Comparing my insides to other people's outsides causes me problems.

I looked up this quote on Google, it is something I have heard over and over again through the years.

I have sometimes have Facebook envy - it seems like everyone is living a happier, more fulfilling life than I am, at least it seems that way from reading their posts.

As Barbara put it, reading Facebook is like reading Christmas newsletters.

There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.

Peter Drucker
American (Austrian-born) management writer (1909 - 2005)

Nothing says Easter like Legos

Swedish parishioners unveil Lego statue of Jesus

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_7735/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=D12ZxTni

Sent from my iPod

Open-mindedness

Not exactly the usual Easter type of posting, but I think this is very interesting.

A look at some of the flawed thinking that prompts people who believe in certain non-scientific concepts to advise others who don't to be more open-minded.

A man can sleep around, no questions asked, but if a woman makes nineteen or twenty mistakes she's a tramp.

Joan Rivers
US comedienne (1935 - )

Yikes!

Hammer time for cell phone used to run up $5K bill

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_7735/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=lUesCQLH

Sent from my iPod

You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.

Doris Egan, House M.D., House vs. God, 2006

History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.

Napoleon Bonaparte
French general & politician (1769 - 1821)

Too close to home

Monday's Dilbert

I know about the survivor's guilt and the reality of looking for a new job.

The Colbert Report - David Plotz

David Plotz learned that the Bible is a lot messier than what we were taught in Sunday school.

I have been listening to David Plotz on the Slate's Political Gabfest for years. I remember when he was writing his blog while reading the bible.

Trying out vegan diet

I may need to apologize for not supporting my daughter Rachel as well as I should have years ago when she was a vegetarian.

One of my co-workers announced a few months back that he was going vegan. He let me know that the correct pronunciation is VEE Gan not VAY Gan. After I finished making fun of him, and reading an article in our local newspaper about the Engine 2 Diet, I started asking him some questions about the diet. His main motivation was an attempt to lower his cholesterol and his weight.

Last week he brought in a copy of the Engine 2 Diet book and I spent a few hours after work browsing. I told him the next day that I wish I hadn't looked at it because it seemed to make a lot of sense.

Anyhow, the hardest part was telling Barbara that I was going off my low-carb diet which has stopped working anyway and on to something new. She took it well, yesterday for Sunday dinner we had spaghetti squash with a tomato and tofu sauce. It was very good. I am going to take the four week challenge and see what happens.

Do Re Me

I posted this on Facebook already, but I like it so much I thought I had better put it in my blog.

Quote from Dorthy Parker - I'm never going to be famous

I'm never going to be famous. My name will never be writ large on the roster of Those Who Do Things. I don't do any thing. Not one single thing. I used to bite my nails, but I don't even do that any more.

Dorothy Parker, Here Lies (1939), "The Little Hours"
US author, humorist, poet, & wit (1893 - 1967)

Quotation #125 from Michael Moncur's (Cynical) Quotations:

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't

Erica Jong

That is why they call it the good book

Ind. police say meth makers wrote recipe in Bible

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_7735/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=QAdR38jd

Sent from my iPod

Maturity is only a short break in adolescence.

Jules Feiffer
US cartoonist & satirist (1929 - )

Quotation #797 from Michael Moncur's (Cynical) Quotations

I was the kid next door's imaginary friend.

Quotation #23513 from Michael Moncur's (Cynical) Quotations

Emo Phillips
US comedian

Memories of Russell's Birth

Russell asked Barbara and me to tell him something we remembered about his birth. It was 25 years ago, so I had to think a little bit before the memories started flowing back. And so many of them....

Here are, in no particular order (which is why I am going to use the HTML unordered list option) some of the memories I have about Russell's birth.

• We lived in Euless, but I was working on the other side of Dallas, and Barbara was concerned about not being able to find me when it was time for Russell to be born. This was way before cell phones, so we rented something called a Baby Beeper. Russell asked me if we knew the sex of our children and I told him I couldn't remember. I suppose we had a good clue Russell was going to be a boy since I rented a blue beeper instead of a pink one.
• I had gone to visit a client with a co-worker after getting the beeper. We were returning to the office and were stuck on Central Expressway in Dallas. I managed to get off the expressway (I imagine at 3 in the morning, it would have lived up to the express part of the name) and I was able to find a payphone at a service station. As it turned out, it was a false alarm. Barbara was as surprised as I was that the beeper went off.
  
• Russell was our third child, the first to be born in the hospital that was just down the road from where we lived. Our two previous children were born in hospitals in Fort Worth.
• James (then aged 4 and Rachel aged 2) were given a special tour of the maternity ward before Russell was born. As I recall, they both got to wear miniature surgical gowns. They assured us that if we were not able to get to the hospital on time, they now were trained enough to help deliver the baby. Luckily, their services were not required.
• A few weeks before the due date, I was asked to substitute as the teacher for an early morning church class (seminary). After finishing my teaching assignment at the church, I drove on to work in Dallas. I recall just getting settled in at my desk when I my beeper went off. Barbara had gone to the doctors for her weekly checkup and the doctor asked her how long she had been in labor. The long and short of it was that the baby was going to be born then, not on his due date.
• I rushed home and we were off to the hospital. Barbara must have got James and Rachel off to some friends.
• As I recall, it was an easy delivery. At least easy for me. This was new at the time, but at the hospital we were put into a room that more resembled a nice hotel room. Towards the end of the labor, it more resembled a television studio with the bright lights. I was impressed to the see that the bed came apart in the middle so Barbara did not have to change beds at the last minute.
  
• We were so happy and thankful when Russell popped out to see that he was a perfectly healthy baby.
• We hadn't really decided on a name yet, but after Russell was born, the decision was more urgent. All of Barbara's brothers have Russell as a middle name, since that was my mother-in-law's maiden name. We decided that we would name him Russell after his maternal grandmother's family and Walker after his maternal father's family. Barbara's youngest brother goes by Russell but his first name is Thomas, so we joked that we could call our baby Tom. We never did that of course.
• After making sure everyone was fine, I went and retrieved James and Rachel from their friend's home. Rachel refused to go to the bathroom anywhere but home, so I didn't dare wait too terribly long to get her. They were very happy to have a new baby brother.
  

Some people are too stupid

Man tosses gas bomb in fight, sets own cars ablaze

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_7735/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=ns8HcQ2E

Sent from my iPod

Religious Belief Linked to Desire for Aggressive Treatment in Terminal Patients - NYTimes.com

Talk about counter-intuitive. This is exactly opposite of what I would have thought. Then again, that is what counter-intuitive means....

"“People think that spiritual patients are more likely to say their lives are in God’s hands — ’Let what happens happen’ — but in fact we know they want more aggressive care,” said Holly G. Prigerson, the study’s senior author and director of the Center for Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston."

Real-life Spider-Man rescues eight-year-old boy from ledge

From my lovely and talented daughter-in-law Sarah Jane.

My son John would require either one of the Mario brothers, Zelda or Winnie the Pooh.

 

 

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Real-life Spider-Man rescues eight-year-old boy from ledge

via SCI FI Wire by Wire Staff on 3/24/09

A Bangkok firefighter dressed up as the comic-book superhero Spider-Man rescued an eight-year-old boy who had climbed onto a third-floor window ledge, the BBC reported today. The man used his unusual disguise in order to coax the boy, who is autistic, from his dangerous perch.

Efforts by the teachers to convince the pupil back inside had failed. But a remark by his mother about his passion for comic superheroes prompted fireman Somchai Yoosabai to rush back to the station, where he kept a Spider-Man costume in his locker.

 

 

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I don't care what is written about me so long as it isn't true.

Dorothy Parker
US author, humorist, poet, & wit (1893 - 1967)

THIS IS NO LAUGHING MATTER

On his way to work, a driver swerved to avoid a box that fell from a truck. Seconds later, a policeman pulled him over for reckless driving.

But another officer had seen the carton in the road. The policemen retrieved the box and found that it contained tacks. "Nonetheless," the first trooper told the driver, "I have to write you a ticket." Amazed, the driver asked why. The trooper replied, "Tacks evasion."

Kim :)

The greatest mistake is trying to be more agreeable than you can be.

Walter Bagehot
English economist & journalist (1826 - 1877)

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.

Harry S Truman
33rd president of US (1884 - 1972)

Quote of the Day

"The first thing I do each day is get down on my knees and pray,
'Lord, take me where you want me to go, let me meet who you want me to
meet, tell me what to say, and keep me out of your way.'"

-- Father Mychal Judge

Very bad joke - G rated

Bob Hill and his wife Betty were vacationing in Transylvania. Driving in a storm, they had a wreck. Both were hurt, especially Betty. So Bob carried her to a nearby farmhouse. A hunched man, Igor, answered the door, and called to his master, a scientist. The Hills were taken to the lab downstairs, where they were placed on tables. Despite the scientist's best efforts, both died. Disconsolate, the scientist went upstairs to play his piano. Igor, cleaning the lab, noticed that both Bob and Betty were moving. He ran upstairs. "Master, master," he exclaimed. "The Hills are alive with the sound of music!"

Quote of the day

Even monkeys fall out of trees in Japanese is which is read saru mo ki kara ochiru.

Are Facebook applications safe? - Tips from The Kim Komando Radio Show® & Web site

I decided when I opened this Facebook account that I wasn't going to accept very many applications. Click on the link to read the entire article to see why.

"Facebook lets any developer create and distribute applications. It does nothing to verify or approve the applications. So, the applications don't necessarily adhere to Facebook's standards."

Quote from today's sermon

I actually do pay attention to the sermon at church, even if I am trying to keep John quiet. This quote stuck with me.

"Rosa sat so Martin could walk; Martin walked so Obama could run; Obama is running so our children can fly!"

Quotes for Sunday

The truth is rarely pure and never simple.

Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895, Act I
Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 - 1900)

All programmers are playwrights and all computers are lousy actors.

Unknown
Quotations by unknown authors

I am amazed she got away with it as long as she did

Ex-Calif. bookkeeper accused of embezzling $10M

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_7735/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=8MZSzFXb

Sent from my iPod

Quote of the day

I have noticed that the people who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for them.

E. V. Lucas

Farewell

For laid off workers, so hard to e-mail goodbye

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_11704/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=YG6tljfH

Sent from my iPod

Not a well thought out plan

Man uses debit card to buy drink in alleged holdup

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_7735/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=kwXVYkr5

Sent from my iPod

I thought you should see this story

Florida woman calls 911 3 times over McNuggets

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_7735/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=I3V9jDo7

Sent from my iPod

What’s a Hulu? The Origins of 8 High-Tech Names

I was delighted to find out where Toyota got the name 'Prius.'

While developing the world’s first mass-produced hybrid vehicle, Toyota believed the Prius was going to be the predecessor of the cars of the future. So to name their groundbreaking car, they turned to the Latin word, “prius,” meaning “[to go] before,” the root of our modern word “prior.”

The Best Wireless Carrier Shortcuts - Solutions by PC Magazine

Now here is some very useful information. There are other tips in the article like how to send free text messages (free to you, not them) and deleting a voice-mail message while you are listening to it. I hate burning up my minutes and my time listening to someone's voice-mail greeting though.

"Skip over someone's voice-mail greeting. Tired of your aunt's 'Macarena'-backed voice mail greeting? Chances are, when it comes to her and anyone else whose greeting you're sick of, you already know their carriers. Here's how to skip ahead and get right to the important part: leaving a message.

AT&T: press #
Sprint: press 1
T-Mobile: press #
Verizon: press *"

PC World: 4 Ways to Save Money on Software

I didn't know there was an open-source alternative to Quicken and Microsoft Money. I might have to check it out.

I have installed and used the open Office suite before. Another alternative to MS office is Google. I have been using the Google documents for a couple of years now. Perfect for keeping track of stuff at work and at home.

I downloaded the Stanza reader to my iPod touch a couple of weeks ago, and it has quickly become my most used app. I downloaded some of their free books from my iPod touch. I also downloaded the desktop client which I used to add some pdf, text and html files to my iPod.

I will have to check out Gliffy. I used Visio years ago to make flowcharts, but that was before Microsoft bought them out and priced the software out of my range. I could always use MS Word to make flowcharts, but it is very frustrating.

Updates to attachments: multi-select and progress bars

Another reason to love Gmail.

 

 

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Updates to attachments: multi-select and progress bars

via Gmail Blog by Gmail Blog on 2/25/09

Up until today, it's been a little tedious to send large or multiple attachments with an email. You had to select each attachment individually and you never knew how long it would be before those bigger files were ready to send.

Today, we're making some changes to the way Gmail attachments work. If you want to send a few files from the same folder, simply hold down the Ctrl key (Cmd on OS X) and click on each file you want to attach to your message. You can also hold down the Shift key to select a continuous list of files. A definite time saver.



You'll not only save a few mouse clicks selecting files, but you'll also see progress bars on each file as it uploads.



Posted by Wes Carr, Software Engineer

 

 

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iPods help special-education students excel - MetroWest Daily News

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iPods help special-education students excel - MetroWest Daily News

iPods help special-education students excel MetroWest Daily News, MA At first, Smith's iPod lessons consisted of books on tape. But they have expanded, with the use of the iPod Touch, to everything from vocabulary to math facts to telling time to problem solving, writing and reading comprehension. ...

Sent from my iPod

Quote of the Day

"The wages of sin are unreported.
Unknown
Quotations by unknown authors"

Your diet may worsen seasonal allergies - Allergies and asthma

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29036809/

Sent from my iPod

Time marches on

No matter how young you feel,

This one still hurts...

Eddie Haskell, the Beaver & Wally

Quote Details: Dr. Joyce Brothers: Listening, not imitation, may... - The Quotations Page

One for me to remember.

"Listening, not imitation, may be the sincerest form of flattery.
Dr. Joyce Brothers
US psychologist & television personality (1928 - )"

Autism and vaccines | Salon

Granted, it is very difficult for me to be objective about this.

Autism and vaccines | Salon: "That said, we've never been a society with a worldview that holds science in high esteem. Consider the results of a recent Gallup Poll about evolution: On Charles Darwin's 200th birthday, only four in 10 Americans say they believe in the theory of evolution. As a result, from the Scopes Monkey Trial to Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District, we’ve sent conflicts between faith and science to the courts to arbitrate.

In the case of autism and vaccines, we've made the same decision. The debate has aroused intense feelings: On one side are physicians and medical groups, convinced that vaccines are safe and effective, perhaps the most lifesaving breakthrough in medical history. On the other side are parents, like Estepp, who struggle every day to raise a child with autism. Painfully watching their children become autistic after receiving vaccines is their lasting proof. It's the answer when doctors and medicine can't answer why. For them, the emotion of the issue can't be quieted by science's hypotheses."

ccleaner aka Crap Cleaner

My dad reminded me of another piece of free software that I use a lot. I think they changed the name to ccleaner but you get the idea.... This gets rid of all the temporary stuff on a computer that has been permanent. His remarks follow:

A tool I have used for quite some time is "ccleaner" which is available for
download from www.ccleaner.com

It "unclutters", is a good tool for checking startup programs, and I have
not found any unwanted side effects. It also works on registry

Can't Copy to Half-Full Thumb Drive—Why?

Under the category of the more things change, the more they stay the same.....

Revo Uninstaller Freeware - Uninstall Software, Remove Programs, Solve uninstall problems

We have one of Rachel's old notebooks that was taking forever to boot up. Once you got on, it took forever to get Internet Explorer (IE) up.

I download a copy of Revo Uninstaller and got rid of a bunch of programs that no one was using anymore like a version of Office that had hooks for a defunct product to create webpages. Apparently at bootup, the Office software was looking to connect to the defunct product and kept hanging up windows.

I saw that there were all kind of toolbars for IE, some of which were probably no long supported. That explained why it took so long to get IE going. I used Revo to uninstall the toolbars. One of the nice things about Revo is that you can have it clean out the registry also.

After getting rid of some of the programs, I went to the tools tab and checked to see what was being launched at startup. A lot of the stuff looks like Greek to me, and I am in the computer business. If you right click on the entry, one of the options is to do a Google lookup and find out what it is. One of the first startup items on that notebook was some kind of a trojan. I was able to both delete from the startup list and get rid of it using Revo.

The long and short is that now it boots very quickly and IE fires up instantly.


"Revo Uninstaller helps you to uninstall software and remove unwanted programs installed on your computer even if you have problems uninstalling and cannot uninstall them from 'Windows Add or Remove Programs' control panel applet."

The Easy Way to Unclutter a New PC - Security Fix

I was on the phone with my son James last night and told him about a program with will get rid of all the trial-ware that comes with a computer. I misremembered the name of the program but found the right one. Thank you again, Google.
Just click here.

"Then, just this past week, I spotted the tool I'd been hoping some smart geek would create -- a free trial-ware banishing program called, appropriately enough, the 'PC Decrapifier.'

The list of crapware that this tool obliterates is fairly exhaustive: It nixes some 45 programs most commonly installed as trial-ware on new PCs, including, Sonic Record Now, AOL, several different types of Norton and McAfee and Trend Micro trial anti-virus products, Wild Tangent games, HP Rhapsody and MusicMatch, among others."

Quote Details: Herman Wouk: Income tax returns are... - The Quotations Page

Income tax returns are the most imaginative fiction being written today.
Herman Wouk
US dramatist & historical novelist (1915 - )

Historic Wreck Found, Rewrites History

Bad marriage jokes

When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him keep her.

  David Bissonette

After marriage, husband and wife become two sides of a coin; they just can't face each other, but still they stay together.

  Sacha Guitry

By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.

Socrates

Woman inspires us to great things, and prevents us from achieving them.

  Anonymous

The great question... which I have not been able to answer... is, 'What does a woman want?

  Dumas

I had some words with my wife, and she had some paragraphs with me.

Sigmund Freud

'Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays.'

  Anonymous

'There's a way of transferring funds that is even faster than electronic banking. It's called marriage.'

Sam Kinison

'I've had bad luck with both my wives. The first one left me, and the second one didn't.'

  James Holt McGavra

Two secrets to keep your marriage brimming

1. Whenever you're wrong, admit it,

2. Whenever you're right, shut up.

  Patrick Murra

The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once....

Nash

You know what I did before I married? Anything I wanted to.

Anonymous

My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met.

  Henny Youngman

A good wife always forgives her husband when she's wrong.

Rodney Dangerfield

A man inserted an 'ad' in the classifieds: 'Wife wanted'. Next day he received a hundred letters. They all said the same thing: 'You can have mine.'

  Anonymous

What's the greenest way to dispose of my dead body? - By Nina Shen Rastogi - Slate Magazine

I would have thought cremation would be the better ecological option by a mile, but I was wrong. There is always some new down the pike though.

"If you can manage to stick around for a while, two new technologies have eco-geeks (not to mention sci-fi fans) excited. The process of alkaline hydrolysis involves liquefying your body in a solution of lye and water, resulting in a pile of bone ash and a bottle of biofluid that you can pour on your houseplants. One of its leading proponents, a Scotland-based company called Resomation Ltd., claims that the procedure has a carbon footprint 18 times smaller than a typical cremator. In the other procedure, called promession, a corpse gets freeze-dried with liquid nitrogen and then shattered into powder, Terminator-style. Neither of these options is commercially available yet, but both the Mayo Clinic and the University of Florida use alkaline hydrolysis to dispose of their teaching cadavers. So, you experimental types—why not turn yourself into the ultimate recycling project and donate your body to science?"

Keith Olbermann explains PDF Files

Quote Details: Marquis de la Grange: When we ask for... - The Quotations Page

Quote Details: Marquis de la Grange: When we ask for... - The Quotations Page: "When we ask for advice, we are usually looking for an accomplice.
Marquis de la Grange
(1639 - 1692)"

Stop Internet Poachers from Stealing Your Wi-Fi

Cool article on how to keep folks off of your wi-fi.

Quote Details: George Bernard Shaw: A government that robs... - The Quotations Page

Quote Details: George Bernard Shaw: A government that robs... - The Quotations Page: "A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
George Bernard Shaw, Everybody's Political What's What? (1944) ch. 30
Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 - 1950)"

Quote Details: Doug Larson: If the English language... - The Quotations Page

Quote Details: Doug Larson: If the English language... - The Quotations Page: "If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur.
Doug Larson"

Court: Vaccines didn't cause autism

This is still not going to change a lot of minds.

 

 

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Court: Vaccines didn't cause autism

via 5 Things - Salon.com by CNN on 2/12/09

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A special court ruled Thursday that evidence presented in three cases by parents of children with autism did not prove a link between autism and certain early childhood vaccines.

The ruling came from a panel of "special masters" who began hearing three test cases in 2007 involving children with autism -- a disorder that their parents contend was triggered by the vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella combined with vaccines containing thimerosal, a preservative containing mercury.

Three families -- the Cedillos, the Hazlehursts and the Snyders -- sought compensation from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, but the panel ruled that they had not presented sufficient evidence to prove that the childhood vaccines caused autism in their children.

"I feel deep sympathy and admiration for the Cedillo family," Special Master George L. Hastings Jr. wrote in his ruling in the case involving 14-year-old Michelle Cedillo, who cannot speak, wears a diaper and requires round-the-clock monitoring in case she has a seizure.

"And I have no doubt that the families of countless other autistic children, families that cope every day with the tremendous challenges of caring for autistic children, are similarly deserving of sympathy and admiration. However, I must decide this case not on sentiment, but by analyzing the evidence," Hastings wrote. "In this case the evidence advanced by the petitioners has fallen far short of demonstrating such a link."

 

 

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Doug Larson

 

 

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Doug Larson

via Quotes of the Day on 2/11/09

"If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur."

 

 

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Quote Details: Ellen DeGeneres: In the beginning there... - The Quotations Page

Quote Details: Ellen DeGeneres: In the beginning there... - The Quotations Page: "In the beginning there was nothing. God said, 'Let there be light!' And there was light. There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better.
Ellen DeGeneres, (attributed)
US comedian and actress"

Quote Details: James Thurber: I do not have... - The Quotations Page

Quote Details: James Thurber: I do not have... - The Quotations Page: "I do not have a psychiatrist and I do not want one, for the simple reason that if he listened to me long enough, he might become disturbed.
James Thurber, 'Carpe Noctem, If You Can', in 'Credos and Curios' (1962)
US author, cartoonist, humorist, & satirist (1894 - 1961)"

TGI Monday - Quotes

An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.

Niels Bohr
Danish physicist (1885 - 1962)

---

"Don't be afraid of missing opportunities. Behind every failure is an
opportunity somebody wishes they had missed." -- Lily Tomlin

Fool or Fanatic?

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.

Bertrand Russell
British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 - 1970)

Quote of the day - unpleasant subject

"I asked a man at a dinner table what he thought would happen to him
when he died. The man tried to ignore the question, but, on being
pressed, replied: 'Oh well, I suppose I shall inherit eternal bliss, but
I wish you wouldn't talk about such unpleasant subjects." -- F. W. H. Myers

Having as much fun as you can in physical therapy

I wrote my first review ever for a business here in Austin! As much as I hate going, the pain in my should is starting to go away. I suspect the reason the name of the business is Atlas Physical Therapy is so it will show up first in the yellow pages.

Which makes me wonder, with the internet and Google, does anyone use the yellow pages anymore?

Beehive: The Farewell Performances

My friend Andrew surprised me last Friday evening by taking me to one of the farewell performances of Beehive. It was as much fun as it was the first time I saw it.

Click the link above to see a short clip from the musical at Zachary Scott Theater. For the uninitiated:

BEEHIVE, the original big hair 60’s Girl Group musical is back for its special Farwell Performances at ZACH! Created by Larry Gallagher, Beehive is the rafter-raising tribute to the Girl Groups and individual artists who skyrocketed to fame between the years 1960-69. Directed by ZACH Artistic Director Dave Steakley, BEEHIVE is the winner of six Austin Critics’ Table Awards, including “BEST MUSICAL REVUE!”

BEEHIVE delivers a solid gold song book of hits made famous by The Crystals (“One Fine Day”), The Angels (“My Boyfriend’s Back”), Martha Reeves and the Vandellas (“Heat Wave”), Connie Francis (“Where The Boys Are”), Tina Turner (“Proud Mary”), Aretha Franklin (“Natural Woman”), Diana Ross and the Supremes (“Stop! In The Name of Love”), Janis Joplin (“Try, Just a Little Bit Harder”), just to name a few. Performing over forty-four chart toppers, ZACH’s performers are six women who earn your R.E.S.P.E.C.T.!

I saw it when it first came out at the Paramount Theater here in Austin. It was a lot of fun to see four of the original performers in these roles again. Just like the first time I saw them, I was electrified by some of the performances. So much talent. Through the years I have seen the main four performers in various productions and have gained a greater appreciation for their talents. Last year, Judy Arnold even came to sing at our church.


I saw an interview with one of the performers Rebecca Schoolar in the Austin American Statesman where she talked about getting older and saying goodbye to Beehive.

I relate

Forgetter Be Forgotten

This is really cute


My forgetter's getting better,
But my rememberer is broke
To you that may seem funny
But, to me, that is no joke

For when I'm 'here' I'm wondering
If I really should be 'there'
And, when I try to think it through,
I haven't got a prayer!

Oft times I walk into a room,
Say 'what am I here for?'
I wrack my brain, but all in vain!
A zero, is my score.

At times I put something away
Where it is safe, but, Gee!
The person it is safest from
Is, generally, me!

When shopping I may see someone,
Say 'Hi' and have a chat,
Then, when the person walks away
I ask myself, 'who the heck was that?'

Yes, my forgetter's getting better
While my rememberer is broke,
And it's driving me plumb crazy
And that isn't any joke.

CAN YOU RELATE???
Please send this to everyone you know
because

I DON'T REMEMBER
WHO I SENT THIS TO!

Wednesday quotes - Kathy Najimy & John Maynard Keynes

"When you're not blond and thin, you come up with a personality real
quick." -- Kathy Najimy

"Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men
will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone."
-- John Maynard Keynes

Wait Wait Don't Tell Me - With Carrie Fisher

Another podcast I never miss. This week Carrie Fisher is the celebrity guest. One of the funniest episodes every.

IBM Offers to Move Laid-off Workers to India

 

 

Sent to you by davidaustex via Google Reader:

 

 

IBM Offers to Move Laid-off Workers to India

via Crooks and Liars by Susie Madrak on 2/3/09

See, I'm a little confused. Because for years, big companies like IBM have insisted there were so few talented IT workers in the U.S., they had to import them from India. And yet now we have so many, we can send them to India! Isn't that funny?

If I were a suspicious sort (and God knows, I'm not), I'd wonder if this isn't really a way to keep experienced American workers while artificially suppressing their wages. And of course, I'd also have to wonder: If you're offered one of these jobs and you decline, are you then ineligible to collect unemployment compensation? Because that already happens with big companies in the U.S.

Isn't this new personal responsibility thing fun? Who knew we'd get to see the world at company expense?

The climate is warm, there's no shortage of exotic food, and the cost of living is rock bottom. That's IBM (NYSE: IBM)'s pitch to the laid-off American workers it's offering to place in India. The catch: Wages in the country are pennies-on-the-dollar compared to U.S. salaries.

Under a program called Project Match, IBM will help workers laid off from domestic sites obtain travel and visa assistance for countries in which Big Blue has openings. Mostly that's developing markets like India, China, and Brazil.

"IBM has established Project Match to help you locate potential job opportunities in growth markets where your skills are in demand," IBM says in an internal notice on the initiative. "Should you accept a position in one of these countries, IBM offers financial assistance to offset moving costs, provides immigration support, such as visa assistance, and other support to help ease the transition of an international move."

The document states that the program is limited to "satisfactory performers who have been notified of separation from IBM U.S. or Canada and are willing to work on local terms and conditions." The latter indicates that workers will be paid according to prevailing norms in the countries to which they relocate. In many cases, that could be substantially less than what they earned in North America.

IBM has laid off more than 4,000 workers in the United States since the beginning of January, according to an employee group. The company has confirmed layoffs but won't comment on specific numbers.

 

 

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Take Me Back to the Fifties

There is something odd about using Adobe Flash to put together a presentation how good things were back in the 1950s.

Today's quotes

I hope that when I die, people say about me, 'Boy, that guy sure owed me a lot of money.'

Jack Handey, Deep Thoughts
(1949 - )

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.

Albert Einstein
US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955)

Is it worth it to wash out your recyclables?

Sent to you via Google Reader

Is it worth it to wash out your recyclables?

I've always been dedicated to washing the peanut butter, Pepsi, and mayo out of my food containers before tossing them in the recycling bin. My sister, though, recently pointed out that I'm probably wasting gallons upon gallons of precious H20! Is it worth it to soap up my tin cans and soda bottles?

[more ...]

Sent from my iPod

Thanks for shopping at Walmart?

K-B-Toys has gone bankrupt and closed all of their stores. My son Russell told me that at the Round Rock outlet mall, the former K-B-Toy store has a sign on the front window that says 'Thanks for shopping at WalMart.' Ouch.

Beauty of Mathematics !!!!!!!

From Susan

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Brilliant, isn't it?

And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321

Amazing?

Qoute of the day

Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.

George Orwell
English essayist, novelist, & satirist (1903 - 1950)

One of those, pass on to everyone you know emails

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are almost dead?

---

Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they already know there is not enough money?

---

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars; but have to check when you say the paint is still wet?

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Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

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Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

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Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

---

Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?

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Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

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Is there ever a day that mattresses
Are not on sale?

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Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

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Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

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Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

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How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

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When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, 'It's all right?' Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, 'That really hurt, why don't you watch where you're going?'

---

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

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In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

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How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

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And my FAVORITE......
The statistics on sanity is that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

husband tests bullet proof glass with his wife

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7mr7CK7zEk

Sent from my iPod

Frozen Shoulder

I went back to visit with my ortho-pod today after going through two months of physical therapy. I thought (and still wonder ) I had torn rotator cuff.
After examining me, my doctor decided I have a frozen shoulder. I got a nice big shot of cortisone injected directly into my shoulder joint. I hope that helps, given all the pain of the injection.

I didn't know what a frozen should was either, so I looked it up on the doctor's webpage.

Frozen shoulder is characterized by pain and loss of motion or stiffness in the shoulder. It affects about two percent of the general population. Frozen shoulder most commonly affects patients between the ages of 40 and 60 years, with no clear predisposition based on sex, arm dominance, or occupation.

So anyway, back to the physical therapist to learn different exercises. If that doesn't work, then I will get an MRI and possibly surgery. I will meet my insurance company's deductible in no time this year.

1984 not 1988

That's what happens when you get old. I was a county delegate for Rev. Jackson in 1984, not 1988.

The Inauguration

I took a vacation day today to stay home to watch the Inauguration (I also learned how to spell the word 'Inauguration' thanks to Google).

I have been kind of holding my breath since President Obama was elected wondering if this was really going to happen. I am a child of the 60s. I guess I don't have to say much more than that.

Back in 1988, I was the Democratic precinct chair in Euless Texas. It was the only time in my life that I had my name on an election ballot, but I ran unopposed. There were not a lot of Democrats in my area.

Anyhow, one of my duties as precinct chair was to run the Democratic party primaries. Here in Texas that also included the responsibility of running the caucus after the polls were closed. In order to participate in the caucus, one had to vote earlier that day in the primary election. This was before early voting of course.

The caucus was intimate to say the least, but we did have enough people to select two delegates to the county convention. We decided that we would cast our two votes for the Rev Jessie Jackson. At the time, he actually had some serious traction, though no one thought he would get the nomination though I think he would have made a better candidate than Dukakis. For more information on that primary, check out Wikipedia at this link. Looking at the election map, Jackson actually did much better than I remembered.

Last year I voted for Senator Clinton in the Texas primary (I have a terrible track record) but was very happy to cast my vote for then Senator Obama last November. I am very happy that I lived long enough to see a person of color as president of the United States of America.

I grew up in Utah in the 1950s and most of the 1960s. I don't even think I knew any black people. It has been quite a journey for me and a lot of other people from my generation and the generations before me. I grew up when segregation was a fact of life in many parts of the country, became conscious of race problems in the 196os, and now I have lived long enough to see in inauguration of President Obama.

Joke - DON'T MESS WITH MAMA BEAR

From Kim Komando:

Three men had been fishing in the woods. When they got back to their car, they saw that it was surrounded by three bears. One of the men decided to take charge of the situation. He concluded the best thing to do was anger the bears. That way, they would leave, and the men could get to the car.

"Joe," he said, "You take the little cub on the left with the broken leg. I'll take the other cub with the injured paw and one eye. Bill, you take the one in the middle, the mama bear."

Bill looked at the huge mama bear. "Wait a minute," he said. "That's not fair. You get the little cubs, and I have to deal with a full-grown grizzly bear."

"Now, now, Bill," was the reply. "We all have our bears to cross."

Thought for the day

I got this from one of my dear friends.

Today's reading is about not depending upon other people's approval in order to live a full and rich life....I can act, rather than react....One quote that I love that I try to keep in mind: "Your wishes are not my commands!"

George Bush Top 10 Moments - David Letterman Show

This is just plain mean.

Slate: 2008 in review

I am barely old enough to remember newsreels in movies. Or maybe I just saw movies that had newsreels.

What I am listening to on my iPod - The Capitol Steps Un-Wired

I downloaded their 2008 New Years broadcast at the link above. I thought it was very funny, both political parties get skewered.

What I learned today at church: The Three Wise Women

Actually, there was more to the sermon than this, but I remembered what I remembered. The topic was the Epiphany so that is how it included a discussion of the wise men, even though it is now January.

The Three Wise Women

Do you know what would have happened if it had been three Wise Women instead of three Wise Men?

They would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and brought practical gifts.

San Antonio senator seeks end to straight-ticket voting | Politics | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

I don't usually vote straight ticket, though I can see how it must save time for some folks. This last time, for instance, I did vote for at least one Republican running for state-wide office (an acquaintance from years back). I take a perverse joy in going down the ticket and voting against some individuals, and that would be lost if I just voted a straight ticket.

San Antonio senator seeks end to straight-ticket voting | Politics | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "A San Antonio state senator wants to revive efforts to eliminate the straight-ticket voting option, even after Texans hit a 10-year high in the percentage of ballots sticking entirely with one party."