What do Bernard Rich, Lenny Hacker, Christian Ebsen, Charles Holly, and Charles Rogers all have in common.
Left click your mouse and drag it over the answer below to find out.
Answer: They all became noted with the nickname Buddy. Buddy Rich, drummer, Buddy Hackett, comedian, Buddy Ebsen, dancer and actor portraying Jed Clampet, Buddy Holly, musician, and Buddy Rogers, actor
Tags: Quick Quiz
Here are some lines from the lyrics of popular songs. Guess the name of the song. Run your cursor over the line to reveal the answer.
1 Well, Whadda Ya know, it’s morning already along >The Santa Fe Trail
2 You took the part that once was my heart so why not take >All of me
3 You’ve got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum >Accentuate the Positive
4 Every time they hear that OOM PA PA
Every body feels so TRA LA LA
>Beer Barrel Polka
5 Long winter nights with the candles gleaming.
Through it all your face that I adore.
You Smile, and> the Angels sing
6 It might have been in County Down,
Or in New York, or Gay Paree,
Or even in London town.
No more will I go >around the world I searched for you
7 Let’s move down to some big town
Where they love a gal by the cut of her clothes
And You’ll stand out in buttons and bows
8 Bells rings, Birds sing,
Sun is shining, no more pining,
Just we two, smiling through,
Don’t sigh, don’t cry,
>BYE BYE BLUES.
9 The moonlight was shining bright in Carolina,
Shining on the same old winding lane. Oh,
(Refrain)
Carolina Moon keep shining
10 On a Sunday afternoon
With the one you love.
The sun above
Waitng for the moon.
The old accordion playing
A sentimental tune,
>Cruising down the river
On a Sunday afternoon.
11 >Five foot two, eyes of blue,<
but Oh what those five foot could do
Has anybody seen my girl?
Turned up nose, turned down hose,
Flapper? Yes she’s one of those.
12 Hel-lo, Dolly, well, Hel-lo, Dolly,
It’s so nice to have you back where you belong.
You’re looking swell, Dolly, We can tell, Dolly,
You’re still glowin’, you’re still crowin’,
You’re still goin’ strong.
13> I’m gonna sit right down and write myself a letter,
And make believe it came from you.
I’m gonna write words, oh, so sweet,
They’re gonna knock me off my feet,
A lot kisses on the bottom.
I’ll be glad I got ‘em.
14 And when it’s twelve o’clock
We climb the stair,
We never knock
For nobody’s there.
Just >me and my shadow
All alone and feeling blue.
15 Seven, that’s the time we leave, at seven.
I’ll be waitin’ up for heaven,
Countin’ every mile of rail road track,
That takes me back.
Never thought my heart could be so yearn-y!
Why did I decide to roam?
Gonna take a sentimental journey,
16 Don’t know why, there’s no sun up in the sky,
Stormy weather. Since my man and I ain’t together
Keeps rainin’ all the time
Life is bare, gloom and misery everywhere
Stormy weather.
17 <Thanks for the memory - of candelight and wine
Castles on the Rhine - The Parthenon and
Moments on the Hudson River Line -
How Lovely it was
18 A cigarette that bears a lipstick’s traces,
An airline ticket for romantic places,
And still my heart has wings,
These foolish things remind me of you.
19 Enjoy yourself - It’s later than you think
Enjoy yourself - while you’re still in the pink
The years go by as quickly as a wink
Enjoy yourself - enjoy yourself - It’s later than you think.
20 I found my thrill - On Blueberry Hill - On Blueberry Hill
When found you, the moon stood still, On Blueberry Hill
And lingered until - my dreams came true
The wind in the willow played love’s sweet melody
But all of those vows we made - were never to be.
Tho’ we’re apart - you’re part of me still
For you were my thrill - On Blueberry Hill.
Well, what do you know? It's morning already, and the sun is beginning to shine.
The Blues in the night
Have I told you lately that I love you? Well, Baby, I'm telling you now.
Bill Grogan's goat was doomed to die.
Hello, and Goodbye. Well, you sure have a beautiful view.
(That last one was not a lyric, but you can use if if you write a song... my compliments.)
I went out last evening just to stare at the almost full moon. I went to the back parking lot. There there are fewer lights and the sky is just a little more visible.
Why is it, that at eighty-three, I still mavel at the moon, its phases and the stars at night? There was only one start visible. I think it must have been Jupiter. It was bright and high in the sky. Venus is brighter but never gets that high in the sky. (It is closer to the sun, and thus, much of the time it is overhead, it is daylight.)
I understand how the sun and the planets orbit, and why there are seasons, because I have been taught. But I marvel at how the ancients figured it all out. If I had not been taught the the Earth was round, would I have figured it out? I doubt it.
By the way, what makes gravity? WHY are objects attracted to one another? No one has taught me that..so I try to figure it out, to no avail.
The old folks took a little field trip to the outskirts of town to a couple of semi-tourist attractions, an Agriculture Museum and a Fruit stand-Lunch room. The one thing that impressed me was how beautiful our city is. It is green and lush, and well kept. Even the junky parts looked "quaint".
I don't get out much anymore. I forget how much fun one can have just roaming around and oggling the scenery.
I post slogans on my door for passers-by to read. I am told that residents of the old folks enjoy or are intrigued by them. I enjoy the attention. Some are silly, some are banal, some are curious. Here are a few:
From Laugh In-
DO DE NAME RUBY BEGONIA RING A BELL
SOCK IT TO ME
HERE COME DE JUDGE
Old sayings-
DON'T CHANGE HORSES IN THE MIDDLE OF A STREAM
YOU CAN LEAD A HORSE TO WATER, BUT YOU CANNOT MAKE HIM DRINK.
One ex-farmer stopped me to explain how he could make a horse drink. Put salt in his hay.
Silliness -
IF YOU ASK A SCOTSMAN WHAT HE WEARS UNDER HIS KILT, HE WILL GLADLY SHOW YOU. SO DON'T ASK
GOING TO SLEEP GETS EASIER THE MORE YOU PRACTICE
IF YOU DISH IT OUT, YOU HAVE TO LEARN TO TAKE IT TOO
THE EARTH IS MADE OF STAR DUST AND IS OLDER THAN YOU THINK
YOU DON'T KNOW JUST HOW LUCKY YOU ARE, DO YOU?
GRAHAM CRACKERS AND COCOA IS NOT A BALANCED DIET
WHERE'S MY OTHER SHOE?
TURKEY WITHOUT CRANBERRY SAUCE IS LIKE LAMB WITHOUT MINT JELLY
KEEP BOTH EYES AND YOUR MIND OPEN
IF YOU MUST BE JEALOUS OF SOMETHING SOMEONE ELSE HAS, MAKE IT HIS WISDOM
IF YOU SPEND A NICKEL TO SAVE A PENNY, YOU ARE FOUR CENTS IN THE HOLE
IF YOU LOSE YOUR SHIRT AND PANTS IN A CRAP GAME, DON'T HITCH HIKE HOME
And one that tickled one lady so much that she greets me with the saying everytime she sees me...
ARE WE THERE YET?
Plus from my internet buddies -
CHUCKLING IN THE MORNING LEADS TO LAUGHTER IN THE AFTERNOON
BE ALERT. THE WORLD NEEDS MORE LERTS
Thanks, guys
Tags: Silly slogans
For his weekend assignment, John Scalzi, in his Blog By the Way, asks us to list our TBR books. TBR means To Be Read books. He assumes that we busy bloggers have more books than we have time to read them, and wants us to tell what we have on our waiting lists.
He was right about me. My stack of books that I want to read some day, is eight volumes high.
It consists of
1. Women’s Letters A collection of letters from the Revolutionary War to the present, edited by Lisa Grunwald and Stephen Adler
2. John Adams by David McCullough. Adams was one my ancestors so I ought to get to this.
3. The Painter’s Keys, a seminar by Rober Genn. I enjoy Genn’s newsletters and his commentary about what an artist feels, so I will enjoy this book, when I get to it.
4. Reason for Hope by Jane Goodall, a Spiritual Journey. I think I have been put off by the “spiritual” suggestion, but Goodall was such an innovative researcher that I am sure her insights will be interesting.
5. A World Waiting to be Born, Civility Rediscovered by M. Scott Peck, M.D. I found this book in the shelves of the old folks home reading room and the title intrigued me, but I just haven’t cracked it open yet.
6. The Movies of My Life by Alberto Fuguet. A novel on loan from my daughter. I hope she is not in a hurry for its return.
7. The Sccret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. A novel. Also on loan. I am a poor person to loan books to. You may never see them again.
8. Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. A science fiction novel that I bought the day it came out and have been meaning to read ever since. It has won awards for being top notch science fiction. I am so sorry,John, but you asked.
After he broke the record for most home runs, but not until after, the San Francisco Giants decided they didn't want to pay his $15,000,000 salary next year.
They decided not to give him a new contract. Can you say he was "fired" if he served out his current contract and was not renewed for another year?
Anyway, I'm going to pass the hat at the old folks home and take up a collection for the unemployed Bonds.
At five AM I sit with my "dover" coffee (Warm Dover, get it?) and contemplate the correct grammar for the next statement.
1. I have laid awake all night. INCORRECT
2. I have lain awake all night MY PREFERENCE
3. I have lay awake all night. INCORRECT
4. I have lied awake all night.INCORRECT
5. I laid awake all night INCORRECT
6. I lain awake all night. INCORRECT
7. I lay awake all night OKAY
8. I lied awake all night. TELLING FIBS?
Go back and use your cursor to find the one I consider correct.
Anyway as I (laid,lied,lay) awake, that grammar problem kept going over and over in my mind. Alas. Next time I'll try counting sheep.
I was going to update my quiz on head of state. I know so few that I thought I would learn a bit and demonstrate to us all that we need to "keep up to date" on current affairs. However, when I got the list of heads of state from Wikipedia, I was flabbergasted.
There were so many states and nations with such complex political configurations that I simply gave up. I doubt that even the president could name them all.
I amuse myself by asking odd questions and then working them out.
For instance, I asked myself: The sun is 93 million miles away from Earth. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second. Expressed in hours, how long does it take light from the sun to reach the Earth?
I will work it out and post the answer I get in comments below. However, I have to go breakfast, and knowing the lack of speed with which I work, it may not be the first comment. Post yours if you want to play along.
Here are questions from the game Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? On the TV show, answer nine and you get one question worth million dollars. I missed a third grade question.
Run your cursor over an answer to reveal it.
1 The planet earth is located in what galaxy. Milky Way ($1,000)
2 What is capital of Sweden (I got it wrong saying Oslo) Stockholm ($2,000)?
3 What national hymn written by Katherine Lee Bates contains the line “from sea to shining sea” America the Beautiful ($5,000)
4 What was the name of the Egyptian God of the sun Thor Ra RamsisRa ($10,000)?
5 Which is the smallest. One-third, one fourth, one half One fourth ($25,000)
6 A US. Month will have a Friday the thirteenth if the first of the month is on which day of the week> Sunday Contestant missed saying Tuesday.
Next contestant, a west point graduate
1. How many degrees are in a quarter of a circle? 90 degrees ($1,000)
2 True or False: The emu is a flightless bird. True ($2000)
3. Before he eventually became president, Harry Truman was a senator from what state? Contestant missed saying Delaware but the fifth grader saved his bacon with the right answer.) Missouri ($5,000)
4. What U. /S. state is nicknamed the Lone Star State Texas ($10,000)
5. How many times does the letter A appear in the phrase Niagara Falls? (Spoken phrase) four (contestant said three but the fifth grader was right and he wins) ($25,000)
6. What is the verb in the following sentence: It is such a nice day. IS ($50,000)
7. Which ins NOT a member of the president’s cabinet a, Attorney General b. Secretary of Education c. White House Press Secretary. White House Press Secretary ($100,000)
8 The Gobi desert is located on which continent. ASIA Contestant said Africa (Lost the $175,000 won $25,000)
Are you smarter than a fifth grader?
The face is familiar, but your name escapes me. Here are television characters whose name you’ve heard a thousand times, and yet… can you remember them?
(I tried this quiz on the folks at the old folks home. They all tried to name the actors who played the parts in question. I was after the characters' names… just to test our memories of what we have watched -- but didn’t pay attention to.)
Run your cursor over the answer to reveal it.
First name of Jerry Seinfeld’s neighbor, Kramer. COSMO
First name of Mr. Monk, the detective with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ADRIAN
Name of the Beverly Hills banker who tried to keep Jed Klampet from spending his enormous wealth. MILTON DRYSDALE
That Banker’s secretary JANE HATHAWAY
Elly May’sGranniy’s name. (Give yourself a gold star if you get this one) DAISY MOSES
Name the four ladies who shared a home in Golden Girls. BLANCHE, DOROTHY, ROSE, SOFIA
First name of Sherlock Holmes’ companion, Dr. Watson. JOHN, AT LEAST IN ONE STORY, SOMETHING ELSE IN ANOTHER.
Mr. Ed’s owner’s first name WILBUR
Last name of Nick and Nora, the husband-wife detective team. CHARLES
The young couple in love on That 70’s Show ERIC AND DONNA
First name of Dr. House in the show that bears his name, House. GREG HOUSE
From M*A*S*H, Hawkeye’s name… and while you’re at it, name his buddies, Trapper and B.J. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN PIERCE, JOHN McINTYRE, BJ HUNNICUT
Who wore badge 714 JOE FRIDAY
Tags: TVcharacter quiz, my head hurts
Living in the supervised confines of an old folks home, and restricted in mobility to a wheel chair, I forget there is a real world "out there", where people come and go when and where they want.
Today, after a game of two of Bingo, I took my power chair and motored to Starbucks. I didn't ask anyone if I could go. I didn't sign out. I just went. There I used my Starbucks card and bought a Latte... (coffee with milk) overpriced at $2.65. That was wonder one.
I sat a a table, sipping my coffee, reading my "junk" mail. I was delighted to see that Rite Aid is selling AA and AAA batteries for $5.24 for 8. Wow, I thought. I use a lot of those, I will make a trip to Rite Aid tomorrow. I have to cross the perilous crossing at G and Olive streets, but that s a good price. That was wonder two. .
Then I came to Longs' ad. They are selling AA and AAA batteries in a 16 pack for $9.88. WOW...and closer. Then I used my calculator... that is only three cents a battery cheaper. That's the laugh at myself. I was jazzed about a three cent savings.
In the corner at Starbucks sat a guy, not talking to anyone, not drinking coffee even, sketching with a ball point pen. When I passed by, I saw they were fantastic graphics. He was doing professional graphics while sitting in a cafe. That was wonder three
Wonder four. While coming home I passed a construction site. There in the scrap pile were wood scraps AND yards of platic tie down material that hold lumber in place on trucks. They used to use rope. Apparently now they use plastic tie down straps, that they THROW AWAY after they unload the truck. When I was boating I was always buying tough nylon mooring lines. Here is tougher, lighter strapping that is so cheap that it thrown away after it is used. I coiled up a few yards and brought it home.
Now I have to find some use for it.
Chaos// I woke one morning and looked across the room at my book case. I thought I should straighten the top row of books.
Then I laughed at myself. The top row of books? What about the rest of the clutter you call your apartment.
If I were Felix Unger, instead of Oscar Madison, I would straigten things out
And Monk would be proud of me.
I need some OCD
Imagine a labyrinth so convoluted and complex that, although you traveled it every day, you could not find your way without a map. That is my computer.
When I snap pictures with my digital camera, (Easy) and connect it to my computer, (Easy) and upload the pictures, (Easy) I display them for editing or putting in my journal. (Impossible)
The first steps are simple. The computer does the uploading, but them hides them in the files so that when I try to find them to publish it takes so many steps that I sometimes give up. I have actually abandoned some photos because they are lost in the bowels of the gut bucket I call my computer.
Photobucket is the server I use to store the pictures I want to put in my journal. When I get logged and ask to upload pictures, it simply says "browse". Browse, indeed. Browsing used to mean casually searching the book shelves. Now browsing means gettting out a roadmap and following an obscure trail that leads not to a hidden treasure, but the snapshots you took this morning.
If I were smart, I would have that trail to my hidden trove of pictures printed and hanging on the wall beside the computer. But no. I try to remember the steps to find my snaps. When I do find them, I sigh and upload happily.
Strange...but sometimes when browse is punched in the computer serves up the pictures as quickly as a waiter who knows he is getting a ten dollar tip. But other times, he is a sullen bus-boy who drops your napkin on the floor and spills your drink in your lap.
If I could tip the computer, I would.
Take Your Camera. It was a slogan I made up the other day when I went without it. So today it was T Y C day.
It was three out of four out of focus today, but at least I had the camera when I saw things I wanted to picture.
On a shopping trip I finally got to picture that ugly oleander hedge which turned into a giant bouquet.(1) That is the one that is in focus.
A bit farther on I saw a giant car. Don't know what this great big urban limo was doing in our up-state city, but I got 90% of it in this picture (2).
The next two out of focus gems merely prove you should take your camera, and that you should practice with it enough so you can get pictures in focus/ Breakfast looked appealing this morning, with biscuits and gravy and fixins and I snapped its portrait. (3)
And tablemate, Thelma, age 93, spends her time crotcheting baby layettes for her church to give newborns. Here she shows us her handiwork. (4)
A guy named Kellen runs the most obscure, obtuse, cussed quiz tournament I have ever seen. It will send participants rushing to Google, Wikipedia, and their long forgotten college text books.
In other words, it is fun. If you'd like to join the tournament here's the link to sign up. (Right away please.)
The San Francisco Giants have a television commercial that consists of nothing but a series of various people laughing.
It is cute but curious. What are they laughing about? They're in last place.
Sometimes, just sometimes, I can correct my mistakes before I call the repairman or make a long distance call to San Francisco.
I plugged the power cord into the power chair over night. Yet, this morning, when I used the chair, the battery indicator showed only partial charge.
"Oh, my gawd," thought I. "I'm going to need a new $200 battery." I nursed the chair around this morning on its weak battery. At noon, I plugged the power cord into the chair again. But I noticed that the ammeter was showing NO charge.
"That's even worse. The battery may be okay but I will need a new charger. $400."
"Perhaps I just need a new power cord." I had hope. I jiggled the cord. No response.
Then one my few good ideas hit me. I checked the connection of the power cord to the wall socket. It was loose.
I re-plugged in the power cord. I checked the ammeter. The charger, at last, was working well.
I am not sure whether I saved $200 or saved $400.
Either will do.
The old folks had a gathering on the patio a while ago. I went and took my harmonica. I played a tune or two.
I played "Oh, Susanna" and "Ain't she Sweet". Nobody told me to stop.
On the other hand, nobody asked me to play more, either. So I stopped.
Just had an idea for a science fiction story.
A guy, like me, is sitting on the patio when a infinitesimal bug flies past. Suddently he realizes he can read the bug's mind. He can visualize what the bug sees (with its multiple eyes) and hear what the bug hears (with its knees).
The bug circles nearby and nears a lizard on the patio wall. The guy realizes the danger to the fly that the lizard represents. The fly circles closer and closer to the lizard. By force of his will, he screams a warning to the bug, but the bug does not heed it.
He leaps from his chair and races to the wall and chases the lizard away. He saves the bug's life.
Then just as suddenly, he is reading the lizard's mind. He is starving. He needs to eat...right now. He looks longingly at the bug, flying just out of reach.
(Did you ever read any of John Collier's short stories? They're worth looking up. Maybe I'll Google him and post a link--someday.)
Patrick asks us to name seven instruments we'd like to play.
1. Harmonica. I have been noodling along for ten years. Can't read music, can't play a decent melody. All I can do, if told the proper key, is play a puffing little acompanyment. I know how to simulate the three major chords, and can usually tell "by ear" which one to use. But when I hear real harmonica players play, I turn green with envy.
2. Keyboard/Piano. I pick out simple tunes with one finger...by ear. The wonderful thing about the keyboard is that is has various rhythms built-in. You select a rhythm and a nice jazz combo starts with your accompanyment. With one finger you tap out the melody... or even make one up. Sounds good, but it isn't really playing the instrument. I have two keyboards set up in my two room apartment, and one more in the closet. The one in the closet fits on my scooter, with a portable amplifier and I have taken it to assemblies of the old folks at the home and played a fanfare or two. Once was the music for a wedding, using the built in songs...not my playing.
3. Ukelele. Hanging on the wall is a Ukelele. It is mostly for decoration, but it is functional. I even have a chord chart. Best part about a Ukelele is that it has only four strings...and I have ten fingers. I should be able to play it if my ten fingers could master three chords on the four strings.
4. Penny Whistle. I bought a souvenier penny whistle in Jamestown. Supposedly it was a replica of ones that were available to the early settlers. I guess they stuck 'em in their pockets when they set sail. A piano did not travel well on early sailing ships, but a penny whistle could.
5. Flute. When I was teaching school, I went with my Special Education kids to beginning orchestra class. So, first I went to a pawn shop and bought a flute. It was fun. I sat in with the junior high kids and learned a bit of fluting. I was just "the big kid in the second row."
6. Clarinet. The same with the clarinet. Took it to Junior High Music class... and I was an adult. Learned to finger a few notes, but mostly I would squawk and squeal while trying to get the reed to rest just right on my lips. The reeds tickled my tongue. Eventually I gave the clarinet to an elementary school orchestra.
7. Guitar. I took Steel Guitar lessons as a kid, and conventional acoustic guitar as an adult... at a park department recreation class. I leaned a chord or two and the "Carter Family Strum". As with all these instruments, I lacked dedication and follow through. So I sit and WISH I could play them. What's stopping you? Me. No practice, no perfect.
Wow, the market on this Monday was wild. Trucks were lined up at the loading dock bringing in the merchandise, and the aisles were crrowded with shoppers. Looked like Christmas shopping.
I went scooting around looking for bargains and found NONE.
Corn was up from 25c an ear to 50c. Tired little limes that looked like they had been in the bin for weeks were 25c each. Avocados, bless 'em, were $1.79 each. That is a single large avocado...yikes.
I bought some candy to put in the Bingo prize basket, but it was not much of a buy. I bought some bran muffins, but had to compromise on the size...they had only mini-muffins.
However, I did have one experience...I learned to TYC. That is Take Your Camera...on every outing. I passed a normally dreary old Oleander hedge, and it was gorgeious, blooming with millions of pink blossoms. Who knew that such a plain old hedge had such a hidden personality.
This is test of the new format to see if the default is big enough. Also cheking the type face. and will check the color too.
trying default size\
trying ten point size
trying twelve point size
trying 14 point size
I think I will go default font, ten point, dark blue. Let me know how it looks on YOUR computer screen. Looks okay on mine..
I sure feel dumb. Another Senior Moment... and this one is choice.
At a quarter to twelve I turned on CBS to watch David Letterman. He wasn't on. CSI was on instead. Huh?
I have heard nothing about Letterman's not being on. I checked the on air program guide. I looked up the call letters of the CBS station on which he appears. I got them wrong.
Then when I got the right letters. I looked up the station online. Nothing about Letterman not being on. What the heck?
So I CALLED the station in San Francisco. I got a rigmarole with things to push or key words to speak. I got the recorded program guide. It said, "Guide for the week-end of September eighth."
Week end?
OMG... this is SUNDAY. Of course Letterman is not on. It is Sunday. Three quarters of an hour of frantic searching, AND a long distance telephone call because I thought it was Tuesday.
Shakes you up.
Copied from My Way... Patrick a bit hard to reach nowadays. Oh, he won't even know I played. Oh, well.
How big a deal is grammar for you? No, that’s not one of the six official questions, but it’s the topic for this week. It seems that for some people, grammar is a dying art. I think that’s sad, because it shows a general lack of effort in communication, and no good can come from putting little effort in communicating with each other.
1. How different is your speech pattern among your friends versus a stranger you’d meet on the street?
At the old folks' home, most of the staff use language that is "rustic", to say the least. A staff member asked me, "Don't you want no ice cream?"
On the other hand, most of the residents use conventional English.
2. How often do you get asked where you’re from based on your accent?
Not often because I stay home. Was asked a bit in the service where men from all over the country were gathered together. I asked the question more often than I was asked. It is fun to try to pin point a person's home town from his speech.
3. What word or phrase said by newscasters is your biggest pet peeve?
Nescasters are usually pretty good. They are most often schooled in "Middle USA" pronouncation and phraseology. I hate the way the Cajun Cook says, "I'll gare-on-tee ya'".
In Blogs, my pet peeve is the use of to when too is meant. "It is to hot today" leaves me cold. It should be "It is too hot today."
4. Take the quiz: How good at grammar are you?
I took the quiz...it simply checked it's vs its and their vs they're vs there. Nothing about agreement of subject and verb nor objective case or other common errors. I am sure I passed, but the site went blooey when I wanted to check my score.
5. How often do you look up a word in a dictionary, either online or print?
Very often. However, I more often use spell check. I am astounded how many words are in it's dictionary. (oops. Its dictionary.)
6. How many books or guides on grammar do you currently own?
I think one or two. Spellcheck and grammar check do most of my correcting. The dictionary has a preface with good grammar practices in it.
...to play this in J-land.....Kate writes.
Well, it is not exactly appropriate for your web-site, Kate, so let me post it in my journal.\
What is your name? KATE
4 letter word: KISS
Vehicle: KIA
TV Show: Kate & Allie
City: Katmandu
Boy Name other than yours: KEVIN
Girl Name other than yours: Kendra
Drink: KOOL ADE
Occupation: Kitchen help
Something you wear: Knit cap
Celebrity: Keanu Reeves
Food: Knackwurst (hate it too, so much I can't even spell it)
Found in a bathroom: Knuckle cream
Reason for Being Late: Kissing
Cartoon Character: Kalamity Jane
Something You Shout: KISS MY ASS
"Where's your book," Krissy asks.
Flattering. I have been told I should "write a book".
Well, I have, in a way. And it IS published.
Right here on AOL. And it is available free. Just click on the "view archives" button over there to the upper right corner of the window. (Careful...not the "x")
All these entries..way back to 2003 or 2004 are there. I am considering some kind of Index, but not sure how to go about it. Isn't that incredible. We are all book publishers. Bless the Blogosphere.
And think of all the paper we are saving.
I was sitting at my keyboard, trying to make it sound like a snare drum. I was marvelling at the science of miniaturization. An electronic keyboard can be made to sound like any musical instrument, or an entire orchestra.
That led me to consider how a complete television station can be shrunk to the size of cell phone. That is what you have: a television camera that takes a picture that can be broadcast to a receiver that will send your words and pictures anywhere in the world. Not only that, it will store your favoite music or video games or your entire personal telephone directory in there, ready for you to use.
BUT while I was considering how all that could be stored in a pocket sized gadget, a tiny insect flew past my face, and it reminded me that there is a stage of miniturization even better than our best technology. It is the bug's natural system.
That bug, almost too tiny for me to see, is a complete creature. He has a brain, too tiny for me to even imagine, and muscles, and skeleton. He has his memories such as avoid birds and fly swatters, his feelings such as too hot or too cold or it's daytime or night time, his drives for food and to reproduce. They are all built in to a space far smaller than a cell phone.
He may have hopes and dreams, ambitions, plans for the future even if his life span is only a few days. Who knows.
Anyway, by the teeny-weeny bug standards, we have a long way to go in miniturization.
Fred Thompson announced his candidacy for President on Jay Leno's program last night. I was able to view the clips on AOL this morning. I was watching David Letterman last night instead of Leno.
Thompson used Schwartzenegger's guide to make his announcement on an entertainment program rather than a so-called news conference. Ho-hum.
But watching his casual attitude and off hand way of breaking the news did nothing for me by way of inspiring my support. (Well, I am a Hillary supporter anyway.) He made it sound like he'd be running the country from his kitchen table.
Whereas I once could have considered him a viable candidate, I no longer can.
Oh well. That's politics.
Scattergories
Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. Erase my answers and put in yours, and put it in your journal.
What is your name? Chuck
4 letter word: CULT
Vehicle: Convertible
TV Show: CSI (Crime Scene Investigation )
City: Corona
Boy Name other than yours: Carl
Girl Name other than yours: Carlotta
Drink: Cocoa
Occupation: Counselor
Something you wear: Chamise
Celebrity: Hiliary Clinton
Food: Chimmychonga (hate ’em)
Found in a bathroom: Conditioner
Reason for Being Late: Conference
Cartoon Character: Charlie Brown
Something You Shout: CHARGE!
Funny: I got stuck on TV Show and celebrities. I guess there were too many to choose from.
If you decide to play, leave a link with Penny where this came from and with Donna who started it.
Early morning at the old folks home. Lying in bed is not comfortable, since my artificial hip is aching.
"Well," I tell myself, "that's why you squeezed a huge recliner into a crowded two room apartment. Go sit in the easy chair." In the dark I make my way to the recliner and ease my bulk into it. Ahhh.
There in the dark of my room twinkle a dozen little LEDs. Many of my electrical devices have light emitting diodes that show that they are plugged in and ready to go work as soon as I need them.
"We're ready," say the telephones, the microwave, the computer, and the answering machine. The answering machine adds, "No messages."
"We're on the job and working," say the power strip and the computer's router. The router alone has four LEDs, each for a different purpose.
I settle down for a couple more hours of rest surrounded by my own little constellation of stars twinkling in the night.
We're a team, my plug-ins and me.
At 6:06 this morning, the temperature was 66. The wind was 6 mph from 316 degrees.
Whew, that is about 20 degrees cooler than yesterday at this time.
I missed it again. Today is the third and last day of the Begonia Festival in Capitola, California.
Residents of this quaint seaside town decorate floats with bouquets of Begonias, the flower that grows abundantly locally, and set them adrift on Soquel Creek. There they drift lazily toward the sea. However, before they reach the ocean they are stopped by an underpass at the Stockton Bridge, and there they gather to make a flower carpet in the lagoon
Well, maybe next year
Oh, dear, I get so confused. Even my Grandma can't teach me grammar. In a recent entry I wrote
Later in the morning it will ask for BOB, whoever he is.
Shouldn't that be whomever? I think that pronoun is the object of the clause whoever he is. Whomever would be the objective case. AND wait another minute: that is an independent clause. How come it is hanging onto BOB with a comma. That should be a period, or a least a semi-colon
Fifty-five years ago I was teaching high school English, and would have known. Now I got no grammar at all.
I have a bedside digital alarm clock with big red illuminated numbers. It makes a nice night light, and it is a delight to be able to tell the time when I stir at night. Digital numerals can sometimes pass for letters. For instance 5 looks just like S, and 8 looks like B, and of course zero looks like O.
In the morning I am often amused to waken and find the clock sending out a distress message: S O S. That happens at five minutes past five am. It probably sends the same call for help in the PM, but I am at "early bird" supper, and never notice.
A few minutes later it begins to SOB; at 5:08 exactly. Later in the morning it will ask for BOB, whoever he is.(8:08)/ BOB may be his SIS (5:15) which would make her a SIB (5:18), sibling with a masculine name, Bobbie, perhaps.
If I stared at the clock the whole night through, I might find it spelling out other words too, but fortunately I usually drop off to sleep. Clock watching has the same effect as counting sheep.
The 330 Million dollar jackpot in the Mega Lottery that was paid this week reminds me of my own scheme to pay off the national debt.
The government holds a lottery. Dollar bills are the tickets. You take as many dollar bills as you care to gamble, tear them in half. This makes the bill non-negotiable and takes it out of circulation. One half you throw in a mail box. The post office sends all the halves to a big warehouse somewhere, say Phoenix. The other half you keep as a receipt.
For every ten million halves collected, a local citizen, say, for example, Karen Blocher, one of my loyal readers, is allowed to walk into the warehouse, shuffle around the big pile of half dollar bills and pick out one. The serial number on that half of a bill is published. The person holding the other half of that bill with the matching serial number is awarded a million dollars in new cash, TAX FREE.
With each drawing nine million dollars of debt, each dollar bill being a note against the government treasury, is taken off the national debt. Cost to government, ZILCH. (less the cost of shipping all those bills to Phoenix, and a dinner for Karen)
With the national mania for lotteries and the lure of something-for-nothing, this could go on until the entire national debt is paid. Think of the savings in interest the government will make. Taxes could go down.
How about it, Karen? Are you up for this? Free dinner on the tax payers.
