Well, we are still here... or maybe this is the "END TIME"... just look at all the tornados and earthquakes and tsumanis and heat waves.. and Congressmen and Candidates making fools of themselves... but people in the public eye have always done stupid things.. by anybody's standards.
This morning, I woke up in a mild depression when I encountered the following things:
o All of our lights and fans were on for some mysterious reason.
o Our cat had thrown up in 7 places on our main rug and once on the kitchen floor.
o The radio reported that the stock market has continued it's downward trend and I'll probably be poor again soon, if not already.
o The US. credit rating is heading to "junk" and Congress is playing political games about it.
Besides that, I'm very worried about the health of two close relatives and a dear friend who is in the hospital.
However.. there are developments that are making me lose my depressive state:
o It's kind of interesting to follow Congressman Weiner and his strange adventures.
o Newt Gingrich's Presidential campaign staff has quit on him.
o Sarah Palin is learning facts about the early days of our Nation.
And.. Elaine and I are anxiously awaiting a new addition to her family. That will be a joyous occasion.
Here are other items interesting me this morning:
01. Losing Weight
I have now lost 24 pounds since last December. My plan is to lose 1/2 pound each week and reach my target weight exactly one year from today (June 2012). Hey.. I took a long time to put it on; so, if I take a long time taking it off.. maybe I'll keep it off.
I believe that the only diet that works is to reduce calories and increase exercise. I was pointed to a marvelous free online program called http://www.loseit.com/ .. by signing up for that program, one sets a target weight goal, and the program calculates a daily caloric limit to try for. Each evening, one can enter all of the food that one has eaten during the day as well as any exercise taken. The program provides the calorie counts for foods eaten and exercise taken. At first, it may be amazing to see the amount of calories that one is unwittingly putting into one's body. For most people, facing up to calorie reality is a great motivating force.
The program allows for "friends" to swap motivational information. My son is now using the program, as well as a granddaughter and some acquaintances. Try it.. you may be surprised at how well it works.
02. Green Thumb?
Last week I finally was able to fill my 4 Earthboxes with soil, dolomite, fertilizer, water and vegetable plants. I have planted squash, tomatoes, bush beans and cucumbers. The plants have doubled in size in one week. Hopefully, the stink bugs will not find their way to my deck.
I also planted specialty tomatoes given me by my daughter, Diane, a master gardener if there ever was one. Each of these is in a pot by itself and we already have picked 4 red cherry tomatoes to eat. Much more tasty than the cardboard Super Market ones. There are 5 large green ones ready to turn red in this hot weather. I still have 4 hanging baskets of flowers to put up.
Last year, we grew some specialty lettuce and thought that they had died down with the frost. But this year it is back again and as fast as we pick it, more grows. I thought it was a cool weather plant.. but it seems to like the 100 degree days we are having.
03. Global warming?
It's not even Summer yet and the temperature has been hitting in the high 90's for quite a few days. Yesterday, it was 100 in some of the places that I visited. Thank goodness for air conditioning. We keep the house at 76 degrees and thereby are able to function almost normally. I wonder if this weather is the cause of our cat's throwing up. Or maybe she is just bulemic and trying to keep her kittenish figure?
HOLD IT! FAMILY NEWS!
Elaine's daughter just gave birth to a baby boy. So, I have to sign off right now and switch to family activity.
.......................................................................................................................................
Showing posts with label Global Warming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Global Warming. Show all posts
Friday, June 10, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Rainy Season Thoughts
Well, the wind stopped a bit.. but it still is sputtering rain. Our yellow flowers with pink insides are blooming in spite of the lousy weather. As is usual, regardless of the weather, I have a compulsion to share news, jokes and "Crankshaft" type observations with anyone nearby. So, if you have anything else to do with your time, avoid this blog entry. Remember.. you've been warned.
01. Car Talk
At the opening of today's Car Talk show, the Massachusetts guys posed some scientific type questions. I don't think they would mind if I mention them here. (By the way, if you have not listened to that NPR show, you are missing a great experience.)
Q. What do you call a really small bottle of mouthwash?
A. Microscope.
Q. What is the mathematical ratio used in constructing an igloo?
A. Eskimo pie.
Q. What is the shortest distance between 2 jokes.
A. A straight line.
Q. What is the term for the time between the stepping on a banana peel and falling on the ground?
A. A bananasecond.
02. More names.
Every so often, I mention people's names that I have collected over the years. I apologize to those who own these names, but I think they are humorous. If you know these people, please don't tell them, because I don't want to get a punch in the nose.
ALCOHOL:
Zula Z. Boozer
Martin I. Sober
FAMOUS NAMES:
Willie Huckleberry Finn
Mona Lisa Guess
FEATHERED FRIENDS:
Birdie Berryhill
Cola Chick
Russell Feathers
Canary Sires
FOOD:
Mr. Sizzleberger
JEWELS:
Opal Galightly
Fairest Ruby Klepfer
MEDICAL CONDITIONS:
Round Barnes
Bland Butts
Ether Boyant Horn
A. Reck
Rena Sweat
Sinus Wilzy
MEN AND WOMEN:
Mrs. Husband
William Sex Pattern
MISCELLANEOUS:
Other Bradshaw
Blueford Corsey
Mr. Richendollar
03. What happened?
Last December, police in Ransom, Illinois, (population: 409) were looking for a woman who walked away from an automobile crash that left her husband dead. The only clues were some footprints in the snow and a slipper. Dressed in a red party dress and one slipper, she should not have been that difficult to find. Perhaps her bright dress in the white snow caught the attention of the pilot of an alien craft and she has been abducted and held for ransom. I haven't seen any more news about this incident on the Internet. I hope she was found in time for Christmas.
04. What happened?
In August of 2009, it was reported that Michael Jackson's artificial nose had disappeared from his body in the morgue. I'm not sure if that report was true or not. Michael is supposed to have had a bottle full of fake noses. I read where his real nose had collapsed after excessive plastic surgeries. If someone had stolen the nose, it probably will show up years hence as a "holy relic."
05. Survival equipment.
Transportation officials in one of China's provinces have outfitted buses with large orange bricks attached with long strings. These are supposed to be used by passengers in emergency situations, so they can break a window and escape.
06. Negligence case.
A Chicago woman got drunk and fell through the window of a hair salon. She later sued the owner because he should have had safety glass installed.. lots of drunks apparently walk by his shop, and he should have been prepared for one of them to fall through. I wonder if she won her suit.
07. No global warming?
The huge glacier on Mount Margherita in Uganda has cracked and is now blocking access by mountain climbers to the summit. The glacier has reportedly ruptured because of excessive melting. It is one of the very few places near the equator that has ice; the glacier has shrunk by 75% in the recent past and may completely disappear by 2030.
08. Call my brother: ISHMAEL. Call me: AHAB.*
Composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer have created the opera: Moby-Dick. It is a three hour creation that I am anxious to see and hear. There are lots of reviews out on the Internet.. I personally don't want to read any because I feel they might affect my own considerations when I finally see the opera.
*(If you are a member of the National Puzzlers League, you will recognise me and my brother by these noms.)
09. We know where you are!
For a long time, I have wondered why my DROID always knows exactly where I am. Now the word is out. I wonder if Bin Laden has an IPHONE or a DROID? I guess not.. so, let's send him one.
10. Baltimore event.
The Wait Wait Don't Tell Me show was taped and broadcast this week at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, Maryland. Baltimore's own John Waters, was the celebrity guest. (John's book: Role Models comes out this week in paperback.)
http://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/
11. Shazam!
I just realized that there is a big problem now that phone booths have all but disappeared. Where will Clark Kent change into his Superman suit? Evildoers are rejoicing everywhere. (When I was a small kid and owned Superman comic book number one.. I actually wondered what would happen if Clark couldn't find a phone booth that was unoccupied.) I don't think that Captain Marvel needed a phone booth. Neither did the Green Hornet or Batman.
12. Are you handy?
A Neurologist from Newton, Massachusetts says that right-handed people are mostly boring and left-handed people are mostly interesting. I'm ambidextrous.. what about me? (Don't answer that!)
...................................................................................................................
01. Car Talk
At the opening of today's Car Talk show, the Massachusetts guys posed some scientific type questions. I don't think they would mind if I mention them here. (By the way, if you have not listened to that NPR show, you are missing a great experience.)
Q. What do you call a really small bottle of mouthwash?
A. Microscope.
Q. What is the mathematical ratio used in constructing an igloo?
A. Eskimo pie.
Q. What is the shortest distance between 2 jokes.
A. A straight line.
Q. What is the term for the time between the stepping on a banana peel and falling on the ground?
A. A bananasecond.
02. More names.
Every so often, I mention people's names that I have collected over the years. I apologize to those who own these names, but I think they are humorous. If you know these people, please don't tell them, because I don't want to get a punch in the nose.
ALCOHOL:
Zula Z. Boozer
Martin I. Sober
FAMOUS NAMES:
Willie Huckleberry Finn
Mona Lisa Guess
FEATHERED FRIENDS:
Birdie Berryhill
Cola Chick
Russell Feathers
Canary Sires
FOOD:
Mr. Sizzleberger
JEWELS:
Opal Galightly
Fairest Ruby Klepfer
MEDICAL CONDITIONS:
Round Barnes
Bland Butts
Ether Boyant Horn
A. Reck
Rena Sweat
Sinus Wilzy
MEN AND WOMEN:
Mrs. Husband
William Sex Pattern
MISCELLANEOUS:
Other Bradshaw
Blueford Corsey
Mr. Richendollar
03. What happened?
Last December, police in Ransom, Illinois, (population: 409) were looking for a woman who walked away from an automobile crash that left her husband dead. The only clues were some footprints in the snow and a slipper. Dressed in a red party dress and one slipper, she should not have been that difficult to find. Perhaps her bright dress in the white snow caught the attention of the pilot of an alien craft and she has been abducted and held for ransom. I haven't seen any more news about this incident on the Internet. I hope she was found in time for Christmas.
04. What happened?
In August of 2009, it was reported that Michael Jackson's artificial nose had disappeared from his body in the morgue. I'm not sure if that report was true or not. Michael is supposed to have had a bottle full of fake noses. I read where his real nose had collapsed after excessive plastic surgeries. If someone had stolen the nose, it probably will show up years hence as a "holy relic."
05. Survival equipment.
Transportation officials in one of China's provinces have outfitted buses with large orange bricks attached with long strings. These are supposed to be used by passengers in emergency situations, so they can break a window and escape.
06. Negligence case.
A Chicago woman got drunk and fell through the window of a hair salon. She later sued the owner because he should have had safety glass installed.. lots of drunks apparently walk by his shop, and he should have been prepared for one of them to fall through. I wonder if she won her suit.
07. No global warming?
The huge glacier on Mount Margherita in Uganda has cracked and is now blocking access by mountain climbers to the summit. The glacier has reportedly ruptured because of excessive melting. It is one of the very few places near the equator that has ice; the glacier has shrunk by 75% in the recent past and may completely disappear by 2030.
08. Call my brother: ISHMAEL. Call me: AHAB.*
Composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer have created the opera: Moby-Dick. It is a three hour creation that I am anxious to see and hear. There are lots of reviews out on the Internet.. I personally don't want to read any because I feel they might affect my own considerations when I finally see the opera.
*(If you are a member of the National Puzzlers League, you will recognise me and my brother by these noms.)
09. We know where you are!
For a long time, I have wondered why my DROID always knows exactly where I am. Now the word is out. I wonder if Bin Laden has an IPHONE or a DROID? I guess not.. so, let's send him one.
10. Baltimore event.
The Wait Wait Don't Tell Me show was taped and broadcast this week at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, Maryland. Baltimore's own John Waters, was the celebrity guest. (John's book: Role Models comes out this week in paperback.)
http://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/
11. Shazam!
I just realized that there is a big problem now that phone booths have all but disappeared. Where will Clark Kent change into his Superman suit? Evildoers are rejoicing everywhere. (When I was a small kid and owned Superman comic book number one.. I actually wondered what would happen if Clark couldn't find a phone booth that was unoccupied.) I don't think that Captain Marvel needed a phone booth. Neither did the Green Hornet or Batman.
12. Are you handy?
A Neurologist from Newton, Massachusetts says that right-handed people are mostly boring and left-handed people are mostly interesting. I'm ambidextrous.. what about me? (Don't answer that!)
...................................................................................................................
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Another Hot Week
Even though this was another hot and muggy week, with violent thunder storms, it was a "cool" week for the Social Security Alumni Association in Maryland.
A nice group met at Bullock's Rt 32 for the Carroll County Social Security Alumni Chapter on Monday.
A larger than usual group met at the Windsor Inn for the Baltimore Chapter on Tuesday.
On Thursday, I represented the Social Security Alumni Association as its President for the opening of the Social Security Museum and the festivities for the 75th Anniversary of the Social Security Act. I'll be writing about this in my SSAA Blog.
Meanwhile, let me mention a few "interesting" things that I heard or read about recently.
01. By the book: Efficient New York City traffic workers would not allow a King Tut's tomb artifact, namely, an ancient vehicle, to enter the city.. because.. it did not have a "vehicle identification number."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyid=128973450
02. A lot to learn: Researchers say that we have 250,000 known species and another 1,000,000 unknown species in the world's oceans. (Not counting the one billion unknown bacteria species.) The richest areas to look for these unknown non-bacteria species are thought to be around Australia and Japan, and many species probably live in mud or on reefs.
A recently found "unknown" is called a "Dragon Fish" which has teeth on it's tongue.
03. That little squirt! A 28 year old Maryland resident has finally been caught after squirting sperm on several persons in Gaithersburg grocery stores and malls. Maybe he thinks he's an unknown species of fish.
04. Methuselah? A global warming expert stated this week: "...a rate of (animal) extinction that we haven't seen for millions and millions of years." Does he have a Hubble-type telescope with very close resolution?
05. Another opportunity for short people. The French Gendarmerie (police) have started to hire people under 5'3". Was this a change because they wanted to hire more females.. although in the US, females seem to be usually taller than that these days. Or, maybe it is another boon to short people that has been pushed by Sarkozy?
I've mentioned before.. researchers have determined that Napoleon might have been 5'6"... the same height of Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini.
By the way, new documents have been found in Scotland that indicate in 1919 a Scotsman saved a young Hitler from being stomped to death by a mob. !
06. Sarah quote: I hadn't heard about this one until I read it this week. "When are they going to ramp up drilling?" Did she really say that? Was it before the BP spill?
07. Mad man? The advertising guy who gave us "Don't squeeze the Charmin" is now pushing for "Meatless Mondays". He feels that it will be a healthful move for our obese society. I believe he has already gotten Johns Hopkins University interested in the concept, and some Baltimore schools are removing meat from their menus for Mondays.
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/
08. Brains. Someone showed me an article from 2008 that mentioned that two pygmy sperm whales got caught up in a low water pool in New Zealand and couldn't figure out how to get out of it... before they could become beached, a local bottlenose dolphin, named Moko, found a deep water part of the pool and guided the whales through it and out into deep water.
09. Scandinavian criminals? JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association has an article about common sense sunbathing that tries to show that blonds and people from northern countries with minimal sun may develop criminal tendencies when they move to high sun areas. Since I am not an MD, I may have misread the article.
10. Self-mutilation: Some of you may have seen a picture of Elaine Davidson who is reputed to be "the most pierced woman in Scotland"... and from the looks of it, probably the world. Check it out.
http://www.elainedavidson.co.uk/
11. Seinfeld? A piece of the Peterman Glacier broke off this week. It is four times the size of Manhattan. Doesn't that add any credence to the Global Warming theory? How many ice cubes would that make? Perhaps one of the Arab leaders could get it towed to their land.. wasn't that done once before? Or did I read that in a story by Mark Twain?
http://open.salon.com/blog/rick_spilman/2010/08/07/huge_ice_island_calves_from_greenlands_peterman_glacier
12. Not Here! The Museum of Tolerance has stated that they do not want the Ground Zero mosque to be built.
...............................................................................................................................
A nice group met at Bullock's Rt 32 for the Carroll County Social Security Alumni Chapter on Monday.
A larger than usual group met at the Windsor Inn for the Baltimore Chapter on Tuesday.
On Thursday, I represented the Social Security Alumni Association as its President for the opening of the Social Security Museum and the festivities for the 75th Anniversary of the Social Security Act. I'll be writing about this in my SSAA Blog.
Meanwhile, let me mention a few "interesting" things that I heard or read about recently.
01. By the book: Efficient New York City traffic workers would not allow a King Tut's tomb artifact, namely, an ancient vehicle, to enter the city.. because.. it did not have a "vehicle identification number."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyid=128973450
02. A lot to learn: Researchers say that we have 250,000 known species and another 1,000,000 unknown species in the world's oceans. (Not counting the one billion unknown bacteria species.) The richest areas to look for these unknown non-bacteria species are thought to be around Australia and Japan, and many species probably live in mud or on reefs.
A recently found "unknown" is called a "Dragon Fish" which has teeth on it's tongue.
03. That little squirt! A 28 year old Maryland resident has finally been caught after squirting sperm on several persons in Gaithersburg grocery stores and malls. Maybe he thinks he's an unknown species of fish.
04. Methuselah? A global warming expert stated this week: "...a rate of (animal) extinction that we haven't seen for millions and millions of years." Does he have a Hubble-type telescope with very close resolution?
05. Another opportunity for short people. The French Gendarmerie (police) have started to hire people under 5'3". Was this a change because they wanted to hire more females.. although in the US, females seem to be usually taller than that these days. Or, maybe it is another boon to short people that has been pushed by Sarkozy?
I've mentioned before.. researchers have determined that Napoleon might have been 5'6"... the same height of Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini.
By the way, new documents have been found in Scotland that indicate in 1919 a Scotsman saved a young Hitler from being stomped to death by a mob. !
06. Sarah quote: I hadn't heard about this one until I read it this week. "When are they going to ramp up drilling?" Did she really say that? Was it before the BP spill?
07. Mad man? The advertising guy who gave us "Don't squeeze the Charmin" is now pushing for "Meatless Mondays". He feels that it will be a healthful move for our obese society. I believe he has already gotten Johns Hopkins University interested in the concept, and some Baltimore schools are removing meat from their menus for Mondays.
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/
08. Brains. Someone showed me an article from 2008 that mentioned that two pygmy sperm whales got caught up in a low water pool in New Zealand and couldn't figure out how to get out of it... before they could become beached, a local bottlenose dolphin, named Moko, found a deep water part of the pool and guided the whales through it and out into deep water.
09. Scandinavian criminals? JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association has an article about common sense sunbathing that tries to show that blonds and people from northern countries with minimal sun may develop criminal tendencies when they move to high sun areas. Since I am not an MD, I may have misread the article.
10. Self-mutilation: Some of you may have seen a picture of Elaine Davidson who is reputed to be "the most pierced woman in Scotland"... and from the looks of it, probably the world. Check it out.
http://www.elainedavidson.co.uk/
11. Seinfeld? A piece of the Peterman Glacier broke off this week. It is four times the size of Manhattan. Doesn't that add any credence to the Global Warming theory? How many ice cubes would that make? Perhaps one of the Arab leaders could get it towed to their land.. wasn't that done once before? Or did I read that in a story by Mark Twain?
http://open.salon.com/blog/rick_spilman/2010/08/07/huge_ice_island_calves_from_greenlands_peterman_glacier
12. Not Here! The Museum of Tolerance has stated that they do not want the Ground Zero mosque to be built.
...............................................................................................................................
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Sweet Tweet?
Great news! Babies can now tweet using a new device called a "Twaddler", according to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Roy Blount says that mothers can now proudly tell their friends: "He did his first Tweet today!"
In other news, I learned that house licking by cows is not covered by some Home Owner's Insurance policies.
And the State of Wisconsin has named a State Microbe: Lactococcus Lactis. This is the microbe that helps make, of course, cheese.
Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is a great show and one can increase one's knowledge about many subjects by listening to it. There was even some info about global warming:
Lobsters and crabs are growing larger because of it.
Whale voices are lowering because of it.
... And I'm not just "hanging noodles on your ears." (That's Russian for "pulling your leg.")
Those of you who accidently bump into some of my blogs know about the famous outlaw who changed his name to Joe Vaughan and moved to Arkansas to found a big family. Well, one of my policemen friends sent me an article about another Joe Vaughan, an ironmonger who founded the Deep Creek Furnace and the Nanticoke Forge in Delaware. As a Colonel during the Revolutionary War, he had his troops hold their ground and avoid defeat by the British, for which he was named the "Iron Man".
By the way, there are still some openings in the Joe Vaughan Fan Club. Let me know if you want to join. I haven't been actively recruiting for a few years now, but my original members are still involved. (For those who don't know about the Joe Vaughan Fan Club.. it is a club in which I, Joe Vaughan, am your fan, not necessarily the other way around.)
.........................................
In other news, I learned that house licking by cows is not covered by some Home Owner's Insurance policies.
And the State of Wisconsin has named a State Microbe: Lactococcus Lactis. This is the microbe that helps make, of course, cheese.
Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is a great show and one can increase one's knowledge about many subjects by listening to it. There was even some info about global warming:
Lobsters and crabs are growing larger because of it.
Whale voices are lowering because of it.
... And I'm not just "hanging noodles on your ears." (That's Russian for "pulling your leg.")
Those of you who accidently bump into some of my blogs know about the famous outlaw who changed his name to Joe Vaughan and moved to Arkansas to found a big family. Well, one of my policemen friends sent me an article about another Joe Vaughan, an ironmonger who founded the Deep Creek Furnace and the Nanticoke Forge in Delaware. As a Colonel during the Revolutionary War, he had his troops hold their ground and avoid defeat by the British, for which he was named the "Iron Man".
By the way, there are still some openings in the Joe Vaughan Fan Club. Let me know if you want to join. I haven't been actively recruiting for a few years now, but my original members are still involved. (For those who don't know about the Joe Vaughan Fan Club.. it is a club in which I, Joe Vaughan, am your fan, not necessarily the other way around.)
.........................................
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Barney, Lyndon and other news
Thanks to CSPAN, I was able to hear the whole of Barney Frank's town hall meeting in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, my old "stomping ground."
I think that Barney's question to ignorant remarks by one of the heckling questioners was "right on." He said, in effect: "What planet have you been living on?" I was pleased to hear that this remark got a lot of applause from the audience.
As each "questioner" got up, they told where they were from, and I was glad to hear that most were not persons who lived in the south coast of Massachusetts. Most were from the Boston area, and several were supporters of Lyndon Larouche.
Yes, Lyndon is still around and agitating, even though he is in his upper 80's. You remember Lyndon... he ran for President a couple of times and he does have a following. Lyndon began as a Marxist a long time ago, and later became a supporter of American capitalism. I always thought that he was extremely intelligent, and some of his views appeared to me to be very rational and well thought out.
However, he does have, what I consider, strange views on some subjects. For instance: he recognizes global warming.. but says that it is caused by emanations from the Crab Nebula.
He also believes that the Beatles were created by the British Government as psychological warfare. His views that the Queen of England and the Prince of Wales are conspirators in the takeover of the world have gotten him in trouble with the British Government.
Lyndon is very good at getting young people to buy into his ideas. Some say that he has fascist views and thinks that some of Hitler's advisors had good ideas. I don't know about that, and I also don't understand why some of his followers at the Frank town meeting carried signs showing President Obama with a Hitler moustache. Anyway, Barney was marvelous at putting down the ignorant folks who were attempting to disrupt his meeting. However, they will probably claim victory, and those who did not attend the meeting will no doubt praise them and call them "heroes".. Oh what we put up with for our freedom of speech, but thank God we have it.
Some other news:
01. DC Metrorail train riders will have a jerky ride for some time.. until the management feels that automation works perfectly again. This may take years.
02. A news photographer was wounded in Afghanistan and is being treated at the Maryland Shock Trauma site. Shock Trauma personnel saved both of my daughters' lives and I'm glad they are helping this guy. It just astounds me that they could get him from Afghanistan to Baltimore quickly enough to do their wonderful job.
03. Elaine saw a lot of Want Ads in the Yard Sales section of the local newspaper today. Does that mean something?
04. A cat named "CHEWY" is being held at a local vet's office. Since she was found, nobody has claimed her, I wonder why.
05. A Baltimore white supremacist and convicted child molester seriously beat a 76 year old black man. He is 28 years old and has a picture of Hitler tatooed on his stomach. He told police that he "did not like people who were different from him."
06. Robert Novack, political commentator, died last week at age 78. I don't think that I ever agreed with any of his views and I have always wondered why he didn't get "zapped" for outing Valerie Plame in a 2003 column.
07. Les Paul, guitar legend died last week at age 94. Besides guitar virtuosity, he implemented multiple-track recordings and teamed up with Mary Ford.
08. The Social Security Administration office in Baltimore, at Metro West is going to be replaced by a larger and more easily secured facility near Reisterstown Road Plaza. The Metro West building was ideally placed for people who liked to shop at the famous Lexington Market. From time to time, I have given presentations at that building and it is like "old home week" when I see people I was acquainted with years ago before they relocated "downtown."
09. A guy laid down in the road in Glen Burnie, Maryland and guess what? He got run over. There is no indication that he was drunk.. I guess he was just tired.
..............................................................................................
I think that Barney's question to ignorant remarks by one of the heckling questioners was "right on." He said, in effect: "What planet have you been living on?" I was pleased to hear that this remark got a lot of applause from the audience.
As each "questioner" got up, they told where they were from, and I was glad to hear that most were not persons who lived in the south coast of Massachusetts. Most were from the Boston area, and several were supporters of Lyndon Larouche.
Yes, Lyndon is still around and agitating, even though he is in his upper 80's. You remember Lyndon... he ran for President a couple of times and he does have a following. Lyndon began as a Marxist a long time ago, and later became a supporter of American capitalism. I always thought that he was extremely intelligent, and some of his views appeared to me to be very rational and well thought out.
However, he does have, what I consider, strange views on some subjects. For instance: he recognizes global warming.. but says that it is caused by emanations from the Crab Nebula.
He also believes that the Beatles were created by the British Government as psychological warfare. His views that the Queen of England and the Prince of Wales are conspirators in the takeover of the world have gotten him in trouble with the British Government.
Lyndon is very good at getting young people to buy into his ideas. Some say that he has fascist views and thinks that some of Hitler's advisors had good ideas. I don't know about that, and I also don't understand why some of his followers at the Frank town meeting carried signs showing President Obama with a Hitler moustache. Anyway, Barney was marvelous at putting down the ignorant folks who were attempting to disrupt his meeting. However, they will probably claim victory, and those who did not attend the meeting will no doubt praise them and call them "heroes".. Oh what we put up with for our freedom of speech, but thank God we have it.
Some other news:
01. DC Metrorail train riders will have a jerky ride for some time.. until the management feels that automation works perfectly again. This may take years.
02. A news photographer was wounded in Afghanistan and is being treated at the Maryland Shock Trauma site. Shock Trauma personnel saved both of my daughters' lives and I'm glad they are helping this guy. It just astounds me that they could get him from Afghanistan to Baltimore quickly enough to do their wonderful job.
03. Elaine saw a lot of Want Ads in the Yard Sales section of the local newspaper today. Does that mean something?
04. A cat named "CHEWY" is being held at a local vet's office. Since she was found, nobody has claimed her, I wonder why.
05. A Baltimore white supremacist and convicted child molester seriously beat a 76 year old black man. He is 28 years old and has a picture of Hitler tatooed on his stomach. He told police that he "did not like people who were different from him."
06. Robert Novack, political commentator, died last week at age 78. I don't think that I ever agreed with any of his views and I have always wondered why he didn't get "zapped" for outing Valerie Plame in a 2003 column.
07. Les Paul, guitar legend died last week at age 94. Besides guitar virtuosity, he implemented multiple-track recordings and teamed up with Mary Ford.
08. The Social Security Administration office in Baltimore, at Metro West is going to be replaced by a larger and more easily secured facility near Reisterstown Road Plaza. The Metro West building was ideally placed for people who liked to shop at the famous Lexington Market. From time to time, I have given presentations at that building and it is like "old home week" when I see people I was acquainted with years ago before they relocated "downtown."
09. A guy laid down in the road in Glen Burnie, Maryland and guess what? He got run over. There is no indication that he was drunk.. I guess he was just tired.
..............................................................................................
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
The 100th Blog.. actually.
This is actually my 100th blog entry. Four of them were duds, so even though it says 104, it really is 100. And there is something magical about the 100th blog. Google suddenly thinks that now the blog is serious. So I guess I have to be serious today.
Earlier tonight, I heard Elaine remarking about the letters to the editor for a couple of the latest Carroll County Times (Westminster, Maryland). She couldn't believe that the newspaper would print some of these letters. I read the letters and agreed with her. It must have been a slow day for letters.
However, we did think that not everything on the "Opinion" pages was like the letters. So, if you don't mind, I will comment on everything that is printed there, and you can decide if you like any of the material.
For August 4th, 2009:
01. The editor remarked that according to a recent poll, two-thirds of Americans don't know what the three branches of Government are. This is a startling statistic. Don't all American children learn about the three branches in school? New citizens all know that. Most foreigners know that.
I would have thought that only the college kids on the Leno Show didn't know that.
The editor does see a change in the statistic, at least in Carroll County, because of a recent increase in Town Meetings.
02. Some people don't believe that Global Warming is happening, so Tom Harbold, a columnist, asks some excellent penetrating questions about it.
a. Why has the Northwest Passage opened for the first time since the Vikings?
b. Why has the polar ice cap shrunk by 2 million square miles?
c. Why are Alpine nations having to spread reflective sheeting on their ski slopes to limit snow melt.
d. Why have glaciers in Glacier National Park dropped from 150 in 1850 to 26 now?
Something seems to be happening, guys.
03. A letter writer is mad that President Obama apologized for some dumb things the U.S. has done in the past. He accuses the President of bringing Socialism to the U.S. (It sounds to me as though he has no idea even what Socialism is.) He hopes that the President is voted out of office. (Wouldn't it be better to hope that the President succeeds in office? Why all this negativity? I'm sure it is not a racial thing.. at least I hope not.)
04. A letter writer is mad because the President was never a governor or an executive.. and never served in the House of Representatives or served in the military. (Perhaps the writer should read his history about other Presidents.) However, he does say that we should all pray for the President. I'm not sure, but I think he also doesn't like homosexuals.. but he has read something called the "Gay Manifesto".. I've never heard of it. Sounds like a phony document.
05. Another letter writer feels that America, like Nineveh, has severely violated God's law. Abortion, sexual immorality, same-sex marriage, sinful behavior being taught in school, violence in the streets... all of these things would normally cause God to destroy us.. but maybe, if we play our cards right, we will be redeemed by faith.
For August 5th, 2009:
01. Tom Zirpoli, columnist, feels that Americans should be watching the upcoming Afghan election because the outcome will have a significant impact on American foreign policy in the region. This is a well thought-out piece of analysis in my opinion. (The last election had a turnout similar to that of the U. S.; however, U.S. voters did not have to worry about bombs along the way to the polls like the Afghan people did. Think about that!)
02. The editor of the paper wrote that "Cash for Clunkers" money should be increased, and lambasts the Republicans who are fighting it. He takes a great chance of subscription cancelations in this Republican County. We'll see.
03. A letter writer laments the fact that Insurance Companies are using scare tactics to fight against Health Care Reform. He makes the main good points: "We are the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't have universal health care," and "there are...47 million Americans who have no insurance at all because they can't afford it."
04. Another letter writer was grossed out by the anti-abortion protesters who were showing giant colored posters of aborted fetuses on the sides of Route 27. She did not feel good that her child had seen the pictures.
05. There was agreat cartoon of an elderly couple at a dating service. The wife is saying to the receptionist: "I'd like to trade him in under the "cash for clunkers" program.
There... we've got it all out of our systems.
Earlier tonight, I heard Elaine remarking about the letters to the editor for a couple of the latest Carroll County Times (Westminster, Maryland). She couldn't believe that the newspaper would print some of these letters. I read the letters and agreed with her. It must have been a slow day for letters.
However, we did think that not everything on the "Opinion" pages was like the letters. So, if you don't mind, I will comment on everything that is printed there, and you can decide if you like any of the material.
For August 4th, 2009:
01. The editor remarked that according to a recent poll, two-thirds of Americans don't know what the three branches of Government are. This is a startling statistic. Don't all American children learn about the three branches in school? New citizens all know that. Most foreigners know that.
I would have thought that only the college kids on the Leno Show didn't know that.
The editor does see a change in the statistic, at least in Carroll County, because of a recent increase in Town Meetings.
02. Some people don't believe that Global Warming is happening, so Tom Harbold, a columnist, asks some excellent penetrating questions about it.
a. Why has the Northwest Passage opened for the first time since the Vikings?
b. Why has the polar ice cap shrunk by 2 million square miles?
c. Why are Alpine nations having to spread reflective sheeting on their ski slopes to limit snow melt.
d. Why have glaciers in Glacier National Park dropped from 150 in 1850 to 26 now?
Something seems to be happening, guys.
03. A letter writer is mad that President Obama apologized for some dumb things the U.S. has done in the past. He accuses the President of bringing Socialism to the U.S. (It sounds to me as though he has no idea even what Socialism is.) He hopes that the President is voted out of office. (Wouldn't it be better to hope that the President succeeds in office? Why all this negativity? I'm sure it is not a racial thing.. at least I hope not.)
04. A letter writer is mad because the President was never a governor or an executive.. and never served in the House of Representatives or served in the military. (Perhaps the writer should read his history about other Presidents.) However, he does say that we should all pray for the President. I'm not sure, but I think he also doesn't like homosexuals.. but he has read something called the "Gay Manifesto".. I've never heard of it. Sounds like a phony document.
05. Another letter writer feels that America, like Nineveh, has severely violated God's law. Abortion, sexual immorality, same-sex marriage, sinful behavior being taught in school, violence in the streets... all of these things would normally cause God to destroy us.. but maybe, if we play our cards right, we will be redeemed by faith.
For August 5th, 2009:
01. Tom Zirpoli, columnist, feels that Americans should be watching the upcoming Afghan election because the outcome will have a significant impact on American foreign policy in the region. This is a well thought-out piece of analysis in my opinion. (The last election had a turnout similar to that of the U. S.; however, U.S. voters did not have to worry about bombs along the way to the polls like the Afghan people did. Think about that!)
02. The editor of the paper wrote that "Cash for Clunkers" money should be increased, and lambasts the Republicans who are fighting it. He takes a great chance of subscription cancelations in this Republican County. We'll see.
03. A letter writer laments the fact that Insurance Companies are using scare tactics to fight against Health Care Reform. He makes the main good points: "We are the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't have universal health care," and "there are...47 million Americans who have no insurance at all because they can't afford it."
04. Another letter writer was grossed out by the anti-abortion protesters who were showing giant colored posters of aborted fetuses on the sides of Route 27. She did not feel good that her child had seen the pictures.
05. There was agreat cartoon of an elderly couple at a dating service. The wife is saying to the receptionist: "I'd like to trade him in under the "cash for clunkers" program.
There... we've got it all out of our systems.
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