Archive for the ‘Sarcasm’ Category

07-05-2014 Journal Entry–Internet Shopping Nightmare!   Leave a comment

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My week of freedom is almost over and in a another two days things will be back to what we call normal with the arrival of my better-half from LA.  My week of loafing is ending and thankfully so has the rain and wind of Arthur.  It wasn’t until the third day of rain I even knew about Arthur because I was ignoring the television as much as possible.  My only connection to the outside world was my phone and I was desperately trying to ignore that as well. I spent a lot of time on the  Internet trying to resolve issues with the Adobe Corporation and a purchase I made.  Here’s my sad story which should be a warning to you all about their company and it’s approach to customer service.

Last week I made the mistake of attempting to buy software on-line and to download it direct to my computer.  I’ve been using Adobe’s Photoshop Elements for years to catalogue and store my photographs.  I decided that maybe it was time to convert from Photoshop Elements 7 to the new version Photoshop Elements 12.  That was my first mistake.

I checked a few retailers on-line and found the price to be hovering around $100.00. I told my better-half that I wasn’t comfortable with downloading the program directly and I drove to Best Buy to see if they had it in stock.  I found Adobe’s Premiere Elements 12 and made the purchase for $75.00. I headed home very proud of the money I’d saved.  I got home, installed the software and surprise, surprise, it was the wrong product. Adobe in it’s typical retailer wisdom named two products in a similar fashion and I was I unobservant enough to fall for it.

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Premiere Elements 12 is a program for cataloging and editing videos and not still photographs.  I felt stupid and a bit embarrassed by my mistake and decided to let it go and take the loss. But Adobe suckered me a second time with a pop-up add during the install to download the product I was actually looking for a price of an additional $99.00. Being frustrated and pissed off I gave them my credit card number and began the download. I’d now spent $180.00 dollars.

That was the beginning of three days of BS in trying to deal with a company that has turned over the majority of it’s customer service duties to a live on-line chat only.  It’s almost impossible to talk to a human being except in chat mode.  I was at my wits end because the download wasn’t working as advertised and their method of copy protection was pure insanity.  After hours of frustration and waiting on the telephone for forty-five minutes I finally connected with some company representative who’s grasp of the English language was almost non-existent but was to expected when you live in the suburbs of New Delhi, India. I became a bit rude and belligerent and demanded an effing refund since my credit card had been immediately charged $105.00 for that second product.

It took two days for their investigation to verify I didn’t have a working copy of their damn Photoshop software and my refund was finally posted 48 hours later. By then I was feeling highly agitated, used, and abused. The biggest problem in this whole scenario is that their product is the best on the market and I still wanted it.  I tried not to think about it anymore because it was sending my blood pressure through the roof.

Another week passed and I was still looking around for a solution to my problem when I found a site that would permit me to upgrade my existing copy of the Adobe Elements 7 at a cost of only $69.99 as a direct download from Adobe.  At no time during this fiasco was that option every mentioned to me by Adobe which pissed me off all over again.  I refused to be baited a second time with another download and let it go once again.

Two days later I happened upon a deal I couldn’t refuse.  eBay came to my rescue when I found a vendor in the Midwest selling a package deal of photo editing software. They offered Adobe Photoshop Elements 12, a Roxio editing program, and a Font package, for $49.00.  I made that purchase and it’s now on it’s way to me as we speak.

I have only two things to say to end this rant.  Adobe Photoshop software is the best around but the Adobe company and it’s employees suck.  That is my humble opinion and I’m positive they could care less. Their approach to business is to make as much money as possible as fast as possible and the hell with the customer. My second comment is a warning for anyone buying on-line.  Many companies use the Internet as a device where they can disconnect from their customers. Shop around for the product your wanting to purchase but don’t buy directly from the manufacturer.  It’s similar to going to a car dealer to get your car repaired. The only certainty is that you will be overcharged and treated as a second class citizen.

In all my years of Internet crawling and making purchases this was my absolute worst experience.  I’m stuck using Adobe software but I won’t buy any new products from them in the future. Just an awful few days that could have been handled easily by a company that actually cared about their customers.

Thanks for nothing Adobe. 

06-25-2014 New Year’s Resolutions Mid-Year Update!   2 comments

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A few days I ago my better-half and I were sitting in a local restaurant chatting up one of her co-workers.  During that conversation her friend casually asked me if  I’d made any New Year’s Resolutions. I can’t remember exactly why she asked but I answered with a yes.  Obviously she’s never read this blog because I post them every January for all to see.

We returned home and during the ride I decided to check the archives and do a mid-year review of my resolutions for 2014 just to see how I’ve been doing.  Let’s start with this one:

1.  Read five books a month.

So far I’m on track with this resolution even though I lost my Kindle reader on my trip to Texas.  Now that I’m able to once again read my Kindle books from three additional devices I should have no trouble successfully completing this one.

2.  Teach the grandson  one curse word per month once he begins talking.

I think I jumped the gun on this one because he has yet to start speaking clearly enough to begin cursing.  I may have to wait for 2015 to get this one accomplished.  This one is a big FAIL so far.

3.  Keep the number of F-bombs below 100 a week.

So far I’m succeeding on this one but just barely. For the year it will be too close to call since it’s difficult not to use my  favorite word at every opportunity.  The question isn’t using it too much, it’s having too many reasons to use it at all.  If people aggravated me less this one would be a snap.

 

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4.  Drink less brandy than last year but more than next year.

I’m doing well on this one thanks to my weight loss program.  I’ve pretty much given up drinking the hard stuff and have returned to sipping the occasional glass of wine.  Boring but healthier.

5.  Spend less than $300.00 at Dunkin Donut for the entire year ($25.00 per month).

Since we purchased the K-Kup coffee maker I’ve cut my Dunkin Donut spending by two thirds.  I can make excellent coffee at home now and not be forced to spend two dollars a cup elsewhere.  Hooray for me.

6.  Stop dancing naked near the picture window in the living room. It scares the neighbors if their complaints mean anything at all.

I seem to be failing miserably on this one.  I just can’t seem to keep my clothes on and may have flashed my new and smaller ass to the neighbors and a few lucky passersby. I’m trying to behave but I suspect this will be a FAIL once again.  One of my better-half’s resolutions is  to buy and install window coverings this year but I haven’t seen them yet. I wonder how much the neighbors will complain if they never get to see my ass again.

7.  Fight to my last breath to keep chickens and goats from becoming part of my life.

I’m crossing my fingers on this one for now.  The better-half has been putting serious pressure on me to get chickens and goats. The negotiations have progressed to where she’s agreeing to no goats if we can just get a few chickens.  My negotiating position has remained the same from the beginning – NO FREAKING GOATS OR CHICKENS.  For this year I will accomplish this resolution but I’m losing the battle little by little.

If I counted correctly, I’m keeping up with five of my seven resolutions but I suspect I may lose some ground during the remainder of 2014.  The road to hell really is paved with good intentions.

How are you doing with yours?

Do you even care?

Probably not!

05-28-2014 – Flying the Unfriendly Skies   9 comments

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I love passing along information that will possibly help some of you travelers out there in making your vacation or long weekend trips worth doing.  I’ve just spent the Memorial Day weekend in Dallas and it was one of the best holidays ever. There always seems to be a few bothersome  issues when traveling which tend to gripe my ass and that’s the topic for today’s discussion.

I really only have one travelers tip for you based on my recent travels.  Never fly the freaking friendly skies of United because believe me they’re not that damn friendly.  United Airlines sucks and I intend to spell out the entire nightmare they put me and a few hundred of my fellow travelers through on Tuesday afternoon, Tuesday night, Wednesday’s wee hours of the morning and into Wednesday afternoon.

My trip began perfectly with a flight to O’Hare in Chicago last Friday, on time and no problems to complain about.  I was filled with holiday cheer and was having good thoughts about the entire world and everyone in it.  That lasted approximately two and a half hours until the United Airlines curse began.  I was due to land at Dallas/Fort-Worth at 11:15 pm and my ride was waiting patiently for me. Honest, he really had nothing better to do than to waste his time waiting for United to get their act together.  Finally after some typical airline BS I arrived in Dallas late.  Being the forgiving soul that I am I cursed quietly under my breath and just let it go. I really do hate to be forced into any situation being controlled by any airlines but since it’s one of those times when they have you by the cojones , you’re screwed.

My holiday weekend was terrific with barbecues, tacos, and smoked steak headlining the menus.  Unfortunately the fun had to end and as we drove to the airport for my return home I began to have premonitions of the coming disaster.  As we flew out of Dallas a storm front arrived and eventually extended all the way to Dulles in Washington making for a really bumpy ride. We landed just ahead of the front and I had only thirty minutes  to make my connection for the second leg of my journey to Maine because we arrived a little late.

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United in their indisputable logic required me to run like O.J. Simpson across the terminal, jump into a shuttle bus to  reach another terminal where I arrived out of breath and barely made the flight. All of us cattle herded ourselves into a small version of the Boeing 707 that held approximately a hundred idiots like me.  Starting out the steward had difficulty making his safety announcements because his microphone appeared to have a loose wire of some sort.  It was screeching from the feedback so loud no-one could understand him.  Then the pilot announced a fan equipment failure and a half hour delay.  That delay caused us to miss our take off window before the storms hit and we then had to sit through a wall of thunderstorms trapping us on the tarmac.  Two hot and sweaty hours later the pilot tells us the flight has been cancelled because of other maintenance issues. 

We were directed back to the terminal into the supposedly capable hands of the oxymoronic "Customer Service" crew.  They herded us into a line of almost two hundred other people and offered only three Customer Service agents to handle all of our problems.  As we waited endlessly in that line they announced we should call 1-800-UNITED1 for additional ticketing help. 

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To make a long story short the morons had me on hold for one hour before I got to talk to a human being who then told me there were no flights to Portland until Thursday with very few seats available on them. He then passed me along to another so called expert who  put me on hold again.  My phone ran out of power at that point and I was forced to stand around for another hour in that line to get help from their three overwrought agents.  I felt bad for them but unfortunately this nightmare was about me. Also during that time my luggage, a small carryon that I had been forced to bag check in Dallas, had been sent into the black hole that is the United baggage claim system and disappeared.

Their first recommendation when I reached an agent was  that I upgrade to a first-class ticket for an additional $226.00 and they could get me on a flight to Boston within the hour. Then I could rent a car and drive the rest of the way to Maine at my expense of course. I won’t repeat exactly what I said  because it was extremely rude and crude. Lets just say that agent immediately understood I wasn’t interested.

I’d like to take a moment here to thank the lovely and friendly blonde lady from Yarmouth, Maine whose name I never got. She was sweet and calm and kept me from erupting into a full blown maniacal rant while we stood in that line. As I promised her, I have nothing but nice things to say about her. I told her about this blog and she  was worried I might say something derogatory.

I strong armed that United agents into finding me a flight on another carrier, US Airways, but I had to shuttle across Washington DC  to Reagan National Airport ($30.00 for a fifteen minute ride) and arrived there at midnight.  I should also tell you that United refused any compensation to any of the travelers even though most were forced to get motel rooms that averaged $150.00 a night (I wasn’t one of them to be sure). They claimed the cancellations were totally due to the weather and never mentioned any of the maintenance issues we’d been told about by our pilot.  Maintenance issues require them to compensate travelers so I wasn’t all that surprised when they didn’t hesitate to screw us all.  A bunch of lying, uncaring, arrogant assholes to categorize them as nicely as possible.

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I have to tell you that I had a lovely night sleeping on the floor of the terminal at Reagan National airport with eighty of my now closest friends who also refused to be coerced into paying out of pocket for motel rooms.  I finally flew home to Portland today with US Airways and arrived at three o’clock this afternoon. Along with all of the other BS, I lost my Kindle Reader as I was scurrying around  trying to get  home. I hadn’t had a decent meal for thirty hours and I had the pungent aroma of a disgusting farm animal or so I was told by my better-half when she picked me up.

Thanks for nothing United Airlines.  May you and your entire operation rot in hell.  You’ll never see me again.

04-17-2014 The Search for Justice and Fairness!   2 comments

I can’t even begin to remember just how many times over the years I’ve taken attorneys, the ACLU, and the court systems to task.  I feel I’m as qualified as anyone to bitch and complain about the system because of my long career of working with hundreds of attorneys, judges,and a host of criminal and civil defendants.  Everyday that goes by we hear strange stories about  how screwed up things have become  with the courts and unfortunately the weirder the story the more likely it is to be true. 

I received the following information from a friend who is a retired law enforcement individual with more years of experience than anyone I know.    I pass it along for your amusement and  with a great deal of sympathy for us all.

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THE STELLA AWARDS

It’s time again for the annual ‘Stella Awards’! For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonald’s in New Mexico , where she purchased coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right? That’s right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head.

Here are the Stella’s for year — 2013:

* SEVENTH PLACE *   

Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict , considering the running toddler was her own son

* SIXTH PLACE *

Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles , California won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn’t notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor’s hubcaps .  

* FIFTH PLACE *  

Terrence Dickson, of Bristol , Pennsylvania , who was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn’t re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight, count ’em, EIGHT days and survive on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner’s insurance company claiming undue mental Anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish.

* FOURTH PLACE *

Jerry Williams, of Little Rock, Arkansas, garnered 4th Place in the Stella’s when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor’s beagle – even though the beagle was on a chain in its owner’s fenced yard. Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun .  

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* THIRD PLACE *  

Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania because a jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument .

*SECOND PLACE *   

Kara Walton, of Claymont , Delaware sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000 plus dental expenses.

And last but certainly not least:

* FIRST PLACE *

This year’s runaway First Place Stella Award winner was: Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City , Oklahoma , who purchased new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver’s seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner’s manual that she couldn’t actually leave the driver’s seat while the cruise control was set.

The Oklahoma jury awarded her  $1,750,000 and a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their operator’s manuals as a result of this suit. 

I could continue telling these kind of stories for hours but the point has already been made.  Sue anyone for anything at anytime regardless of the circumstances.  Welcome to the “Land of the Free” and the home of the “Incredibly Stupid”.

04-15-2014 Journal Entry – A Spring Swim   Leave a comment

In my last posting I was whining a little about not having much beach time here in good old tropical Maine. Being the bonehead I am and living with my boneheaded better-half we decided not to wait any longer to hit the beach. The snow had just melted and we were ready.

After a visit to one of our favorite watering-holes and after toasting a few glasses of cheer we made a bee line for the nearest beach. You need to understand that the temperature was in the forties with a twenty mile an hour wind making it feel like twenty degrees.  Alcohol can do a lot of things but it doesn’t help a person stay warm and toasty on a windy beach in Maine in April.   I was freezing my ass off almost immediately after leaving the car but the better-half was off to the races running around the beach like a German Shepard chasing a stick.  We both were snapping pictures the entire time but that ended rather quickly.

It was then I spotted a herd of totally insane people running free and unfettered among us normal and sane folk. The waves were roaring in and these fools in their wonderfully uncool wet suits were trying to surf in water that was only just above freezing..  Surfing in Maine in April is like running naked through a nudist colony in February.  It’s just nuts.  I watched them for a while but was forced to return to my car so I could once again feel my fingers. 

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“Out of His Ever Loving Mind”

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The better-half finally returned of her own volition all excited and happy about the entire evening.  She coerced me into driving another few miles up the coast to our favorite beach. It hadn’t gotten any warmer and I argued loudly about getting out of the car at all.  As usual she strong-armed me out of the car and down to the water.  There we were once again watching another insane human being wind surfing like he was in Key West and it was August.  Here are a couple of shots I took of that young idiot.  I’ve been known to don a wet suit to frolic in semi-warm water occasionally but no matter what people tell you . . . . it’s still freaking cold with that suit on.

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“Just Nuts”

We made our way home, turned up the heat, and discussed what mental illness could be responsible for such bizarre behavior, both ours and the surfers.  We never figured it out but we really didn’t care anyway. We snuggled into our bed under our wonderfully warm and overused electric blanket that’s become the best thing about these Maine winters.

04-13-2014 Journal Entry – Welcome to Spring   1 comment

Well, after five months  the snow is finally gone. Unfortunately the post-winter cleanup can now begin.  All of the snow and ice storms certainly  did their share of damage to the property this year.  One tree down, serious plant damage everywhere, and additional damage from the town’s snowplow. 

It seems we’re required to replace our mailbox almost every year and it’s starting to really piss me off. A nearby friend made the mistake of complaining to the town about the recklessness of their drivers and seeming lack of concern for all the damage they’ve been causing.  It took forever to find the right person to complain to and five minutes for that person to say quite simply, “move it a little further back from the road”.  It’s nice to know we have a freaking genius working for the road department.

I don’t understand why me and my hundreds of neighbors didn’t think of that dumb ass solution.  I may be forced to build a giant brick column with my mailbox sitting on top.  We’ll see how much the town likes replacing a blade or two on their gigantic and expensive snowplows after trying to knock down my brick megalith.  I’ll just politely tell them to “plow a little further from my effing mailbox”. 

All of my winter projects have been successfully completed and right on schedule for a change.  In another two weeks I’ll be able to begin my outside work setting up the garden and getting  the mowers and weed-whackers operational.  Finally a steady supply of fresh air and sunshine after almost five and a half months locked inside the house. 

I’m also looking forward to some beach time in the near future as well.  This was the first winter in a long time that the snow cover stayed almost all winter which meant no long wintery walks on the beach. 

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Since my leg has healed completely and  I’m back on my workout routines maybe I can get that last ten pounds of ugly fat to disappear.  I’ve lost 35 lbs so far through a difficult winter with a minimum of outside activity.  I’m planning a very active schedule this summer with my camera and I traveling around this gorgeous state of ours.  One short trip to Texas in May and then I’ll have the rest of the summer to take pictures, work in the garden, and to sit on my deck and relax.

Goodbye and good riddance to Winter.

04-11-2014 Cellular Love & Marriage   1 comment

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I consistently ask myself questions about the things I see.  It’s not that I’m seeing these things that bothers me, it’s that I don’t entirely understand what I’m seeing.  One of the things that confuses me the most are the situations I see developing these days between people and their cell phones.

I’ll try to explain clearly where I’m coming from in order to keep any confusion to a minimum. After being held hostage by Verizon Wireless for the last seven years I made the bold move of dumping their service and stepping back three or four technological paces to something far simpler and inexpensive. I won’t get into the particulars except to say I’ve cut my monthly costs by 70%.  I don’t want you to think I hate cell phones because I don’t.  What I do hate is the unhealthy hold those devices seem to have on such a large portion of our population.

Next, I need to state emphatically my total and complete support for both heterosexual and homosexual marriages.  No, my mind isn’t wandering but hang in there a moment or two until I explain.  I object strongly to the new wave of intimate relationships I’m observing between humans and cellphones. It’s becoming a little embarrassing to see these phones being cuddled and stroked by both men and women in public places. It’s a bit disgusting. 

People buying their phones cutesy little bejeweled outfits in a variety of colored covers to keep things from getting too boring.  Even the kids are getting into the act with little or no parental oversight.  Sitting along in their rooms at night talking quietly on the phone, roaming the Internet until all  hours of the morning, and posting "selfies" to the world that would in some cases make a porn star blush.

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Those phones are coddled and babied and remain all snuggly in a pocket or purse held tightly next to the heart (or other body parts) of their owners.  I know many women and even a few men who would like nothing better than to have a large device vibrating in their pocket.  People just can’t seem to keep their hands off their phones and don’t even try. What’s next?  The formation of political special interest groups to promote our freedom to marry our cellphones?  Don’t laugh, as weird as things are these days,  it could happen. 

Cell phone ownership is becoming almost as intimate as a marriage.  First you need to find that “soulmate” or should I say “cell-mate”.  It must be attractive and shapely and have all of those attributes you’re looking for.  Once you’ve found that perfect match then your required to enter into a contract for a two year period.  Very similar to a marriage license if you ask me but with one additional advantage.  When your cell-mate gets a little older, all scratched up, and the battery starts to fail you can dump it and sign up for an upgrade. If you dare decide to end the relationship before the contract is up your forced to pay and pay dearly for that right.  Sounds just like a divorce I managed to survive twenty years ago.

I guess I just haven’t met my true "cell-mate" yet.  I suppose it will happen all of a sudden like a lightning bolt and I’ll be lost forever in that wonderful haze of first love, sexting something juicy for the first time, or sending an HD photo of some of my body parts to people who don’t want to see them.

You just gotta love those cell-phones.  Right Lovey.

04/07/2014 Journal Entry – DIY Maniac   Leave a comment

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Once upon a time in a galaxy far far away, I was one of those weird folks who loved to paint. Not artsy painting but bathrooms, bedrooms, and living rooms.  For years I was on call for my entire family or anyone else who needed something painted. I never understood my fascination, I just went with it.  I suppose today is as good a day as any to let the world know that that my love of painting is dead. DEAD I tell you!

Dumb Thing #1. I started a house project a few weeks ago that required I remove a rather large window from the living room and to put a blank wall in it’s place.  It was all my idea in the initial planning stages but somewhere along the way it was hijacked by my better-half and turned into a freaking monster. The removal of the window was easy enough but doing it in March in Maine was a stupid plan.  I had the entire house open to the cold weather for three hours until I could replace joists, put in insulation, and attached some vapor barriers.

Dumb Thing #2. I should have seen through her sneaky plan but it was winter, I was fat and lazy, and I said OK to almost anything she wanted.  I thought I could zone her out just a little making me safe from her infamous To-Do list until warmer weather arrived.

Dumb Thing #3. The next thing I know I’m up to my ass in drywall, joint compound, and and breathing a dense cloud of gypsum dust. That shit gets into everything and one of my jobs was to make the big mess, complete the job, and then clean it all up.  I finished the wall except for painting and sat down for a moment to rest and to cough up a few pounds of white dust.  Five minutes later she arrives from Lowe’s with five gallons of assorted paints, brushes, drop cloths, rollers, and sparkle compound. I was quietly informed that now we (Me) had to repaint the entire living room and adjacent hallways. She was sick of the old color and since I’d removed that damn window it was only logical to redo the entire second floor.

Dumb Thing #4.  I’m now in my third day of spackling, primering, painting, and putting masking tape on anything that doesn’t move. Help me please. I’m being held prisoner by a home improvement lunatic and I can’t seem to escape.

04-01-2014 A-Holeistic Quotes   2 comments

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Look! It’s A-Hole.

Well, I’m finally back.  I have to confess I was surprised just how much I missed my daily blogging.  My other project progressed more in this short eight weeks than I was able to accomplish in the previous year, making my time away well spent.

My life continues as before but things never seem to stop changing.  My better-half continues to drive me crazy, the cat still annoys me at times, and the grandson is just minutes away from talking.  I suspect after watching him closely for all these months that once he starts talking he won’t be able to stop and I can’t wait. I consider it quite a privilege and one I intend to make the most of.

I’ve been trying to decide what I should write about on my return.  I thought I should probably fall back to my cynical roots and supply you with a selection of quotations unlike any you may have seen before. Normally quotes are meant to be uplifting and to give us faith in the past and hope for the future. These do not.  These quotes celebrate the sarcastic, the glib, and the smart asses of world. Enjoy . . .

“You can tell a Harvard man, but you can’t tell him much.” Anonymous

“There is nothing wrong with Hollywood that six first-class funerals wouldn’t solve.” Anonymous

“Religion is excellent stuff for keeping the common people quite.” Napoleon Bonaparte

“He is the kind of politician who would cut down the redwood tree, then mount the stump for a conservation speech.” Adlai Stevenson

“On being asked to describe Hollywood – Can a fish describe the murky water in which it swims?” Albert Einstein

“After coming in contact with a religious man I always feel that I must wash my hands.” Frederick Nietzsche, "The  Antichrist" (1888)

“This is a back-stabbing, scum sucking, small minded town.” Roseanne Arnold "Hollywood Reporter" (1990)

About: Elvis Costello born 1955
“Looks like Buddy Holly after drinking a can of STP Oil Treatment.” Dave Marsh, "Rolling Stone Magazine"

About: Marie Osmond born 1959
“She is so pure, Moses couldn’t even part her knees.” Joan Rivers

“I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.” May West

“Not only is there no God, try getting a plumber on weekends.” Woody Allen

“You don’t have to think too hard when you talk to a teacher.” JD Salinger

I’ve heard these kind of quotes called any number of things including poisonous, mean, or nasty.  I’ve come up with my own term: A-holeistic. My cynical self has returned to the blog and I’m feeling just fine.

Sporadic blogging will continue.

02-06-2014 Stupid Questions = Stupid Answers   Leave a comment

All of my life I’ve been curious about things.  I suppose that was the trait that drew me to a career in investigations.  I hate having unanswered questions and when I find one it makes me a little crazy.  They stick with me until I can resolve the question with a logical answer.  I’ve also found over the years that there are thousands of questions that have no logical answers,  Some people might call them stupid but that doesn’t change the fact that they need to be answered.

Over time I’ve reviewed lists from others and made lists of my own with questions that no one  can or will answer.  Here’s a small collection of a few of them that will get you thinking a bit.  If you have answers let me know but  I’m willing to bet you won’t be any more successful than I’ve been.

Here goes nothing . . . . .

    • What’s another word for synonym?
    • Where are Preparations A through G?
    • Whose cruel idea was it for the word “lisp” to have an “s” in it?
    • Why are there flotation devices under airplane seats instead of parachutes?
    • Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?
    • Why are toe nail clippers bigger than finger nail clippers?
    • Why do most cars have speedometers that go up to at least 130?
    • Why do they sterilize needles for lethal injections?
    • Why is it that when a person tells you there’s over a million stars in the universe you believe them, but if someone tells you there’s wet paint somewhere, you have to touch it to make sure?
    • Why is it good to be a Daddy’s girl, but bad to be a Momma’s boy?

  • Is it possible for someone to be a closet claustrophobic?
  • Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
  • Why do people who only eat natural foods drink decaffeinated coffee?
  • Why is a women’s prison called a penal colony?
  • You know that little indestructible black box that is used on planes, why can’t they make the whole plane out of the same material?
  • Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of the drive-up ATM’s? And secondly, way is it placed where the driver can reach it?
  • If you google “Google” will your computer get stuck in a loop?
  • Why do the walk signs only stay green long enough to allow pedestrians  to get to the middle of the street?
  • Why do people say heads up when you should duck?
  • What do you say when someone says you’re in denial, but you’re not?

  • Why do the numbers on a phone go one way and the numbers on the calculator go the other?
  • Why do British people never sound British when they sing?
  • Why is the name of the phobia for the fear of long words Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia?
  • What ever happened to an E grade? We have A,B,C,D,F but no E.
  • Why do people never say “it’s only a game” when they’re winning?
  • Did Adam and Eve have navels?
  • Did you ever notice when you blow in a dog’s face he gets mad at you?
    But when you take him in a car, he sticks his head out the window!
  • How come Superman could stop bullets with his chest, but always ducked when someone threw a gun at him?
  • How come you press harder on a remote control when you know the battery is dead?
  • How is it possible to have a civil war?

  • If a chronic liar tells you he is a chronic liar do you believe him?
  • If an orange is orange, why isn’t a lime called a green or a lemon called a yellow?
  • If nothing ever sticks to Teflon, how do they make Teflon stick to the pan?
  • If superglue is so good, why doesn’t it stick to the side of the tube?
  • If you can’t drink and drive, why do you need a driver’s license to buy liquor, and why do bars have parking lots?
  • Why do hotdogs come in packs of 8 when hotdog rolls come in packs of 10?
  • Why don’t you ever see baby pigeons?
  • What happens if you get scared half-to-death twice?
  • What happens when you call a 1-800 number collect?
  • What should you do when you see an endangered animal that is eating an endangered plant?

All interesting questions but very few answers that make any sense at all.  Life can be so challenging at times.