Sunday, April 30, 2006

Make and Model

Can you identify the MAKE of each auto from the name of the MODEL?

Run your cursor over the blank to reveal the answer.

Source: AOL feature on most popular cars.

Model Make

Civic Honda

Golf Volkswagen

Accord Honda

Z4 BMW

Mustang Ford

Tacoma Toyota

Camry Toyota

Caliber Dodge

Sky Saturn

Fusion Ford

F-150 Ford Pickup

Solstice Pontiac

Azera Hyundai

Corolla Toyota

Avalon Toyota

Prius Toyota

VUE Saturn

Highlander Toyota

Lucerne Buick

Pilot Honda

Tahoe Chevrolet

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Unlikely Events

Got to wondering. What would be the least likely?

HORSERACE: Winning the triple crown’; The Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont. OR

BOWLING: A perfect series of 900, three perfect games. OR

GOLF: A hole-in-one during a Masters' tournament. OR

CRIBBAGE: The highest hand, a 27; four fives and the Jack. OR

BRIDGE: A perfect hand, thirteen cards of the same suit. OR

POKER: A royal flush; ace, king, queen, jack, ten of the same suit. OR

BASEBALL: Four straight wins in the World Series. OR

FOOTBALL: From behind your own goal line, returning the kick off in an overtime period for a touchdown. OR

LOTTERY: Winning 361 million dollars. OR

BLOGGING: A full day of blogging without getting booted from AOL.

Friday, April 28, 2006

Poliical Opinion

I just sent a political e-mail to Senator Bill Frist in which I expressed my opposition to his Flag Protection Ammendment.  I said...

I am a Purple-Heart veteran of WWII, and I oppose the proposed constituional ammendment to permit congress to make laws pertaining to the desecration of the flag. I feel that this issue confuses the symbol, the flag, and the principle the country stands for: freedom to speak, even if it is critical of the government.

I fought, and was wounded, not to protect the flag, a symbol, but to preserve the freedoms the country provides.  Any attempt to limit those freedoms is exactly opposite what we stand for.

I  signed it and posted it on a site that sends messages to political figures.  That makes it easy to express your opinions... be my guest.

Government Guide.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Twenty-first Century

When I was born, the hand-cranked Model T Ford was the standard mode of transportation.  Radio was a crystal and an earphone. Televison and Airlines did not exist. A computer was a circular slide-rule.

Yet, this morning, as this child of the twentieth century sat writing an e-mail to be transmitted instantly and wirelessly to friend, he was interrupted by a message on his computer.

"Hi, Grandfather, are you at your computer?"

"Yes. Where are you?"

"I'm on the bus on the way to the airport."

"You can IM me from the bus?"

"On my cell phone. The typing is very slow."

Yes, I guess it is. You have to punch the ten keys multiple times to get the letter you want to send, and you have to spell it out letter by letter. I was flabbergasted. What century is this? I am living in a future I could never imagined when I was young.

People send mail from the bus.  People take a bus to the airport to take a two week vacation in Europe. In Europe they cross UNDER English channel to attend a concert as casually as we used to go uptown to the Music Hall.  And what do they see?  They see their Dad giving a concert that he has flown to from U.S.A.

My Son-in-law is taking a weekend off work to give a single concert in England.  Later this year my daughter is going to England to conduct a week-end seminar in water color painting. 

Has the world really shrunk that much?  I guess it has  Last night my daughter and I played a word game online with a grandmother in Australia.  It was already Thursday there. Time has shrunk as well.

Did I mention that Scrabble hadn't been invented yet, when I was born?

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Too Easy

A friend used my Gospel Quiz at Bible Study.  These seniors know their stuff.  They got them all right with the exception of the one that asks where the River Jordan flows.  They mostly guessed Mediteranean, but it was the Dead Sea I am sure.

There'll Be Another One Next Week

Life in the old folks home:  I was on my way out to go shopping, but I stopped to check the mail. There were the usual ads and my new copy of Time Magazine.  I didn't want to waste time, so I took the ads and Time and opened my door and dropped them on the floor inside the door.  I closed the door and went shopping.

Later I returned.  The house keeper or the care giver had come to collect the trash, had scooped up my junk mail and my unread Time Magazine and carted them off.

Oh, well, there will be another one next week.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Bible Quiz

Here a day late is my Sunday Quiz: The Gospels.

Run your mouse over the answer to see it.

GOSPEL QUIZ WITH ANSWERS

1 Name the four Gospels. 1 MATTHEW, 2 MARK, 3 LUKE, 4 JOHN.

2 Two Gospels tell about Jesus birth. Which two do NOT? MARK, JOHN

3 Who baptized Jesus? Mary, Joseph, John, Rabboni JOHN

4 Where was Jesus baptized? In Manger, Dead Sea, River Jordan, In the temple. RIVER JORDAN

5 After he was baptized, how long did Jesus go without food? FORTY DAYS

6 Who nailed Jesus to the cross? Zealots, Romans, Sanhedrin, Jews ROMANS

7 What did they do with the robe they stripped from Jesus? Gave it to Mary Magdalene, Gave it to Mary, 8 Gambled for it, Made Judas wear it. GAMBLED FOR IT.

9 When Jesus could no longer carry his cross, who carried it? Romans, Simon Peter, another man named Simon, Joseph, ANOTHER MAN NAMED SIMON

10 On what day of the week did Jesus die? .. FRIDAY

11 On what day of the week did Jesus rise? SUNDAY

12 Which disciple refused to believe the testimony that Jesus had risen? Peter, Judas, Simon, Thomas THOMAS

13 What convinced that disciple that Jesus was risen? Met him on the road to Damascus, Saw him in a cloud with Elijah, touched the wounds in his side, Heard the sworn testimony of Mary. TOUCHED THE WOUNDS.

15 At Pentecost, the disciples were baptized with ..water from the Jordan, a tongue of fire, a divine wind, the gift of tongues. TONGUE OF FIRE

16 Which of these was a disciple: Peter, Paul, Mary. PETER

17. What was Peter’s name before Jesus named him Peter? SIMON

18. Why did Jesus name his first disciple Peter? PETER COMES FROM PETROS, ROCK. “AND ON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY TEMPLE”

19 Which one was not a disciple. (Matt 10,1) Peter, Andrew, James, John, Phillip, Timothy, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, Simon, Judas, Thaddeus TIMOTHY

20. The river Jordan runs into what body of water? Mediterranean, Dead Sea, The Nile, The Red Sea. THE DEAD SEA

 

Sunday, April 23, 2006

The Penny

There is talk, again, about eliminating the penny.  The government would simply stop making them...it already costs more than a penny to manufacture it.

Fine.  And while we are at it, stop making nickles and quarters too. 

They may already have stopped making halves...I haven't seen a new one for ages.

Tell the mint to make dimes and dollars.  Make a dollar coin about the size of a nickle, or even a quarter. 

What a lot of fumbling and counting of change it would eliminate.

Prices could be made to include the sales tax... that's the way the merchant pays it anyway... he doesn't send all those pennies to the state.  He totals it up and sends a check. Why  should we fumble and fiddle with pennies?  Prices would be stated with one decimal point instead of two.  As a matter of fact, that would help us by gettig rid of the silly practice of shaving a penny off a price to make it look less.  No more $1.98 for a this or $5.97 for that.  Things would cost a simple 2 or 6.... that's what we are paying anyway.

Hooray, away with the penny. (And the nickle and the quarter too.)

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Insomniac Almanac

It seems to me that I should create another journal called Insomniac Almanac which would consist of entries made in the middle of the night when I ought to be sleeping.

I went to bed early, about 10:30, because I could no longer sit in this darned wheel chair.  There was a baseball game, interesting late nite shows, and a couple of DVDs to watch, but I couldn't SIT any longer.

So by three am I am rested and my mind starts on a litany of plans, memories, and inventories of aches and pains.  I call these the "tapes" because they run over and over. Sometimes it helps to get up and write.  Having written, I can usually get back and snooze some more.

And some of my best entries have been made in the middle of the night.  So, perhaps, a journal made up entirely of early morning ramblings and snippits from my "tapes" would be interesting.

And maybe not, and like this one, simply self-serving narcissistic sleep inducers. 

Well, back to bed and see if it has worked.

Chuck, 3:13 AM

 

Monday, April 17, 2006

Review: Starbucks' Strawberry Frappechino

Had my first Strawberry Frappechino at Starbucks.  Rating: three stars out of four... very good.  Almost as good as Carmel Frappechino or Chocolate chip Frappechino... three and half stars out of four.

Size: Vente (which they ought to simply call very large).. $ 4.20

Sunday, April 16, 2006

This is Where We Came In

   You may have heard someone say, "This is where we came in," when something sounds or feels familiar.  If you are from my generation you know where that expression started.

   In pre-television days, you went to the movies for an evening's entertainment.  Although they only cost ten cents for kids and about thirty-five cents for adults, it was depression, and you had to get a full evening out of every admission you paid, so movies ran "double features". One admission bought you two features, a short subject, and a newsreel.  One feature was the advertised, star-cast big budget film, the A movie, and the second was a low budget, B, film.  The B film was shot on a shoestring with newcomer actors, or faded over the hill has beens, shot on location with one take per scene.  If no one blew his lines, it was "cut - print that - next set up - quiet on the set"

   The movie ran continously all day.  You went in at your convenience, found your seat in the dark, and began watching the story unfold from whereever it happened to be.  When the story ended, you saw the newsreel, which was interesting because there was no nightly news on TV, a short comedy or animated feature, and then plunged into the second film. You watched the second story unfold and finish.  Before you were through applauding, the first feature began again. And this is when your movie watching skills were tested.

   You had to remember the characters and their actions from the early part of the evening, and put them together with what had gone before, which you were now watching.  You had to edit in your head, and make sense of the story you had already seen a couple of hours earlier. That was the skill we early movie goers developed.

   Sooner or later things began to be familiar, and you whispered to your  companions, "This is where we came in."

   Then you took a sort of straw poll.  If the movie was intriguing enough, you might vote to stay and watch the ending a second time.  More often, you put the pieces of the story together in your head, gathered your coats in the dark and departed. 

   Carrying this skill into the twenty first century, those of us over seventy, turn on the television at our convenience, break into the story on the screen whereever it may be, and follow it to the end.  Alas, it does not rescreen later in the evening.  We have to "make up" the first part of the story.  Our movie watching skills help us here, but often we have to wait until re-runs begin at the end of the season. 

   During the re-run season we often come upon the first part of a story we saw the end of a month or two before.  We follow along, and sometimes we get that old-old "This is where we came in" feeling. 

Monday, April 10, 2006

Glamour Girls Answers.

Here are the answers:

Was called “America’s Sweetheart” Mary Pickford

Was the “it” girl and appeared in Wings with Buddy Rogers and Richard Arlen.  Clara Bow

Originated the “vamp” style seductress.Theda Bara

Said “come up and see me sometime” Mae West

Gave up an academy award winning career to have an affair with an Italian film producer. Ingrid Bergman

Was the original “hot lips” in the filmed version of M*A*S*H. Sally Kellerman

Was “hot lips” in the television version of M*A*S*H. Loretta Swit

Said “Fasten your seat belts, it‘s going to be a bumpy night.” Bette Davis

Sang with Nelson Eddy. Jeanette MacDonald

Insured her legs for a million dollars. Betty Grable

Had lavender eyes and was married eight times. Elizabeth Taylor

Was known for her “look” though hair covered one eye. Veronica Lake

Glamorous image was shattered in tell all book Mommy Dearest. Joan Crawford

Loved horses so was comfortable with role in Big Valley.Barbara Stanwyck

Married all-star Yankee Joe DiMaggio Marilyn Monroe

Died in a horrible auto crash Jayne Mansfield

Starred in “It Happened One Night” with Clark Gable Claudette Colbert

Had a child by Clark Gable Loretta Young

Clark Gable didn't give a "damn" about her Vivian Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind

After her film career, became the First Lady Nancy Davis Reagan

Played wife of William Powell in The Thin Man Myrna Loy

Was taught to fly by Howard Hughes Kathyn Hepburn

Had a brassiere designed by Howard Hughes  Jane Russell

Her curious French nude scene made news when nude actresses were still news. Brigette Bardot

Her nude run through the woods brought her to Hollywood Hedy Lamarr

Went on the road with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope Dorothy Lamour

She wanted to be alone Greta Garbo in Grand Hotel

Told Bogart all he had to do was "whistle".Lauren Bacall


Sunday, April 9, 2006

Quiz: Glamour girls

GLAMOUR GIRLS

Female film stars of the early years were known as “Glamour Girls” for their fabulous make up and styles. Can you name the film star from the brief statement about her?

Answers on Tuesday.

Was called “America’s Sweetheart”

Was the “it” girl and appeared in Wings with Buddy Rogers and Richard Arlen.

Originated the “vamp” style seductress.

Said “come up and see me sometime”

Gave up an academy award winning career to have an affair with an Italian film producer.

Was the original “hot lips” in the filmed version of M*A*S*H.

Was “hot lips” in the television version of M*A*S*H.

Said “Fasten your seat belts, it‘s going to be a bumpy night.”

Sang with Nelson Eddy.

Insured her legs for a million dollars.

Had lavender eyes and was married eight times.

Was known for her “look” though hair covered one eye.

Glamorous image was shattered in tell all book Mommy Dearest.

Loved horses so was comfortable with role in Big Valley.

Married all-star Yankee Joe DiMaggio

Died in a horrible auto crash

Starred in “It Happened One Night” with Clark Gable

Had a child by Clark Gable

Clark Gable didn't give a "damn" about her

After her film career, became the First Lady

Played wife of William Powell in The Thin Man

Was taught to fly by Howard Hughes

Had a brassiere designed by Howard Hughes

Her curious French nude scene made news when nude actresses were still news.

Her nude run through the woods brought her to Hollywood

Went on the road with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope

She wanted to be alone

Told Bogart all he had to do was "whistle".

Thursday, April 6, 2006

Quiz: Rivers of the World

WORLD RIVERS QUIZ

Drag your cursor over the answers to reveal them.

1. World’s longest river: Nile

2. World’s largest (most copious): Amazon

3. Russian river empties into the Caspian Sea; Volga

4. Runs through Vienna and had a Viennese waltz named after it: Danube

5. Main waterway and commerce route in Burma (Which you probably know as Mayanmar, since you are all so up to date ): Irrawaddy

6. China’s major waterway: Yangtze

7. Runs through Paris: Seine

8. Runs through London: Thames

9. Lined with ancient castles overlooking the banks: Rhine

10 China’s river so turgid that it got its name: Yellow River

11. Sacred river for Hindus: Ganges

12. Joshua (Joshua 3:15-17) parted it’s waters so Hebrews could cross it safely: Jordan

13. Mythical river bordering Hades: Styx

14. Viet Nam major waterway: Mekong

15. Runs through New York, New York. Hudson, and yes, I know, the East River too.)

Monday, April 3, 2006

Photo Scavenger Hunt

Krissy is hosting Photo Scavenger Hunt again.  This week: Spring.

Here is mine. Grape leaves.  Those little green things are going to be gorgeous concord grapes...before you know it.

Saturday, April 1, 2006

Bittersweet

Broadband is indeed much faster. Much.

But I get booted more often, in fact, frequently, and I get "failed to connect" message more often. 

In fact, when I got booted this time, I could not reconnect broadband, and had to reconnect using slow, old reliable, dial up.

Maybe I don't have it connected right.  How can I tell, the kid I paid to connect it did wonderful mysterious things to my computer and the programs in it.  The company who sold me the service wanted over a hundred dollars to connect it.  The kid was free but I tipped him twenty.
   And I forgot to mention... although broadband is offered for less then ten dollars a month...that is a "starter special" and eventually the thirty dollars a month, or more, will kick in.
   AND I had to agree to take it for a year (I think) or pay a disconnect fee to quit.
   Boy, they sure have you by the "short hairs".

Just thought I would "vent" a bit.