I’m not a fan but even I knew about the hard-knocks of the Cubs. Way to go fellas.
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Trees and Bees
On Saturday we attacked some of the trees that came over in the hurricane. One of the hickories in the backyard was laying in the yard and was making it difficult to walk past. It is now a mere stump. I acted as the resident mule again and while the better-half chain-sawed I held onto the tree with a rope to keep it from bouncing into his face. Of course, towards the end of the cutting and during the most dangerous part, I’m struggling on the end of the rope only to find that our hammock post is actually holding the tree off the ground. The tree was just resting on the very edge of the top of the post. Who knew that post was so tough and so strong.
We also cut an oak down that was leaning over the driveway. It was still alive but we play no games with stuff blocking us in or out so the tree came over. When it thudded to the ground (just like in the movies), I yelled to the better-half “Sweet”. We also cut down a pine that had died and it needed to come out of the little stand of pines because we’re afraid that it was killed by pine-bark-beetles. They get in one tree and you can kiss the others goodbye. Hopefully, we won’t have that problem.
Speaking of bugs, I am not a fan of bees. Any kind of bee is only bettered by it dying. I guess some can live so we can have honey and pollinated plant life, but, by and large, I want them to die. I was once attacked by a swarm of bumblebees as a child and it really did scar me for life. I’ve also had the misfortune of running over a yellow jacket nest with the lawn mower. I raced into the house with bees hanging off me.
On Saturday while we were cutting wood out at the driveway, I whined about all the yellow jackets. The better-half had a rational explanation that they were there for the sap and they weren’t interested in me. As I was dragging branches and tree trunks into the woods I realized that I had walked right into a swarm of yellow jackets. I delicately dropped the large branch I was dragging and took a deep breath. Then I slowly backed out of there — which was really hard because I had to walk (backwards) over all the branches and sticks that I had previously piled up. I then pointed out the huge swarm to the better-half. He said that we must have stacked the brush pile right on top of a nest. Great…I’d been walking in yellow jacket hell for over an hour and didn’t even know it.
Posted in House Proud
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120 Spam on the Wall
So I opened my hotmail account today and saw that I had 120 pieces of Junk Mail. Only one of those was from a company I’ve dealt with in the past. I didn’t read their email and flushed the entire contents away. I also had 2 other pieces of crap in another folder. The good news is that the calls at home have dwindled…so I’m only getting repetitive sales solicitations through email and occasionally through the USPS.
Speaking of dwindling calls, our answering machine (clever segue, eh?) died during the hurricane and we haven’t replaced it yet. It has been a little bit liberating. Yesterday we did look at BJ’s to see what they had in the way of machines but all of their machines are bundled with portable phones. Our phones are still relatively new and so we are another day without a machine. The way I look at it is that if you really need to get in touch then you try me again or send me an email.
Posted in Reading
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All About the Food
While some may call today Friday, I’m calling it Food Day because it has been all about eating. I’m feeling a little over-stuffed right now and am wishing I had a little elastic on the waistline.
This morning I met A.W. for breakfast at the River City Diner in the Bottom (long story but the Bottom is an area of town–really). I had a Country Omelet and if you can imagine an item getting included in an omelet then you can get a picture of what I ate. Delicious. A.W. got french toast and a side of bacon. Of course, she had to make sure there was enough bacon in the side order or she was prepared to order two sides–can you understand why we are friends?
Then for lunch I met friends from the State. We had a good lunch and it was good to see everyone. T.P. had a hilarious story about nearly dropping her underwear while training. L.P. sprung for lunch–life is good.
This afternoon the better-half and I went to the State Fair of Virginia. We saw some sheep getting sheared. We saw a hog the size of Texas and some 1- and 2-day old calves. We also visited with the chickens and ducks. The Chicken Tent is mandatory since the better-half had chickens as a kid. Personally, chickens creep me out a little.
For feasting we had a corn dog, a slice of pizza, a gyro, a lemonade and a funnel cake. To make myself clear—that’s one each of those tasty treats for each of us. We also split a Coke. See why I’m about to burst?
Posted in Eating
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Yeah, Right
Do you think Schwarzenegger is apologizing because he truly feels bad about what he said/did or is it because he’s running for office?
Posted in General Spleen Venting
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You are Talking Too Fast
There is a fascinating article in the NY Times today about accelerating recordings to eck out more time for commericals and to consolidate storage for everything from lecture notes to 911 calls.
Here’s the reason I’m mentioning this at all:
–Most research has indicated no loss of comprehension or intelligibility at playback speeds of two or even three times normal speed. Cameron Earle, who is helping to commercialize variable-speed playback applications developed by Brigham Young University, said that most students chose rates that were 80 to 120 percent faster than normal with no decrease in test scores. Although it does take some getting used to, Mr. Earle said, he estimates that “80 percent of acclimation is in the first hour.”
Perhaps even more significant, the technology may have benefits beyond saving time and money. “People who are listening at accelerated speeds learn just as much, and there’s some evidence they may learn even a bit more,” said Kevin Harrigan, an associate professor at the Center for Learning and Teaching Through Technology of the University of Waterloo in Canada. The consensus is that the extra brainpower needed to follow speedy speech enhances comprehension. “If you’re listening at accelerated speeds,” said Joel Galbraith, a researcher in Penn State’s instructional systems program, “it forces you to not do anything else, so you’re more focused on it.”
Ray Juang, a University of California undergraduate who would often fall asleep in Berkeley’s vast lecture halls, agrees. “On average, I understand the material better during playback than in the actual lecture room,” Mr. Juang said. “The speed-up does force me to pay more attention.”–
So, riddle me this Batman, during all the trainings I’ve ever given I always have someone who says “You are talking too fast”. Kind of makes me want to whip out this article the next time I hear that and say “Pay more attention.”
Posted in Listening
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Losers
Yesterday (as in not Today) I read the article about the guy in search of the Loch Ness monster on Yahoo!. I used the “Email Story” feature to email the story to my hotmail account so that I’d remember to dig up the photo and post it.
I’m still holding my breath for that story. No, it didn’t go into the Junk Mail folder and get lost forever and NO I didn’t mistype my own email address. The story just didn’t show up period. Yahoo! Losers.
Posted in Reading
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What’s the Big Deal?
I read about a man, who, apparently, finds joy in running marathons while wearing a diving suit, making an attempt to find the Loch Ness monster.
What I don’t understand is why? When we were there in May 2001 we saw Nessie and her offspring…
Posted in Generic Thoughts
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Interesting Read in the Smithsonian
There’s an interesting and entertaining article about Obituaries in the October issue of Smithsonian. I wrote awhile ago that I was disappointed with Smithsonian’s coverage of stories so I figured if I can complain I can also praise. There’s also a good article on Dubai and, while interesting, it reinforces my original thought that Smithsonian is trying too hard to be topical.
Yesterday I heard a story on NPR about a new book out regarding James Smithson donating money to start the Smithsonian. I didn’t know that the Smithsonian has James Smithson’s bones in a crypt. As far as anyone knows, James never visited America while he was alive.
Posted in Reading
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Season Opener ER
I finally got to see the season opener of ER. I was disappointed but if this episode finally puts a nail in the Carter & Abby love-fest then I’m a happy camper.
Also, what’s up with the ER being totally reconstructed? It was a bad device to show us (yet again) how hard they have it at the nitty gritty ER. And, furthermore, how “safe” is an ER that uses plastic doors instead of metal detectors? Oh wait, I forgot, now that Carter has had his world-view altered by his two week vacation in Africa he just doesn’t care anymore about getting shot or stabbed at work.
And, what kind of job does Carter have where he can just say “Later, I’m going to Africa and I’m stealing a bunch of medical supplies while I’m at it”? How much vacation does he really have?
How many patients have to die before someone does their job and orients medical students?
When will Romano and Corday finally throw down in the bathroom thereby ejecting horny Susan?
Do you think Weaver’s health insurance will cover the purchase of a new cane since she had to have bent the other one while she was going off on that worker’s ladder? Hey, Crazy Lady, Get A Grip.
Does anyone else think that the whole Luka thing is just a ploy? How could they take Mr. Handsome off the show? Oh, maybe the actor wanted to leave because his storylines always entail his patient either dying or him sucking down too much booze.
Posted in Watching
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