking House members to pass a bill to allow him to sue, as he desires to do.
The Supremes on Buffer Zones
Someone pointed out today that the Supreme Court has a buffer zone around their DC building to keep protestors from bothering them.
The IRS' Investigation of Non-Profits
There was a lot more information on CSPAN radio today about the targeting of Non-Profit groups by IRS to determine if they really are non-profit. The commentator mentioned that they used key-words to target groups to question. And, of course this is why the Maryland Senior Citizens Hall of Fame was targeted and our non-profit status canceled until we got a lawyer and fought to get it back after $1,000 expense money, that we could hardly afford to pay.
The keyword? Why "Mischief" of course... a natural assumption can be made that a group would cause mischief to another political group. However, our only "Mischief" was with our acronym: MSCHF.. Maryland Senior Citizens Hall of Fame!
Catching Scumbag Pedophiles
In a sting operation involving online investigators pretending to be 12 to 14 year old children asking for sex, California police caught 275 idiots as they showed up for sex with the "kids"... just like that TV show.. unbelievable.
Welcome to Church
The Catholic Church will be opening a synod in October, to debate how they can upgrade their "welcoming image" and still remain true to their core beliefs.
Jokester
Phyllis Diller, in her 90's donated a filing cabinet filled with 50,000 of her jokes to the Smithsonian in 2011.
Bad Teens!
A short time ago, Shiite death squads killed more than a dozen young Iraqis for wearing Western-style "emo" clothes. The Interior Ministry singled out the "emo" subculture, made up of youths who listen to Western music and wear tight jeans and long hair. Some teens were stoned to death and others beaten severely. What a great place to live!
Tulips
Richard Lederer, Mensan and word expert says that the tulip's shape may remind you of "two lips", but that is not how the flower got its name. Instead, the Dutch borrowed the word Tulip from French tulipan, who had stolen it from the Turks tulbend.. so named because it reminded them of a turban.
Hawkeye Says
Word to the young: In the 1990's, Alan Alda led the collaboration that created "QED", a play about the brilliant scientist, Richard Feynman, with Alan playing Dr. Feynman. If one would desire to be a smart person, it would behoove them to study Dr. Feynman's unorthodox life, starting with the reading of this play.
........................................................................................
Politics
The other day, I wrote a quote attributed to "Henry Cate VII". The quote was: "The problem with political jokes is they get elected."
I had never heard of Mr. Cate, so I attempted to track him down. I found that he had submitted this quote to a 1987 Usergroup titled .Rec.Humor.Funny I think that the Usergroup is still in existence. Jokes were accepted on a daily basis for this group and Mr. Cate's submission was not questioned. Now... 27 years later, it is. More on this... maybe.
Governor's Race
Well, as expected, Larry Hogan has started his campaign to win the Governorship of Maryland by fiercely negative advertisements. Looks like a long stretch of crap coming down the pike from him and his election committee. Mr. Hogan has no political experience to brag about, so he will try to draw attention away from that fact and on to Mr. Anthony Brown's problems with Obamacare. When he gets tired of that, he will probably somehow involve Brown in the situations with Benghazi and Bergdahl.
Climate Change
Also, as expected, Michael Zimmer finally got around to disputing Climate Change and Global Warming in his monthly newspaper column.
Some More Prayer Nonsense
The Carroll County Commissioners seem to think they understand it all now and will have one of the Commissioners open each meeting with a prayer, and then they will say something like "now I will pray" instead of "now, let us pray". But.. once again, they have not read the Supreme Court's Decision. It said that it would be ok for a Preacher or Priest or Rabbi or Imam to recite a prayer, not a Government official. The goal is to have the opportunity for prayer extended to all clergy.
Boehner's Suit Against President Obama
Hey.. who will be paying for Boehner's law suit? Why, the taxpayers of course. The Speaker is asking House members to pass a bill to allow him to sue, as he desires to do.
The Supremes on Buffer Zones
Someone pointed out today that the Supreme Court has a buffer zone around their DC building to keep protestors from bothering them.
The IRS' Investigation of Non-Profits
There was a lot more information on CSPAN radio today about the targeting of Non-Profit groups by IRS to determine if they really are non-profit. The commentator mentioned that they used key-words to target groups to question. And, of course this is why the Maryland Senior Citizens Hall of Fame was targeted and our non-profit status canceled until we got a lawyer and fought to get it back after $1,000 expense money, that we could hardly afford to pay.
The keyword? Why "Mischief" of course... a natural assumption can be made that a group would cause mischief to another political group. However, our only "Mischief" was with our acronym: MSCHF.. Maryland Senior Citizens Hall of Fame!
Catching Scumbag Pedophiles
In a sting operation involving online investigators pretending to be 12 to 14 year old children asking for sex, California police caught 275 idiots as they showed up for sex with the "kids"... just like that TV show.. unbelievable.
Welcome to Church
The Catholic Church will be opening a synod in October, to debate how they can upgrade their "welcoming image" and still remain true to their core beliefs.
Jokester
Phyllis Diller, in her 90's donated a filing cabinet filled with 50,000 of her jokes to the Smithsonian in 2011.
Bad Teens!
A short time ago, Shiite death squads killed more than a dozen young Iraqis for wearing Western-style "emo" clothes. The Interior Ministry singled out the "emo" subculture, made up of youths who listen to Western music and wear tight jeans and long hair. Some teens were stoned to death and others beaten severely. What a great place to live!
Tulips
Richard Lederer, Mensan and word expert says that the tulip's shape may remind you of "two lips", but that is not how the flower got its name. Instead, the Dutch borrowed the word Tulip from French tulipan, who had stolen it from the Turks tulbend.. so named because it reminded them of a turban.
Hawkeye Says
Word to the young: In the 1990's, Alan Alda led the collaboration that created "QED", a play about the brilliant scientist, Richard Feynman, with Alan playing Dr. Feynman. If one would desire to be a smart person, it would behoove them to study Dr. Feynman's unorthodox life, starting with the reading of this play.
........................................................................................
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Voting; Robobcall Guy; Disneyland Lady; Liberal Win; Boehner Suit; Supreme Court; Appointments; Bergdahl; Home Rule; Aereo; Bank Money; Womens Rights; Search and Seizure; Eli Wallach; Flicks Pub
Another hot, sunny Summer day. Nice. Lots of stuff to talk about.
Politics
Voting in Carroll County Maryland
A total of 114,000 people are registered to vote in Carroll County and only 28,000 voted. The Carroll County Times says that is either 24% or 20%. Either way.. its not very good. People are dying around the world and would love to be able to vote and decide their future and we just don't give a damn.. or, are we so satisfied that we don't need to vote.
Dan Rodricks said it in his Baltimore Sun Paper column yesterday: "... its depressing as hell to see so few people taking part in a process that ultimately affects their lives and their livelihoods. Other people walk many miles, and stand in long lines, shouldering through all kinds of intimidation, to vote..."
Robocall Guy Lost
Julius Henson, the guy who sent out a misleading robocall so that African-American voters would stay home, lost out on his bid for election. It was the height of arrogance for him to even file as a candidate, but it definitely will not be the last that we will hear from him.
Disneyland Lady Lost
Marilynn Bland, who, while a member of the DC School Board, took her children with her to a Disney World conference trip, and later showed off her new Mickey Mouse doll at the next DC meeting, had a real hard time in this election. In fact, she was rejected by the voters in her bid for reelection as clerk of the Circuit Court.
Liberal Win
Brian Frosh, a champion of gun control and environmental protection, defeated Jon Cardin and Aisha Braveboy for the Democratic pick for Maryland Attorney General. (Even name confusion with his cousin in the Senate did not work well for him.)
Conservative Attacks
Speaker of the Disfunctional House
The Speaker announce today that he will be suing the President for going around Congress to achieve his own agenda. Will this be a "fill in" activity so that he and his colleagues will have something to do between hearings on Benghazi and Bergdahl? I would advise the President to countersue Boehner for stupidity (in my opinion).
Presidential Appointments
Incidentally, The Supremes did rule today that some of the President's appointments were not valid because Congress was still in session, even though they fibbed that they were not. Let's see how Mr. Obama handles this.
Sargeant Bergdahl
Also, after 5 years of imprisonment by the Taliban, Sargeant Bergdahl faces 5 years imprisonment by the U.S. military, if he is found guilty of desertion. What the hell next! Leave the man alone!
Home Rule Issue?
District of Columbia leadership has ruled that, for someone arrested for possession of Marijuana, if the amount is less than an ounce, the holder will just be fined $25. This should cut down on the number of poor folks ending up in jail, and pot is heading for legalization all over the US very soon. However, Maryland Representative Andy Harris is dead set against drugs of any kind and is pushing an amendment to a hot House bill, that will kill this DC law.
Its funny, that a minor in possession of a regular cigarette, could be fined $50; but in possession of a small amount of pot, they could be fined only $25. Strange.
More Supreme Court Activity
Allow No Aereo TV Transmission without $
The Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 against Aereo, who planned to give antennae to people and then let them receive "over the air" TV programs, that they could have received free, if they had taken the appropriate computer fix suggested by the Government some time ago. The Court said that Aereo will have to pay broadcasters whenever it takes TV programs off the air and transmits them to its clients, because they will then, in a sense, be acting just like a cable TV company.
Stop that Naughty Bank Activity
The Supreme Court also unanimously ruled that employees who accused their bank management of evil doing by investing their retirement money in their own bank, knowing the bank was on shaky grounds financially, were right to do so. That was a bad thing for the banks to do.
Assist Abortion Sidewalkers
The Supreme Court struck down the Massachusetts law mandating a buffer area on the sidewalk outside of so-called Abortion Clinics. Freedom of Speech requires that the sidewalk be open for people to exercise their right to communicate with clinic patients as they enter the facility. This is similar to the case where the Court ruled that scumbag church folks must be allowed to get up close to funeral attendees and be obnoxious to them and to the memory of the deceased. I do not like people getting into other person's faces about what they are doing; especially when they probably have never had to go through special birth situations. I guess that brands me as a Women's Rights Advocate... so be it.
Kill a Helpful Police Procedure
The Supreme Court also decided unanimously, that police may not search a smartphone or similar device without a judicial warrant. I understand the privacy issue, but I can see the Police viewpoint too.
World Cup Bite
Suarez, of Uruguay struck again and bit an Italian player during a game. People are taking bets on whether he will bites someone else in another game next week. I bet he does.
Famous Actor Dies
Eli Wallach died at age 98. The son of Polish Jewish immigrants in New York, Eli liked to play cowboy types, and he was great in many movies, such as The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, a classic. He was also marvelous on the legitimate stage. I wish that I had seen him play in The Rose Tattoo or in Mr. Roberts, two of his best parts, I'm told.
Finally.... Good News for Thirsty Senior Citizens
The Lorien Assisted Living outfit in Taneytown, Maryland, has opened a restaurant and bar called Flick's Pub, named after former mayor, Bob Flickinger. I Served with Bob on the Carroll County Commission on Aging for a few years. Bob is a nice guy and I'm glad they named the pub after him. I wondered how many customers the Pub would get out of the Assisted Living community, and then I found out that an over-55 community nearby was running a trolley back and forth during the day and night so that residents can easily make the special events like Happy Hour.
...............................................................
Politics
Voting in Carroll County Maryland
A total of 114,000 people are registered to vote in Carroll County and only 28,000 voted. The Carroll County Times says that is either 24% or 20%. Either way.. its not very good. People are dying around the world and would love to be able to vote and decide their future and we just don't give a damn.. or, are we so satisfied that we don't need to vote.
Dan Rodricks said it in his Baltimore Sun Paper column yesterday: "... its depressing as hell to see so few people taking part in a process that ultimately affects their lives and their livelihoods. Other people walk many miles, and stand in long lines, shouldering through all kinds of intimidation, to vote..."
Robocall Guy Lost
Julius Henson, the guy who sent out a misleading robocall so that African-American voters would stay home, lost out on his bid for election. It was the height of arrogance for him to even file as a candidate, but it definitely will not be the last that we will hear from him.
Disneyland Lady Lost
Marilynn Bland, who, while a member of the DC School Board, took her children with her to a Disney World conference trip, and later showed off her new Mickey Mouse doll at the next DC meeting, had a real hard time in this election. In fact, she was rejected by the voters in her bid for reelection as clerk of the Circuit Court.
Liberal Win
Brian Frosh, a champion of gun control and environmental protection, defeated Jon Cardin and Aisha Braveboy for the Democratic pick for Maryland Attorney General. (Even name confusion with his cousin in the Senate did not work well for him.)
Conservative Attacks
Speaker of the Disfunctional House
The Speaker announce today that he will be suing the President for going around Congress to achieve his own agenda. Will this be a "fill in" activity so that he and his colleagues will have something to do between hearings on Benghazi and Bergdahl? I would advise the President to countersue Boehner for stupidity (in my opinion).
Presidential Appointments
Incidentally, The Supremes did rule today that some of the President's appointments were not valid because Congress was still in session, even though they fibbed that they were not. Let's see how Mr. Obama handles this.
Sargeant Bergdahl
Also, after 5 years of imprisonment by the Taliban, Sargeant Bergdahl faces 5 years imprisonment by the U.S. military, if he is found guilty of desertion. What the hell next! Leave the man alone!
Home Rule Issue?
District of Columbia leadership has ruled that, for someone arrested for possession of Marijuana, if the amount is less than an ounce, the holder will just be fined $25. This should cut down on the number of poor folks ending up in jail, and pot is heading for legalization all over the US very soon. However, Maryland Representative Andy Harris is dead set against drugs of any kind and is pushing an amendment to a hot House bill, that will kill this DC law.
Its funny, that a minor in possession of a regular cigarette, could be fined $50; but in possession of a small amount of pot, they could be fined only $25. Strange.
More Supreme Court Activity
Allow No Aereo TV Transmission without $
The Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 against Aereo, who planned to give antennae to people and then let them receive "over the air" TV programs, that they could have received free, if they had taken the appropriate computer fix suggested by the Government some time ago. The Court said that Aereo will have to pay broadcasters whenever it takes TV programs off the air and transmits them to its clients, because they will then, in a sense, be acting just like a cable TV company.
Stop that Naughty Bank Activity
The Supreme Court also unanimously ruled that employees who accused their bank management of evil doing by investing their retirement money in their own bank, knowing the bank was on shaky grounds financially, were right to do so. That was a bad thing for the banks to do.
Assist Abortion Sidewalkers
The Supreme Court struck down the Massachusetts law mandating a buffer area on the sidewalk outside of so-called Abortion Clinics. Freedom of Speech requires that the sidewalk be open for people to exercise their right to communicate with clinic patients as they enter the facility. This is similar to the case where the Court ruled that scumbag church folks must be allowed to get up close to funeral attendees and be obnoxious to them and to the memory of the deceased. I do not like people getting into other person's faces about what they are doing; especially when they probably have never had to go through special birth situations. I guess that brands me as a Women's Rights Advocate... so be it.
Kill a Helpful Police Procedure
The Supreme Court also decided unanimously, that police may not search a smartphone or similar device without a judicial warrant. I understand the privacy issue, but I can see the Police viewpoint too.
World Cup Bite
Suarez, of Uruguay struck again and bit an Italian player during a game. People are taking bets on whether he will bites someone else in another game next week. I bet he does.
Famous Actor Dies
Eli Wallach died at age 98. The son of Polish Jewish immigrants in New York, Eli liked to play cowboy types, and he was great in many movies, such as The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, a classic. He was also marvelous on the legitimate stage. I wish that I had seen him play in The Rose Tattoo or in Mr. Roberts, two of his best parts, I'm told.
Finally.... Good News for Thirsty Senior Citizens
The Lorien Assisted Living outfit in Taneytown, Maryland, has opened a restaurant and bar called Flick's Pub, named after former mayor, Bob Flickinger. I Served with Bob on the Carroll County Commission on Aging for a few years. Bob is a nice guy and I'm glad they named the pub after him. I wondered how many customers the Pub would get out of the Assisted Living community, and then I found out that an over-55 community nearby was running a trolley back and forth during the day and night so that residents can easily make the special events like Happy Hour.
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Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Primary Results; Iraq; Nigeria; Growth Hacking; Lawyers; Heaven; Bible; Porgy and Bess; Mr. Bubbles; Chopin Whiskers
A nice sunny windy Summer day after the Maryland primary elections. I batted only 33% in my predictions on winners and losers. The three Tea Party guys got selected to fight it out with three incumbents in November.. I was hoping they would lose because education is important and we can do without a loss in funding. DeLeonardo beat Jerry Barnes for Carroll County States Attorney. Jerry had been in his position for over 20 years, and I guess the voters wanted a change.
Robin Frazier was defeated as I thought she would be.. acting as crazy as she usually does (in my opinion). However, her partner in such antics, Mr. "Conservative" Rothschild survived. And it looks like Susan Krebs might survive the Gerrymandering.
So, some positions are already taken through this election... a few will have to wait until November. This gives them time to do more crazy stuff while still in office.
IRAQ
Tom Zirpoli said it right in his column today: "These folks have been fighting each other for hundreds of years, and no outside force, including American advisors, troops or drones can solve this problem for the Kurds, Sunnis, and Shiites.
Nigeria
"Extremists" have kidnapped 91 more people, including babies." No hope for this country in terms of liberty and the pursuit of happiness. However, if the United States could just make some kind of deal with Nigeria to tax the money their people take in from gullible Americans, we probably would be able to cancel the outstanding National Debt. In return, we would send English majors to teach them to write emails like Americans do and let them have a little of the tax money mentioned above.
New Geek Scam
"Growth Hacking" is what happens when APPs go beyond their usage and go viral by sending misleading notices to all of your email friends about how wonderful the product is. Hopefully, someone is making a list of APPs like that.
Lawyers
Did you hear about the terrorists who took a courthouse full of lawyers hostage? They threatened to release one lawyer every hour unless their demands were met.
It Ain't Necessarily So
At Hopkins, an ordinary looking guy handed me a brochure with the title: Am I Going to Heaven? The brochure lists all of the things that one would think head you in that directions.. for instance: Obeying God's laws and commandments.. or Living a good life.. or Going to church regularly.
The authors of the brochure say: No! These are members of the Sowers of Seed, Inc. out of Fort Worth, Texas and they have their own idea on how to get to Heaven. .
The Seed guys quote John 3:18.. "He that believeth on Him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God." This confusing passage sounds like it might be something believed by a Moslem, maybe a Christian, but certainly not a Deist. But, what do I know?
Remember the song from Porgy and Bess... "The things that you're liable to read in the Bible.. It ain't necessarily so!"
Mr. Bubbles
That reminds me of the Harlem hoofer who played "Sporting Life" in the original production of Porgy and Bess.. the marvelous Mr. Bubbles.. I think his first name was John. I met him once in Garmisch Germany when he put on a great USO performance for the soldiers and airmen who were vacationing there. Man, could that man dance! He had a partner.. his brother, I think.
Back in 2000, my wife died during a heart by-pass operation at the Washington Hospital Center. That facility had a 99.98% survival rate for such procedures... However, on Bastille Day, my wife was unlucky, and another patient was also not lucky on that day.. Mr. Bubbles.
No Chopin' Whiskers?
Another story from the Victor Book of Musical Fun:
"At one time Chopin shaved off the whiskers on the left side of his face. He explained this by saying that although they grew very well on his left cheek, there was really no occasion to have them there because he always sat with his right toward the audience."
........................................................................................................
Robin Frazier was defeated as I thought she would be.. acting as crazy as she usually does (in my opinion). However, her partner in such antics, Mr. "Conservative" Rothschild survived. And it looks like Susan Krebs might survive the Gerrymandering.
So, some positions are already taken through this election... a few will have to wait until November. This gives them time to do more crazy stuff while still in office.
IRAQ
Tom Zirpoli said it right in his column today: "These folks have been fighting each other for hundreds of years, and no outside force, including American advisors, troops or drones can solve this problem for the Kurds, Sunnis, and Shiites.
Nigeria
"Extremists" have kidnapped 91 more people, including babies." No hope for this country in terms of liberty and the pursuit of happiness. However, if the United States could just make some kind of deal with Nigeria to tax the money their people take in from gullible Americans, we probably would be able to cancel the outstanding National Debt. In return, we would send English majors to teach them to write emails like Americans do and let them have a little of the tax money mentioned above.
New Geek Scam
"Growth Hacking" is what happens when APPs go beyond their usage and go viral by sending misleading notices to all of your email friends about how wonderful the product is. Hopefully, someone is making a list of APPs like that.
Lawyers
Did you hear about the terrorists who took a courthouse full of lawyers hostage? They threatened to release one lawyer every hour unless their demands were met.
It Ain't Necessarily So
At Hopkins, an ordinary looking guy handed me a brochure with the title: Am I Going to Heaven? The brochure lists all of the things that one would think head you in that directions.. for instance: Obeying God's laws and commandments.. or Living a good life.. or Going to church regularly.
The authors of the brochure say: No! These are members of the Sowers of Seed, Inc. out of Fort Worth, Texas and they have their own idea on how to get to Heaven. .
The Seed guys quote John 3:18.. "He that believeth on Him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God." This confusing passage sounds like it might be something believed by a Moslem, maybe a Christian, but certainly not a Deist. But, what do I know?
Remember the song from Porgy and Bess... "The things that you're liable to read in the Bible.. It ain't necessarily so!"
Mr. Bubbles
That reminds me of the Harlem hoofer who played "Sporting Life" in the original production of Porgy and Bess.. the marvelous Mr. Bubbles.. I think his first name was John. I met him once in Garmisch Germany when he put on a great USO performance for the soldiers and airmen who were vacationing there. Man, could that man dance! He had a partner.. his brother, I think.
Back in 2000, my wife died during a heart by-pass operation at the Washington Hospital Center. That facility had a 99.98% survival rate for such procedures... However, on Bastille Day, my wife was unlucky, and another patient was also not lucky on that day.. Mr. Bubbles.
No Chopin' Whiskers?
Another story from the Victor Book of Musical Fun:
"At one time Chopin shaved off the whiskers on the left side of his face. He explained this by saying that although they grew very well on his left cheek, there was really no occasion to have them there because he always sat with his right toward the audience."
........................................................................................................
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Carotid; Typos; Voting Day; Smokers Lose; Spruce Essence; Drones; Robocalls; Airbags; Tires; Tsunami; Marathon Fraud; Musical Fun
Sunny and windy Summer day. Today, Elaine had the five tests that Medicare will not cover. When I had them done some time ago, the tests showed that my carotid artery on one side was almost totally blocked. They also found something else, but I've forgotten what.. in any case, I followed up with my regular doctors. I had the carotid artery cleared out and now I'm much smarter than Einstein. Just think about my cousin Allen Vaughan. Both of his arteries were almost 100% blocked and he was due for a stroke. He had both opened up and now he is smarter than both me and Einstein. Elaine will get her results in month or so.
Local Advertisement
Fogle Termite and Pest Company has a slick advertising paper going out all over Carroll County. The top of the sheet says: "Don't let ants and termite (sic) invade your home! Get personalized Pet Protection!" Those damn cats are always bringing home those ants!
Typos
I'm guilty of typos too. I just looked back at one of my blog entries where I meant to say that my tomato plants were growing... instead, I said they were glowing.
Primary Voting Day
Let's see my score on these predictions (actually wishes):
Robin Frazier will not survive the primary.
Susan Krebs will not survive the primary..
Rothschild will not survive the primary.
The three Educational Tea Party guys will not survive the primary.
Mr. Rausch will not survive the primary.
Mr. Getty will survive the primary.
Mr. Barnes will survive the primary.
Smokers Lose Freedom
Westminster has 14 park properties, 13 of which will shortly become smoke free. Belle Grove Square will stay the stinky, cigarette butt haven that it has always been.
Now, we can look for the letters to the local paper, complaining that the UN is the root cause of the loss of this essential freedom: the right to give themselves and others nearby lung cancer.
Spruce Essence
Nice guy, Fred Teeter, who is the executive director of the Carroll County Historical Society announced that on August 1st, the County will celebrate "Hops in History".. a kind of love story for beer drinkers. They will be serving beer that they are preparing now.. at 4 1/2 % alcohol, it will be a little different from the beer originally brewed, but probably as tasty because they will add Spruce Essence. I've always thought that the reason Lowenbrau Beer tastes so good in Germany and so lousy in the U.S. is because the Germans add Spruce Essence. I could be wrong. My German contacts insist that the ancient German rules for beer are still in effect and additives like Spruce Essence are definitely not added. Ich sage Kuhscheiss!
Drone On
Get ready for more drones in our airways. A new Federal law opens the air waves to drones of all kinds says the Carroll County Times. It also says that from 2001 through 2013, there have been only 47 severe drone crashes. Outside of the U.S., an estimated 4,000 people have been killed by our drone strikes since 2009.
Unbelievable Gonads!
Remember Julius Henson, who put out robocalls on election day in 2010, telling African Americans that they didn't need to vote. He served just 30 days jail time for that offense and is now running for a seat in the Maryland State Senate!
What's in Your Airbag?
Hot air and high humidity are causing certain airbags made in Japan to explode. They are probably standard equipment in US cars.
What's in Your Tires?
I know that some air has been leaking out of my tires for about a week. Today, I found out why. There is a nice 2 penny nail sticking out of my right front. So, I get to take it in tomorrow. In the old days, I would have taken the nail out myself and patched the hole... however, these are new days, and I think I'd better get it fixed by somebody who knows a lot more than I do.
A Puny Tsunami
An earthquake on an island 1,400 miles south west of Anchorage, Alaska, triggered a tsunami. However, the tsunami turned out to be just a couple of inches high. Lucky folks.
Another Marathon Bombing Victim Fraud
Two Boston brothers tried to say that their long-deceased aunt had lost her legs in the Marathon bombing that took place in 2013, and filed for insurance compensation. Both brothers are from "Southie", the area of Boston that was the home of Whitey Bulger, the crime boss and murderer captured last year after a long search.
The FBI fingered the brothers for fraud, gave them a phony check, and then arrested them. Instead of a lot of easy money, they each received 3 years jail time.
Victor Book of Musical Fun
I love this book.. it contains lots of musical quizzes, stories about famous musicians, jokes, and wonderful cartoons by a guy named Galen. Here is one of the jokes:
Two ladies who ran a store near Carnegie Hall allowed their windows to be filled with concert posters, and in return they were given tickets to a symphony concert. They arrived late and were seated after the overture. Turning to the man next to them, one asked what the next number would be. He answered that it was Brahms's Fourth Symphony. The lady turned to her partner and said Bitterly: "I told you to hurry. We've already missed three symphonies!"
...................................................................................
Local Advertisement
Fogle Termite and Pest Company has a slick advertising paper going out all over Carroll County. The top of the sheet says: "Don't let ants and termite (sic) invade your home! Get personalized Pet Protection!" Those damn cats are always bringing home those ants!
Typos
I'm guilty of typos too. I just looked back at one of my blog entries where I meant to say that my tomato plants were growing... instead, I said they were glowing.
Primary Voting Day
Let's see my score on these predictions (actually wishes):
Robin Frazier will not survive the primary.
Susan Krebs will not survive the primary..
Rothschild will not survive the primary.
The three Educational Tea Party guys will not survive the primary.
Mr. Rausch will not survive the primary.
Mr. Getty will survive the primary.
Mr. Barnes will survive the primary.
Smokers Lose Freedom
Westminster has 14 park properties, 13 of which will shortly become smoke free. Belle Grove Square will stay the stinky, cigarette butt haven that it has always been.
Now, we can look for the letters to the local paper, complaining that the UN is the root cause of the loss of this essential freedom: the right to give themselves and others nearby lung cancer.
Spruce Essence
Nice guy, Fred Teeter, who is the executive director of the Carroll County Historical Society announced that on August 1st, the County will celebrate "Hops in History".. a kind of love story for beer drinkers. They will be serving beer that they are preparing now.. at 4 1/2 % alcohol, it will be a little different from the beer originally brewed, but probably as tasty because they will add Spruce Essence. I've always thought that the reason Lowenbrau Beer tastes so good in Germany and so lousy in the U.S. is because the Germans add Spruce Essence. I could be wrong. My German contacts insist that the ancient German rules for beer are still in effect and additives like Spruce Essence are definitely not added. Ich sage Kuhscheiss!
Drone On
Get ready for more drones in our airways. A new Federal law opens the air waves to drones of all kinds says the Carroll County Times. It also says that from 2001 through 2013, there have been only 47 severe drone crashes. Outside of the U.S., an estimated 4,000 people have been killed by our drone strikes since 2009.
Unbelievable Gonads!
Remember Julius Henson, who put out robocalls on election day in 2010, telling African Americans that they didn't need to vote. He served just 30 days jail time for that offense and is now running for a seat in the Maryland State Senate!
What's in Your Airbag?
Hot air and high humidity are causing certain airbags made in Japan to explode. They are probably standard equipment in US cars.
What's in Your Tires?
I know that some air has been leaking out of my tires for about a week. Today, I found out why. There is a nice 2 penny nail sticking out of my right front. So, I get to take it in tomorrow. In the old days, I would have taken the nail out myself and patched the hole... however, these are new days, and I think I'd better get it fixed by somebody who knows a lot more than I do.
A Puny Tsunami
An earthquake on an island 1,400 miles south west of Anchorage, Alaska, triggered a tsunami. However, the tsunami turned out to be just a couple of inches high. Lucky folks.
Another Marathon Bombing Victim Fraud
Two Boston brothers tried to say that their long-deceased aunt had lost her legs in the Marathon bombing that took place in 2013, and filed for insurance compensation. Both brothers are from "Southie", the area of Boston that was the home of Whitey Bulger, the crime boss and murderer captured last year after a long search.
The FBI fingered the brothers for fraud, gave them a phony check, and then arrested them. Instead of a lot of easy money, they each received 3 years jail time.
Victor Book of Musical Fun
I love this book.. it contains lots of musical quizzes, stories about famous musicians, jokes, and wonderful cartoons by a guy named Galen. Here is one of the jokes:
Two ladies who ran a store near Carnegie Hall allowed their windows to be filled with concert posters, and in return they were given tickets to a symphony concert. They arrived late and were seated after the overture. Turning to the man next to them, one asked what the next number would be. He answered that it was Brahms's Fourth Symphony. The lady turned to her partner and said Bitterly: "I told you to hurry. We've already missed three symphonies!"
...................................................................................
Monday, June 23, 2014
Fishing; Dog Cruelty; Obamacare; Conservatives; Win!; Henny Youngman; Mark Twain; 727; Machete; Henry Cate; Harpers Index; Christians
Happy Summer! But, some people are complaining that we have had too much rainfall this year. In fact, we are 7" above normal to date in Central Maryland and higher in other parts of the state. This excess rainfall is causing spillage over the Prettyboy Dam and making problems for fisherman who fly cast in the streams that flow from the dam.
Strong currents are knocking fishermen over and the brown trout habitat is being eroded by having hiding places removed as the water moves the pieces of wood that the fish use for shelter. Another result of climate change?
Animal Cruelty?
The Baltimore Police Officer who slit the throat of a 7-year old Shar-Pei dog is named Bolger, the same last name as the infamous Whitey Bolger, Boston crime boss. Could they be related?
Why did they have to kill the dog that way when it was secured by a hooked device? The dog was reported to have bitten a woman, but she states that it was just a nip on the hand when she tried to read the dog's collar. Baltimore police had all supposedly had classes last year about how to handle animals, after another incident where a dog was killed by a cop.
Obamacare
Quote of the month: Conservative Columnist, Byron York, argues that "Obama's good news applies only to the poor." Duh?!
And Conservatives have finally told the real reason why they don't like programs like Obamacare. Its because those programs require helping the less fortunate with other people's money.
A Winner!!
My son in law, John, has always had luck with drawings and lotteries. On Sunday, he was awarded the grand prize at the Sacred Heart Church Lucky 21 Drawing. $3000 big ones! I'm sure he will be able to put that to good use.
A bunch of stuff:
Henny Youngman Saying
My grandmother is over 80 and still doesn't need glasses. She drinks right out of the bottle.
Mark Twain Saying
Water taken in moderation cannot hurt anybody.
Plane Talk
Swiss artist Christoph Buchel has secured local permits to bury a Boeing 727 38 feet under a patch of the Mojave Desert. Visitors will take a tunnel down in order to tour the 153' long plane.
Another Machete Man
An unidentified man was taken into custody in Chesapeake, Virginia, after he rushed into the Regional Medical Center with a machete and a can of gasoline, and demanded to know "the test results."
Henry Cate VII Saying
The problem with political jokes is that they get elected.
Harper's Index
Percentage of the world's Christians who lived in Sub-Sahara Africa in 1912: 1%
Percentage of the world's Christians who lived in Sub-Sahara Africa in 2012: 24%
Why the big increase?
...............................................................................
Strong currents are knocking fishermen over and the brown trout habitat is being eroded by having hiding places removed as the water moves the pieces of wood that the fish use for shelter. Another result of climate change?
Animal Cruelty?
The Baltimore Police Officer who slit the throat of a 7-year old Shar-Pei dog is named Bolger, the same last name as the infamous Whitey Bolger, Boston crime boss. Could they be related?
Why did they have to kill the dog that way when it was secured by a hooked device? The dog was reported to have bitten a woman, but she states that it was just a nip on the hand when she tried to read the dog's collar. Baltimore police had all supposedly had classes last year about how to handle animals, after another incident where a dog was killed by a cop.
Obamacare
Quote of the month: Conservative Columnist, Byron York, argues that "Obama's good news applies only to the poor." Duh?!
And Conservatives have finally told the real reason why they don't like programs like Obamacare. Its because those programs require helping the less fortunate with other people's money.
A Winner!!
My son in law, John, has always had luck with drawings and lotteries. On Sunday, he was awarded the grand prize at the Sacred Heart Church Lucky 21 Drawing. $3000 big ones! I'm sure he will be able to put that to good use.
A bunch of stuff:
Henny Youngman Saying
My grandmother is over 80 and still doesn't need glasses. She drinks right out of the bottle.
Mark Twain Saying
Water taken in moderation cannot hurt anybody.
Plane Talk
Swiss artist Christoph Buchel has secured local permits to bury a Boeing 727 38 feet under a patch of the Mojave Desert. Visitors will take a tunnel down in order to tour the 153' long plane.
Another Machete Man
An unidentified man was taken into custody in Chesapeake, Virginia, after he rushed into the Regional Medical Center with a machete and a can of gasoline, and demanded to know "the test results."
Henry Cate VII Saying
The problem with political jokes is that they get elected.
Harper's Index
Percentage of the world's Christians who lived in Sub-Sahara Africa in 1912: 1%
Percentage of the world's Christians who lived in Sub-Sahara Africa in 2012: 24%
Why the big increase?
...............................................................................
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Civil War; New Windsor; Frederick Dielman; Ganzler; Krebs; Obamacare; Frasier; Murdock; Emily Howell; Emmy; Jambandit; David Cope
Lots of gigantic clouds in the sky and temperature is a balmy 78 or so. Its Summer now, so that's ok.
Civil War
Today's Carroll County Times has a nice piece about the Confederate raid on New Windsor, Maryland on July 9th, 1864. (The piece was written by Historian, Frank Batarick.)
\
The South was losing the war, and they were desperate to show that they could be a continuing threat to the North, and sent raids into towns fairly close to the District of Columbia. A raiding party of 800 Confederate Cavalrymen spent some hours looting and pillaging in New Windsor, Maryland. When they got tired of harassing the folks in New Windsor, they embarked for a raid on neighboring Westminster, where I live. I can visualize them riding their horses on a dirt road within an eighth of a mile of our house.
During the New Windsor melee, a young man drew an amazing picture of the action, which was later published in Leslie's Weekly. The young man's name was Frederick Dielman, and he was only 17 years old at the time. He was born on Christmas Day in 1847 in the German town named Hanover, and was a graduate of Calvert College in New Windsor.
Young Frederick's draftsmanship was recognized and he was given the opportunity to study in Munich, Germany, where he received an achievement medal. He came back to the United States and opened a studio in New York City and embarked on a long artistic career. His work illustrating books and magazines was well-known and he also provided historic murals for Government buildings, including the Library of Congress. He died in 1935 at the age of 88. ( I really like his work and I am surprised that the leaders of New Windsor have not advertised his links to their town. Maybe they have.. it seems to me that there is a Dielman House there.. I'll have to look into that. There is a lot that I don't know about Maryland history.)
Politicians!
Doug Ganzler For Maryland Governor?
Sorry, Mr. Ganzler, but I detest the negative ads that you are putting on various media about Anthony Brown. I can't believe you want that Governor job so badly that you would malign someone who seems to me to be a "good" man. So, no vote from me to you, Doug.
Susan Krebs for reelection to State Office?
Susan, it seems from what I read in your ads, that your main claim to fame is: "I voted against Obamacare!"
There will come a time, probably very soon, when the so-called Obamacare will be loved just like Medicare and Social Security. Short-sighted politicians didn't like those programs when they were passed, but they soon came to be relied on by people and the nay-sayers disappeared from the scene. So, Susan, you need to be careful about what you say. Republican Party endorsement isn't really worth it.. you need the endorsement of the common person, your constituent, who needs the provisions of the Affordable Health Care Plan.
Robin Frasier for reelection as Commissioner?
The newspaper says that she has raised more money than the other candidates. $31,000+. This is supposedly $20,000 more that she raised last time. Why? She seems to think its because she has had more money-seeking campaigns. I wonder who the donors were. Do voters get to see who the donors are? I can't remember. Probably not.. because of privacy issues. But... how does Doug Ganzler know who and how much was given to Anthony Brown?
People of Note
Who is Dr. Mike Murdock?
Today I listened to an NPR program where a man told how he broke into Mike Murdock's home and stole his heavy safe, hoping to find lots of money inside. However, all he found was a couple of $2 bills and a note suggesting a donation of $58, which God would increase for you 100-fold.
Until this time, I had not heard of Mike Murdock and his money making activity. Apparently, he promises that God will increase money you donate to his causes and return it to you. He usually asks for that $58 figure, but will harass you for $1,000, if he suspects you have it. Sounds like he usually gets what he asks for. May I say.. this sounds like a great Ponzi-like scheme.. but better, because he doesn't give money back to you himself, he lets God do so. Wow! I'll have to add this to the TRIAD list of situations that Senior Citizens should avoid.
Who is Emily Howell?
David Cope is a Computer Engineer, Author, Scientist, Composer, and former Professor of Music in California. He had a great idea, where he programs a computer to analyze the works of famous composers, like Mozart, Mahler, and others. Based on this analysis, his computer can create musical ideas in the style of those composers... these ideas can be turned into nice music by Professor Cope.
He calls his computer Emily Howell... shortened to Emmy at times, like when he publishes an album with the title something like: Emmy's Mahler. Sounds like he has a lot of fun with this.. it reminds me of when I programmed an interactive psychology program that talked to you by feeding your statements right back to you, like a psychologist does.
The good doctor now has developed an APP called JAMBANDIT, which I think is similar to Music Minus One.. where you can include yourself in a classical piece. Also sounds like fun.
.................................................................................
Civil War
Today's Carroll County Times has a nice piece about the Confederate raid on New Windsor, Maryland on July 9th, 1864. (The piece was written by Historian, Frank Batarick.)
\
The South was losing the war, and they were desperate to show that they could be a continuing threat to the North, and sent raids into towns fairly close to the District of Columbia. A raiding party of 800 Confederate Cavalrymen spent some hours looting and pillaging in New Windsor, Maryland. When they got tired of harassing the folks in New Windsor, they embarked for a raid on neighboring Westminster, where I live. I can visualize them riding their horses on a dirt road within an eighth of a mile of our house.
During the New Windsor melee, a young man drew an amazing picture of the action, which was later published in Leslie's Weekly. The young man's name was Frederick Dielman, and he was only 17 years old at the time. He was born on Christmas Day in 1847 in the German town named Hanover, and was a graduate of Calvert College in New Windsor.
Young Frederick's draftsmanship was recognized and he was given the opportunity to study in Munich, Germany, where he received an achievement medal. He came back to the United States and opened a studio in New York City and embarked on a long artistic career. His work illustrating books and magazines was well-known and he also provided historic murals for Government buildings, including the Library of Congress. He died in 1935 at the age of 88. ( I really like his work and I am surprised that the leaders of New Windsor have not advertised his links to their town. Maybe they have.. it seems to me that there is a Dielman House there.. I'll have to look into that. There is a lot that I don't know about Maryland history.)
Politicians!
Doug Ganzler For Maryland Governor?
Sorry, Mr. Ganzler, but I detest the negative ads that you are putting on various media about Anthony Brown. I can't believe you want that Governor job so badly that you would malign someone who seems to me to be a "good" man. So, no vote from me to you, Doug.
Susan Krebs for reelection to State Office?
Susan, it seems from what I read in your ads, that your main claim to fame is: "I voted against Obamacare!"
There will come a time, probably very soon, when the so-called Obamacare will be loved just like Medicare and Social Security. Short-sighted politicians didn't like those programs when they were passed, but they soon came to be relied on by people and the nay-sayers disappeared from the scene. So, Susan, you need to be careful about what you say. Republican Party endorsement isn't really worth it.. you need the endorsement of the common person, your constituent, who needs the provisions of the Affordable Health Care Plan.
Robin Frasier for reelection as Commissioner?
The newspaper says that she has raised more money than the other candidates. $31,000+. This is supposedly $20,000 more that she raised last time. Why? She seems to think its because she has had more money-seeking campaigns. I wonder who the donors were. Do voters get to see who the donors are? I can't remember. Probably not.. because of privacy issues. But... how does Doug Ganzler know who and how much was given to Anthony Brown?
People of Note
Who is Dr. Mike Murdock?
Today I listened to an NPR program where a man told how he broke into Mike Murdock's home and stole his heavy safe, hoping to find lots of money inside. However, all he found was a couple of $2 bills and a note suggesting a donation of $58, which God would increase for you 100-fold.
Until this time, I had not heard of Mike Murdock and his money making activity. Apparently, he promises that God will increase money you donate to his causes and return it to you. He usually asks for that $58 figure, but will harass you for $1,000, if he suspects you have it. Sounds like he usually gets what he asks for. May I say.. this sounds like a great Ponzi-like scheme.. but better, because he doesn't give money back to you himself, he lets God do so. Wow! I'll have to add this to the TRIAD list of situations that Senior Citizens should avoid.
Who is Emily Howell?
David Cope is a Computer Engineer, Author, Scientist, Composer, and former Professor of Music in California. He had a great idea, where he programs a computer to analyze the works of famous composers, like Mozart, Mahler, and others. Based on this analysis, his computer can create musical ideas in the style of those composers... these ideas can be turned into nice music by Professor Cope.
He calls his computer Emily Howell... shortened to Emmy at times, like when he publishes an album with the title something like: Emmy's Mahler. Sounds like he has a lot of fun with this.. it reminds me of when I programmed an interactive psychology program that talked to you by feeding your statements right back to you, like a psychologist does.
The good doctor now has developed an APP called JAMBANDIT, which I think is similar to Music Minus One.. where you can include yourself in a classical piece. Also sounds like fun.
.................................................................................
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Too many notes, Herr Mozart!
To celebrate my 300th entry for this blog, I want to talk a bit about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The BBC Music Magazine had a large spread about Herr Mozart and his marvelous music a few months ago. They also had some myths to squash and some new ideas to try. I know that many of you do not have access to this remarkable magazine (and I highly recommend it!) so, I'll list some of their findings.. I don't think they will mind.
Mozart Myths (outlined by Wordsmith Misha Donat)
1. He died in a pauper's grave.
Not so. He was buried in an unmarked 'simple' grave like other members of Vienna's middle class.
2. He had Tourette's Syndrome.
Not so. His scatological letters would seem to indicate that, but such talk was common in middle class Vienna.
3. He died rehearsing the Requiem.
Not so. The last rehearsal sing-through happened earlier.
4. Salieri poisoned him.
Probably not. Even though his wife said the dying and delirious Mozart mentioned it. She didn't believe it.
5. He wrote Symphonies No. 39 to 41 as a testament to himself for posterity.
Don't think so. He was a pro, not an egoist.
6. As a teen, he wrote out Allegri's Miserere after one hearing.
Probably not. But he could have.
7. He threw dice to trigger musical ideas.
No evidence of this, although he might have used alphabetization on parts of his music.
8. Mozart increases your intelligence.
No. BBC reports.. but I believe it. Look what it's done for me. (Hmmm) I didn't get admitted to Mensa until I had become a fan of Mozart's music.
9. He wore brightly colored wigs.
No. He rarely wore wigs, in spite of what is shown in the movie, AMADEUS.
............................................................................
BBC's Unusual Uses for Mozart (Wonderfully written by By Jeremy Pound)
1. Making Wine
A Tuscany wine-maker pipes Magic Flute music over his vines and makes a special wine called Flauto Magico.
2, Stopping Student Drunkenness
Officials at Pittsburgh University pipe Eine Kleine Nachtmusik throughout the campus from 10 pm to 2 am. They claim that it reduces drunken activity.
3. Making clearer water
A doctor of alternative medicine claims that water that has had Mozart music played at it produces nice clear crystals when frozen.
4. Making Contented Cows
A Spanish dairy farmer plays Mozart's Concerto for Flute and Harp to his 700 cows and they reward him with an extra six liters of milk each.
5. Making Tastier Eggs
In 2003, Mannheim Mozart Festival organizers played Mozart music for 14 days to 3,000 hens. Production didn't rise much, but everybody said the eggs were very tasty.
6. Calming down Dogs
"It's quieter in the kennels now," say the keepers.
7. Trying to get sharks horny
They played Eine Kleine Nachtmusik to a shark.. didn't work.
8. Increase smartness of rats
Mozart music made them move more quickly, but rock music made them slow down.
9. Sportier Greeks
A trainer subjected his Greek athletes to Mozart music before each workout, and four months later the team won six gold medals.
10. Get rid of obnoxious young people
In London, lots of wise guys were hanging around the Metro and making trouble, so Mozart music was piped out to them. They immediately left and didn't return.
11. Fattening Premature Babies
Playing Mozart melodies to premies in Israel, it has been found that they get bigger sooner and are able to go home earlier than would be expected before.
12. Fattening Fish
Bream in Athens grow more rapidly when exposed to Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.
13. Making ham tastier.
Pigs get a little Mozart at night, it calms them down, they sleep better, they wake up refreshed... they dash off to piggy heaven, and the honey ham is delicious.
14. Dissolving sewage more quickly
Berlin sewage workers say the Magic Flute music stimulates microbes to do a better job in breaking down waste.
15. Making plants photosynthesize more quickly?
A 2001 paper from Trinity University, Texas, made this assertion. However, the paper researchers were listed as B. Spears, J. Brahms, and W.J. Clinton.
...............................................................................
Don't forget to try Mozartkugeln!
Paul Fjuerst introduced his Mozartbonbon in 1890. Mozart Balls are marvelously delicious... a pistachio marzipan center wrapped in nougat and dipped in chocolate.... ummmmmm! Go to Salzburg for the best ones.. their birthplace. Also, if you are adventurous you might try Bachwuerfel (Bach Cubes).. square coffee and nut truffles... also delicious.
...................................................................................................
The BBC Music Magazine had a large spread about Herr Mozart and his marvelous music a few months ago. They also had some myths to squash and some new ideas to try. I know that many of you do not have access to this remarkable magazine (and I highly recommend it!) so, I'll list some of their findings.. I don't think they will mind.
Mozart Myths (outlined by Wordsmith Misha Donat)
1. He died in a pauper's grave.
Not so. He was buried in an unmarked 'simple' grave like other members of Vienna's middle class.
2. He had Tourette's Syndrome.
Not so. His scatological letters would seem to indicate that, but such talk was common in middle class Vienna.
3. He died rehearsing the Requiem.
Not so. The last rehearsal sing-through happened earlier.
4. Salieri poisoned him.
Probably not. Even though his wife said the dying and delirious Mozart mentioned it. She didn't believe it.
5. He wrote Symphonies No. 39 to 41 as a testament to himself for posterity.
Don't think so. He was a pro, not an egoist.
6. As a teen, he wrote out Allegri's Miserere after one hearing.
Probably not. But he could have.
7. He threw dice to trigger musical ideas.
No evidence of this, although he might have used alphabetization on parts of his music.
8. Mozart increases your intelligence.
No. BBC reports.. but I believe it. Look what it's done for me. (Hmmm) I didn't get admitted to Mensa until I had become a fan of Mozart's music.
9. He wore brightly colored wigs.
No. He rarely wore wigs, in spite of what is shown in the movie, AMADEUS.
............................................................................
BBC's Unusual Uses for Mozart (Wonderfully written by By Jeremy Pound)
1. Making Wine
A Tuscany wine-maker pipes Magic Flute music over his vines and makes a special wine called Flauto Magico.
2, Stopping Student Drunkenness
Officials at Pittsburgh University pipe Eine Kleine Nachtmusik throughout the campus from 10 pm to 2 am. They claim that it reduces drunken activity.
3. Making clearer water
A doctor of alternative medicine claims that water that has had Mozart music played at it produces nice clear crystals when frozen.
4. Making Contented Cows
A Spanish dairy farmer plays Mozart's Concerto for Flute and Harp to his 700 cows and they reward him with an extra six liters of milk each.
5. Making Tastier Eggs
In 2003, Mannheim Mozart Festival organizers played Mozart music for 14 days to 3,000 hens. Production didn't rise much, but everybody said the eggs were very tasty.
6. Calming down Dogs
"It's quieter in the kennels now," say the keepers.
7. Trying to get sharks horny
They played Eine Kleine Nachtmusik to a shark.. didn't work.
8. Increase smartness of rats
Mozart music made them move more quickly, but rock music made them slow down.
9. Sportier Greeks
A trainer subjected his Greek athletes to Mozart music before each workout, and four months later the team won six gold medals.
10. Get rid of obnoxious young people
In London, lots of wise guys were hanging around the Metro and making trouble, so Mozart music was piped out to them. They immediately left and didn't return.
11. Fattening Premature Babies
Playing Mozart melodies to premies in Israel, it has been found that they get bigger sooner and are able to go home earlier than would be expected before.
12. Fattening Fish
Bream in Athens grow more rapidly when exposed to Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.
13. Making ham tastier.
Pigs get a little Mozart at night, it calms them down, they sleep better, they wake up refreshed... they dash off to piggy heaven, and the honey ham is delicious.
14. Dissolving sewage more quickly
Berlin sewage workers say the Magic Flute music stimulates microbes to do a better job in breaking down waste.
15. Making plants photosynthesize more quickly?
A 2001 paper from Trinity University, Texas, made this assertion. However, the paper researchers were listed as B. Spears, J. Brahms, and W.J. Clinton.
...............................................................................
Don't forget to try Mozartkugeln!
Paul Fjuerst introduced his Mozartbonbon in 1890. Mozart Balls are marvelously delicious... a pistachio marzipan center wrapped in nougat and dipped in chocolate.... ummmmmm! Go to Salzburg for the best ones.. their birthplace. Also, if you are adventurous you might try Bachwuerfel (Bach Cubes).. square coffee and nut truffles... also delicious.
...................................................................................................
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