Thank God They Have a Sense of Humor

I found this website today. The best part is the "testimonials" page. I especially liked the comment from the guy who said "you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead ass."

RIP Barbaro

I was very sorry to hear that Barbaro had been euthanized. It wasn't so much that he had been euthanized because I think euthanasia is often the kindest choice for the animal involved. Mostly it was because he seemed to have fought so hard to live. Here was an animal that was bred to run and he seemed to understand that all these people were trying to help him. He tolerated all the things they needed to do to him and still was interested in his surroundings, acted like a stallion, ate well, and seemed to enjoy his life.

I know there has been a lot of discussion about the money that was spent to save him and whether or not it was well spent. I think that the Jacksons did the right thing by using their resources to save him. Animals, especially those that have a "job" or a purpose besides providing companionship, should not be seen as expendable and disposable. There are a lot worse things that they could have spent their money on (and been criticized less.)

At least one good thing came out of all the attention. More than $1 million dollars was raised for the vet hospital associated with UPenn where Barbaro was treated.

BRRRRRRR!

It was 9 degrees at my house this morning. Even the dog thought it was cold. This is booger-freezing cold. Fortunately it will be warmer this weekend. I did see something rather stupid on weather.com today. It said today's low would be 18 degrees when it was reporting a current temperature of 11. D'OH!

A lesson for us all

Last night The Wife shared a fine life lesson with me.

If one is going to be standing up in front of a group of people for 3 hours in the evening, one should not eat Black Bean soup for lunch. No matter how cold it is outside.

Fun with the English Language

Do You Think English is Easy???

Can you read these right the first time?


> 1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

> 2) The farm was used to produce produce.

> 3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

> 4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

> 5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

> 6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the
> desert.
>
> 7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought
> it was time to present the present .
>
> 8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
>
> 9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
>
> 10) I did not object to the object.
>
> 11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
>
> 12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row
>
> 13) They were too close to the door to close it.
>
> 14) The buck does funny things when the does are
> present.
>
> 15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer
> line.
>
> 16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow
> to sow.
>
> 17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
>
> 18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a
> tear.
>
> 19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
>
> 20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate
> friend?
>
>
> Let's face it - English is a strange language. There
> is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither
> apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't
> invented in England or French fries in France .
> Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't
> sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if
> we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can
> work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig
> is neither from G uinea nor is it a pig.
>
> And why is it that writers write but fingers don't
> fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If
> the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of
> booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2
> meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy
> that you can make amends but not one amend? If you
> have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but
> one of them, what do you call it?
>
> If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a
> vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian
> eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should
> be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In
> what language do people recite at a play and play at a
> recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have
> noses that run and feet that smell?
>
> How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,
> while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You
> have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in
> which y our house can burn up as it burns down, in
> which you fill in a form by filling it out and in
> which, an alarm goes off by going on.
>
> English was invented by people, not computers, and it
> reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of
> course, is not a race at all That is why, when the
> stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights
> are out, they are invisible.
>
> PS. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"
>
>
> You lovers of the English language might enjoy this .
>
> There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more
> meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is
> "UP."
>
> It's easy to understand UP , meaning toward the sky or
> at the top of the list, but when we
> awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a
> meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP
> and why are the officers UP for election and why is it
> UP to the secretary to write UP a report?
>
> We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a
> room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers
> and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and
> some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the
> little word has real special meaning. People stir UP
> trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and
> think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to
> be d ressed UP is special.
>
> And this UP< / FONT> is confusing: A drain must be
> opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store
> in the morning but we close it UP at night.
>
> We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be
> knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP , look the
> word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary,
> it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to
> about thirty definitions. I f you are UP to it, you
> might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is
> used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you
> don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.
> When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP .
> When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP .
>
> When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes
> things UP
>
> When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP
>
> One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now
> my time is UP, so........... it is time to shut
> UP.....!
>
> Oh . one more thing:
>
>
> What is the first thing you do in the morning & the
> last thing you do at night? U-P

Ahhhhh

Which famous feline are you?

You're Hobbes. First of all, the makers of this quiz would like to congratulate you. You have our seal of approval. You are kind, intelligent, loving, and good-humoredly practical. You're proud of who you are. At the same time, you're tolerant of those who lack your clearsightedness. You're always playful, but never annoying. For these traits, you are well-loved, and with good cause.
Take this quiz!








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DUH! at weather.com

Can someone explain to me why the people over at weather.com keep telling me to "watch for mosquitos" on days when the high is 36 and the low is 24? It seems to have something to do with the forcast being partly cloudy. We are just screwed if mosquitos start to like this weather.

What? How can that be?

Your Inner European is French!

Smart and sophisticated. You have the best of everything - at least, *you* think so.

Who's Your Inner European?

There is no way that I can be French. We make fun of the French in my house. We tried to teach our French poodle to do the same. Distraught I am.

This made me smile

Chuck, far cuter than "Gus, the second most famous groundhog in Pennsylvania." I especially liked people's reactions to Chuck as he travelled home for the weekend.

Klingons in the White House

David Wu, a congressman from Oregon made the statement on the floor of the House of Representatives…"There are Klingons in the White House."  I had to stop watching the clip at that point because I was laughing so hard.

Meme from Sarah

A - Astronomical constellation you easily identify or like: Big dipper
B - Biggest flaw you'd like to correct: the fact that I'm a lazy slug
C - Complete works of what person would you like to own: John Irving
D - Dare you wouldn't take: Eating live bugs
E - Elephantitis of the what: boobs, I already have it so nothing new there
F - Fascination with a celebrity that you're embarrassed about: The British Royal Family
G - Grover or Elmo: Grover, I want to drop kick Elmo
H - Happiest you've ever seen another person (ok, it's not all about you): Sarah when she married Hubby
I - Ignorance of what subject: physics
J - Judgment you'd like to render: impeachment of George W. Bush       
K - Khakis or chinos: khakis
L - Left home at what age: 16
M - Most proficient in what skill: cooking
N - Nonsense word you use when trying not to cuss: boogers (I guess it isn't a nonsense word but it isn't really a cuss word.)
O - Obligatory task you loathe: washing dishes
P - Proudest moment: graduating from College
Q - Quickest decision you've ever made: accepting current job
R - Return gifts or regift them next year: return.  I'm not a big fan of re-gifting
S - Secret dream (come on, spill it): to win the lottery and move to Italy
T - Terrible nightmare you still remember: snakes in my bed
U - Unique person you admire: my sister
V - Vocabulary word you always mispronounce: don't know but I bet The Wife knows
W - Wish that came true: Living in Italy for 2 years
X - X marks the spot, so what's the treasure: Enough money to retire early so I can garden, travel, and spend 3 months a year in Italy
Y - Your free answer - say whatever you want: Can someone tell me the words to "Bohemian Rhapsody?"
Z - Zoological creature you'd like to be for an hour: my dog so I could understand the appeal of the cat's butt

Shabbat Shalom

Last night I attended my first Friday night Shabbat service. What a great way to end a week. It was so different from any service I had ever attended. The Rabbi is trained as a classical guitarist so he accompanied much of the service on his guitar. No one seemed to mind that I was completely lost when they started singing in Hebrew (some of the Hebrew is provided in a transliteration for people who don't read Hebrew but some of it you just have to know.) The Wife and I are signed up for an 18-week Introduction to Judaism course at this synagogue but it won't proceed without 10 people. Last night the Rabbi said the course had 8 people enrolled. I really hope they get another 2 people because I really want to take this class.

Don't do that

Both The Wife and I were sick in the week between Christmas and New Years (hence the lack of blogging while on vacation) and on Tuesday we both ended up in the doctor's office. I have recovered but The Wife, despite antibiotics, is still feeling crappy with a sinus infection and now thinks is has moved into the other side. So not only is it not getting better it seems to be getting worse. The doctor said to call if The Wife didn't feel better when she finished the antibiotics (she finishes them tomorrow but it is the weekend so I thought it better to call today.) The receptionist just told me "Oh, well you take that antibiotic for 5 days but it stays in your system for 10 so there is probably nothing more the doctor can do...but I'll pass on the message." AAAAGGGHHHHHH! First of all, this woman has no training in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, nothing. Next, I indicated that not only was The Wife not getting better, she seemed to be getting worse. The infection should not be spreading while on antibiotics. Then there is the fact that I can argue with her about the whole "stays in your system for 10 days" crap. I can even show her research that shows that this drug may not even get into sinus tissue despite the fact that it is prescribed all the time for sinus infections. I can drag out experts who will present research that this drug does not work. Needless to say I am pissed off and The Wife still feels like crap.