October 26, 2011

This will have to be a really quick hour.  Lots of stuff to do.

1.  A Piece of the Pie

Diane Rehm says that polls now show that more people like Occupy Wall Street than the Tea Party.  Both "movements" developed, in my opinion, because of the disasters imposed on the people of the United States by past-President George W. Bush.    Argue with me about that, please.

2. A Meeting of the Minds?

I thought that I would never  know a time when a couple of my fellow Social Security retirees would agree on something.  John Culleton could perhaps be considered an "ultra-liberal" and Bud Nason could  perhaps be considered an "ultra-conservative."   In a letter to the editor of the Carroll County Times (Maryland) last Monday, Bud agreed with John that under the U.S.  Constitution, protection of religious freedom extends to all, and that people should actually read the Constitution, understand it, and "maybe even abide by it." AMEN!

I hope that people read the writings of both Bud and John, and as the Reverend Lou Piel suggested in a recent religious column in the same Carroll County Times, take the time to learn the viewpoints of persons with whom you may not agree.

3.  Rotten Old Tomato Cans?

I'm afraid I raised the hackles of some folks when I mentioned that I thought that the ROTC should not be allowed to operate in schools.  This may be "sour grapes" for me, because I secretly wanted to join the ROTC in High School.  (I had severe "stage fright" and as I worked out on the parallel bars in the gym, I watched some of my fellow students give presentations to their fellow ROTCers on the basketball court.  I envied how well they were doing. )   I also wanted to study Latin and Ancient Greek.

However, being more or less the whole support for an aunt and grand-parents since I was 11 years old, a classical education was not in the cards for me.  Also, a career as an Army officer was just not considered a goal in life for people in  my working-class environment. 

Now, with that out of the way.. I must also say that I have always been a peace-loving person who hates war and military activity, even though I did spend 4 years in the military during the Korean War era.  In my cryptographic job, I was required to keep a "burp gun" nearby and I was ordered to shoot any "commies" who tried to break into the Crypto Van.  Luckily, the "reds" never seemed interested in me or my van, hidden in a forest in Germany.

So.. bottom line.. In spite of what I said, I think that ROTC is ok as long as it isn't required.  If somebody can handle the ROTC duties and not ignore their main studies.. more power to them (so to speak).
We do need educated military leaders. 

I read in the Carroll County Times where the barred ROTC will be coming back to Yale next year.  One guy has already signed up.  Off-campus, three Yale students pursue ROTC.  Even though the program will be opened, campus officials believe that very few students will join in.  (I wonder what their dress parades will look like.. five or six guys and girls in uniforms passing in review?)

The Carroll County Times article also says: "The ROTC program, which was founded in 1916, has 490 host units, most of them concentrated in the South and Midwest.  Students receive scholarship money in return for agreeing to military service after graduation.." 

4.  You've got Mail!

The transcontinental telegraph was completed 150 years ago, near the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. The Associated Press says; "...a primative Internet united the US," and quotes Thomas Jepsen, author of My Sisters Telegraphic: Women In Telegraph Office 1846-1950: "I really see the telegraph as the original technology, the grandfather of all these other technologies that came out of it: the telphone, the teletype, the fax, the Internet"

Something for me to think about as I remember the five irritating telemarketing calls I have received this morning so far, and  the one hundred or so emails that came in over night.

If it wasn't for the telegraph and Morse Code, I would not be hearing dots and dashes all the time in my head because of the years I spent as a radio operator and cryptographer.

dit dah   dit dah dit

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September 19, 2011

Let's see if I can keep this "one hour" stuff going.  Today, I will do something different.  Elaine and I went on a bus trip to Chesapeake City for lunch.  Along the way, I saw some signs that interested me.  I want to share them with you.

1.  Felix the Cat

On a telephone pole near Westminster was a square white sign with the following words only:  Felix the Cat.  I don't have the faintest idea as to why it is there, but it reminds me of when I was about 7 or 8 years old.  I loved the  Felix the Cat cartoon strip and I wished that I was rich enough to spend ten cents to buy the Felix the Cat comic book.

Marcia, the little girl I liked who lived across the street, using all of her inborn feminine wiles, told me that if I would take her mother's note to the store and get the things that her mother needed, she would give me a copy of the comic book I so desired.  All excited, I took the note to the store, gave it to the clerk, and he gave me Kotex, lip stick and such items, and a note to give back to Marcia's mother (probably telling her to hurry and pay her bill).

My anticipation overruled my embarassment, and I gave everything to Marcia, and waited for my Felix the Cat comic book.  Marcia laughed, went home, and left me empty-handed and probably tearful.

Not  being a quick learner, this scenario played out a few more times until I learned a great lesson... at least with Marcia.. but of course, I promptly forgot the lesson when I received other promises from pretty females.

http://felixthecat.com/

2.  Sooner or Later

A billboard along the roadway said:  "The Future is Sooner Than You Think!"

What on earth does that mean?  What on the moon does that mean?  Every second we enter the future, which then suddenly becomes the present, and a second later, the past.

3.  Podiatrist?

Another billboard sign said:  "Relax, it's feet first."  

I assume this is an ad for a podiatrist... maybe not.. maybe it's an ad for a swimming pool, because that is the way I enter a pool.  I test the water with my big toe first.. doesn't everyone.

However, many many years ago, some of us guys froze our big toes by going swimming in Buzzard's Bay (Massachusetts) every Easter.  Were we crazy?  Sometimes the ambient temperature was close to freezing.  (Wait a minute.. is this true?  Or did I dream this..?)

4.  Computer ad?

The billboard sign read:  "Talk, Surf, Play, Listen"

I assume this is an ad for Internet access.  Or, it's an ad for Hawaii, or Ocean City, Maryland. 

Talk to the local natives.
Surf in the ocean.
Play in the sand.
Listen to the waves.

I like signs like this.  I can read the big letters from a distance, but I can't see the little letters, so I have to use my imagination to figure out what the words are trying to convey.

5.  Who is this guy?

Almost every truck that passed our bus had the following name stenciled on the back:

MAX  GROSS 

I can't believe that this is the Max Gross I went to High School with.. he could not possibly have amounted to anything... the last I heard, he had tatooed his head with all kinds of racist epithets.  Surely, he is in jail right now... however, I just read about a guy who was a big shot Skinhead for twenty years, "saw the light" and had all of his ugly tatoos laser-whipped off his body.  Maybe that happened to Max and he was able to go into his Uncle's trucking business.

6.  This gets my goat!

One ad I saw by the side of the road said: "Boer goats for sale."

I had never heard of Boer goats before.  Now I know that these were goats bred for meat by the Boers (farmers) in South Africa, beginning around 1900.  Visit this location to learn all you need to know about this breed.. don't let the Afrikaans words scare you.. the main information is in English.

http://www.boergoats.co.za/

7.  Other signs that intrigued me

o  Popeyes:  "We have naked strips."

o  McDonalds:  "Ever fit a pineapple thru a straw?"

o  Some beer company:  "Catch the camo can."

I assume this is a camouflage colored can.. ??

Or, it is a can for Camo Black Ice beer (American Malt Liquors, Las Vegas, NV)

o  Dentist Office sign:  All Smiles Dental Care

8. Signs that Beckon

These two signs invite you to visit two neat places in Havre de Grace, Maryland.. they sound intriguing to me, and I will visit the businesses mentioned.  Their ads worked.

Bahoukas Beer Museum

Haxel Flagpole Warehouse

I'm not sure, but one of them may be on Red Toad Road, and the other on Bullfrog Lane.

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OK, my hour is up.  See you next time, I hope.

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