Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
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11:45 am - I Do Believe .....,
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That it's Ground Hog Day ...
I also believe that I've made this observation before.
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(comment on this)
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2:12 am - An Interesting URL .....,
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We have all been to aware of earthquakes lately.
But, the fact is that they are an everyday occurrence, and often happen in places that we don't think of as earthquake prone. The USGS coordinates the tracking. Better still, If you use Google Earth as I do, they have a link that provides an overlay of all that have happened in the last seven days, complete with location, time, and strength. If you would like to play, go here:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kml.php
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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12:21 am - NJ Defined ....,
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This one requires sound.
It is the absolute definition of two NJ icons.
Forget "Jersey Shore", this is the real NJ.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma1BnLv50QA
I can proudly say that I've met Uncle Floyd.
... and, even more proudly say, that a rare burnt hot dog from Rutt's was the occasion for my father saying to my mother - on their second ever date - "That's OK, you can cook better for me when we're married."
That was as much of a proposal as she ever had from the man. But their marriage lasted for fifty nine years.
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(comment on this)
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Thursday, January 21st, 2010
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11:26 pm - Did You Know How Long It Takes ?.....,
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As a part of my computer's upgrade, the smallest drive was replaced with a new 2 TB.
As a part of the process I did a full low level format.
Even on my fast machine [with a quad processor] that takes a long time.
In fact it takes a very long time.
I started it overnight.
I set the machine to not go to sleep.
I set my body to do exactly the opposite.
It finished just before I left for work - after approximately six hours and ten minutes.
The time is a function of the mechanics of the drive itself, and not that of the rest of the machine.
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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Monday, January 18th, 2010
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1:06 pm - Hello World .....,
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I bit the bullet and moved to Win-7.
First opinion - I like it a lot - it has several of the good parts of Vista [Yes Vista had good parts.] - but, it is also much faster and cleaner.
I migrated from 32 to 64 bit - that required a reformat and a clean install of my boot hard drive. The system itself is up and functioning fine, but many of my application programs now have to be reinstalled. [All data files are on other physical hard drives in the box - nothing has been lost there.]
It's an interesting exercise - one that I do just infrequently enough that each time I have to relearn how to do it. But, so far, relativly painless, and I'm quite pleased with the result.
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
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10:07 pm - Is There Really a "G" Spot ?
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Saturday, December 26th, 2009
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2:13 am - Smart Parrots, Smarter Cats.....,
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I took a phone call from my sister, visiting at our brother's home.
There was noise in the background.
"What's that?" I asked.
"It's the parrots," she answered.
My brother has two [full sized] parrots and also several cats.
The cats go outside on occasion and, when it's time, my sister-in-law calls from the doorway and the cats come in.
The parrots have learned to imitate my SIL and now they call the cats.
The cats for their part long ago learned that parrots are NOT to be messed with and even though they are loose in the home the cats stay as far away as they reasonably can.
It sort of reminds me of another home that I once visited where the pet white rats would go snuggle next to the cats on the back of the couch.
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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Friday, December 25th, 2009
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2:13 am - as Simply As I Can Say It .....,
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1:41 am - Horse Trading Christmas Grab Bag .....,
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My family is going to do Christmas dinner on Sunday. That way everyone can do in-laws today and be there two days from now.
I've prepared 21 identical envelopes.
They are numbered on the outside from 1 to 21.
All have at least a coin, and the coins have been taped to index cards so that you can't tell from the outside what you have.
6 have only a one dollar coin inside
15 have a one dollar scratch off lottery ticket inside.
Each with a ticket also has a coin.
2 have a $1.00 coin.
4 have a $.25 coin
4 have a $.10 coin
4 have a $.05 coin
1 has a $.01 coin
The envelope with the ticket and the penny is numbered higher than 5, but I don't know what number it is.
Everyone will get to pick an envelope out of a bucket.
Initially no one may open their envelope.
Anyone may claim the envelope of someone else with a lower number by exchanging theirs.
At that point they assume the lower number.
No one may counter claim their former envelope back on the next round.
After the first round of exchanges, each participant may opt out by opening their envelope, or they may continue into the next round. Once an envelope has been opened, it may not be claimed.
It's my first attempt at doing something like this.
Let's see if it can be pulled off without starting a whole set of feuds.
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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Thursday, December 24th, 2009
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12:41 am - We've Come a Very Long Way.....,
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Crossposted in ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) fortysomething
My daughter found this in a second hand store.
It is the box cover to a familiar game - circa middle '60s.
Somehow I doubt that they would try to use this imaging today.
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(10 comments | comment on this)
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Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
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2:38 am - Things That Hopefully Don't Go Bump in the Night .....,
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One of the joys and hazards of living alone is that there are occasions when one does not always pay attention to life's more ordinary details.
You start in on a project, or three.
Things such as "clocks" and "meals" are sometimes forgotten or ignored.
Thus it came to pass this evening morning that somewhere around 2:00 AM I came to realize that possibly I should have consumed an evening meal.
Not to worry, the refrigerator is full of things, leftover and otherwise.
"Let's see...."
"Hmmm....."
An open can of sardines.
Slices of swiss cheese.
Very thin sliced oatmeal bread.
A choice of several varieties of mustard.
It seemed like a good idea, and actually wasn't bad going down, especially washed with an appropriate malted beverage.
"Sweet dreams are made of this .....?"
Good night all.
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(13 comments | comment on this)
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Saturday, December 19th, 2009
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4:51 am - Altered States #1 .....,
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Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
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1:01 am - Bumper Sticker.....,
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While I was running an errand on my lunch hour today, I spotted one that did catch my attention ...
"Damn right I'm good in bed ..."
Until that is I saw the smaller print underneath that also said,
"I could sleep for days ..."
Unfortunately, the vehicle was parked and empty at the time, so there was no way to determine the gender of the owner.
I can dream though.
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(5 comments | comment on this)
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Sunday, November 22nd, 2009
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5:20 am - Everyday Objects - 1 .....,
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This one is an experiment, and is the first in what I believe will end up being a series.
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(comment on this)
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Friday, November 20th, 2009
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2:23 am - From an Article re Citibank's Credit Card Rates.....,
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Citi is hiking rates, even to their "good" customers.
To soften it, they'll offer a partial rebate on the increases, but only if you use the card to spend more money.
"In a statement, Citi said the actions were necessary given elevated losses from souring loans and "regulatory changes that eliminate repricing for that risk."
Maybe I've missed something here.
Their losses were not from me, or those like me. I pay my bills, and on time.
Their losses were from their own stupidity and greed, granting credit to those that should not have it because they couldn't manage.
A bank used to be able to turn a profit on about a two percent spread. They are borrowing from the Fed at about 0%, charging customers 20%, and still claim that they have to raise the rates so as not to lose money.
Those losses should be to their stockholders, not to their customers!!!
Except of course that as taxpayers that have bailed them out [again], we are now the stockholders.
I have a better solution. My only card through them has Home Depot on the label. I've stopped using it at all. I've repaid two thirds of it in the past four months and expect to zero it before the end of the Winter.
.... and, as a statement to Home Depot for sticking me with Citi in the first place, I've now taken most of my business to Lowes and in cash - several thousand homeowner dollars per year.
Will they note it?
Maybe not.
But if I've enough company I would like to hope so.
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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Thursday, November 19th, 2009
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11:34 pm - Noted with Happiness.....,
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I was on CNN's web site today and read a brief article with eight photos attached. The steel work is rising and One World Trade is now four stories above street level.
I watched them build the originals.
I watched as they came down.
Seeing the replacement in concrete and steel instead of print in a newspaper is an important part of the healing process.
It's real.
There is hope.
We got caught by a sucker punch, but we were not defeated.
There's to be a trial soon - a verdict - and likely an execution.
I'm not particularly vindicitive, but frankly using some of that steel work to support a noose makes a whole lot more sense than a needle.
At the very least he should be made to stare at it as he feels the chemicals enter his body.
If you find that extreme of me, I'm sorry, but please stand in my shoes.
I'll not apologize.
I lost three.
I don't know anyone living here that didn't lose at least one.
... and yes we all take it very personally.
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(10 comments | comment on this)
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2:12 am - Found Artifact From the Flood of '35.....,
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There's a tale that goes with this one.
In 1935, a WPA crew was felling trees to form a clearing alongside a stream. A sudden summer rainstorm came up and a couple of the timbers floated away. Downstream they lodged against the center pier of a NY Central railroad trestle that spanned a gorge. Other debris became lodged, a dam was formed, the water rose, other logs were dislodged, floated downstream and joined their brethren.
Eventually it was too much weight and the pier buckled. Suddenly a forty foot wall of water, trees, trestle, and freight cars came roaring down the gorge, through the town, and eventually into the lake beyond. There was much damage, but only one casualty.
The gorge is now a seasonal park and tourist attraction. Seventy three years later, a different crew was maintaining a path along the stream bank. They unearthed this - roughly a half mile down stream from the trestle site, and chose to leave it in place as a part of the history of the place.
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
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6:21 am - Fall '09 - 2
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2:17 am - Something That I Wasn't Ready For Yet.....,
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As I came out of my office tonight, I noticed several of the building's electricians looking at something on the other side of the lobby.
Several other workmen were busy assembling a twenty foot high artificial Christmas Tree.
Is it really that late in the year already?
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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Monday, November 9th, 2009
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3:14 am - If It Has Eight Legs, it's Not a Bug.....,
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