Happy Halloween!

And all of a sudden, it's Halloween day!

Sorry I haven't posted in the past few days, but I've been rather busy. Later today, I'll post a pic of my costume. I think it's cool. :-)

Halloween fun

Here's some Halloween fun for you, from a wise-crackin' skeleton. I may post other Halloween goodies as they come to me.

http://dedge.com/flash/hangman/hangman.swf?a=300

Do the Math

From an e-mail that was sent to me:

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Subject: Fascinating Mathematics

Study this a bit as you read it.......follow the sequence of numbers, it's really fascinating.

Beauty of Math!

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

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

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

Brilliant, isn't it?

And look at this symmetry:

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

Now, take a look at this...

101%

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:

What Equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?

We have all been in situations where someone wants you to GIVE OVER 100%.

How about ACHIEVING 101%?

What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help answer these questions:

If:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

If:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K

8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And:

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E

11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%
But:

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:

L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D

12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will
get you there, It's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

It's up to you if you share this with your friends l just
the way I did.

Have a nice day & God bless!!!

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Okay, the ending has a referenc to God in it.
It didn't kill ya, did it? ;-)

Anyway, I thought that all that math was rather interesting. Who knew that one could have fun with numbers - other than "creative accountants", that is... ;-)

Chinese recalls

What with all these recalls of Chinese products that have lead in them...

....Superman must be going nuts right now trying to use his x-ray vision, don't you think?

Pics of butterflies

When I went out house shopping yesterday, I came across some butterflies sitting on some low tree branches, which allowed me to snap the pics below. They came out pretty good, donchathink?

Church bulletin notations

You probably have gotten these from time to time. They still crack me up. :-D

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Subject: Church bulletins

They're back! Church Bulletins! Thank God for church ladies with typewriters. These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services:

The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.

The sermon this morning: 'Jesus Walks on the Water.' The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus.'

Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.

Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.

The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.

Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say 'Hell' to someone who doesn't care much about you.

Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.

Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again,' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing: 'Break Forth Into Joy.'

Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24th in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.

At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What Is Hell?' Come early and listen to our choir practice.

Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility. Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.

The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM . All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. is done.

The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.

Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM . Please use the back door.

The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: 'I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours'.

Public restroom of the future?

This past weekend, I went to a restaurant that - in 1940's gangster movie lingo - would be called a "greasy spoon". I go there from time to time because the food's good and the price is reasonable. Anyway, it had been a while since I went to this place, probably more than a year. No reason - it's just not at as convenient a location as other places I go to.

Anyway, I went the bathroom to wash my hands because I had just gassed the car and my hands got dirty handling the pump. Lo and behold, I saw in this greasy spoon a touch of modern technology that has been appearing in other local restaurants lately: It was the "no-touch towel dispenser", the kind where you just wave your hand in front of the dispenser, and it spits out a section of towel for you so that you don't have to touch a handle to do it yourself. Their dispenser was out of order, and there was a roll of paper towels sitting on top of it, so at least it's good for something. But that's beside the point. The point is that this little greasy spoon even had this wonder of modern technology.

In other bathrooms, you can also turn on the faucet and flush the toilet without touching them. I've been told (but I've yet to see it) that there is such a thing as a "no-touch soap dispenser". On top of that is a news article that I wish I had saved, because it was on a door handle - for your foot! Yep, it's at the bottom of the door, and it's just large enough for someone to insert the tip of their foot so that they can open the door.

So what's with all this "no touch" business? Germaphobia, my friends. All these no-touch devices limit how much we come in contact with these things, which theoretically should limit our chances of exposure to nasty germs and stuff. So far, I've yet to see a bathroom that has all of the above. But imagine that: You enter the bathroom door by pushing it - maybe with your elbow or your shoulder. For men, when you go to the urinal, there's some device there that will flush it for you when you leave. In the toilet stall, there's another device that will flush it for you as well when you're done "taking care of business" (I'm assuming that the ladies' rooms have such devices as well in their stalls. I honestly don't know).

You will still have to handle the stall door to lock it, and you'll still have to handle the toilet paper. Maybe that's something that the bathroom engineers are currently working on (there is this device in the works). Anyway, after that, you can turn on the sink, get some soap, and get some paper towels all without having to touch them. And then we leave by using the foot handle. Them ol' germs have a much tougher time getting to you, but we still need to get that chance of getting germs down further. You still have to sit on the seat, and your shoes still touch the floor.

So what's next? I think that it's Zero-G bathrooms. You just push your way into the bathroom, and float in. No touching anything. There's still the problem of how you "take care of business" in zero-g, because you need gravity to "take care of business". Maybe that's something else that the bathroom engineers can take care of. Still, it's nice to see that there are bathroom engineers out there so dedicated to our hygiene needs.

The new 7 Liberal Arts

Once in a while when someone asks me what I got my Masters degree in, I tell them "Master of Liberal Arts. (there's even a national organization of us!)" Most people don't know what that is, so I tell them kiddingly, "That means that I can tree-hug, recycle, and tax-and-spend with the best of them!" Most of the time, they have to think about that a second to know what I'm talking about, but they always get it. My kidding reference is talking about "the art of being liberal today."

Sadly, there's also a lot of truth in that. Being liberal today means embracing certain viewpoints, or "you're not one of us". In other words, it's become a conformist way of thinking that would be considered ironic by that very same group of people a mere two decades ago. Being liberal used to mean being open-minded, but now it means something else, and it's not anything good.

What got me thinking about that is when someone asked me "So what are the new 7 liberals arts today?" I gave that some thought, and I told him, "You know, you just gave me something to blog about!" So let's get into what the new 7 liberal arts are now today....

In the past, the seven liberal arts were described as thus:

Grammar
Rhetoric
Logic
Geometry
Arithmetic
Music
Astronomy

Later, they became:

Theology
Literature
Languages
Philosophy
History
Mathematics
Science

However, now the "liberal arts" can be defined as thus:

Abortion Above All to the point that it is a de facto religion
An embracing of the communist concept of the redistribution of wealth (aka "taxing and spending ")
An embracing of environmental issues to the point that it is a de facto religion
An anti-religious outlook in life to the point that it is a de facto religion (ironic, eh?)
Darwinian understanding of evolution to the point that it is a de facto religion
Sexual "free-thinking"
Blame (or bash) Bush for everything

Notice that I say "to the point that it is a de facto religion" four times. That's important, because it means that today's liberals have embraced those viewpoints to the point that they now consider those views as dogmas - that is, beyond discussion much like a religious dogma. That is, if you criticize abortion, evolution, global warming, or their anti-religious views, you are criticizing their religion. Making such political, social, or scientific views into religious dogmas is neither good nor logical, and it is damaging to society if it is incorporated into law.

I once considered myself a liberal, but the above list of the new "liberal arts" has pushed me out of that category and has now made me into an "anti-liberal". By the way, this is NOT the same thing as being conservative - even though conservatives are largely anti-liberal. However, while nearly all conservatives are anti-liberals, not all anti-liberals are conservatives. That's probably the best way that I can put that. I've said before that I'm an independent, so with this new refinement, let's now call me an anti-liberal independent. For today's liberals, I'm a conservative, because anything to the right of them is conservative.

Somehow, someway, the classical liberal arts got subverted by these perversions of classical thinking, which is a shame, because such thinkers are needed today. With my blog, I am trying to do my part to restore that classical line of thinking so that logic and reason can one day rule the day once more. There's always going to be a need for the "old school".

Left brain vs. right brain

What direction does the woman below seem to be spinning?


























Here's info from this site on what it means when she's spinning in one direction or the other.

However, below is the same info:

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The Right Brain vs Left Brain test ... do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise?

If clockwise, then you use more of the right side of the brain and vice versa. Most of us would see the dancer turning anti-clockwise though you can try to focus and change the direction; see if you can do it.

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS

uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

-----------------------------------

Just so you know, I saw the woman spinning clockwise. Not surprising for an artist brain like mine. Also, I couldn't make the dancer spin the other way, even when I bribed her.

Texas Tech's Michael Vick shirts cause controversy

Texas Tech university suddenly found itself in the national spotlight over some Michael Vick shirts that one of its fraternities was selling. The shirt was supposed to be for TT's upcoming game against Texas A&M. A&M has a cheer of "Gig 'em", so the shirt saying "Vick 'em" was a play of words on that cheer. On the back was a silhouette of Vick holding up the A&M mascot by a noose (as shown below).

As expected, TT has ordered that the fraternity stop selling the shirt. By that time, 250 had been sold, and an offer has been made to replace free of charge the Vick shirt with another that says "Wreck 'em". So far, no one has taken up that offer. Know what they should have done? They should have offered to at least pay back what the buyers paid for the shirt.

Know why? Because the buyers know that they could probably get boo coos more bucks now that the shirt has gained notoriety. I checked e-Bay, and it was on sale there, but it's already been removed probably because of the notoriety. However, I bet it will go up again. While the shirt is certainly questionable in taste, e-Bay has had worse on sale on its site.

Michael Vick is probably going to have to put up with stuff like this for the rest of his life. I still don't understand why someone like him with all the money and fame and future success he had going for him would get involved in something like dog-fighting. Basically, he just threw away not just his career, but his personal reputation. I am very certain that other shirts and posters with similar content will be on the way. In other words, Vick should accept that this is probably only just the beginning...

Don't be such a yutz!

Yesterday I was looking up a certain word to see if it was Yiddish (the word was "schlub"). I went to Wikipedia, and discovered that there are a whole lotta words in the English language that are of Yiddish origin! Check this out!

I remember "schlemiel" and "schlimazel" from that old Laverne and Shirley TV show, because that was in their opening song. I have also heard other words such as bagel, chutzpah, schlep, and schmo. I've even used oy vey at one time or another. But there are other words that I haven't heard of. For instance...

noodge : to pester, nag, whine; as a noun, a pest or whiner

tummler : an entertainer or master of ceremonies, especially one who encourages audience interaction

pisher : a nobody, an inexperienced person (for some reason, there's several Yiddish words for various types of foolish or dim-witted persons)

meshuggener : a crazy person

ganef or gonif : thief, scoundrel, rascal

macher : big shot, important person

mishpocha : extended family

Click on the link above to see more. So don't be such a nudnik and go check it already! What am I, your teacher or something?

This blog is going to the birds!

Okay, folks... I'm just testing one of the new features of this blog site. See if this works for you all:



The bird I taped was rather shy. Maybe he doesn't like paparazzi.

In this clip, there is a bird in the branches, if you look closely. He was chirping rather loudly, which is why I taped him.



Pretty cool, eh? I'll try to post other video clips later.

Tony Romo does it again!

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has done it again! I can't think of anyone else who was further in the jaws of defeat as Romo was, and still managed to snatch victory away like that. As a writer, it's my job to come up with words to describe ideas and concepts; and yet, I'm at a loss to explain Tony Romo style football. Therefore, I have appealed to a higher authority on such sports matters. I have appealed to none other than Mr. Fair and Biased, Randy Galloway. Below is my e-mail to him:

------------------------------------------------
"Mr. Galloway,

You are urgently needed to come up with a term to describe the kind of football that Tony Romo plays. I come to you because of your creativity for coming up for names like this. I cite your previous efforts, such as Deion "Nine Toes" Sanders, Shaquille "Tormented Toe" O'Neal, and the recent "El Dorado" Owens. And of course, who can forget "hoodoo voodoo" to explain why things go wrong.

So now you must come up with a term for Romo-style football. Who else can take a badly bobbled snap and make it a 4 yard gain AND a 1st down? Who else can have 6 TOs and still win the game? It's a sort of reverse "hoodoo voodoo" when you think about it. Don't get me wrong - I'm glad we're winning, but I don't know how much my heart can take! ;-)

Anyway, I hope you come up with a good "Randy-ism" to explain Romo-style football. "

-----------------------------------------------
If he replies and if he offers his term, I'll let you good folks know about it.

The game with the New England Patriots this Sunday is likely going to be a huge ratings draw. I wonder what else Tony Romo is going to come up with?

A Halloween feelgood story

This is the kind of feelgood story that restores faith in your fellow man - and woman. In Fort Worth, there is a little girl who has an inoperable brain tumor. Currently, due to some steroids that she has to take, the poor girl is swollen everywhere. And yet, despite all this, the neighborhood that she lives in decided to give her an early Halloween because the girl loves Halloween. So this past week, they all got together, wore their costumes, and went trick-or-treating. All for this little girl. Here's a video clip from a local TV station about the same story.

Nowadays, it's rare to see that kind of cooperation among neighbors. Usually we are lucky if we can talk to other members of a household, much less someone who lives next door. We have so much to distract us, such as our TVs, video games, and computers. And yet, these people got together for this little girl because she likely would not live to see October 31.

And during the research for this story, I just found out that this little girl died. Below is her picture before she got the cancer. Please pray for her and her family. I also hope that this lesson on neighborliness goes beyond that one neighborhood. Hopefully the young girl's life will teach us all a lesson on the beauty and fragility of human life. The girl wears an angel costume in the picture below. I like to believe that she is wearing the real thing now.

Japanese robo-suits

Watch out, folks! The elderly may soon be coming after you wearing suits worthy of Robocop!

The Week Magazine

If you look to the right, you'll see a new link titled "The Week Magazine". Basically, it has articles from news outlets from around the world. It's called "The Week" because it prints once a week, and also because it runs articles from that week's top news. It's a real good way to get caught up on what's been going on recently, as well as finding out what's going on in other countries. Real interesting stuff.

Editorial statement for October 2007: My independent views (posted over the course of the month).

In August, I posted my liberal views. Last month, I posted my conservative views. This month, I post the views that are neither liberal or conservative. But first, understand one thing before I continue: Just because the views below are neither liberal or conservative, don't assume that they are moderate. In other words, my views below are NOT "middle of the road". I rarely sit on the fence, because I view holding a moderate view as a way of not answering the question. It's like saying "Neither, and both."

Don't get me wrong - if you are just studying an issue, then it's quite natural to "wait and see" before you come to a decision on a certain issue. However, if you're permanently "waiting and seeing", then you're just avoiding making a decision so as to not make the wrong one. However, not making a decision is the same thing as not voting during an election. It's said that when you don't vote, that counts as a vote for the guy that you don't want in office. I would respect a rabid left or right winger who is consistent in their views rather than someone who was "trying to be open-minded" so as to not make a stand.

I just wanted to make sure that you don't view my views below as "moderate". Calling me a moderate offends me, so don't call me that! I'd rather you call me a liberal or conservative - or, my preference, an "independent". Okay, I've said enough about this. :-)

* Euthanasia

I am totally opposed to legalizing euthanasia. I think that opposition to euthanasia should be a liberal view, but liberals seem to be favoring it as a "right to die". Conservatives haven't gotten totally on board in opposing it yet, and any opposition is largely because liberals favor it. In other words, it's largely lip service - just like their opposition to legalized abortion.

* Immigration

I am for securing our borders, but against making English the official language of the U.S. I think that those who are here illegally should get that taken care of. I think that the U.S. should make a one-time offer to illegal immigrants that, if they turn themselves in, then they'll be allowed to stay so long as they start the process to becoming legal right then and there. And they must stay on the path to legalization until they finish. I am against blanket amnesty because that's not fair to those who have been going through the process of becoming citizens the right way.

The illegal immigrants should also become legal because their employers are taking advantage of them by vastly underpaying them. Why otherwise would employers risk hiring groups of people that are here illegally? In the long run, when the Dems and other like-minded people try to get illegal immigrants the kinds of rights that the rest of us enjoy, they're only hurting the very people that they claim to want to help. In truth, the Dems are only out for the short-term gains, and if it ever became an albatross to try to help illegal immigrants, then the Dems would drop them like a rock. Thus, the illegal immigrants are victimized twice.