Watching

All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watchin' the puddles gather rain

This pandemic still has many still working at home. I’m not working at home but retired at home instead.

I did some watching. Watching the heavens (I’m not convinced about this religious heaven concept but calling the dark sky the heavens still sounds good to me) fuels my wonder.

Why bother to watch the heavens? Jupiter and Saturn are mostly huge balls of gas. Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids, in fact it's cold as hell.

I believe knowledge of the night sky objects creates more wonder as you watch these objects move through the heavens.

Back to the original thought for this post, this past month (sorry this is not a site for what’s in the sky tonight) the northern hemisphere had the opportunity to view a comet zipping by. It was given the name comet NEOWISE. The strange name was assigned for a reason. The NEO part stands for Near Earth Orbit and WISE stands for Wide-field Infrared Space Explorer. The NEOWISE project is the asteroid-hunting project that discovered this comet, hence the name.

I saw the comet with binoculars on two different evenings. Sadly the suburban area around Chicago is not the best for a good dark sky. I managed to see this fuzzy stretched out dirty ice ball but I’m sure it would have look better in a darker sky. I recall seeing the comet Hale-Bopp in 1997. That one was easier to see.

 
On nice afternoons I’ll find myself enjoying a beer and watching clouds pass overhead. Clouds have pros and cons. Clouds on the ground (fog) are bad unless you’re a psycho murderer stalking their next victim (how did I go off on that tangent?). Clouds blocking the sun are good on a hot day but bad at night when I’m trying to see a comet. Of the many things I really don’t know, clouds are probably low on the list.

 

Please enjoy a few thoughts that popped up in my brain long enough to be written down: 

 

• “Stand By Your Man” - While I’m not an expert, I don’t think it applies well to grizzly bear families.
• It occurred to me that receiving long sentences doesn’t help you write long sentences. However, it does give you time to work on it.
• I’ve noticed that Tik Tok is a popular app for the younger generation. If anyone is developing an app for the older generation they should call in Ticky Tacky.
• I heard this good advice the other day: “But I’m going to take a step back and make sure that we learn the facts before we start talking about it.” - Dr. Fauci 
  

 

Even if you don’t watch the weather it will change your day. Don’t most people enjoy a good storm if they are in a safe place? No matter, the weather will find you.

If you read my last post, you should be expecting these two musical videos.

class insecta

It started last summer, I had never noticed it before then. Now again this summer.

smart butterfly works crosswords

I have a new friend. We are not in the same class. Actually after I looked it up, I found that I'm in a different phylum. My summer friend is of the arthropod phylum. A very unlikely friend. Also, it's been a long long time since I was in biology class.

butterfly earrings

He's a Red Admiral. I was in US Air Force but I know an admiral is equivalent to a general. I've been looking up Red Admiral traits on the internet.

Here's a few of his traits:

• The males are territorial and many times can be found in the same location day to day. This why I believe the gender is male. (of course who knows what he identifies as)
• migrating range from Canada to Mexico (well traveled)
• considered to be people-friendly butterflies that will approach and perch on human beings.

I'm a butterfly perch

Last summer we noticed this butterfly visiting our deck on multiple days. One day it landed on my shoulder and our daughter snapped a picture. It has returned again this summer. Of course knowing that butterfly's lives are measured in weeks not years, this must be a descendant.

This summer one of his visits happened while the grandkids were here. They had fun with him. He landed on two of them. He's a good entertainer.

his relative from last year

Interactions like this start me wondering about the animal, asking myself, what's it thinking, does it even think. What would be like to be one?

Adolescence and getting through puberty is a difficult emotional time. But imagine the trauma of metamorphosis? You're an overeating vegetarian caterpillar, then enclosed in this shell like thing and then come out with fancy wings. That's a lot of change to handle.

Butterfly - buttercup - close enough - here's a song from a favorite movie, "There's Something About Mary".


 

How are your insect relationships going? Please comment below.

Now don't tell me

Now don't tell me, I've nothing to do.

a few clowns short

( above pic was found at National Geographic's FOUND blog. Great site for old pictures. )

“I better find a more suitable solution
Before I reach the most predictable conclusion
To be the victim of my personal delusion
Just to find that I’ve been living an illusion”

(from "Coping Mechanism" by Shovels & Rope - see my old post for more)


Lighten up while I continue my personal delusion.

Heard recently: A friend shared his recent romance discussion he had with his wife of many years. He had asked her what she thought was important.
“So what did you find out?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” he replies, “she either said attentive lovers or a tent of lovers.”

My post title was inspired by this oldie by The Statler Brothers. We recently attended a local outdoor concert and the band performed a cover of this oldie.

in case you missed it

In other news ... (that is a common favorite phrase here at the Lisleman Institute for Better Posting)

I take the news seriously. It’s life in general that I’m slightly flippant about. I still read a tree sacrificed newspaper and listen to audio only radio programs. I never follow hashtagged news. I like breakfast hash and black coffee.

Here’s 3 stories for you to ponder.

Voting is still open for America’s Best Restroom sponsored by Cintas. Did you know these fine people have been selecting fine restrooms since 2002?

Sometimes the best restroom is the one that is the closest.

I have actually been in (and used) the 2009 winner, Shoji Tabuchi Theatre’s restroom in Branson MO. Very nice.

Good restrooms have mirrors but not this type.
Panasonic has developed a smart mirror. Remember the wicked Queen who consulted her mirror mirror on the wall? She blew it by not getting the patent on hers. This Panasonic mirror gives you suggestions for your makeup and skin improvements. I think this is targeted toward women.  (no pics but check out the link for more)

Lastly some UK news that has nothing to do with Scotland.

While you are looking in the mirror consider this:
British women (survey of 1,000 women) would choose a man with love handles over a one with six pack abs. (I always knew six packs and firm abs didn’t go together) This is great news that I’m going to celebrate with a nice beer.  Love handles win!

Really who is the jolliest guy around?

 

hobbies on the cheap

Cheap gets a bad rap. Although not as bad as being called miserly.

Hobbies can often become very expensive. For example, Hugh Hefner had one of the most expensive hobbies (maybe dangerous too) there is - women.

Now I have never even considered an expensive hobby. I did enjoy a glider ride once and while I might do it again, it’s just too expensive as a hobby.

Blog writing (hey I consider this writing) is a fun inexpensive hobby. Having some type of hobby becomes more important when you retire.

In addition to my hobby of taking a long damn time getting to the point, I enjoy electronics and making gadgets. At various times in my career I was employed both as a soldering iron brandishing tech and a software coder. Let me tell you it’s easier to burn things with a soldering iron than a piece of software code. However, either task can burn out a circuit.

More to the point now. Last fall I picked up a popular (if you ever heard of it please let me know since I’m curious how popular) hobbyist device called the Arduino. It’s a microcontroller board with a big community of support. I’ve programmed it to control things from displays to a camera.

Not surprisingly the Arduino website has a blog about the various gadgets being created with the Arduino system. It was on that blog where I found this mermaid.  Yes, a mermaid!  She goes by "Glimmer the Mermaid" and has an entertainment business.  Glimmer illuminated her fin with multicolored LED lights controlled by an Arduino board.

Afterthought (after I clicked publish button)  -   I don't plan on making any fins but I consider the multicolored LED devices as one of the best inventions.  I suspect the mermaid suit was quite expensive in both time and money.  Very unusual too.

stars deserve more attention

What?

As we were told in “Stairway To Heaven”, ‘cause you know sometimes words have two meanings, you might be thinking of the wrong type of star.

The stars needing more attention are those all around us. Most noticeable on a clear night. However our most important star, our sun, is out for us in the day (hopefully our sun being a star is not a news flash for anyone here).

NEWS FLASH - Earth’s orbit around the sun - misunderstood (or unknown) by too many!

For all of recorded time the earth has been taking a yearly trip around the sun. Yes, the orbit is not very noticeable on a daily basis. Even the top thinkers back in Greece got details of this celestial movement wrong.  But that was well over a thousand years ago.  Hundreds of years ago, Galileo pointed his telescope up at the sky and started to straighten out this solar system operation.

According to a recent survey (2012), about 25% (that’s 1 in 4 ) of Americans got the question about the earth-sun orbit wrong. The survey included more than 2,200 people in the United States and was conducted by the National Science Foundation. The question was: Does the Earth go around the sun, or does the sun go around the Earth?
(you can find the whole NSF report here)

There are three classes of people: those who see, those who see when they are shown, those who do not see. Leonardo da Vinci. BrainyQuote.com

Today we can add a fourth class, those who don't look up from their smartphones long to see the world around them.

Today with international space programs, a space telescope providing amazing photos, internet accessible space news and findings, regular monitoring of our star (the sun), I would think only a  small percentage of Americans would have any problem with that question. Are we really staring down at smartphones too much?

Ooh, it makes me wonder, 
Ooh, it really makes me wonder.

Sure I know my wonder of physics and universe is not shared by even the majority (I guess?) but doesn’t a little of this knowledge intrigue people? Physics can get complex quickly. Going out in the sun for too long can get you a quick sunburn too. Is a good tan, all that some want to know about our star?

Yes, there are two paths you can go by, 
but in the long run 
There's still time to change the road you're on.

I suggest to those of the 25%, put down your smartphone, find a dark area on a clear night and look up. Hopefully, those stars will trigger a little curiosity. Check out some educational videos on youtube. Check out a book. Here’s a great youtube clip, I found packed with good info.

pretending brass in my pocket

Lisleman’s musical time traveling has taken me back to the late 70’s.

The Pretenders have brass in their pockets. Brass in a pocket has me thinking brass knuckles.  Today given the magic connectivity of trivial answers the internet provides, I know the expression is British slang for having money.

The Pretenders released “Brass in Pocket” in late 1979.

Chrissie Hynde in her 60's

As I listened to the lyrics (this song’s lyrics are hard to understand and full of slang) I found myself thinking it could be the theme song for social media and even blogging. Once again the wealth of trivia on the internet made it a simple task of not only uncovering the lyrics but also their slang meaning.

Intention, I feel inventive
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice
...
'Cause I'm gonna make you see
There's nobody else here
No one like me
I'm special (Special)
So special (Special)
I gotta have some of your attention
Give it to me

Another Pretenders favorite is “Back on the Chain Gang”. There is one line from that song I wish I could work into a post.

“... The phone, the TV and the news of the world got in the house like a pigeon from hell, ooh oh ooh oh…”

I don’t care much for pigeons.

something in the water

It would be exciting to witness a big dolphin party like those being reported off the coast of southern California. Scientist have long known that dolphins are very social animals. In the video clip below you’ll see a jumping party that has been estimated to total in the thousands. These dolphins know how to party.

Not I-pods but a mega pod of dolphins.  Except for perhaps the clown fish these dolphins find and create the fun of the ocean.

So why the big crowded party?

Lisleman’s theory - dolphins have either discovered Facebook or Twitter. Maybe both.
 



another circus 

mascots on my mind

I didn’t start my day with mascots on my mind. Who does? A mascot I guess.

Life has surprises. If you spend much time on the internet you find even more surprises. The internet is many things. It often acts like a surprise amplifier for me.

It started with the mention of a youtube video. I included that clip at the end of this post. I found the clip without much problem. As is often the case, there were a few versions of this mascot related clip.

Then I started thinking of another mascot from my past. I’m proud to tell anyone that I graduated from the University of Illinois. We had a very appropriate mascot, Chief Illiniwek when I attended. Since then a controversy started about the use of a Native American mascot and eventually the mascot was dropped. The French explorers named Illinois after the indigenous Illiniwek people, a consortium of Algonquian tribes. Of course you can discover much more regarding this on the internet.

My mascot searching lead me find a famous mascot, the San Diego Chicken aka the Famous Chicken. This chicken guy has a very interesting story and a good web site where you can learn more than you would ever want to about a chicken mascot. (if you are wondering I was NOT compensated by this chicken)

The chicken mascot story involves lawsuits, a radio station, $2 per hour job, fowl trying to spoil a foul shot, and lots of fans. You can read more here.



Here’s the clip that started my mascot research. The lesson I picked up on this one is not to use a condor as a mascot.

another circus 

careful you might learn something here

Learning something is better than learning nothing. However if you have learned nothing then you have actually learned you are either not paying attention or giving attention to the wrong thing. There is always something to learn.

Never stop learning. Not that I expect everyone to follow my next bit of advice but it would be so fine if they did follow it. Never stop visiting A Few Clowns Short.

Top followers might remember learning here on A Few Clowns Short where sliced bread was invented. This knowledge could be very helpful in awkward dinner party situations when you are lost for words or need a segue for asking the bread to be passed your way.

Oh did you miss the sliced bread post? It’s right here.

But Lisleman, what if I’m at a party without sliced bread?

Well then I hope you still had something good to eat. Now if you had been reading my posts just a few weeks ago you would have learned the story of the software guy that outsourced his own job to China. This is a great story to break the ice when you are lost for words or possibly ice fishing. Here’s the link for that one.

As you may have noticed I’m busy learning self-promotion here at A Few Clowns Short.

How am I doing?

another circus 

pictures hanging together

Recently I found an interesting site full of pictures new and old. I remember how I got there. It started with an email commenting on odd pictures of celebrities and historical figures. That discussion included a link to Awesome People Hanging Out Together.

I showed this "awesome" site to my wife.  She surprised me with the many hours she spent on the site.   My wife doesn’t follow celebrities and neither do I.   This site is different than the typical celebrity soaked sites.  Most of the pictures are not current high trending celebrities.   All the pictures are of at least two people.

You have the link above but I’ll share two of the pictures I found there along with my commentary. Let me know if you check out the site. Of course, you might not remember to return.

I don’t know the occasion but these very funny guys don’t look too happy. Not one of them is smiling.

Bogie (Humphrey Bogart) of “Bogie & Bacall” seems to be studying the eye candy in this picture.

All pictures are a snapshot of time. Old pictures seem to tell more of a story. Maybe it’s just the passage of time or something else. Do you think the pictures (millions & millions) of today will have the same effect on future viewers?

random findings

Often it is not lost until we need it.  After time passes it can become both lost and forgotten.  Finding things can be surprising and a few findings get mentioned in the news.

 

I found the following findings in the news over the pass few months:

Source: news.providencejournal.com via lisleman on Pinterest

In Rhode Island, Newport police found an SUV on the rocks.  Price of gas is getting too high for many.

Source: blogs.canoe.ca via lisleman on Pinterest

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper found that Justin Bieber doesn't know how to dress for a national award.  The significance of this was lost on Justin.

A nicer Canadian story -
An Air Canada flight to Sydney found a lost sailor in the Pacific ocean.

Source: nydailynews.com via lisleman on Pinterest

Heating and air conditioning installers found gold under the floor boards in a California home.  It sure does pay to hire honest workers.


another circus 

gather round ballbots

Maybe in the not too distant future, ballbots will gather round and "talk" about their owners.

Honestly until I watched the video clip included below I had not heard of a ballbot.  A ballbot is a robot with a big ball.  By controlling the ball the robot's motion is controlled.  The video clip will give you the basic idea.  The movement reminds me of Rosey the Robot who worked for George Jetson.

 

Robots lacking good motion are like bloggers lacking spell check.  A chunk of plastic or metal that doesn't move well is just not that impressive.

I the second clip included below you'll see another very advanced humanoid type of bot.  HRP-4C (4U2C, for you to see, would have been catchier) is a Japanese robot with female curves and apparently the ambition to become the next J-Lo.  I think Shakira should be hired as a consultant for this.

Shake your bot.

another circus 

order now and get

 a $49,000 Aspen watch included with your order for  

no addition cost

What?

More like my price range

 

I just saw this story about a car deal on the business channel.

I'm nowhere near and mostly likely will never be near joining in the "1%" as the occupy people would call it.  But it's occasionally interesting to see what they are wasting their money on.  

The car is Danish.  That makes it unique already and maybe you would like a $49,000 watch.  Can you spare $1.8 million?  I don't know if that includes shipping and handling but it might.  Your car (oh it's called the Zenvo) comes with a crew of "flying doctors" that deliver the car and are on call for any necessary maintenance. 

The sad news is sales are not doing too well (IMHO).  They have only sold 3 cars in US.  Tough times.  If any of the A Few Clowns Short followers buys one of these - please email me.  We need to talk.

story link

 

another circus 

the lottery winner is

Spring River LLC! 

Ah, what? 

Who or what is Spring River LLC? 

Whoever they are, they collected about $30 million and are extremely good at keeping a secret.

This Chicago Tribune story caught my eye over the weekend. There is a couple in the Chicagoland area who I imagine are very disciplined with their money. They won big in the lottery and didn’t tell anyone except for their lawyer. The limited liability company (LLC) keeps their names private. 

But according to the story we are talking very very private. So private that their family including two teenage sons don’t know about the prize. I understand their reasoning, but I could not do it myself. 

I would avoid the spot light but I my strong desire to share the happy news would be too strong for my mouth to stay shut. I would invest it and be careful not to blow it all. 

Friends and family I believe would enjoy a grand party to celebrate the winnings with me. 

Oh if you are thinking, Lisleman lives in Chicagoland and could it be. It’s not. I seldom play the lottery (would rather go to a casino and that’s not often either). 

Anyway I’m working on my second million. I gave up on the first. 

Could you keep a $30 million secret?  

another circus 

sex on six legs

I thought about using the title “wango tango” but then why not use the title of the book. Yes I’m about halfway through sex on six legs (the book - what you are thinking?) 

Regular readers know I don’t review books here often but I have a few times. I posted about Eat Pray Love once and I never read the book or saw the movie.

The “sex on six legs” book by Marlene Zuk is not about ménage à trois.  It is about insects.  However, reading it I learned female beetles, flies, and many other types mate with multiple partners.

The insect world is a strange place and this book takes you on weird and wonderful journey that leaves you with some scientific knowledge of genetics and animal behavior.

Here’s a sample from the “Sperm and Eggs on Six Legs” chapter.

“Other insects, such as hangingflies and scorpionflies, go out and catch prey items to present to females, who then consume the item while their hind ends are occupied with mating.”

“...a rather modest-looking species called the short-bodied cellar spider, females “sing” during mating … making a sound the authors describe as “resembling squeaking leather.”

Wow - eating during sex, gift giving males trying to get lucky, spider porn, I didn’t realize biology was so exciting.  Now if more students realized science can involve sex maybe we could get more interested students signing up.

short PSA

PSA - you know Public Service Announcement.  The following clip demonstrates why mothers should never buy their children helmet cameras.

Fresh Friday Fragments

Enjoy some fresh fragments.  You can get some here and if you go to the fragment broker herself, Mrs. 4444, you’ll find a vast selection of fragments.  (don’t who I’m referring to? click the button at the bottom of this post)


Pain tolerance - you probably know it can vary in each of us.  My one grandson, little Z (5+), has a very high tolerance.  My daughter, his mom, took him for a doctor’s visit because of fever and ear ache.  The doc asked him if he had pushed something into his ear.  Little Z gave the doc a strange look and said no.

The doc then using a different device was able to probe a bit more.  He told mom that the infection was one of worst he has seen.  No foreign objects in there just a very swollen ear canal.  Little Z probably had the infection for weeks.  He told them that the ear drum would burst.  It did during the night.

After his mom cleaned his ear mess up, he was in the bathroom and noticed the blood running out of his ear.  He was concerned and asked his mom about it.

Then there was the question of school.  He told mom that he felt ok to go but she needs to call the teacher.  Why she asked.

“You need to tell her I have blood coming out of my ear so she doesn’t freak out”

%<->%

Ants retire - the bug world has many interesting things going on.

The type of ants that researchers found retired were the leaf cutter type in Central America.  My wife and I actually watched some of these on country road in Costa Rica once.  It amazes me how strong they are to be able to carry the leaves.

The research team reports that as the ants age their cutting jaws go dull (no ant dentists?).  The young ones have razor sharp jaws.  So instead of moving into the old ant section of the colony they continue work but change roles.  The old ants mostly carry leaves and stop cutting.  They still contribute to the colony.  Of course since they are already in Central America they don’t need to move for warmer weather.

The article doesn’t say how old the researchers were.  Here’s a link to it.

%<->%

I heard a good analogy for having email/messages on a smartphone - the mailman following you around all day saying “Here read this one”.

%<->%

Bears - Packers - blog bet (no contest really)  -  I’m thinking this game might generate more excitement than the superbowl itself.

If you know Mrs. 4444 then you know she is a big Packers fan (everyone has a right to an opinion).  You should check out her post this month where she ran around the house barefoot in the snow for the "Pack".

Well if she stops by here before Sunday morning I’m willing to make a blog bet with her.  The Wisconsin and Illinois governors are betting wearing the other’s jerseys while working in a food pantry.  That’s a win-win bet.

Here’s an interesting gown from The Complete Wedding Expo.  They also have a Packers version but why would you want to see that?

Flipping Fragments

Friday Fragment (FF) time again.

Thanks Mrs. 4444.

Happy New Years !

(just trying to be early on something for once)

Blown out Santa

I suspect it’s the season and readers are just too busy. I’ve noticed a drop in comments on a few recent posts. Heaven forbid I’ve come down with the condition Witzelsucht.

It’s a bad joke condition in which the patient's uncontrollable tendency to pun, tell inappropriate jokes and pointless or irrelevant stories at inconvenient moments is very noticeable.

()(I should find a candy cane divider thing)()

Setting the bar - I don’t because it would be so low someone might trip.

()(I should find a candy cane divider thing)()

I know annoying dumb ads are run on many channels but I suspect the business channel (CNBC) might run even more of them. The ones I find really annoying are the ones suggesting you give someone a luxury car for Christmas.

Really - I checked with my wife and neither one of us know anyone who has done this. If you do, just keep it to yourself and skip to the next fragment.

One that gets me yelling at the screen (what you don’t do that?) shows this lady surprising her man with the car IN THE FRICKING LIVING ROOM. In the extremely unlikely event that ever happened to me, I would be pissed off because the ruined floor, door, etc. Oh thanks dear, I’m so excited, stand back, I’m going to run right through the picture window now.

()(I should find a candy cane divider thing)()

Another WTF or is it me thought - What’s with the weird auctions lately? Did you see these on the news:

• Auction of a UK aircraft carrier.
• Lee Harvey Oswald's coffin on auction. (Really this could not wait until after the holidays?)
• 52 year old gingerbread house (e-bay)

The gingerbread house seller gave a great answer to a question about it having been treated with anything. He wrote back, “You'd be much better off and safer eating the box it comes in....” Could you imagine having a gingerbread house older than yourself (I wouldn’t have that problem but I’m sure some of you are younger)

Hey I put together a special Christmas video clip so stay tune.

leaping, milking, dancing, piping, drumming

Enough already just finish the song.

Last year I discovered the PNC Christmas Price Index. The PNC bank totals up the cost of the gifts in the 12 days of Christmas song and they have been tracking this for 27 years now.

Their web site has an interesting fun interactive program to show you the cost and change in cost of each item in this drawn out gift giving event.

The biggest percentage increase from 2009 comes with the French Hens. A hen pecking 233% increase. The biggest dollar increase this year was for the Nine Ladies Dancing, up $820, a 15 percent boost. I always thought you could get ladies dancing for the cost of few drinks and some good music.

The total cost comes out to $23,439.38 so your true lover really need to be truly wealthy match this song.

Lately all I would want is a few plumbers piping in my house to fix a mystery leak.

Here’s PNC's Christmas index link ---> www.pncchristmaspriceindex.com