I was only thirteen yrs old in 1972. Something stupid and crazy happened in June of that year. It happened so silently it was only a blip on the radar, and probably only a couple of the local newspapers carried the story: a local hotel and office complex had been broken into by a few guys, in the middle of the night. It wasn't anywhere near a national story, and even if it were, at the age … [Read more...]
President Trump’s State of the Union Address – “unemployment”
February 27, 2017 By
President Trump stated tonight (once again) in his State of the Union address that there are "94 million unemployed Americans". Let's take a few minutes to dissect that number to judge the validity of that statement. There are roughly 323 million people living in the United States. If there were 94 million people unemployed, that would mean, the unemployment rate is now at 29%. In 1933, in the … [Read more...]
iPad camera roll vs albums – not
December 27, 2016 By
A geek post regarding Apple devices - you might not understand if you don't have an "i-xxx" device. A month or ago, I looked at all the photos on the iPad (copied from my phone) and decided to finally organize them (more than a few thousand taken over the last few years) into "albums", in order to reduce the size of my "camera roll". This also includes any screen shots or pics I've downloaded … [Read more...]
Lailah, xmas presents and Mouse Trap Game
December 26, 2016 By
One present of the several I bought for Lailah this Christmas that i didn't wrap (since I obviously had bought too many), was Mouse Trap. I set it up today (for the next time she's over baby sitting me), and while it seemed similar to what I grew up with, it was different. So, I did some of my usual Wikipedia research, and found a pic of the '60s game which then led me to another game I played … [Read more...]
Trump and nuclear weapons
December 23, 2016 By
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, when asked to clarify his recent comments about expanding U.S. nuclear weapons capability, said "Let it be an arms race!", and that the United States would win it (as reported on Friday by MSNBC). According to one source, there were a total of ~70,000 nuclear weapons world wide in the mid to late 1980's, and as of 2010, the total was down to ~20,000. Another … [Read more...]
The Big guy and his blue eyes
December 22, 2016 By
A month ago - for all his life (since fifth grade). The big guy stares into the mirror. All he sees is a face with glasses. He's able to remove the glasses, of course, but then has to stick his face three inches from the mirror in order to see his face clearly, and, of course, since he's so close, he can only see a fraction of his face. The big guy works in an office building where you have to … [Read more...]
Knight and Day – With me, without me
December 22, 2016 By
From the spy comedy movie "Knight and Day": Tom Cruise is talking to Cameron Diaz, about her life expectancy...raising his hand, then lowering it, raising his hand, and lowering it. "...out there on your own, with me, without me, WITH ME, without me." [guess you had to be there - to see his hand gestures.] The scene is about one minute and twenty seconds in. youtube of knight and day … [Read more...]
Bus and Lite Rail courtesy
December 22, 2016 By
Ugh. Sat next to a young man this morning on the bus, while he spoke on his phone in a low voice, thinking he wasn't disturbing everyone. Didn't remember I had my headphones in my briefcase. Was getting very cranking listening to him jabber on. Thirty minutes worth of someone's conversation I didn't care to listen to. Across the aisle was a young woman - doing that thing that should be done … [Read more...]
Christmas Shopping
December 21, 2016 By
Left work a few minutes later than normal this evening, got off the bus around 6:30. Forced myself to drive the two blocks over to Tar'get and do my Christmas shopping. Intended on only shopping for a few toys and clothes for the girl. Not going to mention how many "toys" (dolls, and games, etc.) I ended up getting. Not going to mention the number of different clothing things. Not going to … [Read more...]
The West Wing parable and President-elect Trump
December 19, 2016 By
Tonight, as I try to fall asleep, I'm reminded of an episode of "The West Wing", (from Season One, Ep 14, "Take this sabbath day.") President Bartlett had to decide whether to "stay" an execution that was scheduled to happen in less than 48 hours, and he consults wth a variety of people (his staff, the Pope, a Rabbi, a Quaker, and finally a Priest), and agonizes over the decision. Finally, a few … [Read more...]
