Adventuress

I am sort of a stodgy person very conservative rarely taking risks or putting myself "out there." However, my LW is much more adventuresome than I am.

She is taking a Belly Dancing class at the Y and some of them performed at the Mango Restaurant  in Niles.  Every first Saturday of the month, the Mango has a Belly Dancing show where various dancers or groups perform.  My LW's teacher performs every 1st Saturday and got about 12 or so members of her class to perform including my LW.

Instructor in front.

My Lovely Belly Dancer!

My LW is also a member of the Waukegan Swedish Women's Chorus and performed a solo at the JulMidDag.

Sorry about the quality of the video, I was far away without a tripod!

An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered.-- G. K. Chesterton

Bringing up a family should be an adventure, not an anxious discipline in which everybody is constantly graded for performance.--Milton R. Saperstein

"One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure" William Feather

"The test of an adventure is that when you're in the middle of it, you say to yourself, "Oh, now I've got myself into an awful mess; I wish I were sitting quietly at home." Thornton Wilder

"We love because it's the only true adventure." William E. Gladstone

adventure (n) an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity  • daring and exciting activity calling for enterprise and enthusiasm

ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French aventure (noun), aventurer (verb), based on Latin adventurus ‘about to happen,’ from advenire ‘arrive.’

The R won!

In our congressional district, we had a D Melissa Bean as our congresswoman.  She beat a very good campaign from well financed candidate in 2008.

This year, we had a R named Joe Walsh who did almost no campaigning that I saw.  Bean had some TV ads in which she tried to paint Walsh as a extremist who was super Pro-Life and super pro-2nd amendment (guns for the constitutionally challenged).

Walsh won by about 350 votes out of 200,000+ votes.  Bean voted for Obamacare (twice once the house version and the rammed through senate version), for the "Stimulus" bill, and for the Cap(Tax) & Trade bill.  She claimed to be independent but I could not find an important (to the dems)  Pelosi bill for which she did not vote.

The arrogance of some politicians caught up with her.  I was extremely surprised that Joe won but am very happy that he did!


The President has kept all of the promises he intended to keep. George Stephanopoulos



To those of you who received honors, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you too may one day be president of the United States. George W. Bush



If Thomas Edison invented electric light today, Dan Rather would report it on CBS News as "candle making industry threatened".Newt Gingrich



Never vote for the best candidate, vote for the one who will do the least harm. Frank Dane



I've upped my standards. Now, up yours.
If elected, I will win.
If Iowa is the 'heart' land, what part of the human body is Los Angeles?
- Pat Paulsen


A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. George Bernard Shaw


Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people. Oscar Wilde


Barack Obama said today that politics has become too gummed up by money and influence... and then he had to leave to attend a fundraiser. Jay Leno


Being president is like running a cemetery: you've got a lot of people under you and nobody's listening.
 Bill Clinton


POLITICIAN, n. An eel in the fundamental mud upon which the superstructure of organized society is reared. When we wriggles he mistakes the agitation of his tail for the trembling of the edifice. As compared with the statesman, he suffers the disadvantage of being alive. (DD)

LW at Rockford

5 Things

My LW told me about a conversation she had with relatives when driving in the car at the Women of Faith gathering.  They were talking about 5 Things that They Love about their Husbands.

I hope my LW was able to think of 5.  I was thinking about the Top 5 Things that I love about my LW.

1) She is a great mother to our children - when I was in the military she was able to raise them with me away for months at at time.  They turned out very well.  Both are married to great spouses and have 2 or 3 boys (our grandsons).  The kids did very well in school and have great personalities.

2) She laughs at my humor - I like to make fun of various situations involving both of us or activities with which we are involved.

3) She has a sense of adventure - she joined a Women's Swedish singing group and sings in Swedish and English.  She then studied Swedish so she could do better.

4) She sings about everything - in a Bible Study (I think) we were talking about a musical and how everyday people do not burst out in song about everyday occurrences, well she is the one person who actually does it!  Fortunately she has a lovely singing voice.

5) She is sexy!!!!


An archeologist is the best husband any woman can have; the older she gets, the more interested he is in her.-- Agatha Christie


You know it's love when you want to keep holding hands even after you're sweaty.


No man is truly married until he understands every word his wife is NOT saying.



A man is already halfway in love with any woman who listens to him.-- Brendan Francis



The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing -- and then marry him.-- Cher



To be happy with a man you must understand him a lot and love him a little. To be happy with a woman you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all.-- Helen Rowland



If love is the answer, could you rephrase the question.-- Lily Tomlin



LOVE, n. A temporary insanity curable by marriage or by removal of the patient from the influences under which he incurred the disorder. This disease, like caries and many other ailments, is prevalent only among civilized races living under artificial conditions; barbarous nations breathing pure air and eating simple food enjoy immunity from its ravages. It is sometimes fatal, but more frequently to the physician than to the patient.  (DD)

Malware

Some idiot put a Malware redirection on the Church website that I keep up.

The pastor reported it to me and then Google restricted access to the site. I don't understand why anyone would do that to websites.  Are they immature little people that get their kicks out of hurting other people?

My son reported that someone screwed with his blog updates.  It required that he change the way he worked.

I had the ISP that hosts my website clean it and asked Google to reinspect the site.  It is back to normal now.

Failure is not an option -- it comes bundled with Windows.


Computers make very fast, very accurate mistakes.



Q: How does Bill Gates screw in a lightbulb?
A: He doesn't. He declares darkness the industry standard.


Malware, short for malicious software, is software designed to infiltrate a computer system without the owner's informed consent. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code.

Anniversary

The other day (8/10) my Lovely Wife and I celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary.  We were mmphkah years old when we married (it is interesting that my LW is still only 20 something).

We spent a quiet day at home with me roasting some beef with baked potatoes and salad plus ice cream for dessert.  Most of our anniversaries are spent quietly at home. On one of our anniversaries we went to a riding stable and rode 2 horrible horses named Orville and Peanut; her horse sort of did what my LW wanted but mine felt that he has worked enough for the year.

On our 25th anniversary, we went to a dude ranch in MI, where the horses were much nicer.  On our 40th anniversary we went to a dude ranch (Peaceful Valley) in CO.  We rode horses at least once a day and had a lot of fun plus there were s'mores and great meals 3 times a day (my LW feels any meal she doesn't have to make is great).

I am very lucky to have such a wonderful LW!


By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.  Socrates 


Marriage: a book of which the first chapter is written in poetry and the remaining chapters written in prose.  Beverly Nichols 


If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?



Then there was a man who said, 'I never knew what real happiness was until I got married; by then it was too late.'


My wife and I were happy for 20 years - then we met.  Rodney Dangerfield 


The secret of a happy marriage remains a secret.  Henry Youngman 


A good wife always forgives her husband when she's wrong.  Milton Berle



Marrying for love may be a bit risky, but it is so honest that God can't help but smile on it.  Josh Billings




When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: either the car is new or the wife is.



Do not marry a man to reform him. That is what reform schools are for." Mae West



MARRIAGE, n.  The state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress and two slaves, making in all, two. (DD)

Medicine

One of my favorite comedians is Tim Hawkins, above is his video of medicine side effects.  There is a pill that now  (Seasonique) that reduces the number of periods that women have.  If you read the possible side effects they include most common are nausea, vomiting, bleeding or spotting between periods, breast tenderness, and difficulty wearing contact lenses.  Isn't bleeding the same as a period?

There are ads for depression meds that  list the side effect of suicide and depression.  Let's see if I get this; you take this medicine if you are depressed but it causes death & depression!

My lovely wife and I listen to the medicine ads just waiting for the possible side effects and wondering why would anyone take medicines?


Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died.  Erma Bombeck


God heals and the doctor takes the fee. Benjamin Franklin


First the doctor told me the good news: I was going to have a disease named after me. Steve Martin 


My doctor is wonderful. Once, in 1955, when I couldn’t afford an operation, he touched up the X-rays. Joey Bishop


Medicine, the only profession that labors incessantly to destroy the reason for its existence.  James Bryce 


The patient is not likely to recover who makes the doctor his heir. Thomas Fuller



MEDICINE, n.  A stone flung down the Bowery to kill a dog in Broadway (DD)

Business

No one in the P.O. administration knows anything about business.  There are no businessmen in his cabinet  or inner circle.

Business is in business to make money.  P.O. believes that their purpose is to be taxed or to give jobs to workers.  These are only byproducts of a successful business not their goals.

P.O. believes that by raising taxes on businesses he can close the trillions of dollar budget deficit.  Businesses are not really taxed!  Businesses raise their prices or cut jobs to maintain a profit.

P.O. believes that by making it easier for unions to organize that more jobs will be created.  Higher wages and restrictive work rules do not make for more jobs, only a less profitable business which leads to organizations like the auto industries which can not compete with foreign companies which lead to bailouts and fewer jobs.

P.O. believes by taxing small businessmen that the deficit will decrease.  People unlike P.O. are not stupid, they will not work of hard or expand if it costs them more than it is worth.

Profits are not evil as P.O. believes.  Profits allow expansion and give stock holder money  to spend.


Nothing is illegal if a hundred businessmen decide to do it, and that's true anywhere in the world.  Andrew Young


There's no business like show business, but there are several businesses like accounting.  David Letterman


Catch a man a fish, and you can sell it to him. Teach a man to fish, and you ruin a wonderful business opportunity. Karl Marx



I've got to keep breathing. It'll be my worst business mistake if I don't. Steve Martin


I used to sell furniture for a living. The trouble was, it was my own. Les Dawson


You don't want another Enron? Here's your law: If a company, can't explain, in ONE SENTENCE....what it does....it's illegal.   Lewis Black



I think it's wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly. Steven Wright



Big business never pays a nickel in taxes, according to Ralph Nader, who represents a big consumer organization that never pays a nickel in taxes.  Dave Barry


Business? It's quite simple. It's other people's money. Alexandre Dumas



business (n) 
1 a person's regular occupation, profession, or trade 2 the practice of making one's living by engaging in commerce
ORIGIN Old English bisignis (see busy , -ness ). The sense in Old English was [anxiety] ; the sense [the state of being busy] was used from Middle English down to the 18th cent., but is now differentiated as busyness. The sense [an appointed task] dates from late Middle English , and from it all the other current senses have developed.

Facebook, Soccer Coaches 2, Chain

My lovely wife has signed up for Facebook.  She has invited various people to be her "friends" and I think everyone so far has accepted.  But she received an email that 7 women and 10 men were searching for her. There were some with pictures but others had the shadowy outlines.  I think that it is creepy that people are searching for "her", of course, for only a "small" monthly fee (with super premium to el cheapo levels) she could see who these people were!

***

For those of you who forget *** means a new subject.

***

I have been watching the World Cup and watching the coaches,  they wouldn't survive in youth soccer; they just sit there glancing into the ether.  Numerous times I have wanted to help the players on the field with my useful commentary but I refrained since they wouldn't listen anyhow!

***

After bicycling to the YMCA to bring my lovely wife her Y bag or actually as I was on the Y driveway, I heard a bad noise and my pedaling had no effect.  My chain broke!  It was at the furthest distance I was going to be from my house.  5 or 5.5 miles away, and I very dark cloud appeared.  So I got to walk home pushing my bike, plus sometime during the trip I lost my chain!

My LW, a Swede?

My lovely wife, in her Swedish Women's Chorus uniform.

Amazon

Amazon has a section where they recommend items based on your previous purchases.  They recommended "Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season" for me even though I have said that I was not interested in any of Seasons 1-8.  They recommended "George Lopez - The Complete First and Second Seasons" because I bought various Gilmore Girls seasons, however, Gilmore Girls is a comedy/drama that was very well done with mature humor whereas, Lopez is slapstick.

"Jack the Ripper" because of "You Only Live Twice"(James Bond) is there any connection that normal people can find?  "Alien Nation - The Complete Series" because of "Greatest American Hero"?  "The Complete UFO Megaset" because of "Our Man Flint"? "Mannequin & Mannequin 2: On the Move" because of "Due South"?  "Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Seasons 1-5" even though I told them I wasn't interested in seasons 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5!

I also like there search engine.  I was searching for "Swedish Music" and the "Dumb and Dumber" DVD came up as one of the items.  Searching for "Castle Season 2" bought up "Married with Children - The Complete Fifth Season" (not seasons 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 but 5) in the first page.

Of course, some of the recommendations make sense and the search comes up with the items you may like most of the time.


A good face they say, is a letter of recommendation. O Nature, Nature, why art thou so dishonest, as ever to send men with these false recommendations into the World!   Henry Fielding



Personal beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of reference. Aristotle



You don't carry in your countenance a letter of recommendation. Charles Dickens



“Brevity is the best recommendation of speech, whether in a senator or an orator”  Marcus Tullius Cicero



“And that recommendation, with the exaggerated estimate of my ability with which he prefaced it, was, if you will believe me, Watson, the very first thing which ever made me feel that a profession might be made out of what had up to that time been” Arthur Conan Doyle



recommend (v) 1 put forward (someone or something) with approval as being suitable for a particular purpose or role  • advise or suggest (something) as a course of action • [ trans. ] advise (someone) to do something   • make (someone or something) appealing or desirable
2 ( recommend someone/something to) archaic commend or entrust someone or something to (someone) 
ORIGIN late Middle English (sense 2) : from medieval Latin recommendare, from Latin re- (expressing intensive force) + commendare ‘commit to the care of.’

Coaching Soccer

In my daughter's blog she said "I think this must be why my Dad coached his kids' soccer teams--to give him an excuse to be the one yelling on the sidelines." 

I admit that I did keep up a steady stream of "helpful" coaching from the sidelines.  The reasons for coaching probably included the "yelling" part.  I think that if I was to coach another team of very young kids; I would encourage the kids to talk to each other on the field.  Young kids quite often keep talking and talking, but put them on a soccer field and they will not talk to each other.  In soccer other players can help their teammates by telling them that an opponent is coming up to them or that a teammate is open square, etc..

I also coached because I like sports and spending time with my kids.  I was introduced to soccer at a later age, it is a sport I probably could have been good at if I had started at a early age.  Running and thinking are a couple of my strong points.

Plus my kids were/are good at soccer.

To get back to the "yelling/coaching". I also believe that the kids on the field don't really hear us!


Coaching is not a natural way of life. Your victories and losses are too clear cut.-- Tommy Prothro



Make sure that team members know they are working with you, not for you.-- John Wooden


Leadership, like coaching, is fighting for the hearts and souls of men and getting them to believe in you.
-- Eddie Robinson


Coaching is a profession of love. You can't coach people unless you love them.-- Eddie Robinson



A successful coach needs a patient wife, loyal dog, and great quarterback - and not necessarily in that order.-- Bud Grant


I'd rather be a football coach. That way you can lose only 11 games a season. I lost 11 games in December alone!-- Abe Lemons



Overcoaching is the worst thing you can do to a player.-- Dean Smith



Either love your players or get out of coaching.-- Bobby Dodd


"The coach should be the absolute boss, but he still should maintain an open mind." -- Red Auerbach


Bad shooters are always open" -- Pete Carril



coach (n) 1 a horse-drawn carriage 2 a railroad car.

an athletic instructor or trainer.  • a tutor who gives private or specialized teaching.

ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (sense 1) : from French coche, from Hungarian kocsi (szekér) ‘(wagon) from Kocs,’ a town in Hungary

ORIGIN early 18th cent. (as a verb): figuratively from coach 1

Competence

In many of my jobs, I was very competent.  In the Navy, I was an excellent EOOW (Engineering Officer of the Watch - in charge of the sub's nuclear plant).  In my NRC days, I was probably the best Nuclear Simulator operator licensing engineer.  When I was an instructor, I was very good at the simulator.


The Chicago Blackhawks are very competent at playing hockey as shown by their Stanley Cup victory.  My wife is very competent in most every thing she does.  My kids are extremely competent as parents.


Why can't we have a competent President?  P.O. has failed as an ambassador for the US (he apologizes every where he goes for our faults(or at least his opinion of what are faults)), he has basically bankrupted the country with his budget (my grandkids and their kids will be paying for it), he has failed in protecting the country, and he has failed in his handling of the gulf oil spill.

P.O. is in over his head.  He has never run anything.  I thought he was at least competent; boy was I wrong!  The Peter Principle at its finest!


“Never ascribe to malice that which can adequately be explained by incompetence” Napoleon Bonaparte



“A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops, while on the contrary an incapable leader can demoralize the best of troops.”  John J. Pershing



“The only foes that threaten America are the enemies at home, and these are ignorance, superstition and incompetence.”  Elbert Hubbard



No human being will work hard at anything unless they believe that they are working for competence.  William Glasser



Sincerity and competence is a strong combination. In politics, it is everything.  Peggy Noonan



The single most exciting thing you encounter in government is competence, because it's so rare. Daniel P. Moynihan



Equal opportunity means everyone will have a fair chance at being incompetent.~Laurence J. Peter



Everyone rises to their level of incompetence. ~Laurence J. Peter


Incompetents invariably make trouble for people other than themselves.~Larry McMurtry



competence (n) 1 the ability to do something successfully or efficiently  • the scope of a person's or group's knowledge or ability  • a skill or ability. • the legal authority of a court or other body to deal with a particular matter
2 dated an income large enough to live on, typically unearned
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [suitable, adequate] ): from Latin competent-, from the verb competere in its earlier sense ‘be fit or proper’ (see compete ).

BH Town

I listen to a lot of sports talk radio.  It is usually interesting when the local teams are losing. At the beginning of the hockey season, you could not find any hockey talk on the radio.  After all, there were the Bears, Bulls, White Sox & Cubs talk to talk about.

But now all you can hear is the Blackhawks' players or experts talking about the Hockey season.  For those of you who do not follow sports, the (hated) Blackhawks are in the Stanley Cup Final with a 2-0 games lead.

Those of us who are Redwing fans, it is very boring talk.  Last year when the Redwings & PIT were in the finals there was little talk about it, after the BH's lost.  My son is a big BH fan, whereas, my son-in-law is a RW fan.  Unfortunately, for us the BH have a very good young team who will probably be good for a long time.  But we RW fans' hope is that we will raise again!


Hockey is a sport for white men. Basketball is a sport for black men. Golf is a sport for white men dressed like black pimps.- Tiger Woods



I went to a fight the other night and a hockey game broke out. - Rodney Dangerfield



All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity.- Gordie Howe



A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be. - Wayne Gretzky



Ice hockey is a form of disorderly conduct in which the score is kept. - Doug Larson


Hockey players wear numbers because you can’t always identify the body with dental records


 ”A fast body--contact game played by men with clubs in their hands and knives laced to their feet.” - Paul Gallico


Goaltending is a normal job, sure. How would you like it in your job if every time you made a small mistake, a red light went on over your desk and 15,000 people stood up and yelled at you.” - Jacques Plante


”It takes brains. It's not like a forward, where you can get away with scoring and not play defense. On defense you have to be thinking.” - Chris Chelios


”My former wife made me a millionaire. I used to have three million dollars.”- Bobby Hull



ice hockey  (n)  a fast contact sport played on an ice rink between two teams of six skaters, who attempt to drive a small rubber disk (the puck) into the opposing goal with hooked or angled sticks. It developed in Canada in the 19th century

What's going on?

I heard a radio news item that a person was arrested for throwing a rock at a Goose and killing it after someone called the police.  There was another item that a gang banger on his death bed refused to name his killer.

Both of these stories occurred on the South Side of Chicago.  The south side is notorious for gangs and murders.  Another thing they're renowned for is not talking to the police.  There are numerous killings there but no one will "rat" on the killers!  And yet a goose gets a call to the police!

Chicago's Mayor Daley (a dem of course) wants to outlaw guns for the normal people who only want to be able to defend themselves.  He is doing nothing to get the guns away from the gangs or crooks.

I love animals (but not mosquitoes) but feel that human life is more important.  What's going on here?


Chicago has 2.7 times the national average for murders; 2.18 times the national average for violent crimes.


murder (n)  the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another
ORIGIN Old English morthor, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch moord and German Mord, from an Indo-European root shared by Sanskrit mará ‘death’ and Latin mors; reinforced in Middle English by Old French murdre.

Hot!

Those of you that know me know that I hate hot weather!   I especially hate hot & muggy!  I think my response to hot & muggy causes my wife discomfort.  Since we do not have air conditioning (I know somewhere out of the middle ages (I guess I won't mention our lack of cable or sat TV)), I try to keep the house cool by keeping the drapes closed which makes the house dark and dreary and it still gets hot!

The last few days it has been near 90 F and muggy.  On Sunday, I bicycled from and back to the church.  I was drenched in sweat.  I almost didn't go back (my wife's Swedish Glee Club spring concert was at our church in the afternoon).

It seems that older people like hot weather, I guess that just goes to show that my lovely wife and me aren't old!


“What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance” Jane Austen


How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another?



Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation.   Kin Hubbard



“There is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” John Ruskin



Isn't it interesting that the same people who laugh at science fiction listen to weather forecasts and economists?  Kelvin Throop III



Weather forecast for tonight: dark. Continued dark overnight, with widely scattered light by morning.  George Carlin



In Scotland, there is no such thing as bad weather - only the wrong clothes.  Billy Connelly



You know what they say about Chicago. If you don't like the weather, wait fifteen minutes.  Ralph Kiner



WEATHER, n.  The climate of the hour. A permanent topic of conversation among persons whom it does not interest, but who have inherited the tendency to chatter about it from naked arboreal ancestors whom it keenly concerned. The setting up official weather bureaus and their maintenance in mendacity prove that even governments are accessible to suasion by the rude forefathers of the jungle. (DD)

Gifts

It is very hard for me to buy gifts for my lovely wife.  I have no fashion sense and don't understand winter / spring / fall / summer colors, so I buy things in colors that appeal to me.  My sister-in-law is able to buy clothes for my wife, I look at them when they arrive and they look bad, but my lovely wife puts them on and they are perfect on her.  I have tried to buy some jewelry for her but they don't work.  I bought her a Stand Mixer and that seems to be OK.

My kids ask me if I have any ideas at Christmas for gifts for her, but if I had any ideas I would use them myself.  I have tried asking what she wants, but that doesn't work (I guess after 41+ years of marriage I should know what she wants)!

Her birthday was a few days ago.  I think I finally got a gift she likes!  A friend of ours (she is in the Swedish Singing group with my lovely wife) is a piano teacher; so I asked if she would be willing to take on another student for 5 lessons (that number to see if my LW would enjoy it and if not could stop) and she said she would be glad to.  So my gift was the lessons!


If you want to say it with flowers, a single rose says: "I'm cheap!" Delta Burke


The worst gift is a fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.   Johnny Carson


“Everyone is gifted - but some people never open their package”


Nothing’s as mean as giving a little child something useful for Christmas.



“Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, but today is a gift. That's why it's called the present.”  Bil Keane


"Christmas is the season when you buy this year's gifts with next year's money."



gift (n) 1 a thing given willingly to someone without payment; • an act of giving something as a present : his mother's gift of a pen.
2 a natural ability or talent 
ORIGIN Middle English : from Old Norse gipt; related to give

It is my fault...

It is my fault when my favorite sports teams lose!

Whenever I watch my favorite teams (Lions, Tigers, Pistons, Spartans, Redwings) on TV they lose.  When MSU was in the finals of NCAA Basketball Championship a couple of years ago, I made the mistake of watching it on the TV ; they lost!  When the Redwings were in the Stanley Cup finals last year I watched it and they lost!

Some people might incorrectly say that it is merely coincidence or superstition but as every democrat knows anecdotal evidence is the most reliable (even though the evidence shows otherwise (sorry couldn't resist a dig)).  Of course, some people might point out that some of these teams lose the majority of their games anyhow (Lions, Pistons) but others tend to win the majority of their games.

Conversely, when I watch my hated teams (like Yankees, or arrogant teams like White Sox or Bears) on TV they win!  Perhaps, I watch too much TV!

The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on. - Robert Bloch



“Win as if you were used to it, lose as if you enjoyed it for a change.”   Ralph Waldo Emerson



“Having nothing, nothing can he lose.”  William Shakespeare



“We lost because we told ourselves we lost”  Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy



No one ever says, "It's only a game" when their team is winning.  George Carlin



Anybody can win -- unless there happens to be a second entry.  Ade's Law



Don't believe that winning is really everything. It's more important to stand for something. If you don't stand for something, what do you win?  Lane Kirkland



Whoever said, 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts.' probably lost.  Mary Ashton Livermore



lose (v):  1 be deprived of or cease to have or retain (something) • cause (someone) to fail to gain or retain (something) • waste or fail to take advantage of (time or an opportunity)
fail to win (a game or contest)  • cause (someone) to fail to win (a game or contest) 
ORIGIN Old English losian [perish, destroy,] also [become unable to find,] from los [loss.]

Bike v. Car

Small hills and wind (in general except on a bridge or a hurricane) have no effect on a car.  Cars, in general, are not too much of a problem for other cars to see since they are about the same size and in the road lanes.  Cars use gasoline and emit noxious fumes.  Cars travel at 25-80 (or more with idiots at the wheel (assuming not on a race track)) mph.  Cars can carry 1-9 or so passengers.

On a bike going up hills increases the energy needed and hence increases the calories burned.  Into the wind with a bike has the same effect.  However, going down hills and with the wind does not seem to reduce the energy needed; this might be because we don't recognize the reduction as much as the increase.  Cars are a large problem for bikes, in a collision with a bike the care wins plus the cars do not seem to realize that we are there and hence do (to us) stupid and dangerous things.  Bikes use people calories for propulsion, which does not add to pollution other than the sweat odor.  When we bike, our speed is usually between 10-12 mph, up hills 0-8 mph and down hills 12-20 mph.  With our tandem we could have 2 passengers but usually the only one per bike (a friend of ours son has a four-dem) or with the bike kiddie cart 1 or 2 small children.

Long distances are a car's specialty; it takes a looonnng time to bicycle more than 20-30 miles; but on a bike it is much more likely to appreciate the scenery and notice people and other attractions.  If everybody would bike for short distances (1-15 miles round trip), then our health and pollution would be much better.

When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.- Sherlock Holmes


When you ride hard on a mountain bike, sometimes you fall, otherwise you’re not riding hard.- President George Bush


An engineer designing from scratch could hardly concoct a better device (BIKE) to unclog modern roads – cheap, nonpolluting, small and silent…- Rick Smith


The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community.- Ann Strong


Cycling to work is an important issue for business – the more who do it, the more our communities will support it. Healthy and green, cycling is worthy of the support of every business in the land.- Sir Digby Jones


Until mountain biking came along, the bike scene was ruled by a small elite cadre of people who seemed allergic to enthusiasm.- Jacquie Phelan


The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart. - Iris Murdoch


When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.
- H.G. Wells


Marriage is a wonderful invention; but then again, so is a bicycle repair kit.
- Lord Charles Beresford


Bicycling is the nearest approximation I know to the flight of birds. The airplane simply carries a man on its back like an obedient Pegasus; it gives him no wings of his own.- Louis J. Helle


bicycle (n)a vehicle composed of two wheels held in a frame one behind the other, propelled by pedals and steered with handlebars attached to the front wheel.
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from bi- [two] + Greek kuklos ‘wheel.’

Kids Today

Kids!
I don't know what's wrong with these kids today!
Kids!
Who can understand anything they say?
Kids!
They a disobedient, disrespectful oafs!
Noisy, crazy, dirty, lazy, loafers!
While we're on the subject:
Kids!
You can talk and talk till your face is blue!
Kids!
But they still just do what they want to do!
Why can't they be like we were,
Perfect in every way?
What's the matter with kids today?
Kids!
I've tried to raise him the best I could
Kids! Kids!
Laughing, singing, dancing, grinning, morons!
And while we're on the subject!
Kids! They are just impossible to control!
Kids! With their awful clothes and their rock an' roll!
Why can't they dance like we did
What's wrong with Sammy Caine?
What's the matter with kids today!   ("Kids" from Bye Bye Birdie)

I was thinking about kids now and then (back in the dark ages when we were kids).  When I was young, we used to bicycle to the Detroit Zoo (it was then free to enter, we kids didn't have any money) which is on a very busy highway.  Now a days the kids are not allowed to go anywhere without being driven.  I saw the kid across the street come back from a soccer game in the family van; my poor kids had to bicycle to soccer games which were as close as the neighbor's game was.

We did not have any money and today if you look at the High School parking lot you will see cars, pickups, or vans that are much nicer than our Minivan.  It seems that every kid has a Cell Phone, in the olden days we used Carrier Pigeons (just kidding we had nothing to call home or our buddies).

Some advantages we had, we could get jobs (there is 30-40% unemployment in the 20-30 range thanks to P.O.).  Our teachers seemed to care more about teaching us then keeping Politically Correct speech in the classroom.  We were able to fail (believe or not we actually kept score in sports).  We were able to play baseball or football or etc. without coaches or team uniforms.

(Caveat : my grandkids appear to be raised in the correct (in my opinion) manner).

Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told:  "I am with you kid.  Let's go."  ~Maya Angelou


We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.  ~Stacia Tauscher


You can learn many things from children.  How much patience you have, for instance.  ~Franklin P. Jones


A characteristic of the normal child is he doesn't act that way very often


Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn't music.  ~William Stafford


Even when freshly washed and relieved of all obvious confections, children tend to be sticky.  ~Fran Lebowitz



CHILDHOOD, n.  The period of human life intermediate between the idiocy of infancy and the folly of youth -- two removes from the sin of manhood and three from the remorse of age (DD)

What Not to Wear

During a sermon our pastor mentioned a show on The Learning Channel called "What Not to Wear".  He said that people (friends or relatives) nominate people who do not dress well and the show then does makeovers on their wardrobes after embarrassing the subjects and burning their old clothes.

To me this is the height of arrogance to tell someone that what they wear is not correct.  Of course, I only wear clothes now that I enjoy or that feel comfortable (when I was not retired I wore comfortable but more dressy clothes).  I wear shorts in the summer (short shorts compared to what most people (especially the young people) now-a-days wear) and blue jeans when the weather is not warm enough for shorts.

I don't care what other people think of my attire (actually the only person that I ask is my lovely bride and she is nice enough to say I look OK).  I do dress up more for Church since that is showing respect for the Lord.

What is the "correct" clothes to wear?  If you look throughout the ages the "correct" clothes changes with the year or season; like women's swimsuits : in 1800's completely covered up, mid-1900's a one piece suit, late 1900's bikinis (remember the "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"; then later thongs.


Song Lyrics: "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"
Recorded by: "Brian Hyland"
Written by: (Paul Vance, Lee Pockriss)


She was afraid to come out of the locker
She was as nervous as she could be 
She was afraid to come out of the locker
She was afraid that somebody would see
Two, three, four, tell the people what she wore


It was an itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow polka-dot bikini
That she wore for the first time today
An itsy, bitsy, teentie, weenie, yellow polka-dot bikini
So in the locker she wanted to stay
Two, three, four, stick around we'll tell you more 


She was afraid to come out in the open
And so a blanket around she wore 
She was afraid to come out in the open
And so she sat bundled up on the shore 
Two, three, four, tell the people what she wore


It was an itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow polka-dot bikini
That she wore for the first time today
An itsy, bitsy, teentie, weenie, yellow polka-dot bikini
So in the blanket she wanted to stay
Two, three, four, stick around we'll tell you more


Now she's afraid to come out of the water 
And I wonder what she's gonna do
Now she's afraid to come out of the water 
And the poor little girl's turning blue
Two, three, four, tell the people what she wore


It was an itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow polka-dot bikini
That she wore for the first time today
An itsy, bitsy, teentie, weenie, yellow polka-dot bikini
So in the water she wanted to stay
(From the locker to the blanket) 
(From the blanket to the shore)
(From the shore to the water) 
Yes, there isn't any more


The finest clothing made is a person's skin, but, of course, society demands something more than this.  ~Mark Twain


A dress that zips up the back will bring a husband and wife together.  ~James H. Boren


I base most of my fashion sense on what doesn't itch.  ~Gilda Radner


People seldom notice old clothes if you wear a big smile.  ~Lee Mildon


I don't see how an article of clothing can be indecent.  A person, yes.  ~Robert A. Heinlein


Distrust any enterprise that requires new clothes.  ~Henry David Thoreau


If men can run the world, why can't they stop wearing neckties?  How intelligent is it to start the day by tying a little noose around your neck?  ~Linda Ellerbee



clothes (pl n)  1 items worn to cover the body 
ORIGIN Old English clāthas, plural of clāth (see cloth ).

Choices

Good or Bad choices can effect history.

When the Detroit Pistons had the second choice in the NBA draft, they chose Darko Milicic a 7 foot center from Europe.  He was very young and raw and the Pistons thought he might be Dirk Nowitzki type player.  It turned out that he was a bust and eventually the Pistons got rid of him and he is now at best a journey player not a star.  Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade were the three picks taken after him.  All are stars approaching super star status.  Right now the Pistons are near last place due in large measure to that decision; with any of the other picks they would be right in the thick of things.  Bad Choice!

When I was in college I met a lovely girl.  She was (and is) smart, kind, and beautiful.  I met her on a date with a friend who would later be my roommate.  She was his date on a double date with me and my date (I don't remember who was my date) to a movie.  Later I got to know her better, I even helped her with a Calculus exam for Social Science.  She eventually was a roommate with the girl that my friend (above) ended up marrying.

I asked that beautiful girl to marry me and she said YES.  This is the woman that I have been married to for over 41 years.  We have had 3 children and now have 5 grandsons.  She is a wonderful mother and helped raise our kids who married excellent spouses (ones who are worthy of them).  Good Choice!

“There are always two choices. Two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it's easy.”



“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”  Joanne Kathleen Rowling



“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is compromise.” Robert Fritz


“Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely.”


“When it snows, you have two choices: shovel or make snow angels”


The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.  George Eliot


It's choice - not chance - that determines your destiny. Jean Nidetch



choice (n) act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities
• the right or ability to make, or possibility of making, such a selection 
• a range of possibilities from which one or more may be selected 
• a course of action, thing, or person that is selected or decided upon 
ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French chois, from choisir ‘choose,’ of Germanic origin and related to choose

Brand Name

A lot of the time, we shop at ALDI's for food items, ALDI's brand name names are things like Grandessa, Fit n Active, and Cambridge.  In general, I tend to buy the generic items.  The quality is not bad and of course they are cheaper.

I was thinking on my morning dog walk about what items that I only buy Brand Names.  In computers, I usually buy Apple which is not a generic since it is more expensive and (in my opinion) elite than a PC.  Clothes, I buy things like Basic Edition.  Cars, I usually buy American last 2 were Voyagers; sort of a generic vs. BMW or Lexus.  Our House is very generic, very uninspiring 3 small bedrooms and a basement.  For Food, my lovely wife likes Lipton Black Tea and a Organic Yoghurt, but meat, milk and vegetables are from local stores and generic.  Our TV is a Panasonic.  Our bikes are Nashbar and Performance; not the Brand Name Cannondale, etc..

I find that Brand Name items are often higher quality but not enough to overcome the price difference.


As a child, I was always playing some generic child. Susan Olsen



I think there's something great and generic about goldfish. They're everybody's first pet. Paul Rudd



A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well. Jeff Bezos



Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it's not going to get the business. Warren Buffett



Our success is a direct result of knowing how to market a brand and having the right people representing the brand. Greg Norman



generic (adj)
1 characteristic of or relating to a class or group of things; not specific
• (of goods, esp. medicinal drugs) having no brand name; not protected by a registered trademark
2 Biology of or relating to a genus.
ORIGIN late 17th cent.: from French générique, from Latin genus, gener- ‘stock, race.’

30 or 60

Do you think the non-30 or 60 increments of time feel slighted?  Almost all TV shows begin at the 1/2 hour or the hour.  Most people's work begins on them also!


When you make arrangements to meet someone, do you ever say I will meet you at 8:07 PM?  The 15 minute increments also get some play but not the lowly 3 or 7 or 9 or etc.. Actually the prime numbers seem to be even more prejudiced against (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59 - though sometimes 5 gets some play, do you think is because most of them are odd?). 


It is just like money,when anything is $19.99 we think oh $20.  All of the lotto games seem to have a whole million $ prize.  How often do you use pennies?  (Actually we tend to use our credit card so I don't carry any change with me.)  There was a recommendation that the Treasury stop making pennies (one reason is that it costs more than a penny to make a penny), but there was a great outcry (one reason was due to the inflation built into going to $.05 increments) even though most people do not use pennies anymore!


I guess we will leave for choir practice at 1923, showing that I care about the poor unused minutes!


To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. 
-- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8



2 is not equal to 3 - not even for very large values of 2. Grabel's Law



Women have a passion for mathematics. They divide their age in half, double the price of their clothes, and always add at least five years to the age of their best friend. Marcel Achard



In Vegas, I got into a long argument with the man at the roulette wheel over what I considered to be an odd number.  Steven Wright



number (n)
1 an arithmetical value, expressed by a word, symbol, or figure, representing a particular quantity and used in counting and making calculations and for showing order in a series or for identification
2 a quantity or amount 
ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French nombre (noun), nombrer (verb), from Latin numerus

Census

I just heard a commercial for a reason to fill out your Census Form.  In the commercial. they talk about only having only 3 buses, but what happens if there are more people wanting to ride the buses, the buses would be crowded.  I (and my lovely wife), of course, feel that a better measure would be to count the people actually using the bus!


Various organizations are telling us to fill it out the form because the US government divvies out $400,000,000,000 to the various states depending on the number of people in the states. Why do people think that money "from Washington" is free money?  First the Feds tax us then they take their percentage then give a portion back to us.  This is not free money, it is an overtax that they give some back.


I saw a cartoon where a woman is telling her husband to fill out the Census form because they could lose a US Representative if they don't and he says "Win-win!"


I don't like that the form requires our phone number and name.  They also ask for your race, it is my opinion that very few really known their actual race; since intermarriage has occurred.  Their are very few pure breeds anywhere.


Another thing that I don't like is that the date it is supposed to be for is 1Apr10, which is not here yet.  They also sent a letter about a week before the Form arrived telling us that the Census Form was coming; another great use for the money the Federal Government takes from us!


I did fill it out and we will mail it tomorrow.



“The true test of civilization is, not the census, nor the size of the cities, nor the crops, but the kind of man that the country turns out.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson


“I just want to know how people with multiple personalities fill out their census papers”



census (n) an official count or survey of a population, typically recording various details of individuals
ORIGIN early 17th cent. (denoting a poll tax): from Latin, applied to the registration of citizens and property in ancient Rome, usually for taxation, from censere ‘assess.’ The current sense dates from the mid 18th cent.

DST

Daylight Savings Time is here.  It seems like it occurs sooner and sooner each year.  It is suppose to reduce energy use (the reason given by Congress for increasing the time it is used) and add time for various activities.


I do not like DST.  We like to bicycle places and we go to the YMCA early in the morning since we have other things to do later (there is a Bible Study on Mondays and things that occur on Wednesday and later in the year in summer activities on Friday).  It is convenient to go early and get the workout and shower out of the way early; but just as it is getting light enough to bike to the Y the clocks spring forward.  Some research has shown that more gas is used due to the increase in later daylight.


During his time as an American envoy to France, Benjamin Franklin, author of the proverb, "Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise", anonymously published a letter suggesting that Parisians economize on candles by rising earlier to use morning sunlight. This 1784 satire proposed taxing shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells and firing cannons at sunrise. Franklin did not propose DST.  Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Vernon Hudson, whose shift-work job gave him leisure time to collect insects, and made him aware of the value of after-hours daylight



Time is what prevents everything from happening at once.  John Archibald Wheeler



Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils.  Hector Berlioz



A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure.  Segal's Law



When I give a lecture, I accept that people look at their watches, but what I do not tolerate is when they look at it and raise it to their ear to find out if it stopped.  Marcel Achard



Yes, time flies. And where did it leave you? Old too soon...smart too late. Mike Tyson



You know, sometimes, when they say you're ahead of your time, it's just a polite way of saying you have a real bad sense of timing. George McGovern



Time and Tide wait for no man, but time always stands still for a woman of thirty. Robert Frost



daylight saving time (also daylight savings time)  (n)  time as adjusted to achieve longer evening daylight, esp. in summer, by setting the clocks an hour ahead of the standard time.

Sleep

I read an article (probably just the first paragraph of an article on Yahoo!) which said that kids under 10 years old need at least 10 hours of sleep, adults 8  hours and older folks only 6 hours of sleep.

Seems unfair older adults usually have more time that they can spend on sleep; whereas, young kids have so much more energy they could effectively use the extra time.  Young parents (of young children / babies) don't really get enough sleep.  The babies (in particular) seem to use the night as crying/ feeding time, so the parents are up all night followed by work either at a off site job or home (dishes, cleaning, cooking, etc.).

I think all of my grandkids (except one) seem to sleep the allotted time; when I visit them I am usually up before them.  The one tends to get up before the other kids every day I am around.  Sleep for me usually is at least the amount that is required but is broken up into 2-5 hour segments usually by bathroom breaks.

“I wasn’t really asleep I was just meditating on unconsciousness.”


“Sleep is like the unicorn - it is rumored to exist, but I doubt I will see any”


People who say they sleep like a baby usually don’t have one.


It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterwards.


Problems always look smaller after a warm meal and a good night’s sleep.


Some people talk in their sleep. Lecturers talk while other people sleep


The good people sleep much better at night than the bad people. Of course, the bad people enjoy the waking hours much more


Laugh and the world laughs with you. Snore and you sleep alone



sleep (n) a condition of body and mind such as that which typically recurs for several hours every night, in which the nervous system is relatively inactive, the eyes closed, the postural muscles relaxed, and consciousness practically suspended  • chiefly poetic/literary a state compared to or resembling this, such as death or complete silence or stillness  • a gummy or gritty secretion found in the corners of the eyes after sleep 
ORIGIN Old English slēp, slǣp (noun), slēpan, slǣpan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch slapen and German schlafen

Rumors

When I go to Yahoo! Sports, I always look at the rumors and the headlines.  It seems that the rumors are always about someone might join some other team or someone is going to be traded to who.  If you check the headlines a few days later almost all of them are wrong; instead of player A going to team B, it is player B going to team A.

When I go to political sites, it seems that most of the articles are also rumors.  Pelosi has only 200 votes of the needed 216 for the health care bill or the next day she has over 216.  Obama will push for immigration this year and the next day he will wait for after the election.

It seems to me that Rumors are actually Opinions and vice versa.  How much of what you "know" are actually rumors?


“Trying to squash a rumor is like trying to unring a bell.”  Shana Alexander



“Nothing is swifter than rumor.”  Horace



“Rumor is not always wrong”  Publius Cornelius Tacitus



“Nobody believes a rumor here in Washington until it's officially denied.” Edward Cheyfitz



RUMOR, n.  A favorite weapon of the assassins of character.
    Sharp, irresistible by mail or shield,
        By guard unparried as by flight unstayed,
    O serviceable Rumor, let me wield
        Against my enemy no other blade.
    His be the terror of a foe unseen,
        His the inutile hand upon the hilt,
    And mine the deadly tongue, long, slender, keen,
        Hinting a rumor of some ancient guilt.
    So shall I slay the wretch without a blow,
    Spare me to celebrate his overthrow,
    And nurse my valor for another foe.
                                                           Joel Buxter

Birthdays

I have 5 grandsons.  The first birthday in the year is Tyler's.  Every year, it catches me by surprise.  I put it in my calendar on my laptop so it would popup at me a few days ahead of time.  It popped up a few days ago and I promptly forgot it.  Today my son's blog had pictures and videos from Tyler's birthday party; this was my wake-up call.  I don't love Tyler any less than the other grandkids but his birthday is first and for some reason I think it should be on March 24 (there is no reason for this but that is how my mind works); so I tend to send the two April birthday boys' cards and checks soon after Tyler's birthday so I don't forget.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER!

I promise that next year I might get it right.  I guess I should just blame the post office for delivering the mail late.

Ignore all the above, it must be the Post Office's fault!

Birthdays are nature's way of telling us to eat more cake.


Last week the candle factory burned down. Everyone just stood around and sang, 'Happy Birthday.' Steven Wright


Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest.  Father Larry Lorenzoni


A friend never defends a husband who gets his wife an electric skillet for her birthday  Erma Bombeck


A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age.  Robert Frost



Inside every older person is a younger person - wondering what the hell happened.  Cora Harvey Armstrong



To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am.  Bernard Baruch



birthday (n)  the annual anniversary of the day on which a person was born, typically treated as an occasion for celebration and present-giving  • the day of one's birth • the anniversary of something starting or being founded

Vote your Beliefs

The latest bribe from P.O. is giving the brother of a Congressman a judgeship (appointed Scott Matheson to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals at the same time Barack Obama hosted his brother, Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) at the White House to convince him to switch to a yes vote on ObamaCare).


If you believe in ObamaCare vote for it (I don't) but don't fill the bill with bribes.  It seems to me that any bill that has as much pressure via bribes or strong-arming to pass might not be in the best interest of the citizens of the U.S..


On a separate subject, why are the left and the main street media (which is not main street in its views and slants) so into trying to destroy Sarah Palin.  She may not be perfect but many times she speaks as many people believe and don't hear anywhere else.


There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking.  ALFRED KORZYBSKI


Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it. ANDRE GIDE


The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality. GEORGE BERNARD SHAW



"In Mexico an air conditioner is called a politician because it makes a lot of noise but doesn't work very well."   Len Deighton


"Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly and for the same reason."



Never believe in anything until it has been officially denied.   Otto von Bismarck



I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong. Bertrand Russell



I don't believe it. Prove it to me and I still won't believe it.  Douglas Adams



belief (n) 1 an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists :• something one accepts as true or real; a firmly held opinion or conviction  • a religious conviction
2 ( belief in) trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something 
ORIGIN Middle English : alteration of Old English gelēafa; compare with believe

Next Blog

I have been clicking on the Next Blog button above.  It is interesting in that the next blog changes each time I use it from this blog.  There are a lot of picture sites.  Some are very good and thoughtful others are in foreign languages, so they may be good and/or thoughtful but I can't tell.

One thing that enthuses me, is that there are other blogs as bad as this one.  In general the blogs I visit are my kids' blogs which are in general better written and more relevant (especially if you like beer (my son's)).  I like that I get up to date pictures of my grandkids and kids.

A random trip to blogs is fun, try it sometime!

Some quotes from Blogs:


Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying that I approved of it.
I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.
The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.
“Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?”  all Mark Twain


“Many bad policies are simply good policies taken too far.”
Thomas Sowell


“The quickest way to end a war is to lose it.” George Orwell


“The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.”
Thomas Jefferson


blog (n)  a Web site on which an individual or group of users produces an ongoing narrative

ORIGIN a shortening of weblog

Haircut

Yesterday, I got a haircut.  Looking at the cut hair I noticed that there was a lot of silver (some incorrectly call it gray) hair pieces.  When I was working, some follow workers told me that by cutting my beard I look much younger.  At that time, I figured looking older was a good idea.  My job was evaluating the job performance or training of nuclear operators; so I figured that looking older would give me an advantage in that they would either look on me as a father figure or figure that I was not as sharp as I was.

I looked at a picture of me with my lovely wife and youngest son and noticed that I did not have as much silver (actually none).  Some people might think from this spotty evidence that I was getting older!  Since I feel that you are as old as you act, I can't be older that 25 or 26.  Interesting that I have a 40 year old son; it is amazing the wonders of creation. Plus I have a sexy wife who looks young!


You know you are over the hill when:
You find yourself beginning to like accordion music.
You're setting on a park bench and a Boy Scout comes up and helps you cross your legs.
You light the candles on your birthday cake and a group of campers form a circle & start singing "Kumbaya"
Someone compliments you on your layered look --and you are wearing a bikini.
Your insurance company has started sending their free clendars -- a month at a time.
At cafeterias, you complain that the jello is too tough.
One of the throw pillows on your bed is a hot-water bottle.
It takes a couple of trys to get over a speed bump.
You notice that you are using words like "whippersnapper","scalawag" and "by-cracky".
The waiter ask how you'd like your steak and you reply,"Pureed."
You realize that a stamp costs more than movie(picture show) did when you were a kid.
You're asleep, but others think you are dead.
You have a party and the neighbors don't even realize it.
You find your self singing along with elevator music.
Your'e on a game show and decide to risk it all and go for the rocker.
You believe that 8 miles a hour is fast enough for anyone to drive.
Your ears have more hair than your head



OLD, adj.  In that stage of usefulness which is not inconsistent with general inefficiency, as an old man. Discredited by lapse of time and offensive to the popular taste, as an old book.
    "Old books?  The devil take them!" Goby said.
    "Fresh every day must be my books and bread."
    Nature herself approves the Goby rule
    And gives us every moment a fresh fool.   Harley Shum  (DD)

Artistic Ability

I have been fooling around with colors and fonts on this blog.  It is fun (for me, low threshold) to mix up the various colors.  However, it is obvious that I have no or little artistic ability.  I like greens as might show in the colors that I have at the moment.

My wife and daughter have artistic abilities.  Both can sing, create, and write.  I am very lucky to have them; but am too lazy to get any help with the colors.  I hope they are not too glaring for the few visitors. 

Art, like morality, consists in drawing the line somewhere. Gilbert K. Chesterton 

Bad artists always admire each other's work. Oscar Wilde 

Good art is in the wallet of the beholder. Kathy Lette 

Any work that aspires, however humbly, to the condition of art should carry its justification in every line. Joseph Conrad 

Abstract art? A product of the untalented, sold by the unprincipled to the utterly bewildered. Al Capp 

The immature artist imitates. Mature artists steal. Lionel Trilling 

ART, n.This word has no definition. Its origin is related as follows by the ingenious Father Gassalasca Jape, S.J. 

    One day a wag -- what would the wretch be at? -- 

    Shifted a letter of the cipher RAT, 

    And said it was a god's name! Straight arose 

    Fantastic priests and postulants (with shows, 

    And mysteries, and mummeries, and hymns, 

    And disputations dire that lamed their limbs) 

   To serve his temple and maintain the fires, 

   Expound the law, manipulate the wires. 

   Amazed, the populace that rites attend, 

   Believe whate'er they cannot comprehend, 

   And, inly edified to learn that two 

   Half-hairs joined so and so (as Art can do) 

   Have sweeter values and a grace more fit 

   Than Nature's hairs that never have been split, 

   Bring cates and wines for sacrificial feasts, 

   And sell their garments to support the priests. (DD)

Filling Up

While I was filling up my gas tank today, I noticed that the dollars gauge was going very fast vs. the gallons of gas pumped.  I remember when the gallons went much faster than the dollars, the lowest gas price I remember paying was 19¢/gal (i.e., over 5 gallons per dollar).  It used to be hard to carry $10 worth of groceries; but now I am much stronger and can carry $10 in one hand (in part of a bag)!

I remember when $10,000 a week was a fortune!  I remember paying $500 for my first car (used Pontiac Tempest when it was really a compact car).

Sometimes it is not an advantage to remember things! 

A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.~Edward de Bono

Memory is a crazy woman that hoards colored rags and throws away food.  ~Austin O'Malley 

There are lots of people who mistake their imagination for their memory.  ~Josh Billings 

“Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold -- but so does a hard-boiled egg.”

“When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it happened or not.” Mark Twain 

“When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.” Mark Twain 

memory (n) 1 a person's power to remember things • the power of the mind to remember things • the mind regarded as a store of things remembered  • the capacity of a substance to return to a previous state or condition after having been altered or deformed. See also shape memory .
ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French memorie, from Latin memoria, from memor ‘mindful, remembering.’