| Your Ideal Beach Vacation Is Cozy |
 Your idea of a day at the beach is one that feels as natural and as homey as possible. You dream of living at the beach, and even if you can't live there permanently, you'd like to be there a while. Your dream beach getaway would place you right on the beach with your own private quarters. You'd love to wake up to a beach sunrise and wind down with a beach sunset. And listen to the ocean crashing as you sleep. For you, the beach is a place to get warm and sleepy. Once you get comfortable, you never want to leave. More than any type, you belong on the coast permanently. If it isn't already, then it should be your home. |
May 20, 2013
Life's a Beach
Dangerous Knows Dangerous
Richard Nixon once referred to Timothy Leary as "the most dangerous man in America". Leary, a clinical psychologist and LSD advocate, was a counter-culture hero in the psychedelic 1960's and advised that generation to "turn on, tune in, drop out."
Nixon calling Leary "dangerous" was a proverbial case of "pot, meet kettle".
Legend of a Mind - The Moody Blues
Nixon calling Leary "dangerous" was a proverbial case of "pot, meet kettle".
Legend of a Mind - The Moody Blues
May 18, 2013
May 17, 2013
motza
motza mot·ser
noun Australian Slang
a large amount of money, especially a sum won in gambling.
Since I've been online, I've learned a lot of slang from my friends in other countries, but I've never seen/heard this one used.
Whatever the opposite word and meaning is, that'd be the word I'd have to use. I am not a bad poker player, but not a good one, either, mostly breaking even. I never had much luck at all betting on football games. (I once lost an entire paycheck betting on the Cowboys) I used to like to play scratch tickets, but winning tickets are few and far between - my average is less than the stated odds on the back of the tickets. I seldom even win a flip of a coin.
The Mega Millions lottery is tonight ($190 million) and the Powerball ($550 million) tomorrow. Here's hoping I have motza after either one. If I do, I might just take a trip to Australia so I can use it and have people understand what I mean.
May 14, 2013
If I Fell - The Beatles
My favorite Beatles tune and IMHO, the prettiest melody and lyrics of them all.
Personally Prioritized Principles
| You Prioritize Principles |
 Whether you're religious or simply philosophical, you have an ethical framework that you're serious about following. When it comes to what's right, you don't think things are as gray as they seem. People just want to avoid doing what they need to do. It isn't easy to behave ethically, and that's why you put so much emphasis on it. You think people should be recognized more for upstanding behavior. Those who don't know you well may call you obstinate and inflexible, but little do they know how much flexibility your ideas about morality give you. By having a clear idea of what is right and wrong for you, you trust yourself to be adventurous and open. You know you'll stick to your guns when you need to. |
I have principles; I just misplace them now and then.
Jackpots, Stocks & Socks
There's a lottery frenzy going on right now; the Mega Millions jackpot is $170 million and the Powerball is up to $350 million. I bought a QP (quick pick) ticket for each earlier this evening. I don't expect to win either, but it sure would be nice.
I sometimes visit a lottery forum and *sometimes* enjoy reading the comments. I was surprised at the level of contention over how people should invest their money or even spend it. I did enjoy one obviously young man's recent post with pics of all the things he would buy; a few sports cars and a house that looked larger than many hotels I've seen. It had a game room with a dozen arcade games, pinball machines, 2-lane bowling alley, a huge gym, a man cave with a gigantic video screen and bar. There were so many photos of things he would buy it took a minute or so to load even w/ my fairly fast connection. Some castigated him over his conspicuous consumption dreams but others laughed and said more power to him. (my thoughts)
Other people said they'd live in swanky places such as Beverly Hills or Malibu while others said they wouldn't want to live in those type places. I agree with the latter. Some said they would want to have multiple houses and live in Hawaii or Florida during the winter and in the north in summer. (Me? I'd be worrying about the one house while living in the other) One woman wants to live in Paris, something I would never, ever do. I don't really have any desire to visit France except for the Normandy D-Day beaches.
The investment advice varies greatly, too. "Buy gold and silver!" declare some. "Diamonds!" say others. Some say they'd play the stock market. (and I expect the stock market *might* play THEM) A few take the survivalist route, say they'd buy a place in the mountains with plenty of guns, freeze dried foods, etc. I guess that's OK, but it certainly wouldn't be enjoying your new-found wealth, at least not to me. (as I've mentioned before)
One guy distrusted the stock market and other investments so much he said he'd just as soon stuff it all into a mattress. That's a little TOO cautious for me, but I have always thought I might make a pillow full of cash. I don't know if that would make me sleep easy or not sleep at all worrying about it, but....
Some of the best arguments are over taking the lump sum or the annuity. When purchasing my lottery tickets, I always opt for the lump sum for several reasons. One, the highest tax bracket just increased this year from 35% to 39.6%. Taxes very seldom go down. Secondly, the annuity would give you a guaranteed income for its length (26 yrs on Mega Millions, 30 on Powerball) but I'm getting to the age where I most likely wouldn't see the last checks and even if I did, I might not have the mental facilities to endorse them.
Maybe a good investment would be a nice retirement home and pay the employees very well and also stipulate that, on the day after I died, they were all fired. I imagine I'd get some great care.
As I said, I doubt I'll ever win the lottery,but if I do, I plan to give all my winnings away.
Yes, all of it; to charity, friends and family, but also to current land owners, building contractors, auto dealerships, airlines, resorts, cruise ships, restaurants, clothing stores, etc. Of course, I'll have to give the govt. 39.6% plus what they'll take after I die, plus taxes on my earnings from investments.(that mattress idea looks better all the time)
I don't think I could ever be obscenely extravagant, but who knows? I once read Justin Timberlake wears brand new underwear every day. I never found out what he did with the old ones, but he could probably make a pretty good amt. by selling them on Ebay. I might do something like that, only with socks, although I doubt anyone would want my "old" socks, even with only one wearing. I guess I could donate them to charity. (after washing, of course) OTOH, I could probably hire someone to come in and sort and match them, that would be the main reason I'd wear a new pair every day. I really hate having to try to match up nearly identical white socks.
I sometimes visit a lottery forum and *sometimes* enjoy reading the comments. I was surprised at the level of contention over how people should invest their money or even spend it. I did enjoy one obviously young man's recent post with pics of all the things he would buy; a few sports cars and a house that looked larger than many hotels I've seen. It had a game room with a dozen arcade games, pinball machines, 2-lane bowling alley, a huge gym, a man cave with a gigantic video screen and bar. There were so many photos of things he would buy it took a minute or so to load even w/ my fairly fast connection. Some castigated him over his conspicuous consumption dreams but others laughed and said more power to him. (my thoughts)
Other people said they'd live in swanky places such as Beverly Hills or Malibu while others said they wouldn't want to live in those type places. I agree with the latter. Some said they would want to have multiple houses and live in Hawaii or Florida during the winter and in the north in summer. (Me? I'd be worrying about the one house while living in the other) One woman wants to live in Paris, something I would never, ever do. I don't really have any desire to visit France except for the Normandy D-Day beaches.
The investment advice varies greatly, too. "Buy gold and silver!" declare some. "Diamonds!" say others. Some say they'd play the stock market. (and I expect the stock market *might* play THEM) A few take the survivalist route, say they'd buy a place in the mountains with plenty of guns, freeze dried foods, etc. I guess that's OK, but it certainly wouldn't be enjoying your new-found wealth, at least not to me. (as I've mentioned before)
One guy distrusted the stock market and other investments so much he said he'd just as soon stuff it all into a mattress. That's a little TOO cautious for me, but I have always thought I might make a pillow full of cash. I don't know if that would make me sleep easy or not sleep at all worrying about it, but....
Some of the best arguments are over taking the lump sum or the annuity. When purchasing my lottery tickets, I always opt for the lump sum for several reasons. One, the highest tax bracket just increased this year from 35% to 39.6%. Taxes very seldom go down. Secondly, the annuity would give you a guaranteed income for its length (26 yrs on Mega Millions, 30 on Powerball) but I'm getting to the age where I most likely wouldn't see the last checks and even if I did, I might not have the mental facilities to endorse them.
Maybe a good investment would be a nice retirement home and pay the employees very well and also stipulate that, on the day after I died, they were all fired. I imagine I'd get some great care.
As I said, I doubt I'll ever win the lottery,but if I do, I plan to give all my winnings away.
Yes, all of it; to charity, friends and family, but also to current land owners, building contractors, auto dealerships, airlines, resorts, cruise ships, restaurants, clothing stores, etc. Of course, I'll have to give the govt. 39.6% plus what they'll take after I die, plus taxes on my earnings from investments.(that mattress idea looks better all the time)
I don't think I could ever be obscenely extravagant, but who knows? I once read Justin Timberlake wears brand new underwear every day. I never found out what he did with the old ones, but he could probably make a pretty good amt. by selling them on Ebay. I might do something like that, only with socks, although I doubt anyone would want my "old" socks, even with only one wearing. I guess I could donate them to charity. (after washing, of course) OTOH, I could probably hire someone to come in and sort and match them, that would be the main reason I'd wear a new pair every day. I really hate having to try to match up nearly identical white socks.
May 13, 2013
Horrible Hyena Humor
 |
When a hyena is making its signature laughing sound it's expressing frustration, usually when fighting a more dominant hyena or other hyenas for food. |
An old man took his grandson to the zoo and during the tour they stopped in front of the hyena cage. The tour guide said:
"This is the laughing hyena, so called because of its distinctive bark which sounds like laughter. It eats 45 lbs. of meat a week and only evacuates once a month."
The old man snorted and dryly said: "Hmmph! If that S.O.B. eats 45 lbs. of meat a week and only craps once a month, I don't see what the hell it's laughing about!"
May 10, 2013
whangdoodle
whangdoodle whang·doo·dle [hwang-dood-l, wang-] noun Slang.
a fanciful creature of undefined nature.
That sounds a little naughty and I suppose it could be if you wanted it to be, especially if used as a verb.
May 9, 2013
May 8, 2013
logomachy
logomachy lo·gom·a·chy [loh-gom-uh-kee] noun, plural lo·gom·a·chies.
1. a dispute about or concerning words.
2. an argument or debate marked by the reckless or incorrect use of words; meaningless battle of words.
3. a game played with cards, each bearing one letter, with which words are formed.
I see the first definition all the time. Someone will make a spelling mistake or misuse a word in a post about a controversial subject and someone else will ridicule them for it, then someone else will defend the original poster and ridicule the ridiculer and others will chime in on one side or the other and sometimes the person who made the mistake will reply, either slamming the critics or laughing it off and the original contention will be forgotten.
Another argument I saw not long ago was in regards to the second definition. It was in a political forum and someone said "They just tow the party line." and a reply said it was "toe". The first person came back and said no, it was "tow", as in pull behind them. That went on for several dozen posts with both leaving links "proving" the other was wrong.
Ah, such is the Internet, huh? One big logomachy.
I Know Judo & Karate
And quite a few other dangerous words.
This won't mean much to anyone but my old MSN Groups friends, but I was familiar with Capoeira because "Topher", the one-time manager of the help group Community Feedback was a devotee of that particular martial art. After he mentioned it in a post, I researched and read about it. After Groups went belly-up, I ran across the word again somewhere and did a combination search for that and Tophers real first name, Christopher, and found several profiles of him. That's been a couple of computers ago and several years, so I don't remember the particulars. Other than his penchant for sucking up to "AC" and "KT", he was a pretty good guy. He never banned me, so that's my criteria for "pretty good". -grin-
| You Are Capoeira |
 You are lively, fun, and open to new experiences. You love to travel and discover new things. You are joyous and prone to celebrate. You are the type of person who likes to work hard and play even harder. In life, you are intuitive and street smart. You understand others well and are able to predict their next moves. And while you can see what others are up to, few know what your plans are. You like to play it coy. In a battle, you try to outsmart your opponent before you get outsmarted first. It's all about trickery and listening to your gut. You like to have a worthy opponent. It's fun to battle if someone comes close to matching you in wits, cunning, and strategy. |
This won't mean much to anyone but my old MSN Groups friends, but I was familiar with Capoeira because "Topher", the one-time manager of the help group Community Feedback was a devotee of that particular martial art. After he mentioned it in a post, I researched and read about it. After Groups went belly-up, I ran across the word again somewhere and did a combination search for that and Tophers real first name, Christopher, and found several profiles of him. That's been a couple of computers ago and several years, so I don't remember the particulars. Other than his penchant for sucking up to "AC" and "KT", he was a pretty good guy. He never banned me, so that's my criteria for "pretty good". -grin-
May 7, 2013
It Won't Be Long Now
This popped up on my Google Reader page earlier today:
I knew it was going to happen but I had put it out of my mind. I've migrated my feeds to other platforms, but stubbornly kept using Google Reader. I'm used to it, it's user friendly and I like the features, esp. using it to share articles here or on Facebook. I had suspicions that the end might be near when I noticed the Official Google Reader Blog hadn't been updated in a year.
It seems like Google rolls out a new feature only to stop two others. (and they more-or-less admit to that on the official blog linked to above) Most of the things went by the wayside without much protest, but I've been reading all sorts of groans and moans over this decision. Some people have a bi-polar view (at least confusing) towards the end of Google Reader while others say it will be a good thing for RSS. I'm not particularly angry over their decision, just mostly disappointed.
I guess Google's reasoning behind it is to force more people to use their Google+ but I'm not a big fan of that. I don't want to get my news via social-type media. I don't think Twitter lends itself well to news, but it can be used for that, I suppose. I follow some local media's Facebook pages for area news, but I do more with my reader than just news. I follow a few political sites (many fewer than I did a year or longer ago) and like to keep up with some sites that offer some interesting and informative content, but mainly I liked my reader because of the recipe site feeds.
Reader made it much easier for me in regards to the latter. I could quickly scroll down the titles, clicking on those I thought I might find interesting and/or want to save. I'll eat most anything, but if the recipe is "Stuffed Mussels", I am apt to pass them up. I don't dislike mussels, it's just that I am far away from the ocean and would never buy the days old seafood even if it WAS at my local grocery store. Anyway....
I really haven't decided which service I want to use to replace Google Reader; none of them really float my boat. I'm still looking at other alternatives, but I had better hurry and decide. I'll write another post when I do.
UPDATE: As I said, I had tried out a few other readers, but hadn't liked them nearly as much as I did Google Reader, but I believe I'll settle with Feedly for now until I find something better. It's available as an add-on with different browsers (I prefer Firefox) and the integration of my Google Reader feeds went seamlessly . I don't like that I had to allow it access to my Google account, but so did others in order to get my reading list and there's really nothing in my email account that I wouldn't mind someone reading. I do a lot of online business and I guess the worst that could happen would be someone reading my credit card balance statements. (I wish I didn't have to read them) The passwords for those sites are different than that of my Gmail account, so I'm not worried about that.
The rest of the feeds I had tried were too "busy" looking and hard to navigate. I still haven't completely sussed out Feedly, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. The best thing about it is that it's FREE, a prerequisite for using a reader. Some of the highly recommended applications cost quite a bit for their services and personally, a dollar a month would be more than I'd want to pay, much less than the $5-10 wanted from some of the others.
I'll keep everyone informed. Well, all four/five of my regular readers, that is.
It seems like Google rolls out a new feature only to stop two others. (and they more-or-less admit to that on the official blog linked to above) Most of the things went by the wayside without much protest, but I've been reading all sorts of groans and moans over this decision. Some people have a bi-polar view (at least confusing) towards the end of Google Reader while others say it will be a good thing for RSS. I'm not particularly angry over their decision, just mostly disappointed.
I guess Google's reasoning behind it is to force more people to use their Google+ but I'm not a big fan of that. I don't want to get my news via social-type media. I don't think Twitter lends itself well to news, but it can be used for that, I suppose. I follow some local media's Facebook pages for area news, but I do more with my reader than just news. I follow a few political sites (many fewer than I did a year or longer ago) and like to keep up with some sites that offer some interesting and informative content, but mainly I liked my reader because of the recipe site feeds.
Reader made it much easier for me in regards to the latter. I could quickly scroll down the titles, clicking on those I thought I might find interesting and/or want to save. I'll eat most anything, but if the recipe is "Stuffed Mussels", I am apt to pass them up. I don't dislike mussels, it's just that I am far away from the ocean and would never buy the days old seafood even if it WAS at my local grocery store. Anyway....
I really haven't decided which service I want to use to replace Google Reader; none of them really float my boat. I'm still looking at other alternatives, but I had better hurry and decide. I'll write another post when I do.
UPDATE: As I said, I had tried out a few other readers, but hadn't liked them nearly as much as I did Google Reader, but I believe I'll settle with Feedly for now until I find something better. It's available as an add-on with different browsers (I prefer Firefox) and the integration of my Google Reader feeds went seamlessly . I don't like that I had to allow it access to my Google account, but so did others in order to get my reading list and there's really nothing in my email account that I wouldn't mind someone reading. I do a lot of online business and I guess the worst that could happen would be someone reading my credit card balance statements. (I wish I didn't have to read them) The passwords for those sites are different than that of my Gmail account, so I'm not worried about that.
The rest of the feeds I had tried were too "busy" looking and hard to navigate. I still haven't completely sussed out Feedly, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. The best thing about it is that it's FREE, a prerequisite for using a reader. Some of the highly recommended applications cost quite a bit for their services and personally, a dollar a month would be more than I'd want to pay, much less than the $5-10 wanted from some of the others.
I'll keep everyone informed. Well, all four/five of my regular readers, that is.
May 6, 2013
Another AT&T Rant
Went to my AT&T page to check the status of a recent order. They were supposed to be sending me another modem, but I got an email announcing they were sending out a repairman. I want the modem but don't want the repair call. They've been out here before, no need to come back and pretend there's something wrong w/ my connection when all the problems stem from their DNS servers.
After waiting ten minutes for the page to load, I finally get this error message:
'Bout time they owned up to their problems. After their outage back in Jan/Feb, they finally admitted the problem. The outage started a couple days after I signed up for the service and the online help techs were swamped and when I finally got through I was instructed to power the modem on/off, reset it to the original settings, yada yada yada. I had already tried all those things or I wouldn't have put myself through the frustration of calling technical support. I estimate that, with wait time and listening to instructions that I had already done, they wasted five/six hours of my time. If they had only admitted the problem was on their end, I wouldn't have become so angry.
Guess I'll call them tomorrow to cancel the repair visit. I've had pretty good luck all weekend w/ my connection; it was only down for a few times late last night and has been up all day today, but it's getting close to time for it to go out again, regular as clockwork. The last tech I spoke to told me that was prob. because of interference from street lights. Good grief, the lights have been on for hours before I start having problems. I'm really tired of their runarounds.
After waiting ten minutes for the page to load, I finally get this error message:
'Bout time they owned up to their problems. After their outage back in Jan/Feb, they finally admitted the problem. The outage started a couple days after I signed up for the service and the online help techs were swamped and when I finally got through I was instructed to power the modem on/off, reset it to the original settings, yada yada yada. I had already tried all those things or I wouldn't have put myself through the frustration of calling technical support. I estimate that, with wait time and listening to instructions that I had already done, they wasted five/six hours of my time. If they had only admitted the problem was on their end, I wouldn't have become so angry.
Guess I'll call them tomorrow to cancel the repair visit. I've had pretty good luck all weekend w/ my connection; it was only down for a few times late last night and has been up all day today, but it's getting close to time for it to go out again, regular as clockwork. The last tech I spoke to told me that was prob. because of interference from street lights. Good grief, the lights have been on for hours before I start having problems. I'm really tired of their runarounds.
May 5, 2013
Feet Trivia
I was reading an email trivia newsletter and this was one of the questions:
Name the things that you can wear on your feet that begin with the letter 'S.'
The answer was:
Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, snowshoes, stockings.
I'd say smell, too.
I'm A Flake
Since oatmeal wasn't a choice.
| You Are Easygoing |
 You live a life of contentment, relaxation, and smiles. You refuse to let the world get you down. You have as many worries and problems as most people, but no one could ever tell. You don't get buried in negativity. In general, you are sweet and optimistic. You expect the best out of life, and you are easily pleased. The smallest things can light up your day. It doesn't take much to make you happy, and you love surprises. You are youthful because you have held on to your innocence. You refuse to let yourself get cynical. When life hands you lemons, you don't just make lemonade. You open up a lemonade stand. |
droll
droll [drohl] adjective, droll·er, droll·est, noun, verb,
adjective
1. amusing in an odd way; whimsically humorous; waggish.
noun
2. a droll person; jester; wag.
verb
(used without object)
3. Archaic. to jest; joke.
I've been told my humor is droll. I've been accused of purposely trying to rile people up on message boards. I'm not afraid to take a chance. It's a fact that I'm getting on up there in years, so...
I'm an old, bold, droll troll.
May 3, 2013
love is patient
From the website:
The collage process used in this process is based on Voronoi algorithm, which creates polygons from a list of points on the plane. Each polygon is defined by the set of points that are closer to a point on the list.
Each photograph is associated to a dot. The more the dot is isolated from the others, the more its polygon (the mask) becomes larger, revealing more of the photograph.
The autonomous movement of the dots is defined by a constant speed and an iterative random variation on the direction.
May 2, 2013
Sunny Me
The results might have been different had I taken this quiz on a 100 degree day, but since it's cold, damp and miserable outside....
Never really thought of myself as having a sunny disposition.
Never really thought of myself as having a sunny disposition.
| Your Weather Personality is Sunny |
 You're the type of person who really appreciates perfect weather - not too chilly, not too warm, and of course the sun is shining. You love to be outdoors. You find nature soothing and inspiring ... especially if you're out there getting your heart rate up. Nothing motivates you more than a sunny day. Even when you're feeling down, waking up to rays of sunshine makes you feel like anything is possible. On the other hand, a bit of gray and clouds can make you down in the dumps. You're always more sluggish when the sun is hiding. You like to be outdoors, and you try not to let inclement weather stop you. That being said, you do prefer to be comfortable. Whenever you find yourself in a sunny climate, you try to be outside as much as possible. You love dining al fresco and outdoor malls. |
saccharine
saccharine sac·cha·rine[sak-er-in, -uh-reen, -uh-rahyn]
adjective
1. of the nature of or resembling that of sugar: a powdery substance with a saccharine taste.
2. containing or yielding sugar.
3. very sweet to the taste; sugary: a saccharine dessert.
4. cloyingly agreeable or ingratiating: a saccharine personality.
5. exaggeratedly sweet or sentimental: a saccharine smile; a saccharine song of undying love.
"Revenge is sweet, saccharine sweet." That's stuck in my head ever since I read it in one of my sister's Trixie Belden books when I was a kid.
1. of the nature of or resembling that of sugar: a powdery substance with a saccharine taste.
2. containing or yielding sugar.
3. very sweet to the taste; sugary: a saccharine dessert.
4. cloyingly agreeable or ingratiating: a saccharine personality.
5. exaggeratedly sweet or sentimental: a saccharine smile; a saccharine song of undying love.
"Revenge is sweet, saccharine sweet." That's stuck in my head ever since I read it in one of my sister's Trixie Belden books when I was a kid.
Sukiyaki - Kyu Sakamoto
Originally titled "Ue O Mui Te Aruko" (I'll Look Up While Walking)
From Wiki:
Released by Capitol Records in the US as Sukiyaki (Capitol 4945), it topped the Billboard pop charts in the United States for three weeks in 1963 -- to date the first and only song sung entirely in Japanese to do so.
The lyrics were written by Rokusuke Ei and the melody was composed by Hachidai Nakamura. The lyrics tell the tragic story of a man who looks up while he is walking so that his tears won't fall. The verses of the song describe him doing this through each season of the year.
On August 12, 1985, Kyu Sakamoto died in the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123. Before the doomed aircraft hit the ground, he managed to write a farewell note to his wife, Yukiko Kashiwagi.
From Wiki:
Released by Capitol Records in the US as Sukiyaki (Capitol 4945), it topped the Billboard pop charts in the United States for three weeks in 1963 -- to date the first and only song sung entirely in Japanese to do so.
The lyrics were written by Rokusuke Ei and the melody was composed by Hachidai Nakamura. The lyrics tell the tragic story of a man who looks up while he is walking so that his tears won't fall. The verses of the song describe him doing this through each season of the year.
On August 12, 1985, Kyu Sakamoto died in the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123. Before the doomed aircraft hit the ground, he managed to write a farewell note to his wife, Yukiko Kashiwagi.
April 30, 2013
April 28, 2013
Let Me Google That For You
From the site:
For all those people who find it more convenient to bother you with their question rather than Google it for themselves.
Ever get annoyed by someone asking a question and you KNOW they are smart enough to do a search for it on their own? You know they're only doing it to: a. make you waste your time, b. pick apart the information at the link or c. impeach the source.
Instead, make THEM do the work and have a laugh at them at the same time. Make THEM waste their time and then you can pick apart the information or impeach the source...or better yet, ignore them after leaving the link.
Just input the search terms, then you'll be given a link to leave for the troll (or lazy butt) so he/she can do their own research.
(one of the best replies I ever saw on a msg. board was someone asking where another poster got their information. "Look it up yourself." he said. "I'm not your link whore.")
Try it out!
© LMGTFY (let me google that for you)
For all those people who find it more convenient to bother you with their question rather than Google it for themselves.
Ever get annoyed by someone asking a question and you KNOW they are smart enough to do a search for it on their own? You know they're only doing it to: a. make you waste your time, b. pick apart the information at the link or c. impeach the source.
Instead, make THEM do the work and have a laugh at them at the same time. Make THEM waste their time and then you can pick apart the information or impeach the source...or better yet, ignore them after leaving the link.
Just input the search terms, then you'll be given a link to leave for the troll (or lazy butt) so he/she can do their own research.
(one of the best replies I ever saw on a msg. board was someone asking where another poster got their information. "Look it up yourself." he said. "I'm not your link whore.")
Try it out!
© LMGTFY (let me google that for you)
Dazzling Adorable Doofus
| Your Dazzle Makes You Adorable |
 The face you present to the world is charming and alluring. You are simply a fun person to be around. Whenever you can, you're ready to lighten the mood with a joke or an anecdote. You're a natural storyteller. On the inside, you feel less dazzling and more ordinary. You can't see how attractive you are to the outside world. You are a very genuine person, and you can't even imagine trying to charm others. You just do it naturally. Your friends love your dazzle because... well, who doesn't love dazzle? You're just one of those charismatic types everyone loves. The true secret is that you make others feel like they're the center of your attention. You know how to make everyone feel good. |
Clumsy Clouseau of Collectors
Did you know the day before he was to sell the Picasso painting Le Rêve (The Dream) for $139 million, Las Vegas casino magnate Steve Wynn accidentally poked a hole in it with his elbow?
Wynn refers to himself now as the "Clouseau of Collectors", a reference to the clumsy detective in the The Pink Panther movies.
Wynn refers to himself now as the "Clouseau of Collectors", a reference to the clumsy detective in the The Pink Panther movies.
April 27, 2013
gopher
gopher go·pher \GOH-fer\ , verb:
1. Mining. a. to mine unsystematically.
b. to enlarge a hole, as in loose soil, with successively larger blasts.
noun:
1. any of several ground squirrels of the genus Citellus, of the prairie regions of North America.
2. pocket gopher.
3. gopher tortoise.
4. gopher snake.
5. (initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of Minnesota (used as a nickname).
6. (initial capital letter) Computers.
a. a protocol for a menu-based system of accessing documents on the Internet.
b. any program that implements this protocol
When I hear or see the word "gopher", I think of two movies. The first is Urban Cowboy where Bud - played by John Travolta - gets a job at the refinery and the man who hires him says he'll be a gopher and sarcastically asks him if he knows what a gopher is. Travolta says he figures it's someone who goes for things, then tries to make a joke about him being a small furry animal. The man is not amused and tells Travolta that around there, they were about the same.
That's a funny scene in that movie, but it's not nearly as funny as this one from Caddyshack.
1. Mining. a. to mine unsystematically.
b. to enlarge a hole, as in loose soil, with successively larger blasts.
noun:
1. any of several ground squirrels of the genus Citellus, of the prairie regions of North America.
2. pocket gopher.
3. gopher tortoise.
4. gopher snake.
5. (initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of Minnesota (used as a nickname).
6. (initial capital letter) Computers.
a. a protocol for a menu-based system of accessing documents on the Internet.
b. any program that implements this protocol
When I hear or see the word "gopher", I think of two movies. The first is Urban Cowboy where Bud - played by John Travolta - gets a job at the refinery and the man who hires him says he'll be a gopher and sarcastically asks him if he knows what a gopher is. Travolta says he figures it's someone who goes for things, then tries to make a joke about him being a small furry animal. The man is not amused and tells Travolta that around there, they were about the same.
That's a funny scene in that movie, but it's not nearly as funny as this one from Caddyshack.
Don't Click!
Visit dontclickit to free yourself from clicking.
Of course, you'll have to click the link to get there.
Visit this site, the Institute for Interactive Research, to get a glimpse of what the internet might be in the future.
April 26, 2013
April 25, 2013
URL Change
A few hours ago I purchased the domain "topoftexasgazette.com". Blogger will redirect to it, but if you want, you can change your bookmarks to the dot com URL.
I'm not for sure if the few reader feeds this blog has will change.
I'm going ahead with the Blogger platform because it's user-friendly (read: simple for a doofus like me) and I didn't want to pay for hosting. I might change that in the future, but will stick with Blogger for the time being.
Some other things have changed; the Feedjit feed quit working, even though I changed the URL after I signed into my Feedjit account. I put in a new module, but for some reason the colors and width of the module didn't come out the way I wanted, so I will "work" on that sometime soon. It's an interesting feature, but not necessary.
Also, the ToTG Trivia scoreboard module quit working, but it wasn't working earlier before the URL change. I will also see if I can fix that, but if not, I will just create a link in the right-hand nav-bar for those who like to play the quiz that way. Until then, the URL is ToTG Trivia Tournament
Other than that, I don't see many other changes. I'm thinking of using AdSense, but OTOH, I doubt I'd see much money from it, seeing as how there's only a few dozen unique hits each day and probably isn't worth the hassle. We'll see...I might try it for a while. The domain cost only ten bucks, so it's not as though I have anything other than time tied up in this site.
I've read articles about making money with a blog, but I also have read that people who make a profit off their blogs are few and far between. I follow some food blogs/sites in my reader and one woman said she had just started turning a profit after 6+ years of blogging. She hinted at the time she had spent and I did some quick calculations and figured she was making about a dollar an hour. My time isn't worth much, but it's worth more than that. (one of the reasons I follow her blog in my reader instead of bookmarking it and visiting it daily is because of the multiple and obtrusive ads she has on her pages.)
The URL is longer than I wanted, but someone already had purchased "totg.com". It's not being used, but is for sale for $8875.
Yeah, sure. I'll get that out of my piggy bank.
I'm going ahead with the Blogger platform because it's user-friendly (read: simple for a doofus like me) and I didn't want to pay for hosting. I might change that in the future, but will stick with Blogger for the time being.
Some other things have changed; the Feedjit feed quit working, even though I changed the URL after I signed into my Feedjit account. I put in a new module, but for some reason the colors and width of the module didn't come out the way I wanted, so I will "work" on that sometime soon. It's an interesting feature, but not necessary.
Also, the ToTG Trivia scoreboard module quit working, but it wasn't working earlier before the URL change. I will also see if I can fix that, but if not, I will just create a link in the right-hand nav-bar for those who like to play the quiz that way. Until then, the URL is ToTG Trivia Tournament
Other than that, I don't see many other changes. I'm thinking of using AdSense, but OTOH, I doubt I'd see much money from it, seeing as how there's only a few dozen unique hits each day and probably isn't worth the hassle. We'll see...I might try it for a while. The domain cost only ten bucks, so it's not as though I have anything other than time tied up in this site.
I've read articles about making money with a blog, but I also have read that people who make a profit off their blogs are few and far between. I follow some food blogs/sites in my reader and one woman said she had just started turning a profit after 6+ years of blogging. She hinted at the time she had spent and I did some quick calculations and figured she was making about a dollar an hour. My time isn't worth much, but it's worth more than that. (one of the reasons I follow her blog in my reader instead of bookmarking it and visiting it daily is because of the multiple and obtrusive ads she has on her pages.)
The URL is longer than I wanted, but someone already had purchased "totg.com". It's not being used, but is for sale for $8875.
Yeah, sure. I'll get that out of my piggy bank.
April 24, 2013
Number 4 Me
| Your Expression Number is 4 |
 Practical and down to earth - everything in your life is organized. You are a great writer and teacher. You never forget a detail. Very patient, you have the ability to cultivate talents in difficult fields. You also tend to have an artistic side. You'd make a great architect or classical musician. You face your responsibilities with a positive attitude - and you always get things done. You are serious, sincere, honest, and faithful. Sometimes your strong sense of responsibility leads to frustration. You also tend to develop strong likes and dislikes, which border on dogmatism. At your worst, you can be a dominant disciplinarian. |
Mammal Munches Much in Milliseconds
Did you know the Star-nosed mole is the fastest eating mammal? According to Nature Journal, the animal can identify and eat a piece of prey in 120 milliseconds.
That's almost as fast as one of my sisters used to eat.
Looks a bit like her, too.
That's almost as fast as one of my sisters used to eat.
Looks a bit like her, too.
Just a Quick Note
To say if I don't post for a while, it's because the power keeps going out. I've also had problems w/ my internet connection. I'm just waiting to see if it sorts itself out because I've done everything here on my end that I can. I've run a troubleshooting tool, changed settings (and changed them back), rebooted the modem and done the ubiquitous "clear cache and cookies". I KNOW it's not on my end, but AT&T refuses to admit that there's something wrong on THEIR end. No, they'd rather go through the sham of sending someone out and then charging me for a visit.
Oddly enough, the connection plays up at nearly the same times every day...that's why I don't think it's anything to do with my wiring. Sick of it, wish I had never "upgraded" my connection because the old DSL, while slower, was much, much, much, much more reliable.
/rant off (but to be continued)
Oddly enough, the connection plays up at nearly the same times every day...that's why I don't think it's anything to do with my wiring. Sick of it, wish I had never "upgraded" my connection because the old DSL, while slower, was much, much, much, much more reliable.
/rant off (but to be continued)
April 22, 2013
Hung Up On Spam
I had high hopes that this wasn't spam, then realized it had to be someone who didn't know me...at least not in "that way".
April 21, 2013
It's a Long Way to the Top - AC/DC
(If You Wanna Rock and Roll)
Originally posted on 6/28/08. I was looking to see what a recent visitor had come in to see and noticed the video had been taken down by YouTube. Was easy enough to find another one; would be a shame to not have this video in my blog!
(had to replace the last video again - hope this one stays up a while)
Originally posted on 6/28/08. I was looking to see what a recent visitor had come in to see and noticed the video had been taken down by YouTube. Was easy enough to find another one; would be a shame to not have this video in my blog!
(had to replace the last video again - hope this one stays up a while)
The Eyeballing Game
From the website:
The best way to figure out how the game works is to simply play it.
The game works by showing you a series of geometries that need to be adjusted a little bit to make them right. A square highlights the point that needs to be moved or adjusted. Use the mouse to drag the blue square or arrowhead where you feel it is 'right'. Once you let go of the mouse, the computer evaluates your move, so don't let up on the mouse button until you are sure. The 'correct' geometry is also shown in green, so you can see where you went wrong.
You will be presented with each challenge three times. The table to the right shows how you did on each challenge each time.
Here are my scores:
The odd thing was I got worse in several categories as I played the game.
The Eyeballing Game
$5 Worth of Food
How much food can you buy for $5 around the world? (Personally, I've never considered beer to be a food, but *some* do, I suppose.)
Interesting look at the different food prices. I was surprised at the cheaper ground beef price in the U.K.
Interesting look at the different food prices. I was surprised at the cheaper ground beef price in the U.K.
April 20, 2013
A Sweet Quiz
| You Are Sweet Because You're Brilliant |
 You are a natural strategist. You always like to formulate a plan of attack. You are brainy and you love difficult intellectual challenges. You don't shy away from difficulty. You are original and independent. You're making your own trends and carving your own path. |
Stamp Out Fakes!
Did you know the Statue of Liberty depicted on the "forever" stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 2010 wasn't the real statue, but the replica outside the New York, New York Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada?
The one on the left is the one on the stamp, the face of the replica in Vegas; the one on the right is the face on the real statue.
The one on the left is the one on the stamp, the face of the replica in Vegas; the one on the right is the face on the real statue.
April 18, 2013
They Love Me, They Love Me Not
If we love our country, we should also love our countrymen.
- Ronald Reagan
(image courtesy of The Caricature Zone)
Sorry, RR. That's impossible.
To be fair, I bet he said this before internet forums and msg. boards were even dreamed of.
Flying Through Batman Cave
Wingsuit / BASE-jump athlete Alexander Polli does the never before done—a tactical flight through a narrow cave on a rugged mountainside. The flight starts with a jump from a hovering helicopter, Alexander reaches speeds of 250 km/h (155 mph) while following a precise trajectory leading to the cave opening, he then fully commits and flies directly through the narrow opening of the "Batman Cave!"
Shot in full HD, this extraordinary flight exceeds the level of commitment most fliers would ever consider—there can be no attempting, the only option is success! The narrow cave, no wider than Alexander is tall, is located in Roca Foradada Mountains in Montserrat, Spain—a location that has inspired this professional Italian Norwegian athlete's flying dream his whole life. Alexander hopes his success will inspire others not only to 'climb over their mountains,' but to also fly right through them!
Shot in full HD, this extraordinary flight exceeds the level of commitment most fliers would ever consider—there can be no attempting, the only option is success! The narrow cave, no wider than Alexander is tall, is located in Roca Foradada Mountains in Montserrat, Spain—a location that has inspired this professional Italian Norwegian athlete's flying dream his whole life. Alexander hopes his success will inspire others not only to 'climb over their mountains,' but to also fly right through them!
April 17, 2013
Time Travel - THE BUSEY ZONE
A few weeks ago, one of my cousins posted a quote from Gary Busey on her Facebook wall. I forget what the quote was, but it was one of those bits of wit from Busey that would make someone think he's a deep thinking philosopher.
Now, I like Busey...at least, I've liked his acting. I can't say that I know the man other than his appearances on Celebrity Apprentice or Celebrity Rehab or the interviews with him. He did a lot of drugs earlier in his life and had a horrible motorcycle injury that resulted in him nearly losing his life and in which he sustained some severe brain trauma. I don't want to diss the man, but I will admit I think he's a strange duck.
I noticed he had a YouTube channel and I subscribed to it. I haven't watched all of his posted videos, but I've watched a few and started a few more but didn't manage to finish them. Most of them are along this vein.
Now, I like Busey...at least, I've liked his acting. I can't say that I know the man other than his appearances on Celebrity Apprentice or Celebrity Rehab or the interviews with him. He did a lot of drugs earlier in his life and had a horrible motorcycle injury that resulted in him nearly losing his life and in which he sustained some severe brain trauma. I don't want to diss the man, but I will admit I think he's a strange duck.
I noticed he had a YouTube channel and I subscribed to it. I haven't watched all of his posted videos, but I've watched a few and started a few more but didn't manage to finish them. Most of them are along this vein.
One Thing is Certain
Since I've been online, the level of discourse has degraded to appalling levels. I used to frequent a lot of political forums, starting in MSN Groups and then elsewhere. Most sites have filters that catch most of the vulgar language, but people have learned to bypass them by substituting characters or blank spaces. Other sites have active moderators that delete the worst posts, especially those with violence or obscenities, but far too often some manage to get past the censors.
YouTube is just about the worst and it seems to be up to the person who uploaded the video to police the comments section. Some care, some don't. I had an extension for Firefox that blocked all comments, but it quit working with one of the latest updates for that browser. I've learned to just watch the video and ignore the comments, lest I have an otherwise good experience spoiled for me.
One site that does a pretty good job of deleting nasty comments is IMdB.com, the movie/television review site. Still, even without obscene words, it has to be one of the rudest forums on the 'net. Religion or politics gets inserted into nearly every thread, it seems, even if the movie has absolutely nothing to do with either of those two subjects.
I wish I could give the URL to one instance I saw a few months ago, but I either didn't save it or accidentally deleted it in one of my periodic "cleanings" of files on my computer. I did save part of the conversation, though, in a Notepad file named "Stupid Sh*t". The person was blathering on about religious messages in some movie (I've forgotten which one) and after rambling on for several paragraphs, he closed with:
"BTW, I'm agnotick."
I wanted to reply, but didn't. Others took him to task, though but strangely enough, not for his fractured sentence structure and poor spelling but for misinterpreting the movie's message. I wanted to say to him: "First of all, it's "agnostic". Second place, it's one thing to be agnostic (OR agnotick) but there's really no sense posting on forums if you're functionally illiterate." One thing was certain, though...he's a dumbass.
YouTube is just about the worst and it seems to be up to the person who uploaded the video to police the comments section. Some care, some don't. I had an extension for Firefox that blocked all comments, but it quit working with one of the latest updates for that browser. I've learned to just watch the video and ignore the comments, lest I have an otherwise good experience spoiled for me.
One site that does a pretty good job of deleting nasty comments is IMdB.com, the movie/television review site. Still, even without obscene words, it has to be one of the rudest forums on the 'net. Religion or politics gets inserted into nearly every thread, it seems, even if the movie has absolutely nothing to do with either of those two subjects.
I wish I could give the URL to one instance I saw a few months ago, but I either didn't save it or accidentally deleted it in one of my periodic "cleanings" of files on my computer. I did save part of the conversation, though, in a Notepad file named "Stupid Sh*t". The person was blathering on about religious messages in some movie (I've forgotten which one) and after rambling on for several paragraphs, he closed with:
"BTW, I'm agnotick."
I wanted to reply, but didn't. Others took him to task, though but strangely enough, not for his fractured sentence structure and poor spelling but for misinterpreting the movie's message. I wanted to say to him: "First of all, it's "agnostic". Second place, it's one thing to be agnostic (OR agnotick) but there's really no sense posting on forums if you're functionally illiterate." One thing was certain, though...he's a dumbass.
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