Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
My annual Christmas question
Does anyone know of or heard of anyone that bought a car, based on a Christmas commercial?
You should have noticed by now that there are LOTS of commercials on TV for cars at this time of the year. I ask this question because, so far the answer has always been no or no response. So, why the heck do the auto manufactures waste their money, forcing us to watch them when they don't sell any.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Gratitude HD
Today is the end of an era!!!
A friend of mine told me about this and I kind of pooh-pohed it as nothing special. But if you think about it... This is the last time that there will ever be a date like this. Once today passes to the thirteenth it stops!!
You see, there is no thirteenth month (at least in "our" normal calendar). So there can't ever be a 13/13/13!
Cool huh???
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
A Hi-Def tour of Machu Picchu
Here is a link to the actual image of Machu Picchu itself.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
The Holiday Spirit
This is a definite Full Screen with the sound UP!!!
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Thursday, November 22, 2012
In flight refueling
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
Quick trip north
I saw this sign and thought it must be some sort of a joke. At the very least, I was very confused over it's meaning.
Then as I drove along, I saw this sign and it all made perfect sense to me.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Political Advertisment :-(
Ever hear of Thorium?
Friday, November 9, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Ever wonder who has the fastest computer
Take a look at this and also watch the videos on the Supercomputer.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
Our Government didn't tell them!
Friday, October 5, 2012
Jimmy Fallon does Theme Songs
Enjoy
Monday, October 1, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Popinator
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
LG Washer Explodes
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
9/11 – Is that an Elephant in the Room?
I was away on September 11th this year, but I was thinking about it and have decided to look at it again. You see, back in 2004, I bought and read a book The New Pearl Harbor, which was written by David Ray Griffin. I was absolutely shocked and blown away at the theme of it. It presents a lot of information on the events of 911. It does not try to lead the reader in any specific direction, but lays out the facts for you to decide what you will. I’m actually reading it again right now.
It goes into details such as why all of our military systems failed, resulting in the planes not being intercepted. Also discussed; are the temperatures required to weaken the steel enough for a collapse, which could not have been high enough with Jet Fuel (fancy Kerosene). Oh, and that 757 airliner that went into the Pentagon. No way! The hole wasn’t big enough as well as there were no remains of the plane found there. So we’re supposed to believe that the plane was totally encased within the building and turned into dust on impact, but at the same time they were able to identify people from fingerprinting the remains. You can’t have it both ways! There is just so much of this. It’s really mind boggling.
Actually, I have just discovered that he has revised the book with all sorts of new information. The title of this book is The New Pearl Harbor Revisited.
The above titles are links to these books on Amazon.com.
I honestly feel that this information should be put into the category of a “must read” for everyone. I would hope that you would at least look into this, so that you can make an educated decision of how this country should proceed.
Here is another link to a web site Freedonfiles.org that will allow you to read as well as watch videos on the day’s events.
I'd be interested in your comments on this one.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Kenya video
The Tommy plan on taxes
Well, I’m not sure what we can do about the second of those. We start our lives knowing, but not believing, that we’re going to die. No matter what you do, this is true!
Now, taxes, on the other hand are another story. While it is true that we all need to pay taxes in order to support our government. The rules that determine what is paid, is a totally different story. As I’ve said before, I’m sort of a simple person and therefore try to adhere to the K.I.S.S. theorem, which is Keep It Simple Stupid.
There’s another saying that I believe also; there are two ends to every stick. On one end of the tax stick is our current tax system as administered by the Internal Revenue Service. On the other end is or should be a system based on that K.I.S.S. theorem.
Now I know that this is going to initially sound pretty silly, maybe a little stupid. But, let it sink in for a few minutes and see what comes out.
I think that we should simply throw the current system into the fireplace and let it keep us warm for a few days. In its place, the Tommy plan..
The first premise is that there are some pretty smart people in this country when it comes to finance and the economy. These people need to come up with a percentage of a dollar that each and every citizen needs to pay. Just for arguments sake, let’s say that they decide that to support our governments we all need to give 10%. Now, ALL and I mean ALL deductions, Credits, etc. are out the window. For every $1.00 that you earn $0.10 goes for taxes. Now, that’s GROSS income, because there is no longer net income when it comes to taxes. Someone that has an income of $40,000 would pay $4,000. Someone making $1,000,000 would pay $100,000 in taxes. Of course, there needs to be a sliding scale on this percentage if your annual income is at or below a preset level (aka. the poverty level).
I’m not a financial person, so I would have NO way of guessing what this percentage would actually be. But, with the Tommy plan, everyone pays their share. This 1% and 99% situation would begin to be flattened out a bit.
Oh and I haven’t thought this one through a lot, but those Corporations receiving all that money from our Government. Forget it! If a company can’t make a profit without the help of the Government tough, you’re in the wrong line of work so get out.
So, I’m curious what are your thoughts on this one..
Friday, August 31, 2012
Do you read eBooks?
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Links to this Post
Friday, August 24, 2012
I say, the sky is blue!
I, for years, have been trying to follow the news (TV and newspaper) to stay up with what’s going on in the world. Well, several years ago an interesting thing happened to me. I got so upset at the world situation that I stopped watching the news. This lasted for several weeks, but I fell back and started again and then it happened again. This is happening more often as time goes on and I’m upset about it. I mean I’m just a normal guy and would like to stay informed. But, when I do I just get more and more upset while watching. My wife in-turn gets mad at me for getting mad at the world. The upcoming Presidential Election really gets my goat!
From my perspective it just seems that there is so much wrong with the current state of affairs that it’s kind of impossible to know where to start. I mean, the Government, the Environment, Corporations, everywhere you look it just seems like We The People are losing the battle Big Time. A good friend of mine has recommended that at our age, it’s just too late and we need to focus more on our personal circle of friends, events, and environment. Kind of, control what you can and leave the rest alone and enjoy life.
While on one hand that sounds good, it’s kind hard for a person that is interested in the world around us. So how do I accomplish inner peace while paying attention? Good question.
So I’ve been thinking about this lately and have decided to post one single issue or thought I’ve been having. Maybe over time I’ll put more here, but for starters… The Sky is Blue.
For the most part, this is a true statement. Of course there are the northern lights, the red/orange sunsets, but the sky itself tends to be blue, because of its water content. This is a fact and is verifiable. That is the crux of this post, fact and verifiable.
Our press, be it TV, newspaper, Internet or whatever media you choose, was given the challenge by our countries founders to be the balance to check what our Government is saying and doing. Hence, our Governmental check and balance; which has been the way for decades. One of the best examples of this is the downfall of Richard Nixon as a result the Watergate Scandal. Two “investigative reporters” for the Washington Post were at the heart of those events. I put that term ‘investigative reporters’ in quotes because this type of reporting seems to have become a thing of the past. If the press had the clout that it use to have, the world situation and our own country would be a whole different place.
But, that was yesterday so let’s look at today in contrast. When was the last time that you heard a politician say something as if it’s the truth and then following that, have the press verify it as being a true statement or not. It seems to me that if our politicians knew that their statements were going to be verified that a lot more truths would come out of their mouths. You see, if they were to speak an untruth this news could be made public. Guess who would lose the battle?
I know this might sound like a simplistic approach, but hey it's a start.
But, it seems that our politicians can say just about anything they want and never be called on it. And to make this worse, if they say the same thing enough times the general public will begin to believe it and therefore it becomes the truth.
By the way, this goes for any political party out there. These statements are NOT meant to be construed as being in favor or against any party or person. I think they’re all guilty!!
Any thoughts?
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
Friday, August 10, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
I'm back
Anyway, we just returned from a wonderful week on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. I mention the state for those that don't know where the Cape is.. :-) Below are a couple of shots taken out in P-Town...
We went with two very good friends of ours Kelly and Tim and had a great relaxing, joking around time. Having good friends like this is really great, as we don't have to put on airs or try and entertain them. We can just be ourselves.
While we were there I was also able to reconnect with some friends that I hadn't seen in about 30 years or so. Ken and Carolyn are lots of fun and had moved to the Cape about 3 years ago. We met at my favorite restaurant on the Cape, Seafood Sam's. For me, they have the best sea scallops there are. :-)
Ken is a photographer and has some great shots of the Cape and the surrounding area. You can see some of his work on iStockphoto.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
Countries to visit
I have been in many places but I've never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.
I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work.
I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity any more.
I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.
I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.
Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older.
One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!
I may have been in Continent, and I don't remember what country I was in. It's an age thing.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Wind fires rage in the west.
Here is a link to the Denver Post Blogs.
Thanks Ron.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Sun Flower
Sometimes it would be nice to be able to send them the bill for the birdseed :-)
I certainly know that the bee on it is having a great time.
Goodby to an old friend
So I went onto the web to Free Cycle.Org. If you've never heard of it, it's for people that have something that they don't have a use for anymore and just want to give it to a good home. We have a local chapter of it and we've used it often. As for the tractor, we definitely found a great home for it. A small local farmer, that can work on it, is giving it a new life. His kids are also enjoying riding in the trailer behind it around the yard.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Where is Matt?
And who remembers Matt back in 2008?
And this is how he did it!
Friday, June 29, 2012
Singing Bird Pistols
Monday, June 25, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Can someone help me understand, drivers
In days of old, drivers would stay to the right. Whereas today, there is a tendency to move into the left lane and stay there. This is where I just don’t get it!
Here are my points:
1) The general rules of the road state, that you should travel in the right lane(s) and to pass on the left.
2) Traveling in the left lane, causes traffic to become congested. It is NOT up to anyone to control the flow of traffic and must move to the right so that others can pass them. Instead drivers are tending to just ride right along side of another vehicle traveling at the same speed. This of course, in our two lane example, totally blocks the road. Or you have drivers weaving in and out of lanes trying to get around, thus causing dangerous situations.
3) Let’s assume that you are traveling at 50 MPH, as is a car coming in the opposite direction. If one of you, for any number of reasons, moves into the others path, they will have a head on collision of about 100 MPH force. Personally, I’d rather drive as far away from oncoming traffic as possible!
So, can someone please explain that this is all about? I just don’t understand why people do this and of course it causes road rage as well.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Computers, where did they come from
Part 2
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Sears/LG strikes it's final blow
Well, several days ago I noticed that the display had bad message on it. Err and then a temperature setting of FF didn't look quite right to me and the inside was warmer than normal, as in NOT cooling. Well, I unplugged it, and replugged it in thinking that maybe it just needed to be reset. And it worked for about an hour, when it happened again and then again..
In my original story, they had delivered several of the circuit boards that were replaced. So, thinking that maybe the replaced one was defective, I replaced both of them with those that I had received. This time it worked for about 15 minutes!!!!
We have now replaced that piece of CRAP refrigerator with the Kenmore name on it, but manufactured by LG. Four years old and Sears doesn't want to hear anything about it. That's the last of those that we'll be buying.
Good luck if you own one.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Massachusetts teen convicted of homicide in texting-while-driving case
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
And then there is nothing
Anyway, during the interview the gentleman stated that if his grandfather had not made the decisions that he had that night, he in fact would not be here today. I heard that and started thinking about it, ‘not be here today’. I mean his thoughts, expressions, physical body would not exist, and there would be nothing. It’s like when someone dies, there is nothing. Some people might argue that point, be that as it may. Also, to extend this thought a bit, if that gentleman had died that night, any potential descendants would just not exist as well. I wonder, moving into future generations, how many more would not exist. It could be hundreds, or thousands. The impact could not be known. There would be hundreds and thousands of nothing. It’s unimaginable.
Now we can move forward a little bit in time and my wife and I are sitting having dinner with some good friends at their home and somehow the subject of the Titanic comes up. We were told the story of his grandmother and the Titanic. It seems that she had tickets and was going to sail aboard the Titanic, but for a personal reason had to delay her trip. She sold the tickets to someone on the dock prior to sailing. Our friend stated that he wouldn’t be here if she had taken that ship.
Now, this is getting close to home as we would not have our very good friends. It’s amazing the ramification of our decisions that we make. Because she sold that ticket, we have good friends.
It is really mind boggling if you sit and think about this, isn’t it? The only difference between someone dying and someone not ever being born is that after dying there was someone there. In the other case the person that was never there would be only there in your mind if you just happened to think about someone that never existed. Strange.
Memorial day thought
"THOSE WILL HAVE TO SUFFICE AS GOOD OLD DAYS, WHEN WARS COULD BE WON, NOT MERLY FOUGHT. 67 YEARS AGO, THE LINES BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD WERE CLEARLY DRAWN, AND THE WORD VICTORY COULD STILL BE IN THE VOCABULARY."
How true.
Friday, June 1, 2012
The case of the spinning egg in milk
Monday, May 28, 2012
Enjoy your Memorial Day everyone
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Been away
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
The poor old dog....
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
China cuts off internet access in bid to exert control
Saturday, April 14, 2012
'i've Fallen Down and I can't get Up!"
I quote Ron's email here and please wish him well and a fast recovery.
"I'll never laugh at this commercial again!!!!!
That's what happened to me last Monday morning when I went out to water my sunflower seedlings...They were sitting on my (Move anything) trailor in Margie's driveway...The hitch which was resting on the pavement reached ourt and grabbed the leg of my PJ's and I lurched and twisted and fell on my left hip...BAM!!! It hurt...Thankfully I had my cell phone and dialed...MARGIE...
She gave me a pillow and called 911 for me...That happened at 8:30 AM...by 6:30 PM I was in and out to the Operating Room and had a 9 inch steel rod in my femur bone...and a three inch one to anchor it...
I spent 4 days at the Lexington Cty Hospital and they have sent me to "Health South" for rehabilitation...That's where I'm now...They're giving me plenty of pyshical theropy..."OUCH"...beleive me...ouch...ouch ouch...etc....
Don't send flowers...If you have time and you're not too far away...then "COME ON DOWN!!!"...No really...If you would like to visit me I would love to see you...Anyone in Canada and New York State and Georgia,and Florida...just stay where you are at...I'll understand
I have used the Bcc address catagory to send this so I hope your addresses are secure...
I may be here for a week or two...
I'll check my e-mail tomorrow to see if this one got through...
Love to all of you...
Uncle Ron"
Friday, April 13, 2012
MAC computers are not immune
All computers are under constent threat..
That's my final answer and I'm sticking to it.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
1940 Census: 1940census.archives.gov
Monday, April 9, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
An ill sad sack
Well now, she's stuck at her daughters, per the doctor's instructions, with her right arm taped to her body. Of course she's right handed, so I don't think she's a happy camper right now. Now both her daughter and herself needs care. But, fear not, the puppy is fine and being a puppy.
This happened a few weeks ago and I think that Judy might be getting ready to come home. We got an email from her yesterday that I know you'll enjoy and will see below. You'll notice, no capitol letters as she can only type with her left hand.
:-(
"sleep, sleep, sleep
read, read, read
eat, eat, eat
watch tv, pet the dog
sit in the sun
solitare, sleep, read, pet, sit, tv, eat, sleep, read, pet, sit in the sun, sleep, eat
get the picture
bruising starting to go....no pain if i don't move my arm
happy easter"
Friday, April 6, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Fauxtographor - for what ails you (sort of)
Update: Well, it seems that there is such a thing as a fauxtopraphor. EO has pointed this out to me (thanks big guy). So according to the Urban Dictionary, and I quote here:
"A person who tries to jump on the photography band-wagon by "Pointing-and-shooting" hundreds of terrible pictures, which they will upload to myspace in an album titled "My Photography", "My Art", or "Critique My work". Always followed up by the person adding "Photography" to their General section, or adding "Photography is my life..." to their About Me.
Bulletin posted at 5;34 by Jake: "Guys check out my photography"
Bulletin posted at 5: 41 by Jake: "C'mon guys I'm a photographer now, check it out"
Joseph: Jake the composition of your pictures are terrible... It looks like you just pointed your camera at whatever flowers or animals or graffiti you saw.... Plus half of them are out of focus, and as it got darker, you didn't change your exposure settings and these pictures didn't come out at all... It looks to me like you are a pseudo-photographer, a fauxtographer."
Sunday, April 1, 2012
The Last Question by Isaac Asimov
:-)
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Alpaca eats the grass
Friday, March 23, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Mel Birnkrant also writes
“SURVIVING SURVIVAL CLASS, or WHAT I LEARNED AT PRATT”
An email I received today revived forgotten memories of times when I was required by the various schools that I attended to participate in “sports activities”. To say that sports were not my forté would be the understatement of the Century. In high school, especially, the two team captains, first, chose-up, by one means or another, flashing one or two fingers, or grabbing a baseball bat, hand over hand, to see which captain got first pick of who they wanted on their team. When all the sides were divided evenly, they had to choose up, once again, to see which team had to have me.
Baseball season found me standing in right field with my entire team hoping no one would hit a baseball out to me, while every batter on the opposing team was trying to do that very thing. If a ball did come my way, my first impulse was to duck and get out of the way, so it didn’t hit me. Then I would scurry over to the ball to pick it up, half heartedly, and lob it half way into the infield again, where it would roll the rest of the way. By this time, the batter of what should have been an easy “out” would be arriving at home plate.
The gym instructor at Mumford High was so gung-ho that he even had us playing football in the snow. I wasn’t too bad at blocking; as the other player’s puny bodies bounced right off of me. Nonetheless, on the second snowy day I slid on ice, fell on my ass, and hurt myself to some degree, although, I was not injured half as bad as the kid who happened to be under me. Thanks to this calamity, I was allowed to spend the remainder of the year on Hall Duty.
Somehow, throughout my four years there, I was able to manipulate my schedule to avoid baring my ass in “swimming class”, an activity, in which I heard the boys participated in the nude. Oy! No way was I going to put all 260 pounds of me on display.
In my final year, I served as art director of the year book. In that capacity, a photographer and I were issued into a secret area where the faculty hung out to take their breaks. We were accompanied by a lady gym teacher, who happened to be extremely butchy. In those days, one was not aware of the likely significance of a haircut, known as a “DA”. There were two rows of windows there that allowed one to view the pool from underwater. It was actually a single pool, divided into two by a removable barrier that was taken away on swim meet days. We were permitted to take photos through the windows on the girl’s side, only. The girls, alas, wore bathing suits. While we did this, the gym teacher stood there, casually gazing through boy’s windows, just as anybody who happened to be down there could. This generally unknown information further strengthened my conviction that swimming class was not for me.
As a freshman at the University of Michigan, I managed to meet my health obligation by studying badminton, at which I wasn’t bad. The next semester I took weight lifting. I was also quite adept at that, having lifted my own weight all my life. Then the following year, I went to Pratt!
Pratt Institute was ugly. It resembled, and in fact, might have actually been a factory. There was no gymnasium and no library. It was designed to be a trade school and had no athletic facilities. Pratt had always offered a certificate, not a degree; therefore, such extras were not necessary. But the year before I went there, the school had been newly converted into a 4 year “University”, offering makeshift academics and a Bachelor of Arts degree. This attracted a different caliber of students, including some girls who, not unlike those I knew at U of M, hoped to find a husband, and get through college effortlessly.
Two dorms had been newly constructed, facing each other on a heavily fenced in area, across the street. The photo above was shot by me from the roof of the men’s dormitory. It was a closed and guarded community, located smack in the middle of the Bedford Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, a neighborhood notorious for restless natives.
Visually, Pratt was a disappointment. Some guys in the dorm made up a song about it, sung to the Harry Belafonte calypso tune, “Mama Look a Boo Boo, I Cried”. The part I can remember went:
“Mama look a factory, I cried.
My Mama told me, swallow your pride.
That’s not a factory, oh, no
A factory can’t be ugly so.
What we saw on this tour
Didn’t look like my brochure...etc.”
The fact is, if the brochure had disclosed what the mandatory athletic program would consist of, I would never have enrolled.
Female students were, apparently, not required to take athletics. That might have been because of Pratt’s total lack of facilities. We men, on the other hand, were offered a pitiful attempt at “bowling”. There was a single manually operated bowling lane in an adjacent building. With twenty students in each class, which were too many to all play a game in an hour on a single lane, some of us merely stood around and watched the others bowl, or were chosen to set up the pins, carefully on little X’s, marking their place on the makeshift alley. It was like a child’s toy bowling game, blown up to nearly life size, with a set of real pins and a single bowling ball that was strictly “one size fits all”. To graduate, one merely had to bowl “100”, at least, one time, before the year was done. Phew, I just managed to do it on the final day. The course, of course, was a total joke, a stupid way to waste our time. But in retrospect, compared to things to come, I considered it “OK”.
What this so-called University concocted for us, the following year, was nothing less than an exquisite form of Torture, a sadistic exercise in sheer perversity, intended to pass for “swimming class”. The course, itself, was the original invention of the “Athletic Instructor”, a person who we all suspected to be a pervert of the highest order. It was called “SURVIVAL”, and was, no doubt, born out of several factors: 1. The primitive facilities, 2. The 1965 sinking of the Andrea Doria, I kid you not, and 3. The fact that the “coach” just liked to see a lot of young men naked.
Survival Class, alas, was mandatory! In order to survive at Pratt, every male student at every grade level had to take it. Thus, there was no way I could escape it!
One of Pratt’s few amenities that indicated it might not have originated as a factory, after all, happened to be a large old fashioned auditorium, complete with a stage. Along the auditorium’s right side wall, what once might have been merely a lavatory had been converted to what was now called “The Men’s Locker Room”. Throughout my first year at Pratt, I didn’t even realize it was there. Although, I would have only had to inadvertently enter an unlocked public “EXIT” door to find myself standing in the middle of a dismal gray antechamber with lockers lining the walls, a concrete floor, and open toilet stalls. Even though there were no showers, the atmosphere inside this so-called locker room was oppressively hot and humid, so much so that a person would begin to perspire the moment they walked through the door.
The excess humidity, I soon learned, to my dismay, emanated from, a small inconspicuous low-ceilinged room, actually located beneath the auditorium stage. Sunk into the floor of this claustrophobic cave was a relatively small concrete lined container, about 20 by 10 feet in size, and as deep as it was wide. This rough textured rectangle, which, long ago, had been painted a flaking shade of baby blue, had now been newly filled with water. This, apparently, made it eligible to be referred to as “a swimming pool”, although, it really was too small to swim in. God knows for what purpose it was originally intended.
The entire room was only two feet wider, on all sides, than the so-called pool itself. These dimensions formed a narrow ledge, around the water’s edge, just wide enough to stand on. A wooden rail ran along the walls, with a section cut out for the door. Further adding to the creepiness of this secret chamber was the fact that its ceiling measured no more than six feet from the floor.
Thus, being that I was 6’4” tall, whenever I had the misfortunate of being in that tiny enclosure, I had to stoop even more than I normally do, for my head touched the low ceiling at all times, unless, of course, I was in the pool. Unfortunately, all twenty of us were in the pool, all at the same time, most of the time. It was sort of like packing a circus clown car; cramming twenty naked “athletes” into such a small container was not an easy feat. And the temperature in this claustrophobic chamber, as well as that of the water in the pool, was always 95 degrees!
I’ll never forget the first day. We chose a locker, arbitrarily, and shed our clothes, reluctantly. Then, one by one, we entered the single narrow door that led to the secret room, and lined up, around the pool. The water looked less than appealing, a slightly cloudy shade of green.
After managing to get through high school, successfully avoiding this very situation; now, here I was, stark naked, 6’4” and stooping over, with my head touching the 6 foot ceiling, surrounded by a group of my peers, all peering at each other, and taking inventory. My classmates were all able to stand tall, being that they were shorter than me. That being true in other respects, as well, I wasn’t as embarrassed as I imagined I would be. Thus, after the first shock was over, I began to feel tentatively at ease.
Now the athletics director appeared. He was a middle-aged man with a salt and pepper brush cut and a stubbly beard. In contrast to our nudity, he was covered completely by a bulky gray sweat suit with elastic at the wrists and ankles that overlapped his high top sneakers. In spite of the intense heat, splashing water, and sweltering humidity, he remained fully clothed in that attire, every day, throughout the whole semester. Around his wrist, he wore an oversized stopwatch. And from his neck, a silver police whistle dangled on a silver chain. Several large hand lettered flash cards were tucked under his arm. It was rumored that he couldn’t swim.
Now, with a startling blast from his silver whistle, he announced abruptly: “Everybody into the pool!” and the Nightmare began! Some hot-shots jumped right in, exuberantly, with splashes that hit the walls and ceiling, and proceeded to show off. While others, like me, waited our turn patiently, and soaking wet with sweat, already, climbed down the narrow ladder, cautiously, and eased ourselves into the water, which, to our surprise, was body temperature. It was also somewhat disconcerting to discover that we could not touch the bottom, and there was no shallow end. Furthermore, to my distress, I got the distinct impression that several “bottoms” [pun intended] had, already, touched me.
Now, the Athletics Instructor positioned himself at the mid-point of one of the longer side walls, leaning against it, which is where he stood, each time, from that day foreword, to conduct the class. Ordering us to quiet down, he proceeded to passionately explain what course was all about. It was clearly his original creation. Thus, while we clung to the edge, treading water, neck deep in what felt like a pool of our own perspiration, he delivered an oration.
The course was called “SURVIVAL” and it derived its inspiration from the sinking, just the year before, of the Andrea Doria. It seems that more people could have “survived” if only they had known how to stay afloat longer. Thus, throughout the following semester, we were going to be trained in the fine art of keeping our heads above water, so that we might SURVIVE the next time we were in a shipwreck. One had to admit the premise was clever, an ingenious way to concoct a swimming course for a school that didn’t have a legitimate swimming pool … or a legitimate instructor, either, for that matter,
The course plan was as follows: On this first day, we would have to swim for five minutes, without touching the sides. Of course, we couldn’t touch the bottom either, even if we tried. Nothing was said about touching, I mean colliding with, each other. Meanwhile he explained that he would blow his whistle, every so often, to signal that it was time to change the stroke. The flash cards would tell us what stroke to do next. The plan was that in each succeeding session, 5 more minutes would be added to the time, until the “Final Exam” in which we would be required to SURVIVE for an ENTIRE HOUR, without stopping, drowning, or grabbing onto the side.
He blew the whistle, and once again, a deafening “TWEEEET!” echoed through the chamber. The first flashcard read, “CRAWL”! And, then, the Pandemonium began! Who would have ever guessed that the sheer horror of being dumped into the ocean, amid panic and commotion, and scrambling for one’s very life could be so accurately replicated in such a tiny box of water? It was a genuine fright simulator, with everybody crashing, thrashing, and bumping into one another, while doing their own thing, with butts and other body parts in close proximity to, or flashing past, your face.
Among us, that first day, were those who thought themselves Olympic Swimmers. They were the worst offenders, as they saw this as an opportunity to impress everybody with their spectacular form and speed. Therefore, they raced haphazardly, from one end of the pool to the other, crashing mindlessly into any body or body part that had the misfortune of being in their way. To add to the commotion, each time we heard the whistle blow, it gave these assholes an opportunity to show off another flamboyant stroke. The Overhand Back Stroke, The Butterfly, all executed dramatically with arms flailing wildly, hitting people in the eye.
Others, like me, were getting angry, and going at much slower speeds. We were merely trying to avoid collisions, a feat that proved impossible to achieve. Amid crashing, thrashing splashing cursing and everyone traveling in different directions, we managed to replicate a degree of panic that might have actually accompanied the sinking of the Titanic, when masses of desperate humanity were suddenly tossed into the sea. I imagined an illustration by Gustave Doré depicting souls in torment writhing in a pool of sweat, somewhere in the lowest levels of Dante’s Inferno. The ordeal went on for what seemed like an Eternity. Five minutes worth of Hell on Earth, not only, proved exhausting, but felt like it would never end.
Mercifully, the sheer panic and near riot of the first day was never quite repeated again. That was because, throughout the week, “Survival” had become the main topic of conversation. And by the time the next class began, we had conferred as a group, and plotted a course of action, or one might better say, inaction. We all agreed that in the future, we would all move in the same direction and at the same slow rate of speed, the slower the better. Showing off was strictly off the table, and bumping body parts was out of bounds. And so it was, with each succeeding meeting, the pace at which we “survived” slowed down.
Meanwhile, on many days, before the actual endurance test began, the instructor invented bizarre things for us to do, like standing around the parameter in the nude to hear a lecture on the dangers of a storm at sea, or diving into the water, one at a time, while the others watched your every move, to retrieve the coach’s submerged car keys. Throughout all this, my discomfort over being oversize never did subside. The six foot ceiling was always there to remind me, by forcing me to slouch, even more than I would otherwise.
One “lesson” that I found particularly embarrassing was the day we had to “get undressed in the water”. The coach had a theory that the first thing one should do, when tossed into Davy Jones’ Locker room, is take off all your clothes. So on this particular occasion, we had to stand around and watch each other, one at a time, don a single set of sopping wet attire that the instructor had supplied; then jump into the pool and take it off again. Who would have guessed that getting dressed could prove more embarrassing than disrobing? This became a graphic demonstration that the myth of “One Size Fits All” is a lie.
All eyes were upon me as I tried to force myself into a shirt, too small to button up, and a pair of soaking wet trousers, intended for someone half my size. Naturally, the waist and fly had to remain open wide. The worst part was trying to get my size 13 feet into a waterlogged pair of size 10 shoes. I felt like one of Cinderella’s ugly sisters cramming my toes into a small glass slipper, while hopping on one leg. With toes barely inserted and heels protruding well beyond the shoes, the coach insisted that I “wear them” anyway. My classmates found all this hilarious. I was not amused.
When I was dressed and ready, the instructor, who was always as serious as if we were doing cancer research, with much bravado, blew his whistle, “TWEEEET!” And like a hippo from Fantasia, I hobbled over to the edge on tiptoe, plopped into the pool, with a splash that felt spectacular, and disappeared beneath the surface. Once my body hit the water, the striptease part proved more than easy, as I was half undressed already. Even as my head resurfaced, the pants fell down around my ankles. And the shirt, as well, was gone, before the tidal wave subsided. The shoes, on the other hand, had come off in mid-air, before they even hit the water. Then using the skills I had developed by retrieving the coach’s car keys, I dove to gather up the clothes, dragged my bare butt up the ladder, and handed them to the next in line.
And so the course continued. Over the weeks that followed, the instructor always managed to think up something new for us to do, like timing how long each of us could hold our breath, while underwater, or making us hop into the pool with our hands and feet tied together. One week, we had to stand one at a time, beside the instructor and bend over, with our hands nearly touching our toes, while he coached us, from behind, on how to dive into the water. And if you didn’t do it right, you had to do it over.
All these poolside activities had one theme in common; they meant we all had to stand there together, in the altogether, watching each other individually endure inane and subtle forms of torture. We spent more time standing around naked, in my case stooping over, than we did wallowing in the water. Eventually, thank God, as the actual swimming times grew longer, there was no longer time for “out of pool activities”.
As the year progressed, a spirit of brotherhood and cooperation grew among our little band of nudists. We learned to move together as a unit, slowly drifting around the tiny pool, like melting marshmallows, floating on the surface of a cup of instant coco. In the process, we unlearned everything we ever knew about swimming. Our strokes had become jokes. And the flash cards were just a code for variations of a float. The Crawl became an exceedingly lame doggie paddle; the Breast Stroke became a wallow; the Side Stroke was the same thing on your side, and the Back Stroke, everybody’s favorite, became merely a welcome excuse for floating motionless on your back and wiggling your toes.
With Thanksgiving approaching, we had become a well coordinated team of synchronized floaters, capable of circumnavigating the pool in slow moving ovals, without touching or intruding on each other’s space. Our sole goal became, to stay aloft as long as possible, as, with each passing week, the time increased.
Then, suddenly, a most mysterious MIRACLE, took place, and we all got a Reprieve! Overnight, for no apparent reason, the water in the pool turned BLACK! I’m not kidding! This being Pratt, “black” was not merely a figure of speech. When one said black at Pratt, they meant it! The pool water had turned as black as India INK! Furthermore, all attempts to explain or cure the mystery proved to be in vain. “Bacteria” was mentioned! Therefore,” SURVIVAL” was suspended. We all hoped, never to begin again. And thus, we went home for Thanksgiving with ample reason to be thankful.
THE FINAL EXAM
When we returned to school again, no one was disappointed to discover that the pool condition had NOT been remedied. I was rumored that Pratt had simply pulled the plug, emptied the pool, and that was that! Alas, our joy was to be short-lived, for the Athletics Instructor was determined that SURVIVAL would survive, at least, long enough to administer the Final Exam. Therefore, he managed to arrange a Grand and Glorious ALL Inclusive, One Time Only, Final Hour-Long Examination to take place at a local YMCA.
Thus, one cold bleak morning in December of 1957 two hundred and fifty miserable disgruntled students, comprising half of Pratt’s male student bodies, everyone from all the Survival classes combined, reluctantly trudged across a mile of Brooklyn sidewalks, with towels tucked under their arms. One by one or in small groups, they found their way to a seemingly abandoned rundown building that clearly had seen better days.
It was in this Behemoth of a Bathhouse that the final chapter of Survival was scheduled to take place. The Grand Finale proved to be both Spectacular and exceedingly surreal. Imagine an enormous chamber, sort of a cross between a huge gymnasium and an aquatic auditorium, a far cry, indeed, from the tiny sweatbox in which we had labored for months to increase our endurance, and whittle down our swimming skills. In the center of the structure was a massive pool, not merely Olympic in size, but bigger still; sort of like an indoor beach.
The decor consisted of predominately tile covered walls and floors, white with dark green accent lines. Much cracking and crazing clearly indicated that the individual tiles, like the building they adorned, had been deteriorating for a long time. The vast interior conveyed a feeling of austerity that, at the same time, radiated a hint of elegance and faded glory. This must have been wondrous place to bring the family, around the turn of the Century.
Surrounding the pool was a tile clad skirting, approximately 12 feet in height. Behind the deep end, where the top of the tiles ended, a massive window, made up of many individual panes of glass, began. It extended from one side wall to the other, and clear up to the ceiling, which was easily 40 feet high. Through this enormous wall of windows, the desolation of a dismal December morning poured in and bathed the room in cold gray light
As the chamber began to fill with all of the two hundred and fifty reluctant swimmers who had been required to take SURVIVAL class that year, it became increasingly clear that this YMCA must have been in some sort of shutdown mode, possibly marked for demolition, or just closed for the season. Standing there, still with our coats on, and the steam of our breath, visible and unabated, we began to realize that this massive room, in which we would soon be swimming, was NOT heated!
Much noisy speculation and careful observation resulted in the conclusion that, mercifully, the water was! This could be deduced from the fact that a blanket of steam rose from the pool, and hovered, like a low flying cloud, above the water. As a cacophony of complaints reverberated in the chilly air, it also became clear that this vast tile covered space formed, in effect, a rather dramatic echo chamber. And thus, the ruckus rose to a playful ROAR, then, stopped abruptly, when the shrill sound of a silver whistle shattered the air, signaling the Coach was there!
“Take your clothes off!” he commanded “Just put them anywhere!” If there was, in fact, a locker room, it clearly was not being offered. At least, we didn’t have to undress in the water! The shallow end faced several rows of rising bleachers. Some of us laid our towels and clothing there. Others stacked their stuff against a wall, while many more, cursing and complaining, just let their belongings fall to the floor, and left them there.
The coach, dressed in his usual attire, to which a winter jacket and gloves had been added, stood beside the pool, surveying his minions, two hundred and fifty naked men, including one, who, to my surprise, was nearly twice my size. Then, while we all stood there, shivering, shriveling and turning blue, he slowly took attendance! After two hundred and fifty names were called, and nearly the same number of teeth chattering replies of “Here!” were heard, he raised the silver whistle to his lips and blew! A mighty TWEEEET, ricocheted from the walls of the vast echo chamber, and a crowd of pissed off polar bears stampeded to the pool, eager to immerse themselves in what they hoped would be Warm Water.
Thank God, the water proved to be, not only, warm, but Hot! Or, maybe, it just seemed that way, in relation to the frigid air. Standing there, we were able to easily compare the water temperature to that of the air, because the water only came up to our knees. The shallow end was even shallower than we expected it to be. And to our glee, we soon discovered, as we eagerly dove forward, that relatively shallow water extended well past the center of the pool. Thus, unlike the seventh circle of Hades, where we had trained, our feet could secretly touch the bottom, throughout three quarters of the pool.
Once again, the Whistle blew, and the Wild Rumpus Began! “Crawl” the flashcard said, and it became clear that all the various classes, who had studied Survival that year, had come to the same conclusion as our little group of twenty: “Go Slowly and Don’t Make Waves!” And so, two hundred and fifty wet doggies began to paddle in a circle around the massive pool. All of them were talking, shouting, laughing, roaring, as if to test the echo, which answered back with a resonance that was sonically rewarding. The hubbub rose to a near deafening crescendo. While the coach, who did not seem to mind the din, blew his whistle again. “Side Stroke” the flashcard read. This was the best stroke, as one leg could wiggle at the surface, while the other, inconspicuously, touched the floor.
Around the middle of the pool a great clog of humanity formed, as no one was eager to venture into the deep end, where they would actually have to swim. There was much poking, prodding, and whispering, “Come on, it’s your turn” “You go next”. Half the pool was almost empty, as, one after another, we each reluctantly took our turn, circling the deep end. It was surprising how quickly we all fell into this pattern, with the better part of an hour still ahead.
Then, to our amazement, about five minutes into the Exam, a kind of Miracle began. Slowly, we started to realize that visibility was decreasing rapidly. Two hundred and fifty warm bodies in hot water, breathing hot breath into the freezing air, began to generate a fog that supplemented the cloud of steam that was already there. As what was happening became apparent, the chorus of whispers changed from “Swim slower!” to “Breathe faster!” And the universal challenge was no longer to swim for an hour, but rather to huff and puff, and generate as much steam as possible, so that, hidden from view, rather than “swimming” we could walk instead. It worked!
Slowly, but surely, fog filled the chamber. Throughout all this, the instructor continued to periodically blow his whistle. But he had to read the cards aloud, for no one could see them, any longer. Nor could the coach see us. Soon visibility was down to zero. And amid laughing, joking, and general hilarity, the Crawl became merely walking on the bottom, the Side Stroke, hopping on one leg, and the Back Stroke, turned into brazenly walking backwards. Before long, the circle of “swimmers”, now invisible, had transformed itself into a half moon shape that avoided the deep end altogether.
This fogbound Free-for-All continued to escalate, as hoots and hollers and peals of laughter echoed from the rafters, until, at last, the final whistle blew. And, in the end, which for many of us arrived too soon, this much dreaded Final Examination turned out to be a FUN Occasion! It had become a Raucous Romp and Celebration, a winning combination of sweet revenge for a semester of humiliation, as well as, forgive the pun, a welcome chance to “let off steam”! And so, in joyous anticipation of the impending Christmas Vacation, another precious year, of my fast waning youth, came to an end.
SURVIVAL class was not offered again. Therefore, the other half of the male student bodies, who didn’t take it the first semester, escaped it, altogether. Pratt closed the little pool under the stage, perhaps forever. And, if there was any lesson to be learned from this endeavor, it might be that if there is ever to be another Andrea Doria Disaster, hopefully it can be arranged to take place, in cold December, at the Bedford Stuyvesant YMCA!
Friday, March 16, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Windows 8?
Monday, March 12, 2012
Sears at it's finest
We purchased a Kenmore Trio Refrigerator (Model 795.77314600) hoping that again, we’d have a long living unit. Boy, were we wrong. Shortly after the warrantee ran out small things started happening, like , plastic latches broken, freeze ups so that it wouldn’t cool, etc. Nothing that was very serious, but is very annoying at best. Then one evening in early November of 2010, my wife open the door to discover the entire light bulb assembly (which is at the top) had fallen to the shelf below. The refrigerator was extremely hot inside and had melted the plastic around the mounting screws. Of course the butter had melted as well and was running down from shelf to shelf. A note here; these bulbs are supposed to come on when the door is open. Then if the door is left open for about a minute, an alarm sounds. This alarm NEVER sounded, but the VERY hot bulbs were on!
I started doing some internet searches and discovered that this is a known problem with these units, which are manufactured by LG and sold under the Sears name Kenmore. I found a web site, www.mysears.com, but the pages referring to this problem have been removed. But, if you go to Google and do a search on “Kenmore Trio Refrigerator Fire Hazard”, there’s plenty of information out there.
I called many Sears and LG phone number and got absolute zero from them. Go figure!! So, I sent in a complaint to our states Attorney General. From this, I received that my complaint had be forwarded to the Consumer Products Safety Division, in Washington. Time marches on and I finally got a correspondence from Sears stating that there had been a class action settlement. Of course, neither Sears nor LG said they did anything wrong. HELLO, some people actually had a fire in their kitchen as a result of this “defect”.
Needless to say, I got on the phone to Sears to have the repair taken care of. They ordered the parts and scheduled a service call for a few weeks in the future. Well, the parts didn’t come so I called again to cancel the service call. Shortly thereafter I started receiving all sorts of calls from Sears in reference to the backordered parts or they were trying to reschedule the service call. Good thinking, schedule service calls with no parts!! Go figure. Anyway, time marches on (an lots of calls from Sears) and the parts finally arrive. I called Sears and scheduled the call. They finally arrived and fixed the refrigerator. This was in mid-January of 2012.
Now, zoom forward to the present (mid-March). We’re sitting here in the evening and there’s knock on the door. The UPS truck had delivered 2 boxes. Of course, I asked my wife what she had ordered. Likewise, she asked me the same question. You’re not going to believe it but, they delivered 2 sets of parts for our refrigerator AFTER the unit has been repaired. Now, we’ll wait to see if anyone calls to schedule one or two new appointments.
Needless to say, purchasing anything from Sears is NOT on the top of our list. FYI, I won’t go into the rusted out oven (Sears) or the dishwasher (Sears) that had to be replaced. Just junk!!!
Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Simple Gifts
Bet you can't play it just once.. :-)
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Life is like coffee
Life is like Coffee. Now go and get some friends and enjoy a nice cup.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Thoughts of Summer past
I then decided to zoom in a little bit on one of the drops of water.
Gee, what gives with this white stuff.
:-(
Monday, February 27, 2012
Do you know Mel Birnkrant?
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Corporations are NOT people
If this bothers you, then pass this on to your friends and family.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Tempered Glass doors breakage solution
This is an image from the 3M web site, just so I don't get into trouble over it.
We have had a 3M safety and security film applied to our new shower door glass as well as two other windows that are tempered glass. It is perfectly clear and looks like it is the solution to our problem. We found a local 3M authorized business that coould apply the 3M™ Safety and Security Window Film and are very happy with it. Check it out if you have tempered glass.
By the way, the gentleman that came to install it told of a business that was VERY happy that they had this film on their store front windows. He said that the security video showed that the window was struck 18 times with a baseball bat and still did not give. They, of course, needed to replace the glass, but the would be thieves were not about to get into the store.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Our government in action again, at it's finest
Ok, back to the article in the paper. It's an eye opener...
House GOP scuttles regulatory effort
Monday, February 6, 2012
OK, here's another try
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Drew Berry: Animations of unseeable biology
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Bill Moyers with Jacob Hacker & Paul Pierson
You can listen to this show on Bill Moyers web site using this link.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
The Spy
In it, the main character Isaac Bell owns a Locomobile. I had never heard of this car and looked it up. In the book, it's a racing car from the early 1900s and true to his word here's a video of one on Youtube.
Locomobil Old 16
It's an international spy story of the Dreadnought race. What is a Dreadnought, you ask?
This is a Dreadnought:
You can find more information about them on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreadnought
Enjoy :-)
Friday, January 13, 2012
Great BBQ
You take pulled pork and put into the bottom of an over safe bowl, over it you cram lots of Macaroni and Cheese (heavy on the cheese) over it, put some bread crumbs on top and pop it into the oven. WOW, was it ever good.. :-). My wife, Linda, that doesn't particularly like BBQ really liked it, as she had the left over doggy bag last night for dinner.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
New music jukebox
Here's my reasoning. I used to have my music stored on a computer and used a program called MediaMonday as the jukebox. It was connected to our stereo via audio cable. All this worked fine until the hard drive containing the music died. Well, I didn't do anything about it for quite a while, but finally started thinking that we own all these CDs but they're diffiecut to manage and store in the living room. I started looking around for some sort of small device (computer) that I could use for this purpose. Hopefully putting it on a shelf along with the stereo equipment. Finally I ran across an ad for the iPad and started thinking or wondering if it could do the job for me.
I investigated quite a bit, even calling Apple directly, but couldn't get a definite answer if it could work for me or not. I finally had to drive an hour to an Apple store where this cute little french gal convinced me that, yes it can do that. Note, her good looks, etc. didn't have any baring on my decision. :-)
I got it home and started playing and after several calls to Apple tech support it is finally working. I have it setup like this:
All music (250 CDs) are stored on a Windows computer using iTunes
My stereo is plugged into an Airport Express (Apple device)
The Airport Express has an ethernet cable to my existing network (to the PC)
The Airport Express has a wireless network to the iPad.
Using the Music app on the iPad, I can play all of my iTunes library on the PC through the wireless connection to the stereo. It's pretty slick.
My only real complaint is with the Music app on the iPad. If you display the music by genere, it gives you a list of ALL songs in that genere. I think it should give you a list of all artists and then albums in that genere. You see, in 250 CDs we have a LOT of songs in an individual genere and then all get listed. :-(
Now I need to find out what else this little thing can do..