Monday, August 21, 2017
Nothing much happened here. We were supposed to get something like 73-78% (I'm not going to look it up again), and it was clear skies out there, but there was just a slight dimming as it passed. I was watching the sun patches under the tree in the front yard, and saw no shadow move into them. Birds didn't seem to react, either. I don't understand.
The last equivalent eclipse I experienced was in 1969, I think, in Kingston, New York. It was about the same percentage as this one, but I seem to remember it as much different. It got noticeably darker and cooler, and you could see the moon's shadow move across the sun patches under trees. Eerie.
I watched a live broadcast on YouTube of when it first hit land (Oregon? I'm not going to look it up) this morning, and I made the mistake of reading the comments scrolling down the right side of the screen. Screams of "FAKE! I'm in Pennsylvania right now, and the sun looks just like normal!" And so on. Some people were displaying their smarts by pointing out that it requires a full moon, since a quarter moon or new moon wouldn't fully cover the sun.
I despair.
Others were excited because "It won't happen again for 100 years!" It won't happen here for a while, but there are multiple solar eclipses every single year. It's just that the vast majority are over the ocean, or desolate or inaccessible areas of Mongolia or the Russian taiga. Also, the path is relatively short - one or two thousand miles altogether. I felt sorry for that young lady in France who was begging folks to tell her when it would reach Europe.
I should know better by now - do not read YouTube comments! It leads to thoughts of suicide.
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Showing posts with label idiots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label idiots. Show all posts
Monday, August 21, 2017
Thursday, January 07, 2016
5039 Brush fire 2 - water
January 7, 2016
“Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law.”
--circa 1764--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My front lawn has a slight slope down to the road. We had lots of rain throughout October and November, and I noticed that the end of the lawn near the road stayed wet a lot. I sort of thought it was because under the thin layer of sod it's pure clay, so the lawn just wasn't absorbing the rain very well.
Then later I noticed that right along the curb, the grass was dying.
Then a week later I noticed that even though there'd been no rain for several days, water was spilling over the curb and running down the street to the storm drain. Hmmmm. That's not right. Hmm. My water meter is buried in the lawn just above the wet spot.
So. in mid-December I called the water department. Left a voice mail, "Please send someone out to check the meter. I think it's leaking. Water is coming up through my lawn and running down the street."
A week passed with no response. So I called again. Again, "Leave a message." The water is now coming up between the end of my driveway and the curb. I'm worried about it undermining my driveway, and if it freezes under it, it will destroy my driveway.
Five days passed with no response. It's now a heavy flow over the curb and down the street. I wrote a letter to the town hall, ATTN: Water Dept. Fix this, damn it!
No response. Until yesterday. We'd had our first hard freeze. The water continued to pour over the curb from my lawn, but on its trip down the street it froze, and had formed a sheet of ice several feet wide and a few inches thick, and growing. About 10 am I found this stuck to my front door (I was home at the time, by the way, but there was no knock on the door):
I totally flipped out! Jasper heard some words he'd never heard before.
I called the number on the form, talked to a woman there, told them it's YOUR $%^&$%ing water, not mine, and I can't get anyone to respond. She gave me the number to call for the water department, I called there --- and --- left a voice message. I then sat down and wrote a very angry letter to the township water department which I intended to hand-carry to town hall. But, in the meantime, the neighborhood had heard about it, and apparently several people were calling to complain. Somebody must "know" somebody, because as I was leaving the house to tear some asses at town hall, I discovered a water department truck at the curb, and a man opening the hatch to the water meter.
Two hours later everything was fixed.
The guy was up to his elbows in freezing water in below freezing weather, and I told him I had started calling about this back when it was in the low 60s out, so when he gets back to the office he should complain, too. He told me that when they'd installed meters back a few years ago, they'd used a meter with a plate on the bottom that (this is hard to believe) disintegrates in water. I said "No shit." (I was still in a swearing mood.) He showed it to me when he pulled it out, and it really, seriously, was disintegrated. There were four flanges on the sides where the bolts go to hold it on, and two of them were completely gone, no sign of them. He replaced it with a cap that looks like fiberglass. And I said, "So you guys know this is going to happen, everywhere?"
No idea whether there's damage to my driveway. The lawn got dug up around the meter, and refilled with frozen clods.
But at least the flow has stopped.
Oh, by the way, I've still had no response to my calls or letter. Just in case you were wondering.
-----------------------------------------
Coming up:
Brush fire 6 - eBay, 5 - real estate taxes, 4 - homeowner's insurance, and 3 - investments.
.
Then later I noticed that right along the curb, the grass was dying.
Then a week later I noticed that even though there'd been no rain for several days, water was spilling over the curb and running down the street to the storm drain. Hmmmm. That's not right. Hmm. My water meter is buried in the lawn just above the wet spot.
So. in mid-December I called the water department. Left a voice mail, "Please send someone out to check the meter. I think it's leaking. Water is coming up through my lawn and running down the street."
A week passed with no response. So I called again. Again, "Leave a message." The water is now coming up between the end of my driveway and the curb. I'm worried about it undermining my driveway, and if it freezes under it, it will destroy my driveway.
Five days passed with no response. It's now a heavy flow over the curb and down the street. I wrote a letter to the town hall, ATTN: Water Dept. Fix this, damn it!
No response. Until yesterday. We'd had our first hard freeze. The water continued to pour over the curb from my lawn, but on its trip down the street it froze, and had formed a sheet of ice several feet wide and a few inches thick, and growing. About 10 am I found this stuck to my front door (I was home at the time, by the way, but there was no knock on the door):
I totally flipped out! Jasper heard some words he'd never heard before.
I called the number on the form, talked to a woman there, told them it's YOUR $%^&$%ing water, not mine, and I can't get anyone to respond. She gave me the number to call for the water department, I called there --- and --- left a voice message. I then sat down and wrote a very angry letter to the township water department which I intended to hand-carry to town hall. But, in the meantime, the neighborhood had heard about it, and apparently several people were calling to complain. Somebody must "know" somebody, because as I was leaving the house to tear some asses at town hall, I discovered a water department truck at the curb, and a man opening the hatch to the water meter.
Two hours later everything was fixed.
The guy was up to his elbows in freezing water in below freezing weather, and I told him I had started calling about this back when it was in the low 60s out, so when he gets back to the office he should complain, too. He told me that when they'd installed meters back a few years ago, they'd used a meter with a plate on the bottom that (this is hard to believe) disintegrates in water. I said "No shit." (I was still in a swearing mood.) He showed it to me when he pulled it out, and it really, seriously, was disintegrated. There were four flanges on the sides where the bolts go to hold it on, and two of them were completely gone, no sign of them. He replaced it with a cap that looks like fiberglass. And I said, "So you guys know this is going to happen, everywhere?"
No idea whether there's damage to my driveway. The lawn got dug up around the meter, and refilled with frozen clods.
But at least the flow has stopped.
Oh, by the way, I've still had no response to my calls or letter. Just in case you were wondering.
-----------------------------------------
Coming up:
Brush fire 6 - eBay, 5 - real estate taxes, 4 - homeowner's insurance, and 3 - investments.
.
Saturday, December 12, 2015
5035 A present for me?
Saturday, December 12, 2015
"Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty.
To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom."
~Bertrand Russell~
~Bertrand Russell~
---------------------------------------------------------
The hot thing for the younger crowd this year is the "hoverboard", somehow tied in its advertising to the Back to the Future franchise, which makes the kids lust for it.
Bullpoopy! It has nothing whatsoever to do with hovering. It's basically a cheaper Segway with smaller wheels and no upright. Another difference between this thing and the Segway is that anyone can use a Segway smoothly almost immediately, while the "hoverboard" requires that you survive its multiple attempts to kill or maim you.
I sneer at you, "hoverboard"!
That got me thinking about the Segway. I've wanted one since they first came out. Are they still making them? Do they still cost as much as a small slightly used car? Answers: Yes, and yes. Also they're so heavy and the wheels on them are so large they can't be put in a car trunk easily, which limits their versatility.
But, wandering around the web looking up deals on Segways, I found a little thing called a QBOT (http://www.discovermymobility.com/store/scooters/greetransporter/q-bot/index.html). It's like a Segway but much smaller than the Segway, a bit slower, weighs only 35 lbs, and isn't so good "offroad". But it's cute! I can get it in pink, which makes it almost theft-proof. And it costs a third or less of the Seqway's price.
I am very very tempted.
.
Bullpoopy! It has nothing whatsoever to do with hovering. It's basically a cheaper Segway with smaller wheels and no upright. Another difference between this thing and the Segway is that anyone can use a Segway smoothly almost immediately, while the "hoverboard" requires that you survive its multiple attempts to kill or maim you.
I sneer at you, "hoverboard"!
That got me thinking about the Segway. I've wanted one since they first came out. Are they still making them? Do they still cost as much as a small slightly used car? Answers: Yes, and yes. Also they're so heavy and the wheels on them are so large they can't be put in a car trunk easily, which limits their versatility.
But, wandering around the web looking up deals on Segways, I found a little thing called a QBOT (http://www.discovermymobility.com/store/scooters/greetransporter/q-bot/index.html). It's like a Segway but much smaller than the Segway, a bit slower, weighs only 35 lbs, and isn't so good "offroad". But it's cute! I can get it in pink, which makes it almost theft-proof. And it costs a third or less of the Seqway's price.
I am very very tempted.
.
Sunday, November 08, 2015
5031 Frusty
Sunday, November 8, 2015
So now everybody is down on candidate Carson for saying he had been offered a scholarship to West Point, because "everyone knows that West Point is free for anyone accepted." I've heard people I had heretofore considered intelligent snorking about it. "Yeah, scholarship. Snork."
Yes, Ben Carson has said some very weird stuff, but this isn't one of them.
What else do you call an offer of free tuition and room and board at an institute of higher education? Last I heard, that's called a full scholarship. Sheesh! You really don't have to stretch that far to find stuff to razz him about.
----------------------------------------
"Sunday Morning" did a story this morning on a guy who carves the lettering on monuments. You know, I'd never thought about it. I guess I'd assumed it was done with some kind of machine, like a thingy you slap on there, and it routs out the letters according to a platten you put in it.
The country house is near the Catskills and the beginnings of the Adirondacks, so there are a lot of old mountain house resorts scattered around, many of which are now nothing more than foundations lost in the woods. The resorts were built on the tops of mountains, with bare granite outcroppings from which you can see for miles. Those views are popular destinations for hikers.
Back in the 18th to early 20th centuries wealthy families would spend the whole summer at the resorts.
What I found fascinating about those outcroppings was the graffiti. OLD graffiti. Names and dates, initials, entire classical quotations, some in Latin or Greek, carved into the granite. I suspect it was likely young men bored out of their minds --- rich, classically educated young men with a lot of time to fill. The work was not just scratchings. It's that "V" shaped chiseling of straight letters with capitols, exactly as seen now on monuments. Excellent work.
Of course, there's modern graffiti here and there, too. In spray paint and barely decipherable. Made by youth who couldn't compose a Latin phrase to save their lives (except maybe E Pluribus Unum, but even then they would likely misspell it, even if they have a quarter in their pocket).
If ghosts could laugh, the mountains would ring.
Sigh.
.
So now everybody is down on candidate Carson for saying he had been offered a scholarship to West Point, because "everyone knows that West Point is free for anyone accepted." I've heard people I had heretofore considered intelligent snorking about it. "Yeah, scholarship. Snork."
Yes, Ben Carson has said some very weird stuff, but this isn't one of them.
What else do you call an offer of free tuition and room and board at an institute of higher education? Last I heard, that's called a full scholarship. Sheesh! You really don't have to stretch that far to find stuff to razz him about.
----------------------------------------
"Sunday Morning" did a story this morning on a guy who carves the lettering on monuments. You know, I'd never thought about it. I guess I'd assumed it was done with some kind of machine, like a thingy you slap on there, and it routs out the letters according to a platten you put in it.
The country house is near the Catskills and the beginnings of the Adirondacks, so there are a lot of old mountain house resorts scattered around, many of which are now nothing more than foundations lost in the woods. The resorts were built on the tops of mountains, with bare granite outcroppings from which you can see for miles. Those views are popular destinations for hikers.
Back in the 18th to early 20th centuries wealthy families would spend the whole summer at the resorts.
What I found fascinating about those outcroppings was the graffiti. OLD graffiti. Names and dates, initials, entire classical quotations, some in Latin or Greek, carved into the granite. I suspect it was likely young men bored out of their minds --- rich, classically educated young men with a lot of time to fill. The work was not just scratchings. It's that "V" shaped chiseling of straight letters with capitols, exactly as seen now on monuments. Excellent work.
Of course, there's modern graffiti here and there, too. In spray paint and barely decipherable. Made by youth who couldn't compose a Latin phrase to save their lives (except maybe E Pluribus Unum, but even then they would likely misspell it, even if they have a quarter in their pocket).
If ghosts could laugh, the mountains would ring.
Sigh.
.
Thursday, November 05, 2015
5030 Not difficult to understand
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Looking at the field of presidential candidates, I wonder why they are in general so ... bad. Many of them are just plain weird in their opinions and proposals. Very few of them come across as thinkers.
Then I realized it's completely understandable why no intelligent, aware, educated, accomplished, thinking person who wants to better the lives of the people would want to run for the office. I mean, who in their right mind would volunteer to deal with what Congress has become?
That leaves the field open for people who just want the power and glory of the title, or who want to push their own narrow agendas and prejudices.
Out of the whole field, there are maybe two whom I could vote for without holding my nose, and even then it would be without hope.
--------------------------------------
If you disagree, tell me who you think is a decent candidate, and why. Maybe you could sway me. (No, I won't tell you who my two might be.)
.
Looking at the field of presidential candidates, I wonder why they are in general so ... bad. Many of them are just plain weird in their opinions and proposals. Very few of them come across as thinkers.
Then I realized it's completely understandable why no intelligent, aware, educated, accomplished, thinking person who wants to better the lives of the people would want to run for the office. I mean, who in their right mind would volunteer to deal with what Congress has become?
That leaves the field open for people who just want the power and glory of the title, or who want to push their own narrow agendas and prejudices.
Out of the whole field, there are maybe two whom I could vote for without holding my nose, and even then it would be without hope.
--------------------------------------
If you disagree, tell me who you think is a decent candidate, and why. Maybe you could sway me. (No, I won't tell you who my two might be.)
.
Tuesday, October 06, 2015
5018 Recycling Anger
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
I am very angry at (with?) the township.
Several weeks ago we got notice that all recyclables, collected twice a month, were to be put out in either closed lidded containers or in clear plastic bags. I had been using an open container -- a hip-high kitchen trash can. It was light enough for me to easily carry out, and big enough to hold everything.
Well, there's nothing with a good lid that would be convenient for me. I'd almost need something I could wheel out, and all the wheeled thingies are too big, so I decided to go the clear plastic bag route.
I visited several stores before I concluded that there's no such thing (not in stores around here, anyway) as a clear kitchen-sized trash bag. Not to mention that even if there had been a space on the shelves labelled for clear bags, everyone in the township was looking for them. I finally bought some clear bags in a hardware store, but they're sized for yard waste, and are ridiculously huge. Also ridiculously expensive. But it was the last box, so I bought them and used them for one collection, realized they were ridiculous, and then went looking online. Found the right stuff on Amazon. Used the Amazon ones for the second collection.
The third collection since being told to use clear plastic bags is tomorrow.
Today, late this afternoon, we all got phone calls and alert emails from the township. Recycle materials must be put in closed containers only. "Plastic bags will not be picked up."
Changing horses with less than one day's notice.
You could hear the swearing all up and down the street.
The phone call was a recording, but I swore at it anyway. Loudly.
----------------------------------------
I thought hard about what I could use and finally remembered that I had two of those old green Rubbermaid stackable recycle bins in the garage, the kind with the sloping flaps on the top front. I don't remember why I'd kept them all these years, haven't seen them actually used since recycling started three or four decades ago. But, they DO have lids....
So I put my stuff in them and put them out (paper in one, glass, plastic, and cans in the other). I hope the guys recognize them for what they are, and don't toss the entire recycle bins themselves into the truck, too. I also have corrugated cardboard (cut, flattened, bundled and tied, as ordered!) sitting next to them, and six huge kitty litter jugs all tied together by their handles (which they may or may not take, although they are #2, but they're not in a "closed container", sigh), so it would be easy for the guys to just throw everything in without thinking.
I'm going to have to watch for them to make sure the right things go and the wrong things don't. They come anywhere between 7:30 am and 3:00 pm.
Sigh.
.
I am very angry at (with?) the township.
Several weeks ago we got notice that all recyclables, collected twice a month, were to be put out in either closed lidded containers or in clear plastic bags. I had been using an open container -- a hip-high kitchen trash can. It was light enough for me to easily carry out, and big enough to hold everything.
Well, there's nothing with a good lid that would be convenient for me. I'd almost need something I could wheel out, and all the wheeled thingies are too big, so I decided to go the clear plastic bag route.
I visited several stores before I concluded that there's no such thing (not in stores around here, anyway) as a clear kitchen-sized trash bag. Not to mention that even if there had been a space on the shelves labelled for clear bags, everyone in the township was looking for them. I finally bought some clear bags in a hardware store, but they're sized for yard waste, and are ridiculously huge. Also ridiculously expensive. But it was the last box, so I bought them and used them for one collection, realized they were ridiculous, and then went looking online. Found the right stuff on Amazon. Used the Amazon ones for the second collection.
The third collection since being told to use clear plastic bags is tomorrow.
Today, late this afternoon, we all got phone calls and alert emails from the township. Recycle materials must be put in closed containers only. "Plastic bags will not be picked up."
Changing horses with less than one day's notice.
You could hear the swearing all up and down the street.
The phone call was a recording, but I swore at it anyway. Loudly.
----------------------------------------
I thought hard about what I could use and finally remembered that I had two of those old green Rubbermaid stackable recycle bins in the garage, the kind with the sloping flaps on the top front. I don't remember why I'd kept them all these years, haven't seen them actually used since recycling started three or four decades ago. But, they DO have lids....
So I put my stuff in them and put them out (paper in one, glass, plastic, and cans in the other). I hope the guys recognize them for what they are, and don't toss the entire recycle bins themselves into the truck, too. I also have corrugated cardboard (cut, flattened, bundled and tied, as ordered!) sitting next to them, and six huge kitty litter jugs all tied together by their handles (which they may or may not take, although they are #2, but they're not in a "closed container", sigh), so it would be easy for the guys to just throw everything in without thinking.
I'm going to have to watch for them to make sure the right things go and the wrong things don't. They come anywhere between 7:30 am and 3:00 pm.
Sigh.
.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
4053 Stuff --- Duh Stuff; Yeah Stuff; Other Stuff
Saturday, June 13, 2015
I read this and tucked it away some months ago, and then forgot about it, so I don't have the source or dates any more, but that really doesn't matter. This is the output of professional writers, pro reporters. They were PAID for this blather. Duh.
Immediately unknown? Wow. Birthing? Trains have babies? I suspect they meant "berth", but even then, berth applies to ships, not trains. Speed could be a factor? No kidding! Typo - and/an. Try proofreading.
Regarding the plane that disappeared:
Sigh. Journalism schools ain't what they used to be.
-------------------------------------------------
Go to http://www.buzzfeed.com/alexrees/37-over-the-top-evening-gowns-from-the-2013-miss-world-fashi to see the contestants in the 2013 Miss World pageant, modelling creations from "Indonesia's elite fashion designers". We are told this is not a joke. I don't believe that - those are some of the ugliest dresses ever! Perhaps it was a test for the contestants, to see if they could walk down the runway in an embarrassing dress, and carry it off.
-------------------------------------------------
I had to read this several times to figure out why it confused me: "Most classes fill up quickly, but will be held only if the minimum number of students registers." The problem is that the subject of the sentence is "most classes", so the "will be held" doesn't apply to the subject.
--------------------------------------------------
This one I also found a long time ago. My note on it says "lifehacker". There is a Lifehacker.com, but I don't know for sure that's where I found it. Whatever -- I don't want to lose it.
-------------------------------------------------
I found out a while ago that anyone under 4'10" is legally considered a "little person". Wow. If I were still working, I'd check into what that might mean. Maybe I'd have been able to demand a chair that FIT me.
By the way, I find "little person" offensive. It sounds demeaning, like I am of no consequence.
-------------------------------------------------
I scream inside every time I see or hear "orientate". Paul Niquette has written an excellent short essay on the topic, at http://www.niquette.com/books/101words/orient.htm.
(If you have a little time for browsing and love words, wander around http://www.niquette.com/, click tabs under "Books".)
-------------------------------------------------
I call bullshit!
This argument seems to be starting up again. A lot of people seem to think that a camera catching them doing something illegal is a violation of their privacy, and that the only purpose of traffic cameras is to generate money in the form of fines. Um, if you don't want to pay the fine, don't break the law. And if you don't want the cameras, are you willing to pay taxes high enough to have a referee/cop on every street corner? No? You just want to be free to do whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want, as long as Daddy doesn't see you..
I'm all for traffic cameras. Maybe it's the "mother gene" - mothers are all for eyes in the back of their heads.
.
Sometimes when you look in his eyes you get the feeling that someone else is driving.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I read this and tucked it away some months ago, and then forgot about it, so I don't have the source or dates any more, but that really doesn't matter. This is the output of professional writers, pro reporters. They were PAID for this blather. Duh.
Regarding the train derailment at O'Hare airport, "It appears as though the train would have been going faster than a train normally birthing at this station would be," he [the spokesman] said. "Normally a train pulls in at just a couple miles and hour and pulls into the station. Obviously this train did not stop so speed could be a factor here."Further,
"... it was immediately unknown if the train's motorman had some sort of medical problem prior to the crash"
Immediately unknown? Wow. Birthing? Trains have babies? I suspect they meant "berth", but even then, berth applies to ships, not trains. Speed could be a factor? No kidding! Typo - and/an. Try proofreading.
Regarding the plane that disappeared:
"MH370 flew along the southern corridor and it’s last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean west of Perth," Prime Minister Rajak said at Putra World Trade Centre Monday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. "This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sights."It's/its. Sights/sites.
Sigh. Journalism schools ain't what they used to be.
-------------------------------------------------
Go to http://www.buzzfeed.com/alexrees/37-over-the-top-evening-gowns-from-the-2013-miss-world-fashi to see the contestants in the 2013 Miss World pageant, modelling creations from "Indonesia's elite fashion designers". We are told this is not a joke. I don't believe that - those are some of the ugliest dresses ever! Perhaps it was a test for the contestants, to see if they could walk down the runway in an embarrassing dress, and carry it off.
-------------------------------------------------
I had to read this several times to figure out why it confused me: "Most classes fill up quickly, but will be held only if the minimum number of students registers." The problem is that the subject of the sentence is "most classes", so the "will be held" doesn't apply to the subject.
--------------------------------------------------
This one I also found a long time ago. My note on it says "lifehacker". There is a Lifehacker.com, but I don't know for sure that's where I found it. Whatever -- I don't want to lose it.
You don't get very far with silence. You won't always know the right thing to say, and if you say what you think or feel you might get it wrong. That doesn't mean the conversation that follows won't be for the best. Saying the wrong thing can often be the impetus for the right discussion. It's then that you find it's better to say something stupid than nothing at all.Words to speak by.
-------------------------------------------------
I found out a while ago that anyone under 4'10" is legally considered a "little person". Wow. If I were still working, I'd check into what that might mean. Maybe I'd have been able to demand a chair that FIT me.
By the way, I find "little person" offensive. It sounds demeaning, like I am of no consequence.
-------------------------------------------------
I scream inside every time I see or hear "orientate". Paul Niquette has written an excellent short essay on the topic, at http://www.niquette.com/books/101words/orient.htm.
(If you have a little time for browsing and love words, wander around http://www.niquette.com/, click tabs under "Books".)
-------------------------------------------------
"If the referee doesn't call a foul, it's not a foul." People say this about traffic violations. I strongly disagree! That's like saying that if someone wasn't arrested and charged with the murder, then there wasn't a murder.
A few years ago there was a big fuss about traffic tickets being issued based on traffic cameras in Arizona. There were actual real people screaming bloody murder that if a policeman (referee) didn't see them running the stop sign, or the red light, or speeding, then there was no violation!
I call bullshit!
This argument seems to be starting up again. A lot of people seem to think that a camera catching them doing something illegal is a violation of their privacy, and that the only purpose of traffic cameras is to generate money in the form of fines. Um, if you don't want to pay the fine, don't break the law. And if you don't want the cameras, are you willing to pay taxes high enough to have a referee/cop on every street corner? No? You just want to be free to do whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want, as long as Daddy doesn't see you..
I'm all for traffic cameras. Maybe it's the "mother gene" - mothers are all for eyes in the back of their heads.
.
Thursday, March 05, 2015
4020 More snow
Thursday, March 5, 2015
It has been snowing all day, about 7 inches on the driveway now, and I guess it's supposed to continue into tomorrow.
----------------------------
I've said several times that I tend to read literally.
This morning I found the following headline on Yahoo News (famous for hiring high school dropouts to write the articles):
"Family of California Girl Left Brain Dead After Tonsillectomy Sues Hospital"
The way my mind works, first interpretation:
- How does a tonsillectomy sue a hospital?
- The whole family is brain dead now? What?
It took me about three readings to "get" it.
.
It has been snowing all day, about 7 inches on the driveway now, and I guess it's supposed to continue into tomorrow.
----------------------------
I've said several times that I tend to read literally.
This morning I found the following headline on Yahoo News (famous for hiring high school dropouts to write the articles):
"Family of California Girl Left Brain Dead After Tonsillectomy Sues Hospital"
The way my mind works, first interpretation:
- How does a tonsillectomy sue a hospital?
- The whole family is brain dead now? What?
It took me about three readings to "get" it.
.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
4015 Seat up, seat down
Sunday, February 22, 2015
"The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none."
-- Thomas Carlyle --
----------------------------------------
Toilet seat up or down has never been an issue in any house I've ever lived in, because I have one simple rule that is not open to compromise, and every person I have ever lived with has come to see the wisdom of that rule and agree with it.
The Rule:
1. Except for when the toilet is in use, the lid is closed.
2. The lid is always closed before flushing.
The advantages:
- Not a temptation for small humans.
- Not a water bowl or drowning pool for beasties.
- No flush spray filling the air and settling on toothbrushes etc.
- Seat available for sitting, drying feet, setting things down, whatever.
- Neat and clean appearance.
- The Rule requires the exact same effort from both sexes; no one can complain about feeling put upon or disrespected.
Plus there's something inherently ugly and distasteful about the sight of an open toilet glimpsed through a doorway.
I don't understand why the "seat up seat down" argument even exists. it seems stupid when such a simple solution exists.
.
"The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none."
-- Thomas Carlyle --
----------------------------------------
Toilet seat up or down has never been an issue in any house I've ever lived in, because I have one simple rule that is not open to compromise, and every person I have ever lived with has come to see the wisdom of that rule and agree with it.
The Rule:
1. Except for when the toilet is in use, the lid is closed.
2. The lid is always closed before flushing.
The advantages:
- Not a temptation for small humans.
- Not a water bowl or drowning pool for beasties.
- No flush spray filling the air and settling on toothbrushes etc.
- Seat available for sitting, drying feet, setting things down, whatever.
- Neat and clean appearance.
- The Rule requires the exact same effort from both sexes; no one can complain about feeling put upon or disrespected.
Plus there's something inherently ugly and distasteful about the sight of an open toilet glimpsed through a doorway.
I don't understand why the "seat up seat down" argument even exists. it seems stupid when such a simple solution exists.
.
Monday, January 12, 2015
4000 Of
January 12, 2015
I seem to be complaining at lot in this blog lately, mostly because these days the only person I talk to other than store clerks and people I do business with is my daughter, and she hates to hear anyone complain about anything. That's not new with her. When she was a child and went to spend some time in the summer with her grandmother in Florida, when asked on her return how it went, the only thing she ever said (with an eye roll) was, "She complains about everything, all the time!" Yeah, old folks do that. Daughter, however, has the attitude that if something is worth complaining about, you either fix it, or stop complaining about it, and she gets angry if you don't do one or the other. Ah, the arrogance of youth.
So, this is my soapbox.
My new complaint:
It's becoming increasingly obvious that schools (and home) are no longer teaching proper sentence construction and verb conjugation. I'm seeing more and more lately "could of", "should of", and "would of [verb]", even from people who style themselves as professional writers, and it jerks my chain every time. I want to scream.
I can almost understand it, because people don't say "would have". They say "woulda", so I can see where that could become "would of" when written if you don't know any better. Sometimes, when I'm being purposely informal, even I write it as "woulda". But I know the "a" is for "have", which is actually part of the verb. These people don't.
Another very common crapolla is "embarrassed of". That one I can't figure out at all, can't come up with an excuse for it. Does that mean you are embarrassed by, or embarrassed for? That's two different things. "Embarrassed of" makes no sense at all. But I see it everywhere, over and over. Does anyone think about what words mean any more?
The most recent is "have a crush of [somebody]". The first time I saw that I thought it was a typo. I have since seen it several places, different people, different ages. Again, I can come up with no excuse, and it makes absolutely no sense. Granted, "crush on" is an idiom (I think), but it's old enough that it should be well known.
It seems like "of" is the go-to word when you know something should fill that space, but you don't know what.
And it infuriates me that anyone who attempts to correct the perpetrators of this kind of crap on the internet is hounded with accusations of "Grammar Nazi"**. Like, nobody should ever learn any better. After all, you know what they mean, right? So who cares?
AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
I DO!
.
.
.
** I've noticed "Grammar Nazi" is beginning to morph into "Grammer Nazi". We are doomed.
.
"A stupid man's
report of what a clever man says can never be accurate, because he
unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can
understand."
--Bertrand Russell--
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I seem to be complaining at lot in this blog lately, mostly because these days the only person I talk to other than store clerks and people I do business with is my daughter, and she hates to hear anyone complain about anything. That's not new with her. When she was a child and went to spend some time in the summer with her grandmother in Florida, when asked on her return how it went, the only thing she ever said (with an eye roll) was, "She complains about everything, all the time!" Yeah, old folks do that. Daughter, however, has the attitude that if something is worth complaining about, you either fix it, or stop complaining about it, and she gets angry if you don't do one or the other. Ah, the arrogance of youth.
So, this is my soapbox.
My new complaint:
It's becoming increasingly obvious that schools (and home) are no longer teaching proper sentence construction and verb conjugation. I'm seeing more and more lately "could of", "should of", and "would of [verb]", even from people who style themselves as professional writers, and it jerks my chain every time. I want to scream.
I can almost understand it, because people don't say "would have". They say "woulda", so I can see where that could become "would of" when written if you don't know any better. Sometimes, when I'm being purposely informal, even I write it as "woulda". But I know the "a" is for "have", which is actually part of the verb. These people don't.
Another very common crapolla is "embarrassed of". That one I can't figure out at all, can't come up with an excuse for it. Does that mean you are embarrassed by, or embarrassed for? That's two different things. "Embarrassed of" makes no sense at all. But I see it everywhere, over and over. Does anyone think about what words mean any more?
The most recent is "have a crush of [somebody]". The first time I saw that I thought it was a typo. I have since seen it several places, different people, different ages. Again, I can come up with no excuse, and it makes absolutely no sense. Granted, "crush on" is an idiom (I think), but it's old enough that it should be well known.
It seems like "of" is the go-to word when you know something should fill that space, but you don't know what.
And it infuriates me that anyone who attempts to correct the perpetrators of this kind of crap on the internet is hounded with accusations of "Grammar Nazi"**. Like, nobody should ever learn any better. After all, you know what they mean, right? So who cares?
AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
I DO!
.
.
.
** I've noticed "Grammar Nazi" is beginning to morph into "Grammer Nazi". We are doomed.
.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
3966 They're after me?
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
I am not one of those people who stick a little finger out to catch the turn signal as I turn the steering wheel. I mean, why bother, if you don't signal a turn until you are actually IN the turn? I signal just before I slow down to make the turn, you know, like to let anyone behind me know what's coming up next.
Three times in the past two weeks I signaled a left turn, slowed down, started the turn, AND SOME IDIOT SCREAMED PAST ME ON THE LEFT!
This afternoon it was as I was turning into my own driveway. This is a narrow residential dead-end. I had signaled about four houses up. I pressed the button to open the garage door about that same time. The speed limit is 25. I had slowed down to make the tight turn into the driveway, had started the turn, and wham! There was a car passing me.
Third time similar situation in just two weeks. And every single time it was a huge SUV. White one today. End of last week it was a red one.
I left the car running after I pulled into the garage and checked the turn signals. They're working.
I don't understand.
.
I am not one of those people who stick a little finger out to catch the turn signal as I turn the steering wheel. I mean, why bother, if you don't signal a turn until you are actually IN the turn? I signal just before I slow down to make the turn, you know, like to let anyone behind me know what's coming up next.
Three times in the past two weeks I signaled a left turn, slowed down, started the turn, AND SOME IDIOT SCREAMED PAST ME ON THE LEFT!
This afternoon it was as I was turning into my own driveway. This is a narrow residential dead-end. I had signaled about four houses up. I pressed the button to open the garage door about that same time. The speed limit is 25. I had slowed down to make the tight turn into the driveway, had started the turn, and wham! There was a car passing me.
Third time similar situation in just two weeks. And every single time it was a huge SUV. White one today. End of last week it was a red one.
I left the car running after I pulled into the garage and checked the turn signals. They're working.
I don't understand.
.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
3956 Yeah. Go Jon.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Do love me some Jon Stewart. A 5 minute clip that felt much too short:
https://screen.yahoo.com/the-daily-show/operation-deserter-storm-home-where-040000233.html
Do these people have any idea how nasty they sound? Nasty, stupid, small-town gossiping self-serving rabble-rousers, and then they wonder why people are killing each other?
Facts? We don't need no freakin' facts! You just listen up here to what I want you to think!
Aren't these the people who are supposed to be examples to us of how to deal with each other? Is it any wonder social media is a snake pit?
.
Do love me some Jon Stewart. A 5 minute clip that felt much too short:
https://screen.yahoo.com/the-daily-show/operation-deserter-storm-home-where-040000233.html
Do these people have any idea how nasty they sound? Nasty, stupid, small-town gossiping self-serving rabble-rousers, and then they wonder why people are killing each other?
Facts? We don't need no freakin' facts! You just listen up here to what I want you to think!
Aren't these the people who are supposed to be examples to us of how to deal with each other? Is it any wonder social media is a snake pit?
.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
3847 I have dents in my forehead
Thursday, May 22, 2014
An online comment (I think it was on some article having to do with tornado victims): "It is a tragic fact of life in these United States recently that we rush to judgment and bitterly, caustically denounce others with little or no real information. It's part of the negative social mood under which our nation now struggles. Hopefully, some day we will be able to move forward to better relations with our fellows. Don't expect I'll live long enough to see it on the internet, but I'll do my part where I am."
This guy GETS it! It's been bothering me for so long, the way people JUST KNOW what's in other people's hearts and minds. The negativity is so overwhelming and discouraging.
I blame Republicans.
===================
I get impatient when people say that Christopher Columbus "proved the Earth is round". Um, no, he didn't. That was his theory, but all he proved is that there is more land to the west of Europe.
===================
A CNN reporter tweeted that Thailand is now under marital law. Not to be outdone, the caption on Getty images from the scene declare that Thailand is under Marshall law.
These are professionals. I fear for our country.
.
An online comment (I think it was on some article having to do with tornado victims): "It is a tragic fact of life in these United States recently that we rush to judgment and bitterly, caustically denounce others with little or no real information. It's part of the negative social mood under which our nation now struggles. Hopefully, some day we will be able to move forward to better relations with our fellows. Don't expect I'll live long enough to see it on the internet, but I'll do my part where I am."
This guy GETS it! It's been bothering me for so long, the way people JUST KNOW what's in other people's hearts and minds. The negativity is so overwhelming and discouraging.
I blame Republicans.
===================
I get impatient when people say that Christopher Columbus "proved the Earth is round". Um, no, he didn't. That was his theory, but all he proved is that there is more land to the west of Europe.
===================
A CNN reporter tweeted that Thailand is now under marital law. Not to be outdone, the caption on Getty images from the scene declare that Thailand is under Marshall law.
These are professionals. I fear for our country.
.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
3820 Snow
Thursday, February 13, 2014
My quarterly real estate tax was due on February 1st. I missed it, didn't notice it was due until I was paying some other bills on the 11th, last Tuesday. (Somehow I have it set in my mind that quarterly stuff is due in March, June, etc.) By the time I realized the payment was late, it was 2 pm, and the town offices close at like 2:30, so I figured I'd pay it yesterday.
I went to the town offices yesterday and found everything closed. Lincoln's birthday. Duh?
Today we woke up to 8" of heavy wet snow, followed by ice pellets, followed by rain, and a "code red" call from the township saying that all town offices and functions were closed.
I probably won't get out to pay tomorrow, either, since we are supposed to get more snow overnight and all day tomorrow.
In the meantime, penalties accrue.
I hate snow.
The neighbor up the street says the Garden State Parkway and the Throughway, and many of the major local roads, are closed because of jackknifed trailers all over the roads. I got a code red email from the country house township saying that the highways are closed to commercial traffic for the same reason.
I really hate snow. At least plain cold one can dress for, but snow can leave us defenseless.
At least we still have power. Maybe that's one good thing Sandy did for us - all the weak trees and branches are already down.
-------------------------------------
I am worried about my neighbor George. He's got to be in at least his mid-eighties. He gets out there shoveling. He throws five shovelfuls, then stops and rests on the shovel handle for a while, kind of bent over the handle, then throws five more.
His late-teen great-grandson mows my lawn. His granddaughter lives on the next street over, and some sons and daughters live in the area. I can't help wondering why no one shows up to help him. They all come for holiday dinners, so it's not like they're estranged.
I've got a delicate back and currently something wrong with my shoulder (rotator cuff?) so my daughter shovels for me if my little electric thrower can't handle it (note that's Daughter, not SIL Hercules), or scares up a kid to do it. If I were capable, I'd help George.
Maybe I should review CPR procedures.
--------------------------------------
I doubt that mankind in general is any smarter now than, say, 200 years ago. 200 years isn't much in evolutionary terms, but I do believe that on average we are already demonstrably more stupid. We know more "stuff", but we are in general, overall, less logical, less understanding, less interested in understanding, and less capable than we used to be. It's like thinking is evolving out of us. Like we don't need it any more.
Science fiction illustrators often depict humans of the far future as having huge heads, enormous brains. I don't know why they think brains would get larger. I think it's more likely we'll have tiny braincases. As computers do the work of remembering for us, we won't need to remember anything much. We won't need to calculate anything - the machine will tell us.
We already see evidence of brain atrophy....
.
My quarterly real estate tax was due on February 1st. I missed it, didn't notice it was due until I was paying some other bills on the 11th, last Tuesday. (Somehow I have it set in my mind that quarterly stuff is due in March, June, etc.) By the time I realized the payment was late, it was 2 pm, and the town offices close at like 2:30, so I figured I'd pay it yesterday.
I went to the town offices yesterday and found everything closed. Lincoln's birthday. Duh?
Today we woke up to 8" of heavy wet snow, followed by ice pellets, followed by rain, and a "code red" call from the township saying that all town offices and functions were closed.
I probably won't get out to pay tomorrow, either, since we are supposed to get more snow overnight and all day tomorrow.
In the meantime, penalties accrue.
I hate snow.
The neighbor up the street says the Garden State Parkway and the Throughway, and many of the major local roads, are closed because of jackknifed trailers all over the roads. I got a code red email from the country house township saying that the highways are closed to commercial traffic for the same reason.
I really hate snow. At least plain cold one can dress for, but snow can leave us defenseless.
At least we still have power. Maybe that's one good thing Sandy did for us - all the weak trees and branches are already down.
-------------------------------------
I am worried about my neighbor George. He's got to be in at least his mid-eighties. He gets out there shoveling. He throws five shovelfuls, then stops and rests on the shovel handle for a while, kind of bent over the handle, then throws five more.
His late-teen great-grandson mows my lawn. His granddaughter lives on the next street over, and some sons and daughters live in the area. I can't help wondering why no one shows up to help him. They all come for holiday dinners, so it's not like they're estranged.
I've got a delicate back and currently something wrong with my shoulder (rotator cuff?) so my daughter shovels for me if my little electric thrower can't handle it (note that's Daughter, not SIL Hercules), or scares up a kid to do it. If I were capable, I'd help George.
Maybe I should review CPR procedures.
--------------------------------------
I doubt that mankind in general is any smarter now than, say, 200 years ago. 200 years isn't much in evolutionary terms, but I do believe that on average we are already demonstrably more stupid. We know more "stuff", but we are in general, overall, less logical, less understanding, less interested in understanding, and less capable than we used to be. It's like thinking is evolving out of us. Like we don't need it any more.
Science fiction illustrators often depict humans of the far future as having huge heads, enormous brains. I don't know why they think brains would get larger. I think it's more likely we'll have tiny braincases. As computers do the work of remembering for us, we won't need to remember anything much. We won't need to calculate anything - the machine will tell us.
We already see evidence of brain atrophy....
.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
3810 Estate sale
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Well, I have medical insurance for 2014. I suspect I'm not going to be happy with it, but, we'll see. The cost is low, but it's a Medicare Advantage plan, and it's an HMO. I always swore I'd never go into an HMO, but there it is. The only plan of any type that I was eligible for that allowed me to choose my own doctors was extremely costly. So. At least that's done.
-----------------------------------
The country house is under storm alert this weekend. 10" of snow and then sleet. Since the house is higher up, I suppose there will be at least 12" of snow. We always got about 20% more than lower down. Or more. Temps in the low 20s. I am worried about losing power there. Sigh. Another week I won't be going north.
------------------------------------
I got an email a few days ago from my old auctioneer, George, saying he was going to be on a show on the Travel Channel, so I watched it. It was another of those stupid shows that seem to be so popular recently --- you know, where we follow some "experts" while they buy unseen storage facility contents, or race through antique centers looking for bargains, or poke around mountains looking for gold.
This time, we had three "expert bidders" at George's auction. It was very obvious the whole thing was staged. He had a full room of bidders, but no one else bid on any of the boxes that were obviously solely for these "experts" to battle over.
It was so stupid. THEY were so stupid. They were bidding on unopened boxes and bags, no idea what was in them. Number one, George never sells unopened stuff. Number two, these "experts" didn't do their research. One idiot kept saying "There's lots of mansions in [this village]. Huge estates. This is an estate auction so these boxes are coming from the attics and basements of these wealthy mansions. You KNOW it has to be good stuff!"
First of all, the statement that there are lots of mansions in [the village]. Yeah, that general wider area is full of mansions, yeah, but most of them are run as tourist destinations by the national park service, like the Vanderbilt, Astor, and Roosevelt places, and a few other piles of marble with names and history. There are a few private mansions around, but these days almost all of them are empty, like the place where Chelsea Clinton's wedding reception was held. (It's for sale and the owner volunteered it hoping for free advertising.) So, there's no good stuff coming from mansion attics! Do your research, you fool!
Second, the "expert" doesn't even know what an estate auction is!
"Estate" in this sense doesn't mean mansions and land, anyway. It means somebody's Aunt Sally died and left all her worldly goods to somebody who is now selling off the excess. "Estate" in the sense of the disposals of a legal will. Sheesh. And these folks are "experts"?
(Sometimes George does sell items from a mansion, but when he does, he tells you where it came from, "Sale of the Contents of Blah Blah Mansion", and the auction is exclusively those items. In 10 years, I've seen only two of those auctions - one being Larry (Hustler) Flynt's place. Usually George's estate sale stuff is bits from hither and yon all over the northeast.)
Third, one of the "experts" attempted to figure out what was in a locked duffel bag by SITTING ON IT! Well, there goes that Faberge egg, eh! How stupid is that. The other guy was shaking boxes violently. Duh.
It got to where I was yelling at the TV.
I will never watch any of those things again. Bleck. I will not miss cable.
.
Well, I have medical insurance for 2014. I suspect I'm not going to be happy with it, but, we'll see. The cost is low, but it's a Medicare Advantage plan, and it's an HMO. I always swore I'd never go into an HMO, but there it is. The only plan of any type that I was eligible for that allowed me to choose my own doctors was extremely costly. So. At least that's done.
-----------------------------------
The country house is under storm alert this weekend. 10" of snow and then sleet. Since the house is higher up, I suppose there will be at least 12" of snow. We always got about 20% more than lower down. Or more. Temps in the low 20s. I am worried about losing power there. Sigh. Another week I won't be going north.
------------------------------------
I got an email a few days ago from my old auctioneer, George, saying he was going to be on a show on the Travel Channel, so I watched it. It was another of those stupid shows that seem to be so popular recently --- you know, where we follow some "experts" while they buy unseen storage facility contents, or race through antique centers looking for bargains, or poke around mountains looking for gold.
This time, we had three "expert bidders" at George's auction. It was very obvious the whole thing was staged. He had a full room of bidders, but no one else bid on any of the boxes that were obviously solely for these "experts" to battle over.
It was so stupid. THEY were so stupid. They were bidding on unopened boxes and bags, no idea what was in them. Number one, George never sells unopened stuff. Number two, these "experts" didn't do their research. One idiot kept saying "There's lots of mansions in [this village]. Huge estates. This is an estate auction so these boxes are coming from the attics and basements of these wealthy mansions. You KNOW it has to be good stuff!"
First of all, the statement that there are lots of mansions in [the village]. Yeah, that general wider area is full of mansions, yeah, but most of them are run as tourist destinations by the national park service, like the Vanderbilt, Astor, and Roosevelt places, and a few other piles of marble with names and history. There are a few private mansions around, but these days almost all of them are empty, like the place where Chelsea Clinton's wedding reception was held. (It's for sale and the owner volunteered it hoping for free advertising.) So, there's no good stuff coming from mansion attics! Do your research, you fool!
Second, the "expert" doesn't even know what an estate auction is!
"Estate" in this sense doesn't mean mansions and land, anyway. It means somebody's Aunt Sally died and left all her worldly goods to somebody who is now selling off the excess. "Estate" in the sense of the disposals of a legal will. Sheesh. And these folks are "experts"?
(Sometimes George does sell items from a mansion, but when he does, he tells you where it came from, "Sale of the Contents of Blah Blah Mansion", and the auction is exclusively those items. In 10 years, I've seen only two of those auctions - one being Larry (Hustler) Flynt's place. Usually George's estate sale stuff is bits from hither and yon all over the northeast.)
Third, one of the "experts" attempted to figure out what was in a locked duffel bag by SITTING ON IT! Well, there goes that Faberge egg, eh! How stupid is that. The other guy was shaking boxes violently. Duh.
It got to where I was yelling at the TV.
I will never watch any of those things again. Bleck. I will not miss cable.
.
Sunday, December 01, 2013
3805 Train wreck, in more ways than one.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
I turn the TV on for only four shows a week these days. One of them is "Sunday Morning", although I've been disappointed in that show for the past few years. Lately it's been just celebrity-type stuff, with a hidden sales pitch, rather than what's happening out there in the "real" countryside, like back when it was Charles Kuralt, remember him? (Joke: "My home town is so small Charles Kuralt has been there three times!")
Anyway, I was up this morning, turned the TV on, and instead of "Sunday Morning", it was a report on the Metro North train derailment. Four dead so far, but so many are in critical condition I think unfortunately that number will rise. I haven't heard yet how many people in total were on the train. It had left Poughkeepsie (that's pronounced P-kip'-see by the natives, Po-kip'-see by newcomers, abbreviated "Pok") just before 6 am, due to arrive at Grand Central a bit before 8 am, so it wouldn't have been crowded - likely mostly people who work in the city, maybe some returning from the holiday. There are a lot of commuters from the Pok area since the mass exodus from Manhattan after 9/11. I'm sure some work on Sundays.
Story: http://mashable.com/2013/12/01/new-york-train-derailment/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss#_
I am familiar with that train route. That's the line I took from the country house on the few occasions I ventured into the city. It runs alongside the east bank of the Hudson, and is quite scenic.
Amtrak trains running between Albany and NYC stop in Rhinecliff, and that's actually much closer to the house, only a few minutes drive. But an Amtrak ticket is a small fortune, the trains go to Penn Station, the local station is manned only a few hours on weekdays, and there's no real parking lot in the tiny village of Rhinecliff. You have to compete for parking along the river. So I would drive the 40 minutes south to Pok where there are huge parking lots and a well-manned station, and take a Metro North train, which was a LOT cheaper and goes to Grand Central. Metro North cars are the same trains that serve inside the city - some are actual subway trains. Pok is the northern-most terminus of the NYC subway system. Weird, huh?
Since so many people moved north after 9/11, there's been a lot of noise about extending Metro North up to Rhinecliff, but I doubt that will ever happen.
Anyway - the point, finally.
Because Pok is the end of the line, they USED to have an engine at the north end of the train to pull it north, AND an engine at the south end to pull it south. Then someone came up with a brilliant cost-saving idea. They now have one engine, on the north end, which pulls it north, and PUSHES it south.
Pushes.
Any child knows that if you link some wagons together and pull them, they follow, and if one somehow goes off the path, it might pull others out of line, but they aren't going to jam up (well, from momentum, but that's all the energy in the jam). But if you try to push them, if one goes off the path, the following ones will jam up and push even more off the path because of the energy coming from behind, and likely spill the contents. Violently.
I hope Metro North saved a zillion dollars with that idiotic idea, because those passengers ought to sue the pants off them.
And I'm not an advocate of lawsuits for every little thing.
---------------------------------------
On the TV, there was a reporter talking from "near" the scene. She startled me at first by reporting that "five of the seven trains" derailed. Five trains! Good Grief! How does that happen!? "One train almost went into the river". "Several trains were on their sides". And so on.
As she went on over the next half hour, it dawned on me that she was calling the passenger CARS "trains". Does she not know what a "train", a series of linked things, in this case passenger cars, is?
There had to be people around her. Why did no one correct her? It got to the point that I was yelling at the TV, wanted to reach through the screen and personally strangle her.
I guess someone finally clued her in, because she started talking about cars.
.
I turn the TV on for only four shows a week these days. One of them is "Sunday Morning", although I've been disappointed in that show for the past few years. Lately it's been just celebrity-type stuff, with a hidden sales pitch, rather than what's happening out there in the "real" countryside, like back when it was Charles Kuralt, remember him? (Joke: "My home town is so small Charles Kuralt has been there three times!")
Anyway, I was up this morning, turned the TV on, and instead of "Sunday Morning", it was a report on the Metro North train derailment. Four dead so far, but so many are in critical condition I think unfortunately that number will rise. I haven't heard yet how many people in total were on the train. It had left Poughkeepsie (that's pronounced P-kip'-see by the natives, Po-kip'-see by newcomers, abbreviated "Pok") just before 6 am, due to arrive at Grand Central a bit before 8 am, so it wouldn't have been crowded - likely mostly people who work in the city, maybe some returning from the holiday. There are a lot of commuters from the Pok area since the mass exodus from Manhattan after 9/11. I'm sure some work on Sundays.
Story: http://mashable.com/2013/12/01/new-york-train-derailment/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss#_
I am familiar with that train route. That's the line I took from the country house on the few occasions I ventured into the city. It runs alongside the east bank of the Hudson, and is quite scenic.
Amtrak trains running between Albany and NYC stop in Rhinecliff, and that's actually much closer to the house, only a few minutes drive. But an Amtrak ticket is a small fortune, the trains go to Penn Station, the local station is manned only a few hours on weekdays, and there's no real parking lot in the tiny village of Rhinecliff. You have to compete for parking along the river. So I would drive the 40 minutes south to Pok where there are huge parking lots and a well-manned station, and take a Metro North train, which was a LOT cheaper and goes to Grand Central. Metro North cars are the same trains that serve inside the city - some are actual subway trains. Pok is the northern-most terminus of the NYC subway system. Weird, huh?
Since so many people moved north after 9/11, there's been a lot of noise about extending Metro North up to Rhinecliff, but I doubt that will ever happen.
Anyway - the point, finally.
Because Pok is the end of the line, they USED to have an engine at the north end of the train to pull it north, AND an engine at the south end to pull it south. Then someone came up with a brilliant cost-saving idea. They now have one engine, on the north end, which pulls it north, and PUSHES it south.
Pushes.
Any child knows that if you link some wagons together and pull them, they follow, and if one somehow goes off the path, it might pull others out of line, but they aren't going to jam up (well, from momentum, but that's all the energy in the jam). But if you try to push them, if one goes off the path, the following ones will jam up and push even more off the path because of the energy coming from behind, and likely spill the contents. Violently.
I hope Metro North saved a zillion dollars with that idiotic idea, because those passengers ought to sue the pants off them.
And I'm not an advocate of lawsuits for every little thing.
---------------------------------------
On the TV, there was a reporter talking from "near" the scene. She startled me at first by reporting that "five of the seven trains" derailed. Five trains! Good Grief! How does that happen!? "One train almost went into the river". "Several trains were on their sides". And so on.
As she went on over the next half hour, it dawned on me that she was calling the passenger CARS "trains". Does she not know what a "train", a series of linked things, in this case passenger cars, is?
There had to be people around her. Why did no one correct her? It got to the point that I was yelling at the TV, wanted to reach through the screen and personally strangle her.
I guess someone finally clued her in, because she started talking about cars.
.
Friday, November 22, 2013
3801 Soup eats?
Friday, November 22, 2013
I opened a can of soup, Campbell's, for lunch today. On the label were the words "Soup that eats like a meal".
My first thought was, "Soup doesn't eat!"
My second thought was, "Neither does a meal. So I guess that's true."
My head hurts.
.
I opened a can of soup, Campbell's, for lunch today. On the label were the words "Soup that eats like a meal".
My first thought was, "Soup doesn't eat!"
My second thought was, "Neither does a meal. So I guess that's true."
My head hurts.
.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
3795 Piss me off!
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Many years ago I reserved "(MyName).com" through NetworkSolutions.com, just in case I ever wanted a website for whatever purpose. It's just a few dollars a year to keep it, since I don't need a host yet, but if I ever decide to use it, it's there.
Warning: Don't go there!!!!!! Not for a while, anyway. I'll explain in a minute.
I have been getting emails since the first week of August at the rate of about one a week from Network Solutions reminding me that my reservation of (MyName) will expire soon and it's time to renew. Fine. I intend to renew. However, it doesn't expire until June 23, 2014! Sheesh, folks. Alright already! I'll renew in May, when I get the calendar reminder to renew, but not before then!
Network Solutions makes a few bucks by letting third parties advertise on my "under construction" page. Over the years it's been mostly legitimate fabric sellers, sari sellers, drum and instrument shops, stuff like that, which I didn't mind.
All these emails prompted me to take a look to see who's advertising there now.
Horrors!
It's dating sites, and NOT nice ones, either.
I have WOT (Web of Trust) installed on my system, and it went crazy. WOT tells you if a link is dangerous, if there's a possibility of viruses, spam, other nasty stuff, based on the comments of others who had gone there. (MyName) is apparently ok, WOT allowed the site to load, but the links on the page are NASTY!
Worse, if your cursor even passes over some of those links, without even a click, it looks like the link is taken, and some of those sites set off WOT. There may be dragons there!
Holy Crap! I don't want (MyName) to get that reputation!
This is majorly scary.
There is a way to change the construction page, and I'm going to have to do that, but it'll take some figuring out. And it might cost more.
Sigh.
Shut up, Network Solutions. The renewal reminders were ticking me off, but this whoring out (almost literally!) of (MyName), heretofore a sweet little lady, takes the cake.
--------------------------------------------
I highly recommend WOT. It's free. http://www.mywot.com/
.
Many years ago I reserved "(MyName).com" through NetworkSolutions.com, just in case I ever wanted a website for whatever purpose. It's just a few dollars a year to keep it, since I don't need a host yet, but if I ever decide to use it, it's there.
Warning: Don't go there!!!!!! Not for a while, anyway. I'll explain in a minute.
I have been getting emails since the first week of August at the rate of about one a week from Network Solutions reminding me that my reservation of (MyName) will expire soon and it's time to renew. Fine. I intend to renew. However, it doesn't expire until June 23, 2014! Sheesh, folks. Alright already! I'll renew in May, when I get the calendar reminder to renew, but not before then!
Network Solutions makes a few bucks by letting third parties advertise on my "under construction" page. Over the years it's been mostly legitimate fabric sellers, sari sellers, drum and instrument shops, stuff like that, which I didn't mind.
All these emails prompted me to take a look to see who's advertising there now.
Horrors!
It's dating sites, and NOT nice ones, either.
I have WOT (Web of Trust) installed on my system, and it went crazy. WOT tells you if a link is dangerous, if there's a possibility of viruses, spam, other nasty stuff, based on the comments of others who had gone there. (MyName) is apparently ok, WOT allowed the site to load, but the links on the page are NASTY!
Worse, if your cursor even passes over some of those links, without even a click, it looks like the link is taken, and some of those sites set off WOT. There may be dragons there!
Holy Crap! I don't want (MyName) to get that reputation!
This is majorly scary.
There is a way to change the construction page, and I'm going to have to do that, but it'll take some figuring out. And it might cost more.
Sigh.
Shut up, Network Solutions. The renewal reminders were ticking me off, but this whoring out (almost literally!) of (MyName), heretofore a sweet little lady, takes the cake.
--------------------------------------------
I highly recommend WOT. It's free. http://www.mywot.com/
.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
3789 Missing the target
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
There's this thing I'm seeing more and more of, where someone is keeping track of everything you look at online, and then selling that information to advertisers, who then focus on your "interests" for those ads over there on the margins. Targeted advertising.
Hey, folks, you're doing it wrong!
Like Amazon keeps track of what I've looked at or bought, and then makes suggestions, "just for me". Only what they show me are things I've already looked at or already bought! That makes no sense. I already have it, or I've already rejected it.
When I buy something on eBay, I get a message that "People who bought [what I just bought] also bought [pictures of of similar items]". Well, a couple of problems there:
1. There are NO other people who bought what I just bought. I bought the only one. You lie!
2. If other people bought these other things, they're already sold. What help is that to me?
If I search for toy ovens, for days afterward I am inundated with ads for toy ovens. Hey, I just bought one!
I have to draw on my eyebrows, and they frequently disappear within an hour, so the other day I searched for and bought a blond eyebrow pencil (actually a liquid with a fine brush to draw "hairs" with) that is guaranteed to last all day. I bought it from a particular beauty supply outlet. Now my margins are filled with ads from that outlet, not ads for any of their other products, but ads for the very same pencil I already bought. Duh?
Targeted advertising is crap. It's been poorly implemented by people who don't have enough brains to understand that people don't want to look at things they've already looked at. It's being signed up for and paid for by retailers who are no smarter.
Maybe people might be interested in things related to things they've looked at?
Like after I had looked at covers for the a/c units, maybe instead of throwing more a/c covers at me, you should suggest patio furniture or grill covers. After I bought one John Smith book, instead of suggesting I buy that book again, maybe you could suggest other books by the same author, or a different author in the same genre. After I bought the toy oven, maybe you could suggest other toys in the same age range.
I am especially disturbed by Gmail's scanning my emails for keywords. I mentioned to a friend recently that I had gotten chubby since last we met (Yeah, I've gone from the size 6 and S I wore three years ago to 10 and 12 and M, and at my height, that's really chubby), just that one line, and suddenly my sidebar on Gmail is full of ads for shops specializing in foundations and those sizes with the Xs in them (which I can't wear no matter how big I get because the proportions are off for my height, the shoulder seams reach to my elbows).
One of these days I'd love to write an email full of exciting keywords just to see what happens - but I don't want to draw the attention of the NSA.
.
There's this thing I'm seeing more and more of, where someone is keeping track of everything you look at online, and then selling that information to advertisers, who then focus on your "interests" for those ads over there on the margins. Targeted advertising.
Hey, folks, you're doing it wrong!
Like Amazon keeps track of what I've looked at or bought, and then makes suggestions, "just for me". Only what they show me are things I've already looked at or already bought! That makes no sense. I already have it, or I've already rejected it.
When I buy something on eBay, I get a message that "People who bought [what I just bought] also bought [pictures of of similar items]". Well, a couple of problems there:
1. There are NO other people who bought what I just bought. I bought the only one. You lie!
2. If other people bought these other things, they're already sold. What help is that to me?
If I search for toy ovens, for days afterward I am inundated with ads for toy ovens. Hey, I just bought one!
I have to draw on my eyebrows, and they frequently disappear within an hour, so the other day I searched for and bought a blond eyebrow pencil (actually a liquid with a fine brush to draw "hairs" with) that is guaranteed to last all day. I bought it from a particular beauty supply outlet. Now my margins are filled with ads from that outlet, not ads for any of their other products, but ads for the very same pencil I already bought. Duh?
Targeted advertising is crap. It's been poorly implemented by people who don't have enough brains to understand that people don't want to look at things they've already looked at. It's being signed up for and paid for by retailers who are no smarter.
Maybe people might be interested in things related to things they've looked at?
Like after I had looked at covers for the a/c units, maybe instead of throwing more a/c covers at me, you should suggest patio furniture or grill covers. After I bought one John Smith book, instead of suggesting I buy that book again, maybe you could suggest other books by the same author, or a different author in the same genre. After I bought the toy oven, maybe you could suggest other toys in the same age range.
I am especially disturbed by Gmail's scanning my emails for keywords. I mentioned to a friend recently that I had gotten chubby since last we met (Yeah, I've gone from the size 6 and S I wore three years ago to 10 and 12 and M, and at my height, that's really chubby), just that one line, and suddenly my sidebar on Gmail is full of ads for shops specializing in foundations and those sizes with the Xs in them (which I can't wear no matter how big I get because the proportions are off for my height, the shoulder seams reach to my elbows).
One of these days I'd love to write an email full of exciting keywords just to see what happens - but I don't want to draw the attention of the NSA.
.
Friday, October 04, 2013
3771 Freakin' out here. Part Three.
Friday, October 4, 2013
I followed the online news stories coming out of Washington yesterday. I tore out more of my hair.
The first reports quoted police saying that the woman attempted to "break through a gate" at the White House, and then rammed a barricade. I guess there were too many witnesses, and people who pointed out that there was no damage to the front of her car, because that changed to "attempted to go through" a gate (which was open). "Ramming a barricade" became "tried to go around" one of those fence section dohickies like are used for crowd control that a secret service agent was pulling in front of her car in an attempt to divert her. She did hit the agent (who ran in front of her car), who was injured when he slid to the ground.
She then took off at high speed, acquiring a screaming police tail.
They managed to stop her (or she just stopped, not sure) and blocked her in with a police cruiser behind her. Now, initial reports said she shot at the police at that point. However, I guess there were too many witnesses who pointed out that her windows were closed and unbroken, so much later that version changed. She looked out her window and saw a cop in that classic firing range position, with a gun 18 inches from her and pointed at her head. (Having read my immediately previous blog post, and being herself of the "wrong" race, she knew what was coming, so...) She backed into the blocking police car, wiggled out, and took off again.
Reporters were careful to point out that she then headed to the capitol building and senate offices. (The video actually shows her literally going around in circles.) If you look at any map of DC, the capitol building is straight up the widest road from the White House, so it doesn't take any planning to get there.
The police fired on the car, and then stopped her again. Interestingly, there is no video of that stop. Initial reports said she got out of the car and opened fire on the officers, so they shot her dead. Barrump-bump.
Later reports noted that she was unarmed.
This morning's reports say she never even got out of the car. They shot her while she was sitting in the car. Judge, jury, executioner?
Police claim they didn't know there was an infant in the car during all that shooting. I call B.S. On that first stop, you KNOW someone checked the back seat to make sure there weren't three more people hiding back there. That's SOP. Modern infant car seats are huge and stand out from the back seat. Plus, "news" reports noted a baby in the back even before that final stop.
-------------------------------
Now, all that speculation reported as fact was disturbing enough. Everybody was so anxious to get the info out first that they didn't care if it was accurate or not.
What REALLY got to me was the comments on the articles from (here we go again, can you tell I'm furious?) assholes.
Almost all of the commenters, better than 98%, made it into a political act, blaming anger at the government shutdown. Half blamed Congress (about evenly divided between blaming Republicans for their assholery, and Democrats for their refusal tocompromise capitulate). The other half pointed out that she headed for the White House first, so obviously Obama was to blame.
What got me was that EVERYONE was absolutely sure that THEY KNEW what her motive and intent was. With NO facts, NO knowlege of her, they were SURE they knew exactly what was going on in her head.
You have no idea how much that infuriates me!
--------------------------------
So, early evening, Daughter and Nugget visited, and I told Daughter what was going on, and how angry all thisspeculation knowing and laying blame made me.
She thinks like me. She and I immediately came up with a story (one of a hundred possibilities) that could explain what was really going on with the woman. It is every bit as valid as all those other theories, so why did no one consider something like this?
By the way, this morning's reports, after interviews with family and friends, reveal that she's apolitical, and after her daughter's birth in August of 2012, she suffered such severe postpartum depression that she had been hospitalized. "She's still not right." It may be that the baby fell asleep in the car, and she just kept driving, to get a few hours of that blessed peace.
She was driving from Connecticut to Virginia for whatever reason. She got off the beltway at the wrong exit, and instead of going into Virginia, she found herself at the Mall. Traffic is the usual mess, and she's not a confident city driver, and to make matters worse, she needs a restroom so bad her eyeballs literally hurt (no restrooms on the beltway). Oh, well, the monuments all have restrooms in their basements, so maybe that's ok.
But none of the monuments are open. The parking lots are blocked. This isn't a civilized European country with public, self-cleaning bathrooms on the sidewalks. To make matters worse, the baby woke up and is screaming bloody murder. It all gets to her and she goes slightly nuts. If you are a mother, you know that craziness.
Then she spots the White House, and an open gate. Maybe they're open. Maybe they have tourist restrooms.
She turns in, and is thwarted by some guy who wants to close the gate. NO WAY! No way you are closing NOW, when I need it so desperately! Wait until I'm done! She tries to go around the barricade and bumps the guy pushing it, knocking him to the ground. Oh, f**k. I don't need this. Besides, I just pissed all over the car seat, so f**k you all, it's all your fault, I'm outta here.
She notices she now has a screaming police escort. Is that for me?! All she wants to do is get away. Out of here. Out of the nightmare. Make it all go away. Angry and slightly crazed by her ruined upholstery, wet crotch, and screaming baby, down to both physical and mental tunnel vision, she hits the gas.
The police manage to pull her over. She looks to the driver side window, expecting to find an angry cop that she has grovel to, explain things to, maybe she'll get a ticket, oh crap, I really don't need this.
Instead, she's staring straight into the barrel of a gun. She's heard the stories. Scared witless, she takes off. Get away from here! Find someplace safe! Now they're shooting at me! Oh my god, I knew that would happen! Get away, away, away!
Finally she stops. Maybe I can explain this. Maybe they'll give me some dry underpants. Maybe the baby will stop that infernal screaming. I can't think when she's screaming...
Bang. Dead.
.
All mushrooms are edible. Some only once per person.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I followed the online news stories coming out of Washington yesterday. I tore out more of my hair.
The first reports quoted police saying that the woman attempted to "break through a gate" at the White House, and then rammed a barricade. I guess there were too many witnesses, and people who pointed out that there was no damage to the front of her car, because that changed to "attempted to go through" a gate (which was open). "Ramming a barricade" became "tried to go around" one of those fence section dohickies like are used for crowd control that a secret service agent was pulling in front of her car in an attempt to divert her. She did hit the agent (who ran in front of her car), who was injured when he slid to the ground.
She then took off at high speed, acquiring a screaming police tail.
They managed to stop her (or she just stopped, not sure) and blocked her in with a police cruiser behind her. Now, initial reports said she shot at the police at that point. However, I guess there were too many witnesses who pointed out that her windows were closed and unbroken, so much later that version changed. She looked out her window and saw a cop in that classic firing range position, with a gun 18 inches from her and pointed at her head. (Having read my immediately previous blog post, and being herself of the "wrong" race, she knew what was coming, so...) She backed into the blocking police car, wiggled out, and took off again.
Reporters were careful to point out that she then headed to the capitol building and senate offices. (The video actually shows her literally going around in circles.) If you look at any map of DC, the capitol building is straight up the widest road from the White House, so it doesn't take any planning to get there.
The police fired on the car, and then stopped her again. Interestingly, there is no video of that stop. Initial reports said she got out of the car and opened fire on the officers, so they shot her dead. Barrump-bump.
Later reports noted that she was unarmed.
This morning's reports say she never even got out of the car. They shot her while she was sitting in the car. Judge, jury, executioner?
Police claim they didn't know there was an infant in the car during all that shooting. I call B.S. On that first stop, you KNOW someone checked the back seat to make sure there weren't three more people hiding back there. That's SOP. Modern infant car seats are huge and stand out from the back seat. Plus, "news" reports noted a baby in the back even before that final stop.
-------------------------------
Now, all that speculation reported as fact was disturbing enough. Everybody was so anxious to get the info out first that they didn't care if it was accurate or not.
What REALLY got to me was the comments on the articles from (here we go again, can you tell I'm furious?) assholes.
Almost all of the commenters, better than 98%, made it into a political act, blaming anger at the government shutdown. Half blamed Congress (about evenly divided between blaming Republicans for their assholery, and Democrats for their refusal to
What got me was that EVERYONE was absolutely sure that THEY KNEW what her motive and intent was. With NO facts, NO knowlege of her, they were SURE they knew exactly what was going on in her head.
You have no idea how much that infuriates me!
--------------------------------
So, early evening, Daughter and Nugget visited, and I told Daughter what was going on, and how angry all this
She thinks like me. She and I immediately came up with a story (one of a hundred possibilities) that could explain what was really going on with the woman. It is every bit as valid as all those other theories, so why did no one consider something like this?
By the way, this morning's reports, after interviews with family and friends, reveal that she's apolitical, and after her daughter's birth in August of 2012, she suffered such severe postpartum depression that she had been hospitalized. "She's still not right." It may be that the baby fell asleep in the car, and she just kept driving, to get a few hours of that blessed peace.
Our possible story:
She was driving from Connecticut to Virginia for whatever reason. She got off the beltway at the wrong exit, and instead of going into Virginia, she found herself at the Mall. Traffic is the usual mess, and she's not a confident city driver, and to make matters worse, she needs a restroom so bad her eyeballs literally hurt (no restrooms on the beltway). Oh, well, the monuments all have restrooms in their basements, so maybe that's ok.
But none of the monuments are open. The parking lots are blocked. This isn't a civilized European country with public, self-cleaning bathrooms on the sidewalks. To make matters worse, the baby woke up and is screaming bloody murder. It all gets to her and she goes slightly nuts. If you are a mother, you know that craziness.
Then she spots the White House, and an open gate. Maybe they're open. Maybe they have tourist restrooms.
She turns in, and is thwarted by some guy who wants to close the gate. NO WAY! No way you are closing NOW, when I need it so desperately! Wait until I'm done! She tries to go around the barricade and bumps the guy pushing it, knocking him to the ground. Oh, f**k. I don't need this. Besides, I just pissed all over the car seat, so f**k you all, it's all your fault, I'm outta here.
She notices she now has a screaming police escort. Is that for me?! All she wants to do is get away. Out of here. Out of the nightmare. Make it all go away. Angry and slightly crazed by her ruined upholstery, wet crotch, and screaming baby, down to both physical and mental tunnel vision, she hits the gas.
The police manage to pull her over. She looks to the driver side window, expecting to find an angry cop that she has grovel to, explain things to, maybe she'll get a ticket, oh crap, I really don't need this.
Instead, she's staring straight into the barrel of a gun. She's heard the stories. Scared witless, she takes off. Get away from here! Find someplace safe! Now they're shooting at me! Oh my god, I knew that would happen! Get away, away, away!
Finally she stops. Maybe I can explain this. Maybe they'll give me some dry underpants. Maybe the baby will stop that infernal screaming. I can't think when she's screaming...
Bang. Dead.
.
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