Monday, July 27, 2009
Not So Bright.
A video that disproves the theory that Mankind is the most intelligent of the life forms on earth.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Looks Like A Fun Wedding
You've probably seen this - it's all over the Internet and was even featured on the Today Show yesterday. Here it is in case you've missed it.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Woodstock
Memories
From Boing Boing. I post this because it is a little sentimental for me - my wife and I got married the summer of Woodstock.
On Saturday, I posted about a new gallery show of Burk Uzzle's Woodstock photos, including the iconic shot seen above left. Turns out, the couple in the photo who had only met a few months before the concert are still together 40 years later. From the New York Daily News (photo Harbus for News):
Swimming?
If it ever warms up here in Central New York this summer, I might give some thought to taking the grandkids to do some swimming. But maybe not like this...
The internet's been buzzing over a Brooklyn company's plan to convert discarded dumpsters into swimming pools, and now that they've successfully conned doltish hipsters into swimming inside of dumpsters, the owners want to expand their evil empire into suburbia.Read the article by clicking here.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
A Blonde Goes For An Interview Joke
A blonde goes for a job interview in an office. The interviewer starts with the basics.
"So, miss, can you tell us your age, please?"
The blonde counts carefully on her fingers for half a minute before replying, "Ummmm... 22."
The interviewer tries another straightforward one to break the ice. "And can you tell us your height, please?"
The young lady stands up and produces a measuring tape from her handbag. She then traps one end under her foot and extends the tape to the top of her head. She checks the measurement and announces, "Five foot four!"
This isn't looking good so the interviewer goes for the real basics -- something the interviewee won't have to count, measure or look up. "Just to confirm for our records, ma'am, what's your name, please?"
The blonde bobs her head from side to side for about 15 seconds, mouthing something silently to herself, before replying: "Mandy!"
The interviewer is completely baffled at this stage, so he asks, "What were you doing when I asked you your name?"
"Ohhhh, that!" replies the blonde, "I was just running through that song."
"Song? What song?" the interviewer asks.
"You know!" the blonde says. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...."
"So, miss, can you tell us your age, please?"
The blonde counts carefully on her fingers for half a minute before replying, "Ummmm... 22."
The interviewer tries another straightforward one to break the ice. "And can you tell us your height, please?"
The young lady stands up and produces a measuring tape from her handbag. She then traps one end under her foot and extends the tape to the top of her head. She checks the measurement and announces, "Five foot four!"
This isn't looking good so the interviewer goes for the real basics -- something the interviewee won't have to count, measure or look up. "Just to confirm for our records, ma'am, what's your name, please?"
The blonde bobs her head from side to side for about 15 seconds, mouthing something silently to herself, before replying: "Mandy!"
The interviewer is completely baffled at this stage, so he asks, "What were you doing when I asked you your name?"
"Ohhhh, that!" replies the blonde, "I was just running through that song."
"Song? What song?" the interviewer asks.
"You know!" the blonde says. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...."
Decorating - For The Dog Owner
Decorating when you have dogs can provide unique opportunities to express your own personal style and taste. Here are some tips I'd like to share:
1. Bare floors, without carpet or throw rugs, can give a nice open feeling to a room. It can provide a soothing balance when you have many art objects that reflect your love of animals.
2. Paw prints and nose smudges on glass doors and windows break up glare and soften the light in a room.
3. Dog crates, when stacked three high, can add height to a room and pull the eye up. If fastened securely to the wall, the top can provide a safe and dramatic place for exotic plants or statuary that otherwise might be molested by your pets. An up light can make it a real focal point.
4. Old towels and blankets thrown casually on upholstered furniture can add a wonderful homey, country-quilt look to an otherwise bland room.
5. Common smooth upholstery fabrics can look almost velvety when lightly textured with dog hair.
6. Vari-kennels, placed end to end and topped with plate glass can create an unusual coffee table, one your friends will really remember.
7. Doggie beds, randomly placed around a room, can add color and texture, much as throw pillows do.
8. Shredded or chewed books and magazines send a message to guests that they are free to relax and feel at home.
9. Dog crates can make versatile end tables, and can be slip covered to match any room decor.
10. There is absolutely nothing that makes a guest feel as welcome as three friendly dogs hopping in his lap as soon as he sits down.
So throw away those videos by Martha and others, and express your own unique tastes. Your home should reflect what YOU like!
1. Bare floors, without carpet or throw rugs, can give a nice open feeling to a room. It can provide a soothing balance when you have many art objects that reflect your love of animals.
2. Paw prints and nose smudges on glass doors and windows break up glare and soften the light in a room.
3. Dog crates, when stacked three high, can add height to a room and pull the eye up. If fastened securely to the wall, the top can provide a safe and dramatic place for exotic plants or statuary that otherwise might be molested by your pets. An up light can make it a real focal point.
4. Old towels and blankets thrown casually on upholstered furniture can add a wonderful homey, country-quilt look to an otherwise bland room.
5. Common smooth upholstery fabrics can look almost velvety when lightly textured with dog hair.
6. Vari-kennels, placed end to end and topped with plate glass can create an unusual coffee table, one your friends will really remember.
7. Doggie beds, randomly placed around a room, can add color and texture, much as throw pillows do.
8. Shredded or chewed books and magazines send a message to guests that they are free to relax and feel at home.
9. Dog crates can make versatile end tables, and can be slip covered to match any room decor.
10. There is absolutely nothing that makes a guest feel as welcome as three friendly dogs hopping in his lap as soon as he sits down.
So throw away those videos by Martha and others, and express your own unique tastes. Your home should reflect what YOU like!
Drunks
Getting drunk always seems like a fun idea before the party begins - but afterward, not so much...
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| From Chuck's Fun Page 2 |
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| From Chuck's Fun Page 2 |
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| From Chuck's Fun Page 2 |
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| From Chuck's Fun Page 2 |
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| From Chuck's Fun Page 2 |
Monday, July 13, 2009
And Through the Internet - Now People WILL Know...
Michael Jackson dies and it’s 24/7 news coverage. A real American hero dies and not a mention of it in the news.
You’re a 19-year-old kid. You’re critically wounded and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley , 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam . Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.
You’re lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you’re not getting out.. Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away and you’ll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.
Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter and you look up to see an unarmed Huey, but it doesn’t seem real because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.
Ed FreemanEd Freeman is coming for you. He’s not Medi-Vac, so it’s not his job, but he’s flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.
He’s coming anyway.
And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire as they load 2 or 3 of you on board.
Then he flies you up and out, through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses.
And he kept coming back, 13 more times, and took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.
Medal of Honor Recipient Ed Freeman died on Wednesday, June 25th, 2009, at the age of 80, in Boise , ID.
(From Bits and Pieces)
You’re a 19-year-old kid. You’re critically wounded and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley , 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam . Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.
You’re lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you’re not getting out.. Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away and you’ll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.
Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter and you look up to see an unarmed Huey, but it doesn’t seem real because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.
Ed FreemanEd Freeman is coming for you. He’s not Medi-Vac, so it’s not his job, but he’s flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.
He’s coming anyway.
And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire as they load 2 or 3 of you on board.
Then he flies you up and out, through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses.
And he kept coming back, 13 more times, and took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.
Medal of Honor Recipient Ed Freeman died on Wednesday, June 25th, 2009, at the age of 80, in Boise , ID.
(From Bits and Pieces)
Sunday, July 12, 2009
A Long Time
I usually avoid personal posts here, but I guess I'm changing. Last week I posted about playing golf and cleaning found golf balls. Today I make another personal post.
My wife and I celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary today. Nothing much exciting - we took our Toyota Solara convertible and drove the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail, stopping off in Ithaca and at a couple of wineries. We brought home about 8 bottles of wine that we liked.
It was quite cool - never got above 73 degrees F where we were - so we had our jackets on when we had the top down. Still, a nice peaceful day.
We stopped and had dinner at Pier 57 on Rte 57 in Liverpool (NY) - an excellent seafood bisque and a great pot roast (my wife) - but the tuna casserole I had was quite bland.
My wife and I celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary today. Nothing much exciting - we took our Toyota Solara convertible and drove the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail, stopping off in Ithaca and at a couple of wineries. We brought home about 8 bottles of wine that we liked.
It was quite cool - never got above 73 degrees F where we were - so we had our jackets on when we had the top down. Still, a nice peaceful day.
We stopped and had dinner at Pier 57 on Rte 57 in Liverpool (NY) - an excellent seafood bisque and a great pot roast (my wife) - but the tuna casserole I had was quite bland.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Way Back When
Michael Jackson was not the first to do strange walking dance steps - including the moonwalk. Here are some predecessors...
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
How I Clean Found Golf Balls
[Edit - here's an update to my process]
Hi. My name is Charles and I'm a golfer.
That should explain a lot. I spend a lot of my spring, summer and fall days hitting and chasing golf balls. It borders on mental illness, I think.
I'm really very bad at it - a good round for me is double-bogey golf - and that's a good round - but I repeat myself.
I usually walk when I play - and I usually play alone. I do have golfing buddies, but they have lives and do other things than play golf, so I usually only play with them once or twice a week.
Since I'm playing alone and since I'm spending a lot of time in the rough - in the woods - along the edges of the ponds and streams - I look for and find a lot of "lost" golf balls. I put quotes around the word lost back there because once I find them, they aren't lost any more - now they're found balls. And I clean them up and reuse them.
[If you're a good golfer - playing bogey golf or better, don't cheap it out - buy and play new golf balls. You don't need the headache of a ball that won't spin the way you want it to or one that has lost 10 yards on a drive. To me it makes little difference. But I would guess that used golf balls don't play quite like new ones.]
Only now I've got a lot more golf balls than I'll use in a lifetime - so I give some away and I've got my local club selling some of them for me. Others I have stashed all over my garage and my shed.
I went looking online for some ideas as to how to clean and refinish the balls, but I discovered that refinishing them isn't for the amateur - it takes some equipment and knowledge that I don't have. So I narrowed the process down to just cleaning golf balls and I like to think I've become a bit of an expert. If anyone else who cleans golf balls happens to wander in here, you might find something interesting and/or useful.
First of all, make sure the golf ball you've found is actually lost and not that of the golfer following you or coming up another fairway near the one you are playing. It is not considered good etiquette to pick someone else's ball that is in play. I think that's one reason there aren't too many friends who will play with me anymore.
Secondly, consider it a lucky find if you come across a golf ball that is lying in the fairway or in the edge of the rough which doesn't require too much cleaning. Just wait until the next tee box and run it through those brushes in the ball washer and bingo - it's clean and ready to use.
BUT most of the golf balls I find are badly scuffed, bruised, muddy or covered in algae. Some of these are salvageable, some are not. The balls that are cut (maybe sliced by a bad golfer or maybe run over by a lawn mower) should be tossed. They won't play well.
Of those balls that I recover and keep, I grade into three categories - Excellent, Good and Fair. I mention this because it makes a difference how much time I am willing to spend cleaning them - it can take five minutes to clean a ball dredged up from the bottom of a creek after it has been there for two years only to discover that it is a yellowed, pitted ball.
When I bring the "found" balls home, I toss them in a bucket of soapy water and leave them for a day or two to soften up the dirt on them.
When I pull a golf ball out of the bucket to clean it, I assess it's condition. Lightly soiled balls might be clean just from soaking in the bucket, I dry them with an old terry cloth bath towel.
For others, slightly more stained, I scrub the damp ball lightly with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser sponge. These sponges are a little pricey (they're sold in grocery stores, drug stores, department stores etc.) and wear out quickly, so I use them sparingly.
If a ball hits the grunge jackpot, a deep coating of stains or algae, I use some cleanser (Bon Ami) on the damp ball and scrub really deeply. One piece of advice I found on the Internet suggested using some dry Tide laundry detergent powder instead, but we use liquid detergent so I haven't tried this. Finish up with the Magic Eraser.
For any golf balls that I've cleaned and want to brighten a little, I soak them in a bucket of 50% bleach, 50% water. Sometimes this works, sometimes not. This also probably works better if part of the time you keep this bucket in the sun - but I'm just guessing.
If the ball you've found has magic marker initials or dots on it for identification of the previous owner, I find that rubbing with the magic eraser often lightens it, than a day in the bleach/water bucket gets rid of it.
Finally, I sort out the balls into my three categories. I play with those I deem excellent (like new or very good condition).
The balls that are good, but slightly discolored or maybe a small scuff, I use as practice balls around the yard or if I want to play a second shot out on the course for practice when things aren't busy.
The last batch, those that are only fair, I hit them off into the woods out behind our house - or I've been known to take them to a driving range where they're not particular about the quality of the golf balls they give you. You could also drive them into a pond out on the course, or something like that.
I find a lot of golf balls so I don't need to chance a bad shot out on the course, when I'm keeping score, on a lousy ball.
But it's your call.
UPDATE: I'm still cleaning and one piece of advice I might have missed - I use old terry cloth towels cut into rags to clean the balls. The coarseness of the terry cloth often times is enough to clean off stubborn dirt and algae without the expense of using Magic Erasers and scouring powder. Just sayin'.
Hi. My name is Charles and I'm a golfer.
That should explain a lot. I spend a lot of my spring, summer and fall days hitting and chasing golf balls. It borders on mental illness, I think.
 |
| From Chuck's Fun Page 2 |
I usually walk when I play - and I usually play alone. I do have golfing buddies, but they have lives and do other things than play golf, so I usually only play with them once or twice a week.
Since I'm playing alone and since I'm spending a lot of time in the rough - in the woods - along the edges of the ponds and streams - I look for and find a lot of "lost" golf balls. I put quotes around the word lost back there because once I find them, they aren't lost any more - now they're found balls. And I clean them up and reuse them.
[If you're a good golfer - playing bogey golf or better, don't cheap it out - buy and play new golf balls. You don't need the headache of a ball that won't spin the way you want it to or one that has lost 10 yards on a drive. To me it makes little difference. But I would guess that used golf balls don't play quite like new ones.]
Only now I've got a lot more golf balls than I'll use in a lifetime - so I give some away and I've got my local club selling some of them for me. Others I have stashed all over my garage and my shed.
I went looking online for some ideas as to how to clean and refinish the balls, but I discovered that refinishing them isn't for the amateur - it takes some equipment and knowledge that I don't have. So I narrowed the process down to just cleaning golf balls and I like to think I've become a bit of an expert. If anyone else who cleans golf balls happens to wander in here, you might find something interesting and/or useful.
First of all, make sure the golf ball you've found is actually lost and not that of the golfer following you or coming up another fairway near the one you are playing. It is not considered good etiquette to pick someone else's ball that is in play. I think that's one reason there aren't too many friends who will play with me anymore.
Secondly, consider it a lucky find if you come across a golf ball that is lying in the fairway or in the edge of the rough which doesn't require too much cleaning. Just wait until the next tee box and run it through those brushes in the ball washer and bingo - it's clean and ready to use.
BUT most of the golf balls I find are badly scuffed, bruised, muddy or covered in algae. Some of these are salvageable, some are not. The balls that are cut (maybe sliced by a bad golfer or maybe run over by a lawn mower) should be tossed. They won't play well.
Of those balls that I recover and keep, I grade into three categories - Excellent, Good and Fair. I mention this because it makes a difference how much time I am willing to spend cleaning them - it can take five minutes to clean a ball dredged up from the bottom of a creek after it has been there for two years only to discover that it is a yellowed, pitted ball.
When I bring the "found" balls home, I toss them in a bucket of soapy water and leave them for a day or two to soften up the dirt on them.
When I pull a golf ball out of the bucket to clean it, I assess it's condition. Lightly soiled balls might be clean just from soaking in the bucket, I dry them with an old terry cloth bath towel.
For others, slightly more stained, I scrub the damp ball lightly with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser sponge. These sponges are a little pricey (they're sold in grocery stores, drug stores, department stores etc.) and wear out quickly, so I use them sparingly.
If a ball hits the grunge jackpot, a deep coating of stains or algae, I use some cleanser (Bon Ami) on the damp ball and scrub really deeply. One piece of advice I found on the Internet suggested using some dry Tide laundry detergent powder instead, but we use liquid detergent so I haven't tried this. Finish up with the Magic Eraser.
For any golf balls that I've cleaned and want to brighten a little, I soak them in a bucket of 50% bleach, 50% water. Sometimes this works, sometimes not. This also probably works better if part of the time you keep this bucket in the sun - but I'm just guessing.
If the ball you've found has magic marker initials or dots on it for identification of the previous owner, I find that rubbing with the magic eraser often lightens it, than a day in the bleach/water bucket gets rid of it.
Finally, I sort out the balls into my three categories. I play with those I deem excellent (like new or very good condition).
The balls that are good, but slightly discolored or maybe a small scuff, I use as practice balls around the yard or if I want to play a second shot out on the course for practice when things aren't busy.
The last batch, those that are only fair, I hit them off into the woods out behind our house - or I've been known to take them to a driving range where they're not particular about the quality of the golf balls they give you. You could also drive them into a pond out on the course, or something like that.
I find a lot of golf balls so I don't need to chance a bad shot out on the course, when I'm keeping score, on a lousy ball.
But it's your call.
UPDATE: I'm still cleaning and one piece of advice I might have missed - I use old terry cloth towels cut into rags to clean the balls. The coarseness of the terry cloth often times is enough to clean off stubborn dirt and algae without the expense of using Magic Erasers and scouring powder. Just sayin'.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Is It Better To Be A Man Or A Woman>
Miss Cellanina knows the answers...
THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING A WOMAN
THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING A WOMAN
1. We got off the Titanic first.
2. We can scare male bosses with mysterious gynecological disorder excuses.
THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING A MAN
1. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
2. You know stuff about tanks.
Click on the link above to read the fairly long lists.
Now That's An Interesting Idea
Carolina Naturally posted this back in February (2009)...
Vassalboro, Maine's newest coffee shop is garnering national attention for something other than its $3 a cup coffee. At the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop, the waitresses are, well, topless.
You can read the local paper's report here. The most interesting piece of news is not near the top of the story--it's not the news that many local residents are unhappy, or that other locals are already stopping by (as many as 60 customers on Monday).
The Kennebec Journal reports that the shop's owner Donald Crabtree said that he interviewed 150 people for the positions, "and narrowed the field to 10."
Further evidence that this is a rough job market.
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