More Bad News. No wonder I don't have enough time in a day any more.

WASHINGTON — The day just got a tiny bit shorter because of Friday's giant earthquake off the coast of Japan. NASA geophysicist Richard Gross calculated that Earth's rotation sped up by 1.8 microseconds. That's because of the shift in Earth's mass caused by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake. A microsecond is one-millionth of a second. Friday's change in rotation speed is slightly more than the one caused by last year's larger Chile earthquake. But 2004's bigger Sumatra earthquake caused a 6.8-microsecond shortening of the day.

A B-DAY Present from my sister!

It is over 50 years old. We had one when we were very young. Yes I prabably stole many cookies from this jar. Thanks Cathy!

Our home made water feature.

Mulched over the front yard. Could not stand the grass any more. Lawns in Ga. need lots of TLC. I am plum out of TLC. So, Made our own water fountain. Wasn't cheap but cheaper and better made than any prefab fountain plus the pure pleasure of bragging rights.

OH Please can I have one? Please please pretty please. I have to have it!

50th B-Day Gift Ideas

Ok it's 10 more shopping days until my birthday. Here are some ideas:

1. A baker's dozen of Diet Cinnabons.
2. A Do-It-Yourself Home Liposuction kit (yes I would be willing to share it).
3. GPS coordinates to the end of the rainbow (never mind why I want it, I just want it).
4. DB Cooper's home address or phone number (I have some questions for him).
5. And finally, a law passed requiring that Grecian Formula be added to city drinking water (yeah, sure go ahead and laugh, they laughed about the fluoride thing too).

Doesn't every married couple have days like this?

My second 'Half Century Gift'

I know, I KNOW ALREADY! It's still two weeks away but really, I am way past the halfway point in my life so I can't spare another moment. I had to open it. RIGHT? OK here it is. Sick humor for the twisted soul.

THANKS DELORES! You know me well.

At Fifty years of age, here are twenty things I know so far.

1. Control, more often than not, is merely an illusion.
2. I can’t change other people.
3. Ronald Reagan made us feel like Americans again.
4. I am allergic to alcohol.
5. Everyone is nuts but most people are not aware of it.
6. I need to have my head examined (according to my mom).
7. My wife loves me.
8. When people say “It is what it is”, it usually isn’t.
9. There is a God and he is much bigger than I first thought.
10. We are more dishonest with ourselves than we are with other people.
11. I don’t want to be ordinary.
12. Sometimes choices are not either right or wrong; they are just choices.
13. I am happier with lower expectations.
14. In most cases, I would rather be happy than right.
15. Circulating blood and breathing is a full time job.
16. I like tractors and cooking.
17. Admitting error is a sign of strength and not weakness.
18. There are just as many sheep in wolf’s clothing than wolves in sheep’s clothing. I just don’t know why everyone is cross dressing.
19. Acceptance is the answer to most of my problems.
20. Fear, resentment, ego and dishonesty are my mortal enemies.

Is America Getting Meaner? (excerpt from article by By Dr. Dale Archer)

Also, we are becoming meaner as a society. A recent study from the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, looked at 72 studies that gauged empathy among 14,000 college students in the past 30 years. They found that empathy (identifying with the feelings, thoughts or pain of another) has DECREASED a staggering 40% in college students since 2000!

Reasons range from the decrease of face to face communication as a side effect of technology to the hangover effect from the boom economy which fed our narcissism to want, what we want, when we want it and screw you if you get in my way. Social networking sites are all about "look at me, me, me."

Reality shows like "Real Housewives" and "Jersey Shore" show backstabbing, rude and crass behavior on a nightly basis as a source of comedy. In sports we have a win at all costs (including cheating with performance enhancing drugs) mentality. Business is about CEO's maximizing their personal wealth at the expense of the rest of us and as for politics "All's Fair" to win an election. Is it any wonder that bullying is so prevalent in our 'only the strong survive' culture?

Banana Experiment Update

Day 63. Beginning to slowly morph into a vanilla bean. No mold or flies noted.

DAY 1 for comparison.

Brought to you by CoCola!

My First Half Century Gift

Its early I know. But I got it in the mail this morning and I thought it prudent to open now. I am almost 50 you see and life at this age can be so uncertain. I will be the envy of the most hardcore biker gangs when I sport these babies on the open road. Don't know how old they are but likely prior to the jet age. Air forces were the department of the Army until after WW II so these suckers are old. Got them from an old friend I recently reconnected with. Lawrence is kind of a hybrid, a cross between Indiana Jones and Jason Bourne, so its anybodies guess where he got them. I have pictures in my head of a huge secret government warehouse piled high with crates, with cryptic writing on them like ABOVE TOP SECRET, OPEN ONLY IN CASE OF APOCALYPSE and such. Well at the rate the government has been spending lately, they probably started garage saling some stuff. Either way, THANKS LAWRENCE!!! Too cool!

2012 The End of the World. Are you ready?

Wenger 'Giant' Swiss Army knife - A good knife and a nice set of tools are what a survivor can really use when faced with the collapse of civilization, which is why you'll want this oversized Wenger Swiss Army knife. It holds the Guinness record for most multifunctional pen-knife, thanks to its 87-tool capacity. Seriously, if MacGyver was the last man standing, he could use this to build a rocketship to Earth-like planets in other solar systems. $999.

But if I put it in my pocket...?

Bookmarks

Where were you or what were you doing when you heard that the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, 25 years ago today?  How about the Kennedy Assassination, Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, September 11^th and so on. Where were you and what were you doing?  

When you stop to think, what makes these events so different, that when asked, you can recall with pristine clarity where you were, what you were doing, who you were with, how you felt, who informed you, the weather and probably even the smells in the air at that particular moment. These are like bookmark events in our lives. Times when we fell asleep or stopped paying attention, when all of the sudden, we are startled back into complete consciousness with shocking, unexpected news and hit the event record button of our brains.

What? I didn’t know Kennedy was in Dallas! But Shuttle Missions are so routine! They are sending civilian school teachers up! Who the hell is al-Qaeda?! And so it usually goes following such events. There was nothing on our radar, no inkling something of this magnitude could happen in our days. I remember my boss at the time, looked at my shocked expression and said “People have forgotten that space travel is still Experimental, it is anything but routine. Why are they sending teachers into space?”

Another thing happens after these events. Change. Things change. You remember sometimes how things were before the event and how things have changed since the event. One steep learning curve takes place and in some way things are different afterwards.

So what can we do with that? Go to that bookmarked page today and remember, that one moment that you stood still, really paid attention and mourned a great loss. Ask someone else, where were you or what were you doing when you heard that the Challenger exploded?” I think this is God’s way of honoring the brave. He puts these “Bookmarks” in our brains lest we forget and to remind us to pay attention more.

Who me?

Kennedy- I was too young but I remember saddness and crying.

The Challenger and 9/11- I was stuck in traffic on my way to work.

The Columbia accident- I was at home when Judy my sister called. It was a cold sunny day.

Do you ever get the feeling that you are your own worst enemy?

Yep. We have met the enemy, and he is us.