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Some odd animals
Feb. 6th, 2020 10:19 amWhile on our Southern Africa trip we went on a bunch of safaris and saw lots of animals.
While in CapeTown we saw these.
While in CapeTown we saw these.
Iceland Phallological Museum
Aug. 28th, 2019 12:56 pmOne of the museums in Reykjavik we visited was the Phallological Museum. It is a collection of phallic specimens from many mammals (209 specimens from 46 species of mammals)- plus some humor. And yes, it is also called the Penis Museum.
2094 Headline: Amazon goes out of business
Jan. 7th, 2019 11:36 amAs I read about Sears stores closing I remember the old days when you got a Sears catalog in the mail every few months. It was a big fat book with just about everything you might need: clothes, tools, household appliances,... You could order by phone if you had a Sears card or mail in an order form with a check. And the stuff would get delivered in a few days or you could go pickup the stuff at one of their centers.
So I anticipate the above headline in 75 years from now. The article explains that no-one has enough money to buy much and delivery by boat over flooded streets to houses that sometime vanish between the time the order is placed and when it is delivered is too difficult and costly.
So I anticipate the above headline in 75 years from now. The article explains that no-one has enough money to buy much and delivery by boat over flooded streets to houses that sometime vanish between the time the order is placed and when it is delivered is too difficult and costly.
"Visitors" on the train
Dec. 23rd, 2017 11:21 amAt one point in the afternoon they made us all get into one of the cars and suddenly some "visitors" emerged. And there was a bit of dancing. Again we passed some villages, saw some nice mountains, and occasional animals. We got a demo by a master of some special technique of straw wrapping at the last stop for the day.
Click for pictures:
Click for pictures:
TV watching
Feb. 7th, 2017 10:52 amTV watching should have more variety.
Sunday night Fox had what appeared to be the coronation of an upper class woman and also a brief astronomy show.
The Golf channel had something about drives.
The Science channel had something about air pressure and balloon inflation,
The Bridge channel had a feature on Passes but left out a whole section on the advantages of bidding No Trump.
The Outdoors channel had something on hiking.
The Audubon channel had features on owls and falcons.
The Carpentry channel had a few lectures on measurement by yards.
The Military channel had several things about formations and also had some videos about defense strategies.
The Fishing channel had something about catches.
The Crime channel had some instances of officials assigning penalties.
The Nature channel had scenes of rushes in a field.
And the Brady Bunch was on.
Sunday night Fox had what appeared to be the coronation of an upper class woman and also a brief astronomy show.
The Golf channel had something about drives.
The Science channel had something about air pressure and balloon inflation,
The Bridge channel had a feature on Passes but left out a whole section on the advantages of bidding No Trump.
The Outdoors channel had something on hiking.
The Audubon channel had features on owls and falcons.
The Carpentry channel had a few lectures on measurement by yards.
The Military channel had several things about formations and also had some videos about defense strategies.
The Fishing channel had something about catches.
The Crime channel had some instances of officials assigning penalties.
The Nature channel had scenes of rushes in a field.
And the Brady Bunch was on.
Bird Watching
Feb. 5th, 2017 06:12 pmIt's almost time for our bird watching expedition. We are about to observe a very special Superb Owl. I think the Owl is from China since it has a Chinese name: LI. I usually have trouble when I go bird watching because it is hard to see the little things up in trees, but I think this one will be easy to see. Its wing is a bit different, though.
And I hear that there is an evil flock of falcons who have been migrating southwest.
Appropriately we will be sipping sherry and having brie during our expedition.
And I hear that there is an evil flock of falcons who have been migrating southwest.Appropriately we will be sipping sherry and having brie during our expedition.
The 12 Days of Christmas - what it costs
Dec. 25th, 2014 12:45 pmThere was an amusing article in the Boston Globe today (from the NY Times) about the price for buying all the stuff in the carol: The 12 days of Christmas. $27,632.22 this year- up by only $280 from last year.
The best bargain was the 8 milking maids: $58 - they get Federal minimum wage which is $7.50/hour. At the other extreme the 7 swans-a-swimming were $7,000 (hard to believe the number). 9 ladies dancing were $7,552.84.
It said if you shopped on-line it would cost $42,959.07 - shipping some of the large and sometimes squawky and squirmy items is expensive.
Hmm: at Amazon these swans-a-swimming were only $6.79 with free shipping. They had some more expensive ones, but none near $1,000.
The best bargain was the 8 milking maids: $58 - they get Federal minimum wage which is $7.50/hour. At the other extreme the 7 swans-a-swimming were $7,000 (hard to believe the number). 9 ladies dancing were $7,552.84.
It said if you shopped on-line it would cost $42,959.07 - shipping some of the large and sometimes squawky and squirmy items is expensive.
Hmm: at Amazon these swans-a-swimming were only $6.79 with free shipping. They had some more expensive ones, but none near $1,000.
Scotland Independence
Sep. 13th, 2014 01:07 pmNext thursday, voters in Scotland get to vote on Independence. From what I've read the situation is fraught with problems to be resolved if the vote is positive - many economic problems with banks, currency, etc. For money they could stick to UK money, use Euros or coin their own. I like the idea of their own - and such a naming opportunity: I propose 100 Kilts = 1 BagPipe as their units. The paper money would be plaid of course with different plaids for the different denominations. - so maybe it should be 100 BagPipes = 1 Kilt?
And then on November 9, Catalonia may vote on the Independence - although the Spanish Government may not allow such a vote. The issue for the Spanish Government is that Catalonia is the most financially healthy part of Spain and thus it would have a serious economic effect on Spain. I read that among other things Spain could prevent Catalonia from joining the EU.
Maybe Catalonia and Scotland should form a union itself: Scotalonia? Think of Tapas bars with Kippers, Haggis, Srovis, Clootie Dumplings.
And now back to the regular news...
And then on November 9, Catalonia may vote on the Independence - although the Spanish Government may not allow such a vote. The issue for the Spanish Government is that Catalonia is the most financially healthy part of Spain and thus it would have a serious economic effect on Spain. I read that among other things Spain could prevent Catalonia from joining the EU.
Maybe Catalonia and Scotland should form a union itself: Scotalonia? Think of Tapas bars with Kippers, Haggis, Srovis, Clootie Dumplings.
And now back to the regular news...
It was that day yesterday
Feb. 15th, 2014 12:23 pmIn honor of the day I made my standard cut out a heart shaped object from red construction paper, impale it on a skewer, or this time on a red fancy-pipe-cleaner like thing. (My current piece of red paper has room for next year's.)
I was going to stop in at Walgreens yesterday afternoon to get something non-valentiny but the check-out line had about 30 people in it - all holding valentine objects.
Oh, and I wished Robert Coren Happy Farrell's day (for non baseball fans, John Farrell was last year's replacement for Bobby Valentine, the previous manager).
I chose Dubonnet for our cocktail because it was red - Bloody Marys would have been redder but Dubonnet was easier. And I claimed that "I don't make Bloody Marys".![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rsc said it is easy and reminded him that I said "I don't make" not "I don't know how". We have this thing where I claim that I don't make complicated drinks (with the exception of Pisco Sours). So when it is my turn we usually have scotch, sherry, or Dubonnet, although Dubonnet is lots of work - you have to get out ice, and slice some lime. The ice was some Easter Island moia shaped cubes. I remarked that we have to remember to use these on Easter.
So much for modern day romanticism in our household.
I was going to stop in at Walgreens yesterday afternoon to get something non-valentiny but the check-out line had about 30 people in it - all holding valentine objects.
Oh, and I wished Robert Coren Happy Farrell's day (for non baseball fans, John Farrell was last year's replacement for Bobby Valentine, the previous manager).
I chose Dubonnet for our cocktail because it was red - Bloody Marys would have been redder but Dubonnet was easier. And I claimed that "I don't make Bloody Marys".
rsc said it is easy and reminded him that I said "I don't make" not "I don't know how". We have this thing where I claim that I don't make complicated drinks (with the exception of Pisco Sours). So when it is my turn we usually have scotch, sherry, or Dubonnet, although Dubonnet is lots of work - you have to get out ice, and slice some lime. The ice was some Easter Island moia shaped cubes. I remarked that we have to remember to use these on Easter.So much for modern day romanticism in our household.
One of my favorite phrases
Jul. 4th, 2013 11:16 amThis is one of my favorite phrases:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal
It's interesting to say/think this phrase over and over again, each time emphasizing the next word and thinking about what it means.
Or what about??:
They discard those lies to be non-obvious, that no animals are destroyed unfairly…..
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal
It's interesting to say/think this phrase over and over again, each time emphasizing the next word and thinking about what it means.
Or what about??:
They discard those lies to be non-obvious, that no animals are destroyed unfairly…..
MacDonalds on Mount Everest?
May. 24th, 2013 11:16 pmI just read how an 80 year old reached the top of Mt Everest (oldest person) and telephoned someone to tell them he was there.
Someday we'll read how a person reached Mt Everest and then went to the MacDonalds for a Big Mac! I suppose it would be possible if a few people carried up a mock MacDonalds sign and Arch, a counter, and a stove, some food and started serving BigMacs. I suppose it is hard to cook at that altitude, but….
Hillary and Tensing - how come it was so difficult for you to reach the top?? No incentive because there were no restaurants or bars there I suppose...
Someday we'll read how a person reached Mt Everest and then went to the MacDonalds for a Big Mac! I suppose it would be possible if a few people carried up a mock MacDonalds sign and Arch, a counter, and a stove, some food and started serving BigMacs. I suppose it is hard to cook at that altitude, but….
Hillary and Tensing - how come it was so difficult for you to reach the top?? No incentive because there were no restaurants or bars there I suppose...
At our English Country Dance series as is common at many such dances the caller writes the name of each dance that is called on a whiteboard. I photograph it and then enter the names in a database and post a PDF to our webpage.
When Bob Golder comes to our dances he likes to do a bit of artwork with humor - here are some samples.This one was put on the whiteboard several years ago and we have carefully preserved it. Below is the board from the Dec 27 dance and a portion from the March 13 dance where he "corrected" a dance name.
When Bob Golder comes to our dances he likes to do a bit of artwork with humor - here are some samples.This one was put on the whiteboard several years ago and we have carefully preserved it. Below is the board from the Dec 27 dance and a portion from the March 13 dance where he "corrected" a dance name.Dishwashing
Mar. 14th, 2012 11:24 pmOur dishwasher is us. We have a set of rules to determine when to wash them and who does them.
In simple terms:
- the person who doesn't fix breakfast (determined by who gets up second) washes whatever is in the sink at the end of breakfast.
- no-one washes lunch dishes.
- if we eat left-overs for dinner, no-one washes.
- if someone cooks, the other person washes dishes.
Tonight we had the situation where we mixed some left-overs in a frying pan and added something. Two questions: was that cooking? and since we both did something: who cooked? Another question had to do with the fact that when we cook, water is served in glass glasses with ice-cubes and when we eat leftovers the water is served in plastic glasses. Tough decision. I decreed that it was cooking and that Robert was the cook (he was the idea man for this) so I washed the dishes. That will give me less incentive to get up first tomorrow. And we had water in glass glasses, but I compromised and only put in 2 ice-cubes instead of the normal 3 since the cooking was done using left-overs. I did wash all the dishes.
Some readers know that we have some archaic rules such as I wash dishes when we use the first floor kitchen and Robert does them when we use the second floor kitchen. I made up this rule of course since we don't have a first floor kitchen. There are several slips of paper lying around with rules like this although I don't know where they are - hmm, I wonder why?
In simple terms:
- the person who doesn't fix breakfast (determined by who gets up second) washes whatever is in the sink at the end of breakfast.
- no-one washes lunch dishes.
- if we eat left-overs for dinner, no-one washes.
- if someone cooks, the other person washes dishes.
Tonight we had the situation where we mixed some left-overs in a frying pan and added something. Two questions: was that cooking? and since we both did something: who cooked? Another question had to do with the fact that when we cook, water is served in glass glasses with ice-cubes and when we eat leftovers the water is served in plastic glasses. Tough decision. I decreed that it was cooking and that Robert was the cook (he was the idea man for this) so I washed the dishes. That will give me less incentive to get up first tomorrow. And we had water in glass glasses, but I compromised and only put in 2 ice-cubes instead of the normal 3 since the cooking was done using left-overs. I did wash all the dishes.
Some readers know that we have some archaic rules such as I wash dishes when we use the first floor kitchen and Robert does them when we use the second floor kitchen. I made up this rule of course since we don't have a first floor kitchen. There are several slips of paper lying around with rules like this although I don't know where they are - hmm, I wonder why?
a spelling lesson
Feb. 28th, 2012 10:46 am"One of the girls called another girl a derogatory term that starts with an H if you are spelling it in the slang manner and with 'wh' if you're spelling it in proper English." said the Mayor of Lynn in commenting about a fight between 2 girls that got they and the 27 watchers suspended and given an assignment to write a paper about the Kitty Genovese murder where onlookers did nothing to teach them a lesson. One student said the lesson she learned is not to watch what they consider stupid fights.
Guinnessport: Ashrita Furman
Jan. 24th, 2012 01:02 pmIn the Dec 19 NewYorker there was an article by Alec Wilkinson about Ashrita Furman, the person who has the record for the most Guinness records. Furman, who is fifty-seven and the part owner of a health-food store in Queens, is the world’s leading practitioner of a pursuit that is known as Guinnessport—the undertaking of challenges designed to get a person into an edition of Guinness World Records.
He currently (or at the time of the article) holds 131 and has had 367. Making these records involved learning 70 discrete skills that he has learned - an example is slicing apples with a samurai sword.
Some examples:
- His first record: 27,000 jumping jacks in 6:45 was his first record.
- A mile on a hop ball on the Great Wall of China in 15 ins and 3 secs.
- Jumped underwater on a pogo stick in the Amazon for 3:40
He failed to climb Cerro Machu Picchu on stilts - at 10,009 feet would have been the highest mountain climbed that way but he was turned away by security.
He currently (or at the time of the article) holds 131 and has had 367. Making these records involved learning 70 discrete skills that he has learned - an example is slicing apples with a samurai sword.
Some examples:
- His first record: 27,000 jumping jacks in 6:45 was his first record.
- A mile on a hop ball on the Great Wall of China in 15 ins and 3 secs.
- Jumped underwater on a pogo stick in the Amazon for 3:40
He failed to climb Cerro Machu Picchu on stilts - at 10,009 feet would have been the highest mountain climbed that way but he was turned away by security.
Title usage: ---- Ms.
Nov. 1st, 2011 03:39 pmIn this morning's Boston Globe, Alex Beam wrote an article about the term Ms. (first coined in 1901!) and he has this marvelous quote from a William Safire column in the Times in 1982.
She signed the letter "Ellen May Holtz Goodperson."
Beam closes: "Good for her. After four more years of careful deliberations, the Times started using "Ms." in 1986."
"Actually, my Miss name was Holtz. My Mrs. name was Goodman," she wrote. "But I am no longer married to Goodman, or Dr. Goodman as The Times would put it. Now Miss Holtz isn't exactly right. Nor is Miss Goodman. Nor is Mrs. Goodman.
"To compound the problem, I will be marrying a perfectly delightful person with a single flaw. His name is neither Goodman nor Holtz but Levey. I will not become Mrs. Levey, needless to say. Nor will I go back to Holtz. Due to bylines and children, I shall forever remain Goodman, unless I change this time to Goodperson, Or simply Good."
She signed the letter "Ellen May Holtz Goodperson."
Beam closes: "Good for her. After four more years of careful deliberations, the Times started using "Ms." in 1986."
Collapse: another instance
Sep. 29th, 2011 01:12 pmA while ago I read a great book by Jared Diamond: Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. In this he describes his theory of reasons why this happens: climate change, hostile neighbors, collapse of trading partners, environmental problems, and failure to adapt to environmental issues. He gives an analysis to many occurrences in history.
We have just seen the collapse of another nation - RedSox Nation.
Last night the floundering tribe lost a battle for a number of reasons but one of the important hurling-warriors floundered at a critical moment and gave up a fatal blow. At the same time two other warring tribes were battling and the one most known for its empire was not using its best hurling-warriors and gave up its dominant lead to the current RedSox Nation enemy in an earlier-that-evening battle and then moments after the RedSox failure that tribe suckomed.
Now what were the causes of this? Many people believed at the beginning of the year that RedSox Nation was destined for World Domination by the end of the year. The General-Chief had acquired several club-wielding warriors at great expense and the battery of hurling-warriors looked quite formidable. Several other warriors had recovered from serious injuries incurred in last year's battles.
Many onlookers and scribes think that the chiefs did not properly respond to anticipated climate changes in their choice of the correct warriors and then as the climate changed during the year as a result of the many battles between warring tribes they didn't do a good job of choice of warriors in critical situations.
Several of the hostile neighbors turned out to be stronger than originally anticipated. Proper steps were not taken to deal with the changing situation. In the battles in the last month there were significant failures at every level.
There was definitely a problem with trading partners because as some of the warriors got injured in the many battles during the year good trades were not able to be made.
The environment is tough for these warriors - they fight a battle almost every day, sometimes in poor weather or timing conditions and have to travel during the middle of the night to seek out other tribes. Earlier this month the tribe was in a good position relative to other tribes but then many battles were lost and the environment was completely different. Some think that the training and conditioning earlier in the year was not good enough and made some of the warriors more vulnerable to injuries or just tiring - and there were several critical and a number of minor ones. Appropriate replacements were not found or used properly.
What the next steps will be is unknown.
- Some of the current warriors may defect to other tribes.
- There will be negotiation with other tribes.
- The highest level chiefs may decide to replace the operational chiefs.
- New medicine men with various skill sets might be found to deal rehabilitation and conditioning.
- And a long shot: maybe the root cause is the water supply and a new vendor will be found.
We have just seen the collapse of another nation - RedSox Nation.
Last night the floundering tribe lost a battle for a number of reasons but one of the important hurling-warriors floundered at a critical moment and gave up a fatal blow. At the same time two other warring tribes were battling and the one most known for its empire was not using its best hurling-warriors and gave up its dominant lead to the current RedSox Nation enemy in an earlier-that-evening battle and then moments after the RedSox failure that tribe suckomed.
Now what were the causes of this? Many people believed at the beginning of the year that RedSox Nation was destined for World Domination by the end of the year. The General-Chief had acquired several club-wielding warriors at great expense and the battery of hurling-warriors looked quite formidable. Several other warriors had recovered from serious injuries incurred in last year's battles.
Many onlookers and scribes think that the chiefs did not properly respond to anticipated climate changes in their choice of the correct warriors and then as the climate changed during the year as a result of the many battles between warring tribes they didn't do a good job of choice of warriors in critical situations.
Several of the hostile neighbors turned out to be stronger than originally anticipated. Proper steps were not taken to deal with the changing situation. In the battles in the last month there were significant failures at every level.
There was definitely a problem with trading partners because as some of the warriors got injured in the many battles during the year good trades were not able to be made.
The environment is tough for these warriors - they fight a battle almost every day, sometimes in poor weather or timing conditions and have to travel during the middle of the night to seek out other tribes. Earlier this month the tribe was in a good position relative to other tribes but then many battles were lost and the environment was completely different. Some think that the training and conditioning earlier in the year was not good enough and made some of the warriors more vulnerable to injuries or just tiring - and there were several critical and a number of minor ones. Appropriate replacements were not found or used properly.
What the next steps will be is unknown.
- Some of the current warriors may defect to other tribes.
- There will be negotiation with other tribes.
- The highest level chiefs may decide to replace the operational chiefs.
- New medicine men with various skill sets might be found to deal rehabilitation and conditioning.
- And a long shot: maybe the root cause is the water supply and a new vendor will be found.
The Cow's Stomach
Sep. 10th, 2011 03:50 pmLast weekend we went on our usual Labor Day camping trip with a bunch of friends. It was in Vermont - at a State Park on the Connecticut river which had not much damage. The river had been up almost 25 feet, but most of the camp site was about 50 above river level.
We went to the Vermont State Fair and in several pavilions that had cows, rabbits, and other wild life. We espied several digestive system diagrams - some drawn by children.
This poster had the definition of a cow. In summary it says:
( Cow Definition )
This one was of a cow (the fine print is hard to read).
( Cow Digestive System )
This of course suggested the well-known cow's stomach diagram drawn by Bernie Greenberg to illustrate a new page control locking system for Multics (drawn in 1976).
( Multics cow's stomach )
We went to the Vermont State Fair and in several pavilions that had cows, rabbits, and other wild life. We espied several digestive system diagrams - some drawn by children.
This poster had the definition of a cow. In summary it says:
In brief the externally visible features are: two lookers, two hookers,
four stand uppers, four hanger-downers and a swishey-wishey.
( Cow Definition )
This one was of a cow (the fine print is hard to read).
( Cow Digestive System )
This of course suggested the well-known cow's stomach diagram drawn by Bernie Greenberg to illustrate a new page control locking system for Multics (drawn in 1976).
( Multics cow's stomach )
