[Here's the last in the Distracted Driving series until my next big trip ...]
I am all for alternative energy - but I have stumble-driven upon some farms of windmills in the strangest places this year: outside of Palm Springs, quite suddenly on the side of the PA turnpike, and over and over again on the most boring part of I65 in Indiana. I'm always struck by the fact that some turbines seem to be moving and others seem to be still -- yet they are all facing the exact same way in the exact same wind path. It makes me want to go yell at the lazy ones all Troy Quixote style to get them to help out their spoked sisters and bladed brethren. "I intend to do battle with them and slay them. With their spoils we shall begin to be [alterna-fuel] rich!"
IN INDIANA, IT COUNTS AS TOURISM TO VISIT THE WINDFARMS!:
http://www.earlparkindiana.com/windfarm.html
DIFFERENT PARTS OF A WINDMILL:
http://www.ehow.com/list_6707876_different-parts-windmill_.html
WHAT HAVE WE HERE? BOOK RAGS? A MODERN DAY CLIFF NOTES:
http://www.bookrags.com/notes/dq/PART9.htm
September 30, 2010
September 29, 2010
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 9/29/10
Bob's your uncle!
Used in a sentence: "Even though your position was just eliminated, all you have to do is trust the system, access the portal, have a conversation and await the phone call with the new job offer, and then Bob's your uncle."
Thanks to my current BBCAmerica fix of Come Dine with Me (well, that show and The Choir both have allowed me to explore British humour and sensibilities this summer/fall), I've learned that "Robert's your father's brother" (and it's weakened version as listed above) is a commonly used summary statement affixed to a simple list of instructions, or (from the first link below) "straightforwardly obtaining a successful result".
I'm hard pressed to find the exact American idiomatic match, but perhaps "do not pass go, do not collect $200" is a distant cousin (or nephew, to keep the theme going). And, by that reference, you know that I haven't embraced the Revolution Edition of Monopoly released this year (a circle board? no bank? collect 2 million dollars instead of $200?).
[By the way, I can't yet discuss the impetus for the sentence used tonight, but don't be surprised if I change my job title (same company) in my FB info in the next few weeks.]
IDIOM FINDER for BOB's YOUR UNCLE:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/bobs-your-uncle.html
AN AMERICAN VERSION IS PROMISED FOR 2011:
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/05/26/bbc-america-launches-us-production-of-come-dine-with-me/20100526bbca02/
2010 MONOPOLY REVOLUTION EDITION:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/98034-Monopoly-Revolution-Edition-Boasts-Round-Board-Digital-Banker-No-Fun
Used in a sentence: "Even though your position was just eliminated, all you have to do is trust the system, access the portal, have a conversation and await the phone call with the new job offer, and then Bob's your uncle."
Thanks to my current BBCAmerica fix of Come Dine with Me (well, that show and The Choir both have allowed me to explore British humour and sensibilities this summer/fall), I've learned that "Robert's your father's brother" (and it's weakened version as listed above) is a commonly used summary statement affixed to a simple list of instructions, or (from the first link below) "straightforwardly obtaining a successful result".
I'm hard pressed to find the exact American idiomatic match, but perhaps "do not pass go, do not collect $200" is a distant cousin (or nephew, to keep the theme going). And, by that reference, you know that I haven't embraced the Revolution Edition of Monopoly released this year (a circle board? no bank? collect 2 million dollars instead of $200?).
[By the way, I can't yet discuss the impetus for the sentence used tonight, but don't be surprised if I change my job title (same company) in my FB info in the next few weeks.]
IDIOM FINDER for BOB's YOUR UNCLE:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/bobs-your-uncle.html
AN AMERICAN VERSION IS PROMISED FOR 2011:
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/05/26/bbc-america-launches-us-production-of-come-dine-with-me/20100526bbca02/
2010 MONOPOLY REVOLUTION EDITION:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/98034-Monopoly-Revolution-Edition-Boasts-Round-Board-Digital-Banker-No-Fun
September 28, 2010
Random Tune for Tuesday 9/28/10
Digging through my small collection of 45s, I ran across another gem -- one that I couldn't quite believe was from 1984! One I probably heard in concert in Philly at the Spectrum on Sep 18, 1993 (thanks wikipedia for your exhaustive information supplied by super-fans and Jarrod for thinking that I could get them to say Happy Birthday to you from the stage if I wanted to)! One that spoke to the same question Rodney King asked some two dozen years later! "People are people so why should it be ... you and I should get along so awfully." We're all still waiting for common decency to surface in so many situations.
WHAT MAKES A MAN HATE ANOTHER MAN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGGlTR71FEk&ob=av2e
WHAT MAKES A MAN HATE ANOTHER MAN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGGlTR71FEk&ob=av2e
September 27, 2010
Random Memorial for Monday 9/27/10
Gone but not forgotten: when the admonition that one should be careful not to swallow a watermelon seed for fear a watermelon will grow out of your belly button was just an old wives' tale and not so much based in fact.
Because, after all, if a man can have a pea get lodged in his lung and start to grow as was discussed at length in a recent national news story, I have to think there might be a little more truth to that concern.
My once carefree approach to the eating of melons, you are missed.
[AMAZING RACE ASIDE: A watermelon in the belly button is still much better than one squarely in the face!]
PEAS IN THE LUNG:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2010/08/pea-sprout-removed-from-massachusetts-mans-lung.html
ONCE AGAIN, A PLACE ON FACEBOOK FOR EVERYONE:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/if-you-eat-that-seed-a-watermelon-will-grow-from-your-bellybutton-/111598558861006
Because, after all, if a man can have a pea get lodged in his lung and start to grow as was discussed at length in a recent national news story, I have to think there might be a little more truth to that concern.
My once carefree approach to the eating of melons, you are missed.
[AMAZING RACE ASIDE: A watermelon in the belly button is still much better than one squarely in the face!]
PEAS IN THE LUNG:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2010/08/pea-sprout-removed-from-massachusetts-mans-lung.html
ONCE AGAIN, A PLACE ON FACEBOOK FOR EVERYONE:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/if-you-eat-that-seed-a-watermelon-will-grow-from-your-bellybutton-/111598558861006
WATERMELON BELLY RING JEWELRY FOR THOSE OF YOU WITH THE PIERCING:
http://www.viciousstyle.com/delicious-watermelon-belly-ring-p-207.html
September 26, 2010
Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 9/26/10
What Chicago is talking about this week:
Electioneering season is in full swing -- so with this weekend bringing cooler temps and the final home game of the disappointing Cubs season, it also subjects us to more and more mud. There's one particular race responsible for a majority of the mud being slung -- the seat to replace Roland Burris in the Senate. It's Barrack's old seat (you may have heard of him), and it's a fight to the finish for Alexi Giannoulias (too young! connected to mobsters! his family's bank collapsed!) and Mark Kirk (he lies about his military past! he lies about his orientation! he lies about his connection to Bush! [Wait, those last two are just different ways to say the same thing.]) This is going to be a dirty 37 more days!
ANYONE CAN POST ANYTHING -- ANTI-ALEXI LINKS:
http://notgonnabeatalexi.com/
HARD TO REMEMBER THE DETAILS ABOUT MY TIME IN THE MILITARY:
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/06/01/ill-sen-hopeful-mark-kirk-lies-about-a-military-claim/
NECK and NECK RACE:
http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2010/09/new-poll-shows-kirk-and-gianno.html
Electioneering season is in full swing -- so with this weekend bringing cooler temps and the final home game of the disappointing Cubs season, it also subjects us to more and more mud. There's one particular race responsible for a majority of the mud being slung -- the seat to replace Roland Burris in the Senate. It's Barrack's old seat (you may have heard of him), and it's a fight to the finish for Alexi Giannoulias (too young! connected to mobsters! his family's bank collapsed!) and Mark Kirk (he lies about his military past! he lies about his orientation! he lies about his connection to Bush! [Wait, those last two are just different ways to say the same thing.]) This is going to be a dirty 37 more days!
ANYONE CAN POST ANYTHING -- ANTI-ALEXI LINKS:
http://notgonnabeatalexi.com/
HARD TO REMEMBER THE DETAILS ABOUT MY TIME IN THE MILITARY:
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/06/01/ill-sen-hopeful-mark-kirk-lies-about-a-military-claim/
NECK and NECK RACE:
http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2010/09/new-poll-shows-kirk-and-gianno.html
September 25, 2010
Random Soapbox for Saturday 9/25/10
I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...
... why aren't elevators more forgiving?
If I get confused as I board and hit the wrong floor, why can't I cancel my request and choose again instead of having to take a trip to a destination I never really wanted in the first place? Mistakenly pushed buttons are relatively common (or else I have trigger-fingers in those contraptions) and I'm not getting any younger while I stop at a lonely floor where nothing happens except my looking foolish when the doors open and I refuse to exit.
And while I'm at it, where do elevators go when no one is calling for them? Do they rest at the first floor? Are they smart enough to analyze their travels and head to the most frequently requested stop? Can they be bribed to always wait at the location that someone wants? Do they feel fulfilled when they are full -- or do they resent the fact that we're always demanding that they take us hither and yon? If they are part of a bank of elevators, do they race each other when no one is looking?
Do you think as a group that they resent the connotation of elevator music? That they take pride in the importance of an elevator pitch? That they blush at the amorous activities of Aerosmith while riding in them (go...ing...down)? That they mock the distance traveled in height when used in a shoe to falsify someone's stature?
By the way, why aren't there more escalators? And what's with those people who insist on walking up them when they're doing a sufficient enough job of advancing you another story or two if you just demonstrate the slightest bit of patience?
And it's 2010. Why aren't there people movers like we were promised? I'm tired of having to ambulate vertically without mechanical assistance!
Actually, I think I'm just tired in general. I should stop now ...
HOW TO HACK AN ELEVATOR (maybe?):
http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-hack-elevator-go-directly-your-floor-218650/
COMING SOON TO A SOCIAL MEDIA NEAR YOU - THE TWIT-PITCH:
http://searchengineland.com/the-elevator-pitch-is-dead-introducing-the-twitpitch-13944
FORGET THE AMBULANCE CHASER - HERE's AN ESCALATOR ACCIDENT CHASER:
http://www.personalinjurydefenders.com/Escalator-Accident-Attorney.html
... why aren't elevators more forgiving?
If I get confused as I board and hit the wrong floor, why can't I cancel my request and choose again instead of having to take a trip to a destination I never really wanted in the first place? Mistakenly pushed buttons are relatively common (or else I have trigger-fingers in those contraptions) and I'm not getting any younger while I stop at a lonely floor where nothing happens except my looking foolish when the doors open and I refuse to exit.
And while I'm at it, where do elevators go when no one is calling for them? Do they rest at the first floor? Are they smart enough to analyze their travels and head to the most frequently requested stop? Can they be bribed to always wait at the location that someone wants? Do they feel fulfilled when they are full -- or do they resent the fact that we're always demanding that they take us hither and yon? If they are part of a bank of elevators, do they race each other when no one is looking?
Do you think as a group that they resent the connotation of elevator music? That they take pride in the importance of an elevator pitch? That they blush at the amorous activities of Aerosmith while riding in them (go...ing...down)? That they mock the distance traveled in height when used in a shoe to falsify someone's stature?
By the way, why aren't there more escalators? And what's with those people who insist on walking up them when they're doing a sufficient enough job of advancing you another story or two if you just demonstrate the slightest bit of patience?
And it's 2010. Why aren't there people movers like we were promised? I'm tired of having to ambulate vertically without mechanical assistance!
Actually, I think I'm just tired in general. I should stop now ...
HOW TO HACK AN ELEVATOR (maybe?):
http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-hack-elevator-go-directly-your-floor-218650/
COMING SOON TO A SOCIAL MEDIA NEAR YOU - THE TWIT-PITCH:
http://searchengineland.com/the-elevator-pitch-is-dead-introducing-the-twitpitch-13944
FORGET THE AMBULANCE CHASER - HERE's AN ESCALATOR ACCIDENT CHASER:
http://www.personalinjurydefenders.com/Escalator-Accident-Attorney.html
Random Posting for Penn State 9/25/10
Like field goals much?
I was busy working at one of my company's big Saturday events all day, but received score updates throughout the game by text -- which made it all the more painfully obvious that I was missing nothing but a chance for the kicker to tie (and almost beat) a team record of 5 field goals in a game. In the process, we kept alive a streak of not being beaten by Temple in nearly 70 years.
Now I have to make a choice -- do I go with bravado regarding next week's Iowa game or do I admit that I'm a little apprehensive?
HERE's WHAT MY ULTIMATE EMPLOYER HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE GAME:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/25/AR2010092503113.html
NEXT YEAR IS "NEW" HISTORY ANYWAY WITH THE EXPANSION:
http://www.thedailygopher.com/2010/8/26/1651982/annual-rivalry-with-iowa-dead
UM ... MVP OF THE GAME TODAY?:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=188697
I was busy working at one of my company's big Saturday events all day, but received score updates throughout the game by text -- which made it all the more painfully obvious that I was missing nothing but a chance for the kicker to tie (and almost beat) a team record of 5 field goals in a game. In the process, we kept alive a streak of not being beaten by Temple in nearly 70 years.
Now I have to make a choice -- do I go with bravado regarding next week's Iowa game or do I admit that I'm a little apprehensive?
HERE's WHAT MY ULTIMATE EMPLOYER HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE GAME:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/25/AR2010092503113.html
NEXT YEAR IS "NEW" HISTORY ANYWAY WITH THE EXPANSION:
http://www.thedailygopher.com/2010/8/26/1651982/annual-rivalry-with-iowa-dead
UM ... MVP OF THE GAME TODAY?:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=188697
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