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November 30, 2012

Ghost Elevator

In Brazil.


biblioklept

biblioklept bib·li·o·klept [bib-lee-uh-klept] noun
a person who steals books.


We need to add that to the list of capital crimes, worthy of the death penalty, along with those who dog-ear pages.

November 28, 2012

Busy Busy Busy

This is what I get when clicking on the official Texas Lottery site:

No wonder, what with the Powerball frenzy that's gripped the nation over the last few days.  The jackpot was originally 450 million but at the time of the drawing had increased to 580 million and it was announced that outlets were selling 100,000 tickets a minute.

Still, the official Powerball website hasn't been overwhelmed.  I usually go to USA Mega when I want results; it seems to always be up and running when the others aren't just after the drawings of huge jackpots.  They also announce both the numbers and results much earlier than does any other lottery site I have bookmarked.

I'm a little sick;  I had purchased a couple of numbers w/ the Powerball/multiplier option, making my total investment in the half-billion+ dollar dream come to six bucks.  As I sat here earlier, I thought I might run down and get another ticket but decided against it.  I get quick picks these days when I play; I used to play a set of numbers but quit when my age became more than the largest possible number available to pick. -sigh- I thought I might play my old numbers and let the machine pick the Powerball.  As I checked my numbers earlier, I saw that four of my numbers would have been chosen for winnings of $200 and much more if I had happened to have chosen the multiplier. 

Oh well.  Shoulda, woulda, coulda, that's my motto.

UPDATE:

Certainly not official, but the webmaster at the USA Mega site says there are at least two winners in two different states. If that's true, then the predicted one billion dollar drawing that WOULD have been Saturday night won't happen. At the present time, the MegaMillions, the Powerball and the Texas Lottery are all "small" jackpots.

Mosquito Ringtones

From the site:

What is the Mosquito Ringtone?

The short version, A tone outside the audible range of hearing for most people over the age of 30. This means that you can get phone calls and receive text messages in class or school without teachers hearing it.

Mosquito Ringtones


Lots of other fun stuff on the site; mosquito games, printable mosquito coloring pages even some variants of the mosquito ringtones available for download.  One useful thing is the Hearing Test.

When I first came across this site, I thought "Oh, I bet my hearing is still pretty good...I certainly don't have "old" ears." I was wrong; I couldn't hear the upper ranges of the tones and after checking out the Hearing Test, I was dismayed to find that the only sounds I could clearly hear were the 10000 and 8000 Hertz Tones.

Dismayed, but not totally surprised. After the years of working on extremely loud drilling rigs, some hearing loss is to be expected. Up until a few years ago, I suffered from Tinnitus but that's gone away to where it's nearly unnoticeable. (I think getting control of my blood sugar has something to do with it, but I'm not sure.)There were times, however, during the dead of night it was maddening.

So, I guess I DO have "old ears".  I might not be able to hear like the young whippersnappers, but I bet most of them can't wiggle my ears like I can!


EDIT TO ADD: I had several tabs open and before closing the Hearing Test tab after posting, I tried a few more frequencies; I could barely hear some of the others, then thought to check my volume control.

Duh.  I had it turned down quite a bit while listening to online radio earlier. I could clearly hear the 14000 Hertz Tone. I can barely hear the next one, but not well enough to use it as a ring tone.  I don't need a ring tone anyway...don't have a cell phone, for one.  No one ever calls me, so I hardly need a land line except for my DSL. 

Anyway, good news and bad news:  the good news is my hearing isn't as bad as I thought it was.  The bad news?  Not checking my volume control means my mind is slipping.

svelte

From our Word of the Day module:

svelte [svelt, sfelt] adjective, svelt·er, svelt·est.
1. slender, especially gracefully slender in figure; lithe.
2. suave; blandly urbane.



Svelte is all right, but I'm more attracted to the zaftig type.

November 27, 2012

Rare Error

One of the very few errors I've had here on Blogger. I've had this blog for over five years and I haven't had more than five errors in all that time. Back in MSN Groups, I could get five errors in a day, even that many in an hour. Facebook is better, but they have more glitches than I think I want to tolerate.


Oddly enough, I got it the other day when posting this.

Dear Diary

I'm too lazy and don't have the motivation to keep a journal.

You Should Take Up Journaling
You are very private, but you aren't aloof. You just have a well developed inner world.

You spend a lot of time thinking by yourself. It helps to get your thoughts down on paper.

You are an idealistic soul. You have noble ideas about the world.


You are a natural writer of all sorts. You are equally suited writing essays, journals, and fiction. 

fainaigue

fainaigue fai·naigue [fuh-neyg] verb (used without object), fai·naigued, fai·nai·guing.
1. British Dialect . to shirk; evade work or responsibility.
2. to renege at cards.


At least now I'll know what to call it if I'm ever in Great Britain  just goofin' off. A slacker is a slacker the world around, I expect.

I'm Into Something Good-Herman's Hermits

November 25, 2012

amygdaliform

From the Word of the Day:

amygdaliform a·myg·da·li·form [uh-mig-duh-luh-fawrm] adjective

almond-shaped

She is naturally blonde, pale, with amygdaliform eyes and high cheekbones. 
- Gulnar Nazarkhan, The Secret World



This is a word I didn't know and don't think I've ever seen it. I know I've never heard it used in conversation. It's also a word that I think is unnecessary. Instead of saying someone has amygdaliform eyes, why not just say they have almond-shaped eyes? At least people would understand what you meant and not have to go look it up.

404 Error

Kept getting this error page earlier on a video site - it's one of the more humorous ones I've seen lately.

(click for larger view)




Not sure what a broken TV has to do with a website, but I got the gist of it. Actually, that's how I often feel after watching the Dallas Cowboys play.

How To Fix a 404 Not Found Error

35 Entertaining 404 Error Pages

November 24, 2012

potvaliancy

From the Word of the Day module (in left-hand column)

potvaliancy pot-val·iant [pot-val-yuhnt] adjective
brave only as a result of being drunk.


Interesting word, and one of which I wasn't familiar...although it seems as though that should be "drunkvaliancy"; "potvaliancy" would be brave as a result of being stoned, although that might very well be an oxymoron.

November 23, 2012

The Crying Towel

Opened up my mailbox just now and found the usual junk mailings but there was also a small padded mailer from Proctor Gamble, the company that makes Tide (tm) detergent.  I ripped it open to find a freebie I had requested over a month ago, a Dallas Cowboys hand towel similar to the smaller of these:


It's only appropriate that I get it the day after Dallas lost to Washington. It's a nice little towel, but it's not big enough to soak up my tears.

Just kidding. As disappointing as that loss was to a division rival, the sun still came up this morning, I'm still alive and life goes on. I WOULD like to have a few thousand more of these towels to stick in the mouths of those who call in to sports talk shows, griping about the coaching staff, the quarterback, the owner and "know" how to fix what ails the Pokes. If they are so smart, why aren't THEY coaching a pro football team?

Time to Take a Television Trivia Test

Are you a TV trivia buff? Take the quiz.

From the site: Ever since Philo T. Farnsworth, David Sarnoff, and Vladimir Zworykin started toying with vacuum tubes in the early part of the 20th century, we've been intrigued by the box with moving pictures and sound. Try your hand at our television trivia quiz.

TV Trivia Quiz

I didn't do so hot. I did miss a few when second guessing myself. I'm not sure if I should be a little disappointed that I missed so many or happy that I DON'T know that much about television.  There are all kinds of questions, from classic TV to present time and several questions about British programs.

 

I Didn't Need a Quiz

To tell me this!

You Are Carefree
You are always brimming with excitement and possibilities. You love to experiment and learn.

You like to go wherever life takes you. You have no rules or routine.

You are a true free spirit. You do whatever works. If what works changes, you'll change too.


You don't value structure or order much in your life. It kills the spontaneity.


Long Way To The Top - Billy Thorpe

If there's another version of this classic tune out there, I don't know where it is.  I think I've posted every one of them I could find.

November 22, 2012

agape

From the Word of the Day:

agape \ah-GAH-pey\ , noun:
1. Unselfish love of one person for another without sexual implications.
2. The love of Christians for other persons, corresponding to the love of God for humankind.

When I first saw this word in the Word of the Day module, I immediately thought of this definition:

agape a·gape [uh-geyp, uh-gap] adverb, adjective
1. with the mouth wide open, as in wonder, surprise, or eagerness: We stood there agape at the splendor.
2. wide open: his mouth agape

Both definitions: agape

Normally, this would be where I'd insert some snarky comment or try a feeble attempt at humor with the word, but I just don't feel like it today. It makes me sad that we consider the U.S. to be a Christian nation, but in most respects we are not. We export war to all corners of the globe, for one, and when we try to combat evil, we wind up killing innocents. Surely there's some better way to spread freedom throughout the world.

Even our attempts to take care of the poor and less fortunate are filled with fraud and waste, futilely throwing money at the problems in hopes they'll go away.

I love my country, but want it to ACT like a Christian nation, not just give the title lip service. 

My mouth is agape at the lack of agape. -sigh-

November 21, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!

Luxury Lighter = Lot of Loot

I have a ZippoTM lighter but don't often use it. I couldn't find a regular lighter earlier and saw my Zippo on a table but it wouldn't light, so I then had to fill it full of fluid (and I had to look for THAT). The flint was gone, so I then had to find an extra flint. I had forgotten where I had put them (seems like forgetting is happening more often these days) but remembered I used to store extra flints under the felt pad where the lighter is filled. Sure 'nuff, there was an extra flint there.

It got me to wondering if the lighter fluid makes the flints soft when stored there; I had heard it argued both ways, so I thought I'd do a little research on it. I never did find any reasons against doing it but found several posts on forums by people saying that's where they stored extra flints.

Among the links were lighters for sale; I went to Amazon and saw some pretty good deals on lighters and thought I might put one of the less expensive ones in my shopping cart along with a few other things I had in there. At the bottom of the page there were links to external sites with lighters for sale and my jaw dropped when I saw this one:


Good grief, what would you light with that lighter? Cigarettes packed with 24K gold leaf? Pipes filled with shredded $100 bills? I know it's supposed to be a "work of art" and not used, but for that amount of money you could probably fly the Japanese artist over and have him paint one of the scenes as a mural on a wall in your house!

GloFish®

Have you ever seen GloFish®? They're a genetically engineered, glow-in-the-dark zebra fish, patented and trademarked. They are illegal in Canada, the European Union and California.


Train Wreck

And it never even got on the tracks.


Granny & Pop Rocks

82 year old trying pop rocks

November 20, 2012

fob

fob  [fob] noun
1. a small pocket just below the waistline in trousers for a watch, keys, change, etc.
2. a short chain or ribbon, usually with a medallion or similar ornament, attached to a watch and worn hanging from a pocket.
3. the medallion or ornament itself.

verb (used with object), fobbed, fob·bing.
1. Archaic . to cheat; deceive.
Verb phrase
2. fob off:
a. to cheat someone by substituting something spurious or inferior; palm off (often followed by on ): He tried to fob off an inferior brand on us.
b. to put (someone) off by deception or trickery: She fobbed us off with false promises.


My dad worked for an oil company as a pumper, taking care of oil and gas wells. His leases started playing out in the early 70's and I remember him once saying that they didn't produce enough oil "to grease a watch fob". The company he worked for sold the production to a German corporation and they thought they could coax more oil out of the half-century old wells, but after spending millions of dollars, couldn't.

So, the old company fobbed off the wells on the German one.

That's sort of what I do in here, fob off word definitions, quizzes and music videos in lieu of any interesting content.

Should I?

"Should I" autocomplete screen shot:


Not Fit to Print

Did you know Yellow journalism is named for a comic strip character called The Yellow Kid?

From Wiki: Yellow journalism, or the yellow press, is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism. By extension, the term yellow journalism is used today as a pejorative to decry any journalism that treats news in an unprofessional or unethical fashion.

Just my not-so-humble opinion, but that would describe most of the main stream media.  They've gone from being the canary in the coal mine to citing "a little birdie told me" for their sources.


November 18, 2012

terpsichorean

Word of the Day

terpsichorean \turp-si-kuh-REE-uhn\ , adjective:

1. Pertaining to dancing.


Apt word for these times, seeing as how more people care about Dancing with the Stars than they do about our politicians dancing around the issues...and stepping on our toes while they're at it.

Stronger - Kelly Clarkson


Round and Round

She goes

When it will stop, no one knows.  (or hit "refresh")


I had to bump this one up, I liked it so well. I don't know if it will work for everyone, guess that would depend upon your security settings and your browser, but I'm locked down pretty good using Firefox and it works for me.

November 17, 2012

Berry Interesting!

Did you know pineapples belong to the berry family? The pineapple is a multiple fruit made up of coalesced berries. The name comes from its pine cone-like appearance.


But I'm Not a Stinker

You Are a Skunk
You are confident about your place in the world, and you've happily carved out your own niche.

You have a strong personality, and you have no desire to lead or follow anyone.

You don't think that you are strange, but others tend to think you are a bit eccentric.


You are brilliant and a rule breaker. Social graces don't come easily for you.


Maybe this blog needs a category for skunks.

The title of the post is an inside joke, btw. I'm only a stinker to those with their noses in the air.  Things aren't always black and white;  life has shades of gray, after all.

bird dog

From our Word of the Day feed

bird dog noun
1. one of any of various breeds of dogs trained to hunt or retrieve birds.
2. Informal . a person hired to locate special items or people, especially a talent scout who seeks out promising athletes.
3. Slang . a person who steals another person's date.


My pop used to raise bird dogs, even taking them to trials and winning trophies. I've got some old home movies around here of the last hunting dog he owned, along with her litter of puppies but I haven't transferred any of them to digital yet. (I'm sure my home movies would really drive up the traffic to this blog!)

I've never known a person who fit the second definition and heaven knows I was never a good enough athlete to be bird-dogged.

I AM familiar with the slang term, though, because I was a bird dog when I met my ex-wife for the first time. Some home town boys brought their dates by my house and my roommate and I got the boys drunk and after they passed out we moved in on their women. Looking back, we shouldn't have done it...not because it was a despicable thing to do (all's fair in love and war, after all) but because neither my or my roomie's relationship with the girls turned out well. Oh well.

When I first saw the word in the widget module for today, the first thing I thought of was this old tune. It came out a long time before this concert, but it was the best YouTube had to offer.

Bird Dog - Everly Brothers (live 1983)



November 16, 2012

#WishMeLuck

Do you do Twitter? I do, but I don't tweet. (a "tweet" is a post, just in case you don't know)  I signed up for an account mainly to follow a few people/organizations, two being Alton Brown and the Dallas Cowboys. I've followed others, but the constant, multiple re-tweets from other followers drive me crazy so I've un-followed nearly everyone else.

I am a huge fan of Alton Brown and his work on The Food Network and his tweets are sometimes funny, sometimes full of snark but usually both.  He often tweets a reply to a question with an uploaded photo of his answer on a sticky note, almost always good for a smile.   I noticed a *"hashtag" #WishMeLuck  on one of his posts and clicked on the link.

*(from the site- Definition: The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages.)

I almost wish I hadn't.  Most were mundane, one of the main reasons I don't follow many on Twitter:

Gonna try to sleep early tonight #wishmeluck

Driving lessons with daddey :) #wishmeluck


(I realize most tweets are done on a phone and typos are frequent, but "daddey" need to give her some spelling lessons)

Some were a little sad, even though I didn't know the people:

Surgery got moved to tomorrow #wishmeluck

Surgery tomorrow #wishmeluck

Got Tommy John surgery tomorrow. #wishmeluck

2 surgeries in 1 tomorrow #wishmeluck


I don't know the demographics of Twitter, but I would wager the service is mostly used by young people because there was a lot of angst about school. With some of these tweets, there's no wonder there's angst.

Looks like I'm winging this exam tomorrow. #WishMeLuck

im gonna actually try to study rn for the first time since like 5th grade #WishMeLuck

Memorizing Romeo & Juliet prologue in one night #WishMeLuck

I find out if I got into UGA tomorrow night... #wishmeluck

Gonna go bomb my chemistry midterm. #wishmeluck

Hopin for the best on these exams lmao #WishMeLuck

Early night, I have an exam tomorrow, #WishMeLuck

One exam tomorrow at 10am then my stresses about science is over!!! .... At least until January #wishmeluck

If I can make it to school tomorrow it will be my 3rd time this year making it a full week #wishmeluck


There were a lot of tweets about jobs, either starting them, applying for or interviewing for them:

Wellll, just sent in my application to be a Flight Attendent #wishmeluck

Got My First Job Interview Tomorrow #WishMeLuck

Bout to go get interviewed at chilies!! #wishmeluck

All ready for my interview!:) #WishMeLuck

applied at Maurice's #wishmeluck

Just turned in my TEC application #wishmeluck


And some were really funny; I think I'd like to know more about them...or maybe I wouldn't:

Teaching mom how to follow people on twitter was hard enough, now she has an Instagram. #wishmeluck

Setting my alarm for 6:40 so I can get up and attempt to look cute tomorrow #wishmeluck

Drinking till my mouth doesn't hurt anymore #wishmeluck

first tattoo #wishmeluck

About to shave my fur off #wishmeluck

Helen is gonna try to shower #wishmeluck


And my personal favorite of the bunch; he sounds desperate, using quite a few hashtags:

Court in the am  #wishmeluck #praying #pleasedropcharges #missmycannabis

November 13, 2012

Being Green

From the Photobucket archives:

Being Green...

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."

The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were truly recycled.

But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, that we reused for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our schoolbooks. This was to ensure that public property (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags.

But too bad we didn't do the green thing back then.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.

But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throwaway kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that young lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.  We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart-ass young person.

We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off.

Bug in the Frosting

When I got a post in my reader from one of my favorite recipe sites, I did a double-take. What sort of monster bug was in her kitchen?



It didn't seem to have any eyes, but that didn't make it any less frightening.  I then thought that might be the rear end of the bug...even more frightening!

Then I scrolled down to see all the photo.


Whew!

Visit Cooking Classy for some great recipes!

Citizenship Test


Could you pass a US citizenship test?


In order to become a US citizen, immigrants must pass the Naturalization Test. American citizenship bestows the right to vote, improves the likelihood of family members living in other countries to come and live in the US, gives eligibility for federal jobs, and can be a way to demonstrate loyalty to the US. Applicants must get 6 answers out of 10 in an oral exam to pass the test. According to US Citizenship and Immigration services, 92 percent of applicants pass this test.

You must get 58 or more of these test questions correct in order to pass.

I'm a good citizen!









Could you pass a US citizenship test?

A Few Feline Facts

Did you know cats can get any disease a human can and more, including rabies, mental disease and skin conditions? In fact, dandruff is common in cats and it can be especially stressful for cats with dark fur and may lead to depression.

I'm not sure giving one a Head and Shoulders TM shampoo would be a good idea, though.


disbosom

From our Word of the Day module in the right-hand column

disbosom dis·bos·om [dis-booz-uhm, -boo-zuhm]
verb (used with object)
to reveal; confess.



I have a confession to make: back when I used to have a subscription to Playboy, I often would like disbosom over datbosom.

November 12, 2012

Now What?

Did you know Wile E. Coyote once caught the Roadrunner?  It was in the episode titled "Soup or Sonic".

November 10, 2012

cahoots

From our Word of the Day module in the right-hand column:

cahoots (kəˈhuːts)— pl n

1. ( US ) partnership; league (esp in the phrases go in cahoots with, go cahoot)
2. in cahoots, in collusion


I've never been one to engage in conspiracy theories; I believe it was just Oswald who shot JFK, I believe we landed on the moon and I'm sure it was Islamic extremists who flew into the World Trade Center towers and not some diabolical plan by Bush and his evil henchmen. (and if you DO think that about Bush, then get the hell off my blog, you're too damn stupid to read what I write.  There's a lot President Bush should answer to and take the blame for, but that's not one of them.)

That said, I am beginning to think that the Democrats and Republicans, for all their public squabbling that would have you think differently, are in cahoots. Honestly, I can't tell the difference.

It's A Long Way To The Top - Margo Bernard

Yet another version of one of the greatest rock songs of all-time. Wish there was an official video, but...


Chaotic Mess

They got the "chaotic mess" right, for sure.

You Are 8% Abnormal

You are at low risk for being a psychopath. It is unlikely that you have no soul.

You are at medium risk for having a borderline personality. It is somewhat likely that you are a chaotic mess.

You are at low risk for having a narcissistic personality. It is unlikely that you are in love with your own reflection.

You are at low risk for having a social phobia. It is unlikely that you feel most comfortable in your mom's basement.

You are at low risk for obsessive compulsive disorder. It is unlikely that you are addicted to hand sanitizer. 

And He's No Cereal Killer


Did you know the man on the Quaker Oats package is named "Larry"?

I always thought he was William Penn or Ben Franklin.  He looks a little bit like Santa.

Romney Sings Concession

Note: I wasn't thrilled with the outcome of the election but I wouldn't have been thrilled if it had turned out differently. Whatever...this is funny and points out the problem that comes from having a candidate that is nothing like the average American.


November 9, 2012

Time to Reboot

Dear Republicans,

You've got a problem:



I really don't think it's possible to "continue normally".

Clear cache, cookies, run HijackThis, look through the logfile, fix the errors, reboot.

Install True Conservatism...you know, the one that's for limited government, lower taxes, personal responsibility, etc.  Open up the big tent, kick the RINOs out, along with the racists, the gay bashers and religious extremists. Let in the conservative libertarians and stop harping on the social issues. Stop it with the anti-abortion and anti-gay stands; neither are illegal, haven't you heard?  Abortion is here to stay and gay marriage won't be the downfall of this great nation, but the continued loss of our liberties very well may be.  If you don't back off on these two issues, you'll never get the future generation on your side.

Lead by example, don't preach down to people. If you're going to talk the talk, you'd damn well better walk the walk.

There's really not much wrong, after all.




Of course, you can ignore my advice and continue down the losing path, but don't expect another vote from me.

November 8, 2012

Beat This Fact

Did you know a woman's heart beats faster than a man's? The bigger a person is, the slower their heartbeat. Women are generally smaller, so their heart beats 6-8 beats faster than the average man's heart.

I have known some women whose hearts were made of stone, though.

Photobucket

Double Trouble

I can identify.


November 7, 2012

I Must Trust My Lust

Your Lust Quotient: 35%

You are a fairly lustful person, but nothing out of the norm.


You usually keep your lust under control, but sometimes it gets the better of you.
 

I have a little more than 35% when I look at that graphic on the quiz.

Nutty Trivia

Did you know cashew nuts contain a poisonous oil? The cashew tree is a relative of poison ivy and cashew nuts in their natural form contain poison, but roasting makes them safe to eat.

Cashew!



Gesundheit!

Victory!

Of the Pyrrhic sort.

national debt

Since the election was called for Obama several hours ago, I've been doing a little research on the national debt, the most pressing issue facing our country and the next term of the President. I won't give links or explain my math - I'm tired from the tension of following the returns, plus if you want to double-check the figures, you can look 'em up yourself, but from what I could find out, each single U.S. citizen owes over $50 thousand as our share of the national debt.

That figure is staggering, but the figure that's alarming is that Americans under the age of 18 inherit over 200 thousand as their share of the national debt.

That's what's so distressing about the election results. I saw people gloating over Obama's win, but I don't think they realize the implications. I'm not saying a Romney presidency would've been any better; he has a history of being a big govt. politician, too.

I wouldn't have been overjoyed if Romney had won; to me, he was the lesser of two evils. I don't understand the celebrating, esp. by those people with children. Thanks to the last half-dozen presidents (actually more than that), we've saddled the next several generations w/ a mountain of debt and if Obama's first term is any indication, it will only get worse.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $3.86 billion per day. Let that sink in;  nearly four billion a day increase. (or will be four billion very soon) Listening to a radio show just now, I heard that our debt is over 30% more than Greece's...and they're on the verge of collapse.

The only way to even begin digging our way out of this crushing debt is by raising taxes...not just on the rich, but on the main body of taxpayers, the middle class. Sure, corporations can have (and probably will have) their taxes raised, but anyone with even the most basic understanding of economics should know that cost is passed along to the consumer. From there it becomes a vicious circle - taxes go up, prices go up, the consumer has less money to spend on other things, other industries suffer, etc. and so forth.

Just raising taxes won't cut it, however. The military budget can be cut, but I don't see that helping much, so...that leaves only benefits to be pared and who thinks that will be done?  History shows it won't.  So, that puts the burden on the taxpayer and it will be impossible to retire this debt in ours or our children's lifetime...and in fact, the debt will even grow larger until our economy collapses.

So, celebrate while you can, "congratulations" on your "win". Eat, drink, and be merry, fiddle while Rome burns. The bar tab will come due sooner than you think.

I think I'll go on to bed.  I'm sure the sun will come up tomorrow and the world won't end on Dec. 22.*  I just hope my country can survive the people we've elected and the fools that elect them.

What I'm really afraid of is when the Chinese come to collect on the I.O.U.'s we've been giving them.

*Edit to add:  That's the Mayan calendar date the world is supposed to end.  The official Inauguration Day is January 20th. However, as that date falls on a Sunday in 2013, the public swearing-in ceremony will be held on Monday, January 21, 2013.

Sorry for any confusion.  I just woke up after a few hours of fitful sleep.  I thought I'd feel better after resting.   I don't.

November 6, 2012

Stamping Out Our Rights

U.S. law mandates that when images of postage stamps are printed, a line is drawn through the denomination and must be in a different size to prevent people from cutting out the images and using them as stamps. This graphic of the new "Four Flags" forever* stamp fills those requirements, but the result is more than a little ironic.

*meaning they'll always be valid for the full first-class postage regardless of any rate increases.

November 5, 2012

I Hate Myself For Loving You-Joan Jett


Topix Widget

Get the Topix news widget for your website or blog. Looks like it will be some advertising along w/ a couple of local news stories.



The Fighting Frisbees

Did you know the U.S. military studied the Frisbee to see if the same idea could be used in warfare? The U.S. Navy spent $400,000 on research to see if Frisbees could be used to launch flares. Flying disc



siesta

siesta si·es·ta [see-es-tuh] noun

A midday or afternoon rest or nap, especially as taken in Spain and Latin America.

Sure wish this would catch on here, along w/ the fantastic British tradition of afternoon tea.

We could omit napping up against a cactus,though.

November 3, 2012

Formerly Favorite Font

Comic Sans used to be my font of choice when I was in MSN Groups.  I used it as the default font in this blog when I started and even wrote a post about it.

As is with nearly all these quizzes, I like to think most of the results really do apply to me. The "people appreciate you best in small doses" is probably true, too. That's OK; I feel that way about most people, myself.

You Are Comic Sans

You are a nothing but a big goofball.

You're quite playful and fun!

You're widely known for your zany personality and your vivacious attitude.

To say that you stand out in a crowd would be a definite understatement.

Remember that you are overwhelming at times and that people appreciate you best in small doses.


Dont Bring Me Down - ELO


Fall Back!

Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour tonight!

(Sunday morning @ 2:00 a.m.)

Change your smoke alarm batteries, too!

November 2, 2012

Adam Ant as Brad Bonner

A Facebook and long-time online friend recently posted some Adam Ant videos on her wall and seeing them reminded me of an old episode of Northern Exposure where he played Brad Bonner, a British rock star (typecasting in reverse?) visiting Cicily, Alaska and wanting to make a "tribal rock" video with some of the local natives. 



The character taking the video is Ed Chigliak, played by Darren E. Burrows. Mr. Burrows and I share many of the same political beliefs and I am proud to count him among my Facebook friends. (Burrow's Facebook fan page)

November 1, 2012

Pulling For One Side

Did you know tug of war used to be an Olympic event?

1904 Olympic Games Tug of War

The ancient sport was an official Olympic event from 1900 until 1920. There's a Tug of War International Federation that still organizes tournaments and it is also a part of the Highland Games.

The sport still has some "pull" in some parts of the world!

November Trivia Tournament Begins!

Test your trivia knowledge at the ToTG Daily Trivia Game!

A new tournament starts at the first of every month. Easy to play: register, pick a nickname and play the quiz, simple as that! One warning, though; the questions are anything but easy, with every category being the hardest offered at the site.

The topics change every day, from General Knowledge, Literature, World Trivia, Science and Technology, History, Movies as well as a UK category.

Choose from four possible choices but hurry as fast as you can; your total points depend not only upon correct answers but how quickly you complete the quiz.

ToTG Daily Trivia Game