This small tortoise just wanted to be left alone.
May 30, 2009
Then and Now
Found this old postcard for sale on Ebay and thought it might be neat to contrast then and now with a Miami street scene.
I'm not for sure exactly when the above photo was taken, but I'm sure it was shortly after the beginning of the last century, probably at least 90 years ago.
As you can see, one of the buildings still standing is the one in the foreground; there's also the church in the background. (If you look closely in the "now" photo, you can make out the church spire)
May 29, 2009
laodicean
laodicean [ley-od-uh-see-uhn]
–adjective
1. lukewarm or indifferent, esp. in religion, as were the early Christians of Laodicea.
–noun
2. a person who is lukewarm or indifferent, esp. in religion.
Not from the Word of the Day feed in the right hand column, but this was the winning word in yesterday's finals of the National Spelling Bee.
I was one of my school's two entries in a spelling contest back when I was in the sixth grade. I won with "acne" when no one else could spell it.
I knew the word because I already had it.
My partner and I went on to the district contest where "we" were soundly trounced. I say "we" because she and I were a team and our cumulative score was what was measured against the other schools. She missed one; because I didn't study much, I missed something like six or seven and thanks to me we didn't place in the top three to advance to the next level. She said it was "OK" when I apologized to her, but I could tell it wasn't. Wonder if she's still mad at me?
Just About My Age
Your Birthday Predicts You're Sensitive |
 Ever since you were born, you've always been able to cooperate. You enjoy supporting and being inspired by others. You appreciate the dynamic of a group. Getting along with others is essential to you. You are both fair and well mannered. You are very intuitive and easily effected by other people. Sometimes you are too delicate. |
This is pretty much a crock.
I don't work and play well with others for one. I could be a hermit if the cave had internet access.
Well mannered? In person, maybe, but sometimes in a forum....
Delicate? Not even my constitution is delicate.
(my underwear is a different story)
Happy Birthday to me!
I Think It's My Birthday!
Your Birthday's Wisdom is Thought |
 You believe a mind is a terrible thing to waste, and you try to exercise your brain as much as possible. You are intrigued by almost everything, and you are curious about the world around you. You want to travel to foreign lands, read lots of books, and master many subjects. You love to go on all sorts of adventures, especially the kind that don't require you to leave your room. |
Now THIS quiz describes me to a "T".
Happy Birthday to Me!
Your Birthdate: May 29 |
 You have the mind of an artist, even if you haven't developed the talent yet. Expressive and aware, you enjoy finding new ways to share your feelings. You often feel like you don't fit in - especially in traditional environments. You have big dreams. The problem is putting those dreams into action. Your strength: Your vivid imagination Your weakness: Fear of failure Your power color: Coral Your power symbol: Oval Your power month: November |
May 28, 2009
More Strange Facts
From the email archives:
I hate these mails because they make me go look up the ones I'm sure are not correct.
Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.
(NOTE: If this is true, then eating an apple before bedtime would keep you up all night, wouldn't it?)
Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a bellybutton.
(NOTE: A lot of folks lose their bellybutton because of surgery. If ol' Hitch NEVER had a bellybutton, then he'd be something not-human, which seems like it might be the case anyway. What I'd like to know is did Adam have a bellybutton?)
A pack-a-day smoker will lose approximately 2 teeth every 10 yrs.
(NOTE: This is probably true but I expect ex-smokers lose more in the time after quitting because they're such insufferable asshats and get them knocked out by bitching at smokers)
People do not get sick from cold weather; it's from being indoors a lot more.
(NOTE: Maybe from being indoors with sick people)
When you sneeze, all bodily functions stop ...even your heart. This is why people have always said "God bless you" after a sneeze.
(NOTE: That's not true; I know it's false because I sneeze several times nearly every morning and my brain doesn't shut down plus I can use my hand to cover my mouth and nose. I am also aware enough to add an obscenity to the end of each sneeze)
Only 7% of the population are lefties.
(NOTE: This didn't ring true, either. A quick search shows figures from 8 to 15%, possibly more. I've been told a "fact" that the antichrist will be left-handed and an only child)
40 people are sent to the hospital for dog bites every minute.
(NOTE: This one seems to be true; an estimated 1000 people per day are treated for dog bites. A better statistic would be how many dogs are treated each year for human bites)
Babies are born without knee caps. They don't appear until they are 2-6 years old.
(NOTE: Babies DO have kneecaps, they're just not "ossified" until they're older. If babies didn't have kneecaps, they'd walk backwards and forwards at the same time. Oh wait, they do, don't they?)
The average person over fifty will have spent 5 years waiting in lines.
(NOTE: That's certainly not true. I'm over 50 and I bet I haven't spent a week out of my life waiting in line. Then again, I don't have to go to big city post offices or wait for my driver's license. I also don't go to the theater and if a restaurant is too crowded, I'll go to another. )
The toothbrush was invented in 1498.
(NOTE: Depends upon what's defined as a toothbrush. The ancient Chinese used the bristles of a hog to clean their teeth and Native Americans chewed the end of a twig, then used that. If people smoked before 1498, why did they need a toothbrush for anyway?)
The average housefly lives for one month.
(NOTE: Yeah, but the nasty things will have a hundred thousand offspring before they die)
40,000 Americans are injured by toilets each year. Don't ask how.
(NOTE: I won't ask, but I can imagine. I expect the number is larger due to the fact that many people are too embarrassed to report their injury.)
A coat hanger is 44 inches long when straightened.
(NOTE: This can't be true, as I've seen coat hangers of all different sizes. I bet Joan Crawford would've known for sure, though)
The average computer user blinks 7 times a minute.
(NOTE: I won't argue this but instead will gripe about it because I expect it was some govt. study that cost us a few million or more in the blink of an eye)
Your feet are bigger in the afternoon than the rest of the day.
(NOTE: Well sure, that's just common sense, just as is the fact that we shrink a bit during the day as our spines compress from gravity. This fact was also probably the result of some costly govt. study)
The only 2 animals that can see behind itself without turning its head are the rabbit and the parrot.
(NOTE: This didn't ring true to me and a quick search says chameleons and sea horses also fit the description. I think there are other lizards that might be on the list, too. I had a h.s. teacher that had eyes in the back of her head.)
Among the music catalog's that Michael Jackson owns the rights to, is the South Carolina State anthem.
(NOTE: Paul McCartney owns the rights to "On Wisconsin" and the university has to pay a licensing fee when they play it. He refuses to give them a waiver, the greedy old sod.)
In most television commercials advertising milk, a mixture of white paint and a little thinner is used in place of the milk.
(NOTE: Not for sure if this is true but if it is, it doesn't surprise me. Adverts are all smoke and mirrors anyway)
Prince Charles and Prince William NEVER travel on the same airplane just in case there is a crash.
(NOTE: Why? Prince Chuck will never be king anyway, and there's always Harry, the spare heir.)
The first Harley Davidson motorcycle built in 1903 used a tomato can for a carburetor.
(NOTE: and they still use baby rattles to make the frame)
Most hospitals make money by selling the umbilical cords cut from women who give birth. They are reused in vein transplant surgery.
(NOTE: Not sure about this one, either. I did a quick search and my conclusion is that this would be against quite a few laws w/out consent of the woman who gave birth. They couldn't have sold Alfred Hitchcock's if he didn't have a bellybutton, could they?)
Humphrey Bogart and Princess Diana were seventh cousins.
(NOTE: Have read this is true, but I bet I'm the seventh cousin of any number of famous people. That's a pretty far stretch, kinfolk-wise.
If coloring weren't added to Coca-Cola, it would be green.
(NOTE: They should leave that way; after all, all sorts of things are green and we all know things go better with Coke)
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