What do you think of first when you hear the word apology? Most of us probably think of the expression of regret and asking for forgiveness. I've heard or read the word apology several times this week, but in each case it's been the other kind of apology — the formal justification or defense. Strangely enough, both come from the Greek word apologia, meaning a speaking in defense. I'll discuss both of those in this blog post.

I'll tackle the second kind of apology first since it's so fresh on my mind. This past Sunday and Monday our church hosted Ken Ham from Answers In Genesis. I appreciate his strong emphasis on the authority of Scripture. He and the gang at AiG hammer away at the fact that most of the main doctrines in the Bible are laid out in the first eleven chapters of Genesis. It's refreshing to hear that enunciated so strongly since that portion of Scripture is also hammered away at (chiseled away at?) by those who don't believe what's found in those eleven chapters.

Dr. Ham stressed the point that both sides of the debate come at it with preconceived notions, although many evolutionists would deny that they do. He emphasized the importance of knowing what the Bible says, of taking it literally, and of knowing that there are valid ways of explaining how it can all be the truth that it is. I came away from the conference with a renewed burden to read up on things so that I might always be "prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in [me]." 1 Peter 3:15 (ESV) We purchased the New Answers Book 1 and New Answers Book 2 during the conference and are eager to get into them. We believers have a responsibility to be well-informed apologists of Biblical truth — we should never be without apology.

This month is the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of the Species, on November 24, 1859. If we haven't heard it already, we will undoubtedly hear about Darwin and evolution this month. Some years ago evolutionists took a well-recognized symbol of Christians the ichthys fish

and made a statement about their belief in Darwin's theories:

I love the symbol creationists have made that shows the ability of Biblical truth to swallow up evolutionary theories:

In his introduction of Ken Ham, our pastor said that Dr. Ham has a target painted on himself because of the strong stands he takes. My readers know that my bizarre sense of humor can come up with comedy in the most serious of situations. The mental image of Ken Ham with a target painted on him made me think of a Far Side cartoon — Bummer of a Birthmark, Hal — which, in turn, made me think of the following picture in my files.

This week in my Survey of French Lit class we are learning about the writings of Blaise Pascal, who was not only the gifted mathematician for whom a computer programming language was named, but also a well-known, extremely articulate seventeenth century Christian apologist. Pascal's main interest in defending Christianity as a system of belief was evangelistic. He wanted the "libertines" of his day to see that the Christian faith was reasonable. There are many Pascal quotations that I love. One of my favorites is "The heart has its reasons which reason does not know." Pensée 277 / 224 (depending on the numbering system)

Many people familiar with Pascal's writings know this quotation:

"Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed. The entire universe need not arm itself to crush him. A vapor, a drop of water suffices to kill him. But, if the universe were to crush him, man would still be more noble than that which killed him, because he knows that he dies and the advantage which the universe has over him, the universe knows nothing of this.

All our dignity then, consists in thought. By it we must elevate ourselves, and not by space and time which we cannot fill. Let us endeavour then, to think well; this is the principle of morality." Pensée 347 / 391

People love to quote Pascal as having said in his Pensées, "There is a God-shaped vacuum in all of us...." But he did not actually say it in that exact manner. The closest I can find to that "quotation" actually reads as follows:

"What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true state of happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him … though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object, in other words by God himself. He only is our true good, and since we have forsaken Him, it is a strange thing that there is nothing in nature which has not been serviceable in taking His place." Pensée 425 / 300

I find Pascal's actual statement much more clear and eloquent than the misquotation that is usually attributed to him.

Now on to the other kind of apology....

In April 2007, I did a post called Apologies and Scars where I decried the modern state of so-called apologies which are actually more like blame-shifting, without apology. Rather than restating the same things, I recommend that you go back to that post before continuing your reading of this post.

I recently saw a cartoon that reminded me of what I had to say in that post:

I'll end with a quick joke, marginally on topic, for those of you who have persisted in reading to this point.

A customer at a counter of a lawn ornament shop says, "Give me four of those pinwheels, two of those pink flamingos, two of the sunflowers, and that bent-over grandma in bloomers."

The cashier replies, "That'll be eight dollars for the pinwheels, ten dollars for the flamingos, six dollars for the sunflowers, and an apology to my wife!"

I look forward to your thoughts on this post.

quotation...

"I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had the time to make it shorter." - Blaise Pascal, Lettres Provinciales

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

Have you ever made a sorry apology?

Comments

• November 5, 2009, Vikki writes: My husband and I visited the Creation Museum last year just after Christmas. We didn’t get to hear Ken Ham speak, but we did hear several others and were incredibly impressed with what they had to say. We do; however, have several of the Answers in Genesis CD’s - a couple of them feature Ken Ham - which are all very good. He definitely has a target pasted to his chest. It’s amazing how much hatred people have against those who teach creation. I guess to not believe in evolution leaves only God and, sadly, many refuse to accept that. So they “have” to believe in evolution, no matter how illogical or weak their case gets. They have an amazing ministry there at the Creation Museum and the biblical view of creation and salvation is very clearly presented and defended. Everything they do there is top notch and first class. I highly recommend finding the time and money to visit. You will walk away with so much information. We found the whole experience very uplifting and can’t wait to return!!
• November 5, 2009, Andy writes: In light of Answers in Genesis and the ichthys symbols, I thought you would enjoy this http://bit.ly/2W6P6b
• November 5, 2009, Rob writes: @Vikki - Thanks for the comments about the Creation Museum. We've not talked to anyone who did not like it a lot, and we're eager to go back. @Andy - Thanks for the link to the cartoon. It's all too true.
• November 6, 2009, Michael writes: More and more I find myself interested in apologetics. I'm glad you enjoyed the seminars with Ken Ham. As for the other kind of apology, it may sometimes be appropriate to begin an apology with "Bless your heart".

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For some of us, bad hair days start out young in our lives.

For others, it continues right on into the "golden years." This adds a whole new dimension to the expression "big hair."

Some complain about "fly away hair," but it can't be as serious as the problem this girl has.

Some go to a beautician to help them with frizzy hair.

It's not just girls who struggle with frizzy hair.

Extreme frizz, anyone? All I can say is that this poor guy needs an intervention!

Donald Trump doesn't even have enough money to keep him from having a bad hair day.

Bad hair days aren't limited just to people.

In some parts of the world the only solution seems to be to cover bad hair. If you look closely, though, you'll see that those pesky false eyelashes still refuse to be covered.

Others in burqas might have more to hide than bad hair.

The solution some have gone to is the mullet, like this well-groomed grandma.

Others cannot rise to her level of grooming with their mullets and could use an intervention.

The following guy wants us to know what many have already discovered.

What's your solution to a bad hair day? If you never have a bad hair day, please share your secret.

For those of you who want to see the latest pictures of our grandson Drew, Becka has a new post about her recent trip to Michigan.

quotation...

"For many women, life is the unending quest for the perfect hairdo." - Rob, the ivman

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

Be careful what rut you choose. You may be in it the rest of your life.

Comments

• November 2, 2009, Bill, a bald guy writes: I don't get it. :-)
• November 2, 2009, Sandrew writes: Many chemotherapy drugs make you lose all your hair -- and then you NEVER have a bad hair day! [I don't recommend that as a solution, but I do know it's true.]
• November 2, 2009, Hannah Joy writes: "For many women, life is the unending quest for the perfect hairdo." We won't mention the endless varieties of facial hair on display nowadays . . .
• November 2, 2009, Rob writes: @Bill and Sandrew - Hmm.... so far, the only solution is baldness? That's not very comforting. :-D @Hannah Joy - Phew! I'm glad you didn't mention that....
• November 3, 2009, Carrie writes: Thank you for that! I love the eyelashes peeking out of the burka. They look real to me! .-= Carrie's most recent blog post ... It's Real Winter Now =-.
• November 3, 2009, Rob writes: @Carrie - Maybe they're real with lots of mascara?
• November 3, 2009, Michael writes: Thanks to the haircut my wife gives me, I can really never have a bad hair day since it's so short. I guess if it got really matted down and greasy that it would then be disgusting.
• November 3, 2009, Joel writes: Marines are not allowed to have bad hair days. We are not really allowed to have hair either though.
• November 5, 2009, b.j. writes: Funny how this morning was the first morning of winter hair static, and today I find this posted! My hair looked like the kid in the top photo! I'm gonna look like that until spring, I'm afraid.

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I'm posting off schedule to pass several odds and ends of information on to you. I've known for a while that our church, Hampton Park Baptist Church, is having Ken Ham from Answers in Genesis come speak. What I didn't know was the exact schedule or the topics. Now that I know, I thought those of you who live in the Greenville area might want to visit for at least one of the sessions.

Here's the schedule for Ken Ham's sessions:

Sunday, November 1
9:00 a.m. "Genesis: Key to Reaching Today's World"
10:30 a.m. "The Relevance of Genesis in Today's World"
4:30 p.m. "Defending Christianity from Today's Secular Attacks"
6:00 p.m. "The Origin of 'Races' and the Biblical Answers to Racism"

Monday, November 2
6:00 p.m. "Answers for the Most-Asked Questions about Creation, Evolution, and Genesis"
7:30 p.m. "How Can a Loving God...? — Understanding Death and Suffering"

If you haven't heard this, the White House is accusing Fox News of not being a legitimate source of news, calling them biased, etc. There have been reports that the Obama administration has tried to block Fox reporters from news conferences, etc. It's no secret to anyone paying attention, and many are, that the current leaders in Washington D.C. are not fans of Fox News.

NPR has put a survey online so that people can voice their opinion. It's found at http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/10/in_white_house_vs_fox_news_war.html

The voting is quick and easy, with no need to create an account or to log in to anything. It asks if you are for the White House or for Fox News in this matter. I don’t usually post things like this, but I don't enjoy seeing the rapid erosion of freedom of speech and I do not approve of thuggery. The current crowd in Washington seems intent of silencing voices that don't sing their praises or that don't sing the tunes they prefer. Speak out, while you still can.

When I voted this evening, I was surprised to see that the votes are currently almost 75% in support of Fox News in this controversy. I was amazed because I would characterize the listeners of NPR as tending more towards the liberal end of the scale.

If you have any comments on either of these topics, I would enjoy reading them.

quotation...

"Satan's not too keen on surrendering territory." - David Hosaflook

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

Do atheists get insurance for acts of God?

Comments

• October 30, 2009, Sandrew writes: I'm glad you posted the NPR poll. My reaction was the same as yours re the way the poll is going. However, a lot of conservative listeners probably tune in for the classical music programming -- as do I. On a completely different note, please post more photos of Darling Drew. Thanks!
• October 30, 2009, Hannah Joy writes: I have a hard time being on anybody's side in this. The White House shouldn't be singling out Fox News like this. They could just as truthfully say these things about their "fans", but saying them just about Fox is hypocritical. Of course Fox is biased -- so are all the others, they can't help it. The New York Times is so blatantly liberal it baffles me how anyone can deny it. I just wish someone would be honest.
• October 30, 2009, Rob writes: @Sandrew - I know what you're saying about their classical music. I'm not sure, though, that being conservative in your musical tastes translates into being politically and socially conservative ... like Mozart, for example. As to posting more pictures of Drew, I'll do what I can as I can. @Heather Joy - I share your pain. I'm sick and tired of being lied to — by *all* of them! In my lifetime I've seen a huge shift from journalists' reporting the news to so-called journalists editorializing and spinning. I check alternative news sources, which makes me hold the main stream media in far greater disdain — for what they purposely decide to withhold from us. It's not only dishonest; it's downright dispicable.
• October 30, 2009, Sandrew writes: Definitely not, but that was the only thing I could come up with.
• October 31, 2009, Ellen writes: Kind of scary what's happening in the White House with our current Administration, yet it's former President Bush that so many view as a villain. Not that GWB was perfect or that I agreed with his fiscal policy often, but at least he wasn't trying to squash anyone who disagreed with him. And, yes, I agree with you that I was pretty surprised at the high percentage of voters in the NPR poll voted in favor of Fox News. I, too, thought that NPR was fairly liberal. Apparently, those voting aren't or they are smart enough to understand that importance of free speech regardless of who's president.
• October 31, 2009, Rob writes: @Ellen - It's unsettling to know what is going on in D.C., but I know too Who is ultimately in control and that none of this is taking Him off guard. I guess it's the "American spirit" instilled in me that doesn't want to see what we've all known and loved being attacked and dismantled. Our little voices, even in a poll, don't amount to as much as our voices lifted in prayer about it all.
• November 1, 2009, Laura writes: Thanks for posting about Ken Ham speaking at your church! My parents and I attended many of their seminars and family camps during most of my growing up years, and I know that their (and my parents') emphasis on the authority of Scripture has had a profound influence on what I believe and how I view this world. I just wish I could make it to hear some of these sessions (again... the topics all sound quite familiar!), but alas, the life of a grad assistant..... I hope you enjoy the talks as much as I have over the years!
• November 2, 2009, Vikki writes: I take everything I hear from the news media with a grain of salt. They have a way of bending words and events to sensationalize it and, quite often, blow it out of proportion. With Bush, all you ever heard were the perceived negatives. But with Obama, all they do is sing his praises. Fox seems to be a little better than the other big news centers, but they too seem to be sliding over to the liberal side –- just not far. I don’t believe any of Obama’s campaign promises have come to pass, and his bail out plan has put our economy and country in dire straits. But he can do no wrong according to the liberal media. Try to put out anything negative on Obama now and you’ll find yourself investigated and you’ll be black balled by the media in the process. It’s becoming a risk to speak out against our government. I’m just glad that God is in control!
• November 2, 2009, Rob writes: @Laura - I'm glad you've enjoyed hearing Dr. Ham in the past. He is an excellent speaker. He includes humor, which I appreciate, of course, but what he says is so rich in information and is so thought-provoking that it's hard to take it all in. He is masterful in getting things down to our level without talking down to us. It's been great to see many visitors in the services/sessions. @Vikki - Well said. I just wish the "news" people would serve up pure news, without opinionated commentary and wording, and let us decide for ourselves. I get to see Fox only when we stay in a hotel with cable since we don't have it ourselves at home. From what I've observed and have heard many, many others say, they do a much better job of presenting both sides than the other media. I guess that's why they are so despised. Perish the thought that the public hear facts, not spin.
• November 4, 2009, Uwe writes: It would have been very interesting for me if I had the chance to follow these seminar meetings of Ken Ham. For this year is called the "Darwin Year" because of the 150th anniversary of his evolution standard work "The Origin of Species" we are more often confronted with this stuff as in other times. So I also got the impression that I should concern myself again with this topic. Another reason was that a colleague of me who is a brother in Christ brought this issue on table because he and his wife (also a sister in Christ and scientific employee at the Technical High School here in Darmstadt / Germany) believe in Intelligent Design. ID states that God created by the process of evolution and stresses the point that God must be behind the scene because of the ingenuity that we elsewhere observe in nature and even more by research. First I didn't feel to occupy with this because I considered other issues more important. But I had to realize - and this impression still increases until now - that indeed it is a basic point that touches our faith just at the foundation. And that it is nearly impossible to explain the gospel without referring to this matter. Sooner or later it raises up, at the latest when you have to explain more deeply basic situations of the world and the solution that the Lord Himself has provided. Now in the home circle where I go to and where I may contribute according to my gift of grace I held two evenings on the subject what out of the letter to the Romans appears as to this issue. We actually studied this part of God's Word and had just finished with chapter 8. So I prepared a working sheet for these seminar-like home meetings. During the preparation it became very clear to me that there is no need at all to make borrowings at evolution to explain things. God is able to create anything how complex ever in no time (from our view) (Romans 4:17). Moreover evolution is impossible through the fact that death came into creation and penetrated to every man and woman as result of the sin of Adam. You can think up and down, back and forth - at last there is no way to hold on evolution if this is true! But if this should not be true - then it also becomes questionable if salvation God created "in Christ" is true! (Romans 5:12-21) There would be much more to say. It's already too much for a comment.

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Aren't words a fun blessing?! Long time readers of my blog know that I love words and word play. One kind of word play that I have not done much with is the anagram — a word or phrase that is made by transposing or rearranging the letters of another word or phrase. The closest I've come to doing anything with anagrams is playing Boggle and Text Twist.

Students in my French lit courses always seem to be surprised to learn that several great names in French literature wrote under pseudonyms that were actually anagrams of their real names. In the sixteenth century Rabelais published his first book under the pseudonym of Alcofribas Nasier — an anagram of François Rabelais, minus the cedilla. The eighteenth-century author François-Marie Arouet wrote under a pseudonym. The Latinized spelling of his surname, Arouet, plus the initial letters of the sobriquet "le jeune" ("the younger," like our "junior," but spelled ieune back then instead of jeune) was rendered "AROVET LI." The anagram of that is the better-known name Voltaire.

Today's blog post is a some anagrams that I have accumulated through the years. Someone out there has way too much time on his hands. Remind me never to play Boggle or Scrabble with the person who came up with these!

The Original → The Anagram

dormitory → dirty room

the Morse code → here come dots

animosity → is no amity

snooze alarms → alas, no more Z's

the public art galleries → large picture halls, I bet

slot machines → cash lost in 'em

the eyes → they see

Presbyterian → best in prayer

semolina → is no meal

a decimal point → I'm a dot in place

schoolmaster → the classroom

Western Union → no wire unsent

the countryside → no city dust here

conversation → voices rant on

microwave → warm voice

Statue of Liberty → built to stay free

debit card → bad credit

the earthquakes → that queer shake

election results → lies - let's recount

contradiction → accord not in it

eleven plus two → twelve plus one

astronomer → moon starer

desperation → a rope ends it

year two thousand → a year to shut down

Alec Guinness → genuine class

Washington → hogs want in

George Bush → he bugs Gore

mother-in-law → woman Hitler

Here are several that took a lot of work.

The original:
"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." - Neil Armstrong

And the anagram, including his name:
"Thin man left planet, ran, makes a large stride, pins flag on moon! On to Mars!"

This next one is truly amazing!

The original:
"To be or not to be: that is the question, whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune."

The anagram:
"In one of the Bard's best-thought-of tragedies, our insistent hero, Hamlet, queries on two fronts about how life turns rotten."

I wonder if Shakespeare knew the anagram would work out that way when he wrote the original lines.

I found the following picture online recently. The message on the right is an anagram of the message on the left.

All I can say is, wow!

There's a page on wordsmith.org where you can enter text and have it converted to all the possible anagrams. It's fun to see what anagrams can come from your name. When I put in Barack Hussein Obama, here's one of the anagrams it came up with — "a casaba rube monkish." It doesn't say much, I guess, but....

You can play Text Twist for free online at games.yahoo.com

If you come up with any funny anagrams, I hope you'll post them in a comment.

Becka returned safe and sound from Detroit this afternoon. I'm glad she had a good week with our daughter and her family, but I have to say it's awfully nice to have her back home.

For any of you BJ grads who read my blog — today was Heritage Day on campus (formerly known as Founder's Day). This year's program was about the history Rodeheaver Auditorium and the people heavily involved with it from the start. The Tozer quotation below figured heavily in the program.

quotation...

"Life is a short and fevered rehearsal for a concert we cannot stay to give. Just when we appear to have attained some proficiency we are forced to lay our instruments down." - A. W. Tozer

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

All wight - Rho sritched mg kegtops awound?

Comments

• October 29, 2009, Deb Crater writes: I put my full proper name in the wordsmith anagram maker. Deborah Marie Crater It came up with: A Matriarch Bee Order If you look up the meaning of Deborah, it is "the Queen Bee." Interesting.
• October 30, 2009, Rob writes: @Deb - That's interesting. I just did my full name too. Here are some of the weirdest anagrams the site generated: Acrobat Hollered Cathedral Bolero Trachea Doorbell Bachelor Leotard A Tolerable Chord Caballero Red Hot Cabal Herder Tool Readable Loch Rot Cathedral Rob Ole Charade Blot Role Carload Broth Eel Earache Bolt Lord Lacteal Herb Odor Area Botched Roll Errata Lobed Loch Aha Trebled Color Altar Blood Cheer Aorta Belch Older Cab Leather Drool Bleached Oral Rot Caboodle Halt Err Brocade All Other Bleacher Lard Too Cerebral Had Loot Bachelor Read Lot Adorable Chortle What a hoot!
• October 30, 2009, Michael writes: These are very interesting. The tedium required to keep track of using all the letters would probably drive me crazy. I was particularly impressed by the one "eleven plus two" and "twelve plus one" since it is an anagram of sorts linguistically and mathematically. Happy Heritage Day and Happy Reformation Day.
• October 30, 2009, Vikki writes: I put my full name, Vikki Jo Ivey, and it came back with "no anagrams found". However, my husband's name came up with 1422! Like I said in my comment in the last posting, I guess I'm weird. : (
• October 30, 2009, Kathleen writes: I put in my full name, and got: Input too long (20 letters). The permitted input length (maximum 30 letters) varies depending on the server load. Currently it's limited to 0 letters. I guess it doesn't like me? Maybe all the ivman readers rushed over to try out their own anagram ideas, and crashed the site? Once it finally let me do it, I got 50001 results... A random sampling: A Gallanter Geckoes Hen A Archangel Keenest Log A Archangel Geek Stolen A Garage Clothes Kennel A Lasagne Choker Gentle A Tracheae Glen Elk Song A Tracheae Kens Ell Gong... By the way, I have never choked lasagne, gently or otherwise. :-)
• November 2, 2009, Rob writes: @Michael - I found several of them quite interesting, including the one you mentioned. I did not take (or have) the time to check all of the anagrams, especially the really long ones. Someone has a lot more patience than I. Thanks for the greetings for Heritage Day and Reformation Day. They were both a blessing. @Vikki - That's wild that your name has no anagrams using every letter. I wonder how many names for which that is true. My full name had 66,667 results, of which the first 1,000 are displayed. @Kathleen - I think my readers did indeed max out the site sometimes.

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Oreo cookies seem to be a dessert that people can either take or leave. I've eaten them through the years, but only when there was nothing much else sweet to eat. If given a choice, I would definitely choose a real cookie instead! I know, though, that some people really like Oreo cookies and other Hydrox-type cookies, whatever that is.... (Sounds vaguely chemical to me....) By the way, Hydrox cookies have been around for over 100 years now. They celebrated their 100-year anniversary in 2008.

Several years ago we had a family conference at our church. The speaker for those couple of days as Dr. Greg Mazak. One of the things he did as an ice-breaker one evening was to give us the Oreo test. There are all kinds of "psychological tests" out there and I cannot vouch for the accuracy of this one, but it was a fun activity as people stood and then he read what their style of eating an Oreo showed about their personality. Here's the test for you to enjoy.

The Oreo Personality Test

Psychologists have discovered that the manner in which people eat Oreo cookies provides great insight into their personalities. First choose which method in the list below best describes your favorite method of eating Oreos. Then scroll down to see what that says about you.

1. The whole thing all at once.
2. One bite at a time.
3. Slow and methodical nibbles examining the results of each bite afterwards.
4. In little feverish nibbles.
5. Dunked in some liquid (milk, coffee...).
6. Twisted apart, eat the inside, then the cookie.
7. Twisted apart, eat the inside, and toss the cookie.
8. Just the cookie, not the inside.
9. I just like to lick them, not eat them.
10. I don't have a favorite way because I don't like Oreos.

Your Personality:

1. The whole thing all at once. This means you consume life with abandon, you are fun to be with, exciting, carefree with some hint of recklessness. You are totally irresponsible. No one should trust you with their children.

2. One bite at a time. You are lucky to be one of the 5.4 billion other people who eat their Oreos this very same way. Just like them, you lack imagination, but that's okay, not to worry, you're normal.

3. Slow and methodical. You follow the rules. You're very tidy and orderly. You're very meticulous in every detail with every thing you do to the point of being irritating to others. Stay out of the fast lane if you're going to go just at the speed limit.

4. Feverish nibbles. Your boss likes you because you get your work done quickly. You always have a million things to do and never enough time to do them. Mental breakdowns and suicides run in your family. Valium and Ritalin would do you good.

5. Dunked. Every one likes you because you are always up beat. You like to sugar coat unpleasant experiences and rationalize bad situations into good ones. You are in total denial about the shambles you call a life. You have a propensity towards narcotic addiction.

6. Twisted apart, eat the inside, and then the cookie. You have a highly curious nature. You take pleasure in breaking things apart to find out how they work, though not always able to put them back together, so you destroy all the evidence of your activities. You deny your involvement when things go wrong. You are a compulsive liar and exhibit deviant, if not criminal, behavior.

7. Twisted apart, eat the inside, and then toss the cookie. You are good at business and take risks that pay off. You take what you want and throw the rest away. You are greedy, selfish, mean, and lack feelings for others. You should be ashamed of yourself. But that's ok, you don't care, you got yours. (And be careful about tossing your cookies!)

8. Just the cookie, not the inside. You enjoy pain.

9. I just like to lick them, not eat them. Stay away from cats and other small furry animals and seek professional medical help — immediately.

10. I don't have a favorite way, I don't like Oreo cookies. You probably come from a rich family, and like to wear nice things, and go to up-scale restaurants. You are particular and fussy about the things you buy, own, and wear. Things have to be just right. You like to be pampered. You are a prima donna. There's just no pleasing you.

For those of you who can't get enough Oreos, here's a product that you might enjoy — Oreo toothpaste!

How about you, do you like Oreo cookies? Was this quiz accurate for you?

I mentioned in an earlier post that one of our former "campus sons" has published a book. Here's a message from the author with a couple of links I hope you'll follow up.

As we approach Veterans Day on Wednesday, November 11th, please take the time to thank or remember a Veteran who has served, fought, was wounded or died on our behalf. Thank you to all those Veterans who have served and provided me and my family with FREEDOM. Please see the link below to a video review of the new book Inherited Freedom, by Tim Drake.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3BIS74JOD2E6N/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Tim is going to be in the Campus Store on November 11 for a book signing. I hope that those of you who live in the Greenville area will drop by to check it out.

Becka is having a very nice time up in Michigan with Megan, Jim, and Drew. Here's a picture Megan posted on her blog.

I may not have any more pictures to post until Becka's back home — Meg and Jim's laptop died this past weekend.

quotation...

"What do I do just because God is in His heaven and I love Him?" - Drew Conley

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

I wonder what they used for the crust on cheese cakes before Oreos.

Comments

• October 26, 2009, Doodie writes: This isn't a comment about Oreos -- I can take them or leave them, but mostly I just leave them. I'm like you; I'd rather have a "real" cookie. As I looked at the picture of Becka and Drew, I noticed the beautiful golden tree in the background. I miss autumn (I live in Florida)! I am heading up to Ohio in 3 days, and I asked my parents to tell the trees to hold on to their leaves just a little longer. I am looking forward to walking through the carpet of leaves and am hoping to see and smell fall while I'm there!
• October 26, 2009, Dave writes: Well, Rob...here's the results on my Oreo test... I eat mine one bite at a time - so according to the test I lack imagination. Now I'm not the type of person that likes to judge myself, but I really do think that I have a very healthy imagination. Do you think there's a personality test that coincides with the Oreo toothpaste? If you roll up the tube from the bottom to get paste out you're efficient and practical... .-= Dave's most recent blog post ... Mowing Machine Pushed 1950’s Children to Brink of Extinction =-.
• October 27, 2009, Vikki writes: My method of eating Oreo cookies isn't listed there. Guess that just makes me weird (but we already knew that . . .). I eat the top cookie - hoping not to take off any filling - then I nibble around the bottom cookie and see how much cookie I can get off without taking any of the the filling, and then the remaining filling and cookie (absolute success is getting the bottom cookie off and still having all the filling!!). I prefer the filling, but don't want to end up with two dry cookies when I'm done, so eating the top one first and part of the bottom one solves that. Guess that's why double stuffed is my favorite. However, I would take a good, gooey, fresh baked, still warm, right out of the oven, chocolate chip cookie over an Oreo any day! I also eat my Hostess Cupcakes upside-down up so that I leave the frosting for last, pie from the crust end first, and my cake with the frosting and half inch layer of cake last. With chocolate chip cookies, I nibble around most of the chips so that there are more chips in the last bites and the crusts of my sandwiches first, because they're dryer and not as tasty. Maybe I just like the best flavors last so that is the taste that lingers in my mouth after I finish. Maybe my original assessment of "weird" is accurate after all, and maybe that's why I enjoy this site so much : )
• October 27, 2009, Rob writes: @Doodie - I'm glad you share my esteem for Oreos. :-) Enjoy the autumn weather, colors, and smells as you're up in Ohio. We grew up in NW Ohio and I remember very well those couple of days of fall weather each year. :-) @Dave - What can I say? You're definitely an imaginative guy; so maybe you can come up with a more imaginative way to eat your Oreos. (Check out Vikki's method described in her comment.) @Vikki - I'm sorry, but I can't imagine going to that much work to consume an Oreo. My wife and I call stuff like that "empty calories" — calories that just aren't worth it. I'm to the point where I want any calories and fat grams to be utterly worth it. A warm chocolate chip cookie or a "hot one" at Krispy Kreme is SO worth it. But an Oreo? Nah. I did LOL at your descriptions of how you eat various desserts, saving the best part for the last. I think I may start to do the same with a piece of pie. My wife's pie crust is wonderful, but it's still not as good as the filling.
• October 27, 2009, Hannah Joy writes: None of the above. I twist it apart, eat the half without the filling and then the half with the filling. Apparently my personality doesn't exist . . .
• October 27, 2009, Robin writes: Just what I needed during this mid-life crisis point in my life -- confirmation that I lack imagination......sigh.
• October 27, 2009, Laura writes: Eat the top, eat the filling (scrape with teeth, not tongue), eat the bottom. Dunking is good, too, if there's more than one cookie to mess with. I like variety. I pretty much gave up on Oreos when the docs said to watch sweets. After being away from them awhile, and having one later, I realized that the filling tends to coat the mouth in an unpleasant way . . . you don't think about hydrogenated oil when you're a kid! Favorite cookie: hot oatmeal raisin ... second favorite: 2 hot chocolate chips with raw dough in the middle. But I don't get them often. Once or twice a year? New daffy-nition from the peanut gallery: Surge suppressor -- (n.) an article to prevent revolts. Have a great day!
• October 27, 2009, Dave writes: After reading Vikki's comment, I have the utmost respect for her creativity....
• October 27, 2009, heather writes: I eat mine a different way every time... maybe that means I have multiple personality disorder??? ;)
• October 27, 2009, A. H. writes: A long time ago, when I had time to spare, I would try to remove the filling (in one piece) from both sides of the cookie.
• October 28, 2009, Rob writes: @Hannah Joy, Laura, and A. H. - The possibilities of ways to consume these cookies seem almost limitless. I didn't realize how subtly nuanced an Oreo could be. @Robin - Don't sigh ... the supposedly unimaginative Dave is not only quite imaginative, but also still a 20-something. @Laura - Your favorite cookies sound good to me. And that's not revolting. :-) @Dave - If you've read many of Vikki's comments, you will know that she is indeed very creative. @Heather - We're ... I mean, I'm not going there....
• October 28, 2009, Vikki writes: Why Dave - thank you! (I think . . .).
• October 28, 2009, Kathleen writes: I have to say, I'm reading Vikki's comment and thinking, "Yes, that's me, yes, I do that..." About the only one I don't do is eat pie from the crust end, but then, I think the end crust, especially when it's still fairly well coated with filling, is one of the best parts. Sometimes I break it off and eat it first, so I could get away with saying that I do that too. You aren't left-handed by any chance, are you? :-)
• October 28, 2009, Jenni writes: I eat Oreos different ways depending on my mood! I had Fried Oreos for the first time a couple weeks ago. They are pretty good, but I like fried Snickers MUCH better! :-)
• October 29, 2009, Vikki writes: Sorry Kathleen, I'm right handed - but I'm very glad to hear I'm not alone! Actually, I don't always eat my pie backwards. Sometimes I first break off the crust sticking up without the filling on it. THEN I start eating it backwards from the pointy end. I also don't like my butter melted on my pancakes. I prefer to take a dab of non-melted butter in my fork, than stab the pancake and finally dip it in the syrup. My husband thinks I'm a little weird. BUT HE MARRIED ME ANYWAY AND NOW HE'S STUCK WITH ME! :)

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What's your reaction when someone mentions the word hunting? Some say, "Oh, dear!" but many say, "Oh, DEER!" I have never gone hunting myself. My dad used to hunt when I was a little boy. I distinctly remember an evening when I was in first grade when Dad came home from hunting, chilled to the bone and nothing to show for it. He pronounced that he was done with hunting, and he never went again. There went my chances to learn to hunt! My brother-in-law Dan enjoys hunting, as do many friends here in Greenville. My wife and I enjoy it when wild game is shared with us and when we're served wild game in other people's homes. But at this stage of life, I don't think I'm destined to become a hunter. I'll just enjoy other aspects of the great outdoors, along with those occasional meals of wild game that hunters provide for us.

Today's "instant vacation" is several jokes and funny pictures about hunters and hunting. Hunters and non-hunters alike will find something here to laugh at in this one. Here goes....

Two hunters got lost in the woods. The first hunter said, "Don't worry. All we have to do is shoot into the air three times, stay where we are, and someone will find us."

So they shot in the air three times, but no one came. After a while, they tried it again; still no response. Finally the second hunter said, "I suppose we can try again, but it better work this time — we're down to our last three arrows.”

Two goober hunters were dragging their dead deer back to their car. Another hunter approached pulling his along too.

"Hey, I don't want to tell you how to do things, but I can tell you that it's much easier if you drag the deer in the other direction. Then the antlers won't dig into the ground."

After the third hunter left, the two goobers decided to try it.

A little while later one said to the other, "You know, that guy was right. This is a lot easier!"

"Yeah," the other added, "but we're getting farther away from the truck!"

A game warden witnessed a man shooting a seagull.

“I’ll have to write you up,” he told the man.

The man answered, “Can I at least keep the bird?

“No,” said the officer.

“Please? My family needs the meat or I wouldn’t have shot it.”

“Well, all right. Just this once” the officer gave in.

As the officer started to walk away, he turned and asked, “Say, what does seagull taste like?

The man answered, “Well, I guess it’s kind of a cross between spotted owl and golden eagle.”

We have a restaurant named Saskatoon here in Greenville that specializes in wild game. I've never eaten there, but I've heard it's really good (and expensive). Here's a billboard that always made me smile and was just down the street from my university several years ago.

Fox hunting has seen a resurgence in recent years, but it's not an easy sport. The foxes are becoming more and more ... well, ugh ... foxy. These pictures might help prove it.

They've become better at the use of camouflage.

Here's a picture of a problem the folks in Utah are having with foxes. It puts a whole new twist on the expression "fox hunting."

Are you an avid hunter? Do you like to eat wild game? What wild game do you enjoy eating most and what's the "wildest" game you've ever eaten?

On the home front, Becka had lunch with me in Greenville today and dinner with our daughter Megan and her family in Detroit this evening. While Becka's up there for a week, I'll be quenching my students' thirst for knowledge at school, holding down the fort here at home, and serving as a heat source for the cats all night. I'll post some pictures when I get them.

quotation...

"God's blessings bring with them God's power." - Drew Conley

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

Could it be that so many deer get hit on the interstates because they're simply obeying the posted deer crossing signs?

Comments

• October 23, 2009, Sam Brenneman writes: Another possible reason why so many deer are being hit by vehicles is from they're having to flee their natural habitat in an attempt to escape all the stray shots of those lost hunters!....;-)
• October 23, 2009, kathie writes: This year we ate copperhead snake. We got about a tablespoon of meat off the whole thing...and it was a pretty good size snake. Tasted like chicken. We've decided to stick to the meatier rattlesnake.
• October 23, 2009, Michael writes: Hunting is not for me. I don't have the patience for it, don't enjoy being outside that long, and can't bring myself to kill animals unless they're threatening me or have invaded my home without permission. I've been to Saskatoon once and thought it was all right but haven't been back. I think it's for those who are really adventurous. I think the weirdest thing I ate there was alligator feet or something. Hope the cats keep you in line over the next week.
• October 23, 2009, Richard writes: I've had venison -- it's not the best; antelope can really be gamey -- usually best as jerky; elk is pretty good; but the best is moose -- very mild. I do not hunt, but several friends do and have shared their meat.
• October 23, 2009, Rob writes: @Sam - LOL! You may be on to something there.... @Kathie - Wow, you would think there would be more muscle to a copperhead than that. Your comment about its tasting like chicken reminded me of something our son Mark said to his friends in junior high. We had been eliminating squirrels from our back yard with a pellet gun (we lived outside the city limits) and decided to cook some of it up. When he told his friends we had eaten squirrel the night before, they asked, "What did it taste like?" Thinking he would probably say it tasted like chicken, they cracked up when he said, in all honesty, that it tasted like frog legs. (We have had frog legs in France, and he liked them.) :-D @Michael - What you've said sounds like why I would not be a good fisherman - I can't sit quiet long enough. :-) Wow, alligator feet?! The cats have their work cut out for them. @Richard - What a line up of meats you've tried! I've had turkey jerky, deer jerky, and goat jerky (not wild goats, though), but not the antelope variety.
• October 23, 2009, Shari writes: Mmmm... the best thing at Saskatoon is there Kangaroo steak! I've also tried their Buffalo, but the Roo is definitely the BEST!!!
• October 23, 2009, Brian writes: I've had some caribou and Canada goose. The goose was similar to chicken. The caribou was very good, almost as if it was spiced. This was on a mission team to the far northern Quebec town of Schefferville. Some Naskapi fixed it for us as only the First Nations are allowed to hunt Canadian Geese.
• October 23, 2009, Kathy Sorensen writes: This Thanksgiving I'm driving from SE Wisconsin to NE Kansas to share dinner with my daughter and her family. Seventeen year old granddaughter Alyssa is providing the meat ... road kill. Her weapon was a 1998 Ford F150 pick up. She was driving home from school one afternoon and struck the turkey. It was still on the bumper when she pulled into their driveway, so Dad came out, peeled it off the truck, cleaned it and put it into the freezer. I'm looking forward to it. I don't have to worry about buck shot like when I had my first wild turkey. Dad had to drive all the way to Nebraska with expensive guns, ammo, dogs, clothing, etc., for that one! Alyssa's cost a lot less!
• October 23, 2009, Rob writes: @Shari - Kangaroo steak, huh? I'm game ... so to speak. @Brian - I've had duck in France and in China, but I don't think I've ever had goose. Maybe I've just forgotten? The duck was quite moist — I think it was from all the fat. @Kathy - I love the story about Alyssa's contribution to this year's Thanksgiving dinner! That's one method you can't always count on, though. I'd hate to plan a holiday dinner, not knowing whether you'd have the same good fortune. :-D
• October 23, 2009, Diane Heeney writes: I have to agree with Richard...moose is the best, and the younger the better. A few years back the Game and Fish men had to put down a young bull in our yard because it had badly broken its leg sparring with an older bull. Oh, how I wished they'd let us put that guy in our freezer! The tenderloin can't be beat. I'll pass on antelope. Have yet to eat it where I liked it. Deer and elk are good if you know how to marinate them well and they were not shot on the run. How you field dress them makes a difference too.
• October 24, 2009, Sue writes: The best wild game I've ever had would be deer loins. Actually, that was probably the best meat I've ever had! My brother is into turkey hunting, and after a lot of experimenting, it was unanimously agreed that the best thing to do with a wild turkey is to make jerky. Alligator tail is probably the most exotic I've tried (since snail doesn't count as wild game) and it's very rubbery.
• October 24, 2009, Carrie writes: Moose stew is probably the wildest thing I've had. But up here in Alaska, nobody thinks anything of it. They do have an interesting way of taking care of road kill. When someone hits and kills a moose, they must call the police. The police have a list of people interested in moose meat. As the winter progresses, they just move on down the list, and people come with their road kill-dressing equipment and pack it in! (It's illegal to keep road kill yourself.) .-= Carrie's most recent blog post ... How Embarrassing =-.
• October 24, 2009, Vikki writes: I grew up in WI with a hunting father and my husband also comes from a hunting family, so deer, antelope, squirrel, rabbit, pheasant, partridge and goose are not unknown to our family. My husband and I used to go small game hunting each Labor Day weekend with another couple when we lived up north. Illinois has 2 deer seasons for gun and the first one is usually the weekend before Thanksgiving. When we lived in IL, my husband would go hunting that weekend and the deer would hang in our garage for a few days. (In the garage (1) because it was usually freezing outside and it hangs best in cold but not frozen temp and (2) I think it might have upset the neighbors to see a deer hanging from a tree in our yard since we lived in the city.) Anyway, come Thanksgiving Day I would make the dressing, stuff the turkey and get it into the oven. Drag out the deer and start butchering and packaging it. Toward meal time we would clean up from the butchering and eat our Thanksgiving dinner. The next morning we were back at the butchering and grinding the meat again. We did this for a number of years until we found a place near where he hunted that would do all the butchering for only $34 per deer. Man, was I ever glad when they found this guy!! My father-in-law, who is no longer a hunter, lives up in northern WI and still usually gets a deer each year . . .with his car. In WI, if you hit a deer, any patrolman can sign it over to you. What happens is hunters scare the deer out of the woods and along comes Dad in his car and BANG, another deer for the freezer (or half a deer because the side you hit is quite often useless). However, if it does too much damage to the car, it can get expensive. But, you can’t live in northern WI and not expect to hit your share of deer. I guess the strangest thing I’ve ever eaten game wise would have to be either raccoon or bear. Ground squirrel is also on that list, I believe. I have, however, also had alligator at a restaurant once.
• October 25, 2009, Rob writes: @Diane - I sounds as if you have quite a bit of experience with wild game. I would love to try moose, if it's as good as you make it sound. @Sue - What is it about wild turkey that is so different from what we're used to eating? Is it tougher, drier, or what? @Carrie - You are definitely getting quite an education up there in Alaska! @Vikki - I enjoyed your story of your former, typical Thanksgiving day. Wow! That $34 is quite a bargain, especially for all the work it saved you! The Wisconsin police need to talk to the police in Alaska so that the people up there can at least have some meat to show for the damage to their vehicles.
• October 27, 2009, LeAnne Solt writes: I've never hunted, but my dad loves to. One of my favorites is corned venison. I've also eaten ostrich -- the roast was extremely good. I don't know whether you could exactly call it hunting, though -- my aunt and uncle used to raise ostrich.
• October 27, 2009, Rob writes: @LeAnne - Hmm ... corned venison sounds intriguing. I'd like to try ostrich sometime. I've heard it's quite good.
• October 28, 2009, Kathleen writes: I've had a bunch of weird meats. Moose is one I haven't tried yet, though. Ostrich, crocodile tail, elk, kangaroo, buffalo, venison... Ostrich was pretty good. Crocodile tail has a lot of fat and not much meat. What meat there is is thoroughly mixed with the fat, so you are going to end up eating a lot of fat. Kangaroo is even better than ostrich. Buffalo tastes a lot like beef, but really good beef. The elk we were served in Wyoming this year was wonderful, one of the best meats I've ever had. Venison is good too.
• October 28, 2009, Sue writes: All the wild turkey I've tried has been tough, and lacked the tasty flavor of domestic turkey. I have no idea why this is, we even tried frying the breast to make "turkey nuggets", thinking the breading and oil might disguise it, but there were *plenty* of leftovers!

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Here are several more warning signs. This sign would have been a great addition to my post Forgive us our trespasses.

What is this sign warning about? Do not jump? Do not drown?

This sign's warning is totally clear.

The following sign is one that was on my old ivman website and had not yet been posted here. I love the mental image this one conjures up!

Here's a hand-drawn sign (I was going to say "homemade sign," but that's not possible, I guess.) How exactly does a homeless guy get to his paypal donations?

Here are a few signs that make you scratch your head.

How does someone go through a door that won't open?

How do they keep coffee fresh that was brewed that long ago?!

How does someone in a wheel chair will use this particular handicapped entrance?

Do most people normally buy only one shoe, not expecting the other one as part of the price?

I'll end with a picture of an almost honest jewelry store. The third line in the sign makes you wonder just how badly they will cheat you....

Thanks to those who sent pictures of signs — keep 'em coming! Any reactions to today's signs?

quotation...

"Genuine heart conversion shows up in our living." - Drew Conley

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

It has recently been discovered that research causes cancer in rats.

Comments

• October 19, 2009, Nancy writes: re: The Shoe Zone signage. Since nothing says you will get a *matching pair,* this may be their best option to clear stock after their half off sale.
• October 20, 2009, Rob writes: @Nancy - Your point is a good one. For some people, that wouldn't matter. I know several who have shown up for work with two different shoes on. That's what comes from dressing in the dark.
• October 20, 2009, Sam Schnaiter writes: Aw, man! We gotta start wearing shoes, now???
• October 20, 2009, Carrie writes: It never struck me as funny to have a bogo sign in a shoe store. If I can get up my nerve, and if I can maintain a straight face I'll have to ask the clerk a question about that next time I see one. . . Regarding homeless folks accessing their Paypal accounts: I think some of them do it from our public library. .-= Carrie's most recent blog post ... Just Call Me Dr. Dustbuster =-.
• October 21, 2009, Rob writes: @Sam - Start? @Carrie - I had never seen the expression "bogo" before. I thought at first it was a form of bogus.... Do the folks at the library dispense the accumulated monies at Paypal to the SDF's?

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Next week in Survey of French Lit class we will be looking at some of the writings of Descartes. His famous je pense, donc je suis (I think, therefore I am) has radically changed the way many people view life, especially the French. They tend to be very skeptical and pride themselves on their reasoning abilities. However in French, just as in English, words can have two different meanings — for instance take the phrase "I rent my garments." Similarly in French je suis can mean either "I am" or "I follow", depending on the context. Sometimes I wonder how things would be in France today if Descartes had really meant, "I think, therefore I follow."

In today's iv, if you can put aside the illogic of all these philosophers, inventors, and scientific/mathematical people being together in the same café at the same time, there are some high-class puns that will definitely add a measure of "gravitas" to ivman's blague.

The Philosophers' Café

René Descartes was sitting in a café. The café owner asked if he would like another espresso. He replied, "I think not." And he vanished!

Pierre and Marie Curie sat there beaming radiantly after Descartes vanished in a puff of smoke.

The café owner then noticed Einstein was there, and he asked him what he thought of what had happened. Einstein replied, "It's all relative."

At another table, Ivan Pavlov drooled, as if Descartes' logical disappearance rang a bell.

Sir Isaac Newton pondered the gravity of the situation.

When the café owner asked Georg Ohm what had happened, but instead of answering, Ohm resisted.

Eli Whitney thought the whole thing was ginned up.

William Harvey said Descartes was now simply out of circulation.

Leonardo da Vinci just smiled mysteriously.

When the café owner asked Heisenberg, "Did you see that?" he replied, "I can't be certain."

Hans Geiger claimed that Descartes never could be counted on.

Enrico Fermi couldn't believe that Descartes had split.

Thomas Edison stated that he found the whole thing illuminating.

Wilbur Wright said he always thought Descartes was a little flighty.

Pythagoras said that something about Descartes' disappearance just didn't square.

Gustav Hertz said he thought Descartes would return to the café in the future with much greater frequency.

Robert Boyle commented that he thought everyone was under too much pressure to come up with an answer to what was happening.

Alexander Graham Bell didn't believe the disappearance for one second. He could telephoney from any distance.

Erwin Schrödinger tried to explain that in the absence of an observer, Descartes left but at the same time did not leave.

But Alessander Volta disagreed, stating there was a potential difference between his staying or going.

James Watt said Descartes had probably had a bad day and just let off a little steam.

Charles Darwin refused to take a stand on the day's events because he was waiting to see what would evolve.

Wilhelm Röntgen thought he could see through the whole thing, but vowed to look more deeply into the matter.

André Ampère helped the café owner ascertain that all the statements about the events were current.

Then the café owner noticed that Carl Sagan was there. He walked over to him and asked, "Can you believe that all these famous people are here in this café when this happened?" Sagan replied, "No. Why, there must be billions and billions of cafés out there...."

I've seen all kinds of spin-offs of Descartes' "I think, therefore I am" — I fish, therefore I am; I dream, therefore I am; I knit, therefore I am; and on and on it could go. Do you have your own "I ---, therefore I am" motto? Have you thought of someone else who could have been in the philosophers' café above, what that person would have said, and what happened? I look forward to your comments.

I'll end this post with a funny picture I received this morning. It's not totally on topic, though some would argue that there are philosophical and scientific aspects to the current subject of media hype that picture satirizes.

Any thoughts on Swine flu (or for the politically correct, H1N1)? Maybe it's nothing to pooh-pooh....

quotation...

"What do you know that God wants that you're currently not doing?" - Drew Conley

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

I once tried to microwave instant coffee and went back in time.

Comments

• October 15, 2009, Corene writes: Poor Piglet. *sniff* My heart goes out to you. *sob* And just when you need friends too *sniff* *sob*
• October 15, 2009, Laura writes: I think you want Robert "Boyle" ... Boyle wrote gas laws that described the relationship between temperature, pressure, and volume. Chances are, if there was anyone at the café from Congress, they'd recommend some new liberty-restricting regulations in hopes of preventing more such disappearances in the future. Imagine the reaction when LOTS of people disappear at the Rapture! I LOVED the piglet picture! Thanks for sharing!
• October 15, 2009, Rob writes: @Corene - Piglet does look pretty dejected, doesn't he? @Laura - Thanks! Correction made. As far as the Congress is concerned, that's a tough one. They want us not to think about what all they're doing, but then that's the very thing that would make us disappear as Descartes did. If only we could get everyone to think, maybe we could make a lot of the current members of Congress disappear in 2010. Glad you enjoyed Piglet.
• October 16, 2009, Terry E. writes: Not my quote, but a good one: “Trusting in Him I am free of doubts, therefore I am.” (Me*) *Emil Silvestru, PhD (Dr. Silvestru is one of the world's foremost authorities on karst geology. He is a speaker for Creation Ministries International (creation.com) and lives in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.)
• October 16, 2009, Nancy writes: Alternate ending to The Philosopher's Café: M. Loach stood in the doorway of the billion cafés to take his leave. "Cyanide," said he, which is, as we all know, farewell in any language.
• October 16, 2009, Michael writes: My statement would be "Christ speaks; therefore, I am." And wouldn't Plato have been in the cafe? He would have said that Descartes wasn't real to begin with and that only his shadow had disappeared.
• October 16, 2009, Jonathan writes: I paint, therefore I art.
• October 19, 2009, Rob writes: Sorry it's taken me a while to comment back.... @Terry - Very interesting quotation. Thanks for sharing it. @Nancy - I-L-B-C-N-U, O-K? @Michael - That's for sure on your first one! Thanks for the thoughts on Plato. @Jonathan - I'm very happy to hear that you still paint. :-D

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We'll start off with something that Lego fans may find irresistible — Lego earrings.

Have you ever been at a reception or gathering where almost everyone has to stand around, holding both food and beverage? If you have, you know that that balancing act makes it very difficult to eat. The Go Plate is the perfect solution.

The Go Plate allows you to nest your soda can or bottle in the middle of the plate from the bottom whereby you can hold both in one hand, freeing up the other hand for eating.

They cost a little over $1.00 each, but they look as though they may be washable for reuse at the next get-together.

I wonder if it would work with a non-roll Coke can.

Beverage containers with interesting shapes seem to be something on the minds of several inventors.

This past summer I did a post on toasters. Here's a toaster I would love to have.

Continuing with the food theme, here's a sandwich that looks as if it would be as much a challenge as the toy that inspired it. It's called a Rubik's Cubewich.

That verson of the "sandwich" is made of pastrami, kielbasa, pork fat, salami, and two types of cheese.

You can grow pears in the shape of little Buddhas, though I'm not sure why anyone would want to.

The next two inventions, though inedible, are inspired by food.

These "Cookeys" would probably remain crisp and chewy no matter how much they're dunked.

I wonder how you would smell after using this soap.

Here's an interesting piece of baby clothing.

When a crawling baby wears that outfit, the child becomes a Baby Dust Mop.

What the following item is may not be immediately evident.

It's a neat design, but I cannot imagine anyone finding them comfortable or keeping them on while walking.

Speaking of cool designs, here are several pictures of a "ribbon staircase" I'm not sure I would like to use, especially in the dark.

That staircase is apparently of Czech design.

There are a number of kinds of toilet paper available with the pictures of various politicians who consider themselves worthy of being in a throne room.

Do any of these inventions grab you? I look forward to reading your comments on some of them.

I haven't posted a picture of our grandson Drew recently. The other day, our daughter Megan did a blog post about her family's first pumpkin carving experience. Here's a picture of Drew enjoying the process.

quotation...

"Choose the best rather than what is merely acceptable." - Phil Hunt

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

Did you ever go into an antique shop and ask, "What's new?"

Comments

• October 12, 2009, Carol writes: These are great! To be quite exact, you can't say "Czechoslovakian" any more. Since the address on the website is for Prague (Praha), it would have to be "Czech design." Both countries tend to get rather insulted by the continued use of the combined name! Feel free to delete this if you want.
• October 12, 2009, Rob writes: @Carol - Thanks so much for that heads-up! I made the change, but I can't retract the hundreds of e-mails. I always appreciate it when anyone points out things like you did. Vielen Dank!
• October 13, 2009, Uwe writes: When I was young I built of LEGO houses, garages, cars, trains, plains, ... I wonder how it would look like if one would fit several of these earrings together. Perhaps you would get an ear-to-ear-ring that would reminiscent of an amulette ... Moreover I wonder how the Rubik's Cubewich can be eaten. Yet I have difficulties with a double burger ...
• October 13, 2009, Rob writes: @Uwe - I'm trying to imagine the ear-to-ear-ring.... As to that sandwich, I would eat it cube by cube. I think it might be better as a decorative centerpiece in a tray of meats and cheeses. :-D
• October 13, 2009, Vikki writes: Those stairs . . . I have to ask "Why?" They make me dizzy just looking at them! I can't handle wide open stairs as it is, but those would send me right over the edge!
• October 13, 2009, Rob writes: @Vikki - I think they would also put me over the edge ... literally! :-D
• October 13, 2009, Michael writes: Inventions are more and more on my mind. My wife and I are really interested in a new show on ABC called "Shark Tank". It's where entrepreneurs (normally inventors) come in and try to get some business tycoons to go into business with them. It's really interesting some of the stuff people come up with and with how people will support some odd ideas. One of the loser ideas in last week's episode was a guy advertising "Throx". Instead of getting two socks in a package you got three so that if you lost one sock, you still had two. It's a fun program to watch.
• October 13, 2009, Barbara H. writes: I love the idea of the Go Plate, but I'm not sure about that design. I think I'd prefer a cup holder in the center of the plate that was sturdy enough to hold the Styrofoam or plastic cups used at most gatherings. I have a sister-in-law who collects cow things who would love that pitcher. I don't think I could handle those stairs, either! It was good to see you and your wife at the ladies' conference. Several of the ladies from our church thought we should incorporate the idea of men serving at our next ladies' luncheon. :-) .-= Barbara H.'s most recent blog post ... Whew! =-.
• October 13, 2009, Jenny writes: Those shoes are absolutely insane!
• October 14, 2009, Rob writes: @Michael - Thanks for the tip. Now that they've "improved our lives" with digital TV, bless their hearts, we cannot get ABC. If we are ever able to again, that sounds like a fun show to watch. @Barbara - Most of the gatherings I go to would also be improved with the kind of plate you describe. Glad you enjoyed the conference at our church last weekend. I had far too much fun as a server at Friday evening's dinner. I think all of us men who served had a great time. @Jenny - I agree totally. The design is cool, but the proof is in the application of that design. It would be kind of fun to watch someone try to walk in a pair of those! :-D

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Confusion comes in so many different forms. Sometimes we see something that we have a hard time taking in, whether it be an optical illusion or just simply a scene or situation that is complicated or contradictory. Other times we hear something that we have a hard time assimilating. I tend to be a visual learner, and so hearing something confusing causes more problems for me than seeing something confusing. If someone spells something to me aloud, they might as well be doing so with a foreign alphabet that I don't know!

A reader sent me the following the other day from Reader's Digest. The person on the other end of the phone must have been like me....

My friend opened a ministry, using a snippet from the Bible as the name. But he soon regretted his decision to order office supplies over the phone. When his stationery arrived, it bore the letterhead "That Nun Should Perish. - Tom Harrison

I can't imagine printing up a large quantity of something like that without asking for clarification first!

Whichever kind of learner you are, you might find it helpful to read the first two pieces below aloud to get the full impact.

Here's a confusing phone call to directory assistance.

"Information? I need the number of Caseway Insurance Company."

"Would you spell that, please?"

"Certainly. That's C as in cadence. A as in aye. S as in sea. E as in eye. W as in why. A as in are. Y as in you."

"Um ... just a minute, sir.... I'm going to connect you with my supervisor."

(I feel that operator's pain!)

A duel was fought between Alexander Shott and John Nott. Nott was shot and Shott was not. In this case it is better to be Shott than Nott. Some said that Nott was not shot. But Shott says that he shot Nott. It may be that the shot Shott shot shot Nott, but it is also possible that the shot Shott shot shot Shott himself. The authorities think, however, that the shot Shott shot shot not Shott, but Nott.

(It really is hard to tell who was shot and who was not, is it not?)

A tiny but dignified old lady was with a group looking at an art exhibition in a newly opened gallery. Suddenly one contemporary painting caught her eye.

"What on earth is that?!" she inquired of the artist standing nearby.

He smiled condescendingly. "That, my dear lady, is supposed to be a mother and her child."

"Well then," snapped the little old lady, "why isn't it?!"

(You've got to love little old ladies who tell it like it is!)

I ran across the following picture and wondered how anyone could navigate through this area successfully!

Is that maze of highways real or is the picture computer generated? Since posting this, I have learned that it is actually a work of art done in aluminum by Hubert Blanz.

It seems as if clear, meaningful communication is less common with each passing day. From political double talk and misleading commercials to the altering of images and editing of sound bites, we are confronted with so much that is intended to leave us confused. I cast my vote in favor of clarity. How about you?

Going back to learning styles, are you a visual learner or an audio learner? When you experience confusion, is it more often from what you hear or what you see?

quotation...

"When we show insult and hatred towards someone made in God's image, we're showing insult and hatred towards God." - Drew Conley

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

There are only 10 kinds of people — those who understand binary and those who don't.

Comments

• October 8, 2009, Shannah writes: I am so completely a visual learner it's scary sometimes. When I'm taking a class and have studied for a test, I often find myself recalling information by visualizing which part of the page it was written on in my notes. If I can't see where it was, sometimes I can't recall it. I'm like you, Rob... I can't grasp words being spelled aloud. I have to stop and "see" the letters in my mind... but if it's a long word, there's no hope. And at the beginning of the semester when I'm learning students' names, I'll often see a student in the hall and think, "Let's see... he sits in such and such a seat... therefore, his name is...."
• October 8, 2009, Michael writes: I'm in favor of clarity most certainly. Being a teacher has helped me realize that I can be misunderstood without thinking that I was being confusing. So, I try to explain things a lot and even explain what I'm not saying. This can be frustrating when I communicate with people my own age, especially with my wife.
• October 8, 2009, Terry E. writes: Caseway-Charlie, Alpha, Sierra, Echo, Whiskey, Alpha, Yankee. That is why the military uses a phonetic alphabet, so such ambiguous communications are avoided.
• October 8, 2009, b.j. writes: I'm not sure how I learn best. I think it's a combination, depending on what I'm learning. I was home schooled some of my life, and my mom had to deal with my odd learning ways. (I tend to solve problems completely different from most people. I come to the correct conclusion through a back door or something. My husband has given up trying to figure it out!) I learned to read when I was three, but math eluded me. Mom used colored scented markers to help me with math problems. Each color and scent stood for one aspect of math (certain numbers in times tables, for example) and I would also have to do them aloud. This incorporated sound, sight (both numbers and colors), speech, and smell. This helped in learning until we could understand how I work. I don't have to do all that now, and really have no problems learning, but I am glad my mom had the willingness to help me no matter what it took back then. It helped me understand my own learning style, and taught me how to manipulate and apply it to every aspect of my life. I later went to public school, and was in honors and advanced programs during the rest of school. So, for those out there having trouble with learning, it really does help to understand your own personal way of learning (such as verbal or sight) so you can exceed in today's world. By the way, I love that "Shott and Nott" story! I have heard it before, but forgot about it. I'm going to share that one with others!
• October 8, 2009, Janet O'Brien writes: Your quote sent me out! May I use it in my blog? I have one coming up on different types of people I've observed and this would make a great point!
• October 8, 2009, Vikki writes: I’m without a doubt a visual learner – I have to see it! Like you, unless it’s a simple, short word, don’t spell it for me. It just becomes a jumble of letters in my brain. If you’re going to give me directions, I want to see it drawn on a map (with north at the top please!). Maps are great! Give them to me verbally and it will go in one ear and out the other and you’ll just have to start over once I find something to write with and draw a map. I’m the same with recipes. If I ask someone for their recipe for something, I’m looking for a written version. If they start rattling off the list, by the second ingredient, it’s lost somewhere in my brain. In school, the hardest teachers for me were the ones who would just stand and lecture without the aid of overheads or writing things on the board. I need to be able to visualize it in my brain and words just don’t make good pictures for me. On the other hand, I’m great at finding my way through a maze on paper, working word searches, and Sudoku, plus I really get optical illusions – visual again....
• October 8, 2009, Rob writes: @Shannah - I was amazed by what you wrote ... I also know most names by where the students are on my seating chart! :-D @Michael - In recent years, in my teaching, I've been trying to write more on the overhead or the board, knowing that it's helpful to those who are visual learners. I laughed about your exchanges with your peers that border on being didactic. :-) @Terry - If only the folks at Caseway Insurance Company had known that! @b.j. - It sounds as if your parents did a good job of knowing their children and teaching to meet their specific needs. In Survey of French Lit right now we're studying the 16th century. Rabelais had some definite ideas about teaching, as does Montaigne (our author for this next Monday). It's interesting to see the similarities and differences in their respective approaches. @Janet - Of course, you may use the quotation. Glad it was timely for you. @Vikki - That was interesting. You, Shannah, and I (as visual learners) share so many things in common.
• October 8, 2009, Kathleen writes: Speaking of little old ladies who call it like it is... There's an elderly lady in our church who on Wednesday told us about a little boy she saw in a charity shop taking things off the shelf. She asked him, "What do you think you're doing?" He told her, "I'm just looking." Her response? "You look with your eyes, not your fingers!" We need some more like her!! That picture of the road made me think of "Spaghetti Junction". http://www.birmingham-photos.co.uk/PB3/C4/PB3p56.htm Not quite as confusing, but still plenty of fun to navigate. And yes, it is called Spaghetti Junction, you even hear them talking about it by that name on the traffic reports. I suspect that most people (me included) don't even know the real name.
• October 8, 2009, Heather writes: I'm a kinesthetic learner. I can learn visually, but sometimes I find visuals either too complicated or redundant. I can also learn aurally, but it's not predictable. I do learn well from textbooks, but I have to mentally take the concept apart and put it back together again before I understand it. I can't just visualize it; in fact, I'm not entirely certain what "visualization" is. To memorize anything (Scripture, poetry, etc.) I have to write it out perhaps scores of times. Back in Bible Doctrines, I tried memorizing the verses from those little note cards; after hours of staring to little avail, I gave up and went back to writing the verses out. A small part of me empathizes with the little boy in the store, even though I realize that the appearances were questionable -- I have to handle something to "see" it. Just looking is inadequate. I have tried many times to learn to understand the great paintings of Western art, but since there's nothing to handle physically, I don't get it. I appreciate the composition, the theory, the history, and maybe even the artist's state of mind. I am moved by the beauty of it. But it's just a picture. I *do* understand music because I can take it apart, put it back together, change it, experiment with it, and then perform it. As a teacher, my single greatest challenge is to communicate concepts in an intelligible fashion to my visual students (in particular). My own way just doesn't work. Kudos to B.J.'s mom for effective creativity in communication!
• October 9, 2009, Carrie writes: I think I'm visual too. The other day my dad was spelling our street name to confirm it and I got lost! Maybe that's another problem though. . . I love the binary quote -- sometimes in a college lecture when I was getting sleepy (never in yours!) I would do math in binary. :) .-= Carrie's most recent blog post ... When He Was Old =-.
• October 10, 2009, Laura writes: I'm strongly visual. I'm great at math . . . but NEVER read me a string of numbers and expect me to be able to juggle the relationships in my head. Language-by-ear is a little better. It has been interesting to be a homeschool mom, and trying to find workarounds for youngsters who learn differently. It was hugely disappointing when my firstborn didn't "get" the BJUP French (the pictures in the book bring back memories!)--thanks for the recommendation of Rosetta Stone. It has been a huge success because of its multi-modal presentation--a great fit for all. The other day SR had a hard time with her Algebra II. She was supposed to be dealing with variables with positive and negative exponents, simplifying a big mix of variables in fraction form. Doing it on paper and talking through it did NOT help. She has to handle things somehow, so we got out colored blocks and found a way to do it with those. CLICK! She got it. She also has to write out her Bible verses for study, just like Heather, in the comment above. Another in our crew has a severe auditory processing problem, but somehow he learns his Bible verses best when I repeat them to him orally. We break them up into segments that he can place on separate fingers of his hand so he has a "road map" to follow as he recites them back. It seems funny to me that hearing the verse works for him when auditory processing is his weak spot, but I was reading somewhere that kids with that problem lack an "inner voice" and that gives them problems with reading and other activities where they need to hear themselves think, so maybe having someone else supply the voice is what helps. He does well in other school tasks with a *combination* of visual (whiteboard notes) and auditory cues to be sure things get filed in his brain properly. I thought it was really neat that somebody found a way to use SCENT to help in school. My favorite tool is probably the white board. We use it for dealing with conflict resolution as well as actual schooling. Getting stuff down in print as we talk helps everyone remember where we are in the process and to be objective in an otherwise stressful situation. There's nothing like stress to keep folks from thinking straight in any form--visual/auditory/or other!

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This past weekend a friend posted on my Facebook wall a link to an article at the Telegraph.co.uk about a new McDonald's opening at the Louvre in Paris. I experienced mixed reactions to this announcement. As a tourist, I know how nice it is to find something familiar while traveling, but as one having relatives in France, I share their disdain of the encroachment of American pop culture in their country.

A few years back we decided to go out for dinner to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Corona. When we arrived we saw on the sign out front that it was "Mariachi night." When we went inside, we saw that the restaurant was all decked out for St. Patrick's Day — green balloons, streamers, etc. everywhere. As we ate our dinner, we were surprised that the special music ended up not being a Mariachi band after all. It was an Oompah band! It was just too weird, sitting there eating Mexican, surrounded by Irish decorations, and listening to German polka music played by people with Southern accents and wearing Lederhosen and Dirndels!

That bizarre mix of dissimilar ethnicities here in the good ol' USA is no longer uncommon in our "American experience," especially as we rush faster and faster towards globalization. Our world is becoming increasingly interconnected and networked. Even if there are aspects of that that we do not like, very few of us would be willing to give up what we currently enjoy that is possible, thanks to globalization.

Here are several bits of humor that highlight some of the effects of globalization.

I recently received an e-mail showing the contrast between school buses in Japan and in India.

Here are several pictures of a Japanese school bus.

Here's an Indian school bus.

And where do our calls for tech support go — Japan or India???

With tech support and actual production being outsourced overseas, here's a thought-provoking piece.

Global economy and outsourcing

Joe Smith started the day early, having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN) for 6 a.m.

While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA) was perking, he shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG).

He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA), designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE) and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA).

After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet (MADE IN INDIA) he sat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO) to see how much he could spend today.

After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN) to the radio (MADE IN INDIA) he got in his car (MADE IN GERMANY), filled it with gas (FROM SAUDI ARABIA), and continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN JOB.

At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day, Joe decided to relax for a while. He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL) and turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA), and then his DVD Player (MADE IN CHINA).

He took out a movie (MADE IN JAPAN), made some microwave (MADE IN THAILAND) popcorn (MADE IN TAIWAN) and wondered why he couldn't find a good paying job in ... AMERICA.

Now he’s hoping he can get help from his president (MADE IN KENYA or AMERICA???) who is extremely pro-globalization.

Question: What is the best definition of Globalization?

Answer: Princess Diana's death

Question: How's that?!

Answer: An English princess with an Egyptian boyfriend crashes in a French tunnel, in a German car with a Dutch engine, driven by a Belgian who was drunk on Scottish whiskey, followed closely by Italian Paparazzi, on Japanese motorcycles, treated by an American doctor, using Brazilian medicines.

This is posted on a blog by an American and read in over 100 countries by people of who-knows-what nationalities on computers that use Taiwanese chips, and a Korean monitors, assembled by Bangladeshi workers in a Singapore plant, transported by Indian truck drivers in trucks fueled by Middle Eastern oil, hijacked by Indonesians, unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen, and possibly trucked to you by illegal aliens.

Now that is Globalization!

Here's a cartoon that expresses the feelings of many towards everything that's going on in the world today, including globalization.

I agree that this world is going crazier and crazier with each passing day. The Bible tells us that in the end days there will be a one-world just about everything. This world is definitely moving towards what the Lord has planned, and no man can stay His hand. What is going to happen is going to happen. That's not fatalism — it's a fact, plain and simple. As a believer, it is a huge comfort to know that the image below is a clearer picture of how things actually are.

What are you thoughts on globalization?

quotation...

"There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you." - Will Rogers

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

The world is full of willing people: some willing to work and some willing to let them.

Comments

• October 5, 2009, Doodie writes: I had mixed emotions when I read that there would be a McDonald's in the Louvre! Kudos to American ingenuity, but not in the Louvre! I half expect to read that Colonel Sanders snagged a spot in Notre Dame.
• October 6, 2009, Rob writes: @Doodie - When we were in China in 2006, we spent several days in Beijing before coming back to the States. We were thrilled to find several American fast food restaurants within easy walking distance of our hotel — McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and KFC. These are all places that we rarely, if ever, eat at here at home. But for us they were our only safe option while in Beijing. We were warned by Chinese people not to try to eat in Chinese restaurants without a local Chinese person along. They would know whether a given restaurant was clean and they would be able to read the menu, something we could not do. We were told that very few Chinese restaurants would have menus with English translations. Even at those American fast food restaurants, we had to rely on pictures and point at what we wanted. The people behind the counters did not speak English. And we were within minutes on foot from Tiananmen Square! Those fast foods were filled mainly with Chinese people, with us being almost the only foreigners. Just this morning I ran across a picture of a McDonald's in Russia.

  

• October 6, 2009, Jonathan writes: In my limited travel experience, the menus in foreign McDonalds differ greatly from American McDonalds (Especially in Asia). The key elements of culture that are non-negotiable to the locals are usually respected. (ie in Belgium waitresses still bring your beverage to your table. One thing they have in common is the value meal. However, I tend to stay away from American food when I travel.
• October 6, 2009, Michael writes: I think we conservatives can be guilty of a type of globalism that we may not often consider. We desire to intervene in the affairs of other countries in order to make them more American. We want their economies to free market and we want their governments to be democratic. Yet, that may not be best for that country. We try impose our way on them and in the process we turn them off to America. For those of us who are believers, this should especially concern us since in rejecting our country they may reject Christianity too. We should seek to be all things to all men that we might save some. And, that's an awesome school bus in Japan!
• October 7, 2009, Uwe writes: I must confess that I have very mixed feelings concerning this issue (globalization). On the one hand: What could be better than working on the subject of establishing a worldwide communication? In this sense, to substitute enmity by friendly behaviour and esteeming treatment towards each other and perhaps even more in the good sense. But on the other hand we as Christians know that true peace begins with and depends on changing of our hearts which is only be achieved by accepting of Christ Jesus. So I fear that this actually tendency of globalization in fact is driven by powers of darkness with the aim to prepare the way for the antichrist. And the capitalistic principle is the engine! That is, to look for new markets to become more and more rich, and to get more and more might and influence. Nothing is enough, it must go on and go on and go on - where to???
• October 7, 2009, Rob writes: @Jonathan - You've pointed out something interesting. We were surprised that the McDonald's restaurants in France serve all kinds of things that aren't on our menus here, among them beer! The McDo's in France had McFlurries before we did here. The cappucino McFlurry was wonderful. I think it would be a hit here if they offered it. @Michael - When the United States was considering going to war with Iraq to take to deliver those people from tyranny and give them democracy, one of my cousins in France accused us, not of globalization, but of hegemony. He contended that France was not guilty of being an unfaithful friend to America, as Americans were claiming. He said that France felt that what we were contemplating was wrong from their point of view and they did not want to join us in doing something wrong. Interesting point of view, no? I agree that the gospel is far more important than any political or economic model and that some of what others consider "Christian America" (which we know is an oxymoron) is responsible for turning others off to Christianity. @Uwe - Thank you for your thoughts on this. I agree that working towards global understanding and peace is a worthy goal. As you have stated, true peace begins in the hearts of people, and only the Lord can bring peace to individual hearts. Turbulent, hate-filled hearts cannot live at peace with themselves, let alone with other turbulent, hate-filled hearts. I guess that's why the Lord told us that until He makes things right some day, there will be wars and rumors of wars. I love His reign of peace in my heart and long for His reign of peace throughout this crazy world. Thanks for commenting, Uwe!
• October 7, 2009, b.j. writes: From experience, I agree with (and am as frustrated as) that person looking for the job! How did you get a picture of my sister in Russia? haha. It does look like her, and she would ride her horse everywhere if it were possible!

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On my blog I poke fun at all sorts of things, good-naturedly, of course. It's especially fun when it's something that I know I am also guilty of. The other day I said something in class and immediately realized that what I had said was redundant. I pointed out to my students what I had said. I figured it was at least marginally on topic — I teach French and linguistic redundancies are undoubtedly possible in every language.

Here's a dictionary definition of the word:

re·dun·dan·cy (noun), 1. The state of being redundant. 2. A superfluity; an excess. 3. Unnecessary repetition.

Here's a fun visualization of redundancy that I found online:

Newscasters and politicians, possibly because of the sheer amount of speaking they do, seem to offer up quite a few redundancies. The other day in connection with Swine Flu (H1N1) I heard one person call it a "world-wide pandemic disease." But they don't have a monopoly on redundancy. Yesterday I heard someone talking about "two twins." And for some reason, all of my high school social studies teachers used to say "irregardless."

Some redundancies might not even strike people as being redundant, until further reflection, like "government deficits." Some redundancies result from adding a superfluous modifier to a word that is already an absolute, like "quite unique" or "very true." Though we say these things innocently, they are still redundancies that we repetitiously repeat again and again over and over. You get the point, which is why say it twice?

I had an extremely long list of redundancies in my files and found some even longer lists online. Rather than repeating those lists, here are some of my personal favorites:

academic scholar
ACT test
and etc.
automatic ATM machine
brief moment
completely unanimous
conniption fit
déjà vu all over again (Thanks, Yogi Berra!)
down under
eliminate altogether
empty hole
exact replica
first of all
free gift
honest truth
hopes and aspirations
I thought to myself....
immortalized forever
individual person
join together
live audience
may possibly
near vicinity
new innovations
nostalgia for the past
not one single person
null and void
original source
other alternatives
over again
over and above
P.I.N. number
passing fad
personal friend
please RSVP
polar opposites
preplanning
refer back
safe haven
see with one's own eyes
serious danger
sink down
small speck
spinning around
sudden impulse
sufficient enough
surrounded on all sides
temporary reprieve
terrible tragedy
totally demolished
unexpected surprise
unsolved mystery
vacillating back and forth
water hydrant
widow woman
with au jus gravy
written down
young child

You can read a great explanation of redundancies and see a l-o-n-g list of them at http://www.wordfocus.com/pleonasm.html. Another great site — http://grammar.about.com/od/words/a/redundancies.htm — puts the redundant element in parentheses, thus showing the part of the expression that would be sufficient.

Speaking of redundancies, birthdays can sometimes be "same-old-same-old." However this year my birthday was anything but that. When I arrived at my office yesterday morning, I found decorations all over the door, with students' names on the various objects.

I thought, "Cute! Some of my students wanted to surprise me." And then I opened the door.... Oh my! There weren't many square inches of floor space not covered with balloons.

My office mate had left our door unlocked at the end of the day Tuesday to give the "interior decorators" access. After we had fun breaking the balloons later in the morning yesterday, my office mate wanted to take a picture of a jubilant me. Here's the "birthday garçon."

Last evening, the organizer of the decorations posted some pictures on her Facebook profile. Here's a composite of several:

Merci, mes chers étudiants! You helped make this September 30th anything but redundant!

Several readers have asked me how my birthday apple dumplings were. They were unbelievable! Thanks, Dear!

Last evening Becka and I went to Firehouse Subs for dinner. Last year I signed up for their birthday club, and last week I received a card to be used for a free medium sub sandwich. Our fave is the Italian sub. Mmm!

My friend Phil and I have a longstanding tradition of taking each other out for lunch to celebrate our birthdays. Today he took me downtown to the Mellow Mushroom where we split a cheese calzone with pepperoni. I'd never been there before and plan to take my wife there in the future.

My birthday may eventually conclude this weekend when Becka and I use the coupon I got from the Birthday Club at Cold Stone Creamery for a free "Like It Create Your Own Creation."

Do you have any favorite redundancies that you love to use or that make you cringe when you hear them?

quotation...

"Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself." - Mark Twain

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

As I've said before, I never repeat myself.

Comments

• October 1, 2009, David writes: I know I'm going to offend a couple prescriptivists and step on some toes, but I'm not sure that redundancies are always a bad thing. Some of them just have a poetic sound ("widow woman" or "wider woman" and "vacillating back and forth"). Others in the list (e.g. "null and void," "conniption fit," and "safe haven") are just idiomatic expressions. You can hate them, but it's futile to try to get rid of them. My linguistic side is winning out over my prescriptivist side in this debate. Besides as a sys admin, I think redundancy is a great thing. :-)
• October 1, 2009, Nancy writes: I think in light of your advancing years that I should add this redundancy: old antique. (Those new antiques are hardly worth a thing.)
• October 1, 2009, Laura writes: Happy Birthday (hopefully that could be considered a good redundancy)!! Your birthday is just one day after my fiance's. :)
• October 1, 2009, Carol 'Ro' writes: My favorite redundancy is CHAI TEA!!!!!
• October 1, 2009, Doodie writes: Here in Clearwater, FL, we have several (believe it or not) newscasters who say, with great regularity, "It happened at four a.m. in the morning" (or whatever time it was). This drives me nuts.
• October 1, 2009, Heather writes: Recently noted on my credit union's website: "Turn your loose change into cash!" Also noted on the same website, the following isn't redundant, but it made me look twice: "Scan your smile and win a shredder!" I'm not sure I want to know the rationale on that one.
• October 2, 2009, Tawnja Schaffner writes: I think the worst and most used is "each and every."
• October 2, 2009, Michael writes: I think redundancies bother my wife more than they bother me. I know I've heard her comment about wedding invitations that have "please RSVP". I have been guilty of saying things like "very unique". Other things bother me more. One that really gets me is when a person prefaces what they're saying with "honestly" or "to tell you the truth". That makes me wonder about the veracity of what they had told me up to that point. Glad your week of birthday is going well. Those restaurants you're enjoying are some of our favorites as well.
• October 2, 2009, Gayle writes: I can't believe your office mate didn't take you to Sonic!! :)
• October 2, 2009, Ann writes: "Free gift" is often not a redundancy when you read the fine print. It means that the gift itself is free, but you must pay an exorbitant amount for shipping and handling. Something that isn't a redundancy but that always tickles me when I hear it usually in a bj service is: "Please stand to your feet." I often wonder what the speaker thinks the congregation might do if he didn't specify "feet."
• October 2, 2009, Rob writes: @David and several others - I reread what I wrote and cannot find where I said I hated redundancies or where I said they were "bad." I'm merely pointing out the fact that some expressions are redundant and poking fun at them. Didn't I preface the list I gave as "my personal favorites"? :-D Some have, indeed, become idiomatic in our language, but that doesn't change the fact that the expressions contain unnecessary repetitions. I will go on the record as finding some redundancies somewhat irritating and frankly dumb. But as you can see from some of the other comments, some people are really bothered by them. @Nancy - "Old antique" is a redundancy used often by my dearly departed stepfather ... not in reference to me, I might add, and back when I was a "young antique." @Laura - I didn't know your fiancé was a day older than I! Hope his birthday was as happy as mine was. Thanks for the wishes. @Carol - I never thought about the fact that the expression "chai tea" is a redundancy, but it is! @Doodie - I'll bet that's particularly annoying when you wake up and hear something like that on the 6 a.m. Morning News. :-) @Heather - Good one about loose change not being money. The thing about the shredder is a puzzlement. @Tawnja - In some languages that redundancy would not even be possible since you would have to use the same word twice. @Michael - The ones like "very unique" are the type of redundancies that I know I let slip with the most often frequency. @Gayle - Believe it or not, he and I have never gone to Sonic together! @Ann - Not to be a contentious hair-splitter, but can anything truly be a gift if it costs you something, even for P & H? I've known of cases where the P & H charges were so high that they had to totally cover the cost of the "gift" also. "Stand to your feet" is indeed a tad bizarre. But I have been known to sit on my feet. :-)
• October 5, 2009, b.j. writes: I find that it is easy to be redundant when using acronyms, since so many are old or used so much that people don't even remember what they stand for. (such as please RSVP) I know a lot of people who don't even know what RSVP stands for -- just "make a reservation"? It's not redundant, but since I'm on the subject of unknown acronyms, my favorite is golf! You have the PGA, which is known as the Professional Golf Association, but the word GOLF is an acronym in itself. Which makes the WPGA the Women's Professional Golf Association, or more correctly, the Women's Professional Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden Association. Ha ha! Talk about messing with political correctness there! If more people really knew what it stood for, would they change the name of golf? Eh, probably not. They're too busy picking on Christmas right now, I guess. :-)
• October 6, 2009, Rob writes: @b.j. - What you've said is valid, I'm sure. There are quite a few acronyms for which I could not supply all the components.
• October 6, 2009, Roy Hooper writes: When I travel by air I am thankful to know that there are redundant systems in place. Redundancies can be a "good thing". Roy
• October 7, 2009, Rob writes: @Roy - You've pointed out one of the places where redundancies are indeed desirable. Extra measures taken for safety are, in my book, necessary redundancies! :-D

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I never thought I'd be a "swinger" in my old age. But this past weekend, I was a swinger, of sorts. As I related in my last post, my son and I joined over 100 other men from our church to go to the Wilds for a men's retreat. It was a wonderful weekend, in spite of the rain. The messages we heard from Dr. Dick Stratton were super and the fellowship was great. Because of the rain and mud, Mark and I weren't really tempted to do the hike to the second falls, opting to play some indoor games instead.

In the afternoon, however, we enjoyed some outdoor activities in some light drizzle. We started off with the Land Trolley, then the Giant Swing, then 18 holes of miniature golf before heading inside for some Foosball and air hockey. Shortly after we went inside, the drizzle became the torrents that continued the rest of our time there and on our drive home after dinner.

Here are several pictures of us doing the Giant Swing. We were "suited up" first.

Here we are awaiting our ascent.

Here we are going up, with me holding on to my glasses.

Here we are on that breathtaking initial drop.

I hope I'm never "too old" to enjoy that!

There are some perks to getting older...

Finally you can eat dinner at 4:00 if you want to.

Kidnappers are not very interested in you.

People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.

Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.

Your eyes won't get too much worse.

Things you buy now won't wear out.

You can have a party and the neighbors don't even realize it.

You quit trying to hold your stomach in, no matter who walks into the room.

No one expects you to run into a burning building.

You know the words to elevator music and can sing along.

There's nothing left to learn the hard way

Your joints are more accurate than the National Weather Service.

In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.

The other day I received a story that I knew I should include with this post. I don't know who wrote this — so the "my wife" is not my wife.

The $2.99 Special

We went to breakfast at a restaurant where the "seniors' special" was two eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast for $2.99.

"Sounds good," my wife said. "But I don't want the eggs."

"Then, I'll have to charge you three dollars and forty-nine cents because you're ordering a la carte," the waitress warned her.

"You mean I'd have to pay for not taking the eggs?" my wife asked incredulously.

"Yes," stated the waitress.

"I'll take the special then," my wife said.

"How do you want your eggs?" the waitress asked.

"Raw and in the shell," my wife replied.

She took the two eggs home and baked a cake. Don't mess with seniors!

Yesterday my family celebrated my birthday, which is this week. My wife posted the recipe for the birthday dessert I requested. Mmm!!!

The whole family went together to buy me something I've wanted since our big road trip this summer — a GPS.

That's not really a picture of my GPS. I'm going to see if mine can get me to campus this morning.

For some things, I'm already considered a "senior," but for others I'm not. It's almost like having my learner's permit and waiting till I'm "old enough" to get my driver's license! Any thoughts on aging?

quotation...

"The greatest gift you can give [your church] is to love God with all your heart." - Dick Stratton

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

Frequent naps prevent old age, especially if taken while driving.

Comments

• September 28, 2009, b.j. writes: I sent that "frequent naps" comment to my brother. Rather fitting for him, but I'm sure he'll get the humor in it. Happy birthday!
• September 28, 2009, Brian Larson writes: another perk to being a senior is: "You can hide your own Easter Eggs."
• September 28, 2009, Vikki writes: Did you find your way to work OK or did it leave you about a half mile down the road? We love our GPS, but there have been a number of times it has "done us wrong". It's tried to send us through one subdivision to another and the two aren't connected by any roads. Another time it had us turn right on a highway and down about a mile when the actual location was to turn left and drive about a mile. It's also has told us we arrived when the actual location was about a half mile further down the road. Another interesting thing we found is that it will take us one route out of our subdivision, but when returning back it will take us a different route. GPS's also doesn't like Greenville because of all the turns and twists in the roads. So, at times it will take a longer route or tell you to turn from on street to another when in actuality the street is only changing name. We've learned to always have a set of written directions along also. But, all in all, we really love ours!
• September 28, 2009, Michael writes: I don't have a lot of experience with getting older and based on how you normally act, I don't believe you do either. :) Excellent post about the $2.99 special. That's the way to work the system. Enjoy your GPS. It's great if you don't know where you're going or are unfamiliar with your surroundings, but here are two tips. 1. If you have local knowledge of an area, trust that over the GPS to find the quickest route. 2. Keep a road atlas handy in case you run into a detour.
• September 28, 2009, Barbara H. writes: You look like you're saluting in the third photo. :-) A belated happy birthday to you! My husband has a GPS because he travels for his job, and it was nice to use on our trip to and from OK for Jason's wedding -- especially when looking for a mechanic when a bridesmaid's car broke down. It's not perfect, but it is a great help. .-= Barbara H.'s most recent blog post ... The Official Wedding Photos =-.
• September 28, 2009, Rob writes: @b.j. - Was your brother amused? Thanks for the birthday greetings. @Brian - So is that why we can't always find all the eggs we hide...? @Vikki - I made it to work fine with the assistance of the GPS. She did say, however, that the campus was ahead on the right, then a few feet later that it was ahead on the left. Hmm.... @Michael - Thanks for the vote of confidence in my "youthfulness." :-) Thanks, too, for the good advice about GPS usage. This summer, when we went to my aunt's house in the St. Louis area, our daughter and son-in-law's GPS got us very close to her house, but it didn't know that what had formerly been a through-street had been closed off. I had to call my aunt and ask for further instructions, when we were actually mere minutes from her house. Glad you liked the story about the $2.99 breakfast special. @Barbara - I thought the same thing about my pose in that 3rd picture. That's why I clarified that I was holding on to my glasses. As far as the accuracy of the GPS is concerned, you can see my comment to Michael right above this one. I'm so glad I got to see Jason and Mittu's wedding pictures!
• September 29, 2009, Marilyn Donnell writes: I've been seeing a new doctor lately. After my consultations are completed, as I cross back over the street to the carpark there is a "little old lady" who walks straight toward me (my reflection in the office windows on the opposite side). And I mean she really does look "old" - a lot older than me.
• September 29, 2009, Heidi writes: I heard something hilarious on NPR's Morning Edition. Here's the actual transcript:

  September 28, 2009 STEVE INSKEEP, host: Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. The first President Bush completed a parachute jump on his 85th birthday last summer, but he'll have to keep going to catch up with Jane Bockstruck. She went skydiving on her 92nd birthday. The plane was at 13,000 feet when she tumbled out the door. Her jump instructor says she had perfect form. Now that it's over, Bockstruck tells The Sentinel newspaper in Keene, New Hampshire that she does not remember jumping. It's MORNING EDITION.

  In light of this blog post, I not only hope you are never too old to do it, but also that you're never to old to remember that you did!!! :)
• September 29, 2009, Rob writes: @Marilyn - That is so funny. Even looking at the picture of me suited up to go on the swing, my hair looks a lot grayer than it looks in the mirror. @Heidi - Thanks for sharing that! LOL!!! :-D
• September 30, 2009, Tawnja Schaffner writes: Happy birthday!
• September 30, 2009, Vikki writes: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROB ! ! ! ! ! ! You'll have to let us know how the apple dumplings turned out. Oh, and another good thing about getting old is that you can make the same new friends every day!
• October 1, 2009, Rob writes: @Tawnja and Vikki - Thanks for the birthday greetings. The apple dumplings were superb!

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There are not many things I enjoy more than being in the woods of Western North Carolina in the fall. Becka and I go up there several times each fall, just for the day. If you're a long time iv reader, you know that I try to go camping up in that area one weekend each fall with my son Mark and with my friend Phil and his sons. This year our various schedules just don't mesh. Read about last year's adventure in my post called Camping Tips. This year instead of going camping, Mark and I will be going to a men's retreat at the Wilds this weekend. I'll tell more about it at the end of this post.

As I look forward to this weekend, I decided to post some humor from our nation's Forest Service personnel and rangers. What follows is comments and questions from visitors.

Forest Service Complaints
This list circulated for a while among Forest Service employees. These are supposedly actual comments on Forest Service registration sheets and comment cards by backpackers completing wilderness camping trips:

"A small deer came into my camp and stole my bag of pickles. Is there a way I can get reimbursed? Please call."

"Escalators would help on steep, uphill sections."

"Instead of a permit system or regulations, the Forest Service needs to reduce worldwide population growth to limit the number of visitors to wilderness."

"Trails need to be wider so people can walk while holding hands."

"Ban walking sticks in wilderness. Hikers that use walking sticks are more likely to chase animals."

"All the mile markers are missing this year."

"Found a smoldering cigarette left by a horse."

"Trails need to be reconstructed. Please avoid building trails that go uphill."

"Too many bugs and leeches and spiders and spider webs. Please spray the wilderness to rid the area of these pests."

"Please pave the trails so they can be plowed of snow in the winter."

"Chair lifts need to be in some places so that we can get to wonderful views without having to hike to them."

"The coyotes made too much noise last night and kept me awake. Please eradicate these annoying animals."

"Reflectors need to be placed on trees every 50 feet so people can hike at night with flashlights."

"Need more signs to keep area pristine."

"A McDonald's would be nice at the trailhead."

"The places where trails do not exist are not well marked."

"Too many rocks in the mountains."

These are questions that people actually asked of park rangers around the country. Some of the questions are as breathtaking as the landscapes that inspired them. (excerpted from Outside Magazine)

Grand Canyon National Park
Was this man made?
Do you light it up at night?
I bought tickets for the elevator to the bottom — where is it?
Is the mule train air conditioned?
So where are the faces of the presidents?

Everglades National Park
Are the alligators real?
Are the baby alligators for sale?
Where are all the rides?
What time does the two o'clock bus leave?

Mesa Verde National Park
Did people build this, or did Indians?
Why did they build the ruins so close to the road?
Do you know of any undiscovered ruins?
What did they worship in the kivas — their own made-up religion?
Why did the Indians decide to live in Colorado?

Carlsbad Caverns National Park
How much of the cave is underground?
So what's in the unexplored part of the cave?
Does it ever rain in here?
How many ping pong balls would it take to fill this up?
So what is this — just a hole in the ground?

Yosemite National Park
Where are the cages for the animals?
What time do you turn on Yosemite Falls?
What happened to the other half of Half Dome?
Can I get my picture taken with the carving of President Clinton?

Denali National Park
What time do you feed the bears?
What's so wonderful about Wonder Lake?
Can you show me where the yeti lives?
How often do you mow the tundra?
How much does Mount McKinley weigh?

Yellowstone National Park
Does Old Faithful erupt at night?
How do you turn it on?
When does the guy who turns it on get to sleep?
We had no trouble finding the park entrances, but where are the exits?

As I promised, here are a few details about this weekend. Many of the men from our church, Hampton Park Baptist Church, will be going to the Wilds for a men's retreat that happens for us every three years. The speaker is Dr. Dick Stratton, president of Clearwater Christian College. He'll also be speaking at our church this Sunday morning, if any of you locals would like to come hear him there. He was a very active member of our church before the Lord called him to Clearwater. It will be great to see him again and to hear the messages the Lord has laid on his heart for us.

I'm looking forward to the retreat for the spiritual refreshment, the fellowship, and some of the great outdoor activities available at the Wilds. We're hoping that the heavy rains that have hit that part of North Carolina will not keep us men from doing some of those fun activities. For sure I hope the rain will hold off long enough Saturday afternoon to allow those of us who want to (and that includes me!) to go for a ride on the 65-foot (20-meter) "Giant Swing."

I found two videos of the Giant Swing on YouTube — one from ground, watching a pair of people swing, and the other from the swing itself. You can watch the videos on my blog or on YouTube itself, whichever works best for you.

The Giant Swing from the ground:

The Giant Swing from the swing itself:

I'll let you know in my next blog post if Mark and I got to do the Giant Swing. It will be a wonderful weekend either way.

Do you love being outdoors in the autumn? If so, what do you like best?

quotation...

"It's much more difficult to be irritated with people you're praying for." Drew Conley

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

A flashlight is a case for holding dead batteries.

Comments

• September 24, 2009, Brian writes: Uh oh! Does that mean I might run into you when I go on the Mount Calvary men's retreat at the WILDS this weekend ? I like how they remodelled the area around the swing. The mini golf wasn't there the last time I was at the WILDS.
• September 24, 2009, Michael writes: I'm excited you and Mark get to go to the Wilds. I've done the Giant Swing once and don't care to do so again. More power to you. Fall is my favorite time of year. The weather is cool and crisp. I can break out sweaters that I enjoy wearing. I do enjoy going on hikes but my wife and I have not yet done that in our married life. I enjoy doing yardwork in the fall and going to sporting events. Fall is lots of fun. As for the funny comments in your post, what a commentary many of them are on human nature. We want the glorious views and experiences in life without having to put forth any effort to get there. When, in reality, the struggle of the climb makes the view at the top all the more satisfying.
• September 24, 2009, b.j. writes: Pretty sure you don't have enough money to get me on that thing. Nope.
• September 24, 2009, Julie Rich writes: This post brought back a memory of something that one of my younger cousins said years ago. She was only about 8 and grew up in a suburb of Chicago, so rural life was foreign to her. She was with our grandparents, traveling to their home in southern, RURAL, Missouri. As they got closer to where our grandparents lived (EXTREMELY rural), my cousin looked out the window and exclaimed, "Wow...you sure have a lot of nature around here!" (Our grandparents lived on 40 acres of woods, with only 2 acres cleared for the house, a small barn, and their yard.)
• September 24, 2009, Cindy writes: What I like most about autumn is the smells ... fires in the fireplace, crisp cool morning air. Just a wonderful relaxing time of year to be able to see the glorious sights the majestic colors and have that mix with the smells ... no better time of year. We have such an awesome God.
• September 24, 2009, Laura writes: If you happen to cross paths with the MCBC group this weekend, keep an eye out for the guys in our family. The boys were so excited to hear they might see you there. You'll be surprised to see how much they've grown! Have fun. I probably wouldn't enjoy that swing, so you can have my share of the enjoyment with your own!
• September 25, 2009, Elizabeth writes: This post made me think of a funny story that I needed to share with you. It came to mind reading those questions people have asked at important landmarks. For Valentine’s day my husband and I went to a special event at the Georgia Aquarium. Part of the event included behind the scene tours in groups of about a dozen people. Well, in our group we had the token “question asker” who has to ask a question at every display regardless of whether or not the question makes sense or is relevant. One of the last things we saw was a display of poison dart frogs. The tour guide explained that poison dart frogs get their venom from the fire ants they eat and that these captive bred poison dart frogs never ate fire ants. As he moved away, the question asker stopped him and said, “Do all venomous animals get their venom from what they eat?” Matt and I were laughing so hard we had to stay back from the group to recover. Matt leaned over and said, “Yeah, because you know those poison mice that copperheads eat.” Hope you are doing well! Thanks for making me laugh.
• September 25, 2009, Rob writes: @Brian and Laura I hope I see you this weekend, Brian, and the guys from your family, Laura. And I hope we won't be dodging raindrops. @Michael You and Sweet Abigail need to go do some hiking! I can tell you several nice, non-strenuous hiking trails up in the Pisgah National Forest — no need for an escalator, and still something pretty to look at along the way and at the end. @b.j. You might like it, if you try it. If nothing else, it's fun to watch the people on the swing and hear the moans, groans, and screams. @Julie I'm glad your citified cousin got to see all that nature in rural America once in a while at least. :-) @Cindy Amen to everything you said! @Elizabeth Thanks for making me laugh! :-D
• September 25, 2009, Ruth writes: Maybe you can get someone to take pics/video of you on the Giant Swing. We would all love to see that. :-)
• September 28, 2009, Janel writes: I loved these! As I age, I find it's harder to shock me but the stuff that comes out of people's mouths before they put any thought into their words makes me shake my head with wonder.
• September 28, 2009, Rob writes: @Ruth I'm sure you've discovered by now the pictures of my adventure in the latest blog post. @Janel Yes, if all else fails, think before you speak, huh?! :-D

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As I searched online for better, clearer versions of some of the pictures I had in my files, I ran across a website that sells a special soap used as bait to catch catfish. (I didn't even know you could catch catfish with soap!) One thing in particular that I found amusing is that the company calls its own product Rednecks Catfish Bait Soap. Learn more about it by going to http://www.catfishbaitsoap.com

Of course, the arrival of cold weather does not keep some rednecks from doing things with boats. Here's a redneck ice fishing boat.

If you need to transport your boat to the water, you need a boat trailer. Here's an example of necessity's being "the mother of invention."

Once you get the boat to the water, you need to know how to use a ramp to get it from the trailer into the water.

Since buying a boat can be rather expensive, some people decide to build their own boats. All kinds of designs are available, but I've not seen this one before.

That "boat" would also be great at your destination, if you're planning a picnic!

Here's a more elaborate design for a homemade boat — a pontoon boat, I guess.

Some people dream of owning a houseboat. Here are several different ways rednecks have made that dream come true.

Here's the same houseboat from a different angle.

Here's a variation on that same theme....

Here's one with an upper deck. The woman on the swing at the back of this "houseboat" is cruising along in style.

This one could possibly be called a redneck yacht with that air conditioner in the window.

Some rednecks want a simple boat only for fishing.

Others prefer a boat suitable for recreational activities, like tubing.

Here's the famous Canadian redneck Red Green with his sports utility boat (SUB?)....

If a speedboat is what you want, this redneck's boat looks like the ultimate.

Are you a boating enthusiast? Have you ever seen anything like any of these pictures in your area?

quotation...

"If I can get my heart right, I can work out a lot of things with others." - Drew Conley

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

After eating, do amphibians have to wait one hour before getting out of the water?

Comments

• September 21, 2009, Laura writes: Great post! Some of those boats definitely show a good deal of creativity. I wonder how quickly Magellan and his crew could have circumnavigated the globe if they'd had a boat like the one in that last picture?
• September 22, 2009, Carrie writes: Yikes! Yikes! Yikes! Yikes! Yikes! Yikes! Yikes! I kept saying this! They guy who had the ramp thing backwards may be known as a "wetneck!" .-= Carrie's most recent blog post ... Creative Ways to Meet One's New Neighbors =-.
• September 22, 2009, Dahv writes: I always enjoy your funny picture posts! Keep them coming! Dahv (>'-')> '('.')' <('-'<)
• September 22, 2009, Rob writes: @Laura As much as we make fun of rednecks, you have to applaud their inventiveness. Magellan might have had trouble with the needs to refuel many times, mid-ocean.... @Carrie Maybe, as a sailor, he was merely a little wet behind the ears.
• September 22, 2009, Katy writes: LOL, where do you find this stuff??? .-= Katy's most recent blog post ... Should I tell kids about my past? =-.
• September 22, 2009, Rob writes: @Katy Glad you got a laugh out of the post. I explained at the beginning of a recent post - Random Funny Pictures - where I get a lot of "my stuff." People just send me lots of very funny things that I file away, tidy up, and post when the time seems right.
• September 23, 2009, John Elsea writes: There are actually companies that rent out floating platforms for you to drive your RV onto just like the one in the eighth photo. Usually they are found on the little "big" rivers like the Tennessee or Ohio. Big Muddy (the Mississippi) is just too dangerous for that sort of thing! One of the inflatable companies (Zodiac, I think) makes the souped up boat in the last photo. Not truly redneck in my book, unless you consider the fact that I think I want it!
• September 25, 2009, Rob writes: @John That's interesting about the boats for transporting RV's. Makes sense. In that picture, though, it looks as if they're set up for more than short-term transport, with the lawn chair sitting there. I found the last picture of the souped-up boat on a site with other distinctively redneck pictures. It is a pretty nice boat compared to most redneck boats, but somehow how you can almost hear the redneck boat enthusiast yelling out from that boat the infamous "last words of a redneck" — "Hey, watch this!" :-)
• September 28, 2009, Rob writes: @Dahv I just found your comment in the spam folder, of all places! I'm sorry I didn't notice it sooner. Thanks for your encouragement on the funny picture posts — I'm glad you like them.

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One of the interesting facets of having completed 36 years of teaching is the observable differences between today's students and those that I taught at the beginning of my career. There's no difference, of course, in IQ — my current students are every bit as bright as those I taught "back in the last millennium," as I love to say when referring to my younger years. One thing I do notice, though, is that what today's students know and don't know is vastly different from what my former students knew and didn't know.

I try to stay current on some aspects of today's pop culture so that I know what my students and others are talking about. I'm not always successful in that endeavor, though — there's just so much to keep up with and so little time! It's quite a balancing act trying to keep up on (dreary) current events and to dabble in several of the many avenues of social networking as well as trying to do as much reading as possible on French Literature from the Middle Ages in preparation for my course lectures. Talk about having one's feet planted in two different worlds!

During one of our many interesting lunch room discussions last school year, a colleague mentioned something he had read online. One professor in a community college contends that he has found only one thing with which his students, who vary greatly in age and background, all seem to be familiar. Here's that portion of the article:

One of the things I try to do on the first night of English 102 is relate the literary techniques we will study to novels that the students have already read. I try to find books familiar to everyone. This has so far proven impossible. My students don't read much, as a rule, and though I think of them monolithically, they don't really share a culture. To Kill a Mockingbird? Nope. (And I thought everyone had read that!) Animal Farm? No. If they have read it, they don't remember it. The Outsiders? The Chocolate War? No and no. Charlotte's Web? You'd think so, but no. So then I expand the exercise to general works of narrative art, meaning movies, but that doesn't work much better. Oddly, there are no movies that they all have seen—well, except for one. They've all seen The Wizard of Oz.

The preceding quotation is from an article in The Atlantic online called "In the Basement of the Ivory Tower" by Professor X (really)

I'm not sure that we could justify applying his findings to all college students in America, but I've made enough allusions to things in the Wizard of Oz in my classes to know that most of my students always seem to catch them. When we learn the French -re verbs, I enjoy presenting one that's not in our book — fondre. I demonstrate its meaning by writhing, sinking down towards the floor, and saying "Je fonds" in a high-pitched voice. Most of my students catch on right away that I'm saying "I'm melting" and imitating the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz. I guess that that would lend some credence to Professor X's statement.

Through the years I've had to drop one reference after another to pop culture as I saw that that year's crop of students no longer recognized the references. I was thrilled this summer to see an ad for a Big Mac using the old "two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun" jingle that will allow me to resurrect a joke I used to love to tell but that had become hopelessly lost on the young.

When students come to us, they know only what they have been exposed to by their families, their schools and churches, their peers, and their own reading. As Professor X stated, many of them don't read much, that is if you don't count text messages and websites.

At this time of year, I always think of the list put out by Beloit College that reminds teachers of the "mindset" of that year's incoming freshman class. If you want to feel old ... even some of you who may only be in your late 20s, check out the list on their website (link is below). Here are a few of my favorite items from this year's list:

BELOIT COLLEGE'S MINDSET LIST (edited) FOR THE CLASS OF 2013
http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2013.php

Most students entering college for the first time this fall were born in 1991. (That fact alone is alarming!)

They have never used a card catalog to find a book.

Salsa has always outsold ketchup.

There has always been blue Jell-O.

The KGB has never officially existed.

Women have always outnumbered men in college.

There have always been flat screen televisions.

Nobody has ever responded to “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”

Margaret Thatcher has always been a former prime minister.

Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream has always been a flavor choice.

I'm very glad to teach in a Christian, liberal arts university where we strive to take our students from where they were when they came to us and to expose them to many cultural ideas with which they are not familiar, but should be. It's been gratifying to me already in this semester's Survey of French Literature class to have students tell me that they were surprised to learn they could enjoy literature from the Middle Ages! It's great fun also to point out various aspects of modern French culture whose roots are in some of the literature we are studying. Ah, the beauty of a liberal arts education!

Do you have a recent experience of finding out how "dated" some of your experiences are when you related them to people younger than you? Any thoughts on the value of a liberal arts education? By the way, please let me know if you did not understand the Venn diagram at the beginning of this post.

quotation...

"God hasn't called us to be hermits or monks." - Drew Conley

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

Young at heart. Slightly older in other places.

Comments

• September 17, 2009, Jenni writes: Thanks for making me feel old! :-)
• September 17, 2009, Dave Stertzbach writes: Love this blog! Don't even get me started! OK, too late. I'm started. Just last night I had a conversation with my children about that time long ago in a land far away when there were no cell phones! They can't imagine a world without microwaves and DVD's any more than I could fathom my mother talking about her family getting their first TV, experiencing the previously unknown joys of "pizza pie", and watching McDonald's grow into a ubiquitous influence. Like The Force™, McDonald's is always present, impossible to control, and might handy in a pinch. Every year at the beginning of the semester some web maven sends out the Beloit College list to ALL STAFF. And every year I get more and more curmudgeonly about it. It used to be surprising. Then it was unfathomable. Now it's just irritating that my "one liners" take half the class period to set up. I'm 36 and a hopeless old goober to the kids I teach -- most of whom were, in fact, born yesterday. My first cultural back-fire was a reference to bionics. I wasn't yet 25. One helpful high school senior piped up from the back, "I think there are re-runs of the show he's talking about on the Sci-Fi channel." Thanks, Nathan. In my Biblical philosophy of music classes I have begun to teach Garlock the same way I teach Plato! The kids have no cultural context in which to place what he says. When I explain to them that "Dr. G." is still very much alive, still reads widely, still ministers in churches, they look at me like I have two heads! It doesn't surprise me anymore when after class someone blurts, "I did not know Plato was your in-laws' music pastor. That is so, like." Last semester I was on my phone before class when two girls walked up to me, "Wow. Pastor Stertzbach texts?" "And look at him," said the other, as if I couldn't hear them. "He's using two thumbs!" I felt like a gereatric gerbal being gawked at behind plate glass. I half expected a reference to my chubby cheeks! I wish I could have come up with a snappy retort like, "Yes, I text. I'm probably faster than you and I can actually spell words." Or "Yes, I text. It's not that complicated compared with learning Bach fugues on the organ." But, alas, my mind is not as quick as it once was....
• September 18, 2009, Becky writes: I didn't get the Venn Diagram. Sorry. I can always "make up" a solution to it, but nothing pops out at me. Some of the things that you are mentioning, however, are things that those of us who live overseas can't relate to as much. IOW, MKs also won't have that basic "core knowledge". It is one thing that MKs spend their first few months just playing catch up to American culture. They spend a lot of time watching, listening and learning. We don't have chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream as a flavor, salsa is hardly available here (and very expensive), jello isn't sold here in blue, (jello, as a brand isn't sold at all here--but we do have other brands and almost all other colors), they haven't been to very much libraries (except on furlough and we've only had one long enough at actually use the library.) I know about the core knowledge though. Our kids have been exposed to things through videos and we actually do own a lot of books. Unfortunately, I've not actually read most of the books you listed in the original article either. :( I missed most of the classics, I guess. Did read Charlotte's Web, though. :)
• September 18, 2009, Rob writes: @Jenni You're welcome. It doesn't take many years at all to do that to you, does it? @Dave So good to hear from you, Dave! I LOL'd several times in reading your comment. I have such vivid memories of you as my "with it" young student that it's hard to think of you the way your students see you. I share your pain in navigating the mine field of comprehensible one-liners. :-D @Becky Don't feel bad. We live here in the middle of American culture and don't always know the things that others seem to. It's impossible to remain on the cusp of all things current. I do what I can, that's all. Whenever we've been in France or China for a month or two, we would come back feeling out of it with what had been going on in the USA, only to realize that it didn't much matter. We caught up on the essentials and let the rest slide quickly away, just as we are doing right now. :-)
• September 18, 2009, Wendy writes: HA HA! This reminded me of a question my daughters asked me some time back about which was my favorite video when I was a kid. I had to laugh and they wanted to know what was so funny. :-) I know I am not TOO old yet but when I was in my early 20's I used to rent a video disc machine and rent video discs to watch on it. Those hung around about as long as the eight-track tapes did, I believe. But, yes, computers?! My kids can't imagine what life could be like without computers and cell phones. (I would have enjoyed having a computer and cell phone when I was a kid. WOW!) Thanks for the fun post, Rob!
• September 18, 2009, Donna writes: I was reminiscing at the beginning of one of my classes on 9/11 about the class I was teaching on the day when a student came in to the computer lab and announced at the beginning of class that America was under attack. I figured out that it was true when I could not get online to any news website at all--we spent pretty much the rest of the hour trying to get news and sharing with the class when we found something. My husband called me when the first tower fell (they had a TV where he was.) Anyway, one of my students looked at me in kind of an awestruck way and said, "You were teaching back then? I was in the 6th grade!" I know in no time at all we will be getting students who don't remember or were not even born on that day. That was the first time I had experienced that generational disconnect thing so vividly. Sigh.
• September 18, 2009, Michael writes: Just this week I made a reference to "Pinky and the Brain" which was a popular cartoon on TV several years ago. In the earlier part of this decade I could make a reference to that show and gets lots of laughs and responses from the kids. This week I had like two kids who even cracked a smile. Wow! Another example involves Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Whenever I get to the Renaissance I like to invoke the names of the turtles since they correspond to four of the great Renaissance masters: Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael. Again, earlier this decade that made a lot of sense to my students but now very few get what I am saying. As for the Wizard of Oz, I'd be afraid to bring up references to that movie because inevitably a student would bring up the controversy about how in the scene where Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man are setting out through the woods there appears to be the silhouette of one of the munchkins hanging himself in the background. Not an urban legend I want to deal with in the middle of history class.
• September 18, 2009, Vikki writes: Love the venn diagram! It does put a great job of visually expressing the OH MY! Wow - I find it amazing how fast the years slip by and reading that list from Beloit College proves it. HOWEVER, what really drives home the point is realizing that my kids – three of which are now over 30 - can say the same!! I remember once, when our kids were teens, something happened and my response was, “Far out!”. It was followed by silence, then laughter, then the big question, “Did you really used to talk like that?!?”. Talking about age and passing time. When I was in high school in the late 60’s and early 70’s, I remember looking at my mother’s yearbook and being amazed at how ridiculous their styles were and how silly they looked and being happy that my kids will never look at MY yearbooks and say that because we look so normal. Sighhhhhhhh…… My kids have never seen my yearbooks . . .
• September 18, 2009, Rob writes: @Wendy Yes, it's amazing how much a part of our lives computers and cell phones have become and how unthinkable life without them is to young people especially. Thanks for the reminder of 8-track tapes. Had one in my Gremlin and in my house stereo. :-D @Donna I remember when you were in high school! Yikes! Now who's getting old? It's a shocker for our family to think that our daughter Megan's first class of 1st graders are now in 10th grade! Tempus fugit, as I always say.... @Michael It's fun to hear a younger teacher like you share your experiences in having your pop culture not be part of your students' set of experiences. This will continue, just so you know up front. :-) I've heard the Munchkin story and don't let things even begin to drift in that direction. That's one reason I prefer Tim Horton's "timbits" to Dunkin Donuts' Munchkins ... just too morbid to eat Munchkins. @Vikki That is so groovy! :-D I had a student tell me one time that the only reason we have yearbooks is to give our children something to laugh at.
• September 18, 2009, Angela writes: It is heartening to know that your students are still being educated in the lore of the Sesame Street Bus! :D
• September 18, 2009, Rob writes: @Angela I'm sure it's reassuring to know that "ça continue." I haven't been able to use it yet ... I does actually have to fit in with the lesson, you know. ;-)
• September 18, 2009, Janet writes: When I first taught high school back in the early 80's, I could explain to the students, that in the time line of TV shows, I was the same age as Cindy and Bobby Brady. That gave them reference to what our styles were (with longer hem lines), and the "groovy" way we talked, etc. Now, unless a student happened to have caught the show on Nick at Night, I get a blank stare and "Did he run for President?" or some such semi-polite response. When I was a student at BJU, "Prep" was all the rage in fashion. Izod was king of polo shirts and Members Only jackets topped off the outfit of any guy who was anybody. Now,"prep" refers to someone on the level of what we would have called a "nerd," and being nerdy is akin to being smart and technologically savvy and cool! I am like, so old . . . bummer, man.
• September 18, 2009, Rob writes: @Janet I have several oldies, but goodies that I just cannot let go of. I simply explain why they are funny, and continue to use them. My students laugh, but I'm not sure it's because I've explained things or because they're amused at their anachronistic teacher. BTW, you are way not so old! Or however they would say it this week.
• September 18, 2009, Laura writes: I had a realization similar to Donna's when Dr. Lawson mentioned 9/11 in chapel. I was a sophomore in high school back then, and I remember vividly watching the news all day and being concerned about my dad until he got home that afternoon (he works at a big Navy base on the east coast). Then I realized that this year's college freshmen were in 5th grade when that happened... what a different perspective! Or how about this twist to feeling old? A while back, a good friend of mine and I were perusing the toy aisle at Wal-Mart just for the fun of it. After a few minutes, we suddenly realized that the shelves were full of things we hadn't seen since we were about 5 or 6! Anyone remember Polly Pocket? :)
• September 18, 2009, Sharon writes: I homeschool my children (age 14 and 11), and my husband and I are always laughing about stuff we discover that they don't know. Recently, we realized that they had never seen The Wizard of Oz. We checked it out of the library, and they actually protested having to watch it. However, the Cowardly Lion won them over, and they watched the movie several times over the next couple of days. There are just some things that EVERYONE has to know...... :)
• September 19, 2009, Rob writes: @Laura Yes, 9/11 was eight years ago — almost half-a-lifetime away for this year's freshman. I was two years older than they are now when JFK was assassinated, but I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news. The mental image of a bunch of 7th grade boys crying in the locker room after gym class is not pretty. Sorry, I have no recollection of Polly Pocket. :-) @Sharon I'm glad your kids enjoyed the Wizard of Oz. I've heard from several people who found parts of it scary and unsettling when they were children, and to this day they don't really like the movie. You're right, though, that there are just somethings kids need to know. Yesterday I had the Venn diagram on the desktop of my computer I use in my classroom, and hence it was visible on the screen at the front of the room. All day long, the only kids who didn't chuckle over it were those from foreign countries. I guess that verifies some what Professor X's findings. @all readers - In the original post, I had put a picture of a t-shirt, but I felt it was distracting from what it was beside. So I'll post it below. It might explain why young people know what they do.

  

• September 21, 2009, Carrie writes: Oh man! I laughed so many times at the comments--well worth the read! One year when I was teaching 4th grade, I referred to the fall of the Berlin Wall, recalling that I had done a current events notebook on it as a senior in high school. I mentioned that it was 1990. Stunned silence. One of the students raised his hand and said, "Miss H, I was one." I know, I'm old. Oh, and when I returned to grad school after teaching for 5 years I audited your French class--with a bunch of freshmen. I was saying to my brother how young they were. He thought a minute and reminded me that when I had come as a freshman those kids were in 2nd grade! Yikes! I guess that didn't have anything to do with pop culture, it just made me feel old. . . :o .-= Carrie's most recent blog post ... Day Three of Four: Soldotna to Anchorage =-.
• September 21, 2009, Rob writes: @Carrie When you came back and audited that class with the freshman, that made me feel old too, to think that you had been a freshman almost 10 years earlier! And now that is probably at least 10 years ago! I was shocked to see something on Facebook — one of my former high school students, from my earlier years of teaching, had put up pictures of his grandchildren on FB. And they weren't babies!!! Now that's scary! I'm sure many of my students from my first years of teaching have grandkids, but I just hadn't thought about their being that old.
• September 21, 2009, Tawnja Schaffner writes: What made me feel old is when a current BJU staff member commented on the course registration being completely online - no more archaic bubble sheets to fill out. I thought back to my Freshman year when we had to run around to different tables in the SAS building to gather computer punch cards for each of our classes! Bet current students have never seen a punch card, although they might have heard about hanging chads. =)
• September 21, 2009, Vikki writes: I think my sister had a Polly Pocket. Was that the little doll that came in a huge locket?
• September 21, 2009, b.j. writes: I'm only in my early thirties, and I can understand what all of you are talking about! It is strange to see a lot of the toys, such as care bears, polly pockets, little ponies, cabbage patch, and so on coming back on the shelves, but they are a little different. A little more daring, a little worse. And about the 9/11 comments, a co-worker of mine (a senior in high school this year) told me, in regards to all the discussions and classwork given to her on that day, "I understand a lot of people died, and I feel bad for their families and all, but it happened so long ago! Why do they have to keep shoving it down our throats every year?" Sad.
• September 21, 2009, Laura writes: @ Vikki-- yes, those were Polly Pockets. I had a couple of them as a kid, but my mom wasn't very fond of them.... she usually called them "vacuum food!"
• September 22, 2009, Carrie writes: My daughter has Polly Pockets -- their shoes are barely big enough to make a noise going into the vacuum! Mr. Loach, this is one of my very favorite posts! I think I'll check the comments every few days. . .
• September 22, 2009, Rob writes: @Tawnja Wow! You don't mean that they were still using IBM punch cards when you first came to college! That was the standard for at least 20 years until we went mod with the bubble sheets. One remembrance of the bubble sheets.... When I was working in registration one year at the window where the students picked up their printed schedules, there was a freshman who kept waiting and waiting, and his schedule didn't come out of the printer. As he was looking at the schedules on the counter, he said, "Here's one for my roommate. He registered several days ago and already has his schedule." Upon further investigation, we learned that his senior roommate had helped him fill out his bubble sheet and accidentally put his own student number in the spaces. What happened was his original schedule was overwritten because of the second bubble sheet "from him" and his new schedule was that of his freshman roommate, who had a different major! The senior roommate learned that some of the classes he had originally been in were now closed. The registrar had to do some magic of sorts so that this kindly roommate was not messed up for having helped his freshman roomie. @Vikki, Laura, and Carrie Glad you ladies hashed out the Polly Pockets thing ... never heard of it myself. :-D @b.j. The toys you mentioned do speak to me ... my kids must be from about the same era that you are. And that is indeed sad about the student's comment about the 9/11 history being "shoved down our throats every year." I hope this kid wasn't echoing the elements of our society that would love us to forget that atrocity and was just being ignorant instead.

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In a recent comment, a reader asked me where the old pre-blog archives are now. When my computer and domain were hacked back in April and I had to rebuild the whole ivman.com domain (including my blog and my wife's blog) twice in a relatively short period, the second time I opted not to rebuild the old archived iv's and funny pictures. Instead I am trying to incorporate them slowly into my blog. Therefore, the "funny pix" link in the tag cloud in the sidebar takes you to the posts to my blog with funny pictures in them, not to the old archives.

That said, I'll tell you that today's post of funny signs is made up of new signs that have come my way as well as several signs from the old archives. I hope you get some stress relief from the laughs these may give you.

Even without being able to read Chinese, you could probably figure out what the sign up above was warning about. Here are a couple more signs with writing in other languages on them.

This one would make me keep looking up!

I'm assuming that this next one is referring to underwater sandbars...?

This next sign from China reminds me of signs we were amazed at in the subway in Paris.

Here's a picture I found online of the kind of sign we saw in the Paris métro. Sorry, but it looks as if some of the letters and words in the decal have been peeled off, including the bottoms of the two yellow arrows and some letters in the main phrase in question. If I can find a better picture, I'll replace this one.

The phrase we found amazing/amusing was that the seat protocol included "mutilés de guerre" = mutilated by war. I applaud their desire to honor wounded soldiers, but couldn't they find a better way to phrase that?!

Speaking of Europe, there's something about this sign in Asia that makes me wonder what exactly they serve at that restaurant.

This pair of signs could definitely be helped with even just a few words of explanation.

This sign has words, but it leaves me wondering what warning signs I might see, if there were any.

Someone saw this misspelled sign in a shop and shared the picture with me.

Yikes! This picture has three or four mixed signals going.

This sign is both grim and amusing.

Is this kind of faux pas in signage intentional?

A reader from the Caribbean sent this picture. It's a little hard to read, but the sign overhead says "Welcome to Hillsborough" and painted on the pavement you can see STOP. Apparently it used to be a two-way street, but because it's so narrow, it's now one-way street, with no parking on the left side. There in Carriacou, Grenada, they drive on the left side.

This road seems to be aptly named.

I'll end with this great warning sign for drivers.

Many thanks to those who send me pictures of signs! Did you have a favorite from today's post?

quotation...

"We are all at crossroads all the time." - Eric Newton

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

Did Noah keep his bees in archives?

Comments

• September 14, 2009, Julie Rich writes: I got a particular laugh from the "Agnel" sign. I know a fellow who decided to get a tattoo of his daughters' faces on his arm with a banner underneath that reads "My two Angels". The tattoo artist evidently is not a speller because the tattoo reads "My two Angles". Perhaps this fellow should buy that sign! lol
• September 14, 2009, Abby writes: I've been on that street in Hillsborough! It's not the least of their road-labeling problems.
• September 14, 2009, Rob writes: @Julie Wow! I've heard about and seen examples of bad spellings in tattoing. As if there weren't already enough reasons not to get something that permanent done to your body! @Abby Thanks for that perspective. I think signage seems to be a universal challenge.
• September 14, 2009, Jonathan writes: On Ohio buses, I hear you give up your seat for the graved only on voting day.
• September 14, 2009, Rob writes: @Jonathan That's what I've always heard about Chicago. In fact, I just heard recently that Ted Kennedy is now eligible to vote in Chicago.
• September 14, 2009, Carrie writes: I liked the "old biddies" and the beach one. Oh me. .-= Carrie's most recent blog post ... Fragrant =-.
• September 14, 2009, Roy Hooper writes: America = Senior Citizens Britain = the "Over 50s crowd" China = old, weak, sick, crippled, graved (with one foot in I supposed) Is this a metro-imposed regulation, or is this a mandate of the French government? Should the over-worked French worker really be expected to give up their metro seat after working a government-mandated 35 hours a week? I don't think so! :-) It is time for a revolution!!! Or at least a labor strike!!!
• September 14, 2009, Ann writes: Burial Site No Exit...My one thought was: Can you imagine what it will be like when the Lord returns?!!
• September 15, 2009, Michael writes: I think the sign about the beach with irregular bottoms could be interpreted a couple of different ways. Regardless, I would be wary of vacationing there.
• September 15, 2009, Rob writes: @Roy I don't really know how the Parisian subway regulation is enforced. I have heard that you can be ticketed for for breaking the regulation, but I don't know by whom. As far as the French work week and prowess at revolutions and strikes goes, now you've gone to meddling! Strikes and protests are among the things they do best, other than baked goods. :-) @Ann Amen! I was thinking the same thing myself. I hope I don't ever have to vacate a grave, but if I end up in one, I'm glad I will be exiting it forever! @Michael I follow your current drift. I avoid beaches myself, but it's because of not wanting to be chased by people with harpoons!

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One source of pictures along certain themes is Google Images. Sometimes I have a picture that's not very clear and can find a nicer version of it on Google Images. Other times I use Google to fill in holes or simply to find a neat picture to use at the beginning of my blog posts. Here's a picture of how the first Google searches were done.

Google has come so far from its early days!

Most people know about Foosball, even if they've never played it themselves. Here's a traditional Foosball game.

In France Foosball is called "baby-foot" (basically pronounced Bobby-foot). One French designer has taken it one step further though.... Last month I read that a Parisian store called Colette had a game called Barbie-Foot in their show window. You could buy the game for only 10,000 euros!

I guess if you collect Barbie dolls, that could be a valuable addition to any collection.

I have often wondered how women walk in high heels. I ran across a picture of a pair of spike heels that might cause even the most intrepid woman to think twice.

Does it ever seem as if whatever transportation you are using is going at a snail's pace. Here's a picture of something potentially slower yet.

With cooler weather around the corner, some people start to struggle with chapped lips. Here's a new product available that might be just what you need.

I have never been further west than the St. Louis, Missouri area, and there are many places out west that I would love to see. For some reason, I have no strong desire whatsoever to see Mount Rushmore — there's just so much natural beauty out west to waste time going to a place like that.

This week, though, I received a picture by e-mail that makes me want to go to Mount Rushmore to see it from the other side. (The Far Side maybe? For sure, it's neither the Canadian side nor the Wyoming side! Read comments to discover why I have added that....)

Hope you got a much-needed laugh or two from this post. I look forward to receiving and finding more funny pictures in the days ahead.

quotation...

"Personal holiness not political dominion is what changes people." - Phil Johnson

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

Have a great weekend ... unless, of course, you have other plans.

Comments

• September 10, 2009, Diane Langlands writes: Mr. Loach, I love your blog posts! I would love to have a link on my facebook page to your blog. How can I do that? May I ? Thanks for adding some fun to my day. I am very grateful! Sincerely, Diane Langlands
• September 10, 2009, Rob writes: @Diane Thanks for the words of encouragement. I don't know for sure how you would put a link to my blog on your Facebook. Maybe in your profile you could put a link to it in the things you like? You're certainly welcome to do so ... maybe ask a young person to help you. :-D
• September 10, 2009, Sandrew writes: Hm. I do like bacon. However, someone recently gave me an even better lip balm--Hershey's chocolate! MMMMMM.
• September 10, 2009, Michael writes: As someone who lives out in the Mt. Rushmore state, I find it is my duty to inform you that there is no Canadian side to the mountain in question. The closest border is with Wyoming, with Canada many hundreds of kilometers to the north. You are welcome, however, to view it from the Wyoming side -- I hear the folks out there are even friendlier than Canadians.
• September 10, 2009, Rob writes: @Sandrew Chocolate does sound better than bacon for lip balm. @Michael Sorry about the geographic inaccuracy ... that's just how it came to me. Remember, St. Louis is my westernmost experience. :-)
• September 10, 2009, Carrie writes: My kids think the presidents are about to get spanked! And even my bacon-loving husband doesn't like the sound of your lip balm. :o .-= Carrie's most recent blog post ... News! =-.
• September 11, 2009, Ellen writes: Regardless of the incorrect geography, that picture was hilarious! :-)
• September 11, 2009, Rob writes: @Carrie I like your family's take on the pictures! @Ellen Thanks, Ellen. That's what I thought too, but I was glad for the correction. I should probably update the post to reflect the change. ;-)
• September 11, 2009, Sharon B. writes: I'm glad that the faces on Rushmore don't have bodies attached to them. If they did, Abe's legs would have to be the longest. ;-) My Grandma recently got me an acrylic paint-by-number with a bald eagle flying past Mount Rushmore. In my painting, the mountain is oriented so that only the right side of Washington's face can be seen. The really slow ride is cute too. My brothers enjoy finding turtles (in unlikely places, may I add), they research the particular kind they've got and keep it for an outside pet for a few days in our empty turtle shaped sandbox! I remember that at one time you had a whole page with different funny pics on it, and it wasn't in blog post format. Is that still around, and if so where is it? When I click on the word on the tag cloud, it just takes me to blog posts. Thanks for the funnies! --{---@
• September 11, 2009, Rob writes: @Sharon I *loved* to do paint-by-number when I was a growing up. In fact, one thing I especially enjoyed about teaching our kids to color was that I as able to color again myself! :-D As far as the funny pix collection is concerned, when the ivman.com domain was hacked last year and I had to rebuild everything, I decided not to put the old archives out on the domain. Rather, I am going to slowly add them to the blog itself. It cut down on the amount of work of rebuilding, but also it will eventually put everything in one place that is searchable. Be patient ... I will slowly rebuild my kingdom!
• September 11, 2009, Rassmuss writes: Love this post. Especially the Bacon Lip Balm. Check out my blog. I have some funny stuff, too. Miscellany Buffet - http://blog.spieles.com
• September 12, 2009, Diane Heeney writes: I have often enjoyed perusing your blog. I must comment, tho, that Mt. Rushmore is not only not in Canada...it is not in Wyoming either. It is actually located in South Dakota. I live in Wyoming...we're the ones with Devil's Tower, Jackson Hole....and Yellowstone National Park. =)
• September 12, 2009, Rob writes: @Rassmuss I put the Bacon Lip Balm picture on my computer desktop so that all my students saw it yesterday before I started up the PowerPoint for that class hour. They thought Bacon Lip Balm was a riot! @Diane Good to hear from you. I guess I'll just have to settle for seeing pictures of both sides of Mt. Rushmore. I don't want to have to run all over South Dakota, Wyoming, and Canada trying to see the backsides of those presidents! You do realize that I'm just kidding.... :-D Thanks for adding even more clarity to the whereabouts of that photoshopped image I received.
• September 14, 2009, Michael writes: Diane, I realize that Mt. Rushmore is not in Wyoming. I merely said that Wyoming was the closest border and mentioned that Rob should view it from there rather than Canada (continuing his tongue-in-cheek approach to things). Your state is beautiful in its own right (and I hope to get out there with the family in the not too distant future).
• September 14, 2009, Rob writes: @Michael and Diane - I've reworded the post, hopefully to avoid further confusion. :-D I'll have to be more careful in posting things as I receive them. Just keep in mind, this is a humor blog, not a geography blog. ;-)
• September 14, 2009, Kathleen writes: Hi Mrs. Heeney!! :-) We were recently able to visit Yellowstone. I've forgotten how many grizzly bears we spotted, but I know it was into double digits!! We've never seen black bears in the park, though. We also got to see a wolf that had come down to the lake to drink. At first we thought it was a coyote, since you just don't see wolves that close, but it was too big. We have always enjoyed going to Yellowstone, and hope to return again.

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This evening, in honor of presidents past and present trying to influence education and of Ted Kennedy, the one who "shepherded" the "bipartisan" No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) through the Senate, I am posting a parody, author unknown. What I'm posting below has made the rounds often by e-mail and on forums and blogs, but it just seemed to be crying out to become a permanent part of my blog archives at this time in our nation's history and here at the beginning of football season.

I read online the transcript of Obama's speech today to school children. I think it's probably vastly different from what he had planned to say before so many parents expressed their concerns about his agenda in doing this speech. He said some very good things that leave me wondering, based on his policies, if he actually believes much of what he said.

Our son Mark and his wife Katie are teachers in the public school system where they have to deal with the repercussions of NCLB and governmental demands almost on a daily basis and face the frustration of having to spend so much time on peripherals that they often don't have adequate time to do the course preparations they would like to or cover the material that they need to.

If the demands of NCLB were placed on the game of football, here's what it would look like.

No Child Left Behind Football

1. All teams must make the state playoffs and all MUST win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable. If after two years they have not won the championship their footballs and equipment will be taken away UNTIL they do win the championship.

2. All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time, even if they do not have the same conditions or opportunities to practice on their own. NO exceptions will be made for lack of interest in football, a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities or disabilities. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL!

3. Talented players will be asked to workout on their own, without instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren't interested in football, have limited athletic ability or whose parents don't like football.

4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will be kept only in the 4th, 8th, and 11th game. This will create a New Age of Sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimum goals.

If no child gets ahead, then no child gets left behind.

I know that there are probably as many proponents of NCLB as there are detractors. Do any of you readers have any personal insights to add? Any thoughts on Obama's talk with our nation's school children today?

quotation...

"The repetition of small efforts will accomplish more than the occasional use of great talents." - Charles H. Spurgeon

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

Everybody repeat after me... "We are all individuals."

Comments

• September 8, 2009, Judy Curry writes: Bob will get a kick out of NCLBF. Sending along a comment by John Piper on the President's speech. http://ow.ly/oszD
• September 9, 2009, Sharon B. writes: Home school is a great way for kids to be able to work on their own levels. I'm often better in Literature and History, and I can do higher grade levels of work in those subjects. My hardest subject has always been math (ever since I started school at age 4). Mama has always given me extra one-on-one help, and thought outside the box to find ways to help me understand. I'm now in Algebra 2, and finally starting to find it enjoyable. That sounds a lot more like "No Child Left Behind" to me.
• September 9, 2009, LeAnne Solt writes: Nothing to do with "No Child Left Behind," but happy Bodacious Bonza Bottler Day!
• September 9, 2009, Michael writes: I actually wasn't bothered by President Obama's desire to speak to school children. If anything, it came across as arrogant since he wanted to take time from their actual learning to listen to him. I think in the hands of the right teacher a speech such as his would be a great forum to discuss things in a classroom setting. Anyway, the parody on NCLB is great. Unfortunately, I am feeling more and more pressure in my school to make things easier and less challenging so that lesser students won't feel bad and so that they have a better chance of getting scholarships and grants that they probably don't deserve. Few people are interested in education any more. They just want the grade.
• September 9, 2009, b.j. writes: What I found interesting was what Katie Couric said on the news last night when introducing the article about Obama and his speech. "as school starts across the nation, Obama gave school children a pep talk and encouragement today, but even THAT caused controversy in some areas" (remembered as best as I could) It was said as if Obama was only being nice and encouraging, and the "radical right wing" will never be happy with whatever he does. I agree, I'm sure it was changed and toned down a lot from what he would have said. They went on to show that other presidents have addressed school children without so much controversy (and they showed Reagan). I don't remember, but I'm guessing Reagan didn't demand to address school children LIVE without first telling what he was going to talk about. And I think it was a recording broadcast in schools at their discretion and in their timing.
• September 9, 2009, Rob writes: @Judy I hope Bob enjoyed the NCLBF. Good to hear from you! Thanks for the link to Piper's comments. Obama indeed said some good things for kids to hear. I wish he would give the same talk to many of the kids' parents about personal responsibility. :-) @Sharon I'll bet there are very few kids left behind in home schools. Thanks for pointing that out. @Thanks, LeAnne! I mentioned that to several of my classes already today. I rarely forget Bonza Bottler Day, but I also rarely do more than remember that it's Bonza Bottler Day. :-( I didn't even think about it being a Bodacious Bonza Bottler Day!!! @Michael You never fail to add interesting perspectives in your comments. Thank you! I am sorry to hear that your school seems to be putting pressure on you to dumb things down. Sad. @b.j. From things I read and heard last week, I think it's pretty safe to say that Obama had other things in mind for his speech that he chose not to say because of the close scrutiny. Fortunately. It's for sure that he made himself the biggest thing in his speech, with the use of "I" over 60 times. If you didn't get to look at that article that I linked at the beginning of my post - the link of the words "past and present" - you should. It's enlightening to note the contrast to the Dems' reaction to Bush I's speaking to school kids compared to Obama's speaking to school kids.
• September 9, 2009, Janet O'Brien writes: My reaction to this speech or the version he was to give earlier is this: If all the children in America are going to be so easily persuaded by one speech from the president, then we were already in such a sad state that it really doesn't matter. However, God still spreads his salt on the earth, and until He takes us home, the president can't do anything He doesn't allow. Actually, it won't be possible even then, because God is in control.
• September 10, 2009, Laura writes: Personally, I wish there was some way that young people who didn't fit the universal cookie cutter could do other things for their school years than punch classroom "time clocks." Once upon a time, before the government determined that working was so detrimental to a youth's health, kids had opportunities to get simple jobs/apprenticeships that could lead to learning a hands-on trade that interested them personally. I think that part of the trouble with high schools these days is that so many kids who don't really want to be there are forced to stay when they could be productive elsewhere. Just because people who have a high school diploma tend to lead more comfortable lives doesn't mean that if we give everybody one they'll be just as comfortable. (More likely, the reason for their success in life isn't the special piece of paper, but rather the gumption they acquired to earn it while their buddies were dropping out.) Making everyone stay through high school (they keep talking about raising the compulsory school age) is kind of like educational "inflation" . . . when everybody has a certain level of education, it is the next level up that is seen as valuable as a way for employers to filter job applications.
• September 10, 2009, Rob writes: @Janet Children are very impressionable, especially young ones and especially when it's their president who is addressing them. I think many were leary of what exactly he was going to be trying to accomplish by this speech to their kids. You have to admit that he certainly is making sure he's before everyone's eyes very frequently. @Laura That's an interesting take on things. As a college professor, I have often thought that I'm not sure everyone who goes to college really should be there. I've not considered the idea that high school might be too much for some. I agree that finishing a level of education is an important event for any young person. People who don't finish school often develop a pattern of leaving things unfinished, including marriage, child rearing, etc. Interesting ideas to ponder, for sure.
• September 11, 2009, Laura writes: Well, if you think about it, how long was an eighth grade education considered "good enough"? They even had a graduation at that point. My father-in-law was the first in his line to graduate from high school, and it was a really big event. My husband was the first in the same line to graduate from college. Back when eighth grade was the norm and high school was really "high" school, students were not promoted until they really knew the material they were supposed to, so the diploma at the end of 8th grade really meant something. When they were done, they had enough math and English to get by in life. Now, even graduating from high school doesn't guarantee that a student can read and write capably (much less count change at a grocery store checkout!). I still use things that I learned in high school: trig is a great way to be able to calculate whether a damaged tree is likely to fall on the house to so it can be removed before it blows over in a storm, and more basic math is handy for switching recipes from one cake pan size & shape to another. But I don't think that *most* people draw on subjects like that the rest of their lives. They tend to specialize in just the information that they need for their everyday tasks (tax forms and checkbook balancing), discarding the rest. In reality, though, I don't think that the education gurus ever intend to go back to promotion by merit. As to your ideas of people habitually leaving things unfinished, I agree 100%. Failure can become a habit . . . and in today's society, it is increasingly hard for young people to see examples of marriages & families that really work out well that they can use as a pattern. It really gives one the desire to live all the better as salt and light.
• September 11, 2009, Rassmuss writes: Interesting take on the concept, although I'd be lying if I said that I like the No Child Left Behind Act.
• September 12, 2009, Rob writes: @Rassmuss Thanks for stopping by. It's always nice to have someone share my view on NCLB. I think the football parody really does help point out the absurdities of it all.

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When I first went out yesterday morning to go to Krispy Kreme to pick up and bring home "hot ones" for our breakfast, I discovered that we ought to find, buy, and put up a sign similar to the one on the right. Apparently when we pulled in or out of the driveway on Friday, one of us ran over a toad. Although I took a picture of it, I'll spare you having to see its flat little body.

After breakfast, while Becka vacuumed out the car and washed it, I attacked the garage. Even though we don't have a sign warning about toads crossing our driveway, we do have a sign in the garage, beside the door into our kitchen, warning guests about something they'll find in our house.

Our cat Adelaide is crazy, but she's not at all dangerous. It was just a fun sign we found many years ago at the Mast General Store, and guests have gotten a laugh from the sign through the years.

I frequently spray the perimeter of the garage because a number of bugs and spiders make their way in from outdoors. Therefore, as I cleaned, I found quite a few dead beetles and other less identifiable, dried-up, dead insects and spiders. As I swept out the garage, I had to kill two black widow spiders and I destroyed their egg sacks! This is not the first time we have found and killed black widow spiders in our garage. I've put a picture on the right of a black widow spider. They (and also the toads) live in the stone drainage ditch that runs the length of the back of our lot. Here a couple of pictures of the ditch whose maintenance seems to be my part-time job.

In the bushes on the right in the second picture above, I found a writing spider (also known as an Orb Web Spinner — thanks, Joe). Here's a picture I snapped of it. It's just huge — from tip to tip of its legs is about two inches!

After our cleaning tasks were over, we left for lunch in Travelers Rest. Right across the street from the café where we had lunch sits Leopard Forest Coffee, a place I've been wanting to visit. So we checked it out while we were that close. Here's a picture of Leopard Forest Coffee.

After lunch and a stop to buy apples near Hendersonville, NC, we headed up to get on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville. Becka shared a few pictures of what we saw, but here a several others. Everywhere you look, it's gorgeous. A few fall colors were already visible.

We saw what we think are mountain laurels with berries. Maybe one of you botanists can confirm if that's what this is.

We got off the Parkway at Highway 276 to head down the mountains towards Brevard, NC. We stopped to visit the Cradle of Forestry. Becka has some description and pictures of what we saw there in her post, but I'm going to show you the cool car we saw in the parking lot.

We hadn't planned enough time to do everything available at the Cradle of Forestry. We did the 1 mile hike and saw the buildings that had been part of the Biltmore Forest School — first official school for forestry in America. However, we didn't have time to take the 1.3 mile hike to see the other interesting stuff, including this steam locomotive.

We'll just have to do it all when we go there next with a grandchild or two in tow.

If you missed my post last year about our trip to that area, it tells some of the other great things to see and do there.

Have any of you tried out any of the places we love in Western North Carolina? I'd enjoy hearing about your impressions of them. Happy Labor Day! In honor of the holiday, we'll be laboring.

quotation...

"In an age that idolizes novelty, we must not despise history." - Eric Newton

=^..^= =^..^=
Rob

Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?

Comments

• September 6, 2009, Dan Schaffner writes: Yeah, I'm afraid I have some black widow spiders lurking around that I should deal with as well. I was going to post a picture on facebook of the garden spider (Argiope aurantia) we have living in our front yard with measurements as well.
• September 7, 2009, Cindy writes: John just helped build a log home in Highlands, NC. He told me about going to sleep listening to the stream in the gorge just outside his window. I was jealous, but had to man the fort here. Veggies to can & freeze, fruits to jam, etc. I miss being able to get away to the Smokies every so often.
• September 7, 2009, LeAnne Solt writes: My husband and I love to drive up to the Blue Ridge parkway and hike--we did it a lot while we were dating, though not so much the last couple of years. We'll have to stop by the Cradle of Forestry now that I know a little more about it from your post. If you've never eaten at the Pisgah Inn, I highly recommend it. If you get on the parkway where it meets 276 and go right, it's up the road just a few miles. Not too impressive-looking from the outside, but great food!
• September 7, 2009, Michael writes: My wife and I were in the mountains on family as well. We joined extended family for picnic at the Carl Sandburg house in Flat Rock, NC and then headed to the Sky Top Apple Orchard. The place was like a beehive as people were gobbling up their favorite apple varieties. I think the place was especially busy because of the annual Apple Festival in nearby Hendersonville. We got a bushel of our favorite kind, Honey Crisp. We were hoping to get to that barbecue place you like behind the Wrinkled Egg store there in Flat Rock, but we'll have to save that for another trip up there. We may try to go one more time before apple season is over.
• September 7, 2009, Sharon B. writes: Glad to hear that you finally got to go on your trip! Was it Skytop orchard that you went to? Our family goes to that one, and we really enjoy it. Up here in PA, the fall colors are begining to be more obvious. The weather has cooled significantly as well. It never gets above house temperature anymore. I really enjoy the mountains too. In this part of PA, the roads are never flat. They're always going up or down. I have made a game of looking for grade percentage signs. The highest I've seen so far is about 11%. Black widow spiders are a very common sight in our yard in SC too. They're in the shed, in the garden, hiding in small holes in the mortar that holds the bricks together on our house, and lots of other places. I don't know how many black widows I killed when I was making my little flower garden. Have fun teaching school this year! --{---@
• September 7, 2009, Janel writes: We are regularly visited by writing spiders. We enjoy watching them "work" but appreciate it so much more when they do it somewhere besides the front door!
• September 7, 2009, Brian Tojdowski writes: Those look like the mountain laurel my parents have in their backyard. I was just up at the Cradle of Forestry in July on train history day. There was a lecture on the logging railroad that went through there. Most of the road you drive on to get up there was once a railroad. They also hooked an air compressor and a couple whistles up to that engine. They were very loud next to the engine but a little haunting hearing them through the woods. I finished the day with a little easy hiking at Dupont State Forest (you should check it out) and watched the sunset at Caesar's Head.
• September 7, 2009, Rob writes: @Dan You don't live too far from us, so it's not surprising that your yard has the same kinds of spiders that ours does. Who knows how many centuries their ancestors lived here before we humans invaded? :-) @Cindy John's description does sound very inviting. It reminds me of camping at Davidson River Campgrounds in the Pisgah National Forest. It's great to sleep with the sound of the river nearby. Sounds like you're quite the canner and preserver! Do you have a big garden or do you buy the produce? @LeAnne The Cradle of Forestry is an interesting place to visit for the history and the surroundings. We've actually eaten at the Pisgah Inn's restaurant. In fact, we stopped there Saturday to look through their gift shop and hit their restroom before we drove down to the Cradle of Forestry. :-) @Michael That amazing! We bought Honey Crisp apples at McAbee's Fruit Stand. Someone recommended that variety to us, and we were eager to try them out. They're great eating apples. I'll have to let you know if a pie made from that variety is as good as we've been told it would be. @Sharon As you can see from my reply to Michael, we didn't go to Skytop. We were avoiding Hendersonville as much as possible since this weekend is the apple festival. We made that mistake one other year and were trapped in non-moving traffic for w-a-y too long on a day we'd planned to do several of our favorite activities. Glad you're enjoying the autumn up there in PA. I'm sure it will become only more beautiful ... before the wintry weather moves in for months and months. :-) @Janel I agree. I much prefer them to do their writing in the bushes at the lower end of our ditch than near the house. @Brian Thanks for the confirmation about the mountain laurel. Your day up there sounds like lots of fun. Thanks for the tip about the Dupont State Forest, which we will have to check out.
• September 8, 2009, Carrie writes: We just drove through mountains too--including Mount McKinley. It was actually visible on the trip down! On the way back it was shrouded with clouds though. We took a wildlife viewing cruise down in Seward too, which was spectacular. And the Kenai peninsula is gorgeous! Y'all come on up to Alaska, but wait til spring--it's cooling off already. . .
• September 9, 2009, b.j. writes: YUM! Honey crisp apples! I miss them! I wish you could send some down. I can't get any here! :-P and... pie made with them is great! I never heard of those spiders as writing spiders, only garden spiders. I read somewhere that the zig-zag reflects ultra violet light the same way the center of a flower does, and that it attracts bugs that way. A wasp flew into one at our house. The wasp could easily have flown right out of the web, as it was so strong, but the spider was on that wasp, and had it wrapped up in less than a second! We couldn't believe the speed of the spider. If we had blinked, we would have missed it. shudder! I am not that fond of those things, though I leave them be since they "pay rent" with getting rid of bugs.
• September 9, 2009, Rachel writes: Yech! Big, huge, freaky, poisonous spiders! I am never moving to South Carolina. How does your wife handle them? Sounds like a fun hike. =)
• September 10, 2009, Rob writes: @Rachel My wife is not too keen on the big spiders. South Carolina is not the only place you find them, though. :-)
• September 10, 2009, Marilyn Donnell writes: Yep, did a quick Google and "writing spider" is what we call St. Andrew's Cross spider here in Australia. I have never heard them referred to as writing spiders. Thanks for that. At a previous home we had a great number of them around the house and "trained" them to build their nests high up above where we would be walking. To do that I would go out early in the morning with hands raised above my head, walking around on the paths, etc. After three or four days of doing this to tear down the lower parts of the webs - Mrs SAC would get the picture and there were very few webs built down low enough for me to touch. The trees (are those red berries or flowers?) look more like sumac than laurel to me. I cannot find an up close photo of laurel in the autumn to compare with it.

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