May the Link Be With You

404 page from GitHub.

Goodbye, Facebook

Got this email yesterday:

Account Scheduled for Deletion
   
Hi Mike,

We have received a request to permanently delete your account. Your account has been deactivated from the site and will be permanently deleted within 14 days.

If you did not request to permanently delete your account, please login to Facebook to cancel this request:

https://www.facebook.com/login.php


Thanks,
The Facebook Team

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I had deactivated my Facebook account several times over the course of the last few days but kept getting signed in, mostly by forums which use the Facebook comment module, but I had also signed in (and reactivated it) to let a few of my friends know about my decision, those who didn't have my email address.  I didn't want to make some grand announcement, just like those who proclaim "I'm leaving this group!".

There are multiple reasons, the main one being that of privacy and how Facebook tracks you across the Internet, namely with the aforementioned comment module.  Also, I found that Facebook had closed several groups and pages I followed and the only reason they had done so was because they were pro-conservative or anti-liberal/progressive. Their site, their rules, their reasons, but I don't have to put up with that and refuse to do so.  Privacy is rare on the 'net but I won't surrender any more than I need to.

Another important reason was an annoyance; why would people send you a friendship request and then ignore you?  They wouldn't even like a post of mine much less leave a comment under them.  Now, I don't desperately need the attention, but I would comment or like a post on their pages because I wanted them to know I was reading them and I KNOW they had time to at least click the "Like" button because some of them posted multiple times during the day. 

And, speaking of posting, right before I decided to get off Facebook, one woman I know posted 27 different links in the course of fifteen minutes.  That was a record but it was nothing to see a dozen or more posts in a day from her and thanks to Facebook's strange algorithm, they filled up my feed and I didn't see anything from anyone else.   I use an AdBlock extension plus a nifty Greasemonkey script from FB Purity that let me customize my feed, but Facebook was always changing some script to defeat the way I wanted to view their website. It just got to be a hassle.

Anyway, it was astounding how often some folks would post; an old classmate would post dozens of photos of a grandson's baseball game and while  I understand her excitement, I'm not sure why she expected ME to have the same enthusiasm.  I also didn't want to see endless photos of another woman's puppy - sure, it was cute, but not any cuter after 50 photos of the same damn dog.  I also didn't care about someone posting they were eating at a particular restaurant, esp. if they didn't do a review of the food or post a photo of it.

While Facebook is a good way to keep up with old friends and kinfolk, what's wrong with an email now 'n then? I know nobody is going to write a letter and they'd rather text than actually talk to someone but Facebook is akin to trying to be a sniper using a 12 gauge shotgun...you're going to scatter your shots so far apart you'll be lucky to hit anyone.

So, adios, Facebook.  I didn't waste a LOT of time using it, but I wish I had that time back. Oh well, live and learn.

My Sturdy Heart

Your Imperfect Heart is Sturdy

Your heart is imperfect because it is so self-controlled. You are patient and willing to wait for love.

You are not judgmental or biased. You love people for who they are, and you are very empathetic. You forgive easily.

You are lighthearted and optimistic, perhaps too much so sometimes. You would rather get burned than distrust someone all the time.

Your approach to love is both wise as the ages and modern as can be. You are likely to enjoy an untraditional relationship of some sort.

The Imperfect Heart Test

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I could go on and be very specific to each statement in the result, but will instead say that nearly all  of them are wrong.   I'd say my heart was "hard" now instead of sturdy;  even a rock can shatter when dropped from a lofty height.

What a Leg-acy!

American gymnast George Eyser won six medals during the 1924 Summer Olympics, despite having lost his left leg as a young boy after being run over by a train.   Wearing a wooden prosthesis,  he won gold in the vault, an event which then included a jump over a long horse without aid of a springboard.

This is definitely one case of NOT having a leg up on the competition!

Passion Purpura

Passion purpura - the medical term for a hickey.

Ever played that "either/or" game when you were a kid?  "Would you rather be blind or crippled?" or things like that.   I remember this one:

"Which is worse?  Going to kiss your grandma and she slips you the tongue...or a hickey on a hemorrhoid?"

Post-Eclipse Eye Test

The Book of Love - The Monotones

Big Bird Brain

(No, not the big brain of a bird, but the brain of a big bird...I just wanted a chance to use alliteration)

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Bird Brain on Bread

The Doo-Wop Oldies Quiz

From the archives:

Take the quiz and see how you score as a true "Oldies Fan". Write down your answers and check them with the answers below (in comments section).


1. When did "Little Suzie" finally wake up?

a)       The movie's over, it's 2 o'clock

b)       The movie's over, it's 3 o'clock

c)       The movie's over, it's 4 o'clock


2. "Rock Around The Clock" was used in what movie?

a)      Rebel Without A Cause

b)      Blackboard Jungle

c)      The Wild Ones


3. What's missing? _____Baby,  Earth_____,  _____On My Shoulder

a)      Angel

b)      Head

c)      Love


4. "I found my thrill..."   where?

a)      Kansas City

b)      Heartbreak Hotel

c)      Blueberry Hill


5. "Please turn on your magic beam, _____ _____ bring me a dream"

a)      Mr. Sandman

b)      Earth Angel

c)      Dream Lover


6. For which label did Elvis Presley first record?

a)      Chancellor

b)      RCA

c)      Sun


7. He asked, "Why's everybody always pickin' on me?  " Who was he?

a)      Bad Bad Leroy Brown

b)      Charlie Brown

c)      Buster Brown


8. Bobby Darin's "Mack The Knife", the one with the knife, was named:

a)      MacHeath

b)      MacCloud

c)      MacNamara


9. Name the song with "A-wop bop a-loo bop a-lop bam boom"?

a)      Good Golly Miss Molly

b)      Be-Bop-A-Lula

c)      Tutti Fruitti


10. Who is generally given credit for the term "Rock And Roll"?

a)      Dick Clark

b)      Wolfman Jack

c)      Alan Freed


11. In 1957, he left the music business to become a preacher.

a)      Little Richard

b)      Frankie Lymon

c)      Tony Orlando


12. Paul Anka's "Puppy Love" is written to what star?

a)      Brenda Lee

b)      Connie Francis

c)      Annette Funicello


13. The Everly Brothers are...

a)      Pete and Dick

b)      Don and Phil

c)      Bob and Bill


14. The Big Bopper's real name was:

a)      Jiles P. Richardson

b)      Roy Harold Scherer Jr.

c)      Marion Michael Morrison


15. In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. started a small record company called...

a)      Decca

b)      Cameo

c)      Motown


16. Edd Brynes had a hit with "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb.  "What TV show was he on?

a)      77 Sunset Strip

b)      Hawaiian Eye

c)      Surfside Six


17. In 1960 Bobby Darin married:

a)      Carol Lynley

b)      Sandra Dee

c)      Natalie Wood


18. They were a one hit wonder with "Book Of Love."

a)      The Penguins

b)      The Monotones

c)      The Moonglows

No Drama Queens Allowed

You Should Watch a Drama

You are thoughtful, philosophical, and introspective. People fascinate you. You crave drama in everyday life, and it's probably better for you to sometimes get it from a movie!

You're the type of person who can talk for hours, and you never mind a movie that's heavy on the dialog.

You analyze every aspect of your life, and you like a movie to provoke you a bit. You would rather be disturbed than feel nothing.  

What Kind of Movie Should You Watch Tonight?

WTF0F?

From CNET.com

There's No "P" in Huacachina

Today's Bing page has a lovely image of Huacachina, a village in southwestern Peru, built around a small oasis surrounded by sand dunes. It is in the Ica Province, about five kilometers from the city of Ica in the Ica District. The oasis features on the back of the 50 Nuevo Sol note. Huacachina has a permanent population of around 100 although it hosts many tens of thousands of tourists each year.

I decided I'd open up Google Earth and look at the satellite imagery, then discovered it also had the Street View.  I started my "tour" just outside the oasis, just as if I were driving into the town.  I didn't go very far until I saw this:

It's a little hard to see with this screenshot, but it sure looks like the guy is peeing right by the side of the road!

Google has been sued before for showing people urinating, so I was surprised they left this one un-blurred. I forwarded the view a few feet and saw this:

As you can see, I had missed the green garden hose the first time.

What's Cookin'?

"You Are Nigella Lawson"

When you cook, you focus on down home style foods that provide tons of comfort.
If it doesn't taste good, you don't cook it. And you never feel bad for making simple, old school favorites.

It's likely that you are quite humble about your cooking. You don't consider yourself an expert or a chef.

You may not be the biggest foodie in your circle of friends, but it's likely that you cook the tastiest food!

What Food Network Chef Are You?

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I was a little surprised my results said I was a female, but if I couldn't have Alton Brown, then Nigella is fine, just fine. Since this is a G-rated blog, I won't make any off-color jokes, but if I could put together the physical embodiment of the perfect woman, she would pretty much be it.  

A Package Deal

From GIVEAWAY of the Day

Sorry, the page you're looking for isn't here.
Maybe you've clicked on an obsolete link or mistyped the URL, or maybe it's just us.

Don't fret!
Just go to our home page and proceed from there.

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At least they gift wrapped their error message, huh?

Boney Fingers - Hoyt Axton

So Much Alike

Humans and bananas share about 60% of the same DNA structure.

The percentage is about the same for the fruit fly, too.