Land Of The Dead

I've been to three funerals this month. The latest being today, with the death of a friend's father.

I was sitting on a chair that was much too close to the guy next to me. Because that's where the usher put me. But the chair to the left of that one was open. I was leaving it in case the usher brought someone else to put there. Then when the service started, I moved over.

I was feeling very tired. I guess I got to bed a little too late last night. When we had prayer, I felt like I could almost fall asleep. But I definitely (of course) caught myself, thinking how bad it'd be to be heard snoring in a funeral. So I looked up instead.

When I got there I had on two coats, my outer, thicker one, then a lighter sweatshirt. I was going to hang up the outer coat only and wear the sweatshirt in. So I hung it up, then the lady at the door told me I could hang my coat up, meaning the sweatshirt. I looked at it and it was filthy, with some cat hair and dust on it. So I hung it up too. 

The Republicans' Cynical Obstructionism

How can any sane person take the Republicans seriously? They are so obviously opposed to any progress in this country, and as far as I can see they're not even trying to hide it anymore.

To the Republicans, if anything is being done that might bring an ounce of benefit to President Obama, they're against it. And they're willing to crow about it far and wide.

I just saw John Cornyn on one of those crappy cable news interviews. No matter what they said to him, he spun it as something terrible that we would have anything the president might want. Then there was Ben Stein, and the same thing. Then there was another Republican, and at that point I turned it off without hearing one syllable out of his lying mouth.

I was just reading that Newt Gingrich now thinks that majority rule in the Congress is some kind of anti-American plot. Of course we all can remember very well the Republican years, when they were singing a different tune. Just speaking for myself, I don't remember very many incidences of them looking out for the minority party's interests and opinions.

Note to Congress: We need decent health care reform. Kick the obstructionist Republicans aside. It is obvious to one and to all that they are not interested in contributing positively to the effort. This effort or any other. Get it done. Do it. Vote already!

No Sheet Sherlock

This is not about Sherlock Holmes, but a different Sherlock, whose big thing was to join the Ku Klux Klan but not have to wear a sheet. Meaning he would be called "No Sheet Sherlock."

It's not that lame (maybe it is). Different people have different principles. Just because Sherlock hated everyone except white people didn't mean he was a terrible person generally. Maybe he had a bad upbringing, or maybe he was hit in the head with a baseball and was never right after that. He just wanted to stick with his own and let his own stick with him. All others could butt out!

But joining the KKK wasn't really something he sought. He just fell into it really. Some guys were organizing a big march against immigrant restaurants, black owned diners, Jewish stores, and so forth. Everything that was something that they hated.

(This isn't funny.)

Anyway, one of the guys knew Sherlock and knew that he'd been hit in the head and wasn't quite right, so they brought him along. But Sherlock didn't want to wear a sheet. He didn't want his face and head to be covered up, no matter what. That's the one thing he refused to do. "I'll ride with you, I'll string people up, I'll burn crosses on the lawn, but I will not put one of those sheets on my head."

(This is really lame.)

So that's how we got him, No Sheet Sherlock.

(OK, enough.)

Dance

Roll your hands in front of you like they're in a furry hand muff. Throw the right hand out and bring it back. Throw the left hand out and bring it back. Roll them again, repeating as the beat demands.

The Feminine Facebook

Has anyone else noticed that Facebook is a very feminine thing?

At least it is with my account -- and I'm a guy. I have a number of men friends on there, but it's mostly the women friends who do the sharing.

I started noticing this fairly early on but it's gotten more obvious as time's gone on. The other day I had the entire screen -- my recent messages, etc. -- and everything with two small exceptions was written by women.

What are all these gals writing about? A lot of it has to do with games they're playing. I have quite a bit of this blocked so I don't see everything. They're playing a farm game of some sort, meaning they need to beg each other for a chicken coop or a cattle prod or something. Plus they're busy commiserating with each other over doctor's appointments and bad news. Or giving each other hearts and flowers, hugs and all kinds of nice thoughts.

It's a very feminine place. Very sweet, tender stuff.

Watching "Blue Hawaii"

I've going through my stack of Elvis Presley movies, watching one after the other.

There's some I don't plan on watching, like "Love Me Tender" or any of the more depressing ones. Any where Elvis dies, gets beat to a pulp, is a juvenile delinquent, or in prison are not my favorites. I may be a minority voice, but I definitely prefer the more happy go lucky movies where there's a good time involved.

Of course even in the good time movies, there's conflict. That's natural to a story. But I like my conflict on the easy side, not the sour stuff that shows Elvis in a bad light. Like his Daddy wants him to go into his business but Elvis wants to be independent. That's the kind of conflict I can tolerate.

Right now -- while exercising mornings and evenings -- I'm watching "Blue Hawaii." This is a good film. There's a lot of good songs and scenery. There's the guy who played Floyd the Barber. Angela Lansbury is Elvis' mom.

Maybe the worst part of the movie is the fact that the girl from the tourist group is pursuing Elvis, and she's underage. To his credit, when she kisses him he pushes her away. Still it's kind of nasty. Then he gets into a fight concerning her and ends up in the jail. That's where I am now, right at the place where his disappointed Daddy has to come bail him out. Bad conflict.

Of course it all works out in the end. But there's some more unpleasantness involving this particular bratty girl, then the teacher with Elvis, before he finally ends up with his true lady love in the film.

My Dog's A Senior

That has to be tough, the whole dog years thing that dogs face. You're a puppy one day, a toddler the next week, an adult in six months, and applying for Social Security when you're seven or eight.

The dog food I buy my dog, Iams, has a "seniors" variety for dogs over seven. And my dog's actually going to be 11 this summer, so she ought to be on life support. Except she actually acts fairly youthful for such an old age.

We still call her a puppy.

It's Oppressive To Be Full

I ate too much. Shouldn't have. It's not usually as good a thing as you think it's going to be.

Instead of feeling good, I feel heavy, lethargic. And this is after a really good nap today, a lengthy one. Sometime after lunch and some other official duties, I got the sudden feeling of tiredness. I lay down and immediately went to sleep, in a sleep that seemed like it lasted quite a while. But it couldn't have been two hours.

I went to the grocery store and got some ham, bread, peaches, baked beans, and ice cream. Then when I got home I had some of each thing, two sandwiches and all the rest. Weighty, as it turned out.

So I'm sitting here, not exactly fresh and able to get much done. I'm sitting here in a kind of heavy fog. Not sad, but feeling overwhelmed.

It's Almost Time For Spring Cleaning

I have it as my pre-Spring resolution to get my possessions thinned out.

I have a basement full of stuff. Some that I want to keep, some I will be getting rid of. The way I want to get rid of it, though, isn't selling it piece by piece on eBay, which would take forever, but by giving to thrift stores.

I hate though to overwhelm them. Now I'm wondering how much stuff is allowable to haul to a thrift store. I'd hate to show up with 100 boxes of stuff. Which would probably be an overestimate of what I have.

It is important to me to thin out. I have so much stuff, it's ridiculous. If I ever were to move, I don't know that I could. I'd be bogged down on the highway.

Incognito

I saw an unmarked bus traveling by. They're usually marked. A big bus logo. Something pertaining to the famous passengers. Something about the team, in those cases.

This one was completely unmarked. It was the White Album of buses, definitely traveling incognito.

Barney Fife voice: "Nito, In-cog-nito."

'50s commercial voice: "Kids! It's Neato! In-cog-neato!"

Joe Friday: "My name is Nito, In-cog-Nito."

The Day The Earth Stood still: "Klaatu barada incognito."

Curling

I was exercising at the exercise place tonight. I didn't have any headphones, so I couldn't hear it, but I was watching curling in the Olympics.

I guess I saw this a few years ago too but I wasn't paying that close of attention. I didn't realize several things about it, or I'd forgotten, that they're trying the knock the other guys' "thing" out of the target area. That was fascinating. I really enjoyed it.

I don't know all the rules (any of them really) but I could guess certain things. 1) You can't touch the "thing" while it's in motion. They really doing a lot of work to clear a path, make it go faster or slower, etc. What a job!

That was interesting. It was U.S.A. versus Japan. I don't know who won.

I'm A Ding Dong Daddy From Dumas

Here's a song we used to sing around my house, for some reason. But with this one Louis Armstrong says, "You oughta see me do my stuff," and we used to sing "You oughta see me do my thing."

To me, wherever this song entered my consciousness is in the shrouded memories of the past, which I don't remember because they are so shrouded. Maybe it was on an old cartoon. We used to hear the song "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby?" on a cartoon and thought it was pretty funny. Also memorable.

Any of that old stuff. There was another one I was thinking of, like "Mama Don't Allow No..." although that's usually a country type of song. But it seems like I heard an R&B version of it just recently. "We don't care what Mama don't allow, we're going to pick our git-tar any old how!"

Check out the video above. The guy who made that video has numerous others, some obscure old 78 rpm records that are treasures.

Valentine Marshmallow Treats

It's tough to eat these slowly.

I had a whole box and now they're already gone. They just melt in your mouth, not exactly on contact but with a little help from your chewing mechanism.

They go down quickly though, without much effort. I keep thinking, Make it last, why swallow them so fast? But it doesn't do any good. You get the taste, then down the hatch.

Very tasty. Being a Valentine's item, they won't be on the shelf after today.

Little Debbie "Be My Valentine Marshmallow Treats."

Happy Birthday Again, Peter Tork

I wished Peter Tork a happy birthday here last year on this very day, Feb. 13. Because it is Peter Tork's birthday.

How do I know that? From a long time ago when I was a teenager, and it's something I simply haven't forgotten.

He's still out there, by the way, performing. He's on Facebook, with other people wishing him happy birthday.

Would you like it to have hundreds of strangers wishing you happy birthday? I personally don't think I'd enjoy that at all. But he's been famous (or semi-famous) all these years, so he must be used to it. Still, it must be terrible. The price of fame. I would hate it.

Anyway, he's a part of my consciousness and I'm not a part of his, so that makes me a perfect stranger. LOL. Be that as it may, my consciousness can't forget. February 13 is Peter Tork's birthday. That's all it is, except it's also the day before Valentine's Day.

So ... Happy birthday again, Peter Tork. And all the best to you, from a perfect stranger, an old fan.

Nice Note To Mom

Mom, you've been like a mother to me.

Writing Something On A Particular Day

I'm going to be stating a few obvious things that don't really need to be stated. But some days, like today, I start thinking like this. I'm lightheaded today, almost faint. I don't know what's going on. But if it goes on for more than one day, like a week, I'll get it checked out.

Everything that I write is written on a particular day. That's one thing. And this goes for other folks as well. Some things of course are written over a lengthier period of time. Like a novel might be written over a week, a month, a year, or longer. But each paragraph, each word, was written on a particular day.

This little post, which will disappear as soon as I hit the "Publish Post" button, was written (is being written) this day, Feb. 12, 2010. (Hey, that's Abraham Lincoln's birthday. And since we had his 200th birthday last year, this must be his 201st.)

I have lots of other little posts. Occasionally I see them, like if I'm searching for a link to something to wrote one time, and I'll see when it was written. Like Aug. 4, 2008, just to take a random date from the fairly recent past. I don't know that I wrote anything that day, maybe I didn't. But let's say I did. Right now, without looking somewhere where it might be written, I don't remember what was going on that day. Just like I'm likely to forget today.

So not remembering a day, I'm not 100% on what my mood was that day, etc.

We're all in the same boat. Mark Twain, William Faulkner, all us famous authors. We write what we write on a particular day, and it gets read sometime later -- especially in the case of authors before the internet.

I think John Keats died when he was 25. So everything he wrote -- and I mean everything -- was written before his 26th birthday and before he died.

Your Sole Purpose In Life

Someone keeps trying to post this comment at my blogs: "It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others." Then they attach a link to it to whatever their website is.

The reason I keep rejecting it is because of the link. I don't want to be directing people to some weird website. I myself haven't clicked it because I'm very suspicious of all such things.

So there, your comment has been posted. But just looking around the internet, I see this comment is repeated over and over. So now it's been said one more time. Let's look at it:

It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

I think the quote stinks. That's your "sole purpose in life." That's really a cheerful sentiment. What am I, a guard dog? A guard dog usually stands as a warning to others, but even a guard dog, you wouldn't say that's his "sole purpose." Because he might provide the junk yard owner with some companionship. Maybe he'll rescue the guy from a nest of bees in an old Studebaker, grabbing him by the belt and pulling him all the way to the hospital.

So, to whoever keeps posting this. Let this be a warning. It's not going to make it with the link attached. My sole purpose in life is to express and adhere to this policy.

Hey, look at that gnarly guy over there! His sole purpose in life is to serve as a warning to me. Poor guy, existing in such a terrible way just as a warning. They could've put up a sign and spared him the misery of life.

What Punk Rockers Think About All Day

What do punk rockers think about all day?

Mostly maggots, they think of maggots. And barbed wire, razor blades, electric fences, and pain. They think about thrashing about, hitting their heads against each other and other hard surfaces.

To them, it's nothing to dwell among the dregs, to make every experience as bitter as possible, to excite themselves with a quick gouge to the eye or to poke a knife in their leg.

They might get drunk and get a tattoo of something feral on their face. Tattoo artists see them coming and know they either give in or get their trailer trashed. They'll start their tirades if they're denied.

Everything to them is negative, a chance to laugh at normality, which, strangely, they appear to recognize.

The rest of us, if we looked at a policeman cross-eyed, they'd have us in chains and big tight cuffs. But these punk rockers can drive by at 100 mph, fingering everything in their wake, living it up, and railing to high heaven, making garbage out of everything in their path, and no one lays a hand on them.

It's all nihilism and hedonism, self-inflicted pain and suffering, and inflicting it on others. A quick knife to the gut, to them that's their idea of glory.

I Was That Close To 500 Posts

I know I'm going to get there, 500 posts. I thought I was there. I was, virtually.

I had 499 posts. Then I got to thinking, sometimes Blogger screws up and you get unnecessary "draft" posts, an earlier or later version of something else you wrote, that wasn't posted yet the master copy was.

So, curiosity killed the cat, they say. I decided to look, hoping against hope there wouldn't be any "draft" posts. Because, once again, I was at 499. One more would be 500, 500 years of posting, five centuries of blog entries, enough posts to put me back to the time of Christopher Columbus!

It turned out there was like six of these stinking "draft" posts, dropping me to 493, a significant downfall.

Death to tyrants. If you meet the tyrant on the road, kill him!

My Big Bold Prediction

With winter being something of a bear, but not hibernating, I'm going to go out on a very cold limb and predict something. I'm predicting flooding in the spring.

The snow is 10 feet deep at the shallowest place. We're able to clean our chimney just by walking up to it. I'm locking my upstairs windows now just to keep people out. It's ridiculous.

It's about time, not that it's getting warm yet, to go to the basement and make sure everything is up off the floor, because I'm sure there will be more than a trickle of water when the time comes.

So that's my prediction, and here's my advice. Get the sandbags out now. Maybe make a few sandbags everyday and have them stacked up somewhere handy. Avoid the rush later.

The Gallery Of The Absurd

This is a blog that I visit frequently -- The Gallery of the Absurd.

It's a very funny site, in which the person (I always say "guy") -- in which the guy posts graphics, pictures of the various absurdities you find in advertisements, on signs, etc.

One of my "favorite" features, that is often "featured" there is the use of "unnecessary" quotation marks. Like this sign: Through this door pass the "very best" transportation security officers. Quote unquote, someone thinks they're the "very best," or someone's simply being ironic, wink wink. "Very best," yah, sure.

Another recurring feature has to do with clowns, funny, ridiculous, or even terrifying images of clowns. I personally don't have a problem with clowns. But of course I wouldn't allow one to be alone with my children. Who would? A recent one is one that the guy describes as "a turd with a cowboy hat." LOL! I love that.

It's worth checking out ... frequently.

Bad Puns (Or Something)

The Hisson Hearse Company.

Forensics - Four Insects.

The Yukon (a vehicle) is good for humorous people (yukkin').

No One Complains If You Clean Up After Your Dog

I always think if I saw a shiny quarter in someone's yard I wouldn't touch it, because technically it's on their property, it's theirs. Or it should be presumed to be theirs, just like a lawnmower or a grill on their property should be presumed to be theirs.

I would be very careful about taking anything out of someone's yard. They might see you from the window and come running out with a gun. Or call the police. People do look out the window, too. I did it today, and this is a real coincidence. I went over and glanced out the window and happened to see a guy I know driving by ... at that very second. Let's say I look out the window 5 minutes of the day -- various glances here and there at random throughout the day. If I just happen to look out and see this particular guy drive by, the chances of that are remote.

Anyway, if they looked out it might look like you were sneaking something that belonged to them out of their yard. Which I wouldn't want to happen.

But no one complains -- I've noticed this -- if you clean up after your dog. I've got a bag and it's clearly a bag for cleaning up after my dog. The big complaint they'd have is if you didn't. And again, my presumption is always that someone's looking out their window when I'm walking by.

Innernalia

It looks like this word (which I don't think really is a word) is a foreign word but not an English word.

I was thinking of it just before I went to sleep last night, so I messaged it to myself on my phone so I wouldn't forget it by morning.

It's kind of a mixture of paraphernalia and inner realities. The suffix of paraphernalia, meaning the things pertaining to something. Bacchanalia would be another good example.

I'm interested in my own innernalia. And my externalia as well. But that's getting a little personal!

Elvis' Short Songs

I got the soundtrack CD of Elvis Presley's "Double Trouble" film today. It's strange but true, and terrible to reveal, but I don't believe I've ever had this album before. I don't know what it is about "Double Trouble," but it's both a film and a soundtrack album (LP, cassette, 8 track tape, and CD) that seemed to elude me.

I got the film then a couple years ago when they released a whole bunch of budget Elvis movies on DVD. Then today, just today, I got the CD. So that took me a long time.

This CD is "Spinout" and "Double Trouble" together. They were put out as "Double Features" some years ago, and this particular CD treats those two together as part of the "Original Elvis Presley Collection," making this one Number 25. So I can't figure that out exactly, since they were much later paired and weren't "original" in the same sense that I normally use the word.

I already had "Spinout" on LP but in no other format, which I had made into MP3s.

Now I have both soundtracks on CD, so that's a good advance, in my opinion.

The thing that first strikes me is the shortness of the songs. They have the timings on the back. There's 18 tracks, and 12 of them are under 2 minutes! That's stunning. It seems like they could've recorded longer versions somehow, even if they only needed a minute or so for the movie. But I guess not.

Speaking of "Spinout," I heard the sessions recordings on this one some years ago, and "Adam and Evil" was tough for Elvis to record. I think they only got one or two good tracks out of around 18 takes. He kept messing up on one part. So with that kind of track record, it might've been tough to record longer versions!

As far as the songs go, I like them a lot. I know it's not a normal opinion to like Elvis' movie songs, but I always do. Of course there are some better than others. "Old MacDonald" isn't a great one. But the others are all good. They just need to be longer.

YouTube's 10 Minute Limit

Doh!

I thought I saw plenty of YouTube videos that were over 10 minutes. I knew it used to be 10 minutes but I thought they changed that.

So I made an MP3 of a record today, which is 13+ minutes, and thought I'd put it on YouTube. Then I find out, No, they haven't changed the maximum time.

The maximum time is only extended for someone with a "director's account." So unless you're name is Alfred Hitchcock, you're out. I didn't look at the rules, so I don't know if you actually need a notarized letter from a major Hollywood studio. If so, I might have trouble getting one.

Yes, I'm a director for Behemoth Pictures, and we're going first release on this hot new production, an MP3, on YouTube. The big shafts of lights are gleaming and searching the skies. The premiere is here!

As Big As Icicles Can Get

I saw a really big icicle yesterday somewhere. It was hanging off a building, like they do, but it had dripped down and frozen about as far as it could go. It was very very close to touching the snow on the ground. The snow, you should know, is several feet deep. So it isn't the actual ground it's getting near.

It made me think about stalagmites. They're the ones, the rock formations, that go up if I have that right. It seems like the teachers used to tell us the one that ends in "tites" has to "hang on tight," so that would be the one going down. Thank goodness for helpful little reminders like that.

The icicles had accumulated outside my bathroom window. Now I see most of them are gone. We did have a few warm days a week or so ago, so they must be gone from then. But there are still plenty of big ones all over the town. The ones I saw yesterday were just a sample.

STP Stickers

The other day I was commenting on the song "I Call My Baby STP" by The Del-Vetts. You can find it at YouTube by a simple search.

In the course of that post, I think I mentioned all the STP stickers we used to see 35-40 years ago. There were STP stickers everywhere, on cars, telephone booths, school lockers, briefcases, everywhere.

It makes me wonder ... what ever happened to all the STP stickers? Did we just throw away everything that had these stickers on them?

Maybe if we found a junkyard somewhere, like a forgotten junkyard down in Missouri somewhere, one on a dead end road that also doesn't have a entrance (it's a double ended dead end), and somehow we could parachute in, we might find some old cars with aging STP stickers on them.

They might've been rained on for 45 years. Also blistered by the heat of 40 hot Missouri summers. And they'd be peeling at the edges. But there they'd be ... the oval STP logo from all those years ago.

Propriety

Propriety, first, last, and always. Must maintain propriety at all times.

With it, I must maintain dignity as well. Keep an unfluttered, unprovoked face and demeanor.

Everything where it belongs, eyes not roaming, hands appropriately used, every word decently filtered.

Uni, Roy, and Al

Whatever happened to Uni, Roy, and Al? They're seen here in a 1973 advertisement. I always hate it when we get to know these people, for example through their preference of Uniroyal tires, then they're gone and we never hear from them again.

The Archies - "Truck Driver"

One of my favorite songs by The Archies is "Truck Driver." I've been looking around the house for one of my 45s of it. (I think I have two, but I knew I had at least one.) And today, while looking for something else, I found one of them.

So I made an MP3 of it right away, since it's always been one I liked.

"Truck Driver" is the flip side of The Archies' first hit, "Bang-Shang-a-Lang."

Listening to it, I like it. But the story of "Truck Driver" doesn't really stand up to scrutiny. In the song, the singer knows a girl with eyes of brown. She's gone somewhere. And if he can catch a ride with the truck driver, maybe he can find her.

I personally think Baltimore would be a good place to check. Because he says "She talked about it the night before." Which might be an excellent clue as to her whereabouts. But then he has all the rest of the country to check, the United States, and that's a very big place. Even if the truck driver went to every state, the chances of seeing the girl are slim.

The truck driver is going to take his load through "27 different states." That still leaves quite a few.

If not Baltimore, how about New York City, where the lights are pretty. Plus, she'd go to Hollywood if she could.

I like this part where he says he won't get in the way of the truck driver. Except he'll be "standing on the running board calling her name through every town along the way." You don't think that would constitute "getting in the way"? The police are constantly pulling you over. "Hey, buddy, you can't be riding on the running board like that, screaming at the top of your lungs. It's not allowed."

In summation, this is a big country. And trying to find a single girl by riding a truck and calling out her name is not likely to get the job done!

Kucinich On The Aisle

How does Dennis Kucinich always get an aisle seat for the State of the Union speech? Does he have a bladder condition and need to be able to get out fast?

There he is once again tonight, leaning out, grinning, expecting the passing parade to acknowledge him.

Maybe the seats are assigned and that's just his natural spot. It's odd though, that one guy would always be right at the edge.

Looking at the Republicans there. Yuck. They're detestable.

I Should've Been A Bacteriologist!

I was just reading this article on the possibility of alien life forms already living among us in the world, as bacteria.

The basic concept that maybe some of this bacteria might be from outer space doesn't bother me. What is space anyway? We're always there. What got me was this paragraph:

Still, he noted that less than 1 percent of all the world's bacteria had been comprehensively studied – leaving plenty of room for scientists to find surprises in Earth's nooks and crannies.

Someone in the article notes that "less than 1 perfect of all the world's bacteria had been comprehensively studied." What? Less than 1 percent? That's about nothing. That means you get a job as a bacteriologist and you have a job for life, if you can stand to be around bacteria.

That is wild. I tend to think everything's pretty much well in hand as far as discoveries go and what there is left to find. But it looks like we have more bacteria than we know what to do with. Someone needs to get busy!

Salt On My Gloves

The other day I was trying to get rid of some ice. For this terrible task I was using the salt that comes in the big bag. There's a downside there.

One thing about this salt is, if you even get around it you're going to be tasting salt. I think I can taste it now, and it's been days since then.

I got it all over my gloves, and apparently it kicks up some micro dust in the air and attaches itself to your lips. Every once in a while you're tongue will hit your lips, and when it tastes that salt, you know you've gotten into something nasty. Especially since on the bag it says something about "phosphorus something or other" that you're not supposed to swallow.

But how much is too much? I immediately went and rinsed and wiped my lips. But still it lingers. I was just telling someone about it today...and as I started telling it (like now) I started tasting the stuff again. So that might be my imagination. Or it might be lingering, like a time release thing.

The big thing I've been wondering about is what kind of precautions they take with the guys who work with this stuff, like at the packing plant. It must be brutal. Now I know why the slaves in movies always look so down when they say "Back to the salt mines."

A Blizzard Day

Something about a snowy day, when the wind is whipping through at 50 mph, and there's white out conditions, makes me want to stay home.

They advise against going out, so that's a pretty good reason to stay in. They say to stay off the roads, because of the terrible danger. And they even close the highways leading out of town. So what they're trying to say is "Stay home."

There was an article in the paper where the sheriff was lamenting that people often ignore the official warnings. And next thing you know they're in a ditch somewhere, needing assistance.

My big fear about being in a ditch would be that the sheriff would be sitting in his office, heeding his own warnings, and wouldn't notice me in a ditch. So I'd freeze to death out there, where I shouldn't have been in the first place.

As it turned out tonight, I did have to go out. So I went and did what I needed to do -- official business for which I was commended for being faithful to do it in spite of the weather, when it would have been so easy to call and say I couldn't make it (sloughing off was the word they used). I was thinking, "Well, I do have a conscience, and I am conscientious." Just don't tell the sheriff!

Then I went to the store and picked up some foodstuffs. Because you never can tell. I don't want to starve to death at home. The sheriff doesn't make housecalls unless someone reports you for waving a gun.

Here I am now, in the house, listening to the blizzard assail my windows with its wind and awesome fury. It'd be a good night to have shutters on the house, assuming they wouldn't be frozen open.

Backup And Restore

I've got a backup underway. It took off automatically at some point. I didn't notice it start. I noticed everything getting sluggish and after a while saw the little notification down there.

Since it's been going for quite a while I thought maybe it was stuck, and searching around I notice other people have had that problem.

But apparently it's not stuck. I went to the place on the computer (Windows 7) for Backup and Restore and it said it was 58% along. And it's moving ... slowly but surely.

I don't care for all this automatic backup stuff, but I hate to turn it off. There'd be the short term benefit of not having everything sluggish, but let's say I needed a backup, then it might come in helpful. I'm pessimistic about it though. One day I tried to restore the computer to a prior date, its configuration. It got most of the way, then told me it failed. Real helpful! So I believe that's probably what would happen on a backup too. But you never know.

I just hate the sluggishness. Things coming to a standstill every once in a while!

He Of The Echo Effect Hath Sent Me

I'm listening to an old record called "The Story of the Old Testament as told to young people" (Part 1). It was put out on United Artists Records, in the '60s I think. Or maybe the late '50s.

In it God speaks. And whenever God speaks He has an echo effect added to His voice. How awesome!

I used to have a cassette set of the Bible on tape. And I believe they had Jesus' words with a kind of echo too. I believe that one was called a "red letter recording," the audio equivalent of printing Jesus' words in red in the bible.

We need that, I guess, the idea that God doesn't talk like we do.

Lady Gaga Five Years Ago

That's Lady Gaga from 2005, when, I guess, she was an unknown, average person in a restaurant.

It's a video that has a few clips of her on an MTV show from the time called "Boiling Point." I never heard of the show, but the premise apparently was to get on people's nerves and see if they could keep from losing their temper.

In this case they took her food and brought it back to her table with garbage on it. That would be a shocker.

She's very cute, I think. And five years ago isn't that long, from being unknown to being maybe the Number 1 artist in the whole world today. I love her songs and as far as I know I have them all.

The Yawning Reflex

The yawning reflex is great in me tonight, my big gaping maw sucking the skies for air.

And I'm sure I'm getting that fatigued, droopy look in the region of the eyes.

My posture is slumping, betraying me as one tired individual, seeing repose and a supine position.

Sleep comes easily to me, perhaps too easily. I could burrow in somewhere, pull the covers up and fall to sleep quickly.

Wouldn't be a problem.

Amazing Grace

I like the line "that saved a wretch like me."

That's an interesting twist on self-esteem, isn't it? A wretch.

There's another song that has the same kind of self-deprecation theme. Except it says "Would he devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?" A worm.

Interesting choice of words.

Too Much Complimenting

Have you ever been complimented too much?

That's happening to me in my life these days. I have someone who's complimenting me left and right. I'm "such a nice man," etc.

Which I am. I'm nice to everyone. But most people take it in stride, maybe it's their due. Certainly I don't mind people thinking nice things about me. That's OK, but leave me to my own sense of how things are going. I don't need constant strokes about it.

I came very close today to saying "It's too much," or something like that. But, being such a nice guy, I couldn't bring myself to say it.

I myself affirm people regularly, but not the same people over and over. It's a good thing to do, especially, of course, if you're sincere. Which I usually am.

Maddening Audio Problem

I used to be able to change my recording settings on the computer, my old computer.

Now I have a Windows 7 computer and everything seems quite a bit different. One, I can plug a line into the computer, in the microphone jack, and record something, like a record. At that point the built in microphone is turned off, not picking up every throat clear, etc.

But say I want to record the soundtrack of something playing on the computer, with no line in. Such as something off of You Tube. At that point, the built in microphone is still on. There doesn't seem to be any way of turning it off.

That's a bad feature ... or non-feature.

Finished Fun In Acapulco

I've been in an Elvis mood lately. Which happens to me fairly often, being his youngest original fan. That's what I am. It would be certified if such things were certifiable. Since they aren't it's my claim ... and I don't see anyone disputing it.

I was three or four in '56, baby, doing a great Elvis impersonation. "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog!" with my rattle for a microphone. This is true stuff. I had sideburns in kindergarten.

Anyway, even though I'm old now, I'm actually quite sane -- quite sane, but I'm still certifiable as a diehard Elvis fan. Like we said back in '56, I'm still "Pulling For Presley!"

So I've been engaged in my free time watching some of the King's movies. I just finished "Fun In Acapulco" tonight. I was all the way up to the last five minutes this morning but didn't have time to finish it. So I hit pause and continued with the last song "Guadalajara" tonight.

This is a pretty good movie. Like I just wrote a day or so ago, though, I'm a little bummed out that Elvis wasn't actually in Acapulco. I don't like watching some body double walking around pretending to be him. Especially when you can look, with a trained or untrained eye, and see that it's some other guy. Of course I wouldn't expect Elvis to have done the stunts or the dives, all that. But walking around, holding hands with a girl? He could've managed that.

The little kid, Raul, at the end was going to get to go to Florida with Elvis (Mike Wingert) to be his amigo for life. So if he's still alive, a shout out to him. You did a great job in the film. I wonder what it would be like to work with the Elvis double. Was that freaky?

Now tonight I started "Double Trouble." This is kind of a freaky movie. Elvis is downright surly to the girl at the beginning. But it's all in good fun. Plus she was secretly underage, so it's a good thing that they didn't go too far!

Lloyd

What's the deal with the name "Lloyd"?

How did they ever come up with a name that starts with two of the same letter? Kind of like Aaron in that regard. "Aaron, mmeet Lloyd." "PPleased tto mmeet yyou, Lloyd."

It's a waste of letters!

Limbaugh, Our Dr. Smith

Roger Ebert has a great idea: Rush Limbaugh needs to be horsewhipped.

Rush reminds me of Dr. Smith on "Lost In Space," who's only there to be a burr under everyone's saddle. In Dr. Smith's case, he foolishly sabotaged his own life support system, the spaceship and the well being of the crew.

Limbaugh at this point is sabotaging his own country. There ought to be a penalty for a guy like that. I don't know what it is. But horsewhipping sounds like a good start!

I Hit The Exercise Place Tonight

The doc wants me to exercise more ... so I am. I haven't exactly been pressing it, but I did go tonight.

I wasn't the sweatiest person there. I wasn't the more unhealthy looking there either. So that made me feel more than adequate.

There I was ... on the elliptical, with my headphones and iPod.

Later I was on the weight thing, where you pull down the bar, and it's all attached to some weights. They have a multitude of mirrors on the wall, so you can see yourself from odd angles. I was looking at the weirdest angle of me, thinking, there I am. Also thinking, just to look at me, you can't tell what I'm thinking or listening to. Just a guy pulling on a weight, maybe a blank slate.

But of course closer to home, in my own head, I knew it all!

The Ghost Hunters On Syfy

I have a little saying about the ghost hunters show on Syfy: "All tease, no cheese."

I really don't watch it, but another person in the house has it on all the time, and seems fascinated by their show about nothing. Ghosts that never seem to make any real objective appearance, although the folks on the show definitely seem to think they've seen and recorded something.

I see snippets of it while passing through the room. "Oop, there's something!" The camera is jarred, we instantly go to commercial! Once again, all tease, no cheese.

At this point just seeing the people on it during these snippets is a frightening enough experience for me. I don't like them a bit. If I was a ghost I'd go to wherever they are, wait for them to turn the camera off, then kick the crap out of them.

They must be making a bunch of money on this worthless show. Listening to mutters, murmurs, hisses in the dark. If they're that desperate to make contact with a living entity, how about just sitting down with some actual living people and talk!

Firefox (Not Responding)

Every once in a while, I'll be typing along, doing this, or browsing, and suddenly everything stops. Then I look up and it says Firefox (Not Responding). The computer is doing something and can't be stopped. It's just off in its own world.

Then a few minutes later -- tops -- it comes back to life and we proceed as if nothing happened.

It happened a few minutes ago, which is why I'm thinking of it now. But this time I just sat there and so the time it took to come back was less. Like less than 30 seconds. Usually I'm doing a CTRL-ALT-DELETE and trying to get to the thing where I can try to stop processes (which never works when this happens). But this time maybe I did the better thing, which is to do nothing, because it came back quickly.

It occurs to me, though, how terrible that is. It shouldn't do that. You wouldn't want your car to do that going down the road. Just to quit working for a few minutes.

And with your computer, what if you were doing a presentation for a big board meeting. Then suddenly, for no apparent reason, it all freezes up. You're sitting there, sweating. Maybe swearing under your breath.

I wish stuff like this wouldn't happen. But it still feels like we're in the Wild West of the computer age. Like you really can't depend on anything. I know with my computer -- which is only a month old -- there's something challenging me every single day. It's disgusting, even though it's a pretty good computer.

They simply have a long way to go. There's still lots of bugs.

Busy Busy Busy

I've got a busy day going. I need to bear down.

I'm like the guy in Heaven in charge of butts. I've got to get cracking!

The Things That Drive Us Crazy

Here's a "Reality Principle" from a list I have from a class I took one time. It is No. 2 on the list of 10:

"The things about people that drive us crazy are the things that are keeping them sane."

Can that be true? What a wild concept! Making me wonder what are the things "keeping ME sane" that drive other people crazy? Assuming I'm sane. Which I believe I am.

I'll think of that statement for a while. And see if I can discern any truth in it in the people I meet.

My Beautiful Buffoon

Would you like to ride in my beautiful buffoon?
Floating way up high in my beautiful buffoon,
We could sail about the highest mountains, you and I,
'Cause we can fly ... fly ...
Up, up and away in my beautiful, my beautiful buffoon.
Buffoon!

I would like the stillness of a hot air buffoon,
with just the sound of the fire whizzing above head.

How Much Is Five Pounds?

I had my six month doctor's appointment today, and the bad news is that I gained five pounds in the last six months.

So the doctor mentioned that as a bad thing. So now I need to try to shed it in the next six months. It's going to take all the determination I can muster. Plus the discipline to get to the gym and do my exercises regularly.

I was there tonight, got it done. It was helpful to me that an Elvis concert movie ("Elvis On Tour") was on the TV at my machine, so that made the time speed by. But I can't depend on that happening everyday!

Anyway, I want to have good health as much as I can. So I need to buckle down and get serious about doing the right things. No more Hershey Kisses, of which I had maybe 15 today.

My Bull Imic

This has to be the funniest joke ever, funny for not being funny.

My bull Imic. Let go of my puking bull, Imic.

2007 or 1997

I need to quit losing sleep, which means I need to get to bed at a decent hour.

I was telling someone yesterday about something President Bush did in 2007. But when I woke up today I was thinking I told them 1997, which wouldn't make any sense. I'm still not sure I didn't say 1997, but surely I didn't.

When I woke up today, and even when I was sitting in my chair, I was confused about 2007 and 1997, as in their relation to the present year. It took some real mental working it through to get myself square again.

It's not that I'm dumb. I just haven't had the full eight hours for a while. So my mind is playing tricks on me.

I need to wrap it up for tonight ... get the dog outside for her thing ... and get to bed!

The Kelsey Company

I have a sentimental place in my heart for The Kelsey Company of Meriden, Connecticut. They used to sell printing presses and all the equipment. I got one of these in 1965 for Christmas, a 3" x 5" press.

I still have one of my business cards, advertising "All Types Of Fine Printing." That's right, all types of fine printing, as long as what you need printed fits inside a 3" x 5" chase. (A chase is the metal frame that you put the type in.)

I was just looking online and see there's a site that tells about the presses and how you can buy them on eBay, etc. I actually sold one on eBay one time, a press I bought at an antique store. I bought it with the intention of selling it, but when I got it I was tempted to keep it.

I was thinking of this because I was going through some stuff and found my "Printer's Guide," published by the Kelsey Company. It's 37 pages of guidance on how to set type, handle fonts, etc. It's a great little book.

I was scanning it then with my new scanner and it was just like printing with a printing press. I have a scanner interface that you can set on a timer. I had it set on 10 seconds. So I put it in, it scans a page, then I open it, turn the page, close the lid and it scans another one. It's a lot like standing at a printing press putting in sheets of paper.

(I may as well say that my family had other printing presses. Including some good sized ones. But the 3" x 5" was my own.)

If you look through old magazines, like Popular Mechanics, you'll likely see little ads for the Kelsey Company. They were around for a long time.

I Have A Scanner And A Scanner Interface

...and they're not entirely compatible.

The interface is pretty good, not made by the scanner company. But it has one (apparent) fatal flaw. It can't run the document feeder automatically. That is, it can't do it reliably, but once in a while the option appears and works.

I wrote to the company for the interface and he told me it was a problem with the scanner's software, and that I should check for a upgrade to the driver. Of course that's going to be tough to find in relation to this particular issue with this particular piece of software, the interface software. The chances of five other people having the exact issue to be addressed in the new driver update are low. So it won't be addressed.

I called the scanner company and the guy didn't know what to tell me, since he'd never heard of it. His guess was that there was something wrong with the interface software.

The short story is ... I'm never going to be able to use it for the purposes for which it was written. Which is sad. Because it made it so easy ... the three times it worked.

A Fan Of Glenn Beck

Someone I know on Facebook is "a fan of Glenn Beck."

Sometimes you just never know. What is it that gives people such putrid taste?

The Christmas Tree Is Coming Down

The Christmas tree is looking noticeably barer as the day wears on. In fact, it has been denuded entirely. It's down to the bare branches, and the lights that it came with already installed.

What a process. All the totes, plastic bags, cardboard boxes with lids, and the rest. Some stuff is wrapped in tissue. The moving angel, that sets by the tree, is in a bag with a bag over her head. I see a big bearded Old World Santa peeking out of a plastic store bag.

Down below the tree, the musical merry go round horses are silent and still. A dog statue in a cap and scarf looks just as attentive as he always does. Little knick knacks relating to Christmas are coming down. Christmas is definitely over.

The Christmas videos are still setting next to the TV, but of course no one wants to watch them.

New Year's is almost over with. The holidays have come to an end, virtually. It's time to get back to normal. The season of no lights.

May Old Acquaintance Be Forgot?

Why would we want to forget our own acquaintances? And have them never brought to mind?

I should look that up. I was thinking about the lyrics to "Auld Lang Syne," because it seems like it'd be just the opposite. You want to remember your friends and loved ones.

There are a few old acquaintances I'd like to forget, but I won't list them here.

It's Happy New Year night, New Year's Eve. So may you forget whomever you want to forget, and remember the others!

Driving On Snow And Ice

Tires are meant to drive on clear roads with plenty of good traction. They don't know what to do when it's ice and snow. But if there's good tread, of course it's better.

I was driving in some of this yesterday and I could feel the car doing some shimmying back and forth on it, slipping and catching itself, as there's patches of clear pavement mixed in with the slick.

A lot of thoughts go through my mind in these situations. Such as, Keep a clear focus. But then, Stop thinking about keeping a clear focus and just have one by nature. Too much thinking can distract your mind from what it's supposed to be doing.

There's a whole series of things your feet have to be doing. Letting up off the gas at particular times, pressing it at other times. Your eyes have to be looking far ahead and anticipating. It's a constant struggle.

The big thing that helped me get through the plodding pace (at times) was a recent viewing of the movie "Doctor Zhivago." I looked at the snowy fields and thought about Zhivago trudging across one, with icicles on his mustache. And the people traveling from Russia by walking hundreds of miles in the snow. At least I didn't have to do that! Suddenly 35 mph looked pretty good!

Your One Shot At Life

So you get your one shot at life, and the best you can do with it, if you're 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, is to try and blow up a plane full of other people.

A nasty choice on his part. A waste of potential.

The Stores Closed

There's nothing that I really need. Anyway, it's not a good night to be out, with all the snow.

Still, on holidays, when almost everything is closed, it feels like there's something wrong. It's nice that all those people have the day off, of course. Even so, it's reassuring to know that stores are open just in case.

The 2010 Fruitgum Company

In the '60s we had the 1910 Fruitgum Company, doing some great bubblegum classics. Now that we're coming around to '10 again, it's time for a reunion, as the 2010 Fruitgum Company!

I wonder if they thought of that.

Summer Sausage And The Fixins'

Guess what I've been eating the last few days, which is a weird thing to eat: Blue Cheese.

I've bought blue cheese before and didn't always get far with it. But I got some for a Christmas party the other day and was spreading it on crackers and enjoying it. So I went and got another one. It comes in triangles, the brand I buy, which is Maytag Blue Cheese.

I was offering some to someone at the party, but I was very upfront about it, informing her that the blue stuff is mold. Of course at that point she didn't want any. But I think it's good mold, not bad. Like good bacteria.

Some of that, and the crackers, and some summer sausage, and other cheese, and a few jalapenos, makes for a very nice snack while sitting around. I didn't actually have any dinner, just a plate of this stuff.

P.S. Maytag Blue Cheese comes in triangles at the grocery store. Online, it looks like it comes in circles. Circles, triangles. A square would be nice too.

Needed: A Debit Card Hood

I hate the openness of the debit card swipers at the store. It seems like it wouldn't take a very creative swindle artist to figure out what your number is just by standing there and observing you. Or observing you from an angle.

They need some kind of hood you can put over yourself and the machine. Or a booth that you step in or that descends from the ceiling to encase you, so you can type your number in private. I think they could get creative. Some kind of heat shield that wiggles up the air right next to you, like you see near campfires, so that no one can get a clear shot of what's going on on the touchpad.

But my paranoia is such that I already know they could just have a thing hooked up to it to yield the numbers all day and then they'd pick it up at night. Or have it beaming the numbers from there to the parking lot.

I like using debit cards instead of checks for many obvious reasons. But I wish I understood a little more about the situation surrounding the security of doing so.

Christmas Stuff On Sale

I was going by some stores tonight, and I see all the Christmas stuff is on sale.

It's going, going, gone ... at least in value, when the big day hits. It's a double edged sword when it comes to holidays where they stock a lot of merchandise. Someone somewhere (one would assume) is losing a little money. But I don't know.

There's a lot of people who buy Christmas stuff after Christmas, including my family. We got a nice white Christmas tree after Christmas last year, kept it in a box in the basement, and it looked great this year setting out.

One of the weirdest customs I've ever heard about Christmas is when someone goes out on Christmas Eve and buys a Christmas tree and puts it up. At that point, what's the use? It's no good in a couple days.

Word Of The Father

I love the lyrics of many of the Christmas songs. But I'm getting tired tonight and can't think of all the ones I like. But it's plenty of them! Like the lyrics of "What Child Is This?" or "O Little Town of Bethlehem." "The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight."

I love the lyrics of "O Come All Ye Faithful," for sure, especially the ones that say, "Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing."

Yes, Lord, we greet you,
Born this happy morning,
Jesus, to you be glory given!
Word of the Father,
Now in flesh appearing:
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

That's so beautiful, going along with the famous prologue to the Gospel of John, of course. You've got the Father ... then the expression of the Father in the Son of God. It really exalts one's thoughts to think such things. And with Christmas we have that opportunity. All the rest of the time, too, but it's very vivid when we hear the Christmas carols.

Andre Rieu -- The Vienna I Love

The video I'm referring to in this post is a VHS tape of a program called "The Vienna I Love -- Waltzes From My Heart," by Andre Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra. It doesn't look like it's still available, but looking around, I notice there are lots of programs by Rieu on DVD. Wow, I wouldn't mind having the Christmas one.

But, alas, this VHS tape is the only one I have. And I just about gave it away to the thrift store yesterday to get it out of my way. It's been on my shelf for a few years and I never watched it. Then yesterday, cleaning my room, I was putting some stuff in a box for the thrift store and this was tossed over there. But then, just for some entertainment while I cleaned, I put it in the TV (which has a player) and it was very cool to see.

I guess I didn't know anything about Andre Rieu, just that he had something to do with music, since the tape's been around for a while. I hadn't really look at it that closely.

Anyway, it's quite wonderful. A bunch of waltzes, classical music. With a full orchestra, dressed up in really nice clothes and everything. And they had a packed house. Wherever it was, actually Vienna it looks like.

Andre plays the violin. I read somewhere that he plays a 1667 Stradivarius violin. I don't know if that's what he's playing in this concert, since I don't know my violins. It's definitely pretty and doesn't look over 300 years old.

As to the music, it's delightful stuff. Played with a lot of flair, with Andre right out front, standing the whole time. He's kind of like the conductor but he's not doing a lot of typical conducting. He must conduct while moving his bow on the violin. And maybe the players were used to his style.

On this tape there's a lot of humor, the introductions Andre makes to songs, plus some funny interplay of the musicians. He speaks in German throughout but there are subtitles in English.

This particular tape was copyright 1995.

In watching it, I'm up to the 11th selection, which is the "Emperor's Waltz." Johann Strauss wasn't the composer of everything on the tape, but several of the selections.

I wish I had the Christmas DVD ... but in a few days, after Christmas, I won't be wishing that anymore.

The short story here is that I'm glad I didn't give this tape to the thrift store. Because it's enjoyable and I would guess I'll watch it again someday!

(The DVD on the Amazon.com ad is a different program than what I wrote about. But it looks like it'd be something very similar.)

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Christmas is coming. Here's a beautiful picture. This was among my tiny collection of holy cards.

Did you happen to see the "Census" poster that someone made? It suggests that it's a good thing to take part in the census, because, according to the Bible, that's what brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem where Jesus would be born.

I think it's a nice poster. But of course there are some folks up in arms over it. It seems like it had something to do with Hispanic ministers being opposed to it. One of them, I read, said it was "blasphemous" to use the name of Jesus or God for anything other than worshiping. That doesn't make a bit of sense, since we obviously would use these names in regard to discussing many things about religion and life. So that guy doesn't know what he's talking about.

But anyway, for Christmas we don't want disagreement and disagreeable people. We'll just forgive the guy for being ignorant, just like Jesus did from the Cross. The guy "knows not what he's doing."

That's a beautiful picture. I love the stars and things. I love Joseph's very rustic, monk-like haircut. He's handsome and Mary is beautiful. At first I thought Jesus was naked, but looking closer he's in a onesy. And about to get warmer with a nice cloth from His mother. So beautiful

No One Puts On Airs

In my family, no one puts on airs.

Everyone in my family is just a plain as plain can be when around other folks. As far as anyone can tell, we're no better than them. It's all one big happy mishmash of humanity, it would seem.

We're very regular. That'd be a good word for it. As right as rain, as regular as clockwork. You'd think, Wow, that brother or sister talks with some intelligence. And that's true. Most of them are highly educated, but when you're around them (us), you're stunned at how down to earth everyone is. Big smiles are offered all around. And pats on the back, without any apparent ulterior motive.

There's no airs, no flaunting of anything. To all appearances, and I'm proud to say this, we're just like anyone else, just like you, just like the average guy. No one can ever tell the difference.

Miscellaneous Absurdities

The ideas for these miscellaneous absurdities were found in a little notebook in my desk. It's my handwriting, so I'm assuming I thought these up:

• A person is described as "youngish," who then says, "I'm older than I look."
• Remember the "To Catch A Predator" show? The host catches Bigfoot somehow, but refuses to broadcast it because of "panic." He ensnares the monster when he's in a chat room mentioning how big his "feet" are.
• There's someone like storm chasers, but they're Energy Chasers, a team of "true believers" who hold to the theory that a town is a like a body, like "any system" is. They consider themselves like chiropractors of systems.
• There's a guy whose wife gets up and makes his newspapers into scrolls. He says, "I'm an old fashioned guy." Because of its size, she gets up extra early on Sunday.

The Super Pessimist

It's not the glass is half full.

It's not the glass is half empty.

It's "What glass?"

A Good Country Name?

Willie Nilly.

As in "His Greatest Hits" by Willie Nilly.

What if his nickname is Hillbilly? Willie "Hillbilly" Nilly.

On the same bill as Milli Vanilli.

A Color Aquarium

Having an aquarium is a beautiful thing. It's like having a color TV with fish in it.

I remember when I was a kid, we just had a black and white set. But things have changed since then.

The fish are more beautiful in color.

Animals Don't Care For Money

That's so true. If we see a quarter laying on the floor, we scoop it up.

I went through the kitchen a while ago and there was a quarter on the floor. It must've fallen through the hole in my pocket. I have a pretty good hole in my pants pocket. I was at a store today and I felt the embarrassing escape of about a dollar and a half in chance going down my leg. I tried to pull the pants leg in a little to keep them from clanging against the floor and rolling off in a dozen directions. Fortunately I was successful.

After that I kept my change in my coat pocket. But somehow, at some point, I must've had a quarter in my pocket later. Because I went through the kitchen and there it was on a throw rug.

The dog was sitting there in the area, of course not paying any attention to the money. She'd probably sniffed it -- I don't know -- to see if it was edible. But that would be about it.

It made me think. They simply don't know, they simply don't care for money!

The Cops' Favorite Rod Stewart Song

Every picture tells a story, doughnut?

My Windows 7 Computer

I'm loving my Windows 7 computer, a laptop. It's so fast. I've never had a fast computer and this one zips by. It has gargantuan memory compared to the old computers I've had all this time.

I have a computer at my office, extremely slow, and I use it too. Today I was using it, and there it was, grinding away, struggling to open Firefox (it also struggles to close Firefox) -- it struggles with everything. I got sick of waiting and pulled out my new computer. Even with the old one having a head start, the new one was better.

I like the indexing system a lot more than trying to find something on my previous Windows computers. I didn't realize that was there, so it was a pleasant thing to realize that I can now actually find something on the computer! Without having to go with Google Desktop.

A Snowy Day

We're already "In the Bleak Midwinter" and it's not even officially winter yet.

Snowy days and Tuesdays always get me down.

What do I care how much it may storm? I've got my gloves to keep me warm.

The Republicans Are As Dumb As A Box Of Rocks

The Republicans think they're pretty clever, blocking the people's business in Congress. I hope this cleverness earns them a place at the bottom of the heap in 2010. If not, who knows what other terrible ideas they'll have for the nation.

They certainly don't mean well, don't mean anything good for the nation's well being. It's all selfishness for them. The public good doesn't factor into their decisions. We saw it all through the Bush years -- it was corruption morning, noon, and night. And with the Obama years, the Republicans haven't changed, except now, of course, it's patriotic to dis the President. Big surprise there!

The health care reform issue, though, seems like a terrible issue for them to be blocking. This is something we all know we need. The insurance system in this country is criminal. And the Republicans are clearly on the side of the criminals. It polls over 60% favorable with the American people, and where do the Republicans find themselves? On the other side.

Let them rot. I am so sick of the Republican party I could spit.

Other People On The Road

Being on the road and on a long journey isn't that fun an experience for me. I'd rather hang around the house, get up and go to bed in the same place. There are of course times when you have to travel, but I prefer them to be few and far between.

I have some family on the road tonight, going from Tennessee to Kansas. Driving at night, at least to St. Louis. That's definitely no fun. I hope they make it OK, which I assume they will.

The Novelty's Just About Worn Off

It's day 2 of having my new computer. I messed with it most of the day, which turned out to be a mixture of good and bad, with lots of frustration.

I'm frustrated that more of my old software won't work on Windows 7. There seems to be something seriously wrong with not having this stuff backwards compatible. I'm used to doing lots of projects in particular ways, and now to have to change in my old age, it's not nice.

My scanner won't work, that's another thing. Things I do for my work, no good. I'll have to keep my XP computers forever, and if they ever threaten to die, I'll keep them on life support till long after they're brain dead. Some of this Microsoft stuff starts out brain dead, though, so it might not be that big a change.

There's a couple things that irk me. I thought maybe this computer would have the XP mode I heard about. But that's only for Windows 7 PROFESSIONAL, not Home. That was easy for me to say, right? But that's not how they tell you at Microsoft. You have to load a piece of software that tells you it's not compatible because you haven't changed the settings in your BIOS. So you go to all the trouble to make that change, then go back, and it tells you what they could've told you in the first place, that you don't have PROFESSIONAL, so what are you doing here?

The other irksome thing are all the Norton pop-ups and HP pop-ups about this, that, or the other. Yes, I know you're there. How about doing your job in the background and giving me a monthly summary?

I have a tension backache after today. Meaning it's time to quit. I'm just going to do a few blogs and then read for a while, then my usual tasks (dishes, etc.)

The Red Book

I ordered a copy of "The Red Book," the long-awaited and frequently forgotten (be me) book by C.G. Jung.

I heard a guy give part of a lecture on this subject -- the subject came up in the course of his remarks -- one time a few years ago. I made a mental note of it, because he said it was expected to be published in the next few years or so.

Then I've checked around a few times in the last few years to see what kind of progress they were making, or rather to see if it was published and available. It never was.

Now all of a sudden I hear it came out in September and I didn't know about it. So I just discovered it a few days ago, that it was published.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting it. I read some of the reviews and the big article on the NY Times site about it, and it sounds very interesting.

I'm hoping to make many breakthroughs of my own with this big book. Not that I don't make plenty already. I certainly do. See you in Heaven!

Looking For A Book

I was looking for a book that I have today. Oh, I hate looking for books.

The big problem is I don't have the room to put all my books in normal places in an orderly way. So they're stacked here there and everywhere, on various shelves, some upright, some on their sides, some double or triple-layered back, etc. It's a mess.

The thing is, My best books it seems like I could have them in one place and in a reasonable place at that. But this particular book -- what it was is irrelevant -- didn't seem to be anywhere. I checked and checked. I'm thinking, I think I know what it's spine looks like, etc.

So I'm in one room. I'm moving the bed, thinking maybe it was under there. Moving stacks, getting irritated.

Finally I narrowed in my sights -- sometimes I can look right at something and still not see it -- and I thought I saw it, then I did see it. There is was. I took it off the shelf and put it on my desk ... somewhere.

I do not ever want to have to look for that book again. Stay on the shelf close to where you belong!