winner, winner

I almost won a trivia contest tonight

    The museum held a trivia contest for its first night of the week long Chautauqua  events.

    In case you did not recognize the term, Chautauquas were  pretty common in the early 1900s and late 1890s.

    Usually, they were week long events staged in rural areas and offered  the local denizens talks on various topics.  This was in a day when there was no tv, radio.   Newspapers were active but a lot of the citizens could not read, so the Chautauqua offered learning experiences.

    I also think Chautauqua is one of the few words that has three combinations of a and u in the same word:  au, au, ua.  

    Anyway, I digress.

    Some of the questions I missed were hit yourself in the head questions.

    Like....A.G.B. invested this device in 1876 (I don't remember the exact year, you get the point) and we still use it today.

    Anheiser Gustav Busch was not the answer, but Alexander Graham Bell was.  

    The answer to another question was Marilyn Moore. and the follow up question was what was her real name?

    Hating to leave any answers blank, Wilma Flintstone was my guess.  I was wrong.  I could not remember Norma Jean whatever.  And why would I?  I can't even remember the name of a person I have known for years!

    It was a lot of fun.  Jackie did not go because the museum is tight for space and getting in and out is no picnic in a wheelchair.

    I did know what 2 former presidents died on July 4, 1826....Jefferson and an Adams.  Just don't. remember which Adams.

    There were 50 possible points, I had a 32.  I am looking at the score as 32 out of 40, because a 10 point question was;  The first computer was UNIAC.  What does that stand for? 

    Two of us had 32.  I conceded the tie breaker.

    And if you want to know, you will have to Google it.  I think I spelled it correctly, but maybe not.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

 

repeat after me

 We went to see Gilligan's Island the Musical 

    VCCT staged the show and it was good.  The house was packed!  Extra chairs were brought in for the crowd, which was a decidedly older group.

    To be honest, I never liked the TV show.  I felt Gilligan was just too stupid to be believable.

    I know, it was not a believe it type sit com.  

    The folks today did a very good job.  They nailed down certain mannerisms from the tv show and that was a nice touch.

    Friend Dan and I had our own 3 hour tour once upon a time.

    I think I already told this story, but I am old and tend to repeat things.

    In 2011 Dan and I spent a month in France.  We stayed in a small town, St Chamas, in the southern part of the country.

    Close to where we stayed was the Camargue, an area that had lots of salt flats, flamingoes, wild horses and I think  wild cattle, although that seems a little fuzzy.

    We booked a 3 hour tour of this natural area.

    There were several of us on the tour.  We boarded the Land Rover open sided vehicle to see the sights.

    Our first main stop was at a small pond, or river, where we got out to look at something.  Yeah, I know.  But his was 15 years ago.  Give me a break!

    As we started to re board, I heard the guide yell, "Merde!!!"  (Roughly translated that means shit,)

    The vehicle had a flat tire.

    One would think if you are driving tourists out into a wilderness area for a 3 hour tour on a very hot day that a spare tire would be an item to have on board.

    Mai non!

    No spare.  The closest spare was in London evidently because we sat there for a long time, in the heat.  No shade.

    Eventually a replacement vehicle arrived.  The spare tire never did.

    I think we sat there for an hour.  We were all hot and a bit grumpy.  Ok, I was hot and a bit grumpy.

    How in the hell could they not have a spare?

    Anyway, the replacement vehicle did not look safe enough to be driven on highway, let along through a natural preserve.

    But on we went.

    We stopped at a water hole where there were dozens of flamingos.  

    The guide  got out and said, "Be careful and follow me."

    I was careful to walk in his footsteps out to near the water where I got some neat pictures.

    As we walked back to the hulk I asked him why we had to be so careful.

    He answered, "Poisonous snakes."

    All in all it was a nice tour, although I don't know what parts we missed because of the tire.

    I was just glad he mentioned the poisonous snakes on the way back, because I would have turned around and not gotten some photos.

    So, lesson is:  Be careful of 3 hour tours.  And always have a spare.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

    

fondue, baby

 I had fondue for the first time in a while today

    Julia had Jackie, Emily, me, Dan and Linda for fondue.

    I had a great time visiting with Dan and Linda.  Have not seen them for a few months and it was great to see them.

    Fondue was excellent, as always.  Plus, we had some raclette too because Jackie is not a fondue person.

    We even took Beth with.....and she enjoyed all the attention.

    For the first time in a long while I slept like a log last night!  Beth did not wake me, but Jackie did when the cuckoo hit 10.  I guess the long walk yesterday tired out Beth and me.

    Dang if it wasn't a lovely day today, too.

    Hopefully this is the start of nice, warmish, moderate, some rainfall, season.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace.

spring

 I enjoyed the first day of spring

    In keeping with traditions long ago established, I danced in my underwear at 9:36 this morning.

    Yes, I was on the patio, but I don't think anyone saw me.  

    I picked that time because that is when  the equinox occurred. .  I think.  

    Butt  I used the occasion to dance.

    I think it was coincidence that a car ran off the road, and the squirrel that normally raids my bird feeder dropped dead right in front of me..  

    I say they were unrelated to my dance.

    You may or may not see it on tick box, or whatever it is called.  If someone recorded it, you will see it.

   I took Beth on a walk down to the end of the block and back.  I thought it ws important to say and back lest anyone think I left her at the end of the block.

    Now, on walks Beth has a tendency to drop a load.  Or 2.  Sometimes 3.

    I carry bags and I never let her do it in a yard with a house....only empty lots.

    Those are getting fewer and fewer,

    Anyway, she kept pulling toward grass and I kept saying wait until we pass the houses. 

    Evidently she could not wait and dropped a load in the middle of the road.

    Yes, I cleaned it up.

    We did get to  a field and she dropped another load.

    I picked that up too.

    We met Howie, who was out for a walk with his owner.  Howie and Beth spent several minutes sniffing each other as the humans talked.  She behaved very nicely.  We humans did not sniff each other.

    As I was walking 2 girls, about 12 or 13, whizzed past me on their bikes.

    It bothered me because they were e bikes and neither girl was pedaling.   Bikes for young people should be for exercise.  

    Maybe I'll get mine down this weekend and show them how it's done.

        I am sort of on Ancestry.  I stopped my subscription, but they keep sending me notifications about hints.

    Today the e-mail said "You have a hint about your fat......"

    Hell, I don't need hint about my fat!!  I know about my fat!!!  It's from potato chips, French fries, chocolate, ice cream, cookies and cupcakes.  

    Hint about my fat.  How dare they?

    Spring has sprung.  Warm weather is in the air.  Baseball season is about to begin. Optimism is filling the air.

    I need to take advantage of all of it.  Maybe I can lose some of the fat Ancestry is obsessed about.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

Learning something new

 WNIJ Radio is the place to learn something new every day

    I learned several things today. Sort of.

    Going back to Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad, the last chapter  I read has him in Milan.  He visited the cathedral and the painting of the Last Supper.

    The book was written in 1869, so obviously things have changed.

    In the cathedral he was impressed by all the statues and glass windows and the viewing of the riches held by the church.

    But he was not impressed by the Last Supper.

    He said the figures were lifeless, faded, chipped and scuffed by horses that were stabled in the building.

    I think we visited in 2011 and I honestly have no recollection of the cathedral!  I remember standing in front of it, but can't remember going into it.

    But the Last Supper was amazing.  I think in the past 100+ years it had been restored.

    I don't know what a "life skills university "is, but High Point is and it beat Wisconsin in the NCAA madness.  The school has lots of graduate degree programs, offering doctorates in pharmacy, dentistry, education, leadership and other areas.

    But what makes it a "life skills university"?  

    I learned it is in High Point SC, and the campus looks very nice. But I am clueless on the life skills description.  

    A woman at the University of Minnesota was part of a study and produced a paper.  She had a hyphenated last name, which is not unusual.  But the name was Wrigley-Field.  

    Now I did not Google her name, and the study seemed rather believable.  Just strange.

    I don't  remember what the study was about.  

    Jackie and I had hair appointments today.

    She also had a library board meeting tonight.

    She did not feel right, and I suggested Zooming the meeting.

    But she said no, so we went.

    No quorum.  No meeting.  

    Getting her in and out of the van is a lot of work.  I am pretty tired tonight.

    If I  had read the e-mail sent this afternoon we probably would have zoomed it.

    Check e -mail during the day.  

    Lesson learned.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

tough tines

 I may be losing my abilities

    The last 3 crossword puzzles I have worked on have beaten me.

    Kicked my butt!  I look at the clues, come up blank, leave the puzzle for a while, then come back and still end up with blanks.

    It's getting frustrating.

    Clues like:  German city (4 letters); element 56 (2 letters) sodium.......they have me stumped.

    Why did I not pay attention in high school chemistry?

    Oh wait...I never took that class.

    I did take biology.  

    We had to pick lab partners, and I had my eye set on the prettiest girl in the room.  She had her eyes set on me.....until I realized she was actually looking at the guy behind me.

    I ended up with a girl I will call Rose.  

    We sort of picked each other, because we were the only 2 left.

    I will say this about Rose, not only did she pick me, she also picked something else which made it very difficult to focus on  dissecting  a worm.  Or maybe it was a frog.  I don't remember that, just that I would not touch her hands for fear of getting a booger on me.

    But enough of that.

    There was a broken shade in our classroom and open house was approaching.  The teacher was worried because she had a short movie to show and she thought it would be too bright with the broken shade.

    I was the one to remind her open house was at night and the sun would not be a problem.

    Mickey Dolenz, Mike Nesmeth, Peter Tork and Davey Jones.  They were the Monkees, who were supposed to be America's answer to the Beatles.  But they were not.

    I can remember their names but not where I put my glasses.  Or wallet.  Or phone. 

    As far as German cities of 4 letters, I remember Koln, but I don't think that is what the puzzle makers are thinking. 

    That's all I have.......I am going to pull up. the table of elements and maybe a map of Germany.

    That isn't cheating, is it?

    If it is, tough noogies.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

A penny saved

I always taught rounding in school

    You know, if the number ends in 1-4 you round down, 5 o more you round up.

    I thought it was a simple concept.  Fifth graders did not.

    But with the penny eventually going away, rounding is hot topic.

    Congress is looking at something called "symmetrical rounding," which will be a fair, impartial, consistent way to round.  It would become a national law, or something like that.

    You tell me.

    The proposal is:  If it ends in a 1, 2, 6, or 7 you round down.  If it ends in a 3,4,8, or 9, you round up.  5 stays a 5 because we still have nickels.

    My guess is you will see very few prices ending in a 1, 2, 6 or 7.  Most merchants, I suspect, will round to a 3, 4, 8, or 9 to optimize profits.

    Of course, if you use a debit or credit card, rounding will not be an issue.  Yet.

    I am reading Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad.  The last chapter I read dealt with the Pere LaChaise cemetery in Paris.  In his book, Twain told the story of Abelard and Heloise, a true French love story.

    Strangely, today I had a FB posting from a Paris site I follow and it talked about Abelard and Heloise!

    Coincidence?   I wonder.

    I mean, AI isn't. reading my mind, is it?  I did not do a web search on the pair and the Paris site has lots of photos.

    It is an interesting story and if you Google it, you may compare it to Romeo and Juliet with a less lethal ending.

    How ironic is it that a woman who wrote a book about grieving for children was just convicted of murdering her husband?  

    It's a strange world.

    We went to Sycamore for a doctor's appointment.  Gas at one station was $3.59 when we left, $3.99 when we came back 2 hours later.Yikes!!

    Now it is time to root for the USA agains Venezuela, which I hear could become our 51st state.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace